ENGL FIREBALL 100 * NEW VIDEO * Better audio

[Mailman1971]

Here is the latest recording on the ENGL Fireball 100.
Taped it the same time I recorded my FJC modded JCM 800 last weekend.
The audio and video dont sync up towards the end of the clip.
Still learning all the recording crap!
Played it with the more METAL settings to see how it would record.
Any feedback is appreciated.
It sounds better but I am still not satisfied with the overall results.
Learning a little more after each take.
Tell me what ya think!
Dan

 

[killertone]

I had one a month or so ago. I think I was the first person to have one at RT, not sure. I sold it only to fund my Fortin. It was a great amp, no doubt. I also had an Invader and it killed that. I still like my Blackmore a bit better because it is not nearly as compressed and sits a lt better in a band mix. The Fireball 100 is a killer amp, though. The clan channel is much better than my Blackmore and the gate works really well.

 

[Mailman1971]

Man......
we ran it thru the ranks tonite.
It covered every thing PERFECTLY.
From Nugent to death metal.
I would recommend this bad ass to ANYONE wanting to get ahead of the pack!
I did shut the noise gate off though!
No shit......it is THAT GOOD!

 

[yngzaklynch]

Clips now!!

 

[Mailman1971]

Clips now!!

Dude I am soooooo TRASHED right now.
Is about 9pm. Trust me. This New Fireball will get what you are looking for.
We did HIGHWAY TO HELL and it freaking ROCKED!!!
I was kinda expecting this amp to be TOTAL METAL....
But it is the TOTAL PACKAGE!
Marshall to FRAMUS.
And the CLEAN...........WOW! Prestine. Sounds PERFECT!
Ok....nuff for tonite.
But it really is THAT GOOD!

Dan in Michigan

 

[troublehead]

I got mine today and its on E-Bay right now

Not that its a bad amp. Light years ahead of the 60. But I had already made up my mind to sell it before it came in.

All being said, I'm not as "woo-hoo" about it as the OP is. Does metal great, but still not that versatile. Put it this way, there are a thousand other amps I would get to play Highway to Hell.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Ihad a Powerball which I sometimes miss. I am interested in this new Fireball

 

[Mailman1971]

Thats where my Mark Cameron modded head comes into play.......
It does the rest!

 

[Mailman1971]

Ihad a Powerball which I sometimes miss. I am interested in this new Fireball

Dude.......
This thing is GREAT!!

 

[glpg80]

Ihad a Powerball which I sometimes miss. I am interested in this new Fireball

+1 on the powerball.

id be happy with one. seems like the perfect amp for me

glad the fireball was everything you expected and more - nothing like a game plan coming together perfectly

 

[Mailman1971]

Ok,
time to recap on this review a little now that I am sober!

I was setting it up yesterday afternoon. Hooking up the cab, BBE etc....
Clicked it on and had all the tone knbos set to noon and the master volume off.
I strummed the guitar and let in a little volume.
Right away. Within 15 seconds with the settings at a 'general' middle of the road.......
I KNEW THAT THIS WAS WHAT I WANTED FROM AN AMP!
Great articulation. Great Dynamics and TONE!
Well I dialed in a little more to my tastes and played some riffs.
Nothing DROP D or CHUGGA but real riffs from REAL songs
It came to life and sounded so damn good. I know that this is a "Metal Amp"
but was doing some Scorpions and old Dio and Dokken and it was Crisp, GREAT PRESENCE and tone.
Well after playing with the lead channel I flicked over to the CLEAN.
I dont play much clean but this amp has a PRISTINE clean channel.
I swear you could tell the gauge of the strings I was playing just from me lightly strumming.
But i owned a Engl Invader 150 in the past and knew that the clean channel was great on the Engls.
So went back to the lead channel. Rolled the gain down slightly to about 3.
Went into some Old Kiss and AC/DC. It covered it nicely. Still had a 'slight' modern flavor since that is what this amp is, but it played and handled the songs perfectly.
I am old School 80's metal. Been playing for 26 years. Went thru a slew of amps.
This amp is PERFECT for what we play and what I was looking for.
Great DISTINCT tone and not cookie cutter sound but ENGL TONE!
If you guys are looking for something that can THROW DOWN the brutal and still pull of great sounding 80's shit Look no further. Try one of these out.
Oh yeah.....BOOST PEDAL??? HA! NEED NOT APPLY!

Rock on brothers.........
I have found my amp.

Those that know me and know how many times I have said this.......
But I am pretty sure I 'mean it' this time!

Danno

 

[yngzaklynch]

Good. Now eat a couple of advils, drink a Pepsi. Once the headache goes away give us some clips.

How does this compare to the original Fireball? How does this amp compare to the Powerball? I had V1 I think. I don't like the Savage 120 but really liked the Powerball.

 

[Hard&Heavy]

Good. Now eat a couple of advils, drink a Pepsi. Once the headache goes away give us some clips.

How does this compare to the original Fireball? How does this amp compare to the Powerball? I had V1 I think. I don't like the Savage 120 but really liked the Powerball.

