Diezel Herbert Head

My amp is a 2004 Diezel Herbert (version II) with Ruby EL34 STRs. I play through a Mesa 4x12 Recto Cab with V30s. This amp has the best features I've personally seen in an amp. You can program the head to change its channels etc. at the same time you switch your rack effects with the touch of a button on your midi pedal. Very cool if you?re playing live gigs. One of the biggest selling features for me.

Three great sounding independent channels. Again very useful in a live situation where you need to dial up a sweet clean and then jump to a massive distorted tone at the touch of a button, Herbert goes from super clean, to dirty, to super overdrive. I play mostly METAL so channel three is usually what I use. I've found a great happy medium on this channel for a great heavy rhythm sound to a sweet lead. It did take me a while to dial in a tone I was happy with, I feel this is due to the great tonal range of the Herbert?s controls, which is a good thing. Most amps tone controls - that I've owned, like the Dual Recto, only color the sound slightly, where Herbert's make big changes. So rather than having an amp where basically everyone that owns one sounds the same, with Herbert you can dial in your sound.

Since I've had it several months and have not had a problem I will give it a 10 here, not that I doubt I would have to change this rating in the future, based on the top-notch construction of this amp.

I've received quick responses to my e-mails directly from both Peter Diezel himself and from Uwe Salwender (US distributor) which were definitely helpful. I was also able to meet Peter during his visit to Orange County, California this month, very friendly guy. Also met Uwe on the same occasion, cool guy as well.

I think the Herbert is a damn fine amplifier. You can tell that Peter Diezel is a perfectionist by the construction of this amplifier, everything appears to be of the highest quality components. Definitely give it a spin if you?re in the market for a high gain amplifier of this caliber.

Made in 2004. 180 watt all tube design. Features 3 independant channels. Versatility is really not that great since channel 2 and 3 are so very similar. Channel 1 is ultra clean, but very "Hard/stiff" sounding and feeling. Similar to a 2 channel Dual Rectifier's clean. Not very useful in my opinion. Channel 2 is old school raw Marshall up to modern Boogie sounding. Channel 3 is Heavy like Korn and Limp Bizkit style. It features 3 effects loops. One is footswitchable. Has a depth and midcut feature for brutal scooped tones.

HUGE disappointment. I purchased this amp based on all the hype. Please don't make the same mistake! The best way that I can describe the tone of this amp is thin hi gain lacking character. PLAY THE AMP BEFORE YOU BUY ONE. I was disgusted with the fact that I paid 4,100 dollars for an amp that I did not like. I have played MANY Dual Rectifiers that had more character in their tone than this amp. Try a 5150, Dual Rec, Marshall DSL 100, Bogner Ecstacy, Soldano, or Guytron BEFORE you decide on one of these. I was never more disappointed than with the purchase of this amp, and I have owned all the above. I played this amp with Humbuckers only. In my opinion single coils would probably not do very well with this amp. Very little noise floor or background hum considering an amp of this gain potential. It generally sounded thin compared to all the amps I listed and very "Generic" to my ears. Plus the amp weighs a metric ton. Once again, I cannot stress this enough. Play it before you even think about buying it especially at any where close to this price point.

The amp is very well constructed, but with that comes alot of weight to carry around. It is the HEAVIEST amp I have ever owned. I would gig without a backup if I took it to gigs which I would not because I did not like the way it sounded. One time it did not work in one of the channels because a 12AX7 came loose. I would expect to have tube retainers at the price I paid for the amp.

Even with my very bad experience, I have heard and read EXCELLENT things about Diezel's customer support. I have never had to use the customer support with Diezel myself. Lifetime warranty to the original owner and a 5 year transferrable warranty to the second owner.

I have been playing for 17 years and have owned or played about every hi gain amp out there. If it were stolen I would be upset about the loss of money, but my revenge would be when the thief turned it on only to be as disappointed with the sound of the amp as I was. I loved the look of the amp and the build quality. I HATED the overdrive and clean tones. This amp is way over-rated. I have always disliked Marshall DSL 100s, but after my experience with the Herbert, the Marshall is now acceptable. I actuall prefer ANY Single, Dual or Triple Rectifier over this amp. The Boogies and Marshalls are a way better value for the money in my opinion. If you really want to top the Herbert, get a Soldano of any type, or a Bogner Uberschall or even an Ecstacy. I am really hoping that Diezel goes back to the drawing board on this amp and that Diezel lowers the price to better suit the amp. It really needs some work. The potential is there, but it has a long way to go. I lost 1,000 on this amp and had it for a month. Needless to say I am not happy. Even if the amp was much more affordable I would NEVER buy another one.

