Diezel Herbert Head

I just bought this 2008 Diezel herbert model, I play mostly shredding speed and thrash metal and quit a bit of clean stuff too and I'll tell ya, this is the most incredible amp I have ever heard, from the moment I plug in I got hooked to the sound, you just become attached to the mo fo, you name it and it can cover, I have an Engl Fireball as well and I thought that one was amazing which it is, but Herbert is something else. all the features on it are very easy to work around and it will give you the sound you are looking for in matter of seconds.

The sound is 12 out of 10, from the cyrstal clean channel 1 to the tight and punchy rhythm of channel 2 and the INSANE GAIN of channel 3 , every one of them is world class, I tell ya I don't get sick of playing through this amp, I play 5 , 7 and 8 string Ibanez guitars, ESP , Moser custome shop guitars and every one of them sounds fantastic through this, The White Ibanez Steve Vai Jem is one trick pony and it takes a certain amp to make it sound good, this amp makes it sound like million dollars, also this amp is amazingly quit.

It's built like tank and if you baby it it will serve you well for a very long time

Haven't had to contact them yet, but I hear Peter and the gang are very supportive, informative and helpful.

I've been playing for 25 years and I have a ridiculous amount of gear and this one I love everything about it , the sound, the looks, the features, everything, when you get a chance check out my stuff at http://www.myspace.com/guitarmessiah7
Cheers
Ed

this has been covered, and if you don't know, you have to ask someone with patience, i give it a nine because i feel the midcut could be a little better by allowing you to choose the freq. or better yet just have a graphic eq!

i am using this with a 8 string guitar, one custom from oni, and another from esp, i usually just use the bridge pickup in distorted situations and find that the amp has great range even if i do choose to use other settings, say in clean semi gain or whatever, it suits my style very well, i play rock ie metal, with a caveat, meaning i try not to play mindless metal, i love the styles of guthrie govan, greg howe etc etc and can find those tones in this amp plus many others, it isn't noisy unless you have it so cranked that you would go deaf because the f-er is so f-in loud, there is incredible variety of tones and dynamics that it is almost endless, i have owned the amp for quite a while and have found it's ability to many things surprising, it's not a one trick pony, that's garbage, people who say that probably messed around with it in guitar center, it's brutal and it's clean are very nice.. nuff said!!

never broken down, i play it all the time, i would never gig without a backup even if god made my amp, so the point seems moot, but whatever, if you don't take care of your crap it will mess up bad!! i give it a 8 because i'm not touring with it so i can't say for certain whether this thing is the badest of all bad...

they aren't as good as they have been, i have tried recently to get in touch with them and they seem to have been falling off their horse, i don't know why they won't get back to me, i guess i'm not that important, it's an easier than expected amp to fix, so my unauthorized dealer did work on it, (where i did stupid damage to it! DRRR) as for warranty don't ask me i don't care or know or care to know!, but diezel is switching us distributors and i hope they step up their game!!

it's a very good amp, if it were stolen i'd buy it again, hopefully for cheaper but eh! i have owned several other amps, soldano, framus, mesa, ummm what else, vht, i don't know, all amps have ups and downs, this one suits ME, that's what matters obviously, i like it, i like my tone out of it, don't buy anything cause of hype, or whatever else, play it, like yourself with it, etc etc, i have been playing 13 years (i'm relatively young) and think that there isn't a perfect amp, but this is damn close, i don't use many if any effects i like the sound of amps, of tubes, of good speakers, not circuits, just an opinion, but whatever, it's my sound i guess, so whatever i'm not here to sell anybody on this amp, i would like to have less people interested in it honestly i liked it when i was the minority owning it, but ce'st la vie, so good luck in finding your sound, thanks!

Made in late '07 or early '08; I purchased it in April, '08. The Herbert is extremely versatile, particlularly for my styles, which lean more toward hard rock and metal, but also covers most other styles quite well. 3 channel MIDI switchable all tube head, with a "+/-" voicing switch for ch 2, and a mid-cut switch that affects all channels. 3 loops (1 switchable serial, 1 serial, and 1 parallel), tuner out (w/mute), and compensated out. I would like to see the "+/-" mode for channel 2 be MIDI switchable, but that's really the only thing I find lacking. Later versions have external bias test and adjustment for the 6 power tubes (180 watts in stock EL34 format). Can accept pretty much any type power tube without modification, and tubes can be mixed and matched pairwise (2 EL34', 2 KT88', 2 6550's, for example). The aformentioned external bias points make experimenting with diff tube types/combinations a breeze. Also has tube failure LED's on the rear panel, so if a tube goes out mid-performance, the fuse for that pair can be removed,and the amp can keep playing on its remaining tubes. Does not include a footswitch. I give it an 8 due to the non-MIDI switchable "+/-" switch on channel w, and the lack of an included footswitch.

