I can’t believe the amount of amazing guitar gear is now available to young, low income, and newer players. Seriously…I would’ve killed for this ENGL rig when I started playing guitar 25 years ago.
@@djtripnosys yeah, and nowadays you pay MORE than this price for a USED recto. In 2021 in Europe, a new dual rectifier is almost 2700 €, more than twice the price of the Ironball SE. So your comparison doesn't make any sense at all. Also, for those who want this kind sound but with no frills, the ENGL Ironball standard is less than 800€ ... obviously full midi implementation, built-in effects, IR loader, tone options got a cost. And a Mesa dual rec got none of these as well.
It's actually really cool. This is the direction in which things should be going. In this day and age, no amp at all should come without a direct out, power soak, IRs and gate. Even if you're all about the magic of the tubes and the analog feel yaddayadda, and would never touch a modeler or amp sim.
yes, and those extra features can save your ass in a gig situation. Like if you blow a speaker the ir output can be patched to house to get you through the gig.
15w/20w amps are plenty to play live in most situations these days, most places I've played and even larger capacity venues will tell most guys using these 100w full stacks (without attenuators) to "turn the fuck down", not to mention they keep scooping their mids which is why they are too loud because its hard to hear it in the first place, not to mention the power section is running cold from telling them to turn down so it sounds like scooped wasps. I rock up with my teenie tiny Orange Rocker 15, crank it and the sound guy is happy and no issues being heard. The Engl Ironball is an absolute "Savage" ;) got to try one out last year, such a tight amp, sadly I can't afford to be buying more amps 🤣 Thanks Glenn for a great detailed video on the amp, it's a dirty little bastard indeed.
I have no idea why every amp doesn’t have a direct out at this point, with and/or without an ir so you can load your own impulses. If these amps want to keep up with sims and modelers, as ridiculous as that is, they need to get on board with this. Have one in my driftwood mini nightmare and works like a dream!
I've had the original ironball for years and jumped on the new one a few months ago and I have to say it's hard to imagine any better value in the tube amp world. Sounds totally killer and the extra bells and whistles are completely unmatched without having external units. Awesome review Glenn!
Thank you Glenn for making a great video covering an awesome amp! I LOVE my ENGL Ironball SE and find it to be a total beast! Have had fun posting a few videos showcasing mic'd and Two Notes Cap X tones. Highly recommended!
I liked everything apart from the effects section. No-one is gonna use a one-knob delay and reverb, and everybody has got several pedals to use in the effects loop to that end. The precious front panel space would be better used if it had a set of equaliser controls for each channel. Yum! 😋
The amp of the future. I used to be super against these new technologies, but due to financial situations I ended up selling everything and now I have a HOTONE Amperoone modeller. These things sound truly incredible for their price and finally, a good tone has been democratized. Before you could tell if someone was poor or rich because of their tone. Now, everyone can have a good tone! These amps are the future.
Hi, Glenn! I am planning on buying an amp with certain characteristics and during my research, so far, I've been able to find some amps that caught my attention for their specs, and they are: ● REVV G20 ● H&K GrandMeister Deluxe 40 ● ENGL Ironball SE I might include the H&K Black Spirit but I don't know, I do not trust anything that says "feels and sounds just like a tube amp even though it is not a tube amp", that has been said since the 80's-90's. Also, I checked the Peavey Invective MH but I think that the DI output is not very malleable. What I look for is - Lunchbox amp so I can transport it with me and have my sound with me - 2-channel tube amp (clean and overdrive/gain) - DI out for recording/send it to FOH when there's no cab or there is no need for one - Footswitchable (if it's via MIDI all the better) Which ones of that little list would serve me for metal the most? I also tend to play clean parts so the clean channel has to be fairly good as well.
So, what you're saying is: this is for us middle-school line 6 dudes who grew up and finally want a good amp that you *don't* immediately want to blow up with tannerite?
