Engl Powerball

This is essentially a 4 channel head with all the channels and solo boost footswitchable from the Engl custom 6 button footswitch, which is essential for live work. The features are well covered below, all I can say is that it has everything you need. It is extremely flexible and there is not a sound or tone you cannot get, with a bit of tweaking. Reverb would have been nice though. I just love the look, especially the illuminated interior, even though it does remind me of my Uncle Bills electric fire with simulated flame effect. There is another feature not previously mentioned, you could make toast on it !!...just remove the top vent plate and drop your bread in.

Had an Engl Screamer before this which was superb. Normally get my Engl stuff from Spectrum Music but got this one in an as new condition off ebay ...sorry guys.

I use a Powerhouse Strat with a Duncan Hotrail in the bridge and a 2002 Les Paul Std both of which sound amazing through this amp. It is a truly amazing piece of kit, it can produce the whole range of sounds and tones from awesome brutal distortion to sparkling clean and everything in-between. It has an absolutely huge big, big, sound...it really kicks ass. I have had them all Marshall, Boogie, Fender, Laney, Cornford, but this monster kicks them all into touch. I use this with a Marshall 1936 2x12 with V30s and it sounds mega, cant imagine how it will sound with a 4x12...thats gotta be good.

Like I said I had a Screamer and gigged it solid for over a year without any problems.

I needed some Engl matched valves for my Screamer when one packed up once, and they depatched them airmail from Germany and I had them in 3 days, and not too expensive at #32 for two....good service. But I must also say that I emailed their service dept twice to ask if I needed rebias and didnt get a reply, not even a 'kiss my arse'.

If this were stolen I would replace it in an instance. Fantastic build quality.

If you are thinking of buying a Marshall TSL or DSL head ( and dont get me wrong I normally love Marshall ) or a Boogie head, please give this a listen first, I promise you you will be amazed. It gets even better when you have had it for a few weeks and you get know it more.

Price paid including the footswitch (10)
You know the facts!

I'm using an ESP with emg 81s and a Samick les paul copy.
This Amp is really versatile, you can get round brilliant clean ( as far as you can get clean sounds with the 81!), nice buttery or hard crunch and there are these two amazing distortion channels. With the mid- switsh you can get scooped or full mid sounds on the two distortion channels. The switch slightly influences the clean and crunch- channel also. It really sounds great!
...But it is noisy, fucking noisy, although there is anoise gate, you can get rid of these fucking bad fedbacks while you try to get your guitar quiet, you can only handle it with a volume knob. I know that the EMgs ain`t the quietest pickups, but even with the samick, which has changed pickups (PAF- style pickups) this amp can`t hold his freat when you want it to! Its a real problem! I love the sound but HATE its noise!!!! Of course the noise problem only appears on higher volumes, but compared with MANY other amps it noises too early!
Because of this the amp mustn`d get a 10 on sound evaluation!

My first gig with this amp will be in january, I hope that I can handle the noise , I think it`s reliable , I`ll play without backup!

This is a 2003 tube amp, 100W, 4 channels, 6l6GC power tubes, ECC83 preamp tubes.
This amp IS very versatile. It is a Metal monster, but can do more than that, trust me ! All the channels really shine.
It is easy to use, and each fonction is here for a certain reason. you can shape your tone easily. I can't see something missing on this amp, everything you need is here.
It's also switchable, and accepts 4, 8 and 16 ohms cabinets.

This amp sounds awesome, really. I can't think of a amp that sounds as good, with such versatiliy.

The clean channel is really great for a high gain amp. And when i say clean, it's clean, unlike some other high gain amps, like peavey 5150 for exemple.

The crunch channel is very good, you can dial a lot of tones if you use well the eq.

the lead channels are perfection to me. it's just a matter of taste, but you can't say the quality isn't here? it sounds like a "marshall on steroids", they have the marshall roar, but also some elements of mesa, and not the bad points.
pick the both of these two brands, and you have the powerball. you can dial metallica or slayer tones very easily. it plays great downtuned, and also is good for nu-metal types of music.
This amp IS brutal ...
It's a bit noisy, but there is a noise gate in the amp, so it's not a problem.

I put 10 here, because for me no critics can be made, it just depends if you like the voicing of the amp or not.

This amp is a tank. It's a german amp ... really well built, looks killer, and the construction is what i expected. as good as the sound of the amp.

