NAD Engl Fireball 100 or Engl Savage

hadley101

New member
Hoping to get some help from people who've had both of these
amps, what are the differences between the Savage and Fireball

Plan on buying either one of these two amps, played the Fireball
locally but don't have any way to test out the Savage.

My main question is will the Savage saturate and compress like
the Fireball on channel 4? Mainly looking for a kickass metal
machine

Fireball was a bit dark and it really only gets less metal on the
lead channel. Kinda clean and mean, that's not really a problem though.
Low Mids and Bass thump galore

Saturation/compression was what I'm looking for in a metal tone, wouldn't
mind some flexibility though that the Savage might have to offer.

Still needs to be brutal though and highly saturated, if not then the Fireball
is where its at for me.

Have read plenty that the Savage is kind of a Marshall honking Mids type of
tone. Sold my JVM210h because it didn't saturate/compress enough for me
but do like the Marshall tone.
 
Post-2008 Exodus albums. Great representation of Savage in my opinion. I would take it over Fireball anyway. Fireball is too dark for me. But if you are playing down-tuned metal or death metal maybe Fireball would fit better I don't know. Savage has amazing cleans and great 4th channel in my opinion. It has punchy low end with the depth setting engaged and it never makes the sound muddy.
 
Own both of em. Love both to death. As long as I'm playing metal, they will both be here for the long haul.

The Savage is a lot more open/less compressed, is based in the upper mids, its WAY tighter and more articulate when plugging straight in and meaner than a dog shitin tacks. You do not need a boost here. As you stated, there's way more tone shaping options. Even on Ch2 mode 4 (or what most refer to as Ch4) you can achieve several different metal tones via the contour, rough/smooth, sense, preshape, lead boost, and depth boost buttons. Also the two gain knobs work actively in conjunction with one another on Ch2 mode 4 which allows you to really tailor the gain structure. It will get saturated but no where near as compressed and saturated as the FB100. For what its worth, my description of the Savage is based on a 2014 model which has an upgraded/larger output transformer than the pre 2011 models.

The FB100 is more compressed/saturated, based as you know in the low mids, IMO needs an OD type pedal set to clean boost the front end to tighten it up and add articulation/attack. Don't let the former discourage you though, because once boosted its tight and articulate as hell. The gain is 100% usable even when maxed if your so inclined. The mid boost really fills out the mids but will not get you anywhere near the upper mid impact of the Savage. The FB100 has more low end and whats really cool is the bottom button seems to have an effect on the mid structure for an additional tone shaping effect. The FB100 has a smoother gain structure than the Savage but in NO way, I repeat, in NO way is it any more polite sounding. I don't know how they did it, but The FB's gain structure is smooth but VERY, and I mean VERY mean, angry, and pissed off sounding. The FB will have the same core tone regardless of eq settings but the eq is extremely reactive. Turning the treble, mids, bass, and presence knobs just a little has a big effect, so there's a huge sweep of variance in each knob.


If asked to choose one over the other, I honestly don't know that I could. There both that good. Different, but both are brutal as hell, articulate as hell, and just great for metal.

Good Luck!
 
This is going to be a difficult decision for me,
Fireball has the tone that has been haunting me since
playing it and was sure to buy until looking at the Savage.

Savage has much more tweak ability , doesn't share eq across
the clean/mean channels but the Fireball is the tone I'm looking
for. FB has just a nasty pissed off tone, love it!

MetalHeadMike, you could help me nail it down. If you've ever
played or owned a Marshall JVM how does the Savage Ch.4
compare in saturation to OD1/2 Red?. Sold mine after playing
the Fireball, OD Red was high gain but no where near the saturation
and compression for me.

If the savage is only less saturated than the Fireball but
still much more so than JVM maybe it's worth buying and
returning if it isn't for me and then go with the Fireball.

Was happy with the JVM too, was in the shop just to pick up
some strings and saw the ENGL's and thought to try them out
and see what the fuss was about. Holy Hell

Somehow wish the Fireball didn't have the shared eq and was
so dark. Otherwise It'd be here now, don't have an amp right
now but not in a hurry to get another wrong fit.

