How good are Engl amps these days?

  • Thread starter Thread starter yngzaklynch
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meanstreet":3khun64r said:
The Engl Steve Morse is a beast of an amp. I owned a Powerball and didn't care for it. A buddy has a Steve Morse and it is an awesome amp!!
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The low and high mid controls on that amp make it a total beast.
 
I love my SE and the Powerball that I had before it. The SE is essentially the Powerball's channel 3&4, with a better 1&2, so you can get better in between sounds. Plus every channel has more options and their own EQ's. With that said, I'm playing my Surreal Atomica and Triaxis rigs a lot more these days, simply because I like the Marshall crunch and the Triaxis because I just got Andy Timmons tab book for Resolution.

I did really dig Rockinchippy's Artist clips though, but that's because it sounds like a hot rodded Marshall.
 
I had an older Engl Savage 120 and it crushed!! I moved it since I wanted to have a more amp that was more of a Marshall vibe. My buddy in the Twin Cities owns it now and he loves it. Great amp!! Do not know much about the quality of the newer versions though.
 
shood":1okzjwsi said:
zewango":1okzjwsi said:
Never got tp try the Invader II price kept me away. If I could find Invader 100 cheap I'd pick one up. I had the 150.
I also had the Ironball (it can keep up with a band no problem) Powerball II and Artist Edition. Jesus I guess I like Engl's
Right now the Friedman Small Box is the coolest amp on the planet for me.
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Zewango, how would you compare the Small Box with the Artist Edition? Those are two towards the top of my current list of potential next amps. I love rockinchippy's clips of your old Artist Edition as well as some other clips out there, but need to gather more info before making a decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfTVEv70MhY
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I would take an Invader over the Artist Edition. Way more options, much cooler sounds for me.
Smallbox I can't say enough good things about. A lot of this is from playing out, it just sounds great cranked up and jamming on it. No comparison for me.

RockinChippy lent me his Helios for awhile I played that back to back with the Artist and liked the Engl more.

I had bought a Powerball II from Musicians Friend. Brand new.
Played it at home for a day and was digging it. Next day turned it on no sound. Engl's come with extra preamp tubes so I swapped out the PI tube and it fired right back up. Sounded great. I was freaked out over the Engl ( possible problems down the road) I sent it back. I would like to give that amp another shot.
 
I'm on my third Engl (fireball 100, savage 120, iron ball) and have had very few issues.
Tubes blew on the savage and it developed a pop when it was switched off, but that was it.
Sound great, resale value is decent, reliable (for me at least) so I've bee a happy camper since 2008.

FWIW, the amps have been stationary and at level 2 at most for 90% of their lives, so no comment on road worthiness or quality when they are pushed hard for long.
 
My invader two is the thickest amp I have ever heard. It's expensive but it's awesome. I get compliments all the time.
 
Metal, shred, classic rock and clean. Those are the tones i'm interested in. Don't be afraid to use effects like delay. Thanks!!
 
yngzaklynch":2o7ddf3v said:
Metal, shred, classic rock and clean. Those are the tones i'm interested in. Don't be afraid to use effects like delay. Thanks!!
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You've just described all 4 channels of the Powerball II, which is an amazing amp. I've owned and gigged the PBII, Steve Morse, and the SE. They are all great heads. But the PB is the least expensive of the 3 and will get you where you want to go. Has a built in noise gate that works very well. The loop is also very nice. I used a Digitech iPB-10 in the 4 cable method in front/in the loop and it handled the effects very well. I can't recommend those 3 amps highly enough.
 
I owned the original PB. Sold it because i was in an amp trying phase at that time. Whats different about the PB II?
 
This is just from internet fodder that I read. There was a run of Engls that had Q and C issues. Again, this is not from personal experience. If you think about it. What amp does not have issues at some point? Listening to clips, that Invader II sounds very impressive.
 
I have my ehx 2880 being fixed right now. Will post a vid as soon as it comes back. That way I can turn knobs and switches for a real time comparison. So many switches on the back and want to go over at least some of the sound wizards functions. It really is designed for the module to be incuded. It makes the amp very versatile and has a ton of different voicings. Not that it needs it to sound great but really makes the tone more or less this or that depending on settings.can switch between module on, stock, or a Combo of both with the low and high gain modes and sound button settings per channel. Probably not included because of sticker shock all at one time. Got a great deal from Nick at Axepalace. Number 039/100LE.
Will make some short vids according to whatever u guys want. iPad Recordings is all I have available right now. I'm in the middle of moving.
 
bananaladonpcp":17pr5oe2 said:
cujo":17pr5oe2 said:
I just got an Engl Extreme Aggression Fireball 100... It has become my fav amp of all time. It's almost a year now n just a brutal tight amp. I don't miss my Herbert since I got this.
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I got a herbert and sold my fireball 100 lol. The fireball is super super brutal and raw with SO MUCH bass and mid response. You wont have trouble being heard in a live mix haha. It worked great for the tech death band I was in but it's lack of versatility and a shared EQ with the clean channel made me trade it off for a Jackson SL2MAH :D


-Alex
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When I heard the fireball I fkn shit. Never heard an amp that nasty before. Didn't care about versatility just had to have that tone !!! can't wait to record album 3 with it.
 
I owned a Powerball II and SE670. Both are great amps. I sold the Powerball II and kept the SE. There was a lot of overlap in tones between the 2 amps. I couldnt justify keeping them both. Still, I didnt like selling the PBII.
 
I have the ENGL Powerball 2 which I replaced the Powerball 1. I like the Powerball 2, it has a ton of gain and it has a very smooth distortion, but I only use it for real heavy stuff.
 
yngzaklynch":3nlmwqnq said:
I actually think there is an authorized repairman close to me
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I would call him and make sure of that. I bought an Engl SE back in 2006. The first one arrived pretty much DOA (it was used). I found someone to take a look at it. He opened it up and started laughing. He had no idea what to do so he tried to contact HQ in Germany. They were very unresponsive. I decided to plead my case with an Engl dealer here in the US. We struck a deal for me to send it back to them and for a small fee I was given a brand new replacement. The new one was awesome but I was very nervous at that point that if anything ever went wrong I would be out a whole heck of a lot of money. If you can find a good used Engl I think it would be worth it.

I will say that the SE EL34 sounded awesome! Some of the features like the really low sub bass is worthless but the core tones were really heavy. I lived on Channel 3.
 
I have an extreme aggression for sale in the classified section if anyone is interested
 
I have the e570 and 850/100 combo. I've had the preamp for well over 10 years and the poweramp for over five. Never had a single issue with either. Love this combo.....just brutal but versatile at the same time.
 
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