My Diezel Herbert is a 2004 version 2.1 model. The features include: 180W output; 3 totally independent footswitchable channels each with it's own: volume, gain, middle, treble, and bass controls (channel 1 has no gain control); 2 assignable global master volume controls, mid-cut option with level & intensity controls, master presence & depth controls over all 3 channels; 3 seperate FX loops (series/parallel/switched); tuner out; compensated out; mute switch; MIDI in & thru jacks; and the ability to mix-n-match different pairs of power tubes, due to the 3 independent bias pots. For example, you could run 2 KT88s + 2 6L6GC + 2 EL34s or 4 EL34s + 2 KT88s, and so on. Finally, the Diezel Herbert also features a 100% all tube signal path. My Herbert was equipped with 6 SED 6L6GC power tubes and 6 Chinese 12AX7C9 preamp tubes.

Channel one, the Herbert?s clean channel, is much more than just useable, and can easily hold it?s own with most of the current stock ?clean-only? amps out there. The clean channel is very ?Fendery? with plenty of warmth, bounce, and chime to it. It's one of the best clean tone you'll find on any high-gain tube amp. The independent channel volumes & 2 global masters work great for giving you that ?cranked? sound at low volumes (no attenuator needed). A big part of getting that cranked to ?10? overdriven sound at low volumes is due to the 180W+ power section, which allows you to hear all the thick/beefy lows & harmonic highs without going deaf. The master volume on the Herbert is one of the best master volume designs out there. I also own a Bogner Uberschall and have demoed the Bogner XTC 101b/Classic extensively which all have very good master volume designs, but the master volume design of the Herbert is much more effective and more transparent sounding to my ears. If you like tight, articulate tones and enjoy hearing each and every note you pick, without having notes running together, this is your amp. The Presence & Deep masters are like global hi-end & low-end controls (both are very touch sensitive) and can alter your tone drastically with just a small twist. Depending on where you set the Depth knob, you have access to more bass then you?ll ever need (we?re talking Uberschall/Dual Recto low-end levels here).

The second channel is the most versatile of the three with its +/- switch. In (-) mode with the gain at around 9:00 you get a nice warm blues tone (think SRV, Clapton, Ford), then by bumping up the gain on the second channel to around 1:00 you can pretty much handle all the ?70s classic rock tones you can think of (think Hendrix, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Zepplin) just by adjusting the gain knob. In the (+) mode, you get all the classic hi-gain modified Marshall tones of the 1980s (think Maiden, Whitesnake, Dokken, Scorpions) with the gain set at around 2:00. If you dig the modified JCM800 2203 Marshall tones of the ?80s, then this is your sound. By engaging the mid-cut option and upping the gain a bit, you just entered the classic thrash metal world (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer).

The third channel has more useable gain than any other high gain amp I?ve used to date. The key here, being the term ?useable gain?. Most of the styles of music I play require a good deal of gain, and this channel at 12:00 has more than I?ll probably ever need. But even with the boatload of gain on tap, your tone is always clear, defined, and articulate- no matter how hard you drive it. The Herbert never becomes too oversaturated, flubby, fuzzy, flabby, or muddy (which is symptomatic of many other high gain tube amps on the market). The third channel is where you?ll find your liquid lead & ultra heavy modern metal rhythm tones (depending on how you set the EQ & deep knob). On the third channel with the mid-cut off and the gain set around 10:00, you have your classic liquid lead tone (ala Petrucci, Romeo) and then by engaging the mid-cut, upping the bass a bit, and setting the gain to 1:00 you have you?re ultra heavy modern metal rhythm tones (ala Tool, Meshugga, Arch Enemy, COB).