I play primarily Les Pauls and PRSs, with medium output pickups or EMG's. I primarily play metal (more into thrash and older British stuff like Priest and Maiden than I am into NuMetal), but have been getting into bluesier stuff a lot lately. I also use cleans a good bit. The Herbert excels at everything I've tried to use it for. The clean ch is excellent, and not just for a high gain amp-it is excellent, period. Very bell like, chimey and deep, with nearly infinite headroom. Ch 2 "-" can go from a dirty clean up to a really nice, bluesy distortion. Ch 2 "+" picks up where "-" leaves off, and goes all the way to a bone-crushing metal rhythm. By proper use of the presence knob and Mid-Cut, "+" can cover pretty much anything from old 70's rock up to modern scooped metal. Ch 2 is the tightest of the 2 distortion channels. Ch 3 is a gain monster, and capable of nice, fluid leads as well as a tight rhythm. The Mid-Cut adds a whole other dimension and depth to the amp. The low end remains tight and focused on all 3 channels. Overall, the Herbert is not quite as organic sounding as my Bogner Ecstasy, for example, but I didn't buy it looking for that. I bought it because it plays my primary styles (hard rock and metal) better than anything else I've tried. It also has less noise and hiss than any high gain amp I've heard, at any gain level. The Herbert, and all Diezels, have their own unique voice, which like any amp, some folks won't like. It is, though, capable of a very wide variety of sounds, though 20 minutes playing one in a music store isn't enough to understand what it can do, regardless of how many years you've been playing guitar. The knobs are there for a reason ;-)
I give it a 9 in this category, because it plays my styles better than anything else I've tried, and convincingly covers most other styles.

I had 1 power tube blow, which is no fault of Diezel's. The fuse for the pair that that tube was part of also burned out, thereby protecting the rest of the amp from damage, so the design of the amp did it's job. Most (not all) problems with tube amps ARE tube related, be they Diezel's, Marshalls, or whatever. From what I've seen and read, Diezel's are at least as reliable, if not more so, than other manufacturers. The "insides" are well built and laid out, and all of the switches, knobs, and jacks are solidly built and assembled. Any electronic device or machine can break down, but the use of high quality components in the Diezel at least reduces the likelyhood. I wouldn't gig with any amp without a backup, however.
I give the Herbert a 9 in this category, because in the one incident (power tube failure) I had, the amp properly protected itself. Nothing is perfect, though, so no amp should get a 10 in this category in my opinion.

Peter Diezel promptly answers questions and concerns on the Diezel forum (the link is on their website), and often gives advice with regards to his products. He has answered several questions I have asked. I haven't had a service related issue. The warranty is lifetime to the original owner, and 1 year transferable.
My personal experience with Diezel customer support has been excellent via the forum-Peter has never not answered a question I've asked hime, and has often answered questions that weren't directed to him, so I rate this category a 10

I've been playing guitar for around 20 years. In addition to the Herbert, I own, or have owned, a Bogner XTC, Uberschall, and Duende, a Marshall JVM410h, a Vox AC30, a Mesa Dual Recto, and a Peavey Valveking. I've also owned various solid state amps over the years. If it were stolen, I'd absolutely get another one. I particularly love the clarity, definition, and voice of the high gain sounds, but also its versatility. Before I purchased it, I compared it with most other high gain amps out there, including Bogner, Marshall, Mesa, ENGL, VHT, Peavey, etc. If I had to get rid of all but one amp, the Herbert would probably be the one I kept, with the possible exception of the XTC. Therefore, my personal overall rating for the Herbert is a 9. The Diezel tone won't be everyone's cup of tea, but some of the extremely low ratings here (1s and 2s) based on a few minutes playing one in a store are ridiculous, as they are for ANY quality manufacturer, and are indicitive of someone with an axe to grind. As are claims of Diezel employees writing reviews to boost the ratings (there are only 5 employees, including Peter Diezel-just how many reviews are they gonna write??). It is an expensive amp, though, especially in the U.S., so I would advise anyone to 'try before you buy'.