SH&T :confused:

P.S. Mailman1971, see you have/had a Fireball up in the classifieds/ where are
you in Michigan, I'm in Troy. Just a bit north of Detroit, this could work
out for both of us. How many miles are on your Fireball 100, tubes? etc
 
Thing is mint. Not lot of wear on the tubes. Your more then welcome to come up and check it.
My drummer is coming out tommow. Come up and check it out full band tone thru a full stack.
Gonna blow you away. :rock:
This amp will send that Marshall running home crying with its tail between its legs. :LOL: :LOL:
Hit me up!!
Oh yeah. I am up near frankenmuth area.
 
hadley101":2ekrs3kk said:
This is going to be a difficult decision for me,
Fireball has the tone that has been haunting me since
playing it and was sure to buy until looking at the Savage.

Savage has much more tweak ability , doesn't share eq across
the clean/mean channels but the Fireball is the tone I'm looking
for. FB has just a nasty pissed off tone, love it!

MetalHeadMike, you could help me nail it down. If you've ever
played or owned a Marshall JVM how does the Savage Ch.4
compare in saturation to OD1/2 Red?. Sold mine after playing
the Fireball, OD Red was high gain but no where near the saturation
and compression for me.

If the savage is only less saturated than the Fireball but
still much more so than JVM maybe it's worth buying and
returning if it isn't for me and then go with the Fireball.

Was happy with the JVM too, was in the shop just to pick up
some strings and saw the ENGL's and thought to try them out
and see what the fuss was about. Holy Hell

Somehow wish the Fireball didn't have the shared eq and was
so dark. Otherwise It'd be here now, don't have an amp right
now but not in a hurry to get another wrong fit.

SH&T :confused:

P.S. Mailman1971, see you have/had a Fireball up in the classifieds/ where are
you in Michigan, I'm in Troy. Just a bit north of Detroit, this could work
out for both of us. How many miles are on your Fireball 100, tubes? etc

I have only played the 210h and 410h JVM in a store several times and that was a long time ago, so I'm afraid I can't offer much insight on that note. My memory of those amps wouldn't be a fair comparison; plus I didn't get to crank them in the store.

I hate to give this advice, but the best thing you can do if your that undecided is to order both from somewhere with a return policy and compare them in your own home. I did this with several amps over the years and did so through one of the popular online big box stores. I was upfront with the sales guy when I ordered and told him exactly what my intentions were, and he was not adverse at all to me buying two amps, keeping them both for the 45 day return/exchange policy time frame, and returning the one that didn't make the cut.

This is the best way to assure your happy with your purchase.

Both amps really are a work of art in terms of bringing full on metal mayhem. They are however voiced differently and have different gain structures, so if at all possible you should really sit down with both side by side.

I have some clips I recorded with both I can offer but clips are clips and that won't get you even close to sitting in front of the amps.
 
That's kind of where I'm at now, ordering the Savage and
if it doesn't work out returning it and getting the
Fireball.

Mostly a metal player but would like to have some
versatility to play other kinds of music with my
battle axe. Here's to hoping the Savage is
plenty brutal.

Actually think that if I did order them both would
probably keep them both :doh:

Will give MF a call and see if they'll do 15% off, think that's
who you're talking about. Good to know they are casual with
returns.

Was thinking about A.Palace but having dealt with him in the
past has me weary of ever dealing with him again. Others seem
to have good experiences and I usually do wish to help out a small business
but the owner isn't someone I wish to deal with ever again.

P.S. Mailman1971: It's been a long time since visiting Zehnders and picking up some
Mackinac fudge while there. I'm going to go with MetalHeadMike's
advice and give the Savage a trial run. GLWTS Fireball 100 man!
 
hadley101":9uu2nq14 said:
That's kind of where I'm at now, ordering the Savage and
if it doesn't work out returning it and getting the
Fireball.

Mostly a metal player but would like to have some
versatility to play other kinds of music with my
battle axe. Here's to hoping the Savage is
plenty brutal.

