Diezel Herbert Head

Channels: 3, with second master and mid-cut up to 6 voicings
Loops: 1 parallel, 1 insert loops, 1 switchable insert loop
midi in & thru / phantom - power
Equalization: gain, treble, mid, bass, volume per channel
add. gain switch on Channel 2
switchable mid. cut with adjustable volume
Pre-Amp: 3 individually voiced, all tube pre- amps. Clean, crunch, lead
Power-Amp: 6-tube power amp section. Accepts 6L6, EL34, 5881, 6550, KT66, etc. Pairwise mixings possible, pairwise bias control
Dimensions: 74x29x28 cm
Weight: 27 kg

it's the best sounding head that i ever tried in Italy!!

This amp it's buit like a tank.
No problems, no broken, it's all perfect.

It's a pleasure speak with Peter Diezel!!!
It's a guitar player and friendly person who can answer quickly to all your questions.

i own a ton of gear and nothing sounds good like this Herbert.
If i lost or stolen it i will buy another one the next day!

I'm not going to go over all of the features because I'm sure that's been covered by now. I got this thing because I like playing around with power and preamp tubes and this thing will let you do that in really crazy ways. Everything else on here is just nuts (in a GREAT way).

This is the MK 2.5 version. Ruby EL34B-STR's in the power section and Ruby relabeled Chinese 9th Generation 12ax7a's.

I mainly use a PRS Singlecut loaded up with an Anderson H3+ in the bridge and an Anderson H1- in the neck. I use a Gibson Les Paul with the H3+ in the bridge and Dimarzio PAF Pro in the neck. I also have one of those Ibanez Mike Mushok Baritones with an EMG 81 in the bridge and an EMG 60 in the neck. So, that's what I run into this sucker and 99% of the time it's Guitar -> Cable -> Amp.

The Clean Channel - I have a first year Silverface Fender Twin Reverb that has been Blackfaced by Clark Amplification. I've also owned a few other Twins. The Clean Channel on this amp is very Fender Twinish. It has the airy vibe that a Twin has when you're plugged into the high gain input of that amp. I also like pulling the V1 preamp tube in my Twins to get a little bit more preamp gain and it makes it a little more airy sounding. The Herbert can cop that vibe as well. The cleans are a little warmer than the Twins and they're a lot more wide-bodied and bigger sounding. The Twin is a little more compressed. The Herbert's clean also has that snap to it that a Twin has. This is the best clean channel on any multi-channel high gain amp that I've ever plugged into when you compare it to the Fender Twin. The VH4's clean tone is more of a Hiwatt vibe if you ask me. I prefer this amp's clean tone by far. Peter, you did a wonderful job here my friend.

The 2nd Channel - This channel is very nice. It has that Diezel vibe happening, but it's a lot fuller sounding like the Clean channel is. You can pull off anything from Blues to a good Hard Rock/Metal rhythm tone with this channel when you flip back and forth between the Plus and Minus switch. The Plus switch just adds gain and the minus switch takes some away. It's nice.

The 3rd Channel - This channel is a beast. You can do so much with it. It has an extremely liquid vibe. When I say liquid I mean the notes sustain forever and everything feels very soft and spongy. The feel is like a Bogner Ecstacy 101B or an Uberschall, but the amp sounds a lot bigger and is more powerful and brighter. You can back down off of the gain, adjust the EQ to be a little less aggressive and get a really cool boutique lead tone that a lot of these Dumble type clones shoot for. You could do the same thing with the VH4's 4th channel, but the Herbert is just a lot fuller and less compressed. Some folks like compression and I have to admit I like it too in a lot of instances.

This thing is solid. It has a lot of fault fuses placed in critical positions within the amp to prevent any further damage if something goes wrong. The VH4 is the same way as well. Peter did a great job incorporating this in his designs and it makes life a lot easier. If you have a duet of power tubes go, the fuse blows and prevents further damage.

Uwe Salwender is the U.S. distributor for Diezel Amplification. I've spoken to him on the phone twice and he is a very caring individual. I have nothing but great things to say about Uwe. Peter is a very wonderful person as well who takes time to interact with the public via the internet. If you have a problem, they will help you in any way they can. You're just as important as their Professional Clients. That means a lot. Keep up the great work guys.

