# NAD: ENGL Fireball 25!



## Guitarjon (Sep 16, 2020)

I finally got my hands on an ENGL Fireball 25! I already own the Fireball 100 and Ironball amps and those are stellar! A lot of people asked me if I had tried the Fireball 25 and until now I had to say no.... But I finally got one and I am super excited to say the least! 

I have a lot of small amps, most of them have EL84's in the power-sections, which is fine, I think they sound cool! It's a matter of headroom mostly and I'm mostly a studio player. Anyway, so then the MT15 came from PRS and that was one of the first mini-amps to feature 6L6 tubes in the power-section. This does give the amp more headroom and 'oomph'. I think the latter mostly has to do with headroom because in my experience the small EL84 can have more than enough low-end, it's just that they start to break up earlier than 6L6's for example. I do like the MT15 a lot though and I have to admit that it sounds quite 'big' for a 'small' amp... 

Then the Fireball 25 came around and I got very excited because both the Fireball 100 and Ironball are excellent amps. I love that typical edgy ENGL tone, great cleans, clear crunch tones and crushing high-gain. I already was pretty sure that the Fireball 25 would deliver on all those fronts.

So I got the amp and I have to say it absolutely lives up to my expectations! The cleans are gorgeous although I do miss the bright-switch a little bit. It still sounds great without it though. Just like my other ENGLs, the clean channel can be pushed to a nice crunch, sounds great! Could be even better with a good boost. The Lead channel is where the magic happens! Plenty of gain and a lot of edgy (but not harsh!) presence and cut. Heavy but tight low-end and nicely balanced mids. It really does sound like a larger amp indeed! I still need to compare it directly to my FB100 and IB but I will do that soon enough...

Until then, here's a short demo/review-ish video of the amp. I think it sounded just perfect in the mix.... I'm blown away by the amp!:


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## MatrixClaw (Sep 16, 2020)

Awesome! I've been very curious about this amp. I'm not really interested in the mini amps with small power sections, this the MT-15 and FB25 are at the top of my list. You hear a lot about the Ironball, but not much about the Fireball. Have you tried the MT-15?


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## myrtorp (Sep 16, 2020)

Great tones and riffing dude, really good!


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## Guitarjon (Sep 16, 2020)

MatrixClaw said:


> Awesome! I've been very curious about this amp. I'm not really interested in the mini amps with small power sections, this the MT-15 and FB25 are at the top of my list. You hear a lot about the Ironball, but not much about the Fireball. Have you tried the MT-15?



I also have the MT15. It's really good but the ENGL is better for metal by default, it has a better crunch tone and more features. In this case I think the ENGL will win


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## MatrixClaw (Sep 16, 2020)

Guitarjon said:


> I also have the MT15. It's really good but the ENGL is better for metal by default, it has a better crunch tone and more features. In this case I think the ENGL will win


Good to know! I didn't realize you were Jon from Sonic Drive Studio - been listening to all your videos lately to figure out what amp(s) I want to pick up next! Your video of the 5150 III is what's made me look into them again after taking a break from guitar for ~5 years and your MT15 demo is awesome, too! Honestly, all your demos are great, it makes it hard to choose my favorite on your shootouts 

Finally listened to the video, the Fireball sounds great! Curious to hear your opinion on it vs the Ironball, as well!


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## jclogston (Sep 16, 2020)

So ironball, fireball, or mt15? You can only have one...


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## Guitarjon (Sep 16, 2020)

MatrixClaw said:


> Good to know! I didn't realize you were Jon from Sonic Drive Studio - been listening to all your videos lately to figure out what amp(s) I want to pick up next! Your video of the 5150 III is what's made me look into them again after taking a break from guitar for ~5 years and your MT15 demo is awesome, too! Honestly, all your demos are great, it makes it hard to choose my favorite on your shootouts
> 
> Finally listened to the video, the Fireball sounds great! Curious to hear your opinion on it vs the Ironball, as well!



I'm definitely planning on comparing the Fireball to a bunch of amps! 



jclogston said:


> So ironball, fireball, or mt15? You can only have one...



In that case I would choose the Fireball 25....