@@TheCurtainLift they don't suck, EytschPi42 did some some amazing reviews on them and every other RUclipsr (like Darrell Braun, Music Is Win, Agufish and even Genn himself) I've seen reviewing or owning one liked what what they got. And even I tried some H&K amps and I liked them. Here are some links for reference: Music is Win ruclips.net/video/09VBbUrIQhg/видео.html Agufish ruclips.net/video/zeTE9ToS5T0/видео.html Spectre Media Group ruclips.net/video/4WdQsGuny58/видео.html Darrell Braun ruclips.net/video/9QGo5bwVWy8/видео.html
H&K is really quite an innovative brand, but I tried a lot of their amps and none of them made it for me... all of them sound nice, but never awesome... at least to my taste. Even the top of the line Triamp.
GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNN!!! (I have to shout, right?) Check out H&K Black Spirit 200. It's a VERY light 200 watt solid state amp, and it sounds kinda brutal. I think you'd like it.
The reverb sounds more like slapback delay. Eh.....oh well, that's why I have a Joyo Atmosphere and EQD Transmisser! (...and Rockerverb100MKII) Rest sounds Amazing!
I've been eyballing the Revv G20 for a while, I'd love to see you compare the two side by side. Maybe include the Peavey Invective MH for a lower price point option? I have a feeling that a lot of guitarists will be using amps like these from now on.
@@SpectreSoundStudios my first (and god awful) band inadvertently had a song that featured warriors of genghis can as a main riff, it nagged at me for ages and finally It clicked and I ruined that song forever in their eyes. Great times
I think that amps like this - hopefully in a slightly more accessible price range down the road - are really the way to go - lugging big amps around is so 1986! Also with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to decent IR's which are lets face it, indistinguishable in a band context, silent out should really be a standard feature moving forward. Band mix sounded very good indeed, there something new going on in there unless my ears deceive me?
Great review of this great little amp, Glenn! Quick question - how would you compare this to a Hughes & Kettner Grand Miester 20 or 40 Deluxe? Thanks for another excellent video!
Can u get like a footswitch? Would of been awesome to see that demo'd as well.For as much switching that is on this thing on the front panel would be nice to have that control on the floor if you want to use it live right???
You can use a basic foot switch for each channel, or get the midi switching pedal for full access to features. Big price difference but it depends on how you want to be able to use this.
OK so the ENGL amp is loud as fuck - But it's 30w - But then again I believe You. " Watts" doesn't really tell Us much, as the perception of how loud a sound is, is the decibels ( AKA the soundpressure ). I think it's all about how much air You move ? Let me boil this down to a simple ( ? ) question: Not all 30w amps are equally loud. How come ?
because watts are not a measure of loudness as you said, and the volume level you"feel" depends a lot about frequencies. And also, some speakers got a different sensitivity and would be louder with the exact same amp and settings. Anyhow, 30 watts is more than enough for most of us, 50 watts if you play on an average to big stage. How many of us had really pushed once a 100 watt tube amp to the last quarter during a whole set? I never did :)
@@AlexandreCriado Thx a lot man. You definately pointed out something I already knew, but had forgotten : The sensitivity of the speaker. This is exactly what makes a 3w Microcube sound loud in a bedroom ( or livingroom- Your choice ). I agree on the " how many watts do we actually need " thingy. I've owned more than a few 100w amps, and not once have i ever turned ona them fully up. For practical use ( live gig ) I've got my Fender Princeton stereo chorus, which is 2x50w, which is quite enough
A bit off topic but I gotta ask… How do the Solar guitars feel to play? For example how smooth does the fretboard feel while playing? I’m at a coin toss between an LTD Black Metal 6string Les Paul & A Solar 6string Flying V. Leaning more towards the Flying V cosmetically I like guitars that look more like weapons from medieval times than plain old guitars lol
LTD is gonna be better, Solar's can be hit and miss on quality, especially as of late. I'd only buy a Solar if I could play the exact model I'd be purchasing.