The one main thing I love about this amp, overall, is it's ability to sound so big, so clear and still be able to deliver a sweet spongy, saggy vibe. It's the perfect blend of everything that I can think of. Ed Yoon at Tone Merchants described the amp very well once to me via an e-mail and he pretty much nailed it.

I've owned a lot of different amps and they're all great in their own way, but when you find the amp that best fits you, your playing style, ears, etc., you need to keep that amp. The Herbert may not be for everyone, but it's a very fine amplifier that I'm very proud to be able to play through. I think it's the best multi-channel amp on the market and it's definitely worth the price you have to pay for it.

The Herbert is the Master of Domination!!!

I own my Herbert for a small year now so I think I can write a decent review, based on my experiences with this amp. The amp has the serial number 001/112 and I purchased it in Februari 2004 at Jukebox in Boekel (Holland). The music I play varies from experimental pop to very heavy metal. I like artists like: muse, oceansize, Peter Gabriel, Tom Waits, Radiohead etc. In my band I play Pantera, Machine Head, Sepultura etc. I wanted an amp that could cover it all. Because it uses MIDI it opened a new world for me. I play the amp with an all origional '92 Gibson LP std. I guess you know the features of this amp but I'll write some down.
- 3 channels (clean - overdrive(vintage viocing)/distortion(modern voicing)- heavy tones.
- Mid Cut and 2nd volume.
- 3 loops (parallel-serial and switchable which is serial as well)I connect the swtichable loop to the parallel one so I can turn the parallel loop on and off.
- 180 watt tube power. The three bias-pots allow to use three matched duets of whatever comes up to you (EL34, 6L6, KT66, KT88, 6550) You can even mix them if you want to! The tubes the amp comes with are a subject to change as Peter selects the best ones aviable all the time.
- MIDI capable (midi in/midi out/midi thru)
- 5 speaker outputs (2x4 ohm, 2x8 ohm and one 16 ohm)
- Compensated out/tuner out/ mute switch

As you can see, this amp has heaps of options. The reason why I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 is that I'd like the 'vintage/modern' to be midi switchable. If the amp was stereo I'd give it a 11.

As I said, I use it with a Gibson LP std. I play some experimental pop/rock and heavy metal. The Herbert can cover all my styles and sounds. The amp isn't noisy at all. Well, it has some hum on the thirt channel but that isn't strange as this is the most insane-gain channel. 'Deep' and 'presence' can change you sound dramaticly, so go and turn those knobs to get your sound out of it. I think this amp is more 'one' amp compared to the VH4. The VH4's channels sound differend in style to each other and the Herbert doens't, either you like it or not. The amps sound rather dry. It doesn't have the 'soul' like most vintage amps, but I guess that's not what you're looking for when you're reading this review. Don't get me wrong, the Herbert can produce some awsome vintage tones!

Channel 1 (clean) : Channel 1 produces a very rich and warm clean. There is definately some soul in this one! Very dynamic for both finger picking and funky stuff. It has nice low end but still sounds very open.

Channel 2: You could sell a whole amp for just channel 2! I'm just in love with this one. It's SOOOO! dynamic. On 'vintage' setting you can get sound from a cranked up Fender to a Hot rodded Marshall (to stay in therms everyone understands). It has a round, warm, punchy sound. If you play gentile (without touching your volume knob) it's close to the clean channel and if you start playing louder ot turns into AC/DC. Inmagine using the volume knob as well. And I have my gain on about 9 o'clock. When you turn it up it goes to Guns'n Roses. On 'modern' setting (with the same gain settings) you can get even further. Great for some (hard)rock tunes and heavy riffs.
Channel 3: This is a tricky one. You have to know how to use it correctly because it has a huge amount of gain! If you turn the gain all the way up...........yeah, it might get muddy (never tried it actually). I have the gain at aproximately 11 o'clock which is MORE that enough! I can produce the most heavy tones I could ever inmagine. I use this one mostly for heavy leads because of it's insane rich and dynamic tones. Channel 3 really has some BAD ASS, smoking leads! With the Mid Cut turned on you can get those pumping metal riffs on the fly.

