ENGL Fireball 100... thoughts? (my miraculous amp journey)

TheTrueZoltan!

TheTrueZoltan!

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I am currently selling have just sold my 4th FM3 because I realized I always keep coming back to using Helix Native instead. My favorite amp model for high gain rhythm stuff in Helix is the ANGL Meteor and now I am feeling a slight but undeniable amount of GAS for an ENGL Fireball 100 and a Suhr RL.

Another option would be a Marshall JVM205 (the JVM OD2 is my favorite model in the FM3), but I have read a lot of posts from people who claim it is very, very noisy. I once had an ENGL Artist Edition 50 (great amp BTW) and that amp was very quiet and even had an inbuilt noise gate (which was a little bit too hard for my taste, but worked well).

3rd option would be... well... just keep using Helix Native. Definitely the cheapest and most reasonable choice. But you know how it is when GAS kicks in...

What are your thoughts and opinions?
 
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TheTrueZoltan! said:
I am currently selling have just sold my 4th FM3 because I realized I always keep coming back to using Helix Native instead. My favorite amp model for high gain rhythm stuff in Helix is the ANGL Meteor and now I am feeling a slight but undeniable amount of GAS for an ENGL Fireball 100 and a Suhr RL.

Another option would be a Marshall JVM205 (the JVM OD2 is my favorite model in the FM3), but I have read a lot of posts from people who claim it is very, very noisy. I once had an ENGL Artist Edition 50 (great amp BTW) and that amp was very quiet and even had an inbuilt noise gate (which was a little bit too hard for my taste, but worked well).

3rd option would be... well... just keep using Helix Native. Definitely the cheapest and most reasonable choice. But you know how it is when GAS kicks in...

What are your thoughts and opinions?
Click to expand...
I mean, I love the JVM205/210; they sound killer. But yeah they are pretty damn noisy, at least compared to my chosen babies, Mesa Boogie. The Engl Fireball 100 is a (pardon the pun) fire-breather. Would recommend fo sho. The only Engl I really don’t much care for is the PB, because it’s just a bit too compressed for me.
 
3341F34F-799C-4038-865F-6C741AF2978F.jpeg


I own it. :satan

Beastly amp.

  • Good clean channel. Especially if you can open the amp up. Was really surprised how much I liked the clean channel, as you don’t think “cleans” on an ENGL.
  • Loud as a MF’er. Like, Live At Wembley without a PA, loud. (I run my with a PS100) Even by 100w standards it’s LOUD AF.
  • Lead channel is a beast. Fantastic note separation under gain. (Doesn’t get washed out) Takes ODs really well. Barely opened up around 8:30 on the gain and it’s punchy rock (I put it here for thrashy 80’s esque riffing) Pop it with an OD there and it’s modern metal. Tap the gain up to 9:00 and you descend into darkness to vanquish your enemies. Anything beyond 9:00 is ludicrous mode but it reallllllly retains clarity very well.
  • You can get really good mid gain tones out of it, by either cranking the gain on the clean channel, or being very precise with gain on the lead channel (with pickups that don’t bludgeon the front of an amp)
  • The amp is dead simple to operate. It basically has one way to be dialed. Mids between 2-4:00 o’clock, treble between 1-3:00 o’clock, bring in whatever top end you want with the presence. It can literally be placed damned near off or around 2:00 depending on sizzle desired. Leave mid push off, always, just crank the mid dial.
Essential viewing for the FB100:



I play a little more modern tilted than Euge, but he does a great job showing off the versatility. It’s not just a MOAR GAIN amp. It can go hard obviously, but it has a lot of classic and vintage tones in it too. (And this has been my experience with ENGL in general, I love the Powerball synergy module, which is what lead me to the FB, but it does wayyyyy more than just modern brootz too, depends on how you want to use it)
 
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Whizzinby said:
View attachment 4444

I own it. :satan

Beastly amp.