@@DudeMcGuybro I’ve been going back & forth on it for a couple of weeks now. The only problem I had with the LTD was cosmetic which isn’t a huge deal breaker, so I went kinda guitar nuts this afternoon & bought 2 the Arrow-NT black metal Flying V & the LTD-EC Black Metal Les Paul. …I’ve put aside a nice chunk of change since the lockdown stuff to get caught up on modern recording tech & what not. Next step is upgrade from 4 track cassette recording to this more modern computer stuff. Cheers Dude McGuybro🍻
I was drooling on this amps for a while now (dont worry it was on Thomann so all the drool hit my desk blech) And i realy would like to know how they compare to the preamp. the 1u one of Engl and 2u one that you can get nowhere anymore (e530 and e570)
This amp is just incredible. I've used it on multiple projects and client mixes already. Can't recommend it enough!
Thank you for revealing all your tone secrets by the way. Really helping out newbies out there!
I can’t believe the amount of amazing guitar gear is now available to young, low income, and newer players. Seriously…I would’ve killed for this ENGL rig when I started playing guitar 25 years ago.
$250/month cad (spare$) for a year is not low income in canada
most middle class construction workers full time couldnt afford this
*Cries in Line 6*
25 years ago you could get a dual recto for what they are charging for this ripoff.
@@kazzTrismus truly the only solution in canada is to live with your parents and give up any hope of independence.
@@djtripnosys yeah, and nowadays you pay MORE than this price for a USED recto. In 2021 in Europe, a new dual rectifier is almost 2700 €, more than twice the price of the Ironball SE. So your comparison doesn't make any sense at all.
Also, for those who want this kind sound but with no frills, the ENGL Ironball standard is less than 800€ ... obviously full midi implementation, built-in effects, IR loader, tone options got a cost. And a Mesa dual rec got none of these as well.
It's actually really cool. This is the direction in which things should be going. In this day and age, no amp at all should come without a direct out, power soak, IRs and gate. Even if you're all about the magic of the tubes and the analog feel yaddayadda, and would never touch a modeler or amp sim.
yes, and those extra features can save your ass in a gig situation. Like if you blow a speaker the ir output can be patched to house to get you through the gig.
That demo track was fantastic! (08:21)
A year ago when someone made this video, I said I’d never spend that much. A year later I own one and absolutely LOVE it.
15w/20w amps are plenty to play live in most situations these days, most places I've played and even larger capacity venues will tell most guys using these 100w full stacks (without attenuators) to "turn the fuck down", not to mention they keep scooping their mids which is why they are too loud because its hard to hear it in the first place, not to mention the power section is running cold from telling them to turn down so it sounds like scooped wasps.
I rock up with my teenie tiny Orange Rocker 15, crank it and the sound guy is happy and no issues being heard.
The Engl Ironball is an absolute "Savage" ;) got to try one out last year, such a tight amp, sadly I can't afford to be buying more amps 🤣
Thanks Glenn for a great detailed video on the amp, it's a dirty little bastard indeed.
Just received mine yesterday. Let the fun begin.
I love the ENGL Ironball SE so much I bought one!! It's awesome!!
Hey, saw you outside my job, I think somewhere 20 of August in 2024 Stockholm- I didn`t belived my eyes?! Big moment!!
Just bought this for my little man. He is going to be so stoked !!!
I have no idea why every amp doesn’t have a direct out at this point, with and/or without an ir so you can load your own impulses. If these amps want to keep up with sims and modelers, as ridiculous as that is, they need to get on board with this. Have one in my driftwood mini nightmare and works like a dream!
Good review.
Back in the day when I wanted my ultimate metal amp, I got my Engl half stack. I chose it over Diezel, Fortin and everything else.
What timing, I just got mine in yesterday. It’s such a great amp. Can’t wait to try it with the band.
You nailed it & the full mix track, you had better finish it, cos it’s awesome, & when you do I want to see a full breakdown vid 👍
Sounds absolutely fantastic!
I might get one.
What a tone during the full mix!
We had a great player!
If they did the Fireball 25 with these features I'd be over it in a second.
