Diezel Einstein Head

See previous reviews.

It won fare and square over Soldano SLO and Hot Rod+, Bogner Ecstasy and
Uberscall (what a doomy, gloomy amp, maybe great for 7-string slingers)Custom Audio Electronics (great middle of the road but lacks character), VHT CL amp and the latest Brunetti (great rock amp with at least 13 sound options).
The only amp that was also great was the soldano but the lead of the Diezel is the perfect marriage between soldano sweet cut through and mesa rectifier brutallity. It is 1500 cheaper and it has more sound options and a much better clean. The best clean I ever heard in a head.
Everything oozes character, best sound, absolutely fab.

Looks like a lifer.

No experience.

The best amp I ever came across. Buy it, you'll never be sorry. The odd amp out was a Fuchs which I also tested. That is the nicest clean sound ever. If it resembles Dumble I now understand what the fuzz was always about. What a beautifull amp to.

I stopped writing reviews on HC years ago, but I wanted to take the time to write this review about a Diezel Einstein 100-watt head I purchased a couple of months ago.

I've discussed amps with Peter Diezel a few times (they have a Diezel Amplification forum at www.rig-talk.com) and he says the whole idea was to design a more simple two channel Diezel without midi and some of the other bells and whistles of the VH4 and Herbert. Well, this may be more stripped down, but it has every feature I could ever want!

There are two channels, but channel 1 has three different modes to choose from. You also get global deep and presence controls, a footswitchable second master volume for lead boosts (awesome feature), a serial effects loop, a parallel effects loop, a compensated line out for recording that to my surprise, sounds pretty good, and an included two button footswitch to kick the second master volume on and to change channels. These are honestly all the features most gigging musicians want! I love the features!

You can easily mod the amp to make the mode switch on channel 1 footswitchable, but I haven't and don't plan to do that, as I don't have a need for it. But I've heard it's very easy and doesn't change the tone of the amp or anything.

I have the 100-watt version and it's SCREAMING loud! The amp sounds great at lower volumes, but of course, it really comes alive at light stage volumes (then takes off from there as the volume increases). There are tons of features in this amp that will have most gigging musicians loving the flexibility.

It's also interesting to note that you can run two different power tube types at the same time. For example, I'm running two SED 6L6 power tubes in the outside sockets and two stock Ruby EL34 tubes in the inside sockets. You can also run 6550's or KT88's in this amp. Peter made the bias sweep SUPER big and provides a separate bias circuit for each tube pair, making all of this possible. AWESOME feature! You can't do this in the 50-watter, so that's something to consider when deciding which version of the Einstein you want.

Sounds... Hmmm... INCREDIBLE! We had a local "ampfest" a few months back where a few friends got together with their nice equipment to compare and just jam around. Included were a Bogner 101B, Mesa Stiletto, Marshall DSL, BadCat HotCat 30R, Peavey 5150, etc... My buddy brought over his Einstein and we all couldn't wait to fire it up. To be honest, we talked about it before he got there and we all agreed that unless the amp floored us, there is no way it's worth the price tag it's going for here in the US. Well, it floored us! We had a pre-conceived belief that it wouldn't live up to the price, but we were wrong! It clearly stole the show. People would sit in front of the amp for 15 minutes without saying a word just playing at loud volumes non-stop almost hypnotized by the tone. I'm serious!

Anyway, I'm the king of the "I-don't-need-an-expensive-amp-to-sound-good" mindset and I still believe that. But this amp floored me so much that I sold a bunch of stuff and ran out and got my own within a month or two of the ampfest. It sounds THAT good!

Ok, most of the other folks covered the tones, but I'll give it a shot.

Channel 1:

Mode 1 - This mode is very clean and clear. I'm not much of a clean guy, but this clean channel sounds very nice to me.

Mode 2 - This is a bluesy or classic rock type of sound. With the preamp gain around 1:00 o'clock, it has the amount of distortion as a cranked plexi, but turned up more, it can easily go beyond the typical single-channel JCM800 level of distortion. Very nice tones to be had in this channel. Perfect for blues or classic rock!

Mode 3 - Whoa! This channel has more distortion than most people would ever dream of using! I have the preamp gain around 1:00-2:00 o'clock and it's plenty of distortion for Van Halen, Skid Row, Ozzy, Dokken, etc... The tone can be very smooth and "boutique", but it's not overly smooth like some high end amps out there. It has tons of punch, sweet mids and highs, and just some of the most pleasing tones you'll ever hear in an amp.

Channel 2:

This channel is also high gain, but there's more of it than what's on channel 1, mode 3 and it's also warmer or smoother. This channel was designed for playing leads and believe me, it's obvious. It's VERY hard to stop playing on this channel. Leads will just flow from your guitar. Works well for high gain rhythms too, but leads is where this channel really shines.

