Engl E633 KT77 Fireball 25 LTD

I have been playing guitar for years but I never owned a tube amp as I didn't find it necessary for home use. I mostly play through modellers. But lately curiosity got the better of me even though I am completely happy with my current non-tube amps. After some months of research I settled on the Engl Fireball 25 with the KT77 tubes. I just found the front looked more cool then the one with the 6L6 tubes.

My initial worry was not so much the sound quality but the volume levels. I use this amp head at home paired with a Marshall 2X12 Silver Jubilee. I've read multiple reviews saying that it's ridiculously loud even on the 1 Watt setting and other saying it's absolutely perfect for home practice volume wise. Eventually I just took the plunge and went for it.

After playing around with it for a few days I can say yes, this amp is most definitely well suited for home playing and bedroom practice. I can easily reach perfect volume levels for playing in the house. Granted, the master volume is somewhat sensitive in the lower regions, (I have it barely on 1) and the lead volume hovers between 5 and 6 on the 1 watt setting but this gives me the perfect volume level. I tried the same settings on the full power 25 watt mode and yeah, that was not a good idea. That was a volume overkill I think my neighbors would not be all too happy with but the 1 watt setting is absolutely perfect. The power soak on the back works perfect. I can go even more quiet and still get a good sound but that volume level is really too low. But you can reach it if you want to.

Moving on to the sounds. The cleans are good. Very good even. Although it doesn't completely outshine my Hughes & Kettner Black Spirit 200 head on the clean settings it is just as good. So no complaints there. The lead setting is just as I expect it. It rips and does what it needs to do. It's punchy and with the presence knob (which I'm very happy with) I can get a great thrash metal tone. Or any metal tone really but I usually sick to thrash metal. The built in noise gate on the back does it's thing perfectly as well. This amp is surely a winner in my books.

The clean and lead channel have a shared EQ. I know some people can find that annoying and while I do understand that it's not too big of an issue for me but your experience may vary. Also it has no reverb on it. That was slightly annoying but I throw an reverb pedal in the FX loop and away I go. So these are far from major issues for me.

I do not think I will ever buy another tube amp unless this amp breaks down beyond repair (which I highly doubt will happen). Not because I don't like them but because I have no need for another tube amp (or any amp in general) and I never had GAS issues. I am very happy with my practice amps and modellers but this Engl Fireball 25 was the last missing piece om my amp set up. I am very happy with it

I use this amp for playing old school thrash and downtuned death metal at home. Don't let the 25 watts fool you : the master volume is at 2 or 3, the power range selector switch is at "low power" and that's enough decibels for me in my living room. The cleans are nice, but for me it's about the distortion. I couldn't get the sound that I wanted through my previous amp (Orange Tiny Terror) but this one does the job easily. Highly recommended!