Been in love with everything Engl for a while. Got a Mk1 Savage 120 and I just might have to get this little guy too. Much love from Upstate NY Glenn…
Ive bought a yamaha thr5 a month ago and i am very impressed of what that little monster can do ;)
I've had the original ironball for years and jumped on the new one a few months ago and I have to say it's hard to imagine any better value in the tube amp world. Sounds totally killer and the extra bells and whistles are completely unmatched without having external units. Awesome review Glenn!
Thank you Glenn for making a great video covering an awesome amp! I LOVE my ENGL Ironball SE and find it to be a total beast! Have had fun posting a few videos showcasing mic'd and Two Notes Cap X tones. Highly recommended!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I liked everything apart from the effects section. No-one is gonna use a one-knob delay and reverb, and everybody has got several pedals to use in the effects loop to that end.
The precious front panel space would be better used if it had a set of equaliser controls for each channel. Yum! 😋
Delay has 3 knobs
Not true man
Owning 3 ENGL amps, I too am a fan :-)
The amp of the future. I used to be super against these new technologies, but due to financial situations I ended up selling everything and now I have a HOTONE Amperoone modeller. These things sound truly incredible for their price and finally, a good tone has been democratized. Before you could tell if someone was poor or rich because of their tone. Now, everyone can have a good tone! These amps are the future.
Well, I'm sold! That's a badass little amp right there.
Hi, Glenn!
I am planning on buying an amp with certain characteristics and during my research, so far, I've been able to find some amps that caught my attention for their specs, and they are:
● REVV G20
● H&K GrandMeister Deluxe 40
● ENGL Ironball SE
I might include the H&K Black Spirit but I don't know, I do not trust anything that says "feels and sounds just like a tube amp even though it is not a tube amp", that has been said since the 80's-90's. Also, I checked the Peavey Invective MH but I think that the DI output is not very malleable.
What I look for is
- Lunchbox amp so I can transport it with me and have my sound with me
- 2-channel tube amp (clean and overdrive/gain)
- DI out for recording/send it to FOH when there's no cab or there is no need for one
- Footswitchable (if it's via MIDI all the better)
Which ones of that little list would serve me for metal the most? I also tend to play clean parts so the clean channel has to be fairly good as well.
Man that's an amazing tone
Gleeeeeennnnn! You guitar playing has definitely improved lately! Cudos!
Sounds great!
If only there was a 50 watt version, I'd buy it right now.
Very cool review but can we take a second and admire that Jared Keefer dude tho :D
That thing sounds really good I might get one
Got mine a month ago. 6 months b4 I got Revv G20. SONIC HEAVEN!!
love your riffs glenn. sound a bit like that old contra game on nes somehow. awesome.
So, what you're saying is: this is for us middle-school line 6 dudes who grew up and finally want a good amp that you *don't* immediately want to blow up with tannerite?
I really liked the engl stuff amplitube put out. Never thought I could afford one in real life though
0:15 you look awesome Glenn! :)
Sounds damn good,Glenn!!!🤘👍🔥
ausgezeichneter Verstärker...hail hydra!!
Man, that's a killer little unit.
Warriors Of Genghis Khan \m/ \m/
Dayum son! That mix rocked!
Ty!!
Sounds pretty good. Might look into it when I get my 7 string.
super cool amp I have been looking into getting an Engl amp for a couple years now.
This one's killer!
Sold! And I used your link so hopefully you get a little kick. Love your channel!
Awesome! Thank you!
Should have called it the ENGL MidgetBall.
Great review, Glenn!
Thanks, man!
great another Engl product i'll never be able to afford
Everybody evolving what Hughes & Kettner did with the Grandmeister40 and the Black Spirit 200 some years ago
Yes. H&K is often overlooked unfortunately.
@@zoomzoom3950 they suck thats why
@@TheCurtainLift they don't suck, EytschPi42 did some some amazing reviews on them and every other RUclipsr (like Darrell Braun, Music Is Win, Agufish and even Genn himself) I've seen reviewing or owning one liked what what they got.