The Diezel Herbert is a great amp. It produces a Diezel tone (duh..) which you have to like. You have to know how it works and what it does. There are so many nice sounds you keep on tweaking. I finaly found my favorite settings(for most of the stuff) after a year tweaking.
I does sound really good at low volumes too, for you bedroom rockers :D. If you're looking for a modern multi-channel head which is FAR MORE than a simple minded metalamp, look no further! (oh, you might check you wallet first :D)

Hell yeah I'd use it without a backup (can't afford myself to buy a second one anyway). Never had any problems at all. It looks very (!) well build. I tought it was like 27 or 29 kilo's or so, so it's a heavy baby!

Never dealt with them.

It just IS a great amp with more than enough features, period.
No questions about that. I have been playing it for a year and still getting new, inspiring sounds. If it were stolen I'd get a new one right away. I compared it to a lot of other high end gear and prefered the Herbert, but offcourse that all a matter of personal taste and style.

Cool- Tuner out (get it out of line),Serial,Parallel and Switchable! FX Loops, Midi (more on this later), Footswitch option (No Footswitches available!) Compensated out (wish it were a slave out). Has the ability to take many different types of tubes and combinations. 3 channels with Midboost/Cut option so really 6 sounds settings can be saved. (although it's an overall Midboost/Cut) Also has a Mute feature and 2 Master Volumes (Midi controllable!) Hit the website for more details.

I'm using a Gibson Les Paul Historic w/ 57 Classics. I play Modern Rock, Classic Rock and Progressive Instrumental.
I use the amp mainly on Channel 2 without the mid cut feature. It punches thru the mix better. And on Heavy tunes I'll Use the Mid Cut feature. (Or change to Channel 3 and use the mid cut.)
Basically Channel 2 and 3 are very similar (at least the way I have them set) Channel 3 being a little more modern sounding. But I think that Channel 2 has the best overall tone.
Channel Ones clean tone is excellent as well. I am using an SIB Fatdrive in front of this channel and it's the best clean tone I have ever had.
But I'm a High Gain guy and Channel 2 is phenomenal. I have gigged steadily with the amp for 6 months and it always sounds KILLER.
I don't think a regular Shure 57 or 609 mic gets the real tone to the audience though, so I'm looking for a mic that brings the killing tone to the audience as well.
It's extremely LOUD being 180 watts. In fact I play fairly loud and it's rare that I get over 1 on the master volume! When you can get this amp that loud it comes alive and is a beast! INSANE!
My most used Channels are the clean, Channel two and Channel 3 with the Mid Cut.
I think this amp shines on the lower 3 or 4 strings The Lead tone on both the VH4 and Herbert can be a little "doggy" on the the unwound strings. I usually bump it with an overdrive to take care of that though when soloing.

I've owned a VH4 that gave me midi switching problems. At first I wasn't sure if it was my Midi switcher or the amp, cable etc. But it was consistent where I would have to hit the switch twice on the controller in order to get to the desired Channel. (A real bummer when you go from a clean sound to a high gain sound and your stuck playing rhythm on the clean tone until you try to switch again!)
I wish Peter Diezel would include (amongst the many features this amp already has!) an "old fashioned" channel switching set up on the amp similar to what other amps have. (Mesa, Soldano, Bogner) Just in case the Midi is goofing up or you don't want to get a Midi Switcher. I have a friend that sold the amp due to the unavailable footswitch.(the amp can be switched on the amp itself of course)
I'm not saying that I don't like the MIDI feature, it works great for me. I think other amps should include this feature!! It would be great to save actual channel setting presets though and not just point to which channel you want. (although you can save a channel with the MUTE button open to tune! which is really cool.)
I have had NO problems with this Herbert though. So it MUST have been something with the VH4 I owned. Where are the Diezel Herbert Footswitches?

Diezel looked at my VH4 and gave it a check FREE of charge! (shipping these amps are expensive though) Although it still came back with the same MIDI problem! UWE is great at responding to emails and very polite.

This is the best amp on the market. Killer guitar Rock tones! I like the VH4 just as much maybe even more. Get a Diezel if you can you will NOT be dissapointed!

Herbert MkII head. Not going to bother with features...

Extremely versatile amp. I XTC beats it in the swiss army type category in terms of non-foot-switchable features. I think soundwise, it is a little less versatile then the VH4. Although with foot-switching, you have more sounds immediately available.

