All Things ENGL!

la szum said:
2 x EL84s scare the F out of me when it comes to anything that has to do with
chugging, fast riffing, and big bottom Metal. It's odd because the Fireball has
2 x 6L6 in the Power Section of the Lunchbox Engl, while the Ironballs are
all 2 x EL84. :idk

The Special Edition Fireball comes with big ass KT77s, which makes the power tube
choice in the Ironballs even more interesting.
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I've had a few EL-84 amps that did high gain pretty well, but ultimately they all fall apart if you turn it up loud, which is kind of the point of a low wattage amp. I really don't get it either, if they're going to put smaller tubes in it, at least go with 6V6s. EL-84s are the polar opposite of most of these amp's large counterparts that come with 6L6s sound like.

As much as people love to hate them, at least Marshall did it right with their lunchboxes and learned from their misgivings on the older DSLs with EL-84s and put EL-34s in all the 20w models they have now. I really don't get why Synergy went with them in their new 20w head, when they already had a 30w head with 6L6s...
 
Preach Neil Degrasse Tyson GIF
 
Lots of people like there small lunchbox amps with EL84s and it works
in certain applications. Just not my applications. If I need a low volume
solution I am looking elsewhere---especially for heavier tones where
the low end needs to stay tight. If I am playing Americana or Indie Pop
then 2 x EL84 like in a Vox AC15 is doable. I just don't get how that
power section can hold up for anything Hard Rock or Metal. :idk
 
Will Onyx said:
IMO the el84 lunchboxes aren’t necessarily meant to carry the stage. They give the tones and let the PA do the heavy lifting.
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I could probably make it work the way I’m using my amp, but without experiencing ”big boy” tubes (and also transformers) I always felt like I wasn’t seeing the whole picture with the EL84 amp. Might be a different story today though. The FB25 is damn loud for home use.
 
Using an Ironball going direct and just using a small cab for some stage volume could be fine maybe? Or just going direct. But it does severely limit the usability of the amp for high gain if the power section starts thinning out with volume.

I’ve barely cranked my amps but I remember the Tubemeister not sounding good when pushing the master up while using the built in power soak.
 
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