So how good is ENGL Blackmore for metal?

[Vinchester]

Dear SS.org forumites,

I'll will buy an amp soon, and it's gonna to be either the Blackmore or Fireball 100. I tried the Fireball 100 once and was very impressed at how well it does metal (surprise) But recently I found out that the Blackmore is about the same price as well and my metulz friend who owns a FB 60 strongly recommends it for its versatility, and the assumption that it has more than enough gain on tap for modern metal as well.

I play 90s metal primarily but love to play power ballads and clean tones. I don't play classic rock. I don't play Djent (sorry folks!). I plan to buy a 7-string soon to play all the B-standard goodies (Amon Amarth). I have been doing covers but am trying to write/record my instrumental project. Since I'm going to be playing lots of lead stuff (no vocal in my songs) so I appreciate the versatility the Blackmore has. I don't have any other amp other than my Blackstar HT-5 so I want the next amp to cover all my desired tones.

here are some of the sounds I like :

obviously not very high gain and sounds very open. I love this kind of expressive distorted tone. Can't wait to play it on my Eclipse


This vid alone almost sold the amp to me Ola said that this Blackmore is modded. I don't know if it'd sound this thick/brutal when I double-track the guitar? I know Ola kind of sound the same whatever amp he uses though haha.


This is about as much brutal as I'd ever want. Can the Blackmore do this?


I'm a BIG fan of Iced Earth's HUGE sound. Got the Icebucker pup in my guitar and training my right hand for the gallop riff lol. I don't know about the Larry amp Schaffer uses, but he isn't a modern hi-gain player so I guess the Blackmore should be able to do it?


TL;DR version; I am impressed by the classy versatile Blackmore but am not sure if it does high-gain very well. The amp obviously doesn't have the same thickness/punch as the Fireball, but I don't know if the latter covers as much ground as I like.

Sorry for my stupid questions, I'm a total noob at big amps! I'd appreciate any input. But please don't recommend Peavey/Mesa because they are overpriced as fuck in my country. Also rule out Blackstar because I tried the Series One 100 and didn't like them.

 

[WolleK]

As an ex owner of this amp i think these are good examples of how versitale this amp can be (Love Ola´s vid but always sound to me like a lot of post eq etc..)

Test by musik schmidt (always good tone demos)


with boost


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x-prdhcM1c&feature=related

Listen to the death/iced earth song i think a blackmore nail it better than a fireball (just know the fireball 60, had it for about 6 months)

 

[WolleK]

 

[evilsaint]

As an ex-Blackmore owner here, I'd highly suggest you to get the Fireball for modern metal.

 

[Pedrojoca]

If you want the same kind of sound on the 1st vid, aswell as brutal distortion get the Blackmore, if you're aiming for a modern metal kind of sound go with the fireball

 

[Zado]

think of laney ironheart too.Pretty expensive and sounds pretty nice too for heavy tones

 

[WarriorOfMetal]

The Blackmore is based on the Savage 120, which I owned for 4-1/2 years, and loved for Iced Earth type tones, so I'd pick the Blackmore.

 

[Vinchester]

As an ex-Blackmore owner here, I'd highly suggest you to get the Fireball for modern metal.

Thanks but what is modern metal to you? How did the Blackmore perform for you? cheers!

 

[Larrikin666]

The Blackmore is based on the Savage 120, which I owned for 4-1/2 years, and loved for Iced Earth type tones, so I'd pick the Blackmore.

Actually, the Blackmore is almost identical to the preamp from the ENGL e860 rackhead. There are some similarities between the Savage and Blackmore circuitry, but also quite a few differences.

 

[LukeNecraG]

If you're looking for just a straight up metal tone get the Fireball. If, however, you need that added versatility you're gonna have to go with the Blackmore.
The balls in your court OP

 

[EdgeC]

Or Buy them both. So much versatility.

I know, i've posted this pic a few times before. But It is most certianly relevant to this thread.

Honestly there is only a little crossover of these two sound wise. They sound very different. The Blackmore has a crunchy, harsher, slightly brighter, lower gain distortion. The Fireball has a darker, creamier, higher gain distortion that i've never had past 5 on the lead gain knob.

But both together covers just about every sound you could want. From classic rock to brutal modern death metal.

Also the Fireball is more versatile than people think. It has a seperate clean gain knob for the clean channel and with a boost in front you can get a more crunchy classic tone with it.

 

[Vinchester]

Haha yeah I saw that pic from another thread. I'm so jelly

Thanks for your input. I guess the next thing I'll do is to go try them all out.

 

[BabUShka]

my metulz friend who owns a FB 60 strongly recommends it for its versatility

The FB60 is not that versatile. Its got good cleans compared to other high gain amps. But its pretty much one trick pony.. I've owned one, and I sold it because it didnt do crunch or anything near blues and old rock n roll stuff.

As for the FB100, I've heard its a way different amp than the 60. More versatile and less scooped.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Also the Fireball is more versatile than people think

I'd agree with this. Hell, Scott Gorham is currently using a Fireball for the current Thin Lizzy tour.

 

[Vinchester]

The FB60 is not that versatile.

No. I was talking about the Blackmore. The sentence reads like "my friend, who owns a FB60, recommended it (the blackmore) for its versatility." ah I should have put the comma there.

thanks for your input though. I think the same thing about the FB60 and 100.

 

[incinerated_guitar]

Another Inexpensive route to take is a well eq'd modeling amp. Especially if you want something as versatile as you described. Just run into a good tube power amp and youre good

 

[sinnersmoon]

I`ve had Fireball 60 for several months and to me it was overly compressed and also I didn`t like that there was a little usable gain range. It went from no to really high gain too fast.

I played Blackmore and I liked the sound very much. Maybe a bit too harsh but I think it is manageable. It worked for me for whatever kind of metal.

I`d like to play Fireball 100 - heard good things about the progress comparing to its 60W brother.