The second MV is a really nice feature for boosting. I don't use pedals for that anyway.

Channel 1 - fantastic FAT clean. Very 3D sounding. I also have a VH4S and think that that clean is more versatile and nicer then the Herbert's.

Channel 2 - Incredible distortion sounds from slightly dirty to very heavy. It's a wall of sound in one channel. Just plain monsterous. Bigger sounding then my VH4S, or the VHT UL, XTC, Uberschall, you name it.

Channel 3 - A bit disappointing. I didn't think that there was enough of a difference in the voicing between this channel and channel two. It also seems that this channel is a bit thinner sounding then channel two. I also preferred the mid voicing of the VH4S channel four for lead tones.

MidCut - What an awesome feature! I absolutely love it. Makes the amp sound meaner but also more present.

This amp is LOUD. However, it is THE BEST SOUNDING amp when playing at bedroom volumes. Peter Diezel is a genius.. no doubt about it.

Built like a tank.

I've e-mailed with Uwe and Peter. They've always been great!

This amp is phenominal. I would hunt down whoever stole it. I also have a VH4S and a Tremoverb.

I guess it would have been nice if the +/- was foot-switchable as well as a foot-switchable bright switch.

You know'em allready...

I play Gretsch 6128(mod. bridge pu), Carvin, Fender Strat and like Grunge and Numetal.

Channel 1: Very good clean for a high gain amp. Has more headroom and bass response than my VH4s, but more over, very rich and warm sounding in comparison! Amazing!!

Channel 2 (-) : The low distortion section of this amp really makes my guitars ring!!! Incredible, very dark, deep, bright and sparkling all at the same time - there is areal danger in getting addicted to this sound! Every little articulation shines through, very transparent! Its hard to describe!!!

Channel 2+
BOooooooooooooooommmmmm - it's a blast, just imagine a B52 bomber coming down on you!!! Once you let this beast out of it's cage there will be no one left alive in your neighborhood!! Disaster Area!!!
Its absolutlely crazy...Turn up the "deep" level and dial in the "mid cut" and this channel will cut you into pieces.

Channel 3: Sorry, but to some point I am dissapointed with the results, especially when you listen to channel 2 and switch over to No.3. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect Peter to copy his own designs, but it would have been a far better idea to give this channel some of the VH4 channel 4 characteristics.
My point of criticism: It has far too much compression even at moderat levels of gain (for this channel) i.e. at 11 o'clock it starts to be flubby and muddy on the lower notes and because of the compression the high frequencies are damped far too much and this flattens the sound dramatically! Lowering gain solves the problem but then there is no difference in gain between ch2 and ch3, so ch.3 would be obsolete!!

Don't blame it on my cab, cause unfortunately I own a VH4s and therefore I am in the lucky position to do a real A/B testing on the same cab. And I came to the conclusion that channel 4 on the VH4 is my personal, ultimate lead sound, cause even at higher gain it stays alive!!

Lately I had a problem with a small caps near the power supply. When I turned on my amp, one of these bloody english caps was blown away because of a quality problem! Not that funny...see Customer Support!

Peter is always kind and is does an excellent job! He gave me instructions to fix the cap problem with some real old school methods: "Just cut out the caps!". After that, it didn't work but it was my fault cause I forgot to take a look at the main fuse. Shame on me!! So Peter had to do it...Sorry Peter, but I would have sent it over to you anyway, I don't trust myself ;-))

I like the "Herbert" very much, except the ch3 character. Ch1 and 2 are a real deal for rythm gutiar players and I found nothing comparable so far. Ch2 was the reason why I bought it! The lead first sounded ok but not too overwhelming...after buying my VH4s I know that this was the right impression and I won't change my mind. I think I'll have to have a mod from Peter! But finally decide for yourself....

Finally, if I had a wish for the future: the parallel fx loop should be switchable,too.

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.

I recived this amp back around the end of june. It was the first shipment of the new version of the amp. If you read the articals below it says what kind of features it has.

