ENGL amplifiers. Which is what. Models etc.

[Tone Junkie]

So my buddy picked up a Powerball II. Kick ass amp. So I was looking over the various models on YouTube. But you know how that goes.
So just looking at comparisons between various models. High gain lower gain. Version I vs V2.
Have you owned one if so which model is your favorite.

 

[Tone Monster]

Owned version 1. Had an almost solid state sound to it. Build quality was especially shitty.

 

[Beyond Black]

Owned version 1. Had an almost solid state sound to it. Build quality was especially shitty.

This. Very stiff and synthetic sounding. Get a Recto, boost it, and it’ll crush it.

 

[panhead]

Find an engl from the late 80~s

 

[Techdeth]

I actually enjoy my powerball still . Especially for doing leads . It doesn’t hang with the my wizard and Diezel when playing live . It mushes out . It also blends well when recording it underneath other amps . It does have a synthetic weird sound but that’s why I have it . It’s just a different flavor. I can see why people don’t like it but it can be useful.But ya it’s a very decisive sound and I get it

 

[Tone Junkie]

it’s not my amp it’s a friends amp. Never played through a ENGL before. I will say it has loads of gain. I don’t hear the synthetic sound. It’s got it’s own vibe going on. Not a Diezel or Recto or a Marshall. I like varieties. Channel one and two are ok. Three gets better but channel four has gobs of gain. It feels a little different under the fingers.
Apparently I guess some don’t care for the tone. I was just looking for differences in the amps.

 

[Meeotch]

They've made a shit ton of different models over the years. Probably your best bet is to just pick a couple and search for x vs y. Some of the more popular models have been the SE, Savage, Fireball, and Invader. The only one I've owned is the Fireball 100 and it was instant gratification for saturated metal tones, followed by a brief honeymoon phase and I flipped it within a couple months.

Wouldn't mind trying the Savage MkII at some point but it's not very high on my list TBH.

 

[blackba]

I remember when the power balls were all the rage. I picked up a fireball 60 at the time and found tot to be true to its name, lifeless clean, and very tight metal gain channel, crunch need not apply. Always wanted to try the Blackmore.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

I have a Steve Morse and Inferno.
The Morse is derived from an Invader but with 3 channels instead of 4 and more tone shaping options. Channel 3 has a high and low mid adjustment with a switch for each to shift the frequency range. It also has a global tine switch that shifts frequencies. It's different for each channel. The sound is great and I love the flexibility. Listen to some Deep Purple and that's the sound of this amp.

The Inferno is Marty Friedman's signature model. It was conceived by taking the best sounds from a Morse, Invader, Powerball, and SE and putting them together. Then simplify the controls into 2 channels. Overall it does sound like an amalgamation of those amps in the best way possible. This is one of the few amps I can set the tone knobs to noon and not have to touch them.

Both amps have that signature ENGL sound but aren't overly compressed. I really love both of them and They'll be with me for the long haul.

@JerEvil just got a Victor Smolski signature edition which is a tweaked Powerball. He might be able to give some additional info.

 

[War_in_D]

Build quality was especially shitty.

I had one of the Artist Edition E651 heads. Sounded OK, I guess.. But the build quality on that head was just abysmal. I couldn't get rid of that thing fast enough, and even took a loss on it just to move it along. The PC boards in the one I had were so flimsy that I was afraid I was going to break one every time I tried to put a tube in it.

 

[JerEvil]

I have a Steve Morse and Inferno.
The Morse is derived from an Invader but with 3 channels instead of 4 and more tone shaping options. Channel 3 has a high and low mid adjustment with a switch for each to shift the frequency range. It also has a global tine switch that shifts frequencies. It's different for each channel. The sound is great and I love the flexibility. Listen to some Deep Purple and that's the sound of this amp.

The Inferno is Marty Friedman's signature model. It was conceived by taking the best sounds from a Morse, Invader, Powerball, and SE and putting them together. Then simplify the controls into 2 channels. Overall it does sound like an amalgamation of those amps in the best way possible. This is one of the few amps I can set the tone knobs to noon and not have to touch them.

Both amps have that signature ENGL sound but aren't overly compressed. I really love both of them and They'll be with me for the long haul.

@JerEvil just got a Victor Smolski signature edition which is a tweaked Powerball. He might be able to give some additional info.

Yep. Tweaked PowerBall. Same power section but the preamp section was adjusted to have more gain on tap so that at lower volumes the gain characteristics didn’t suffer. The low end response was adjusted as well from what I understand. There are no Bright controls, and the 2 Mid controls toggle back and forth depending on your settings.

It’s been long enough to get through the honeymoon and this guy is a keeper

 

[Bro KV]

Had a Powerball in 2009, it was quite popular so I got one. Hated it, traded it straight up for a Mesa Mark IVA Rackmount.

 

[rottingcorpse]

Went thru a bunch of them,starting with the OG powerball.
Stoped at the Extreme Aggression because I'm a Kreator fanboy.
Liked them all, but I'm easy to please. I'm a "fire it up and go" type of player.

