ENGL Fireball 100 VS Special Edition

[oceanrose]

Hey there fellas! So i have been in quite a dilemma lately. I currently own an ENGL Special Edition with the 6L6 tubes, and although it is a great amp with tons of useful features, i am finding that this amp is too much for me and that i am getting bored of its tone. I normally play death metal and find that this amp has a tone that is a bit too smooth, and although it can get uber aggressive, i find that the voicing is not what i am really after. I have tried the numerous settings and modes on the amp but am thinking that i would be better off with a darker and more gritty sounding amp. I often like to boost my amps with a maxon 808 due to the feel that it gives, as well as to tighten up the bass and boost the mids abit. However, i find that the Special Edition does not take boosts too well.

With this being said, i am considering selling the Special Edition due to financial situations and picking up a Fireball 100 instead. For those of you who have tried both amps, do you think the Fireball 100 would be a better option to try out? I rarely use all channels and features and am trying to go for the modern death metal tone such as those from bands like Thy Art Is Murder, Rivers of Nihil, Ingested, etc.

Please let me know what you think!

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I had both the SE EL34 and FB100 side to side for a few years. And if anything, the FB100 is a bit darker sounding, but it is even smoother sounding than the SE. So I don't think that will help. Overall Engls don't like do boost pedals in general.

If you want darker, and like to boost, look into a Mesa Dual/Triple MultiWatt Recto or Bogner Uberschall Blue. Both are darker, more gritty, growly... and take a boost well.

Also looking at your settings... try turning the presence up to 1-3:00pm... and turn up the global MV. You have it really low... like TV volume... and this amp starts to open up at around 10-11:00am.

 

[oceanrose]

I had both the SE EL34 and FB100 side to side for a few years. And if anything, the FB100 is a bit darker sounding, but it is even smoother sounding than the SE. So I don't think that will help. Overall Engls don't like do boost pedals in general.

If you want darker, and like to boost, look into a Mesa Dual/Triple MultiWatt Recto or Bogner Uberschall Blue. Both are darker, more gritty, growly... and take a boost well.

Also looking at your settings... try turning the presence up to 1-3:00pm... and turn up the global MV. You have it really low... like TV volume... and this amp starts to open up at around 10-11:00am.

Hey there Wizard of Oz! Thanks for replying! I was actually hoping you would chime in on this topic given that i have relied quite a bit on your posts on forums concerning ENGL amps, as well as knowing you have owned both before. With this being said, could you please let me know how different the two are in terms of frequency response and tone? I am interested to hear about the amount of low end, which one has a more brutal voicing, as well as the midrange texture? Btw those settings were taken a long time ago when i recently got it so i have since explored some of the settings much more. Also, in your opinion, do you think the SE is worth keeping?

Where i live i cannot try the amps before buying so hearing sound clips on youtube and asking advice from those who have owned the amps before are some factors i have to base my decision upon. Again, thanks for the input and i look forward to hearing from you!

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

Hey there Wizard of Oz! Thanks for replying! I was actually hoping you would chime in on this topic given that i have relied quite a bit on your posts on forums concerning ENGL amps, as well as knowing you have owned both before. With this being said, could you please let me know how different the two are in terms of frequency response and tone? I am interested to hear about the amount of low end, which one has a more brutal voicing, as well as the midrange texture? Btw those settings were taken a long time ago when i recently got it so i have since explored some of the settings much more. Also, in your opinion, do you think the SE is worth keeping?

Where i live i cannot try the amps before buying so hearing sound clips on youtube and asking advice from those who have owned the amps before are some factors i have to base my decision upon. Again, thanks for the input and i look forward to hearing from you!

The FB100 is a much darker sounding amp... more low mids. It's warmer sounding and more low-end than the SE... without engaging the depth boost or mega-low punch. The SE with the depth boost and/or mega-low punch has more low end chug to it. I rarely use these options. The FB100 is also more scooped sounding w/o the mid-boost on... which I never used, as I didn't like the sound with it on. I personally would never, ever give up a SE in favor of a FB100. No way. You are giving up a Lamborghini for a Toyota. The Toyota is nice and reliable... but I doubt any one would swap one for the other.

As far as most brutal... I like the SE more as it has more cut, more slice and dice in the high-mids... it's way more versatile as you know. It cuts much better than the FB100. And is much louder overall. As you've probably discovered. The FB100 has only 1 main voicing. Like it or not. Its a nice amp, but not compared to the SE.

If you really like the sound of a darker amp... which the main Engl sound is not built around... the Bogner Uberschall Blue or Mesa Triple Rectifier would be the best options there. I own both of these amps, and boost them with either a Maxon OD9 or Airis SD and either one will do the sound you are after.

