Invader II VS Powerball II

  • Thread starter Thread starter M.U.Y.A
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M.U.Y.A

M.U.Y.A

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Hello RT members. I am looking to purchase one of the two amps mentioned above but am having hard time choosing. Does anybody have any insight, pros or cons? tone comparisons, Versatility between them? Appreciate it.
 
Why not Savage ? I find it the best of all 3 . And I own a powerball . Savage on my list . What kind of time you want to get ?
 
Techdeth said:
Why not Savage ? I find it the best of all 3 . And I own a powerball . Savage on my list . What kind of time you want to get ?
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Actually I had not done research on the savage so I don't know a lot about it. I would have to look into it more. I feel like 100 watt amp is enough but I'm not an amp junkie so I don't a whole lot either lol. Im actually convinced to get the Powerball II over the Invader because the invader seems to have a lower / Deeper sound. Probably having to do with KT power tubes. Now the real question is I guess Powerball II or Savage Mark II. I mainly play thrash metal. Lowest tuning I go to is Drop C occasionally. nothing lower than C. Maybe that would help too in my decision.
 
Invader 2 gives you an EQ for each channel, plus has Midi. Powerball II shares EQ, and no Midi.

I got an Invader 2. Helps a lot to get the Z16 sound module, as it brightens the amp up a bit.
Every channel is excellent.

Sold my Savage 120 Mark 2. Great amp, channels 1 & 4 are amazing. Channels 2&3 didn't work for me. Channel 4 is the best metal channel ever. Also, I preferred the Savage with KT88 tubes instead of the stock 6550s.

Still want to get a Powerball 2
 
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M.U.Y.A said:
Actually I had not done research on the savage so I don't know a lot about it. I would have to look into it more. I feel like 100 watt amp is enough but I'm not an amp junkie so I don't a whole lot either lol. Im actually convinced to get the Powerball II over the Invader because the invader seems to have a lower / Deeper sound. Probably having to do with KT power tubes. Now the real question is I guess Powerball II or Savage Mark II. I mainly play thrash metal. Lowest tuning I go to is Drop C occasionally. nothing lower than C. Maybe that would help too in my decision.
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The Savage imo is a one of the best amps period .It would do great for what you want
 
I have an Invader 2 and it rips. Super nice cleans too. I’m always finding new tones with the Wizard module. Doesnt need a boost on channel 3 or 4. Channel 3 has more mids while channel 4 is scooped.
 
I think I have come to like the the Savage 120 MKII the most right now.
 
FLUXX said:
Invader 2 gives you an EQ for each channel, plus has Midi. Powerball II shares EQ, and no Midi.

I got an Invader 2. Helps a lot to get the Z16 sound module, as it brightens the amp up a bit.
Every channel is excellent.

Sold my Savage 120 Mark 2. Great amp, channels 1 & 4 are amazing. Channels 2&3 didn't work for me. Channel 4 is the best metal channel ever. Also, I preferred the Savage with KT88 tubes instead of the stock 6550s.

Still want to get a Powerball 2
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I keep saying a 2 channel Savage would be the best selling Engl ever. Clean channel and Lead channel without all the bells and whistles, essentially a Fireball 100 but with the Savage technology.
 
Apex1Rg7X said:
I keep saying a 2 channel Savage would be the best selling Engl ever. Clean channel and Lead channel without all the bells and whistles, essentially a Fireball 100 but with the Savage technology.
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Isn't that basically a Blackmore? They say the Blackmore is based on the Savage, and its a 2 channel very similar to the Fireball's layout.
 
Doppe1ganger said:
Isn't that basically a Blackmore? They say the Blackmore is based on the Savage, and its a 2 channel very similar to the Fireball's layout.
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The Blackmore is based on Savage technology but the Lead channel does not sound like Ch.4 of the Savage.
 
Apex1Rg7X said:
I keep saying a 2 channel Savage would be the best selling Engl ever. Clean channel and Lead channel without all the bells and whistles, essentially a Fireball 100 but with the Savage technology.
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Sorry to necro this a bit. There was a Savage 60 (not the mk ii version) which is just the "channel 4" lead channel of a regular Savage 120 (technically it's called "Main Channel 2"). I don't think they sold well because they are hard as hell to find. I've only ever seen one in person ever, wish I had bought it. It may as well be a single channel amp, even though you can switch from "rhythm" to "lead" the rhythm gain control directly affects the amount of gain on the lead channel too (just like a real Savage Mk 1). Oh, but it doesn't have the "Smooth/Rough" switch, it's in "rough" mode all the time, and no "contour" switch like the 120w version. Still, sweet amp no frills
 
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The Invader 2 is probably one of the most versatile amps made with 3 unique tone channels (3+4 are mainly tightness and mids differences in mine), high gain buttons and an original heavy gain structure that's a step above the Fireball IMO.

Throw in midi, the tube diagnostics and multi master volume knobs and you have a real metal icon of an amp on stage, in the studio and across many styles of music.
 
TotallyRadGuitars said:
Sorry to necro this a bit. There was a Savage 60 (not the mk ii version) which is just the "channel 4" lead channel of a regular Savage 120 (technically it's called "Main Channel 2"). I don't think they sold well because they are hard as hell to find. I've only ever seen one in person ever, wish I had bought it. It may as well be a single channel amp, even though you can switch from "rhythm" to "lead" the rhythm gain control directly affects the amount of gain on the lead channel too (just like a real Savage Mk 1). Oh, but it doesn't have the "Smooth/Rough" switch, it's in "rough" mode all the time, and no "contour" switch like the 120w version. Still, sweet amp no frills
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Yep. I own this one (and the Invader MKI as well).
It's a 2 channel Savage, with shared EQ, but seperate channel volumes, gain (with the cascading function as you said), seperate Presence knobs and depth boost buttons per channel. I once hooked it up to a bass cab with a 15" speaker, engaged the depth boost and holy mother of Thump, that was some chest punching wall of sound.

Functionality that I would like to see added (which the Invader has), would be footswitchable fx-loop and footswitchable gain boost mode (per channel).
If you run the Rhythm channel under 11 'o clock, it's basically clean-clean, without the gain boost engaged. If you engage the gainboost on rhythm, it already becomes a sort of Plexi-ish level of gain. Medium crunchy,basically.
 

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I used to own the following ENGL's, at the same time:

Invader II with the Wizard Module
Powerball II
Artist Blackout 100
Retro Tube 100
Fireball 100

The Invader II was the one I liked the least, so I sold it. If I was to keep only one of the other ENGL's that would be the Powerball II, mostly for its versatility. If I was only to go for the best overdrive channel, I would keep the Fireball 100. If you play overdrive most of the time, the Fireball 100 is the best one for sure. It's extremely versatile and do crunch extremely well if you dial it in with your ears instead of your eyes.

To rank my favorites:

Powerball II
Fireball 100
Artist Blackout 100
Retro Tube 100
Invader II
 
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