Make ENGL Powerball II a 4-channel ENGL Fireball 100?

[MrFlexx]

I've posted this on the ENGL forum... but I post it here too because of the ENGL forum being close to dead:

I own a Fireball 100 and it's the best amp I've ever recorded with. Its even better for that task than my Bogner Ecstasy and Bogner Helios among other Boutique amps I've owned.

Another amp Ive owned in the past was the Powerball II and that was a really great amp too and recorded really well. But to my ears and taste the Fireball 100 sounds better. The downside is it's only 2 channels with shared EQ and such. Now to my question:

Is it possible to mod a Powerball II into sounding as the Fireball 100? If we don't take the extra channels into count, are there any major differences between these to amp? Maybe it's just changing a couple of components?

Anyone with the knowledge of this?

 

[the4thlast1]

Maybe owning more than one ENGL is the answer if you want multiple tones and like the ENGL sound. Modding the pb2 prob wont get what you want. Are you wanting other clean and breakup tones that the fireball doesnt do ?

The Savage, Artist or Retro are some other good ones, the inferno looks interesting too . Ive had the Fireball 100 and also like it, its one of the better ones for sure. But is somewhat of a one trick anp. Ive also had SE, Powerball, Blackmore, Invader 1 and 2 and a couple others I cant remember atm.

 

[braintheory]

Maybe owning more than one ENGL is the answer if you want multiple tones and like the ENGL sound. Modding the pb2 prob wont get what you want. Are you wanting other clean and breakup tones that the fireball doesnt do ?

The Savage, Artist or Retro are some other good ones, the inferno looks interesting too . Ive had the Fireball 100 and also like it, its one of the better ones for sure. But is somewhat of a one trick anp. Ive also had SE, Powerball, Blackmore, Invader 1 and 2 and a couple others I cant remember atm.

Yes, the inferno is great. Imo it’s like a better version of what the fireball is going for and better lead tones as well. That and the SE EL34 are my 2 favorite Engl’s. The Artist was cool too and probably my next favorite. Great upper mid grind on it, kinda like a Marshall in that regard and less compressed than other Engls

 

[the4thlast1]

Maybe owning more than one ENGL is the answer if you want multiple tones and like the ENGL sound. Modding the pb2 prob wont get what you want. Are you wanting other clean and breakup tones that the fireball doesnt do ?

The Savage, Artist or Retro are some other good ones, the inferno looks interesting too . Ive had the Fireball 100 and also like it, its one of the better ones for sure. But is somewhat of a one trick anp. Ive also had SE, Powerball, Blackmore, Invader 1 and 2 and a couple others I cant remember atm.

Yes, the inferno is great. Imo it’s like a better version of what the fireball is going for and better lead tones as well. That and the SE EL34 are my 2 favorite Engl’s. The Artist was cool too and probably my next favorite. Great upper mid grind on it, kinda like a Marshall in that regard and less compressed than other Engls

Cool, I'm really interested in the Inferno. I like how the Artist is not as compressed as most ENGLs it's not as modern metal sounding as the fireball 100 though, but is more versatile. Is the Inferno like a mix of the two or its more like a tweaked version of the fireball 100 ?

 

[braintheory]

Maybe owning more than one ENGL is the answer if you want multiple tones and like the ENGL sound. Modding the pb2 prob wont get what you want. Are you wanting other clean and breakup tones that the fireball doesnt do ?

The Savage, Artist or Retro are some other good ones, the inferno looks interesting too . Ive had the Fireball 100 and also like it, its one of the better ones for sure. But is somewhat of a one trick anp. Ive also had SE, Powerball, Blackmore, Invader 1 and 2 and a couple others I cant remember atm.

Yes, the inferno is great. Imo it’s like a better version of what the fireball is going for and better lead tones as well. That and the SE EL34 are my 2 favorite Engl’s. The Artist was cool too and probably my next favorite. Great upper mid grind on it, kinda like a Marshall in that regard and less compressed than other Engls

Cool, I'm really interested in the Inferno. I like how the Artist is not as compressed as most ENGLs it's not as modern metal sounding as the fireball 100 though, but is more versatile. Is the Inferno like a mix of the two or its more like a tweaked version of the fireball 100 ?