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## Guitarjon (Sep 18, 2020)

Update: still loving the amp! I'm currently working on a demo video that shows this amp off in more styles, so clean, crunch, rock, leads and heavy! Will report back soon with that demo. Perhaps that will be a little less one-sided.


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## AussieTerry (Sep 27, 2020)

Hi Jon, how does the Fireball 25 compare to a 50w 5150 III?

Im looking at either one for bedroom playing.


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## Guitarjon (Sep 28, 2020)

AussieTerry said:


> Hi Jon, how does the Fireball 25 compare to a 50w 5150 III?
> 
> Im looking at either one for bedroom playing.



Both are great for metal but I'm not a fan of the EVH cleans. The ENGL cleans (and crunch's) are far superior imho. The high gain stuff is a matter of taste. Both are amazing in their own way.


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## Gmork (Sep 28, 2020)

Id love to get the fb25 along with its matching 1x12. So adorable lol. 
My fb100 has been one of my all time favorite full sized amps ive ever owned, one of the few i cant see myself ever selling. Ive always said its like a souped up, modernized tube vh140. 
Absolutely love the thing.


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## sonoftheoldnorth (Sep 28, 2020)

Hey Jon, those garage style shelves you have the heads stacked on and that I see so many people using; do you literally just pull them out and plonk them on a cab to use, or is there some way of being able to hook them up to cabs from the shelving without pissing about? 

It's something I see a lot of guys use but no one talks about much.


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## King Belial (Sep 28, 2020)

I ordered the evh 5153 stealth 50 watt and just found out that it's on back order again until November 9th. I'm tempted to cancel my order and get this 25 watter


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## Meeotch (Sep 28, 2020)

FWIW I've owned the FB100 and the EVH 50w (non stealth). As others can probably attest to, my honeymoon phase with the FB100 was glorious but then quickly faded. There's no denying it's a great amp, but it felt less organic than the EVH. A bit more sterile and the feel was a bit lacking. I bought mine second hand and it may have needed new tubes, but I'm not the first person to experience some boredom with the FB.

I agree that the cleans on the FB beat the EVH. The FB is a pretty dark amp and needed the treble cranked on the gain channel. Since it shares EQ with the cleans, this made my cleans way too harsh even with the bright switch off. It is also not as tight as EVH channel 3, but had more low end, especially with the bottom switch on. The FB has tons of gain on tap, no drama there, and it's arguably more usable than EVH channel 3. 

Overall my preference is the EVH based on feel, but they are both wicked aggressive amps that will not disappoint. Keep in mind I haven't tried the FB25 so this isn't a direct comparison. Cheers.


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## King Belial (Sep 28, 2020)

Meeotch said:


> FWIW I've owned the FB100 and the EVH 50w (non stealth). As others can probably attest to, my honeymoon phase with the FB100 was glorious but then quickly faded. There's no denying it's a great amp, but it felt less organic than the EVH. A bit more sterile and the feel was a bit lacking. I bought mine second hand and it may have needed new tubes, but I'm not the first person to experience some boredom with the FB.
> 
> I agree that the cleans on the FB beat the EVH. The FB is a pretty dark amp and needed the treble cranked on the gain channel. Since it shares EQ with the cleans, this made my cleans way too harsh even with the bright switch off. It is also not as tight as EVH channel 3, but had more low end, especially with the bottom switch on. The FB has tons of gain on tap, no drama there, and it's arguably more usable than EVH channel 3.
> 
> Overall my preference is the EVH based on feel, but they are both wicked aggressive amps that will not disappoint. Keep in mind I haven't tried the FB25 so this isn't a direct comparison. Cheers.



I've always liked their preamps better. Savage is pretty good but very expensive. I think evh 5153 stealth wins


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## USMarine75 (Oct 13, 2020)

^


I have an EVH 5153 on order
Oh no I have to wait 10 days ima cancel
Gonna buy Engl instead
Recommend 5153 I don’t own over another amp I don’t own
Engl preamps are better than amps, except Savage (recommending another amp I don’t own). 

I think EVH 5153S wins, but I’m still gonna cancel because I’d rather have an Engl I think isn’t as good as their preamps because I don’t want to wait 10 days.