OMG , this is by far the best amp ever MADE. I own a VHT UL and run it in stereo and this thing is even more power than the UL. You can make this thing sound like a jcm800 all the way to a death metal amp , this thing is amazeing.Channel 1( very very nice clean , i was so surpised how clean it was , it was like my friends twin reverb . Channel 2( This is awsome you can make it sound like AC/DC to Slayer , my friend plays a 5150 and a Marshall Mode Four in stereo and just my Diezels second channel eats them alive. Channel 3( Now this is my favorite channel. This has to be the best distortion i have ever heard and the most powerfull. I have owned Randall's , Peavey's , Mesa's and even along with my UL , the Herbert beats them all.

Built like a Tank

Peter is the best , i met him a long time ago before the herbert was out and he was just awsome , and said if there was anything wrong i could call him , if i decide to buy one of his amps.

This is the best amp ever made. But if you suck at the guitar , dont buy it , it will show all your mess ups and will make you look like you suck. I have been playing for 10 years and i practice hours everyday and i still needed to work on things when i played my herbert for the first time.

I RECEIVED THE AMP LAST MONTH, HAS THE METAL GRILLED COVER.FOR ME IT'S PERFECT: THREE CHANNELS,TWO VOLUMES, MUTE FOR TUNING OR CHANGE GUITARS,AND POWER TONES.I AM GOING TO BUY ANOTHER ONE FOR SPARE.THE ONLY THING WRONG IS THAT DOESNT COME WITH A FOOTSWITCH.NO PROBLEM I BUYED A PROSTAGE 07 READY TO WORK PERFECTLY WITH HERBERT, JUST PLUG AND PLAY.

I AM A PRO TOURING, AND I NEED A VERY WELL SOUNDING AMP. I PLAYED WITH PRS CUSTOMS AND TREMONTI, GIBSON SUPREME AND CUSTOM, SEVERAL ESP WITH EMGS,..., AND SOUND GREAT.THE CLEAN MODE IS EXTREMELY CLEAN,LIKE OLD TWINS OR HYWATTS.CRUNCH MODE BEAT ANY JCM 800 ON THE MARKET.AND LEAD MODE LITERALLY EATS MY TRIPLE RECTOS, NO REMORSE.

ITS MY MAIN AMP. I THINK I AM GOING TO INSTALL A PS2 INTO THE TRIPLE RECT. JUST FOR USE IT IN SOMETHING.

PETER IS A COOL GUY, MAKES THE BEST AMPS,IT S THE PERFECT MAN.

I HAD BEEN PLAYING AROUND SINCE 16 YEARS, I OWNS A LOT OF GEAR: MESAS,SOLDANOS, MARSHALLS, A LOT OF GUITARS AND THOUSAND OF PEDALS AND EFFECTS. IF LOSTED THE AMP....

The amp is jam packed with features I haven't even began using. I have come to the point when I just assume that a "High Gain" head is going to be a one trick pony. NOT TRUE! This thing is all over the place with a wide variety of classic rock and high gain tones.

I have pretty much been a Marshall player for many years. Give me a good old Super Lead any day of the week. I researched the Herbert head since it was announced. I have played rectos and Ubers but ultimately didn't like the fizz of those amps. The Diezel just kills! The sound is big and huge but crystal clear. Power chords have never sounded like this before!

Too new for me to comment

So far I have contacted Sal about a few things and he has been very helpfull!

I have been playing for around 18 years. This thing is amazing. If it was stolen not only would I replace it but I would personally hunt the theif down ..............
This is a great compliment to my vintage Marshalls but I know what is gonna get the must use! Do yourself a favor and try one of these beasts!

This is Herbert number 20, serial #001/020 and as i understand oe of the first to be made with the updated metal grill. I play a range of styles but primarily death metal and thrash along the lines of Cryptopsy, Death, Cannibal Corpse, The Haunted and Napalm Death. I like modern jazz and fusion and the occational blues jam, so i wanted an amp that can cope with all that. There are plenty of high gain amps out there but none like this

In terms of features this amp has everything i could ever want and more

180W power section with 6x EL34s, can be higher with 6550s, KT88s or similar
3 independant channels with thier own EQ, volume and gain (exept clean which has no gain control)
A voicing switch (+/-) on channel 2
3 effects loops (serial, parallel and a switchable serial)
Tuner out, which isnt in the signal path so any old tuner can beused and it wont degrade tone!
Compensated Recording out
Footswitch input for future pedal
Second Master Volume solo boost, midi switchable
Mid-Cut feature with intensity and level
Mute fuction
1x 16 ohm, 2x 8 ohm, and 2x 4 ohm speaker outs
MIDI controllable (channel switching, loops, mid cut and 2nd master)
Master Presence, Deep and Volume knobs

I play this amp with a USA BC Rich Neck Thru Deluxe Warlock (DiMarzios) and a cheapo Import BC Rich Mockingbird with EMGs. The cab is a marshall 1960AV (v30s) and I used to own a 50W Mesa Rectoverb combo which went through the marshall, the diezel kicks the shit out of it in all concieveable ways.