 

[Techdeth]

I always keep one Engl is the collection. Powerball sounds like an amp with lots of eq and boost added . Like a post production amp sound in a box . I know many don’t like it but it has it’s uses.I like it for it’s over produced sound. Blend it with a really raw amp and it cool too . But ya I see why some would not like it

 

[napalmdeath]

I had one of the Artist Edition E651 heads. Sounded OK, I guess.. But the build quality on that head was just abysmal. I couldn't get rid of that thing fast enough, and even took a loss on it just to move it along. The PC boards in the one I had were so flimsy that I was afraid I was going to break one every time I tried to put a tube in it.

Wow. Not my experience at all. I owned the 50, & 100. They both sounded punishing with a distinct Marshall flavor. I also owned the Retro 50, Fireball 100 and Fireball 25. From a tone standpoint, no complaints. Ever.

Build? Well, I had no gripes. I know they're not boutique, hand-wired examples, and they're cheap in Europe. We get hosed on import taxes/duties, just like Marshall. I would say the build is no better, (or worse), than a JVM.

I'd say to OP, it depends on the flavor you want. Each model has it's own character, or tweaked derivatives of another model. If British is your thing, Artist, no question, (closely followed by the Retro). If more modern, even more pissed off 6L6's are your thing, the Fireball 100 is the most raw and organic, whereas the PowerBall is more polished, (which is good, or bad), as well as a gazillion tonal options, bells/whistles, (which my OCD can't handle).

I will say, I've never played an amp with a better onboard noise gate. Huge upside.

 

[roodboy]

had a couple el 34 se
one of my all time favorite amps
super versatile and the blue lights looked cool

 

[War_in_D]

Wow. Not my experience at all. I owned the 50, & 100. They both sounded punishing with a distinct Marshall flavor. I also owned the Retro 50, Fireball 100 and Fireball 25. From a tone standpoint, no complaints. Ever.

Build? Well, I had no gripes. I know they're not boutique, hand-wired examples, and they're cheap in Europe. We get hosed on import taxes/duties, just like Marshall. I would say the build is no better, (or worse), than a JVM.

I'd say to OP, it depends on the flavor you want. Each model has it's own character, or tweaked derivatives of another model. If British is your thing, Artist, no question, (closely followed by the Retro). If more modern, even more pissed off 6L6's are your thing, the Fireball 100 is the most raw and organic, whereas the PowerBall is more polished, (which is good, or bad).

I would agree on both points (sound and build, with regard to being like a JVM, etc). I never really had any issues with how it sounded. When I say OK that just means that it was acceptable to me. Nothing that made my jaw drop, but not a bad sounding amp at all. I just don't have the ability to describe amps like some others can. All this talk about "upper mids", "lower mids", 4K peaks, etc. is like Greek to me, if that makes sense. I like what I like, but ask me to describe it and you'll get that deer in the headlights look from me every time.. I'm not that adjective-ly gifted. LOL

My main issue with the construction was that I could literally see the PCB flexing quite a bit when swapping tubes. I mean, seriously, it was to the point where I thought I might break it. That's not to say that the PCB they use is any better/worse than any other amp out there, but it just seems to me they could have maybe supported it better in that area knowing the potential wear/tear that part of the PCB would encounter. I've never run into that on any other PCB amp I've ever had, and I've been through quite a few. I can't imagine that all the flexing is good for them.

 

[cragginshred]

Here is Vivian Campbell's amazing Engl tone at a Last in Line sound check I was at in 2018. It was a Blackmoore signature head

 

[napalmdeath]

I would agree on both points (sound and build, with regard to being like a JVM, etc). I never really had any issues with how it sounded. When I say OK that just means that it was acceptable to me. Nothing that made my jaw drop, but not a bad sounding amp at all. I just don't have the ability to describe amps like some others can. All this talk about "upper mids", "lower mids", 4K peaks, etc. is like Greek to me, if that makes sense. I like what I like, but ask me to describe it and you'll get that deer in the headlights look from me every time.. I'm not that adjective-ly gifted. LOL

My main issue with the construction was that I could literally see the PCB flexing quite a bit when swapping tubes. I mean, seriously, it was to the point where I thought I might break it. That's not to say that the PCB they use is any better/worse than any other amp out there, but it just seems to me they could have maybe supported it better in that area knowing the potential wear/tear that part of the PCB would encounter. I've never run into that on any other PCB amp I've ever had, and I've been through quite a few. I can't imagine that all the flexing is good for them.

Can't say I disagree. The build is nothing to write home about, but I think those sentiments are amplified because of what we pay for them in the U.S. If the Artist Edition was $1200 new, and $800 used, I think people would be less sensitive to the build, because they certainly deliver the goods, tonally. On the flipside, that's more inline with what they pay for them in Europe.

Both the Artist 100 and Fireball 100 were my favorites of the bunch. Both do what they do, exceptionally well. Raw, harmonically rich, aggressive as hell, and really do sound killer, IMO.

 

[Techdeth]

If you liked powerball 2 I’ve found that the savage 2 is like a super version of powerball 2 . Just more tone shaping options . Similar in rich harmonics