I?d like to stress for the record, this is not a high-gain only or metal only amp. Yes, it does those tones amazingly well, but the Herbert is much more than that. A friend of mine, who also owns a Herbert, plays mostly blues/classic rock (he considers Led Zepplin heavy) and loves the Herbert. So this amp is no one trick pony by any means. It is quite possibly the single most versatile amp on the market right now. Its appeal to all types of players is a true testament to its capabilities and its well thought out design. The Herbert is also amazingly responsive to both preamp/power tubes; so do experiment. Swapping a few tubes will yield big changes in the tone. Compared to the first version, the Herbert 2.1 sounds like a totally different amp a

The Diezel Herbert, as with all of Peter's products, is a design masterpiece and is built like a tank. It is clearly overbuilt to the hilt. Both the output and power tranformers are oversized, it has ceramic tube sockets, all metal in/out jacks, and magnified channel LEDs, which are just some of the examples of Diezel's build quality. One thing you'll never have to worry about with a Diezel is reliability. The Herbert has a lifetime warranty for the record.

Diezel's customer support has been great. I had a question and e-mailed them and recieved a reply the next day from Peter Diezel himself. How's that for service?

The Herbert delivers eveything it advertises and more. So basically, if you want a super versatile amp, with tons of killer tones from clean to mean, like having the option of running rack FX with MIDI switching, and want an amp designed and built like a battleship with top quality components throughout, the Herbert would be for you. As always, it?s best to judge an amp with your own ears and not based on the opinion of others. Also, there is no such thing as the ultimate amp, but after owning a VHT Ultralead, Bogner Uberschall, numerous Mesa Dual Rectifiers, almost every model of Marshall made and having played just about every other channel switching hi-gain tube amp on the market (including the Bogner XTC 101b & Classic, Soldano SLO, and Engl Powerball & SE) the Herbert comes darn close to perfect for my needs.

This is a brandnew Herbert head, #108.
The features were already described in detail (three channels, ch2 with +/- switch, mid-cut section, pres., deep, two masters, midi-switchable, three loops (one midi-switchable, serial, parallel with pot), mute, tuner out and a very very good compensated out for recordings. Five speaker outs (4, 8 or 16 Ohm - or 2x8 (=4) or 2x16 (=8) Ohm. Footswitch jack.

The touch-switches on the aluminium frontpanel are a piece of art - and the looks of these and those ultra-bright LEDs is incredible. The pots are smooth and very precise.

The amp has 6 Rudy STR EL34 from China (excellent) and 6 9th generation ECC83/12AX7 (also perfect). Three bias-pots allow to use three matched duets of whatever you want (EL34, 6L6, KT66, KT88, 6550) - you can even mix them. Tube sockets are ceramic and all parts are overbuilt and overprocessed and overmanufactured quality - as always with all Diezel products (I do own a VH4 halfstack too).
The loops (and the reviewer down there who has prolems with them seems to take some lesson and then rethink his review here) are the best available in the industry. I know at least three other brands of so called boutique manufaturers that are not able to offer such high quality loops like Peter Diezel does. Amazing, simply amazing and tone-neutral.
All Diezel amps should get a "12" here, cause no other brand offers those with quality standards like Diezel does.

Where to start?
Channel 1, although compared to a VH4 without a bright switch, has extremely effective tone-pots. It does Fender as well as Hiwatt or Sound-City, depending on your settings - which include the high effectiveness of Herberts Mastersection. From sparkling and shimmering to deep powerful cleans - its all there. Amazing. I`ve never heard a better clean coming from a high gain amp.

Channel 2 (I`m still amazed everytime I touch these channel-switches on the frontpanel) goes from ACDC to Zep to Lizzy to Sykes to dark metal, depending how the "-/+" switch and the pots for gain/volume are used. The amp breathes here like very very few. So organic when played with light crunch and so powerful when doing darker metal riffing.
As the previous reviewer said: the setting on the tone-merchants site are very very helpful - start with all pots at noon and go from there.
Ch2 also provides (of course) the typical and looked after Diezel trademark crunch, used by so many artists of today. In the "+" setting with gain and volume at 60% its there - just add then the unbelieveable breath of this power-section.
That doesn`t meant that this amp has to be played at stadium levels to sound excellent. Even at bedroomlevels its brilliant - just use the
same settings as for bandvolume, drop the master and find your settings by adding deep and presence - thats all.

Channel three is like a chamaelion too - depeding on your settings it can go from screaming, creamy and lovely smooth leads to an evil DM rythm. Again - the power-section lifts the amp to where it should go. It has the sonic abilities of the VH4 - plus the "evil" side, if you are after that.

