User Manual

A four-channel, all-tube powered head, the Powerball offers sound-shaping options unrivalled
by any other amp. Designed to satisfy the exacting demands of discerning players, it delivers all the tonal
hues and colors you need to paint the most vivid musical pictures imaginable. Housed inside this newly
designed enclosure is a powerhouse 100-watt amp boasting 6L6GC tubes. It delivers the sonic goods you
need to dial in everything from contemporary ultra-high gain lead tone to crystal-clear clean and punchy
crunch sounds. An astonishing amount of gain reserves, remarkable tonal versatility, and bone-rattling
bottom end have crowned the
Powerball king of the heap among modern-day guitar amps.
Courtesy of its ability to crank out tight, focused low end, glossy top end and jaw-dropping sound
pressure levels, this amp provides the contemporary guitarist with richly detailed tone and the kind of
cut-thru-the-din assertiveness that sets standards for amps of this class. And in keeping with the ENGL
tradition of engineering excellence, it sports a host of hip features: a second master volume, electronic
power amp monitoring, an adjustable FX loop, and a Depth Punch knob that shapes the power amp's
response by beefing up the low end. But that's not the last word on this ENGL head's innovative
features: You also get two different sound voicings, Open and Focused. We created these voicings to
extend the range of lead sounds you have at your disposal by tweaking mid-range response to suit
different playing styles and applications.
There are few more handy features to rave about: The amp ships with a Z-5 Custom Footswitch Port.
Designed to take the ENGL Z-5 footswitch that lets you control all key sound-shaping functions remotely.
ENGL added another new audiophile wrinkle - an adjustable noise gate for the Lead channel. Old world
craftsmanship and highest quality components are part of what makes ENGL amps so special, and the
Powerball is no exception. On that note, please read and heed the guidelines on handling all-tube amps.
You'll find them on the last page of this manual. The ENGL team is convinced that this amp will delight
and inspire you. The
Powerball will rock your world!
1 Input
¼" unbalanced input. P
lug your guitar cord in here.
2 Ch I Gain
This knob determines input sensitivity of Main Channel I (Clean & Crunch), in other words, the input level
of the preamp in Ch I. In Crunch mode it determines the amount of preamp saturation.
A tip from the designer:
The amount of distortion depends on the type of pickups your guitar is equipped with. Single coil
pickups may overdrive the preamp when the knob is set to about the two o'clock position in Clean
operating mode, pickups with very high output levels (humbuckers or active pickups) will evoke
distortion at even lower settings. If you want squeaky clean tone, simply back off the Gain knob
accordingly.
CAUTION: Extremely high gain and volume levels in Crunch mode can produce strong feedback.
Avoid feedback squeals, they lead to hearing loss and damaged speakers! Reduce the Gain, Treble
and Presence levels at higher volumes in order to avoid uncontrolled feedback!
3 Bright
Alters the EQ by boosting the upper treble range; effectiveness decreases at higher Gain settings;
the Bright feature affects Clean and Crunch.
A tip from the designer:
For a crisp glassy tone, set the Bright switch to the On position.
This setting boosts the treble response of muddy pickups.
4 Bottom
Alters the EQ by boosting the low end range; the Bottom feature affects Main Channel I Clean & Crunch.
A tip from the designer:
If you want to ladle an extra helping of bottom-end oomph on crunch sounds, I recommend that you
activate the Lo End Punch button. At very high Gain knob settings (> 3 o'clock) and with high output
pickups, your best bet is to deactivate this button for a more focused, crisper tone.
Frontpanel
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12
13
14
15 16
17 1819 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27
28 29 30 31 32
1
Lo Lead
Bottom
Ch II Gain
Ch I Gain
Hi Lead
Bottom
Bright Bottom
Bass
Bass
Mid-open
Middle
Mid-focused
Treble-Clean
Treble
Treble-Crunch
Lo Lead Vol.
Clean Volume Crunch Volume
Hi Lead Vol.
open/
focused
Ch I /II
Gain
Lo /Hi
Master A
Presence
Master B
Depth Punch
Power Tube Monitor
V1 V2 V3 V4
Input
Power
Stand By
Amp
Tube
Powerball
R
6L6GC
powered