I cant believe for a moment that people dont realize just how versitile this amp really is. It works midi really well, and has 3 separate effects loops. Not only that, but all 3 channels have the option of mid cut and or Vol 1 or Vol 2. With that said you have TWELVE total tonal options. Not to mention you also have the +/- switch in channel 2 for even MORE tonal variety. People lets not forget that. Its not just any 3 channel amp. I do however wish that you could store the -/+ feature to midi, but it can be modded. I really dont mind flipping the switch when i need to use that feature though. I use this amp in a live situation all the time and so far the 180 watts of tube power is just enough for any and every live situation.

This amp is the most versitile amp and best sounding amp i have ever heard, and has a feel like no other! What ticks me off to no end is all these people on here saying this amp is only for metal. Nothing could be further from the truth. I own fender amps and channel 1's cleans are amazing and very "blossoming". I play SEVERAL different kinds of music so i know good tone when i hear it.
Channel 2 has several options of course with the mid cut on or off (just like every other channel) but this is the only one that has the -/+ switch. In + mode you have nothing but raw gain with just the right amount of compression. Even with the gain cranked you can hear all the notes in a chord or in a sweep etc. Channel 2 in - mode with the gain cranked has such a killer plexi'ish tone...but better and different. Cant describe it, but every time i use ch.2 in - mode, awesome stuff happens... Bluesy modern tones like no other!! What a sick amp! Every single note comes through with such sustain and warm clarity, even the faster stuff like the legato and sweeps. Im secretly drawn to ch. 2 in minus mode every time. Its like every show i cant wait to flip that switch..! Blues guys, check this amp out for real. I can get SRV, Bonnamassa, Shepperd, tones out of this with NO PROBLEM. Plexyish sounds all day. Flip into - mode and set the gain to taste. It wont dissapoint! Channel 3 i use for most of my solos. I dont crank the gain on this too much because it has plenty of compression. I like compression in solos, it balances everything very well but not too much. This is not an amp for sloppy players, but at the same time its not an unforgiving amp either. It is very balanced. It gives you just enough grace to let you express yourself sonically, while keeping your technique in check while you play. Also, this amp is not noisy at all. Try it and see.

So far ive had it for about 8 months and no issues. When i bought the amp it was used and did have some issues but i made them fix it before i bought it. This was a big initial concern of mine. I must be honest in this review, and ive seen in music stores many herberts that had issues. I dont like this at all. I know we can all blame the users. But why only the herberts? Ive also heard of issues here and just in general from this amp. This has always been my biggest concern since i am in a touring band. I have been coast to coast with this amp and (knock on wood) so far no issues. Im personally happy, but it seems as though there are some concerns with reliability. Tubes dont seem to last long and led's burn out all the time etc..We cant blame faulty tubes forever.

So far i havent needed to contact Peter about any major issues. From what ive seen though on the diezel forum Peter is really helpful. I dont know squat about the insides of the amps only how to tweak and play. This is why so many people go to the forum for help. The guys on there are VERY good about that stuff. The fact that you can talk to the amp builders themself is a plus in my book. For this i give them a 10.

I am 30 years young, and have been playing guitar for 20 of them. I play with the band Ashes Remain. www.myspace.com/ashesremain. I have played in front of tens of thousands of people before, in just about every kind of venue toured the country coast to coast several times. Ive also played with and recorded with several other bands. I have played just about every high end amp before buying the herbert. Soldano, Marshal, Mesa, Bogner, and so on. Even tried it next to the Vh4 and Engl amps. To ME personally, the herbert was spongier and just "felt" so much better while having the sound i was looking for.
I am in a touring rock band and play just about every style of music on my own and in the studio. My personal favorite guitar influences are Eric Johnson, Joe Bonnamassa, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Andy Timmons, SRV, John Mayer, Pat Martino, and everyone who excells at their tone and instrument.
Every time i play this amp im reminded of why buying the Herbert was NOT a bad decision or an excessive purchase!
So far though.. i dont have any new recordings with the Diezel on it. But they are comming soon.
Here are the links of some of our songs in general if youre interested.
www.myspace.com/ashesremain
I also have some Instrumental stuff here:
www.myspace.com/trinityfaction

the head is pretty awesome and since i own multiple other amps such as 6 mesa boogies, 2 bogners, 3 marshalls, 2 matchless, diezel einstein and VH-4, peavey 5150, 2 peavey satch signatures that were played by him on tour. i think i know what a good tone is. the retards that post slating this amp need a wake up call. slating the herbert and saying they tried it in a music store and it was terrible. seems to me that they slate it because they could never afford to own one or any good expensive amp.
get a grip schoolboys and save for a quality amp instead of your bedroom quality marshall mg series (cheap as ****)

