Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Nadz1lla on February 13, 2008, 08:25:14 PM
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I have a big decision to make...
I am going to buy a proper amp this year, Head and Cab monster. So far, I have tried all the amps in my local Axery and the only one that really impresses me is the Randall V2. The EQ on it is superb and I can get pretty much the right tone out of it.
BUT....
They don't stock Engl and nor does anyone else in the area, so I need to know if there is anyone here who owns an Engl Powerball in the East Devon area. I'm looking to try one out soon and I'll of course pay you in beer for the opportunity to finally make my mind up.
Basically it's down to between the Randall which I have played to death in my local, or the potentially mindblowing awesomeness of the Powerball which I don't want to order and be disappointed by.
Any ideas?
I have listened to countless soundclips online, and so far I'm very impressed, but it's not really the same as plugging in to the real thing.
Cheers in advance for any info! :wink:
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sorry cannot help in the trying out the Engl but was going to update myself this year too. Originally was looking at the Randall v2 as well & the Engl Fireball. (Powerball is a little too much)
Originally my only worry was the 50w Engl compared to the 400w Randall in terms of volume.
Clips i have heard though lean me towrds the Engl, severed a tendon recently so cannot play at the moment, but would be interested to hear what you go for in the end. Randall dealer near me so will be trying one of the V2's soon, London is nearest places for me to goto so that i can try an Engl out. Hopefull have the hand ready in a month or so so i can play again.
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Not sure if this is of any use but M&M Music in Southampton ( www.theguitarstoreonline.com ) have become Engl dealers quite recently, and Southampton is not too far from you.
Alan
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Not sure if this is of any use but M&M Music in Southampton ( www.theguitarstoreonline.com ) have become Engl dealers quite recently, and Southampton is not too far from you.
Alan
thats handy to know...cannot see them on their website but maybe they are still updating it.
cheers :)
Sorry Nadz1lla for the slight thread hi-jack 8)
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Not at all, this is all good! Southampton may be doable for me if I can't find anyone nearer, either that or I'll wait until my girl has some work up London way and just do it then....
As for the Randall, Jules, it's an awesome amp! Some of the clips I've found online really don't do it justice. I tried it with my Bareknuckle loaded Warlock and also tried it with a really cheap £150 axe with stock hummers in it to see how the amp made it sound. Good results on both counts really.
That extra EQ makes a massive difference, but the overall sound of the amp is pretty special. Plus it looks like the front grille of a muscle car too, which is awesome! :wink:
I think I'm going to do the wise thing and really hold out for an opportunity to put the Engl through its paces physically.
Oh and cheers Hamfist for the link! :D
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Where abouts in East Devon are you precisely? I know that Rock Solid in Totnes has a Powerball in the shop, but it's plugged through an ENGL vertical 2x12, and ENGL cabs were always what put me off ENGL amps.
And Jules, the 50 Watt Screamer is easily going to be loud enough for any gig setting where you're not going to be going through the PA anyway, who the hell would ever need 400 Watts? Haha.
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I'm in Exeter, so Totnes is pretty easy for me to get to. Cheers for that!
I heard someone say that the only way to play an Engl amp was through an Engl cab, heh. What I was originally going to do was buy the head and have a bit left over for a cab, but take the head to all the Axe shops and try it through all different cabs.
I know when I tried the Randall that first time I tried it was through a pretty ancient, ropey looking Marshall cab, and it sounded great. Then I tried it through the EVH cab and it wasn't quite as nice.
This is going to be a long and meticulous process, heh! :lol:
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Well the ENGL cabs are fine, I'm just very picky about that kind of thing.
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yeah, the engl cabs are very "clear" or "hi-fi" for want of a better term. great for high gain, as they're very tight. but i could understand why some people might not like them.
i run my engl through a laney tt cab, no problems that i can see... :)
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PeteyG, you're a life saver, just been on their site and it looks like they are pretty much the main dealer in the area for Engl.
So, I'm going to drop my Lady off at the Zoo with her friends for the day and take my other lady to Rock Solid and plug her in, heh! :lol:
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I'll add that the best sounding Powerball I've heard was through an Orange 4x12. Then again, I am an Orange cab fanboy..
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PeteyG, you're a life saver, just been on their site and it looks like they are pretty much the main dealer in the area for Engl.
So, I'm going to drop my Lady off at the Zoo with her friends for the day and take my other lady to Rock Solid and plug her in, heh! :lol:
let me know how you get on....gonna be a while before i can play again so feedback and sound bites from peeps is the next best thing :)
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No probs! When I have my rig fully up and running the first thing I'll do is Mic it all up and put a clip here, heh. :wink:
Won't be for a little while yet though.
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With my Powerball, I have an ENGL 4x12 but it's been so raped live (canvas wise) I now use an old Peavey 4x12 cab that once belonged to Poison for a brief period... seriously!
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I now use an old Peavey 4x12 cab that once belonged to Poison for a brief period... seriously!
8) cool 8)
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With my Powerball, I have an ENGL 4x12 but it's been so raped live (canvas wise)
Does it still sound good though? Physical appearance isn't something I'd be worried about after I've gigged it for a while, only sound quality, heh.
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With my Powerball, I have an ENGL 4x12 but it's been so raped live (canvas wise)
Does it still sound good though? Physical appearance isn't something I'd be worried about after I've gigged it for a while, only sound quality, heh.
I think you'll find, of all cabs - Engls are nigh on indestructible.
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Good good, heh. I had heard they were build like Tanks. :D
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my bandmate just built his first tube head
ENGL Fireball preamp section with 100w Soldano SLO100 style power amp with big transformers, depth control and external bias
soundclip here:
http://www.soundclick.com/zambelli
pics:
http://www.deanguitars.tv/userpics/lib9/zambelli6.jpg
http://www.deanguitars.tv/userpics/lib9/zambelli7.jpg
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If you like the V2 and you know how it sounds, get that. The Powerball might not be your thing, listen with your ears not opinions from people on a forum. I've done that before and ended up regretting it.
For cabs, what about Orange? They're built like tanks and sound pretty cool.
Could also look into Matamp cabs (about the same price as an Orange).
Not a fan of ENGL cabs personally, I think they make amps sound a bit tinny and harsh in the high end.
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Yeah I'm popping down there tomorrow with my axe to plug her in and see how much of a beasting I can conjure up with the Engl, heh. Should be a fun day out! :)
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Okay, I took a trip down to Rocksolid today...
I am in love!
The Engl Powerball is my target, it's a beast! They put me in a sound-proofed room out the back and let me crank it up and I have to say I have never been so impressed by an amp. I found the exact sound I was after within 10 minutes of knob-touching (heh), plus I hadn't turned the gain up very high, so there is plenty of room to go amazingly extreme if I wanted to later on.
Truly, the Powerball is a force to be reckoned with. I'm going to get saving the last half of the money I need and they also said they'd try and match the Thomann price too, yay! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Nailbomb + Powerball = Blew my nucking futs off! :shock: :lol:
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Its an AWESOME amp and the cabs are awesome too.
Hope you enjoy how awesome it really is! :D
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Oh I will, hehe. I just a) have to save up the rest and b) convince my fiancee that I really REALLY need it, despite that we need to save up for our wedding next year, lol.
I am willing to live on Tesco Value beans in exchange for this amp, it's THAT good!