Engl Fireball Head

The Amp has got a killer distortion and a moderate clean channel, two buttons for low-volume bass/treble. Unfortunately it doesn't have separate EQs fpr the two channels. Effects loop and a footswitch (that has to be paid extra). The effects loop is quite useless if you don't turn the button until the end. A simple switch instead of a poti would have the same effect. Though, the amp simply looks great; you can see the valves in its interior that are iluminated by two red lights. All in all, the amp has what it needs, if you are looking for a kick-ass distortion.

I use the amp with an Ibanez. The distortion is killer, I think it the probably best real METAL distortion, because the amp is not as noisy as the Peavey 5150. You can also play Malmsteen like solos due to its endless sustain. Just turn up the gain to 5 (of 12) and you'll see, at gain 12 maybe it's got too much distortion, powerchords never seem to fade out. The clean sound ist not very clean, I don't like it. Sounds too much bluesy. Anyway, I bought that amp to play heavy sounds, who needs a clean channel??

If you look at a Marshall amp, the ENGL seems to be much more reliable. It's got screws and metal everwhere the Marshall's got hard plastic. I don't think that I'll ever need the warranty. In the end, it's made in Germany. I hope it means the same as if it was a car....

Never tried.

I play since 10 years and have owned Marshall JCM & 6100, Laney, Fender and finally this ENGL. If it was lost, maybe I'd try a Powerball; but for sure I won't buy a Fender again, nor a Marshall...well, maybe that new ModeFour....anyway, I really like that ENGL. It's a good amp. A pity if it was stolen.

2 channel all tube amp head poweramp equipped with 6L6 GC poweramp tubes, 60 watts.
Electronic power tube monitor system. In case of a tube failure this system switches off the bad tube. The system can be reseted via the Stand By switch. new design, big housing with the front grille, internal illumination.
The amps is pretty basic it has one eq and one gain for the two channels. It has two separate master volumes. For each channel you can choose od on/off.
I play metal like korn and mudvayne and this amp does the job.
60 watts is HARD so dont worry about that.

I use a gibson les paul gothic with stock pickups and a ibanez rg7321.
The amp is pretty noisy in ultra gain mode compared to a transitor amp but hey this i a tube amp so deal with it. I wanted a amp that had a nice clean and a very good distortion and thats what i got.
This engl is really a rock/metal amp. Having only 1 gain knob you need to set the gain not to high and not to low. So in the clean mode the amp is clean and in the ultra gain mode the amp has a brutal disto. I set the gain on 4 and thats just perfect. The clean mode tends to go crunch sometimes but that is only when playing hard chords. When the amp is in ultra gain mode you have a very good distortion. I use my engl in combination with a 2x12 marshall combo and that is very good home setup. Overall a killer disto and a nice clean.

No problems.

Nope

I have been playing for 8 years and this i my first tube amp. I think this is an amp with good value. You get a basic amp with a killer disto and a nice clean. So far the best amp i have heard! I tested olso the peavey 5150 and Marshalls but this amp looks an sounds better. If you want to play metal this is the amp to have maybe a mesa sounds better but hey thats out of my pocket range.

Not much Features in this amp ...
but i think this isn't necessary !!

This Amp is made for metal only, that's for sure but it fills my needs completly !

At first i thought it would be really bad too have only one gain knob but it's only there too choose the right amount of gain for your pickup type for my ESP M-III it is in the 12 o'clock position, and its just fine !

All the other features can be read in the manual or seen if you try this thing out ...

And if you need a rock Distortion just turn down your volume knob on your guitar and you have an ac/dc rocktone ... but i don't use this very often !!

I use the following setup :

ESP M-III

Engl Fireball
Engl Vintage Cab

and in the Effekts row
Rocktron Replifex and
Rocktron Intellipitch !

With this setup i get every sound i ever might need ...

This amp isn't too noisy, even with full gain and without any noise reduction !

You must like the Engl Tone, then you have a great amp ...
you need some Effects to get another sound for your lead playing !
But for rythm guitar work it's just the unprocessed sound, only an eq sometimes !

It was , what i was looking for, you don't need any extra distortion pedal for this amp, like you need it with marshall amps and it sound good even at lower volumes !!

And it doesn't sound so harsh , it's just nice !

I think it's very dependable - i bought it used , and gigged once with it and had many rehearsals, no problems at all !

Maybe time will tell ....

Don't know !!

I finally found my amp !!!
And i don't think i need anything else in the future !

Two Channel Amp, the best for Rockers ! With adjustable Effektloop from dry to effekt. Power Tube Monitor System (controle the Power Tubes for correct working. If one damage you can play your gig to the end.) Very good quality (pot's, no plastic on the edges s.o) Passive, but very effective controls for bass, middle and treble. Presence control for power amp. Not forget the two switches depth and bright.. more later.
Illuminating Power Tubes with two red LED's: A nice effekt thru the front ;)

A very silent Amp, when you switch in channel 2 (ultra distortion) This amp is designed for hard rockmusic. Channel one has a very dynamic overdrive in the higer gain settings. Here you can have all the sounds like vintage amps, controlled with your guitar and volume pot. When you select channel two the hell is open. :-) A really good distortion where you can hear the character of your guitar, but ultimative drive. I think this amp ist a real alternative to the Mesa Rectifier head. I use the Fireball with different heavy strats all Humbucker PU's: ESP M1 Custom (OBL), IBANEZ RGR320 and Charvel Predator

I'm from Germany. I've bought two complete Fireball Stacks for my two bands. I don`t need any back up system. I've played Engl amps all the time. I began with the Straight Tops. No problems all the years.