My first reactions on playing this thing were, 'holy shit! I sound like that?'. This thing is so tight and so articulate that im really gonna have to clean up my playing. Its not totally unforgiving however as by simply rolling the top end and mids off you can get a more mushy feel to the whole thing.

The clean channel sounds huge! Really deep and erm, i guess 3-D is the only way i can put it. Open chords will ring forever here and it can do shimmering to chickin pickin country, a friend of mine tried his custom shop tele through it and prefers it to his Fender twin. As you may guess, i havnt yet spent a lot of time with this channel as i have been lured by Ch2 and 3. I must add that the mid ut section adds a really hollow nature to the tone and sounds just beautiful, in an entirely METAL way. It is a little strange to play without reverb as i am used to having a large amount of spring verb on, though this is so deep that it doesnt need a lot of tarting up, anything else is just gravy

Channel 2 is freakin' awsome! Id heard the great things but in my experience i have found the second channel on may three channel amps to be a watered down version of the lead channel and nothing really special but this is simply not the case here. I could play this thing for days. It can do that sightly breaking up blues thing with ease and has a really distinctive roar, its quite round on the minus setting with a nice amount of low end and a smooth middle. With the switch in the plus position is sounds like my other guitarists JCM800 2204 but with more punch and definition. It has a pronounced upper midrange and with the depth control it had a great thump to it. With the gain maxed on the plus setting it is simply brutal. Lots of gain and easily enough for my Death Metal rhythm, i really like the open and raw nature of this channel and for some rhythm sounds, more than channel 3. With the mid cut section engaged it just pummels, and as there is a level control, you can compensate for the loss of mids, so its still punchy and defined, but super heavy.

Channel 3 is where its at for modern metal. It sounds absolutely awsome, and thats an understatement. Its so thick and punishing, which is just what id been looking for. It has a lot of cut and low mids to it and can get quite compressed if you want to dial it in like that, so its very tight but it is smooth and can still cut. It can go from smooth high gain lead tones to cutting metal rhythm and never looses definition. For leads it really liquidy and smooth, but you can set it so that notes stay defined. It is also possible to set it, with the mid cut and using the depth control, to be able to get the notes to blend together. Its really wierd as they dont mush together like on my Recto, but they actually blend and its very hard to describe. the mid cut section here is punishing, just for shits and giggles i cranked to bass and depth and put mid cut to full scoop and a smile almost uncontrollably crept across my face. Its just fun to play like that, it feels like getting punched in the nuts if you turn it up too much though.

The mid cut section deserves a review of it own, its amazing. With my recto i had to boost the mids to around 3 oclock just to be heard, but the mid cut section on the herbert gives that wall of sound and still cuts. It seems even tighter with this on and the level control allows you to be heard. If you knock the intensity back and boost the level you get a mid boost, which, combined with the second master volume gives a really cutting lead sound.

I like the fact that all the controlls are linear and you get a gradual increase or decrease in whatever parameter you are changing. My recto had very strange controlls in that, the gain controll especially, they would do a lot then a little then a lot in a very disorderly fashion. I was anxious this week that i would miss my recto but in a comparison i will barely notice its gone.

It does everything that my recto did a lot b

Well ive only had it for 2 weeks, and it hasnt broken once! I cant really say much about this section other than it looks very solidly built and peter stands by his customers.

Peter diezel is without doubt the nicest guy in the industry. When he saw that i was looking at diezel amps he asked if i would like to fly out to germany, from the UK, and he would pick me up. Then he would take me to the local guitar store where i could try the diezel gear with my guitar and cab, then we could go to lunch and talk about gear, then we could go back to the diezel workshop and try one out at soul destroying volumes, he even offered to try and get ahold of marshall cab like mine. He said that if i liked it then great and if not then he could mod it to suit my needs, and if i still didnt like it, that it was a nice day. Unfortunatly because of my huge workload i couldnt go, but to even offer something like this proves he is a class above.