Using the mid-cut section turns the amp into a different beast. For more moderate people like myself its cool to change the channels voicing just a bit and helps to find every sound-nuance available on this planet - for the DM and HM players it helps to "evilize" the sound. Set the intensity to zero and put the level to 70 - voila, another master-volume. (but there`s already a second MV) - of course everything midi-controlled.

What else?

Attack? lightning fast
Bottom End? TNT :-)


I gave the VH4 a 10 - Herbert, due to its a bit more breathing power-section, should also get a 11 here.

This amphead is built as if it should survive a nuclear attack.

Overmanufactured, overbuilt, the biggest Powertranny in the industry. only highest quality parts with "technical elegance" - a masterpiece.
Everything inside (I`m building my own amps, so I know what I`m talking about) is multiple protected: Several fuses internally to protect for worst cases, which normally are user caused - don`t worry, the amp is idiot-prooved.
Built like a tank, 27 kilograms, full-sized, oversized PT and OT . . . a masterpiece of engineering and craftmanship.
I`ve used my VH4 without backups - I will use this Herbert too without backup - not necessary - of course - its a Diezel.
Tube-fault while gigging? No problem: an internal fuse (but easy to locate on the board) takes one duett of the circuit and you`ll continue the gig with a 100 Watter.

This is where I get really angry about that previous poster: No other company has a customer support like Diezel. Peter is always reachable over the phone, mail or personally. You want more mids? You want a modification for a coffe-machine-interface (or whatever) - no problem.
The most helpful and the nicest guy in the whole industry.

This customer support is simply outstanding.

Playing since 25 years (Les Pauls mostly) and Sykes/Lizzy stuff - I was sceptical after owning Marshalls and Soldanos before I went with Diezels - I`ll never look back (take a look at my VH4 review).

Now Herbert - again I was sceptical if I would love it as much as my VH4.

I do, if not even more, cause it does what the VH4 does with excellence and more - the "evil" side.

Is it a metal amp? Definitely. Is it a classic rocker`s amp? Definitely. Hard Rock? No problem.
I`m using this with a G-Major in the loop and at home/for recordings with a brandnew 2x12" Diezel cab - with the band thru a Diezel 4x12" with V30s/G75T. It rocks every place - from bedroom volume to the bigger venues. Its fun to play it, and its a serious recording, gigging and touring amp.
Would I buy it again: without a doubt.
Comparison? Impossible - the only amp thats comparable is the VH4 - I don`t care about other brands anymore, because its either their sonic abilities that I don`t like or their built-qualities. Diezels are THE SHIT for high quality sounds and reliability. Where else do you get independant (no "fake" channels here, where a "channel" consists just of a volume pot f.i.) preamps, brilliant stage features (tuner-out, midiswitching), excellent tools (loops, comp. out), a breathing power-section and a look of technical elegance.

Check Diezels out - they are worth every hard earned money.

More infos about this amp, the VH4, the cabs - www.thinlizzy.de

My amp is a Herbert Mark II purchased last fall. We can all look at the specs on the website. I purchased mine new from Tone Merchants. I find it interesting that the last reviewer couldn't get support for his amp issues. I don't think Diezel should be blamed for user incompetence. The loops are the best I've ever used and the amp is GREAT with most pedals.

I really dig all three channels. Most people don't really change the settings enough to get an idea of all the capabilities of the amp. You really need to use the volume knob on the guitar to get an idea of the range of sounds available. I have a mix of guitars including: a Suhr Classic (P90,single,'bucker), G&L Comanche, 335, Reverends and a Les Paul. I've never played one amp that really gets along with all my guitars.
As far as noise, 60 cycle hum can be a little annoying with single coils in high gain mode--like any high gain amp. Noise on the power line can also be an issue. This is pretty typical of most amps.
The clean channel has a lot of headroom and really works well with overdrive pedals to add a bit of crunch. It will do that Hiwatt thing quite a bit. The second channel is an easy favorite. The -/+ switch really gives a lot of range. You can get tones from SRV, to Soldano SLO 100, Marshall and beyond.
The third channel is pretty wicked and can be unforgiving when playing sloppy. Attack is immediate and very punchy. I think that this channel needs to be experimented with to be fully appreciated. Don't just go for the really high gain dial in--roll the gain back a bit and see what you can get.
I've sold all of my other amps because I'm totally satisfied with the Herbert. I like everything from blues to Nu metal and I think it handles all those genres well.