One thing that's very interesting is that you can leave your EQ and volume setup a certain way on channel 1 and switch between the modes without having to readjust anything! They are voiced to work together perfectly. I've never seen this in any other amp. It's crazy!

I'm being honest here... You could use this amp for ANY style in the world. It can do warm jazz, blues, classic rock, '80s hairband stuff or even modern metal. It's not the amp I would go to first for modern metal, simply because it's voiced a little too "sweet" and "sophisticated", but it can definitely do it without thinking twice. If you're looking for a high quality amp that can do just about everything, look no further. This amp SMOKES!

I've only had it for a couple of month, so I can't honestly say. But this thing is built with incredible attention to detail using only the best parts available. Everything feels as sturdy as possible. This amp is a work of art. I honestly can't imagine it ever breaking down and if it does, Peter Diezel will take care of you. He's known for standing behind everything he makes, so there are no worries here.

Peter Diezel is the man! You can contact him over email or talk to him on the Diezel Amplification forum at www.rig-talk.com. I'm not real sure how I'd go about getting it repaired if it ever needed it. My guess is that Peter would have me take it to a local tech, while he discussed the repair with them. I'm sure he wouldn't expect me to send it back to Germany. lol...

I've been playing for 21 years and I'm only 33. I'm a decent player and have done everything from huge stages in theaters and arenas (believe it or not!), to playing the local dives every weekend. I'm very serious about tone and used to have a huge collection of amp clips that was pretty popular on the web a few years back. I've owned some real high end stuff, as well as great sounding lesser expensive amps. I love it all. But I'm telling ya, this Diezel Einstein is in a league all it's own. The amp floors me everytime I play it.

You can hear me demoing the amp on www.diezelamplification.com to see the types of tones I get out of it.

The amp has not so many features like the Herbert or the VH-4. The sound is good, but the sadly i had to recognize the the Sound modes are not switchable. And that in the year 2006. I paid a lot of money for a amp with features which were actual in the year 1980.

The amp delivers a good clean and a good rock sound. I didn't like the high-gain sound. It's a little bit to moderate and has not enough punch for modern music.

Can't say. Purchased it for a month. Directly from Diezel.

I don't get them onto the phone. Now i will a write a mail.

A solid amp, but i think that there's a little to much hype among it.
It's a class beyond the VH-4. Which sounds more impressive and versatile.

2 channels, independent EQ plus glogal 'deep' and 'presence' controls comes w/footswitch AND second 'master' volume (controlled by the footswitch)...channel 1 has 3 'modes' that increase in available gain and structure as you go up (toggle switch on front of amp OR you can mod the amp to use a footswitch to change modes...which I haven't done...) channel 2 is the lead channel :)

I was (am) immediately impressed at how 'organic' this amp sounds! in all 'modes' and especially the lead channel, has TONS of warm tube goodness...keeps note definition and sings or roars as you like (can do BOTH with EXCELLENCE!). I am using a Marshall 60's 4x12 cab with 'ScumBack' speakers (like pre-Rola Celestions...) and ALL channels sound absolutely GLORIOUS! This amp LOVES both strat single coils and Les Paul humbuckers...definitely leans more to Vintage HardRock than Death Metal...and it's distortion characteristics are toward the 'darker' side (which is what I like!)

Just got it a month ago...built solid and works to perfection so far!

Peter Diezel is supposedly an accessible guy....no worries from me so far!

Best amp I've ever owned...hands down....I've owned and played most of the Boutique stuff, this amp out classes all of em'.

See discriptions below for features.

Plenty of tone shaping options with this amp. It really can do everything and anything. It would be nice if the 3 modes were footswitchable though.

Like I said above, the amp can do anything and do it all extremely well.

The clean (channel 1, mode 1) is.......... very clean, like a clean channel should be. Much better than most other high gain channel switchers.

Channel 1 Texas mode. Slight breakup to classic rock/SRV type of tones. Very versitile channel/mode. Takes very well to boosts. Cleans up extremely well with you volume control on your guitar.

Channel 1 Mega mode. Classic rock to metal. Tone to die for. Very thick and juicy. Harmonically rich and fun to play.

Channel 2 (Lead channel). Has an extra gain stage than channel 1 Mega mode. A lead players absolute dream!! Not quite as tight as CH 1 Mega, but man, does this channel scream!!!

This amp has it all!

It's a Diezel....nuff said

Peter is the best, hands down when it comes to his customers. You'll get your questions answered in a timely manner.

Been playing for 20 years. I've owned everything from Marshall, Mesa, VHT, Soldano, and on and on. This is hands down the finest amplifier I have ever owned.