He offers a lifetime guarentee and stands by his work. If I ever have a problem, all i need to do is send it to him and it will be fixed/changed for me.

no amp i have ever tried has even come close to even competing with each individual channel, let alone the amp as a whole, and that included marshall, mesa, vht, egnater, h&k and the rest.

This is my review of my 2003 Diezel Herbert head serial #001/005.

I learned about the Herbert in November of 2001 from Ed at Tone Merchants. I was in the market to buy a very high-gain, best of the best amplifier. At the time, I knew of Diezel amps through bands like Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, NIN, and Guns N' Roses but never had the opportunity to play one. So I stopped in one Saturday to Ed's shop and tried out every single high-gain amp in the store. The Herbert was only a proto-type and didn't even have a cover. It was just a metal chassis sitting there in a room full of very expensive gear.
Even at this time the herbert had a serious impression on me. I tested it against the Diezel VH4, VHT Pitbull, Bogner Ubershall, a Bad Cat Hot Cat head, and a Roccoforte.
To say the least, the 3rd channel on the prototype just completely blew me away compared to the other amps I tested. It was really obvious that I was going to shell out and buy one just based on my initial reaction. The 1st channel was what seperated the Herbert proto from the VH4 for me. I thought the cleans were just absolutely remarkable. The 2nd channel was cool, but it wasn't really anything special back then.

Other considerations at that time was that I needed a MIDI switchable amp, at least 2 channels, multiple effects loops, and power..lots of power.

Fast forward to NAMM 2003 in Anaheim....

I think one of the coolest moments for me was watching Peter Diezel A/B some cat from the VH4 and the Herbert screaming some wicked blues...and right across the booth there were these Asian ladies selling these 15 watts piece of crap amps looking very displeased while this monster amplifier and a 4x12 is pointed straight that them at very very loud volumes.

Ed invited me to stop by his store after the show to try the new and improved Herbert.

Once I got there and plugged into the amp, I was just floored. The second channel had turned into a time machine, the 3rd channel growled even harder than the prototype, and the first channel just soared. I put down a deposit immediately.

Now, Ed kept me very well posted the entire time on the status of the shipment and also the collaboration he and Peter had to tweek the amp even further. In all truth, the Herbert I picked up (on Valentine's Day of all things) was an amp that I never fully experienced due to these modifications.

After having this amp a few weeks this is what I have found:

3 Channel Diezel Herbert 180 watts with standard tubes
3 effects loops (serial, parallel, switchable)
Tuner out
Recording out
Footswitch input for future pedal
2nd Volume
Mid-Cut feature
Mute fuction
1 16 ohm, 2 8 ohm, and 2 4 ohm speaker outs
MIDI controllable (In, Thru)
6 power tubes (I have the standard Ruby EL34STRs)
5 preamp tubes (I have the standard Sovtek 12AX7s)
EQ for each channel
Master Presence, Deep and Volume knobs


Overall, the attack is massive. The clarity of all 3 channels is remarkable and the seperation between notes is phenomenaly clear.

This amp can be fully controlled via MIDI such as switching channels, engaging the switchable loop on one channel only, muting the amp, turning the mid-cut on/off, turning on/off the 2nd Volume, and a ridiculuos amount of combinations inbetween.

Channel 1:

This channel has the heights and spacousness that I only dreamed of having. Its probably the most inspiring channel for me since I tend to play a lot of metal/industrial/progressive metal music and had never owned an amp that had a decent clean channel before(I used a Mesa Dual Recitifer 2 Channel 100 watt for years).
Its extremely hard to find the right adjectives to describe how beautiful this channel is..so I'll put it into context of my band.
Last night, we were jamming some acoustic latin and jazz. My other guitarist was doing some minor progressions and I was improvising with my PRS custom 24 through the Herbert and my Mesa Traditional 4x12. I was playing very quietly obviously. I think my guitar was in single coil mode. The

I think I went over this.

