Powerball

[Gitfiddler]

Is it a one-trick nu metal pony or can it do hairband and lower-gain sounds as well?

 

[fearhk213]

Not a one trick pony at all. IMO it is a very versatile amp. Great bang for the buck amp, especially if you buy used. Changing the stock tubes takes it to another level too.

 

[goldwing68nv]

+1 on the Powerball...imo,the best ENGL out there without all the excessive "whistles & bells".it pretty much cant be beat for super-high gain!!!......

 

[mrp5150]

I don't like the Powerball at all. The Blackmore kills it IMO.

 

[mrp5150]

+1 on the Powerball...imo,the best ENGL out there without all the excessive "whistles & bells".it pretty much cant be beat for super-high gain!!!......

Dude it has 4 channels, 18 knobs, and 7 switches on the front...how is that not "excessive whistles & bells?"

 

[RedB4Black]

+1 on the Powerball...imo,the best ENGL out there without all the excessive "whistles & bells".it pretty much cant be beat for super-high gain!!!......

Dude it has 4 channels, 18 knobs, and 7 switches on the front...how is that not "excessive whistles & bells?"

That's simplistic compared to the SE.

 

[Gainfreak]

The powerball is a great amp and can do exactly what you want. With that said, I find that the Powerball can get more of a classic rock/ 80's sound when you use it through an h30 loaded or greenback loaded cab. The higher the wattage is on the speakers the more processed the sound gets IMHO.

 

[D-Rock]

I don't like the Powerball at all. The Blackmore kills it IMO.

I agree. I also like the Fireball better than the Powerball too.

 

[Dimebag11]

I don't like the Powerball at all. The Blackmore kills it IMO.

I agree. I also like the Fireball better than the Powerball too.

I agree with both you and Mark.

 

[Gitfiddler]

i completely forgot about the powerball until i saw this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJq0MsAJ-TQ

i listened to jb's blackmore clips and gainfreak's powerball clip last night and feel some gas percolating

 

[goldwing68nv]

+1 on the Powerball...imo,the best ENGL out there without all the excessive "whistles & bells".it pretty much cant be beat for super-high gain!!!......

Dude it has 4 channels, 18 knobs, and 7 switches on the front...how is that not "excessive whistles & bells?"

That's simplistic compared to the SE.

BINGO!!! ...the SE is basically what i was comparing it to...the Powerball has separate e.q.s for each of the clean & dirty channels,where the Fireball does not.other than those respective knobs,as far as "whistles & bells" are concerned,the Powerball has two addtl features that the Fireball could use,imo.the DENSITY knob & the MIDS-SHIFT knob.those are two great features.i had a Fireball,a few years ago,and it needed more bottom end AND for "leads",it pretty much sucked(this is why i sold it after 2 weeks)! it's a death-metal "rhythm" amp mostly.the Powerball does ALL that & excels at thick,smooth,tight,focused "leads"... the SE has way more "whistles & bells" than is REALLY needed,for most players.so,in comparison,pricewise,the Powerball is BEST......on a separate note,the Blackmore is a good amp,but is "voiced" more for 80's rock/metal(naturally,though)!!! so,it all depends on what style of music you'll be playing...

 

[mrp5150]

I don't think the Blackmore is voiced for 80's rock at all. It excels in low tunings and for modern tones IMO. There isn't anything I'd pick the Powerball over the Blackmore for to be honest. Maybe a solid state sounding brutal death metal tone if anything.

 

[goldwing68nv]

actually,i think most guys would agree that the Blackmore IS voiced for hard rock/metal.that's why it was "tailored",tone-wise,for Richie Blackmore...if i wanted a "great-sounding" amp that i was primararily using for rock/metal,i sure would be be looking at something OTHER than an ENGL.that's why most guys get ENGL's for speed/thrash/death/doom metal.THIS is what they excel at...but,to each their own,man...that's why there's a million amps to choose from!

 

[saxxamafone]

there's nothing vintange sounding about the BM... BUT it is more 'vintage' sounding than the PB and FB

if that makes sense

 

[White_Van]

Maybe check out the new Steve Morse sig too.

