engl fireball/SE tones

Im looking the high gain sounds i got out of that fireball head i tried.

which hits closer? 1086 or mr scary

neither,really...if you absolutely have to pick one of the two that you've listed,then i'd say the 1086.otherwise,the reg. Ultra module is the closest MTS module for the tone you're looking for.i currently have the reg Ultra module & i had an Engl Fireball amp head that i sold last winter,so i'm very familiar with the tone that you're searching for...

i had a silverface ultra with no mods before and it sounded awful; like scoooped and deep

yeah,the older silverface versions of all of these higher gain mts modules had unuseable tones and,in many cases,did sound awful.they had the .0047u capacitors used in them and i,basically,hated most of these original modules.way too bassy/boomy,poor definition/clarity & just plain muddy with the gain level over the half-way mark.once the newer black-stripe versions came out with the .0022u cap mods from the factory-it greatly improved all the higher gain modules,imo... on a separate note,the reg Ultra does have a darker tone to it,but the black-stripe version has more crushing distortion than any other mts module,imo...

"Silverface" vs. "black stripe"?

Do you have pics that shows the difference? Thanks.

The new ones have thick black stripes at the top going across the "GAIN," "HIGH," "MID" etc.

The silverface modules can be modded to black stripe specs, correct?

Yes, you change one (in some models) two caps.

Cap mods aside, the black stripe modules actually allow you to SEE the knob labels. The little black letters on a chrome background were IMPOSSIBLE to read.

Perhaps I'm getting old. :roll:

yes,"modding" the older silverface modules,by simply changing the "C3" capacitor for low-end tightness,makes them instantly better...much more useable tone... .0022u caps seem to have the best results,imo.i've tried the .001u caps,but they're too tight and you lose that open-tone feel and too much bottom end sacrificed as well...