I think the amp is extremely well built. I'm kind of picky when it comes to design quality. It's built like a tank. Tubes are always the tricky part when it comes to amps. All than glowing glass needs to be treated right (standby/shutdown). Tubes are usually the problem in the few Herbert problems I've heard.

I've spoken with Peter a number of times. He's a really brilliant guy and a lot of fun to hang out with--Uwe Salwender (the US importer) has great ears and really stands behind the product he sells. I've never had a problem getting a hold of him. He's always "Johnny on the spot" with anything you require.
Ed Yoon at Tone Merchants has a great relationship with Diezel. He can answer pretty much any question you have. A number of guys have bought Herberts and were disatissfied because they didn't get the results they wanted. Ed has helped them and even come up with setting charts for the Herbert. He also knows a ton about tube possibilties.

I would rate the combination of Peter, Uwe and Ed an "11" if I could.

I don't think that there is a perfect amp for everyone. I've had Boogies, Top Hats, Bad Cats, and have access to just about everything out there. I think that the Herbert is one of the most versatile amps out there. The tones are incredible. I love a lot of different amps and will likely own others down the road, but I will never sell the Herbert.

It is a lot of money to spend on an amp--but everytime I fire it up I get a smile on my face. There are a lot of haters out there. (That Boyd guy must have had a bad hair day when he posted his review, because he thought the amp was the sh!t back in February.)

Play a Herbert if you get a chance to--and really work the knobs. No hype--just quality!!!

Tons of features, check out the site.

I was mainly using this head with a mesa traditional recto slant 4x12 cab, and various guitars fitted with emg's and duncans. Personally I think this amp is noisy, particularly when the master is anything over 4-5. I mainly play modern metal along the lines of nevermore, meshuggah, fear factory etc, but also an avid fan of instrumental music both in a jazz and rock vein. This amp is *not* designed for metal period!!
It does the lead sounds very well and the clean is *okay*, not overwhelming though.
But as far as tight, defined, and heavy/puchy dist rhythm sounds? no way!!!
The bass response is very loose (slightly looser than a recto, and we all know they aren't that tight)
Channel 2 is the tightest but is better suited to 80's rock type of sounds (think van halen, extreme etc)
channel 3 is totally unsuitable for anything other than slow, open power chord type songs, or lead playing.

As far as brutality this amp just doesn't hold a candle to even very cheap amps like the 5150 series and many others.

It's voicing is really impractical (I mean come on the presence is set at 2k)

The amp is all lows and highs, if you want defined,tight, and pucny rhythm sounds you need to have that mid/upper mid bite to cut through like the mark4, 5150's, powerball, etc etc.

Another really disspointing thing is how porly this amp records, because of it's impractical voicing (I mean come on peter the guitar is a mid based instrument) it just doesn't cut *at all*
it's not as though it's totally unusable but when I experienced first hand amps like the line6vetta, 5150, and various mesa amps recorded twice as well as the herbert I knew it had to go.

don't buy into the hype, if your into lead playing and that's about it give it a go, but if your a metal rhythm player don't waste your time!!

this amp broke down within the first 1-2 months of owning it, a tech moved around the tubes a bit and gave the sockets a bit of a clean and it came right, it was a total fluke, he had no idea what the problem was. Peter said it was a bad tube but all the tubes were in perfect working condition (yes they were checked thoroughly)

for this I would have to say that it is not that realible, if it can just compltely not work, and then magically be fine again.

it's a german country so if your not from germany it's pain in the ass getting any support, peter is a nice guy but well english is his second language so that will always be a bit of an issue.

I found the customer support to be okay (they won't give you the schematics so your fucked if anything serious ever goes wrong, unless you want to ship it all the way back to germany)

not as amazing as one would expect.

I know have a mark4 mesa head(which is just as versatile and records a million times better) and am looking at getting a powerball or framus cobra in the near future.

honestly try before you buy, and go on what you like rather than falling for the utter hype and bullshit associated with amps of this nature.

This is an addition to my review below. The Herbert has been modded to Mk-2. It's not a new amp, the difference is not THAT great, but it is there. With a bit of tweaking, I can get much closer to that Bogner XTC Classic crunch sound I mentioned in my review. I wanted to state that due to the fact that this was the only "negative" thing I had to say about Mk-1.

