Hi guys...so, I got to choose between these 2 amps.

I just can´t decide it...they are just both really good...but maybe some of you own(ed) one of these amps can give me some feedback and some pros and contras.

I need a "flexible" amp since I like to play jazz etc. also (besides metal ).

Most people´s opinion is that the cobra has a better clean chan than the powerball...and that the powerball has a better crunch chan.
The powerball "compresses" a lot (especially with high gain of course).


Well anyway...please just give me your opinions, experiences etc. if you have ever played/used one of these amps. Could possibly be very helpful!


Thanks already!

i had both at one point... ended up selling the cobra. and i still have the powerball.

what made me choose.
cleans, are pretty even, i'd give them to the cobra in the end though. the powerball's crunch has less gain than the cobras so it cant do the same ranges, but for what it's worth i like it just the same. plus the powerball has 2 lead channels. the high gain area is no contest when you have them side by side in your rig and cranked up. powerball has a way tighter low end, with the open/focus mid selection you can have a super sweet midrange(focused) boosted sound or a modern more scoopy sound(open), but the great thing is they have their own knobs so you can still tweak how present the midrange is. the powerball has more gain, and it's ALL usuable. the cobra pusses out and gets muddy with the gain past 6. i havent had any problems with the powerball. but the short while i had the cobra i had two preamp tubes burn out and a powertube blow, not to mention a horrible ground hum.

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Well, atm I play a solid state amp...and it´s muddy, you can imagine.
So, one of the reasons why I want a good tube amp ist, that I don´t have this "muddy"-problem anymore...so if the clean chans are (almost) even and the powerball is less muddier than the cobra, I would rater choose the powerball.

Btw, I just wondered why the cobra costs more than the powerball (at least here in Europe it does).

But what would you say about the flexibility of the amps? I don´t want to need to sell it in like 1 year or so just because I want to try a new style of music...I definitely don´t want to stuck with metal (only) my whole life.
And I guess that you didn´t play metal music only with them too?!

but thanks for your answer!

from the two I like the cobra more. If you use the cobra with a boost pedal it really tightens up the sound. And imo the gain on the cobra is nicer but yeah, it isn't all usuable. The cobra is a flexibel amp but so is the powerball. You can play all kinds of music on both

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Powerball, does everything you'll ever need.

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Well, but do the cleans of the powerball get muddy at high volumes?

the other guitarist in my band has a powerball and until I got a savage SE it was the best amp i'd heard and no it keeps nice and tight even kranked.

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Meh, I cant stand Cobra's high gain tone. To fizzy, with way lose low end. Powerball runs rings around it, for me anyway. Framus wins the bikini contest though, they look hot as fuck.

Ah, I got another question...since I´m going to buy a used powerball (if I buy one) I can only get the Powerball V1 (the guys who are selling a PB all have the V1) - I´ve heard the the V2´s noisegate would be better or something...was this a well worth and important improvement? in other words: is the V1 PB noisy?

As fasr as I remember, xdislexicx wrote (in another thread), that he has never had any problems with PB V1 - any other experiences there?

the v1 isnt very noisey. any high gain amp is going to have noise though. the v1 noisegate isnt anything special, but it works fine and it's very convenient when i don't have my pedalboard or rack with me.

the v2 not only has a slightly better noisegate, but they made it slightly more robust against feedback. this may be worth a little more to some. i personally don't care because i have a bunch of high end noise suppressors at my disposal. with the money you may save going with a v1, you could maybe a buy an isp decimator pedal.

the v2 also has a different treble taper, which is the only audible difference in how the amps sound. supposedly it makes it easier to dial in a tighter sound. but the v1 is one of the tighest amps i've ever played so im not sure if thats going to be a big deal.

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Ah ok, thanks...because now I got the possibility to buy a used Powerball V2 with footswitch for about 1500 dollars...good deal or not? :X