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## Gmork (Oct 13, 2020)

Meeotch said:


> FWIW I've owned the FB100 and the EVH 50w (non stealth). As others can probably attest to, my honeymoon phase with the FB100 was glorious but then quickly faded. There's no denying it's a great amp, but it felt less organic than the EVH. A bit more sterile and the feel was a bit lacking. I bought mine second hand and it may have needed new tubes, but I'm not the first person to experience some boredom with the FB.
> 
> I agree that the cleans on the FB beat the EVH. The FB is a pretty dark amp and needed the treble cranked on the gain channel. Since it shares EQ with the cleans, this made my cleans way too harsh even with the bright switch off. It is also not as tight as EVH channel 3, but had more low end, especially with the bottom switch on. The FB has tons of gain on tap, no drama there, and it's arguably more usable than EVH channel 3.
> 
> Overall my preference is the EVH based on feel, but they are both wicked aggressive amps that will not disappoint. Keep in mind I haven't tried the FB25 so this isn't a direct comparison. Cheers.


yeah the FB100 is definitely NOT an organic amp. I always said it sounds like its been mixed and mastered and spit back out. And like i always mention, i compare it to the ss vh140 so it does have a ss sorta feel. Not for everyone. Mind you, get those mids turned up and it starts to get a bit more organic and woody sounding


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## MetalHead40 (Oct 13, 2020)

Gmork said:


> yeah the FB100 is definitely NOT an organic amp. I always said it sounds like its been mixed and mastered and spit back out. And like i always mention, i compare it to the ss vh140 so it does have a ss sorta feel. Not for everyone. Mind you, get those mids turned up and it starts to get a bit more organic and woody sounding



Definitely not organic compared to say Fryette, Wizard, some Mesas, or Peters amps, but the FB100 I had with gain 10-11 o'clock and clean boosted with mids cranked up was MUCH less "processed" sounding and honestly got it sounding/feeling pretty dang raw. 

I liked my Savage 120 better...often regret selling both the FB100 and Savage 120. I have a blackout version Artist Edition arriving this week and am very curious to play with that. It's been years since I owned an Engl so this should be fun.


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## sonoftheoldnorth (Oct 14, 2020)

MetalHead40 said:


> Definitely not organic compared to say Fryette, Wizard, some Mesas, or Peters amps, but the FB100 I had with gain 10-11 o'clock and clean boosted with mids cranked up was MUCH less "processed" sounding and honestly got it sounding/feeling pretty dang raw.
> 
> I liked my Savage 120 better...often regret selling both the FB100 and Savage 120. I have a blackout version Artist Edition arriving this week and am very curious to play with that. It's been years since I owned an Engl so this should be fun.


Cool. Been curious about that amp. Deffo post about it when it arrives


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## Gmork (Oct 14, 2020)

MetalHead40 said:


> Definitely not organic compared to say Fryette, Wizard, some Mesas, or Peters amps, but the FB100 I had with gain 10-11 o'clock and clean boosted with mids cranked up was MUCH less "processed" sounding and honestly got it sounding/feeling pretty dang raw.
> 
> I liked my Savage 120 better...often regret selling both the FB100 and Savage 120. I have a blackout version Artist Edition arriving this week and am very curious to play with that. It's been years since I owned an Engl so this should be fun.


yeah, i im making it sound as if its a lifeless solidstate tone and thats not it.. Just kinda hard to explain. I guess what i was trying to express was that it has a very (ok heres where things start to get very contradicting lol)
It has a very clear, clean and smooth but tight gain tone, perfect for technical stuff a little bit like a vh140 but at the same time has very grindy, roaring tubey mids and huge lowend.
When i got it i instantly believed it to be the best amp i ever played and still long after the honeymoon phase consider it one of the best, something ill never sell. So dont get me wrong, im def not trying to bad mouth it.


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## Guitarjon (Oct 14, 2020)

The Fireball 100 definitely has a unique tone! It's kind of edgy and industrial sounding in a way but it really holds its own in a mix. Cranking the mids and treble does indeed help to make the amp sound a bit more 'woody'. I REALLY love my FB100 though.... Going to shoot a video for the amp demo comparison thread soon, so stay posted in that thread if you're interested...


