Fireball 100 vs Powerball II

[Rising Farce]

I traded away my FB100 awhile back and have been missing it recently. I'd like to pick up another, but it looks like used prices for the PBII have dropped to the point that there's not a whole lot of space between the two amps these days.

Although it's been awhile since I've played one, my memory is that the PBII can approximate the FB100 gain tones pretty closely when set up to do so. For those of you who have played both recently, would you say that's accurate? I wouldn't mind having the extra flexibility of the PBII's extra channels, but not if it means a sacrifice in aggression, saturation, compression, low end, etc.

Note that as much as I'd like to wait on the Friedman signature amp, I don't imagine that it's going to be priced in the range I'm hoping to spend (<$1700). Ditto the SE and Invader II, which are also of interest.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

The FB100 is darker, smoother, not as present, less upper mids. The PBII has more upper mids, a little brighter, and edgier. The PBII still has plenty of chunk to it if desired. If you prefer dark, smooth, aggression get the FB100. Otherwise the PBII will work great. It's way more flexible and has some really useful features.

 

[Rising Farce]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like the PBII might be the way to go.