As I mentioned in my review, Peters customer support is absolutely stunning. When I arrived, he took his time to modify it himself and talk a bit about his plans for the future etc. He didn't hurry and even had the time to explain some technical stuff and answer the questions I had. Very cool. Thanks again, Peter!

My Herbert is #001/024. I assume you know what features this head has to offer. It has not that many options to shape the sound, but the ones it has are very usable (+/-, MidCut, Vol2). This head is DAMN heavy. I play that amp only at home since I have no time to play in a band.

I use an Ibanez JPM90HAM and a custom made guitar built to my specifications (mahogany/maple/P90 zero noise pu's). I had various amps before and made my decision after playing almost everything good that is out there (almost every Soldano and Bogner, a few Marshall, Laney and Mesa/Boogie, Steavens, Hughes&Kettner, Engl, Fender...). I wanted an amp that could do metal (Dual Recto/Uberschall), that smooth, creamy Soldano type of sound and a nice clean. The Herbert can do it. Everything from Rammstein/Metallic to Brian May/John Petrucci/BonJovi/Whitesnake etc. is no problem, although the 2nd channel has not that much mids, I had to turn them up quite far. Sometimes I switch to the 3rd channel, turn the gain/bass knobs to the right, engage the MidCut and deep knob and start shaking my neighbours. This sound is frightening. Even at low volumes it has a bass punch... unbelievable. I always wanted an amp capable of that but not limited to it (imo like the Uberschall). It makes a great difference which guitar is connected. The sound changes with the kind of pu's and so on.

But there's one thing I really miss: the blue channel of the Ecstasy Classic with 6550. I once had that amp, maybe I'll have Peter modify it soon. The best crunch sound I have ever heard.

If I played in a band, I'd gig with it with no hesitation. No problems yet, I have it since 6 months.

I have talked to Peter as well as Philipp several times, they are VERY helpful. I have never experienced such a nice customer support with any product I have ever purchased (not only guitar amps). I live only 90 km away from Peter, so every modification will be not a problem. That was one of the (many) reasons for me to choose Diezel.

I've been playing since 7 years. The Herbert is connected to a 4x12 recto cab, a g-major and the fcb1010 to control it.
If I lost my Herbert, I'd definately buy another Diezel head, the VH-4 is also very tempting...
I love the kind of service Peter has to offer and the flexibility of his products.
The price is another point. You may know that a Bogner Ecstasy Classic is about 5000? here, a SLO100 about 3500? (if you are lucky enough to find one), a RoadKing 4500?... So Diezel is a real alternative here in Germany.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me. I'm always glad to help.

ALL Tube NUCLEAR WEAPON! I want to stae that I've had the amp over a month so that I could make an honest assessment. Can take any power tubes, 3 channels..Every type of loop imagineable..The incomparable MIDCUT. 180 insane watts of power!

I use a plethora of gibson and prs guitars..Fernandes sustainers this amp makes anything sound great! Whisper quiet..From crystal clean to the heaviest sounds ever produced by man kind. You CAN"T make this amp muddy. There is or ever has been an amp this heavy! It smokes boogie(waste of time even comparing) Soldano sounds like shit period..especially compared to the best amp on the planet. egnater whatever? for refernce the 2nd channel has a bit more gain than a boogie mark 4!!!!!!!!!!

Handmade brick shithouse

Handmade quality and support..This is a rolls royce not a Yugo

This amp cast awe on the faces of lifetime musicians...There is simply nothing like it..Even 40 percent better than the vh4..My only regret is that its not stereo.

I have already reviewed my herbert, but recently, i had it modded to the current specs after hearing some stellar reviews from friends so i thought id post my thoughts on the new model. I am still running the same Marshall 1960AV cab, with vintage 30s, although i plan to get a front loaded Diezel 4x12 or Bogner Uberkabinet. For those of you too lazy to check down the page, im running a USA BC Rich Warlock WHS Deluxe (DiMarzio Super Dist and PAF), a USA Jackson Soloist SL-1 (Duncan SH-13 dimebucker and 2 J-100 singles) and an Import BC Rich Mockingbird with EMGs (81 and 89).