The German support ist very friendly. You should order your tubes direct from Engl. Engl has an own tube selection for the amps. No modification is needed if you`ll change your tubes in the future. All Engl Tubes has a number to identify the BIAS settings and selections for the power amp tubes. You should also use selected pre amp tubes for high gain amps like the Fireball. The price for the tubes is a lttle bit smaller than groove tubes. You can ask Mr. Koch here in Germany every time. (Orders s.o.)For other countries you have your own support-man. Please contact the engl site. Warranty is 2 years here in Germany.

I use my two Fireballs with the ENGL Standard Cabinets. I think the Vinage 30 Cabs are too expensive and have not more sound for the price !(Thats my personal opinion.)But any ENGL Cabinet with an Engl Head ist the best what I've ever heart.
I play for 18 years now. A long time with engl. And I don't want any other amp as an Engl.

Great amp seriusly.

The one thing I dislike (or need) is that the Clean/crunsh channel cheer the same GAIN-setting. I would love a Natural "Fenderish" - clean channel.

(POWERBALL!!!!!!!)

For more information read below!
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I'll break it down=

0) Ibanez-Prestige-RG2120XTB

1) Di Marzio's - "Air Norton" + "Steves Special" (Yes, I'm one of those Petrucciwannabe's=)

2) ENGL-Fireball

3) FX-loop= "Rocktron-Multivalve"

4) ENGL-MIDISWISHER-Z-11 (so that I can controll the volym master A-B + the channels midi.)

5) ROLAND-FC-200 "Midi footcontroller"

I run the Piezo throu a FEDNER- "Hot Rod-DELUX" + Spring reverb.

What can I say?

I love it!!!!

No problem yet!

Had it for 2 years (I bought it used so let's think 3-4 years).

Look's like a killermachine: hard to kill=)?

Just love it!

But as I was saying, the clean and the ULTRADISTORTED channel should have separat GAINKNOBS.

Just roll the volymknob and you have all the crunsh in the world.

The amp is made Germany and I have recently played it at the 2002 NAMM show in Anaheim, CA. Two channel high gain head. You can get clean to ultra high gain, not distortion. It has all the features that I need. One clean channel ans a good lead channel. I use this amp in my house and it being 60 watts make it easy to practice without anyone complaining.

I am using a Ernie Ball Axis and I play mostly metal type music. Sounds great with the style of music I like. Sounds great with the ENGL cabs and speakers but if you use VinTage 30's it will get alittle buzzy but not bad. The gain is great. I have never owned an amp that does hard music this good. I have owned Soldano, Hughes & Kettner, Mesa Boogie, Carvin. H&K holds up goos though. I also use a H&K Tubeman and it is very nice.

Don't know yet, just purchased it today but the people that sell them are very informative.

Great service. The authorized service is only 45min. away in L.A.

The happiest I have ever been with a head. Before this I was looking at custom heads for twice the amount and this has more features.

Well, it's made 2001 and it's versatile enough for me.it's 60W full tube amp and has two 6l6CG outbut tubes and four ecc83's. it has two channels: Crunch (clean) and Ultra Gain. I play power/heavy metal and I need both channels. it doesn't have a reverb unit in it, but it has an effect loop.It has two master volumes. Both channels outbut can be adjusted by both master knobs. Switching can be done with footswitch.

I use mainly Jackson RR-3 with Duncan Desing pickups. I'm considering purchasing EMG 81's for it. The amp sound great. I can get many decent sounds out of it. I use it with ENGL std 4x12 cab and it isn't noisy at all. Very low hum. Clean sounds are good enough for me... With jackson clean channel tends to go crunch although the gain is about on 4. But with my fender mex std i can get very good clean and crispy sound out of it. Ultra Gain channel is the best! I can get very heavy and thick distortion when gain pot only on 4. It's So brutal and modern distortion with low end punch. I can easily get the sound like Hammerfall, Gamma Ray, Helloween, and why not Metallica in old days. I get even Marshall kind of twang just by turning the gain pot down to 3 and adding some highs and mids.

It's robust... and I am using it on gigs whitout a backup.

Never dealt with the company...

I've been playing for 6 years now. this is the best amp i've eved had. I tried Marshall DSL And I didn't like it. It was too noisy and loud for my taste. When I turned volume up, it just gave me some earache... ENGL has a nice warm distortion, and you just want to turn it louder and louder until the drummer comes to you and starts complaining that he can't hear what he is playing...

This amp was made in 2001, i got from my insurance company after my jcm600 was lost in a fire. It is a 60 watt head, has two channels with two volume settings each, all footswitchable (footswitch not included). The part that sux is that there is only one gain-knob, and then there's the "ultra gain" switch. So if you set your gain for the ultra-gain channel, and you switch to the clean, the gain setting is still the same, just minus the ultra gain. Did that make any sense? No, didn't think so.

I'm using a Les Paul Studio and a Lone Star Stratocaster (SD HB). The amp has really brutal distortion, but not a lot of variety. Suitable for moshy heavy metal I guess. Unfortunately the distortion isn't as tight as you might wish for.

Only had it a short while.

I'm trying to sell this amp right now, to get a Dual Rectifier. If it was stolen I'd get another type of amp from the insurance company. I suggest you get a Mesa Boogie instead, or maybe 5150, or even a DSL100 before this amp.