Engl Fireball 100 Crushes all others

[KyleBull]

Felt like making a super cringe title just to pull in some views :)

Dropped a demo video for the Engl Fireball 100 today as part of my Engl Month content. The Fireball 100 was the amp that turned me on to Engl in the first place, and honestly, I think I started with the best.

After trying some of the other amps in the Engl lineup, I've found they all have a really interesting saturation to them, almost "ratty" in nature, as well as a lot of compression. They're wet sounding amps, generally modern in voicing, and most are loaded with features

I think this one appeals to me so much because it's very stripped back in features, and seems to be the least compressed and most raw, especially in the mids where it matters from a mix standpoint. This amp also has A LOT more low end than most of the other Engls I've tried, save for the SE E670, but the lows on that amp aren't really usable as they're switchable as opposed to on a dial on the power amp and when the switches are on, the low end is just super boomy.

Anyways, curious of other's opinions on both the Fireball 100 and the other Engl amps they may have tried.

Video is below:

 

[norminal]

Felt like making a super cringe title just to pull in some views :)

Well done sir!

 

[JiveTurkey]

I wanted the Fireball 60 like 20 years ago or whenever when I first read about them on Harmony-Central but was too poor and there was like one indie US distributor at the time. I am betting this thing is

 

[eggpl@nt]

I like this model in the Helix and of all the ENGL amp demos I’ve watched, the Fireball is one I consistently like.

I’ll have to check out the video later

 

[norminal]

Sounds brutal asf! I love that percussive “clunk” that Engl’s do when chugging.

 

[Badonkey Kong]

I wanted the Fireball 60 like 20 years ago or whenever when I first read about them on Harmony-Central but was too poor and there was like one indie US distributor at the time. I am betting this thing is

Rock Solid Amps!

I bought a 530 pre from them :)

 

[JiveTurkey]

Rock Solid Amps!

I bought a 530 pre from them :)

Derek!

 

[Stone]

I loved it in the Helix so I'm sure ill love it in the Fractal
Great video as always

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

My amp buying-and-returning journey ended with the Powerball II, which I personally prefer over the Fireball.

There‘s an ENGL for everyone!

 

[BahamaDada]

You'd get my sub just bc you don't mouthgape or point at something in the title card.

That being said I played a FB60 once in a store for an hour. The only time my wife would tell me "hey, you actually can play guitar". So damn nice sounding. Did not buy though bc I already had a 5153 at home.

If I ever go for guitar gigs with a heavier band it will be a JVM or this.

Bonus: In Europe these FBs are dirt cheap used. Saw one for sub 500 once on classifieds.

 

[norminal]

You'd get my sub just bc you don't mouthgape or point at something in the title card.

 

[BahamaDada]

View attachment 10486

You may be in a different time zone, but you wrecked my sunday morning

 

[KyleBull]

I wanted the Fireball 60 like 20 years ago or whenever when I first read about them on Harmony-Central but was too poor and there was like one indie US distributor at the time. I am betting this thing is

It's definitely miles ahead of the 60, which lacked all of the mids and got disappeared in a live mix. Lol

 

[KyleBull]

My amp buying-and-returning journey ended with the Powerball II, which I personally prefer over the Fireball.

There‘s an ENGL for everyone!

I'll be putting a video up on that one soon. I love the tones but it just doesn't hang in a band mix unfortunately

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

I'll be putting a video up on that one soon. I love the tones but it just doesn't hang in a band mix unfortunately

Although I think the Mk II version of this amp successfully addressed the „fizzy mess, gets buried in the mix“ issues of the first version, I can totally see how people that are used to and like the 5150 modern midrange honk don‘t get along with it. It‘s all a matter of taste.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

I loved it in the Helix so I'm sure ill love it in the Fractal […]

One problem: There is no Fireball in Fractal land. Only the Mk I versions of the Savage and Powerball.

 

[Stone]

One problem: There is no Fireball in Fractal land. Only the Mk I versions of the Savage and Powerball.

Ouups i didn't know nor tried looked at most of the amps (too Many) thought it would be in

Oh well

 

[JiveTurkey]

On the subject of amps; fill us in on the Badlander transformer changes?

 

[mbenigni]

Bonus: In Europe these FBs are dirt cheap used. Saw one for sub 500 once on classifieds.

Sub-$500 is insane. I’d be all over that. There’s Blackmore signature on Reverb for about a grand, which seems like a steal to me… but for the fact that it’s in Paris or some such. Too many opportunities for the transaction to turn into a massive cluster. I never see ENGLs in the US and I always assumed they were more costly, exotic beasts. They sure sound like it.

 

[-BOOGIEMAN-]