 

[gibson5413]

I owned a Powerball and thought it was a great amp. I wouldn't call it a one trick pony. What I will say is that it excels at your modern sounding metal with its inherent scooped tone and huge low end. I spent most of my time on Channel 3 and would never push the gain above 11:00 (o'clock). I would vacillate between Open and Focus in terms of mids. Although it is more than a one trick pony I wouldn't say that it excels at your mid gain applications. In fact Channel 2 is lifeless to my ears. The clean is a tad sterile but that isn't bad when you are occasionally using Channel 1 (most metal players use the clean sparingly anyways). Not every music genre needs to have a Fender style clean (overused label for clean IMO).

I say try one out if you can. I thought it was a great amp although I would just assume save some additional cash and pony up for the SE. I liked that so much better because of all the tone shaping options and the EL34 power section.

 

[Digital Jams]

I owned a Powerball and thought it was a great amp. I wouldn't call it a one trick pony. What I will say is that it excels at your modern sounding metal with its inherent scooped tone and huge low end. I spent most of my time on Channel 3 and would never push the gain above 11:00 (o'clock). I would vacillate between Open and Focus in terms of mids. Although it is more than a one trick pony I wouldn't say that it excels at your mid gain applications. In fact Channel 2 is lifeless to my ears. The clean is a tad sterile but that isn't bad when you are occasionally using Channel 1 (most metal players use the clean sparingly anyways). Not every music genre needs to have a Fender style clean (overused label for clean IMO).

I say try one out if you can. I thought it was a great amp although I would just assume save some additional cash and pony up for the SE. I liked that so much better because of all the tone shaping options and the EL34 power section.

I spent some time with Ralph's old Powerball through his rig and I thought it sounded great, he really had it dialed in great for what most of us dig. I really wanted a PB for awhile for that industrial heavy scooped sound but the JVM covers that now anyways.

Cool amp and agree that H30s really make that amp sound great.

 

[LordOVchaoS]

I've owned a Powerball, Invader 100, and I am now the proud owner of an SE.

The SE can do any tone ever thought of IMO but I'll be the first to admit the features are excessive. If you want the most versatile amp ever built and you have a lot of money then I say go for it Buy used, fuck the $4000 new price tag

I borrowed a Fireball for a while and I flat out hated it. It sounded like a thinned out Powerball with an annoying mid spike and no bass. Leads sound like shit and the louder you crank it the thinner it gets.

The Powerball is a GREAT amp that can do a lot of things. It's better at death metal than anything else but it can do lower gain tones and sound good doing it. 99% of the Powerball hate you hear on forums is pure intarwebzzz bullshit. It's extremely versatile and very easy to dial in.

The Invader 100 is on another level of versatility that's only rivaled by the SE. It's kind of like the opposite of the Powerball. It can do death metal but it does 80's and thrash better than any other Engl offering. The dynamics in this amp with a good set of tubes almost make it sound like you have a mild chorus on.

The Blackmore sounds a lot like a 5150 IMO. I don't like 5150's so I won't give you my thoughts on it.

 

[j666]

The Blackmore sounds a lot like a 5150 IMO.

which is why mark wants to seks it!

seriously, go play on one. i've only played one once, loved it and would love to do it again. remember, some of the peeps here have owned 'em but they've only owned 'em for a short amount of time so how can they really tell you what it does? you gotta play one yourself to truly see if it can do what you want it to do.

 

[goldwing68nv]

I've owned a Powerball, Invader 100, and I am now the proud owner of an SE.

The SE can do any tone ever thought of IMO but I'll be the first to admit the features are excessive. If you want the most versatile amp ever built and you have a lot of money then I say go for it Buy used, fuck the $4000 new price tag

I borrowed a Fireball for a while and I flat out hated it. It sounded like a thinned out Powerball with an annoying mid spike and no bass. Leads sound like shit and the louder you crank it the thinner it gets.

The Powerball is a GREAT amp that can do a lot of things. It's better at death metal than anything else but it can do lower gain tones and sound good doing it. 99% of the Powerball hate you hear on forums is pure intarwebzzz bullshit. It's extremely versatile and very easy to dial in.

The Invader 100 is on another level of versatility that's only rivaled by the SE. It's kind of like the opposite of the Powerball. It can do death metal but it does 80's and thrash better than any other Engl offering. The dynamics in this amp with a good set of tubes almost make it sound like you have a mild chorus on.

The Blackmore sounds a lot like a 5150 IMO. I don't like 5150's so I won't give you my thoughts on it.

+1...just further clarification of what i was saying before!!! ...for the money,POWERBALL,baby!!!