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## Guitarjon (Oct 14, 2020)

Don't know if you guys caught this, but here is an in-depth demo of the Fireball 25 in multiple styles:


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## sonoftheoldnorth (Oct 14, 2020)

Gmork said:


> yeah, i im making it sound as if its a lifeless solidstate tone and thats not it.. Just kinda hard to explain. I guess what i was trying to express was that it has a very (ok heres where things start to get very contradicting lol)
> It has a very clear, clean and smooth but tight gain tone, perfect for technical stuff a little bit like a vh140 but at the same time has very grindy, roaring tubey mids and huge lowend.
> When i got it i instantly believed it to be the best amp i ever played and still long after the honeymoon phase consider it one of the best, something ill never sell. So dont get me wrong, im def not trying to bad mouth it.


I used to have a FB60 and really loved it until I played with it live and got drowned out by anything. Does the 100 sound pretty much the same and just cuts better or it pretty different in tone? I'll go look see if there is comparison on YouTube now


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## MetalHead40 (Oct 19, 2020)

sonoftheoldnorth said:


> Cool. Been curious about that amp. Deffo post about it when it arrives



AE arrived Friday and I put about 8 hrs on it so far. Initial impressions...It's killer! It seems to have the most aggressive voicing of all the Engls I've owned: FB100, post 2012 Savage 120, and Blackmore. It's got a nice growl to it on power chords that those didn't have. Still has that Engl voicing for sure, just more bark in the mids than the FB or Savage. The lead/low gain mode boosted is downright viscious. 

The biggest thing for me is the feel. The AE when boosted is tight as hell with all that great immediate Engl attack, but its got a saturation/grease that makes it much more forgiving under the fingers. I always felt that while the FB100, Savage 120, and Blackmore were tight (especially the Savage), they had a stiff feel and I had to fight the amp a bit. The AE lets me pull off thrashy gallops and tremolo death metal picked riffage with ease.

I'd go as far to say that it might be the easiest amp to play I've encountered...plays itself almost. The MarkIII and MarkIIB I had were also very easy under the fingers and the AE is right there if not a touch more forgiving, but extremely tight all the while.


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## Guitarjon (Nov 30, 2021)

I've had this beast for a while but I finally got around to making a "proper" demo and review:


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## Apex1rg7x (Dec 1, 2021)

MetalHead40 said:


> AE arrived Friday and I put about 8 hrs on it so far. Initial impressions...It's killer! It seems to have the most aggressive voicing of all the Engls I've owned: FB100, post 2012 Savage 120, and Blackmore. It's got a nice growl to it on power chords that those didn't have. Still has that Engl voicing for sure, just more bark in the mids than the FB or Savage. The lead/low gain mode boosted is downright viscious.
> 
> The biggest thing for me is the feel. The AE when boosted is tight as hell with all that great immediate Engl attack, but its got a saturation/grease that makes it much more forgiving under the fingers. I always felt that while the FB100, Savage 120, and Blackmore were tight (especially the Savage), they had a stiff feel and I had to fight the amp a bit. The AE lets me pull off thrashy gallops and tremolo death metal picked riffage with ease.
> 
> I'd go as far to say that it might be the easiest amp to play I've encountered...plays itself almost. The MarkIII and MarkIIB I had were also very easy under the fingers and the AE is right there if not a touch more forgiving, but extremely tight all the while.


This makes me want the AE even more than I did before. Did you go with the 50 or 100 watt model?


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## Gmork (Dec 1, 2021)

Whatever it is you do for work is what i aspire to do one day lol.


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## MetalHead40 (Dec 3, 2021)

Apex1rg7x said:


> This makes me want the AE even more than I did before. Did you go with the 50 or 100 watt model?



Grabbed a 100 because it popped up at a great price on RT. Wound up only keeping it for about a month. Engls, and many other modern high gainers, never seem to stick around long with me. They tend to pale in comparison to many of the keeper amps I have or gravitate to. 

It was a fun amp for a bit, but compared to say a Wizard, Fryette, or older mesa MKIII, the AE sounded processed/overly compressed & lacked dynamics. Cool amp as far as Engls go, but honestly after spending a little time think I'd prefer the FB100 or Savage 120 MKI if I wanted an Engl around.


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