I did send emails to engl, to ask about their amps, they did reply a few days later. they really are here if you need help.

This amp is one of the best high gain heads. i can't find something missing, or a weak point in the sound or the construction.

like i said before, the only thing that could stop you into buying this amp is if you don't like how it sounds, that's all.

2002 made, 100 Watt: 4 6L6GC power amp tubes. 4 channels: Clean, crunch, Lo gain and High gain. Seperate gain knobs for the two lead channels. Crunch and clean gain are combined. 4 Volume controls (!)

Sound shaping buttons: Bright and Bottom switches for channel 1/2, and open/focussed, presence and depth punch controls. Switchable volume controls (a/b). Electronic monitoring system for the tubes.

Footswitch inputs, Noise Gate, Effects loop with balance control.

The Lead EQ consists of 2 Mid controls: Open mids and Focussed mids.
Honestly, this Amp has everything it should have. And then some more. The seperate soundstyle selection buttons (open, focussed, depth punch) are things you will have a hard time finding on any amp. They totally change the style of the produced sound, making it one of the most versatile hardrock amps I've ever seen. But then again, The clean and crunch are of almost the highest quality I've ever heard, making it cover more ground than I'd need it to.

The interior behind the grill is beautifully red illuminated, creating a pretty mean look on the amp.

The sound is incredible. The first time you plug this in a 4x12" v30 Engl cab, you will really stop to listen just to a single chord being translated into a brutal assault of sonic quality by this amp's excellent lead channels. It sounds huge! The gain structure will immediatly remind you of Marshall and Mesa: It has the agressive bite of a marshall, and the low end depth and quality of a mesa... It really is the best of both worlds. Palm muted notes and chords are tight as can be, with massive low end chunk, while that brutal growl cuts over it. Excellent. The only minus is that you can only choose to have this agressiveness in the lead channels, they are very adjustable, but will never be anything easy and mellow. Pure power.

But then I checked out the Clean and Crunch channels. I'm trying not to sound biased, but the clean just is beautiful. Glassy smooth responsive cleans. It's better than Mesa's cleans, closer to a Fender.
Crunch is a very versatile channel, mess with the EQ and gain controls and there is a huge difference in sound styles you can create. And there is plenty of gain. It can go from just slightly breaking up all the way to an actual distortion. I remember a resemblance with marshall's jcm800 2203zw head's gain. Adding a reverb to the Powerball made this channel sing so much.

The amp's versatility in sound is excellent. If you don't like one trick pony's and do want quality, the powerball is for you. I find myself playing Pink Floyd through the crunch one momemt, and any style of heavy metal through the leads another moment. It sings, it roars, and thanks to the noise gate, it's quiet at command.

Engl builds very reliable amps, however I would never rate a tube amp 10 in reliability. The monitoring system is cool though, it will see when a tube is about to break up.

Not dealt with at all, other than asking some advice. They replied, although it took a while. On the other hand, I've seen an Engl used by a friend of mine break a tube, and Engl sent a new SET of tubes within a matter of days. Excellent warranty.

I've been playing for a long time. I kick myself for buying so much gear before trying this one. I would choose exactly the same amp if I ever lost this one. If you're on a budget, choose the Engl Screamer or Thunder, even those little 'cheap' amps produce so much sound! Engl is something else for sure. You recognize their sound in every last one of their amps... It's all that same quality distortion.

I compared it to Marshall JCM800, JCM800zw, JCM2000, the Mesa Dual and Triple Rectifiers, Peavey XXX, Peavey 5150, Several Mesa Boogie Poweramp/Preamp rack combinations (including the Triaxis preamp), Hughes & Kettner, Line 6, and last but not least, Soldano. As you can see I really look hard for a sound that fits me rather than just choosing what everybody chooses... I need to feel at home with an amp, and that tower of power with the Engl logo on it just kept pulling me away from the other amps.

I believe this amp was made in 2003. I like to play death metal to shred to things like Tool and Soulfly. But I also need good clean sounds and good crunch sounds since I grew up on AC/DC. It has four channels that are distinctive. I wish it had more to allow each channel to be tweaked, but that's just nitpicking. It can pretty much do whatever I need to do. The noise gate is a pretty cool feature as well.

