hey, i was just wondering how the 5150/6505 compared with the engl powerball.
i just wanted to know which one is better for sheer brutality. i will be using drop tunings and emgs...

once again, the music i mostly play are songs from KsE, slayer, slipknot, necrophagist, cryptopsy, trivium, chimaira, nile, cannibal corpse, machinehead, metallica etc.

ino its a wide variety, but to be honest i play more of chimaira and slipknot etc than the technical metal side. im just not good enough yet to "specialise" in that.

so yea, which amp will be more suited for that?

cheers
user01

If you're playing slipknot you might as well get a behringer V-Amp with head phones so no one has to hear you play.

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Get the money first, and try them out yourself. Most of those bands use one or the other, so try them the fuck out.
Or, just go the 5150 and dime the gain, those powerchords will sound brutal as fuck.

Haha not really, quite narrow actually. Honestly, given the style of music you play, the fact you have EMG's, and the fact that you drop tune, its not really going to matter that much. Get the 5150 just because you obviously dont need a clean channel, or any of the 4 channels the Powerball has to offer.

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*Shotgun pump sound...* BURNED!!!

Really though, I think its great that you play a wide range of music, even if I don't happen to like it all. Having the wide range of taste you have, the Engl might be the way to go for you. I'm not saying the 5150 has narrow tone but the powerball has more from my understanding ( even with EMGs ). I have played many the 5150 amps in my time and all where great. I'm shocked it took so long for the 5150 to become popular in the metal community actually. I think it had to with the amp being a EVH fanboy glam rock icon during the 80's and 90's.

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If you want even the slightest versatility in your tone, get an Engl. If all you need is high gain, get the 5150, they're much cheaper too, but frankly I think Engl's are worth the cash.

God damn I love my fireball.

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na, i do that at the moment with a pod xt

i hate the fact that it sounds kinda crappy at high volumes. i want an amp where it gets better the higher you crank it.

I duno i have heard that the fireball isn't really that great to be honest. But in reality i think you would probably be happy with just about any modern higain tube amplifier. Anything from the 5150, the engl, to a Crate blue voodoo. All of which have their own good but unique sounds. I mean hell even ihave27frets apparently uses madison amps, and if they have a sound like they do from THAT companies amps.. then i'm sold. Enough said.

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i think he rocks framus cobras, the other guitarist in his band sports the madisons.

and i remember him saying something on here about his tracks being recorded with a blend of a powerball and a cobra. not sure about the other guy though. and their tone is pretty good imo.

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Their tone is the SHIT. I hadn't heard of Absence until some post awhile back, can't remember what it was about. But from the FIRST song i heard from there i became obsessed. Definately my most played cd i have right now. Interestingly enough they're the pinacle of what i'm attempting to ackomplish musically. The style and feel.

But anyways back on topic. I'm not claiming to know what they play, but i just saw they endorse madison amps. Which is kind of a surprise, (i guess). I dunno i'm starting to believe this search for the "perfect tube amp" is almost fruitless as they all sound pretty damn good, with knowledgeable tweaking.

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I personally didn't like the Absence's tone on their CD(nor the music for that matter, sorry mate!), just kind of mushy. Hell I like warm heavy overdriven slightly mushy sounds but that Framus doesn't sound good to me, at least rythm wise, leads sounded great though I'm sure that's mostly due to ihave27frets playing.

Engl Fireballs are not so great? What the hell have you been intoxicating yourself with? Owning one I think they kick loads of ass tonewise and are extremely reliable, but for pro's that need more features I'd suggest a Powerball or a higher end Engl, but the Fireball is a great cheaper alternative for people that just need high gain and cleans, no in-betweens nor seperate channel EQ's. The sound is really perfect for me, as it's not super sterile like modern hi gain amps but not super oldschool/overdriven sounding, so you can EQ/use different pickups/pedals to get virtually any sound and it will sound authentic, not like forcing a Rectifier to sound overdrivish like a JCM800 or vice-versa.

For the 870€ I payed for my fireball, I don't think it's possible to buy any better tube amp new for that price.

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I'm just repeating what i read, i've never heard or even seen one in real life before. I wouldn't mind trying them out, but granted you don't really see them in your average music store.....

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Meh, their tone is meh. Too fizzy. Kinda metal zonish. I remember him saying the Cobra didnt go through any processors or external units, but fuck, it sounds over processed to me.
and +1, fireballs are great.

MAdison, sounds interesting ... Anyone tried the Carvin V3 or know someone that has?

The Engl Fireball has a decent tone but to my ears the amp lacks punch and dynamics. They are built pretty cheap, on par with Peavey and newer Marshall stuff. They aren't any high end amp. They record pretty well. Live they have no feel and are buzzy.
Jerry

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The best tone you can get from a Powerball in my opinion is the following:
Gain at 1 o clock
Bass at 2 o clock
Mids at 3
Treble all the way up
Presence on 4 o clock

You don't need to dime the gains on this amp to get that brutal tone your looking for, and this amp cuts nicely through a mix or over other instruments. I'd take the Powerball over the 5150 any day, and this is after playing both of them over a period of years sporadically when one or the other was around.

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you know whats wierd? when i practice at home. most of my settings are like < half treble. i've even turned it all the way down. the sound for me doesnt really change the wa you'd expewct. hell on the splawn i could do anything with the EQ and still get an amazing tone. right, home is hardly any treble. but when i go to GC or sumthin i gotta crank it. wonder why that is?

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Haha, probably all the guitar n00bs [a.k.a. people] and crap they have in the store eats up the high frequencies of treble... so you gotta crank it to be more noticable... whereas in your room it's just you, the walls and your stuff so the high end isn't getting absorbed as much.

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Definately an acoustics factor.

The next question would be whether or not your using the same speakers at GC and home?

That could play a pretty big difference. But obviously acoustics is another one.

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