Actually think that if I did order them both would
probably keep them both :doh:

Will give MF a call and see if they'll do 15% off, think that's
who you're talking about. Good to know they are casual with
returns.

Was thinking about A.Palace but having dealt with him in the
past has me weary of ever dealing with him again. Others seem
to have good experiences and I usually do wish to help out a small business
but the owner isn't someone I wish to deal with ever again.

P.S. Mailman1971: It's been a long time since visiting Zehnders and picking up some
Mackinac fudge while there. I'm going to go with MetalHeadMike's
advice and give the Savage a trial run. GLWTS Fireball 100 man!

MF is indeed who I was referring to. Well, if you order both and keep both, you'll be as happy as I am :thumbsup:

I dealt with AP a little over a year ago and it turned into an 8 month long fucking nightmare. Worst customer service experience period in my almost 42 years. I know MANY people treat the owner of that place like a god, but in my experience he is as pretentious as it gets and he did nothing but play games with me and my money.

On a side note, if you decide on the FB100, you should seriously consider the one Mailman has up. You'd get a sick deal on what I'm sure was a well taken care of amp.
 
Necro post about not really about the FB 100 but went ahead against
my better judgement and ordered the Savage from AP along with the
FB100 from GC with a 20% off discount coupon on Cyber Monday.

He was running a Black Friday/Cyber Monday discount.

Got the Fireball first and knew it was a keeper, called AP to see what was
up and it hadn't even shipped yet after paying 6 days earlier. Just wanted
the tracking number and after finding it hadn't shipped yet lost my cool
and cancelled the order.

Well he agrees to refund, gave him a few days(6) and just went ahead
and filed a dispute with my bank. Asked what the delay was couple
days ago and answer was its processing???

When I refund someone their money it might take a
day for it to clear the bank and 5 minutes to do it.

Came back to this post and re read what you had said about the dick around
and realize now to put an end to this nonsense.

Really wish I lived near him to give him my displeasure in person :gethim:

How this guys stays in business is beyond me :thumbsdown:
 
That sucks dude!

You like the FB though huh :rock:

I was playing mine the other day and fuck that thing just sounds great. Just such an amazing metal amp.

Don't give up on the Savage though; its a fuckin beast for metal too. Its so tight, crunchy and articulate its nuts. On a side note, I was just messing with the Savage on Ch 1 mode 2 and the classic rock tones (Which I rarely play) I was getting with my LP were absolutely mind boggling.
Once you straighten your mess out, I would try and get your hands on one to compare.
 
Fireball 100 :rock:

What a kick ass amp, the only thing that is a
negative is the shared EQ but didn't buy it for the
clean, only the MEAN.

Really did want to compare the two amps and you're right
it still bothers me it didn't happen. My temper gets the
best of me some times.

Most likely after the bank clears the mess up I'll wait on another
20% from GC and pick the Savage up.

GC sends me a email every month asking me to come back
and buy something.

Thanks for letting me know what you went through with AP,
would've let him dick me around for a while longer otherwise.

Went up the chain to ENGL to let them know what he is doing
with their amps and representing them.

On a side note, ENGL told me they are going to stop making the
Savage soon, didn't get many details. They just said in the near future
when the stock they have on hand to make them runs out that's
it.

Asked if a Savage 2 was taking it's place and they said not yet and
that will take time to develop with no real plans so far for it.
 
^^^
"On a side note, ENGL told me they are going to stop making the
Savage soon, didn't get many details. They just said in the near future
when the stock they have on hand to make them runs out that's
it."

That is pure blasphemy!!!
 
MHM,

Thought I'd post back here had the Savage 120 here for a week
from MF, they were running a 17% discount so couldn't pass up the
chance to run it against the Fireball 100. It would've haunted me
if I never got a chance to run them against each other and picked
the right one for me.

It is a great amp with unrelenting MIDS and very bright, reminds
me allot of the E530 preamp. Returned the preamp last year
because it wasn't saturated enough and had a brightness that couldn't
be dialled out. The Savage also has this brightness that is a bit ear
fatiguing but is excellent for a band mix.