And even I tried some H&K amps and I liked them.
Here are some links for reference:
Music is Win ruclips.net/video/09VBbUrIQhg/видео.html
Agufish ruclips.net/video/zeTE9ToS5T0/видео.html
Spectre Media Group ruclips.net/video/4WdQsGuny58/видео.html
Darrell Braun ruclips.net/video/9QGo5bwVWy8/видео.html
H&K is really quite an innovative brand, but I tried a lot of their amps and none of them made it for me... all of them sound nice, but never awesome... at least to my taste. Even the top of the line Triamp.
@@AlexandreCriado yes, that's understandable
GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNN!!! (I have to shout, right?)
Check out H&K Black Spirit 200. It's a VERY light 200 watt solid state amp, and it sounds kinda brutal. I think you'd like it.
The reverb sounds more like slapback delay. Eh.....oh well, that's why I have a Joyo Atmosphere and EQD Transmisser! (...and Rockerverb100MKII) Rest sounds Amazing!
I've been eyballing the Revv G20 for a while, I'd love to see you compare the two side by side. Maybe include the Peavey Invective MH for a lower price point option? I have a feeling that a lot of guitarists will be using amps like these from now on.
Yes, I should really do a mini-amp shootout at some point!
Sounds badass! I miss my ENGL head but i really didn't need 100 watts, this might fill that ENGL shaped void.
Engl simply rules!
@3:32 Warriors of Genghis Khan \m/ nice one
Hey Orange, take notes about the Cab IR loader and all the other bells!
I got one, I love it. Fuckin buy it. It’s delicious.
Going to have to check this rascal out.
Bad News! 😄🤘
For you and you and you and you!!!!
Idk why, but it feels weird seeing Glenn playing a guitar, I just havent seen him play much recently
Congrats man!, you made it in a booth junkie video.
??
@@SpectreSoundStudios on the latest video of Mike you make a brief appearance.
First sound direct into the computer sounds like Max Norman's tone on Rust In Peace.
Would be cool to see it next to revv g20.
That sounds amazing! Too bad I just had to get my car fixed. But I need a car more than I need that amp. Maybe I'll see it on sale for less one day.
Had to play warriors of Genghis Khan, instant seal of approval for amp
Love that riff!
@@SpectreSoundStudios my first (and god awful) band inadvertently had a song that featured warriors of genghis can as a main riff, it nagged at me for ages and finally It clicked and I ruined that song forever in their eyes. Great times
Yup that is a nasty little amp sounds great man ! Thanks for a great video .
GLEEEEEEN!!!!!
I think that amps like this - hopefully in a slightly more accessible price range down the road - are really the way to go - lugging big amps around is so 1986! Also with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to decent IR's which are lets face it, indistinguishable in a band context, silent out should really be a standard feature moving forward. Band mix sounded very good indeed, there something new going on in there unless my ears deceive me?
Some melodeath fun
It's time to make a song, with the guys that you're using you guys would be awesome
Sweeeeet!
Great review of this great little amp, Glenn! Quick question - how would you compare this to a Hughes & Kettner Grand Miester 20 or 40 Deluxe? Thanks for another excellent video!
What brand is that awesome warlock looking 7 string guitar? Looks amazing!
GLEEEEEEEEN < You said January wtf ???. I'll take the Engl instead though lol. OBBs
Was curious how you hooked it up to you DAW. Didnt see a line out on it.
Sounds greeeeaasssyyyyyy
Great little amp however a used Axe Fx 2 can be found for less.
BuT iT’s NoT a TuBe AmP
What brand was that guitar the guy was playing in the beginning??? Is it a aristides? It looks cool.
What chu need … this amps got it.
i dont think any desktop engineer can afford this
Is it me, or do the guitarist and bassist look alike? They could be twins...
Can u get like a footswitch? Would of been awesome to see that demo'd as well.For as much switching that is on this thing on the front panel would be nice to have that control on the floor if you want to use it live right???