What I'm gonna talk about is a Diezel Einstein 50W head built in 2005, so it's one of the first heads. I currently use it with a 2*12 V30 rearloaded and/or a 1*15 backopen cabinet. I had the combo before, but to handle it is pretty close to imposible (but as far as I know they modified something, so this isn't a problem any longer)
The collegues allready described the technical details, so I'll skip that.
I play Rock, Blues, Jazz and music is for me a matter to express and provoque emotions. That's the reason why I got the Einstein. It's versatile. Only thing I would appreciate is the possibility to switch the three modes in Channel 1 with a footswitch. Not midi, just a simple footswitch like it has for Channel and Master select. That is the only reason why it gets only 9 instead of 10 points...

And here we go:

As the most of us I don't play in giant venues, but I want an excellent sound without hurting myself and the audience. 50 Watts is from my point of view a good compromise. Clean loud enough, but also excellent high gain sounds at moderate levels. Very responding to guitar/pickup character. And that was a main topic for me. I'm playing a Gibson LP 57 reissue and a sheraton as well as strat and Tele and some other guitars depending on the situation. This amp is capable to trnsport each individual charactere in a perfect way. You have to find your personal setup or you can discuss with Peter Diezel if you need some tonal modifications (tubes,...) but you will get your sound.

You might have heard it: Solid as a rock, not really light weight, but extremely reliable. It's been moving around a lot, but I' ve never had a problem

When you want to get a maximum impression of customer support, call Diezel. You don't have to be Superstar or a guy who has 10 Fullstacks. He will call you back. In some reviews I read something about a "german" support and you would be fucked up if you are outside Germany. Sorry, but that's bullshit. I had once a huge problem with my first Einstein Combo and they solved it, even if it was a longer way to go. That is also one reason why I'm still with Diezel.

I'm now playing for almost 30 years. I've tried a lot of amps and guitars and I still own a super reverb and a modified Laney GC30. The new Diezel Schmidt will be the next thing to get. Especially for gigs the Einsteins covers a wide range of sound that I need. If it would get stolen, the next day I would buy new one.

Fresh of the ship from Germany! The Diezel Einstein is an all tube, 50W two channel amp. Channel 1 has 3 modes you can access with a mini toggle switch; Clean, Texas and Mega. Channel 2 gets down to high gain business. Both channels have their own Gain, Volume, Treble, Middle and Bass controls. Two switchable Master Volumes. Global controls are the Presence and Deep controls. In the back you have two separate fx loops; series and parallel. Has 4, 8 and 16 ohm outputs, and a compensated line out for direct to board monitoring. Channel switching is done via footswitch or font panel.

I play all kinds of music from basic jazz to nu-metal.

I use a Suhr Classic with an alder body and DSV/V60lp/V60lp H/S/S pickups. I also have a Heritage H-150CW with the upgraded pickups.

Channel 1 Clean mode is just that... clean. It has so much headroom, it's almost impossible to get any OD or distortion from this thing. Think BF Twin Reverb and you get the idea!

Channel 1 Texas mode goes from Tweed Deluxe-ish to Plexi-ish with the turn of the Gain knob. Lots of punch and articulation with smooth top end sparkle. Not brittle... smoooth!

Channel 1 Mega mode will give you that EVH 'brownsound' with plenty gain on reserve.

Channel 2 is brutal! Think Mesa Trem-O-Verb crossed with a Soldano SLO100. Gobs and gobs of gain... if you're a nu-metal or heavy metal player, you will love this channel.

Overall the amp has a very open, classic sound. The high gain setting do not get all compressed, they maintain that very open characteristic. IMO, it won't do VOX AC30, but it has Fender, Marshall, Mesa, and Soldano all running for cover. Extremely versitile amp. Each channel and mode sounds excellent... hard for me to choose which one I like best! Better to say, I love them all!

Master Volumes taper nicely, no need for a attenuator IMO.

The Einstein suits any number of music style because of the fact that it's so flexible. I mostly use this amp in the studio, and with some many tonal variations, it's very easy for me to dial up the tone I need for any situation from jazz to funk to rock to metal... this amp covers a lot of ground.

It's a Diezel... over-built with the very best components and design. I don't forsee an issue, but refrain from commenting because I just got it.

It's a Diezel... I haven't had a need for customer support, but I will tell you, Diezel contacted me directly just to thank me for buying their amp... that goes a long way for me!

Okay, I've been playing for 25 years, and I don't do very many reviews here at HC. I've maybe done about 2 or 3, so for me to go out of my way and spend the time typing says I really love this product!

I've played and owned amps from Bogner, Custom Audio Amplification, THD, Germino, Carr, Aiken, Dr. Z, Marshall, Fender, Roland, Orange, Cornford, and Bad Cat. I only have one amp now... Eistein. Why keep anything else when all they would be doing is collecting dust! Each one of those aforemention amps lacked some thing, but the Eistein is the first amp that I have come across that leaves me fully satisfied in every respect. Hard to believe... try one and find out for yourself.

