Alright

So I was going to buy an Engl Powerball like for 100% and I found an EXCELLENT shop nearby, not expensive, run by a guitarvirtuoso who is a tone-master btw.

Anyway I asked him for a price & he wanted to know my preferences first.

I said, a badass clean, and the ability to play both brutal death and melodic/black.

He said I would be way cheaper AND better with the Hughes&Kettner all-tube Warp-T
*NOT the transistor warp-7*. I will pay not even 1800€ for this 120w halfstack (included modding).
He claims it to be a Mesa Recto killer (cfr also harmonycentral reviews) too.

Anyone of you experience with this amp & would you chose it over a Powerball?

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If you think this amp kicks ass and you think its better than the Engl then I would get it. Try them both out and see which one you think will give you the tone you want.

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i fucking love engl's especially the powerball, but if this dude knows his shit, maybe you should try out the H&k if u havent already done and see which one u like better

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Yeah I probably can't test it, or it should be that he has the H&K in his shop (but it is a small one). Didn't go & see yet, it's about 30 mins drive, I just mailed him a couple of times.

Hmm... I'm really into the Engl cause I know it can handle pretty much anything. I'll ask him a price for that since he didn't gave it.

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I wouldnt buy this Warp-t amp just because that one dude said it was good. Definatly try it out a lot and see how you like it.

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Warp's aren't bad if you use downtunings, even the SS version isnt bad for its money.

the warp-T or X is pretty rare to find, so I haven't tried one yet, but I'm sure it kicks some ass..

though I'm in love with the Engl tone, I probably won't choose H&K over my Engl.. but I don't know, try them both and find out for yourself man!

i don't know a whole lot about the tube warp _'s but i honestly think the h&k triamp & duotone are quite possibly the best amps ever made...... as much stuff from h&k is awesome... the bassbase, access preamp,zentera,rotospere,ect..... all amazing peices of gear. good namesake there.
but just cause he says you should go with the warp t or x or whatever, doesnt mean you should.... i'm sure they're great, but i know the engl powerball is an awesome amp it would do what you want it to... so if i were you, i would check the warp out before making up your mind.

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^you have a point there, the acces and triamps are awsome....

I've got a bassbase bass amp myself (400w version) and its possibly one of the most neutral amps ever made (which is great for bass!!)

H&K stuff is quality stuff, I can guarantee it. though Engl is just a completely different product.

Try it, Just cause ENGL's the big "metal" amp dosent mean you HAVE to buy it. You might like the H&K better, they both make quality shit so either way im sure you'll end up with somethign good

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i envy you for your bassbase!

but at least this guy is looking into quality gear.

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lol, the amp looks like its 10 years old and rusty but it still works perfectly though it has seen a lot of road action through the years!! never had problems with it, allways a solid bass tone, though its a bitch to carry around (damn those cabs are heavy!) I'll take a pic of it this week, it looks shit but it still sounds ace and its still extremely noise-free. (even the pots and shit) quality shit.

but thats what you pay for eh.

Hehe.

I could buy that Warp-T (incl. modding) with a cabinet (v30s) for the price of a Powerball head without cab.

anyway I told him I was more attracted to the ENGL because like one of you said, a Powerball has the capability of giving me what I want. Maybe the H&K does too, but I'm reluctant to take the "risk".

So I asked him a price for the ENGL now, still awaiting a reply.

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well... it wouldnt be a risk if you tried the h&k out first.... it always kills me when i buy a peice of gear that i want and later decide i'd be happier with one of the amps i was also considering...... then i have to go on a buy/sell/trade spree....
give the h&k a shot... because if you end up liking it alot, then you save yourself alot of greif and money.

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ALRIGHT I got myself the H&K anyway.

that dude knows about anything from guitar tech. and the Powerball tone creation isn't even pure tube anymore (while the savage is)(Something fucked up in the scheme).

Anyway he modded the Warp-T into a Rectifier sound and it rocks!
And it saved me 1000$^
And it goes incredibely loud for a halfstack.

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i don't know if i'd trust him on the part of the powerball not being "pure tube"... tube preamp and tube power amp= all tube in my mind....and the powerball has both... there are otherthings that people consider making an amp "untrue"... but i've never looked inside of a powerball so i can't say for sure.... but engl is top notch shit, so i really think this guy is loading you full of shit.
not to mention it's really expensive to make tube shit... so it would be pointless for them to throw away money on making a "fake" tube amp.

but congrats on the warp T, if you like it alot... keep it....
and of course it's incredibly loud for a halfstack... that's what halfstacks are for....

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You understand me wrong.

The thing has preamp tubes. But that dude looks at schemes and then mods amps. The reason why he dislikes the Powerball is because some parts (IC's I think) are linked in a 'wrong' order to be good. F.e. the Fireball and Savage are constructed in a different (better) way. The actual tone creation isn't the same as with lot of other amps.

He also had people coming to him with a Powerball suffering from 'child diseases', translated literally (sorry, poor English).

But hey, this guy is a GIT-graduate and it is certainly not 'full of shit' because he made me buy an amp which costs 1000$ less. So def. not much of salestricks. I also have an extended guarantee on the amp because he is 'dealer' of H&K in our province. Also *he* gets 20% reduction from H&K for that, but he doesn't take much profit since I get it (only pay 1700, catalog price 2200).

He makes his own cabinet-cables (8mm thick) - way better then the store ones. Also throws in the modding, AND he has put preamp TESLA tubes in (I don't pay jack shit for all that), not that stock chinese crap.