I'd recommend giving the SE a final try... maybe some different settings. Then cut it loose and get an Uber or Triple Recto and boost. Remember, with the SE, that the Lead 2 channel is the darker thicker rhythm channel... so that would be where I'd start with the presence at around 1:00... with the Bass: 1:00, Mids: 10:00, Treble: 1:00, Gain: 1:00 and go from there. More volume the better.

 

[oceanrose]

The FB100 is a much darker sounding amp... more low mids. It's warmer sounding and more low-end than the SE... without engaging the depth boost or mega-low punch. The SE with the depth boost and/or mega-low punch has more low end chug to it. I rarely use these options. The FB100 is also more scooped sounding w/o the mid-boost on... which I never used, as I didn't like the sound with it on. I personally would never, ever give up a SE in favor of a FB100. No way. You are giving up a Lamborghini for a Toyota. The Toyota is nice and reliable... but I doubt any one would swap one for the other.

As far as most brutal... I like the SE more as it has more cut, more slice and dice in the high-mids... it's way more versatile as you know. It cuts much better than the FB100. And is much louder overall. As you've probably discovered. The FB100 has only 1 main voicing. Like it or not. Its a nice amp, but not compared to the SE.

If you really like the sound of a darker amp... which the main Engl sound is not built around... the Bogner Uberschall Blue or Mesa Triple Rectifier would be the best options there. I own both of these amps, and boost them with either a Maxon OD9 or Airis SD and either one will do the sound you are after.

I'd recommend giving the SE a final try... maybe some different settings. Then cut it loose and get an Uber or Triple Recto and boost. Remember, with the SE, that the Lead 2 channel is the darker thicker rhythm channel... so that would be where I'd start with the presence at around 1:00... with the Bass: 1:00, Mids: 10:00, Treble: 1:00, Gain: 1:00 and go from there. More volume the better.

Im going to take your advice and spend a little more time with the SE. Through listening to many of the youtube clips, the Fireball sounds thinner and more boxy in comparison to the SE. I know this could be due to the clips being recorded through camera mics but i dont think its worth to take the risk at this moment. In the meantime ill do more research on the Bogner, and any other recommendations from anyone else is appreciated.

 

[DanielLunardi]

Hey fellas !

I am a 34 year old brazilian guitarist, and i own a Engl Special Edition too. RIght now the beast is running with JJ kt77, and the tone is huge. But i am experiencing a issue.

Sometimes , during playing, the volume falls down, like if some "ghosts" turning the volume knob, it is really strange... I think it has something to do with the LOOP.. anyone know anything about it? doesn't happen very often, but i can´t play with it in shows or live gigs... :-(

Please if anyone of you know someone or have experienced this problem, please let me know.. i will try to do a video about it.. thanks!

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

Hey fellas !

I am a 34 year old brazilian guitarist, and i own a Engl Special Edition too. RIght now the beast is running with JJ kt77, and the tone is huge. But i am experiencing a issue.

Sometimes , during playing, the volume falls down, like if some "ghosts" turning the volume knob, it is really strange... I think it has something to do with the LOOP.. anyone know anything about it? doesn't happen very often, but i can´t play with it in shows or live gigs... :-(

Please if anyone of you know someone or have experienced this problem, please let me know.. i will try to do a video about it.. thanks!

Could be power tubes... or dirty fx loop jacks. You can try spraying some contact cleaner like Caig Pro Gold on the end of an instrument plug and insert/remove it a few times to see if that fixes the issues. Intermittent issues can be harder to track down the cause.

 

[DanielLunardi]

Thank you for the reply Wizard... when the problem appear, i was running it with a quad of EL34.. i changed to kt77 but no result.. i think could be the loop too.

 

[jllozano]

Try contact cleaner in the loop sockets

 

[MetalHead40]

Hey fellas !

I am a 34 year old brazilian guitarist, and i own a Engl Special Edition too. RIght now the beast is running with JJ kt77, and the tone is huge. But i am experiencing a issue.

Sometimes , during playing, the volume falls down, like if some "ghosts" turning the volume knob, it is really strange... I think it has something to do with the LOOP.. anyone know anything about it? doesn't happen very often, but i can´t play with it in shows or live gigs... :-(

Please if anyone of you know someone or have experienced this problem, please let me know.. i will try to do a video about it.. thanks!

The 6505+ I played at GC recently did the same thing. I had nothing in the loop so my guess is a wonky power tube.

 

[MetalHead40]

I found recently since picking up a new cab (EVH 412) that the FB100 can go either way regarding boosting. The last two years I've owned mine, it sounded better clean boosted w/ my TS9 through a Whitebox G12K-100 loaded 2x12. However, I just played it through my new EVH 412 and it actually sounds better un-boosted through that cab.

 

[maliciousteve]

I had the same problem when I owned the Powerball. A good tip I found was to use an EQ pedal in the FX loop. This really helps get a gritty tone.