I have an Ibanez RG and a US Jackson Soloist with EMG's. These guitars just sound mega BRUTAL through this amp. The gain channels can be somewhat noisy, but the noise gate can get it to super quiet when you stop playing, even with highest gain settings.

The distortion sound is simply the BEST and the most BRUTAL I've ever heard out of an amp. This amp just KILLS!!! It has such a mean edge to it without sounding fizzy and it punches with a mega force. There's a lot of variety when you adjust the EQ and switch in between the "Open" mode and the "Focus" mode. Really cool. The mids are thick yet clear and articulate. The bottom is big yet tight and very punchy. It is the most brutal distortion sound that I've ever heard and I've tried them all. The Powerball is just an awesome amplifier.

I've had it for about 4 months now and it's been very, very reliable. Haven't even had any tube problems yet. I have a Laney that I use once in a while but it won't be able to back up this monster.

Never had to deal with them but I'm sure they're easy to deal with.

I've been playing about 10 years and have tried a bunch of amps and guitars. If this got lost or stolen (Heaven Forbid!!!), I'll get another one right away. I love almost everything about this amp. It could do it all without a forest of knobs and switches. I compared this to the Bogner Uberschall and the Mesa Dual Rectifier. I was willing to spend a lot more if the Bogner or the Mesa had a better sound. But the Powerball just killed them all. It can do so much more and do all of them better. A LOT BETTER! I wish this amp could do MIDI like the Savage 120. Overall, this is the best amp I've ever owned. I'm sure that I'll own this for a long, long time to come.

This is a modern ultra high-gain amp aimed at a very specific segment of guitar players. This amp may not have certaub features of certain "do-it-all" multi-channel amps, but it can do a lot for high-gain players who do not really need every kind of sound and features out there. The features have been well outlined by other reviews, but being able to switch between the "open" and "focused" modes along with two master volumes make this a very flexible and versatile amp.

I mainly use humbuckers and my main guitar is a PRS Custom 24. I like ultra heavy sounds for modern metal as well as fat lead sounds for shred. The Powerball can cover both as well as any other amp out there. I, for one, am convinced that it does both better than anything else out there. The distortion is thick and raw. It's got a lot of punchy mids and the bottom is huge and tight. It's not an Uberschall or Rivera sub-woofer kind of huge, but really big and better balanced with the thick mids and the highs.

The thing about this amp is how focused and punchy it is. Amps with thick mids tend to sound muddy and get lost in the mix, but the Powerball punches through like no other amp I've ever heard. The palm-mute chunk is just awesome. Some other amps' palm-mute sounds break up and "dissipate", but the Powerball is extremely well-defined and retains the chunk even at high-speed riffing. In the "open" mode, which is the scooped kind of sound, the amp loses some volume but that can be compensated with the second master volume. It's a huge modern metal rhythm sound that never sounds boomy or fake like so many big bottom amps.

The killer thing about this amp is that not only does it get the modern doomsday metal rhythm sounds, but it can also get great fat shredding and singing lead sounds. And you can set up the amp to switch between chunky rhythm sounds and searing lead sounds instantly without graphic EQ's and other outboard junk. In the high-gain channels' "focus" mode, you can set it to get a screaming lead sound that is big, fat, smooth or searing with plenty of bite, cut, and defintion. It's just impossible to do this on amps like the DR or the Uberschall and neither has the punch and the definition of the Powerball.

Haven't had it long enough to really form an opinion but it looks as solid as a rock and seems very well-built. As someone else said, the thing is made in Germany. I don't worry about this amp failing on me. I would love to get another for a backup and to keep at the rehearsal studio.

I've emailed Engl and they've been very helpful. I think they'll do whatever it takes to make their customers happy.

I've had all kinds of amps and tried a bunch more in search of the ultimate high-gain amp and this one is THE BOMB, folks. It took a while to get around to it cuz I've been reading about this amp for so long. But it seemed I couldn't do no wrong buying it sight unseen and with a 48-hour trial period. I had tried the Uberschall, the VHT UL, the Rivera Knucklehead Reverb and the Knucklehead 2. I got to try out someone's Diezel VH4 but I don't need all those sounds and loops and didn't have that kind of money anyway. I wanted to try the Herbert but decided that, "What'd be the point? Can't afford it anyway." And I've read things from people who've tried both preferring the Powerball for the over-the-top high-gain sounds and felt that I couldn't go wrong at $1600. Well, I was right. The Powerball is just a mind-boggling value and sounds a lot better than a few $2500 amps that I've tried. Powerball is an awesome amp regardless of price. Don't let the price fool you. This amp simply slays the competition. It feels like I got a Mercedes or a Ferrari for the price of a Toyota.