  • Good clean channel. Especially if you can open the amp up. Was really surprised how much I liked the clean channel, as you don’t think “cleans” on an ENGL.
  • Loud as a MF’er. Like, Live At Wembley without a PA, loud. (I run my with a PS100)
  • Lead channel is a beast. Fantastic note separation under gain. (Doesn’t get washed out) Takes ODs really well. Barely opened up around 8:30 on the gain and it’s punchy rock (I put it here for thrashy 80’s esque riffing) Pop it with an OD there and it’s modern metal. Tap the gain up to 9:00 and you descend into darkness to vanquish your enemies. Anything beyond 9:00 is ludicrous mode but it reallllllly retains clarity very well.
  • You can get really good mid gain tones out of it, by either cranking the gain on the clean channel, or being very precise with gain on the lead channel (with pickups that don’t bludgeon the front of an amp)
  • The amp is dead simple to operate. It basically has one way to be dialed. Mids between 2-4:00 o’clock, treble between 1-3:00 o’clock, bring in whatever top end you want with the presence. It can literally be placed damned near off or around 2 depending on sizzle desired. Leave mid push off, always, just crank the mid dial.
Essentially viewing for the FB100:



I play a little more modern tilted than Euge, but he does a great job showing off the versatility. It’s not just a MOAR GAIN amp. It can go hard obviously, but it has a lot of classic and vintage tones in it too. (And this has been my experience with ENGL in general, I love the Powerball synergy module, which is what lead me to the FB, but it does wayyyyy more than just modern brootz too, depends on how you want to use it)
Click to expand...

Totally agree With all that.
 
TheTrueZoltan! said:
Okay, you guys just multiplied the amount of GAS I already had.

@Whizzinby @paisleywookiee Have you tried the ANGL Meteor amp model in the Helix? If yes, how close to the real amp do you think it is?
Click to expand...

I don’t own a Helix so I don’t know how accurate the model is.

That said I’ve had very few misses buying analog gear that I loved a digital equivalent of.
 
I like the Angel model (or whatever it's called), however I've not played the amp in awhile, and actually haven't played the model in awhile either. So in terms of accuracy, I'm not super useful here. All I can say is I remember quite liking both.
 
Today I listened to some recordings I did a year ago with the Engl Artist Edition and a Suhr Reactive Load. I was shocked how scooped and bright they sounded compared to a couple of current ideas I recorded using the Helix‘ Angl Meteor model. The Meteor suddenly sounded dull to me and seemed to lack punch. Not so sure anymore about the Fireball… now I wonder if maybe I could find something in between the Artist Edition and the Fireball (assuming the Helix model sounds accurate). Reluctantly I went through my NDSP (yeah, I know…) plugins and found out that the mid-gain channel of the Gojira suite actually comes close.

The 90s teenager in me still kinda likes it scooped and bright. Fvck that modern midrange honk, perhaps I should just buy an Artist Edition again :idk
 
TheTrueZoltan! said:
Today I listened to some recordings I did a year ago with the Engl Artist Edition and a Suhr Reactive Load. I was shocked how scooped and bright they sounded compared to a couple of current ideas I recorded using the Helix‘ Angl Meteor model. The Meteor suddenly sounded dull to me and seemed to lack punch. Not so sure anymore about the Fireball… now I wonder if maybe I could find something in between the Artist Edition and the Fireball (assuming the Helix model sounds accurate). Reluctantly I went through my NDSP (yeah, I know…) plugins and found out that the mid-gain channel of the Gojira suite actually comes close.

The 90s teenager in me still kinda likes it scooped and bright. Fvck that modern midrange honk, perhaps I should just buy an Artist Edition again :idk
Click to expand...


Artist or a blackmore :D (I think they're a somewhat similar circuit?)


The morse has my favorite mid range feature of all with the separate high and low mid knobs :love
 
Whizzinby said:
I don’t own a Helix so I don’t know how accurate the model is.
Click to expand...
I cant say anything about accuracy either since ive never heard the Amp itself as ive never heard any real amps in the Helix
all i know is i find what ever amp i can make work that sounds close enough to the recording on the album :idk
 
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