amazing sound

had an issue with the stock tubes when it first arrived. changed them and no more problems

peter diezel and the team were very responsive with any queries and take the time to answer peoples questions of the diezel forum

as i mentioned i own lots of high value amps. i dont really favour any over the other but if this was stolen i would instantly have it replaced.
one thing i would wish for is the - + switch to be midi controllable.
pity this place is brought down by the idiots that slate a product for no other real reason other than they dont know what a quality amp is. why would you come on here slating a product that you dont even own!! and could never afford other than jealousy that you cant afford it and have to go home and play through your marshall mg series that cost $50 knowing that you will never own any of the best amps in the world.

Very average set of features considering it's 3-4 times the price of other very popular 3 channel amps. You should get more for this kind of money.
Oh yeah, notice half of the reviews here are from Germans, then if you do youyr homework these idiots work for Diezel, or are major fanboys boosting this lame product..... Pathetic really.

It certainly has a unique sound, pretty much just for the heavy guys though. There is a reason why the standard rock guys, blues guys, country players don't like it, and laugh it off pretty quickly. Sure, you can 'do' those styles on the amp, like you can 'play' Metallica on a Strat, but lets be real, this is a one trick pony-I have been playing 23 years. Killer metal sound, lame in everything else.

Well here's the deal, Dioezel's suck!! I tried this out at ---- music store, and it failed within 20 mins. Just shut off, The manager came back, and it was very telling, he said this was the 5th time someone had told him about this, and that he couldn't wait to get rid of it!! Wow, probably because I was a friend, he was being honest, but he couldn't wait to ditch this line. Everyon chimes in with a chorus of 'tubes fail' but c'mon, this is lame. Oh, and one of the led lights flickered on and off. Maybe thats acceptable to some, but for $4500, nope, not going to waste my time here

Didn't deal with them, my manager friend said they were arrogant, German's apparently for what thats worth?

I laugh at the people who are plugging this pile of crap, I mean, who wants to admit they spent $4500 on an unreliable one trick pony amp...lol, not me!

Don't take my word for it, just look on 'ebay' and see how many mint, new, one week old Diezels are up for sale-ALL THE TIME. Then compare that with say a Custom Audio Electronics amp or something, that hardly ever come up, there is a reason folks!!

this amp has all you need - ever!
forget mesa or other high priced amp.
here you get a serious amp for a serious money.

i play metal and use several hamer chaparrals, made in usa, with
haeussel pickups, the best i ever used.
the amp suits just perfect to any kinds of rock, but is predestinated
for metal.
it is the most powerful sound i ever heard - my cab is an ENGL 412 XXL.
you could use it as a wrecking ball
even the clean is for the gods!
very low noise in all channels, no switching noise.
i'm very proud on my custom modified amp - made by peter diezel himself.
thx peter, you made an excellent job!
fastest attack - forget rectifiers.

don't know why some other guys write that nonsense, maybe they get paid.
i know a lot of musicians that use diezel products and no single one
ever had a problem.
an exhausted tube is not a damage folks, it happens when you use a tube amp - i'm serious.
in germany the first buyer gets lifetime warranty.
can't tell how the distributers tread it in other countries.

great communication to peter diezel and to acys guitar lounge.
you guys answered all my questions - thx.

if it got stolen i had to go to jail for murder,
or get me another one as fast i can ;o)
diezel herbert is the best amp money can buy.
i played mesa, engl, marshall, vox and many more, nothing compares.
it is not cheap, but doesn't sound cheap though.
here you get what you paid for.

Ckeck the onter reviews

I've owned the Herbert for about a year. That's still long considering the sound quality of this amp. I just couldn't believe that an amp this expensive couldn't satify my needs. First thing I have to say is that it doesn't cut through the mix. When playing alone it's sounds pretty much fine, but in a band situation you're only left with a thin sounding amp. I've read another review of this amp mentioning that it was voiced completely the wrong way and that is exactly how I feel about this amp. Ok let's talk through the channels. Channel 1: a lot of headroom, warm but dry sounding, but stays clean. Channel 2: Probably the best channel, but it's more of a 80's heavy metal channel. Channel 3: Too compressed and lacks character. The worst thing is probably the midcut switch. This amp doesn't even produce sufficient mids and then you would want to cut the mids?? They should have added a Mid Booster on this thing. Also I think the amp is to Hi-Fi sounding, it has no real character like most other amps do.