You can use a basic foot switch for each channel, or get the midi switching pedal for full access to features. Big price difference but it depends on how you want to be able to use this.
Yep
I think my fav is el84
OK so the ENGL amp is loud as fuck - But it's 30w - But then again I believe You.
" Watts" doesn't really tell Us much, as the perception of how loud a sound is, is the decibels ( AKA the soundpressure ).
I think it's all about how much air You move ?
Let me boil this down to a simple ( ? ) question: Not all 30w amps are equally loud. How come ?
because watts are not a measure of loudness as you said, and the volume level you"feel" depends a lot about frequencies. And also, some speakers got a different sensitivity and would be louder with the exact same amp and settings.
Anyhow, 30 watts is more than enough for most of us, 50 watts if you play on an average to big stage. How many of us had really pushed once a 100 watt tube amp to the last quarter during a whole set? I never did :)
@@AlexandreCriado Thx a lot man.
You definately pointed out something I already knew, but had forgotten : The sensitivity of the speaker. This is exactly what makes a 3w Microcube sound loud in a bedroom ( or livingroom- Your choice ).
I agree on the " how many watts do we actually need " thingy. I've owned more than a few 100w amps, and not once have i ever turned ona them fully up.
For practical use ( live gig ) I've got my Fender Princeton stereo chorus, which is 2x50w, which is quite enough
Does anybody know who the guitarist is/ what brand of guitar he is using? Looks awesome
Looks a lot like a BC Rich Mockingbird... but the head shape and letter "A" don't match up lol
Anyone know what guitar the guy in the motor head shirt was using? Looks insane.
5:38
Yes some dang 12 bar boomer progression
cmon now...you know thats what clean channel is for
Hi Glen, I’m having trouble getting the IRs that I added to work. Is there special way to do it? I’ve read the directions and still have trouble.
How does this compare to the h&k Grandmeister Deluxe 40? Similarish featureset.
Is that 'Warriors of Genghis Khan' you are playing at 3:40? :-)
Yep
WARRIORS OF GENGHIS KHAN riff destroys most djenty "riffs" today :)
Why is it a "little bastard"? Didn't it know it's daddy?😁😎
A bit off topic but I gotta ask…
How do the Solar guitars feel to play? For example how smooth does the fretboard feel while playing?
I’m at a coin toss between an LTD Black Metal 6string Les Paul & A Solar 6string Flying V.
Leaning more towards the Flying V cosmetically I like guitars that look more like weapons from medieval times than plain old guitars lol
LTD is gonna be better, Solar's can be hit and miss on quality, especially as of late. I'd only buy a Solar if I could play the exact model I'd be purchasing.
@@DudeMcGuybro I’ve been going back & forth on it for a couple of weeks now.
The only problem I had with the LTD was cosmetic which isn’t a huge deal breaker, so I went kinda guitar nuts this afternoon & bought 2 the Arrow-NT black metal Flying V & the LTD-EC Black Metal Les Paul.
…I’ve put aside a nice chunk of change since the lockdown stuff to get caught up on modern recording tech & what not.
Next step is upgrade from 4 track cassette recording to this more modern computer stuff.
Cheers Dude McGuybro🍻
This or the Fireball 25 for metal?
How do I tune my 9 string Ibanez? I have a Snark but it doesn’t work right with BEADGCFAD (Whole step down to easily play in Am or CM)
anybody knows what guitar is he using in full mix?
looks sick
I wish i could buy amps like this without the IR loader and such. I don't use it, and it adds significant cost. I just want a lower cost amp.
this amp looks/sounds fucking rad! The handle collapses too? yea?
I was drooling on this amps for a while now (dont worry it was on Thomann so all the drool hit my desk blech) And i realy would like to know how they compare to the preamp. the 1u one of Engl and 2u one that you can get nowhere anymore (e530 and e570)
So...this or the Revv G20?
Have you been working on your guitar playing, Glenn? You're sounding much better.