Orange Dual Terror
Packed with two individual Tiny Terror circuits, this 30-watt outfit is loaded with EL84 tubes, individual tone, volume, and gain controls, and a half-power mode. Around back you have a switch that allows you to move between using 2 or 4 power tubes.
$899 street
Diezel VH-Micro
Based on the famed circuit that was favored by Adam Jones and James Hetfield, this mini-sized version packs 30 watts. Naturally, it includes Diezel's popular deep and presence controls, along with an effects loop.
$329 street
Revv G20
The flagship feature of this lunchbox amp is the built-in Two notes technology that allows you to use a variety of different virtual cabs, mics, and effects–and even load your own! The 2-channel 6V6 setup features a 3-band EQ plus aggression and wide voice switches to give added dimension to your tone.
$1,299 street
revv.com
Bogner Ecstasy Mini
A pint-sized version of, arguably, the company's most beloved model. In addition to the 3-band EQ, volume, gain, and presence controls, this 30-watt monster features a switchable variac control. A trio of switches also affects the gain, mid frequencies, and post-EQ options.
$329 street
Marshall DSL1HR
The famed purveyors of British-style crunch offer a mini 1-watt amp that punches well above its weight class. It comes loaded with onboard reverb, classic gain and ultra gain channels, line output with cab emulation, and two different power modes.
$399 street
EVH 5150III LBXII
King Edward's arena-sized tone from the green and blue channels of the company's flagship amp have been squeezed into this 15-watt package. Both channels share a 3-band EQ but have individual gain and volume controls.
$699 street
MESA/Boogie Mini Rectifier 25
The sound of '90s metal becomes way more portable with this EL84-based, 2-channel/4-mode monster. Each footswitchable channel has independent controls, power scaling, and a shared buffered effects loop.
$1,249 street
mesaboogie.com
PRS Mark Tremonti MT15
Designed in conjunction with one of modern rock's biggest gearheads, this 15-watt head houses two channels (clean and dirty) and is powered by a set of JJ 5881 tubes. Each channel has individual EQ controls, while the dirty side includes a built-in boost.
$749 street
prsguitars.com
Peavey 6505 MH
The company's flagship metal machine carries on with this mini version that features an all-tube preamp and power amp. It can scale between 20 watts and 1 watt and can also record direct via USB or feed FOH with a cab-simulated output.
$599 street
Blackstar HT-5RH
The latest iteration of the British company's mini head offers digital reverb, direct out with cab emulation, USB, effects loop, and an aux input. The 5-watt package can scale down to .5 watts in addition to independent voices for both the clean and overdrive channels.
$529 street
A New Kind of Switch
One of the first things you notice when scanning Ironball's front panel is the bank of eight switches and LEDs next to the power and standby toggles. These low-profile, spring-loaded switches help you dive deep in the amp's functionality or keep it simple—all while accessing a full-sized rig worth of tones.
Recorded using an ESP LTD SN-1000 with Fishman Fluence pickups and a Kramer SM-1 with Seymour Duncan JB bridge and Hot Rails neck and middle pickups into the Ironball (clean and lead gains at 9:30, bass at 3 o'clock, middle at 9 o'clock, treble at 2 o'clock , lead presence at 10, lead volume at 1 o'clock, and master at max) into either a Bogner a 2x12 miked with a Royer R-121 or feeding an IR cab sim into an Audient iD44 then into GarageBand with no EQ-ing, compression, or effects.
The 2-channel E606SE doesn't just avail traditional speaker-output andonboard IR cab capabilities (via an 8-position selector). Around back you'll find controls for onboard digital reverb, digital delay (with mix, time, and feedback controls), and a very effective 1-knob noise gate. Even cooler, Ironball lets you set everything once and toggle between clean and dirty sounds with a single-function footswitch (not included). But you can also use an 2-button footswitch to switch channels and engage the lead-gain boost function, or program a MIDI controller to govern everything from amp-mute functions to IR bypass, reverb mix and tails, and delay tempo, mix, tails, and feedback. Other back-panel features: headphone out and level, XLR out, MIDI phantom power, a pre-/post-power-amp IR button, a 4-position power attenuator, a series effects loop, and dual speaker outputs.
All Ball, No Chain
When I powered up the Ironball, delay, reverb, a lead-channel gain boost, and a master-volume boost were all engaged, so the first order of business was stripping away that stuff to get a sense for the amp's core sound. As you'd expect, the lead channel has a lot of gain on tap, so the next step was tailoring the amount of dirt and balancing the generous EQ section to match my playing and my test guitars—a Fishman Fluence-loaded ESP LTD SN-1000FR, a Kramer SM-1 with Seymour Duncan JB and Cool Rail pickups, and an Eastwood Sidejack Baritone with Curtis Novak JM-WR humbuckers. My test cab was a closed-back Bogner 2x12 with Celestion Vintage 30s, and I evaluated IR functionality via both Beyerdynamic DT 880 PRO headphones and an Audient iD44 interface driving KRK Rokit7 Gen4 monitors.
Having to share EQ controls between a clean and a dirty channel can easily lead to unfortunate compromises. For instance, what if you want a semi-bright, articulate distorted sound but prefer your cleans a bit mellower? While the Ironball doesn't entirely avoid this problem, each global EQ control (bass, middle, and treble) has a lot of range, and the lead channel also smartly employs a lead volume (essentially a lead-channel master volume) and its own presence control so you can fine-tune dirty sounds. In other words, the lead-channel-only controls allow you to voice dirty tones for more heft or bite while you keep clean tones relatively sparkling. Through a real speaker cab, I found that master volume at max, clean gain at 10 o'clock, bass at 3 o'clock, middle at 9 o'clock, and treble at 2:30 worked perfectly alongside lead-gain at noon and both lead presence and lead volume at 10:30. These settings yield mean grind that is articulate and responsive to playing dynamics and volume-knob maneuvers. That means you can move from extreme metal applications to clean tones that can be fat, rich, or bluesy (with the Eastwood and ESP) or funky and spanky (with the SM-1's pickups in split-coil mode).
The Verdict
Even as a guy who prefers relatively simple pedals and amps, I'm extremely impressed with the Engl Ironball E606SE. As with most 20-watt amps, particularly high-gain ones, there's not a ton of clean headroom. You could probably still be heard over your drummer's double-kick ruckus with the dirty channel raging as high as it can go, but if you want Ironball's loveliest clean tones, you may need to mike up or use the handy rear-panel outputs for volume reinforcement. Speaking of which, Ironball's default IRs of Vintage 30-stocked 2x12 and "XXL" 4x12 cabs sound great, but it's a bummer Engl doesn't offer any other downloads for Ironball owners—especially since the company sells a separate Cabloader pedal with 12 preloaded IRs for a quarter of the price.
Nevertheless, there are many other sources for cool IRs, and the SEs strengths put it in a niche few companies currently match—particularly at this size and price. Considering many metal players don't use much more than a boost/overdrive and maybe a delay, it's easy to see Ironball being a killer-sounding all-in-one option for a good number of them—just grab your axe and a cab (or not!) and you're set for blisteringly fun action.
