I want to buy an Engl, and was looking at the various heads in the same price range. Since no dealers were I live stock Engl, I'm going on their reputation and advice from other people who own them. All i've ever heard was good things.
But i'm curious, between The Invader, the Savage, and the Powerball, which head is the best choice for metal? I'm like lots of gain from the head (no distortion pedals, i like all the distortion to come from the head) but also is diverse enough for clean sounds? I'm looking for the thick, tight sound for really heavy shit but also need good clean for depth and what not.
Also, for those of you who own Engl amps do you also use ther Engl Cabs, or do you use another brand?

They're all fucking amazing, although from experience I've only played the Powerball out of those 3 before. It can do everything, far more gain than any human being would ever need and very tight.

I don't have an Engl cab for my amp, I use a mesa 4x12 slanted cab and it's wonderful

You might also be interested in trying out the blackmore sig.

I'm personally a fan of the fireball, but since you like cleans, you can get better clean sounds out of their other amps you listed.


as for engl cabs, they are nice, but for the money you can get pretty much any cab you want, so I'd check a few out first. I might go with a VHT cab over the ENGL cabs.. that's just me though.

if youre going to buy engl online there is only one place to do it:

http://www.rocksolidamps.com

derek b is the shit and is awesome to work with.

honestly, all three of those heads are going to nail exactly what youre looking for. it all just depends on what voicing you're looking for. the powerball nails 100% the modern metal sound with super thick lows. the invader is going to have a more pronounced and snarly mid range (a la marshall) due to the EL34 power section. the savage is going to be a more agressive sounding powerball.

as far as the cabs, they are great. although they are super pricey for what they are IMO. for cheaper money, you'd probably be just as satisfied if you go mesa or avatar for your cab.

tell us what some of your favorite guitar sounds/bands are, and i might be able to point you in a better direction.

If you do want to try a Blackmore I own one, let me know. Always looking to help out guys that want to try ENGLs.

For what you're asking, any of the amps are going to pull it off in all honesty. One dealer that has a few ENGLs is Boston Guitar Works in Brockton.

well, the ones he mentioned are the definetly the ones to go for as they have the independent EQs for a dedicated clean and lead where as amps like the blackmore and fireball do not.

only go down to boston guitar works to try out their engls, though. they overprice their shit sort of nuts like.

Yeah I meant to go there to try them. His stuff is pretty overpriced and one of the guys that works there is a jerk.

The shared EQ isn't really a problem for me, but I can see how some would hate it.

I played a Savage through a Dual Rect. Cab the other night at my bro's room and tried to trade the guy my Triamp head a 50 watt Marshall Vintage Mod head I've never even taken out of the box. Dude wouldn't even consider it. This is the best sounding amp I've checked out EVER. Made the Tri-Amp sound like a Line 6.

NERDS!!!

UnderLord said:

That's because the tri amp sounds like a line 6. Zing!

True that is, but good in trade for two oz. of dirt weed.

I would go with the powerball or the savage.the invader is supose to be a b it loose mor eof a rock tone af far as the blackmore I can get my powerball real close to its tone..

actually blue the savage is a tad bit less agressive than the powerball but is suppose sound a little thicker and clearer if thats possible

as afr as cabs I hated my PB waith the mesa,marshall thry vader,bogner, and splawn....

wow thanks guys. I'm going to probably go with either the Powerball or the Savage.
Noodleface, thanks for the heads up on Guitar works, i'm going to shoot down there this week and play some amps to get a feel for which one i want. Blue, also thanks to you and Magh8 for your advice. it's nice to get insight from peopel who actually have "battle tested" these things.

blue said:

hey Chris, when did you get all of this ENGL gear?

magh8 said:

dude Bill should make his own version of the engl and call it the PowerBill

oh yeah,
be sure to get a good noise gate or hush the engl stuff tends to be noisy especially the blackmore....

magh8 said:

Yep, although I found my Fireball way noisier. I use an ISP Decimator and it's the best no doubt.

I think the amount of gain I use as opposed to most guys is another factor too.

Brad Weymouth said:

porphyria said:


hey ralph, i have tried teh amps out n00b (cept for the invader)