The Savage is pretty much a hotrod E530, allot more gain and well
everything. Have to say the all the recorded tracks and Youtube videos
don't do the Savage justice. Funny how most amps don't sound as great
as their recorded tones but ENGL's actually sound better in person than
under a microphone. My impression of the Savage sound was thin
based on recorded tones, couldn't be farther from reality in person.

It is a kickass amp but just wasn't quite brutal and saturated enough for me,
the Fireball 100 is where it's at for real brutality. Got a chance to play a
Bogner Uberschall locally and it's equally brutal but has an spongy and loose
feel and will get mushy at loud volumes. It has sag as well,pretty much
opposite of the ENGL response.

If the ENGL tight and quick thing is tiresome then the Bogner Uber would
be a reprieve.

For anyone thinking about a Savage it most compared for me to the JVM
OD2 RED but much better tone and feel, also noise level. Was shocked at how
quiet the Savage was, mine was made in 2016. No Decimator needed, really!
 
Well, turns out the Savage 120 is the keeper of the two. Really wish that both could stay as the
Fireball is just all out METAL :rock: but being so close to Christmas that's not a possibility for me.

Most likely will buy the Fireball 100 later as they are different enough to justify having them both.
MHM, when you mentioned having both you were right on the money.

They both are just F#$king incredible amps and the decision was impossible to make, until it came time
to jam with the band.

Fireball 100 even with Mid Boost struggled to cut,the amp would be just fine miked up though. For cutting,
Savage 120 won the day.

Relentless mids and brightness makes the Savage one of the best live amps ever for me.
Mine doesn't need a noise gate/Decimator G, no noticeable hiss at cranked volume which just blew me away
coming from the JVM.

Thanks MHM, think one day I'll be in your camp and have both amps but for now the Savage 120 stays!
 
hadley101":lqpzlabz said:
Well, turns out the Savage 120 is the keeper of the two. Really wish that both could stay as the
Fireball is just all out METAL :rock: but being so close to Christmas that's not a possibility for me.

Most likely will buy the Fireball 100 later as they are different enough to justify having them both.
MHM, when you mentioned having both you were right on the money.

They both are just F#$king incredible amps and the decision was impossible to make, until it came time
to jam with the band.

Fireball 100 even with Mid Boost struggled to cut,the amp would be just fine miked up though. For cutting,
Savage 120 won the day.

Relentless mids and brightness makes the Savage one of the best live amps ever for me.
Mine doesn't need a noise gate/Decimator G, no noticeable hiss at cranked volume which just blew me away
coming from the JVM.

Thanks MHM, think one day I'll be in your camp and have both amps but for now the Savage 120 stays!

Wise choice. :yes:
 
hadley101":6ezip4rw said:
Well, turns out the Savage 120 is the keeper of the two. Really wish that both could stay as the
Fireball is just all out METAL :rock: but being so close to Christmas that's not a possibility for me.

Most likely will buy the Fireball 100 later as they are different enough to justify having them both.
MHM, when you mentioned having both you were right on the money.

They both are just F#$king incredible amps and the decision was impossible to make, until it came time
to jam with the band.

Fireball 100 even with Mid Boost struggled to cut,the amp would be just fine miked up though. For cutting,
Savage 120 won the day.

Relentless mids and brightness makes the Savage one of the best live amps ever for me.
Mine doesn't need a noise gate/Decimator G, no noticeable hiss at cranked volume which just blew me away
coming from the JVM.

Thanks MHM, think one day I'll be in your camp and have both amps but for now the Savage 120 stays!

Hey man,
Sorry for not responding, been away and unplugged for the better part of a month.

Agreed they're both great amps but the Savage is definitely brighter and more cutting in the mids. Glad your diggin it :rock:
 
Welcome back man, was wondering what happened to you

It was an impossible decision to make and went with the Savage 120
knowing it's the last of its kind, also helps to be one of the best amps
I've ever played in my long life.

:rock:
 
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