BTW, don't go in thinking the Einstein is the little brother of the Herbert or VH4. Eistein is very classic in nature!

I would replace it in a heartbeat if lost or stolen!

It's an expensive amp, but given the high quality components, bullet proof construction, wide variety of features, and most of all... THE TONE, it's a great value to me!

This is the very first Einstein built by Peter in summer 2004. Its the Prototype, shown at ToneMerchants in 2004 and base for the serial models which will be produced in spring 2005.

The amp is a two channel amp, 100 Watts from 4 EL34 (Ruby STR), with reverb (serial models - except combos - won`t have this feature), a parallel loop, a serial loop, the typical 5 jacks for speakers (1x16, 1x8, 1x4 or 2x16 (=8) or 2x8 (=4) Ohm). Three jacks for the footswitch pedals (included to the serial models) to switch channels, reverb and master-volumes.

Frontpanel: two rows of controls - one for each channel.
Vol, Gain, Bass, Mids, Treble, Reverb and Master for each channel. Additionally one overall Presence and one Deep pot.

Also on the frontplate there are two (manual) switches to select
a) the channels (1/2)
b) the modes of channel 1, which are

All indicated by Diezel typical blue (super bright) LEDs, all built into super resistable chassis. The amp is about 3/4 width of a "standard" amphead - but still heavy weighting.

1. clean
2. "Texas"
3. "Mean"

The amp has 6 ECCs for the preamp (chinese 9th generation) and another ECC for the reverb, which is a 30cm Accutronics coil.
Two bias points with instructions on the board inside. So pairwise a mix of tubes possible ;-)
Einstein doesn`t use midi to switch channels/masters/reverb. Its a standard switching Peter has used here to keep things more simple. I appreciated that.

This amphead offers four sounds. Clean, "Texas", "Mean" and "Lead" - as stated above channel 1 has three modes, which (no surprise here -l its a Diezel ;-) ) don`t need further tweaking once you`ve found your setting - better: the volume and tone balance between the modes is perfect.

Clean is clean. Sparkling, more like a VH4 than a Herbert, if needed with lots of headroom. And it stays clean. A super nice sound here.

"Texas" is a sound between a driven AC30 and a 800s set to 50-70% gain. Super nice with a Strat for rock-blues and a LP for Lizzy/crunch stuff. This sound will blow the "oldschool" rockers away, I`m sure.
IMO this is the masterpart of the amp and alone worth to get it. Its responsiveness to styles, playing and guitar is amazing.

"Mean" is the typical Diezel trademark super-crunch, that starts where "Texas" ends. Heavy rythms or even soloing here - also with the presence and deep pots able to do the evil side of metal like DM. You may ask if its more like a VH4 (ch3) or Herbert ch2/+ mode? My answer is yes ;-) - both available here.

"Lead" is lead - liquid, screaming, creamy - very sweet lead sounds here. From all Diezels I own this is my favourite lead sound. Can bite if wanted, or sing or cry - depends on the presence settings and the treble of ch2.

Einstein is a bit more vintage sounding than the VH4 or Herbert - a bit sweeter . . . and for me the perfect comrade for my Herbert.

All(!) sounds coming from it are simply amazing, awesome and pure beauty.

Its a Diezel.

Any more questions? Thats overengineering at its best.
Built like a tank with best components available . . . .

Again: since its a Diezel you will get the best cst-support you can think of. Peter always responds to mails or phone calls and helps where he can. He`s the nicest builder in the industry with the best sounding amps available.

I`m playing 25+ years now, own a lot of gear (Soldano, Marshall) and this is my third Diezel head. I`ve owned a VH4 stack before I decided to go "Herbert". Einstein is its perfect comrade when I need some sweeter or more vintage sounds. I`m using it with a Les Paul and a Schecter C1 BJ with a G-Major in its loop (didn`t I mention that the loop - of course - works flawlessly? )

I would definitely replace it, if it was stolen . . . no doubt. Its such a sweet/mean amp.

Its normally hooked to my Diezel 2x12" and shines thru it. Since it costs less than the VH4 or Herbert, this amp will hopefully open the eyes of a lot players and direct them to Diezel amps, which are such amazing masterpieces.
Einstein IMO is the perfect amp for those who are coming from Marshalls (all-tube of course), Soldanos and XTCs or Shivas - with the advantage that besides its versatility the sounds go further. Einstein can do more than those I`ve mentioned and always sounds a bit "better", cause the players style and esp. the characteristics of the guitar are coming thru IMO better/clearer/more defined. And of course this amp includes the Diezel-trademark sounds, mostly from ch1/"Mean" mode, which are unique among other ampheads.

Its worth every hard earned cent, no doubt.