Elegant setup which has been discussed before. Two channel design that has a shared EQ except that Channel 1 has separate treble controls for hi and lo gain (clean/crunch) and Channel 2 (lo lead/hi lead)has two mid voicings Open and Focused with separate controls for each. This allows you to set for example a scooped rhythym and a mid-spiked lead within channel 2. Other nice additions include a built in noisegate (excellent for staccato riffing), simple parallel effects loop and trip switches that allow the amp to continue at half power if a tube fails. Presence control to shape overall hi-frequency response, depth punch for low-frequency response, two master volumes (for solo boosts) as well as a bottom buttons for lo lead and hi lead when you really have to cause minor earthquakes. Last but not least, the interior is illuminated in a lovely blood-red glow, complimenting those lil' tubes of glowing goodness (purely aesthetic but is a good conversation stopper).

Using this amp primarily for Gothenberg-style metal (think Soilwork etc), using a Recto Standard 4x12 cab. With the noisegate on, this is probably the quietest valve amp around, no pops when you change channel, very little hiss at hi-gain settings. The amp is emminently tweakable, and very hard to get a bad sound out of it.

1) Clean can range from ultra-glassy to warm with a lot of headroom which surprised me for a hi-gain amp. Even a country player may find something useable in this setting (just don't expect Fender Bassman).

2) Crunch, old school Marshall territory if you're into AC/DC crank the master, dial in the crunch and let rip with your best Angus Young licks.

3) Lead 1, this where the PB starts to come into it's own. Perfect for fluid leads and more than enough gain on tap for palm-muted rhythym work or for old-school metal.

4) Lead 2, sickness. Ludicrous amounts of gain, with enough bottom end to cause tectonic plate movement. Not big, not clever but seriously grin-inducing.

OK now a word of warning, if you have read the magazine reviews and are expecting a "poor-man's Recto" keep saving the pennies or buy a XXX. I've owned a triple channel Recto and the two sound nothing like each other. The PB has a mid-atlantic sort of sound, with the huge bottom end you'd expect from a Recto or VHT Ultralead combined with a Marshall'esque roar.

From those I've spoken to, I shouldn't expect any problems. They're made in Germany......'nuff 'said.

Never had to deal with Engl themselves. Bought it online from Aire Guitars who delivered it next day (thumbs up).

I got rid of my Line 6 Flextone 2 after getting the opportunity to buy a Recto half-stack at trade. Let's just say I bought into the Mesa hype and was very underwhelmed (not to say the Recto was a bad amp I just couldn't get a sound I liked out of it). Needless to say the Recto now has a new owner. I would have to say that the PB represents the best bang for the buck hi-gain amp on the market IMHO.

2003 Powerball. 2 channel amp each with 2 modes. A loud 100w 6L6 driven power section. Noise gate and an awsome effects loop. Check the web site for full feeatures. Only thing I would like is seperate gain controls for each mode - clean, crunch, lo lead, hi lead but what the hell, this thing rocks!!!!

I use the amp at home and at two 5 hour band rehearsals per week. Im using an ESP Eclipse limited edition custom guitar through it with EMG 81/85 and the tone is devastating, simply awsome. Before the purchase I owned: mesa triaxis -> VHT 2/90/2, mesa single recto, mesa tremoverb and marshall dsl 50. I can honestly it is hands down a better amp in my opinion. By far the best clean sound ive ever heard, very glassy and just beatiful. The crunch channel has an awsome biting slightly over driven sound which cleans up very well with guitar volume rolled back, this channel needs to be cranked and heard in the mix of a band to be appreciated fully. Channel 3 is simply brutal, some awsome tones in this thing. The amp has more gain than anybody will ever need and it stays focused and never mushes out. Great lead tone too, aswell as the best metal rythm sound ive heard. Channel 4 sounds a bit like the powerball and is great too. For the money there is no better amp in my opinion. I was always a marshall guy and loved the way they felt to play, the powerball has that kind of feel but is twice as brutal. The most important thing to me is how it fits in the mix. I was never too happy with my mesas and they were kinda flabby, the powerball cuts great and the compliments roll in.