By the way, I still like the Powerball a lot, ENGL is top-notch shit. But it is one of cheapest ENGL makes so it's a sort of 'compressed' version. At least that what's he said, and he will probably know it better than me, since he can read fucking amp schemes like a book and most likely does his profession longer than I'm alive.

By the way: with 'loud' for a halfstack I mean louder than an average halfstack. The Crate besides it (same wattage) at 7, the WarpT at 3. Eat it.

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and that crate was a tube amp too?

Tesla tubes are good shit, nowaday's they're JJ's though, maybe he had some old stock around or something.

as far as the poweball, yeah, I love it, and don't even say 'Savage' to me, I've played the normal Richie Blackmore version but also the limited edition (with the midi shit and black faced front) and it must have been one of the best amps I've ever played, the distortion on it is too brutal for words, though the H&K Triamp is more versatile, I'de probably pick the Savage above it just because of its huge distortion (the channel sounds rediculously big somehow, theres no way to explain it but trying it yourself.)

As for the Powerball not beeing true, I think thats a rediculous statement, the Ic's (I think those are either Elco's or condensers in dutch) routing doesn't have to do much with the tone IMO, Engl has been known to use different routings for their amps, but Engl isn't the only one to do it (So I guess they had their reasons)

and the Savage can't really be compared to a powerball, the Savage is a world apart, though its in a completly different price range too, I would prefer it over a Bogner Shiva or even a Rivera Knucklehead.. (throw a Soldano SLO100 in there and I might have my doubts though )

Anyways, congrats on the H&K, its quality stuff, shame it has the nu-metal image though, lol! if you feel like it, record some riffs for us, I'de like to know how it screams out above the 12th fret, since the SS warp doesn't scream at all

I dunno, you got a good deal for the Warp, but I'de probably put them both besides each other and see if its really worth dishing out the extra cash and if I fellt like it was, I would definetly dish out the extra cash... but anyways, I guess I'm just a bit too easy about spending money on gear.

on another note, my offer for the Access was accepted xDx I hope I can pick it up someday soon so the guy doesn't sell it to some other fuck.

Yep the Crate was a 100w tube head.

Yeah but you see man, that 'immense' distortion on the ENGLs in general - I love it too. But this dude can easily trespass it with some modding.

As he explained it simple for us: a Mesa Dual Recto has about 5 distortion (dutch "trappen". He can mod any good tube amp up to 8.
He said himself the fabric-made Warp-T was shite (and you should visit the site of H&K, the samples are indeed fucking bad) but now it sounds pretty brutal.
He indeed said (and I know) the Warps have a nu-metal image, but trust me dude. That (modded) Warp-T is not one.

I'll record some riffs when I go and pick it up. Should be end this week, or maybe next week. The reviews on Harmonycentral are describing it as a 'rectokiller' and that's just the stock version lol.

I'm also willing to spend a lot of cash on gear since I calculated a fat 2500 for the Engl+cab in budget. But hey, that guy really knows his shit and if you are in the big Belgian city of Gent sometimes, you should ask him yourself about the Powerball. I think he likes the Savage though, but that was above price range for me. But he can mod the sound of any Laney or H&K to it.

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lol, I don't want a laney or H&K sound out of an engl

I'de probably have to kill him if he did that, haha!

I know Gent, its a cool place, whats the store called?

anyways, I've seen the reviews on it too, but I don't generally trust reviews, but I won't know untill I try it out myself, I'll get a shot at one at the end of the month, a friend of mine is trading his ss warp 7 for the warp T.

and as for the Crate, I don't like them much, those Blue Voodoo's are the best they have and I wasn't really impressed with them, only with their price.

I hope to get my new toy too soon, I'll definetly post pics and sounds of it once I get it anyways, happy playing man!

Lol you misunderstood.

I meant, if you buy an H&K or Laney, you can have him mod it towards the Engl sound (or just shitloads of gain).

I even can go back if it needs to be modded into another sound (for free )

the store is Guitar and amp center, sint-niklaas straat 17 (in the heart of the centre, near the Veldstraat and korenmarkt). Doesn't have a website.

And dude, the stock Warp-T is pretty weak (sound-wise)... You will probably be disappointed but as I said, you'll hear my modded version soon.

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umm... crate doesnt make a 100w tube head that i know of..... and i know crate.....
if you ment the blue voodoo....
the blue voodoos are pretty nice.... and loud too.... but they only come in 50w,60w,120w,150w, and 300w versions..... not 100w....

but if it was a 100w s.s. crate head then i could understand the warp t being significantly louder.... the cab it's on also has tons to do with the volume.

i still think this dude is loading you full of crap on the powerball though... like def said ....


or maybe you just interpretted him wrong....

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My bad, it will be a 120w then. Since I never looked at a Crate before I have no idea which model it was.

Since the Warp-T is 120w the Crate 'll probably be the same.

Crate + crate cab.
H&K with warp-T cab: 2x Celestion V30s and 2x Celestion V100.

I was playing for 5 mins at volume 3 and my head started to hurt.

The powerball, the guy even refuses to mod it so something will be up with it. But whatever.

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well, that warp t cab has more sufficiant speakers for one.... and if that crate head was tube you'd know because you'd be able to see them.....

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Yes the Crate was a tube head. I'll look at it better when I go and pick my Warp-T up. Maybe it has the model on it but I didn't see it on first sight.

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play that crate man and tell me what you think of it

im interested in it!

standard crate blue voodoo cabs sound like ass... the v30 ones are nice though....
it should say bv(numbers)h on it... the numbers represent the wattage.... i think the bv50h short chasis head is the best sounding, but it's only 50w.... it's old school. i wanna buy one so i can rackmount it and team it up with an external poweramp....

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