Engl Fireball 100

[braintheory]

Have any of you tried this amp?  I got to play it briefly at low volumes and I did not like it at all.  It sounded incredibly muffled, compressed, and oversaturated.  I'm sure it sounds better at high volumes.  Some people go crazy about this amp and that is why I am asking.  Is this amp as good as the Engl Savage?  The Engl Savage is one of the best high gain amps I ever played.

[Alex]

You can't judge a 100Watt amp from using it at very low volumes, seriously, that's like cruising in a Porsche below 40mph and wondering what the hype is all about.

[Telerocker]

I read that a lot of Engl-addicts like the Fireball (60 in this case) better than the Powerball. But as Alex says, it is hard to judge an 100 watt tubeamp on low volumes. My Orange Rockerverb sounds like cardboard on really low volumes. Have to cranck the master till 12.00 hour to get the massive dynamic Orange-drive. A a good attenuator will help to get those sounds at low volumes.

[dave_mc]

I haven't tried the fireball 100, but I didn't really like the fireball 60 (to be fair, though, the lack of versatility was the main thing I disliked). Granted that was at pretty low volumes, but yeah. I haven't tried the savage, but I've got a savage se, and it's very nice indeed.

EDIT: engls sound pretty good at low volumes. As long as you're not playing one at tv whisper volume, you can get a fair idea of what it's like, if you ask me.

[Mr. Air]

I think I tried a Fireball 100 a month ago or so. Can't really remember if it was the Fireball though.

I only played it at lowish levels but I didn't like it at all. The clean channels was ok, but the gain channel surely isn't my cup og tea. The gain tone is fizzy and metalic to me and reminds me of a 5150. Not a tone i dig at all!

[MDV]

There are nearly as many opinions on engls as people that have tried them.

If you didnt like it you didnt like it.

The only moderately usefull thing I can add is daves right, imo - you can expect an engl played at modest volume to be a fair representation of how it sounds at pretty much any volume. Even very quiet they arent that bad. Its not a night and day difference from 'loud-ish hi fi' volume (say 85db) through to the most it can kick out (I've clocked my PB at 118db, albeit in a confined space) like most marshalls or VHTs or 5150s or whatever.

[dave_mc]

yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong, if mine's anything to go by, it does sound better up loud, but it still sounds good at lower volumes, while a lot of other amps don't (or at least not as good).

EDIT: and yeah I'd agree that engls are a bit love or hate- though you need to try the one which is suited to the stuff you're playing, too. As I said, I didn't really like the fireball.

[FloydeIOM]

Yeah you really got to try the amp at gigging level to judge if you like it or not.. If you want an amp to sound good at low volumes then you need a power breaker of some description (Marshall, THD etc) or an amp that cuts the power like the Backstar Series one that runs at 10 watt or 100watt.

A 100 watt head is designed to sound good when played loud.

[dave_mc]

I dunno if I agree with that.  A lot of the 100 watters are high-gainers- a lot of the tone is in the preamp, and the high wattage is there for headroom, as (in my experience) power tube overdrive (or too much, anyway) just muddies things up, which you don't want when you're playing with high gain.

Plus I mean 10 watts is really, really loud too. You're not cranking that in a low volume situation either.

EDIT: Don't get me wrong, even with Engls they sound better turned up, but the kind of volume you have to get them to before they start sounding really good is not *that* loud... certainly a lot lower than a 10, or even 5, watter cranked would be.

EDIT #2: And I'm not saying you're doing this (you're not), but don't get me started on people who recommend vintage-voiced amps which are a lower wattage over a high-gain, high-wattage amp for people who need high gain :lol:

[asianaxeman]

my fireball 60 played reasonably loud throught a 2x12. the zoom q3 built in compressor is excellent so no mic distortion./ overloading

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN2vcwTt9sQ

[Dizz]

a mate of mine used a Fireball 60 back in the day. Was playing stuff similar to swedish thrash (it was the start of the century). He loved it at first but got over it real fast. The amp is a one-trick pony. No matter what you do with the eq, it will always sound the same. Plus the gain max's out at about 4 and anything past that is over-saturation.

I've owned a Ritchie Blackmore sig head for 5 years and will never get rid of it. The gain on the Hi-Lead setting is more gradual than the Fireball, and allows you to get a great mute sound without over-saturating the tone. And if you want that mega-shred sound you can get it if you dial the gain past 7, and for the most part will retain a very hot vintage gain that the Fireball/Powerball can't do.

[Zaned]

a mate of mine used a Fireball 60 back in the day. Was playing stuff similar to swedish thrash (it was the start of the century). He loved it at first but got over it real fast. The amp is a one-trick pony. No matter what you do with the eq, it will always sound the same. Plus the gain max's out at about 4 and anything past that is over-saturation.

I've owned a Ritchie Blackmore sig head for 5 years and will never get rid of it. The gain on the Hi-Lead setting is more gradual than the Fireball, and allows you to get a great mute sound without over-saturating the tone. And if you want that mega-shred sound you can get it if you dial the gain past 7, and for the most part will retain a very hot vintage gain that the Fireball/Powerball can't do.

Ah, a fellow Blackmore owner  8) Great amp! I use Lo-Lead most of the time, it has a different attack and the mids feel rawer for me.

[Dizz]

Ah, a fellow Blackmore owner  8) Great amp! I use Lo-Lead most of the time, it has a different attack and the mids feel rawer for me.

I know a few dudes who use the Lo-Lead channel on their ritchies (it's a bit of a club haha), and they all play propagandi and (old) Strike Anywhere style punk-rock.

I will go on record (check out Mr 3 posts "goin on record" haha) and say the RB Hi-Lead channel is one of THE most underrated shred amps around!!

[JacksonRR]

I don't mean to be rude to ENGL fans, but I really haven't found a tone in them that you can't get with a 5150/6505. I took the dive and ended up selling my Fireball off and keeping the 5150. I wanted to be supercool, but it just didn't happen... All in all they are good amps, but if you want a balls out amp, just get a used 5150. They don't cost that much and all the popular mods one can do to them are well documented and easy as all hell. Everything on the FJA site, I've done to mine and I'm no super rocket scientist.

[Dizz]

The 5150 def has a solid sound. I can normally pick it on a recording, and always live even if I'm not watching the band. But in contrast, that's what I like about the Ritchie Blackmore. I've recorded with it and have had people ask "what amp is that??" It's tone might not be as much of a trademark sound as the 5150, but in the same respect that's what makes it so good. To each player; their own sound.