Yeah lets have some clips. I would like to here this thing because I have heard nothing but good things about this head . I played a 60 watter a little while ago and liked it better than the powerball...

 

[Mailman1971]

I have a digital camera that takes movie clips. Will that work ok? I never tried to record myself.
Wonder if it will give props to the tone?
Record at high or lower levels?
This amp has a MID BOOST switch which makes it really versatile.
I love the tone of this amp. Very IN YOUR FACE!
But it calms down and cleans up well still maintaining that ENGL tone.
I like it better then the Invader 150 I had since I really only used that for 1 channel.
I will do my best to get some clips up.
But its ALL THAT and a BAG of Chips!.....at least to me.

 

[yngzaklynch]

I have a digital camera that takes movie clips. Will that work ok? I never tried to record myself.
Wonder if it will give props to the tone?
Record at high or lower levels?
This amp has a MID BOOST switch which makes it really versatile.
I love the tone of this amp. Very IN YOUR FACE!
But it calms down and cleans up well still maintaining that ENGL tone.
I like it better then the Invader 150 I had since I really only used that for 1 channel.
I will do my best to get some clips up.
But its ALL THAT and a BAG of Chips!.....at least to me.

Just make a clip and upload it to youtube or somewhere. If I can post my shitty vids no one else has any excuse.

 

[troublehead]

I dug mine out of the box again before I put it away for good. I don't like to play my stuff anymore once I put it up for sale.
I gave it a good 2 hour or so workout at low to loud volumes with my LP and a V30 loaded Splawn cab.

Here is my verdict based on a couple hours:

It is a very snarly, pissed off sounding amp. I don't quite see how the OP gets KISS with the gain at 3. You can play Ride the Lightning at that gain setting just fine IMO. I think it does a much better job over on the clean channel with the gain cranked. However, you have to take the bass almost down to zero (even with the "bottom" disengaged) to get classic crunch. But even then, it is still very dark and compressed sounding and lacks the open crunch that defines that sound. The cleans are really good, but nowhere close to the Shiva and Fender cleans I am used to recently. I only spent about 10 minutes or so here.

The Lead channel is metal and more metal with a huge, modern sounding bottom. The "bottom" function is pretty much obsolete.
The mid boost is the best thing on this amp. It bumps up the low/center mids and really adds warmth that the 60 was lacking. I don't know why anyone would ever turn it off. This is the biggest difference between the 60 and the 100. The 60 could get shrill/piercing and sounded pretty thin when doing single note stuff and leads. Definately not the case here.

The voicing kind of reminds me of a 5150 without the fizz. It has that really throaty/snarly midrange with the mid boost on without sounding like a chainsaw.

If you were strictly a modern metal player, I don't think I could recommend a better amp (at least none that I have tried). But in the end, it is what it is and that is a modern sounding amp. 10 years ago I would be ecstatic over this thing, but I have aquired a different taste lately.

When it came to the low volume dept, it does a decent job; however, I think the 60 is slightly better here if you want to use the amp at home as well. Just for kicks, I recorded a couple of short "brootz" riffs at loud TV volumes using the Fireball and then my Blackstar HT-5 through the same cab. To be honest, I could adjust the ISF counter clockwise on the HT-5 and dial it in identical to the Fireball. Seriously I could not tell them apart.

I am glad the amp works for the OP and I am sure it would be a keeper if I wasn't playing Fenders and Teles now

 

[droptrd]

Congrats on the Engl. Did you dump the randall?

 

[killertone]

I had mine for two weeks before I sold it and spent a good amount of time with it. I had it in the classifieds here for a ridiculous deal, seeing as it was brand spankin' new in the box pretty much, and no one from RT even asked about it. It sold elsewhere pretty quick, though.

Make no mistake people, the FB 100 is a modern sounding amp. With the gain around 9 o'clock it is still full-on metal. I loved it for metal but it was not very versatile in my experience. That didn't bother me because I didn't get it for anything other than metaaaaaaal! It is very compressed and saturated and in my opinion blows away the Powerball in feel and tone. It has more heft and authority. The mid switch is very cool, it is very similar to the contour button on the Blackmore as it does just about the same thing: emphasizes the low mids. The "bottom" switch is useless on the Fireball 100. It has more than enough low end without it and when engaged the bottom goes to pure mush. The clean is better than any ENGL (besides maybe the Invader) so that is a bonus. The amp doesn't do stoner/doom tones, the modern flavor shines through just about anywhere the gain is set. The bottom end is super ultra tight, especially when the bottom switch is out. I think the Fireball 100 is an improvement over the Fireball, it has a wider range of sounds (even though all are distinctly modern, IMO) and sounds more organic to my ears. For modern metal, it is one of the best amps out there, hands down.

 

[Mailman1971]

Congrats on the Engl. Did you dump the randall?

I am trying.....
But that ENGL is just sooo KICK ASS!!!
And yeah....I got a Mark Cameron Modded amp the same week so I am pretty set!

Dan

 

[yngzaklynch]

Where is our video