Diezel Herbert Head

To be able to use different power tubes is very cool. Three different effects loops, one being switchable, two switchable master volumes, midi control, the mid cut feature - really everything is great. I'm only giving it a 9 because I wish mine came with external bias feature.

It is one of the best high gain sounds I have ever heard. I also have a dual rectifier which sounds awesome as well but only with the addition of a boost pedal and external post eq. the Herbert, on the other hand is awesome by itself.

This is where it fails. I have the same channel 1 issue that some people here have talked about. Channel 1 just dies when you switch to it. It only seems to happen after playing the amp for a while (when it gets hot) because turning it off for a few minutes fixes the problem, but it happens all over again after a few hours of playing.

I'm still in talks with them so I will give an update with what happens later.

It's very fantastic when it works. It's a very expensive doorstop when it doesn't.

amp built at end of 2007

versatility is something quite incredible. channel 1 gives me unbelievable headroom and sparkly tone. channel 2 is always kept on type 1 select and has a muddy crunch (i have slight midcut on it mostly). channel 3 is moderately set with midcut engaged to give it a tighter sound as i play predominantly in drop F

it has three active channels. i use the columbus in the midi footswitch insert. i have all my effects run through effects loop in the back, minus the tuner which goes through the tuner out.

there are no features i feel its missing, its very bare to the bones made for a purpose. no frills! there arent any features that arent left.

until recently this amp was mainly used live and in practice studios. as far as power goes, my other guitarist was swapping between a 6505+ and boogie dual rectifier and was always playing catch up volume wise. tone wise, this amp seems to cut through in a band mix no problem.

at the moment i only run two guitars through it. i use a blackmachine b7 tuned to F through a lundgren M7 pair and a gibson sg std tuned to drop B flat through emg 81-85's (zakk wylde).

i tend to aim for the 'djent' type of sound, meshuggah/fellsilent/tesseract/bornofosiris. this amp gives an incredibly tight tone for what i like.

in terms of volume, yes this is a noisy piece of kit. in terms of static hum etc, this baby is silent. granted i have a boss noise suppressor in my effects loop. until i hammer a not, there is serene silence.

being built-for-a-purpose this amp delivers predominantly metallic sounds when driven. take channel 2 and give it a slight ride on the gain and you can get that great blues tone, the sparkly clean tone on channel 1. to be honest, whichever sound you're looking for, if you take the time to dial it in, this amp will pull it out of the bag no problem.

clean channel has unbelievable headroom, it NEVER distorts, even when you take the volume to twelve o'clock (even live i never take it past 10).

the distortion is punchy, with the midcut it is tightened up for a very dry twang in the crunch, thankfully there's a master bass eq that destroys even the most robust cabs. (p.s theres a disclaimer in the manual that states diezel will not be held responsible for the disintegration of any speaker cabinets)

i've used this amp on 7 full uk tours, used it almost everyday while writing, practicing, i would take a back up regardless anyways (safe than sorry), which happens to be an engl invader.

the amp has never broken down, ive had a couple of cables give up on me live, but this amp couple be run over by a humvee and would still play. i think its on the strength that the valves are twinned (two valves per channel) if they fail, the connecting channel switches off until the valves or fuse get replaced.

after a few months my valves started losing their drive, well, not so much the drive, more harmonically it changed (i never touched the biasing). i got on the horn to james leader (the uk distributor) and got 12 valves (6 power, 6 pre amp) free of charge. i was also given a lifetime guarantee for first owner, if i ever have a problem, all i have to worry about is the charge of getting it down to london.

my warranty lasts a lifetime.

ive been playing guitar for about twelve years. my gear is as follows
PRS custom22 in mateo blue, bird inlays, floating trem, dragon7 pickups.
Gibson SG Standard in black, trapezoid inlays, emg 85/81 pickups.
Blackmachine B7 in trans black, lundgren M7 pickups
Epiphone SG G400 in black, Gibson Stock Pickups

Diezel Herebert
ENGL Fireball 100
Marshall JCM 800
Marshall EL84 20/20 Pre-Amp
Diezel 4x12R
ENGL 4x12
Marshall 1960A

Boss tuner
Boss noise suppressor
Boss chorus
Ibanez tubescreamer
Diezel Columbus

DigiDesign protools7
Line6 Pod X3

if it was lost i would replace it, if it was stolen i would hunt down and kill the thief, then maim and kill his wife, kids, parents, distant relatives, and pets!!

when looking into this amp i also tried a vht pitbull, bogner uberschall, thd univalve, orange tinyterror and a couple other highly regarded amps. i plugged into this amp and just knew it was what i wanted.

this is thee amp! this and its big sister vh4 are by far the highest gain, tightest sounding, most beautiful amps ever to be released.

please note, although the half stack plus columbus is rather expensive, i dont think anything will be brought out that can better it. this amp is for life. diezel for life, marshall for christmas.

It's been covered here before, Just here to comment on the lack of reliability

Very good sound-admittedly only really for one genre though (metal)

Well, I'm glad I finally sold this on eBay, what a glad good riddance. 4 repairs in 1 year. Maybe a lemon, but there are reviews here from fans and non fans alinke that reliability is an issue, and I totally concur. Glad I got $3,000 for it. I would not pay $1,000 for it again. Headaches far far outweigh the positives.

You can only blame the user for so long before you have to say 'this amp just is unreliable'

Great amp-poor reliability in the U.S.A

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.