It’s been a while and I never had the 2 side by side, but from I remember it was more like a fireball, but quite a bit better. I don’t remember it being like the Artist. It had more of that lower mid throaty growl vs the Artist’s upper mid growl and I think it was more compressed than the Artist from what I remember

I remember the clean channel of the Inferno also being better than most Engl’s. Nothing to write home about still compared to amps that truly have great cleans like a blackface amp, but quite good still for a high gain amp. Honestly I got rid of both the Artist and Inferno because I felt my Cameron modded Marshall’s I owned at the time greatly outclassed them (as well as many many more amps that got sent packing from them), but they were still cool amps

 

[MrFlexx]

I can't really agree that the Fireball 100 is a one trick pony. Maybe at first try. But if you really take the time to learn it, you can get almost any tone out of it. The Fireball needs to be dialed in with the ears instead of with the eyes. And also start with the gain set really low.

When it comes to ENGL's I've also owned the Retro 100 and the Powerball II. Both amps sounds great in their own way. But I must admit the Retro 100 was my favorite of the two beside of the clean channel. Amazing amp that also can get tons of different tones. I felt it took longer time to learn to dial in right though.

I've never had the chance of trying the Inferno. But I'm a bit "allergic" to signature gear. A bit stupid, I know...but signature gear just don't cut it for me.

I've also tried the Artist 50, but didn't have the time to dial it in right. Therefore I got mixed feelings about it. I felt it was very fuzzy with the extra gain activated. But then again, I didn't have the time to dial it in properly.

I've never tried neither of those Invader's. I've had my eyes on the Invader 2 with the extra modules for a while, but don't have the chance to try before buy...and that's what's holding me back. How would you describe both Invader's compared to each other and the other ENGL's?

There's a guy selling a Engl E670 6L6 SE some 100km from me. What do you guys think of that one? How would you describe it and compare it to the other ENGL's? Is it reliable with its tons of feature?

All input are more than welcome

 

[WarHed]

Yes the two amp circuits are very similar, you could mod either PB lead channels easily into a FB without affecting the clean and crunch channels either.
However the pcb is pretty tight and not very friendly to work on so some care would be needed.

 

[MrFlexx]

Yes the two amp circuits are very similar, you could mod either PB lead channels easily into a FB without affecting the clean and crunch channels either.
However the pcb is pretty tight and not very friendly to work on so some care would be needed.

Nice. You know how to do it? I have an amp tech that will do it for me if he only know what to do.

 

[WarHed]

Just get the schematics for both amps in front of your tech and he will understand what to do.

 

[MrFlexx]

Just get the schematics for both amps in front of your tech and he will understand what to do.

Just talked to him and he already have the schematic for the Powerball II but not for the Fireball 100. You know where to find it? I tried Google it but can't find it anywhere.

 

[WarHed]

[No message]

 

[MrFlexx]

Thx

Is this the Fireball 100 schematic?
Asking because it only says Fireball on the title.

 

[WarHed]

Ah no it's the 60W one as it doesnt have the midboost switch thing if that matters. Your amp builder guy would be able to add something comparable no doubt. I'm not sure how you would add a switch for that into the PB anyway? Unless the midboost is a tone stack mod, in which case the PB has a switchable tone stack values anyway which you could mess with.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

There's a guy selling a Engl E670 6L6 SE some 100km from me. What do you guys think of that one? How would you describe it and compare it to the other ENGL's? Is it reliable with its tons of feature?

All input are more than welcome

Go check out the SE 6L6 E670. It will make you forget about modifying your Fireball. It will do everything you need. And it is about as modern metal as it gets. You get 2 heavy/lead channels... not 1 as found in most other multi-channel amps. I've owned both the Fireball and SE... greatly preferred the SE. Not that the FB100 is bad... just limited by design as far as options go.