Channel 1 -

As you will know, channel 1 consists of an EQ and a volume control, theres no gain control here, so this is supposed to be cleaner than clean right the way up. In the MkI herbie, this was very nice, the cleans had a bouncy feel and they had a great shimmer to them. In the new version, it has the same great feel, but to my ears it sounds bigger. Its not as if this is a whole new channel, and i wouldnt want it to be as it was great before, but now, it has this super depth to it and im really liking it. Its also brighter than before, so im having to rein back the treble control here, but i did run it pretty high before. I can do some nice clean jazzy runs on it that are defined and clear as well as complex chording that rings out and every note is audible.

Channel 2 -

Channel 2 seems to have been the main focus of the mod, correct me if im wrong peter, but this is where i notice the most difference. Before, it had a certain compressed character to the sound, but now i can distinguish more of a grain in the tone, but you can get the compression back by adding more gain. This channel now has an even bigger range and my musical style doesnt do it justice. Luckily my dads does and he loves this channel for his low gain blues tones and to add a bit of grain to his country (he uses 3 different teles through it which all sound great). Hes now afraid to play it too much so he doesnt start to hate his Fender Twin.

In the plus mode, this thing is a beast, you can get some tones very reminicent of VH, but i wouldnt quote me on that as i am by no means an expert on his sound. Its still not capable of the squishy fuzzy feel his tone had, but this was obviously not peters intention. Also, my guitars are not exactly set up for his kinda sound. I think with a band you could get pretty damn close and the audience wouldnt be able to tell the difference. Turning up the gain brings more compression and well... gain, suprisingly enough, and as before its all totally useable! I can get all sorts of crazy 80s tones from the realms of Ozzy and Priest through to megadeth and anthrax (Anthrax - spreading the disease is one of my favorite tones of all time and now i have it!). These kinda tones were here before, but the EQ structure and grain to the sound make them a little closer IMO. If i have the gain at about 3 oclock and above i easily have enough for my Death metal rhythms and by using the mid cut and backing off the intensity and increasing the level you can get an absolutely huge sound from it without losing mids.

Channel 3 -

There is also a noticeable difference in the EQ curve this channel has naturally. The mids are much more prominent than before, so i can afford to back them off now as i running them pretty high before. There is also a very obvious increase in the high mids and top end, so much so that i no longer have the presence at 2:00 or 3:00m but now its around 11:00 or 12:00. As usual, this channel has a pretty punishing sound and is showing the limitations of my cab now. It has the same huge sound as it did before but it projects even better, it certainly cuts more with more normal settings, where previously i would have had to run the mids and treble higher.

There is also a little less compression than before at lower gain settings, so more of the amps natural character breathes through, but fans of the highly compressed ultra gain tones wont be disapointed as all the gain is useable and you just gotta whack it up to get that sound. It also seems to decern between the guitars i own more than before too. My SL-1 and USA Rich always sounded great, but on the higher gain settings they were pretty similar, but now its like a whole different world. The amps now natural brightness helps the Warlocks fairly dark tone (with a mahongany body and a super distortion it can sound quite dark) at standard and low tunings. It has also made me realise that i must change the Dimebucker that came in my SL-1 when i bought it as

As before, i would use it without a backup. It has been broken but this was only after UPS did gave it the usual special treatment. So special infact that it gave a massive dent to the flight case and although there was no damage to the chassis, something inside wasnt right. Peter was gracious enough to go through phone calls and tube swaps with tubes he sent me before asking for it back to fix it, cant say fairer than that right?

I still say its a very dependable amp simply becuase, jusdging by my flight case, UPS really did try to hurt it and it must have gone through a lot

Peter will always get top marks here! He modded it for free and went through a lot of crap to get it back to me even though it wasnt his fault that it went wrong, try getting Marshall or Mesa to do that!

His aftersale service cant be beaten, on top of running a very busy company he always finds time for his customers.

Its hard to write a review like this without sounding like im over hyping it, but i promise im only describing what i hear. Im sure there are some guys who may not like the herbert, in any of its incarnations, as with any amp on the market, but to me its perfect. Peter has made the whole amp sound bigger and brighter as a whole, but has left all the things that i fell in love with on here unaltered.

Dont get me wrong, this mod wasnt sorely needed as i still stand by everything i said about the MK I version, which is jaw dropping, but its simply made it even better than before, something i didnt think possible.