Engl Fireball 100- Good Death Metal Amp???

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SQUAREHEAD

SQUAREHEAD

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My cousin found one for sale in a store here for $1000.00 (MINT) but it's too far away to try... Is this a GREAT. TIGHT Metal amp? He has a 5150 now and wants something wayyyyy tighter and more articulate...
Thanx for any help/suggestions, guys.

Keith
 
Engls (and I know I will piss someone off saying this but...) are almost solely based/marketed to the metal crowd. Virtually every amp of theirs can do "metal" in some form or fashion, and very much lean to the heavier sides of metal (death metal etc)

What I am saying is....DUH, the Fireball 100 can do metal, it was BUILT for it :lol: :LOL: :lol: :LOL: :lol: :LOL: :P The question is, will he like the Engl sound. Comparing an amp like the 5150 to the fireball is solely about which one is more pleasing to the ear. They both can do anything over the top, they are both "staples" I guess you could say in modern metal (especially the 5150) The Engl will be much more hi fi, less organic/gritty, definitely more scooped. Engl style tones: jag panzer, dying fetus, necrophagist,dimmu borgir etc. Engls have a very identifiable tone, that lies in the midrange I think.

The 5150 is much more organic, gritty, not nearly as balanced ( a good thing in my opinion) much more grind in the midrange, and definitely a much more midrange oriented amp, and I'd say will cut through much better in my opinion. The 5150s are GREAT live amps, and great studio amps, I love them to death. To me they are more "brutal" sounding do to its inherently grindy pronounced unique midrange. Again, its all preference :)
 
Im going to stick my head out on a limb here and say skip out on the fireball 100, and this is coming from an avid 5150 user for many years.

the reason is because of the difference in voicing and design of the 5150, fireball 60, and the fireball 100, if price is important (when is it never?) i would recommend he save his money and go for a fireball 60 if he is coming from a 5150.

the fireball 100 is not old enough to be on ablums like jag panzer, dimmu, etc. alot of those tones are powerballs, engl savage's, SE's, engl blackmores, etc. which are much much much more expensive and are the true engl tones.

this is not to say the fireball 100 cannot do death metal, tone is a subjective subject that is too personal to judge here. but compared to its competitors of the amplifiers mentioned above, $1,000 is alot of quid to fall short of high expectations.

if he cannot play it first then i suggest holding off and saving his money to apply it somewhere else.

just my .02.
 
Owned a Fireball 100 for a good while. It was a very good amp. The "less organic, more scooped" description doesn't fit at all. It is a very good sounding amp and is designed to have lots of low mids. It is very tight and once tweaked correctly, will do death metal all fucking day long.
 
Suffocation has been seen with Fireball 100s, then again, they aren't really the band to look towards for excellent tones.

You could easily spin it at the same price if it doesn't work out.
 
As a Prior owner of the ENGL Fireball 100.....that is a GREAT DEAL for $1000
If I came across that deal I would snag it. As put earlier....if he dont like it (But he should love it) :rock:
easily sell it for what he paid for it. :thumbsup:
 
SQUAREHEAD":2j9cinnj said:
My cousin found one for sale in a store here for $1000.00 (MINT) but it's too far away to try... Is this a GREAT. TIGHT Metal amp? He has a 5150 now and wants something wayyyyy tighter and more articulate...
Thanx for any help/suggestions, guys.

Keith
Click to expand...

I did a clip of my Fireball 100, it is double tracked with a VHT cab, SM57 and Sen MD421

I though this amp recorded like a dream.

https://www.myspace.com/puresoundmusic/m ... x-56534106
 
I guess I should clarify my post alittle. I was not saying that the tones by dimmu borgir, necrophagist( who by the way, used a very inexpensive Engl E530 for a long time :) ) jag panzer etc are tones that are produced by the fireball. I was just saying that in general, they have the Engl vibe, that the Fireball 100 will most certainly have as well :) I would also be willing to bet, that the Fireball 100 could easily copes the same tones that the powerball could.


Just out of curiousity, as the Fireball 100 has peaked my interest alittle as well. How much better is it than the 60? If it is much more organic and less scooped, it would be something I would definitely be interested in having.
 
Sue me for my opinion here, but the 5150 is a very articulate amp. It is quite possible that the amp is dialed wrong and is losing presence because of it. The 5150 is one of the greatest studio/live amps of all time simply because when dialed correctly, you will hear it because it's got the right tonal presence to stick out. On my personal list, it's number two right behind a Triple Rec as far as mix tonal presence and cut goes, like the tones or not, they stick out and are heard live and on record. The Fireball 100 and 5150 I have considered to be pretty similar for a while in that they fit the same niche of an extreme high gain modern voiced amp, although the Fireball 100 is voiced a bit smoother and rounder while the 5150 is more midrangey and has a distinct upper midrange cut that the FB100 doesn't have. You could go either way really. If your friend "wants" something new, or maybe wants to jump at the opportunity of the good price (which I do think is the case) then go for the FB100, it's a great modern high gain amp. If your friend "needs" a new amp i.e. the 5150 isn't cutting it, the FB100 probably won't cut it either. Both amps are likely too fat for their own good until boosted, and then they clear up and cut through. I would definitely choose the FB100 over the FB60.
 
It will be tight and do metal. Tell him to youtube Jeff Loomis.

Granted 1,000 is 1,000 and there are many other options I would pursue before I bought a FB without playing it first.
 
$1000 for an engl FB100 hell yes....I have had 2 of them pass thru my hands great amp for metal,thrash,deathmetal....
 
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