The amp looks very cool and is built like a tank. Also very heavy...Although it looks like it can't be broken I've always had some little issues that needed to be fixed. I always had the feeling that it was still in a sort of prototype phase. A friend of mine owned even an older one and had tot send it back for repair. By the loos of it you would say this amp is really reliable, bur looks are deceiving...

Now this is actually a very positive point. Peter Diezel often replies to mails himself and is very helpful and kind. I thiink every Diezel owner is very happy with the service they give

I/ve been playing for about 8 years now. The only thing that is really important with an anmp is the sound. For me this was the only thing this amp lacks! Good sounds and character! I would never buy it again. There a lot of cheaper amps out there that a are way better sounding than this. It's supposed to be the ultimate high gain/metal amp, maybe it is for some people, but I really can't understand why. I got really bored with the sound after just a few weeks. If you're testing this thing or you're planning to buy it, please be sure that it's the tone you're after. You might also want to test it together with the rest of your band.

I own Herbert #674, which I think is late 06' early 07'. I play progressive metal/rock with influence pulled from many genres of music so I NEED a tonally flexable head, which I found in the Herbert. I wouldn't give it a 10 because there is always something that could sweeten the deal but hell... the Herbert is damn close. I mean it has three effects loops, midi switchable, and three bad *** channels that could get 95% of any sound you were looking for out of. The -/+ Switch isn't really that big of a deal being non-switchable because a simple light overdrive will give you pretty much the same thing and any decent rack set up with this head will take care of whatever you want, which I think was more of what was in mind when this head was built.

Tubes:(6)EL34, 6L6, KT88, ect...

Two master volumes (that are good enough to go from bedroom to arena)

I'm only giving it a 10 because it suits me perfect,for everyone else it'd be a 9 because it'd be real hard to not be able to get a solid sound for your music style out of this, which is saying alot, because while it may not do everything perfect it certainly does alot and can at least copy most. The damn thing is quiet too, It's a little noisey at home but that's only because it has a HUGE magnetic field and I'm practically playing on it, but when I get on stage, quiet as a mouse. To add, what I find most impressive about this head is the low end, not how much it has but just the tonality and clarity and sheer impact. That's were I hear the biggest difference between this and other hi gain heads, not so much the voicing but the low ends quality.

Never had a problem with the head itself, the power tubes blew sooner than they should have but they we're those unrealiable turds they call Ruby EL34b's... they do sound good though. I put some SED el34's in it and have been great since. The head has taken a three foot fall once(in a road/rack case) and played just as good as ever and has since. The same goof balls that dropped it are still the ones handling it too so I'm sure it's seen more than that one drop.

I told them about the tubes and they retubed it free because the ruby tubes were still under warranty, I still replaced it with SED's to be safe, low and behold Diezel has since switched to those as well.

Lifetime warranty to original buyer.

I've been playing for 16 years and have been through lot's of equiptment and haven't found anything that suits me better and would buy it again in a heartbeat. Other than that buy a Diezel or Bogner cab to take advantage of it's full sonic capabilties.

I bought the amp new in late 2006. You read about all the features beforehand if you're checking out these reviews. The only "complaint" I have is that the Herbert has "only" three footswitchable channels, with channel 2 having to distinct voicings via the +/- switch on the amp. You can make that footswitchable, but I'd rather just have another channel.

I play mainly Metal and Rock, and the Herbert suits me just fine. Channel one has very sparkling cleans - I won't call it Fender-like, cos it's different, but it's a very natural sounding clean channel. With the 180 watts of peak power, there's no breakup at all, no matter what volume you play at and what pickups you use.
Channel two is a two-headed beast with the +/- switch...one giving you great crunch, and the other a ridiculously tight rythm distortion. Face-melting comes to mind. Channel three offers a very creamy lead sound. You can use it for rythm too, but who would want to with channel 2 the way it is?

Like I said, I have had the amp for 1,5 years now: No problems. Ever. Built like a tank.

One word: Unreal. How many amp companies do you know where you can actually call and email the owners, and they will answer your request?
Officially the warranty is two years, because of the law, but Diezel gives you lifetime warranty on all parts, but tubes.

Been playing for about 4 years now, having previously owned a Mesa DualRec T-verb, an Engl Powerball, a Mesa F-30, a Peavey 6505, amongst others. I will never sell the Diezel...unless they come up with a 4-channel version of the Herbert. I compared it for a few weeks before spending that kind of cash with VHTs, Mesas, Engls, etc.