had it a couple months and not a problem so far. I can say the construction quality of this thing is top notch.

asked them a few questions and got a couple of replys. Seemed as if they avoided my questions asking about tubes and technical stuff, only answered simple stuff so I have to give a 7

What more can I say, this amp is definately up there with the best VHT, Diezel, Bogner. After searching endlessly I've finally found a keeper. The amp is flawless

4-channel tube amp.Lot of cool features("mid open" versus-"focused")deep switch,noise gate,...)See website ENGL for all feat.
No reverb(otherwhise,it would be a 10)

Well,the funny thing with musicians is that all Europeans are crazy about all them great American amps(Bogner,Soldano,Boogie,...,)that go for INCREDIBLE prices here,and that all Americans want to play an European amp(Diezel,ENGL,H&K,Framus,...),also very expensive overthere.I tried many of these amps,and must say, they all have superb qualities,and the differences in sound are very personal.So,is the Bogner a "better" amp then the ENGL,or is a Framus cobra "better" then a Soldano? In my opinion,all are great boutique-amps,but no-way an U.S.made amp sounds 1000 dollar better then an Euro-amp,and American musicians should be crazy to pay 1000 dollar more for a EUROPEAN-amp(IT IS ALL IN THE IMPORT-TAXES,protection,you know,...)
Believe me,the Powerball has an incredible soundpallet.Personally i like channel 3( low-gain)most because of its versatility(from Gary Moore to Petrucci),but all the other channels sound super too

Time will tell.Although,is very,very well constructed.

Fantastic!!I mailed the designer(Horst Langer)with questions about Powerball versus Savage,and for my style he recommended the Powerball(beeing 400 euro cheaper)Great choice!

Playing for 15 years,i have a lot of gear.This is one of the best heads i have heard(especially for the price)If i swam in money i maybe buy a Diezel,who was (for me)the only better sounding amp.

The powerball is a VERY well equipped amp.

It has two main channels and 4 footswitchable basic sound and thus advertising it as a 4 channel amp.

it has switches for bright and bottom boost on the clean and chruch channel.

and seperate switches for bottom on the Lo Lead and Hi Lead channel which provide massive bottom end.

Also it has got poweramp tube monitoring per tube (4 leds) on the front side of the amp.

On the Hi and Lo Lead channel it has got a switching possibilty for focussed and open, also these modes have seperate assiged mid EQ knobs, so when you switch to open you can adjust the mid EQ with the "mid open" knob, and when switched to "focussed" you can adjust the mid EQ with the "mid focused" knob.

The amp has a great built in noise gate on the back side of the amphead, this is a kich ass feature and makes this amp the most silent I have ever played!

Also the presence and depth punch knobe to adjust the treble and bass response of the poweramp tubes is great and really involved.

A nice visual feature are the red leds behind the poweramp tubes wich makes the amp's interior illuminated with a blood red shine.

Clean:

Best I have ever heard on a nigh gain head, lots of headroom and a very warm sound, should be geat for jazz or counrty.

I don't use it a lot but it is indeed impressive.

Crunch:

You can easily get a nice rochsound out of it, where a lot of high gain head suffer from not having these in between overdive sounds, this one definately has these too!

You can get a nice Marshall crunch sound: AC/DC, led zeppelin, and blues are no problem!

Lo Lead:

This channel is already very high gain and best suited for rhythm guiatr I think, I use this one most.

very tight and defined distortion, one of the best I heard togheter with the mesa dual recto(although this amp is far too expensive for what you get!! because it certainly isn't better than the peavey or teh ENGL) and the peavey Triple XXX.

Hi Lead:

Logically this channel togheter with the focused sound palette is best suited for soaring leads!

Sounds killer!

Built from the highest quality materials, steel frontgrille, chrome frontplate with all the controls, look killer too!

Selected and matched tubes come stock, and sound good, poweramp 6L6GC X 4 and Preamp ECC 83 X 4!

Buit to last definately better than many other amps, and comparable with the most high end boutique amps!

never had o deal with them!

Best amp I have played, a close call with the peavey Triple XXX though, but this amp has some features like the noise gate which make this amp have the advantage above the triple XXX.