This thing weights a TON. I guess that is the only drawback. Peter only uses the highest quality parts and so if this amp wieghs a tone because of that much attention to detail...so be it.
I brought the amp back to Ed to have the tubes secured tighter since I was told the tubes are mounted on the chassis and not the circuit board.
I went the extra mile and had this modification just to be sure nothing happens.
I would definantly gig without a back-up. I trust the design and trust my investment. I don't think it would be fair to rate this catagory until its road tested.

Full life-time warrenty to the orginal owner. How much better can it get? When I had the bracing done to my amp it only took a day for the repair. Uwe and Ed are great guys that make every effort to insure their customers are happy. I never felt pressured, unsure, or uncomfortable with the purchase of this amp. Every question I had and every piece of information that Ed and Uwe had was given without any hesitation. Easily the best customer service I've experienced when it comes to purchasing high-end gear.

I've been playing for 13 years and had a variety of amps. For the last 5 or 6 I've been using a Dual Recto with a 4x12. My main axe is a PRS Custom 24.
If my amp was stolen I would use the insurance money to buy a new one.

Chack out my band www.fadedmudra.com to hear the Herbert in action.

Just got this Herbert last week. Serial #001/001. The amp was completed in January of 2003. It was at the NAMM show and then had some final tweaks.

The Herbert is so versatile. Three channels. Independent eq (treble, mid and bass) for all three. Volume and gain for channels 2&3, no gain for channel 1 just volume and eq controls. Midi switchable as well as a 7 function footswitch that will be here soon. With any midi controller I can switch between the channels and switch in the effects loop or mid cut/boost switch depending on where the loop and mid switcheshave been assigned. It has 3 effects loops- series, parallel and switchable loop. It also has 5 speaker outs anda compensated out as well as a tuner out. The amp also has master presence, deep and volume controls. Not just one master volume but two. The Volume two can be preset with any midi patch so it allows a great boost if desired . The mid cut section also has a level control and can act as yet another boost if desired.

You can run all kinds of tubes. You can bias each of tree pairs individually. It is so easy and so accurate and only requires a volt meter.
My amp is powered by 4 EL34s and a Pair of NOS Phillips 7581s (military grade 6L6s). It is putting out about 180 watts, plenty for any situation.

I use a few different guitars with it and all sound great and all sound like themselves. I use an Anderson Hollow Drop Top, G&L Tele, Grosh Strat and a Fender deluxe fat strat. All sound great. The amp is so versatile that I can play all the styles I like and never get bored. It can get incredible clean tones full of sparkle and chime and go completely into the over the top metal tones and evedrything in betwwen. I liked to dial it in for a really open and big clean channel with a very cool EJ type lead tone or set up channel two as a slightly scooped crunch monster with a big fat more mid voiced lead tone on channel 3. It seems to be able to pull off some flavors of my favorite amps of all time and can also really do its own thing. Very tight yet friendly to play. Never had an amp with such great note articulation and pick attack. You can hear all the notes and they remain extremely well defined even in the highest gain settings.The Clean tones can hang without distortion or with the volume way up on the 1st channel can start to break up. Channel Two has a voicing switch that adds gain among some eq things but it too can get an awesome clean tone and can have a little grit if desired. Channel Two is so awesome as it can get as gainy as three with voicing switch engaged to + mode as well as can do lots of great mid gain tones and more. It is a great channel and with the assignable mid cut/boost section. if it was a one channel amp , with the second channel only, I would still love it. Third channel is devastating if desired. can be eq'd for so many different things. Voiced great for leads with singing sustain that lasts forever. The distortion can be as brutal as most anything out there.

Peter Diezel is an amazing builder/designer and this amp is a killer at so many things. The VH4, which I have owned is a great amp too. I had both the stereo and mono versions. I love channel three on that amp. I Love all the channels on this one. Great amp. Peter builds great stuff and it holds up without failure. I have no doubt the Herbert will perform without a hitch.

Great company. Peter Diezel and Uwe Salwender are as good as it gets in customer service and will back up this amp to the hilt.

Been playing 29 years. Also currently own some other great amps- Divided by 13, Mako and Two Rock. I have owned almost everything out there at one time or another. This Herbert is unbelieveable. Sounds great even in the bedroom, sounds unbelieveable when cranked up a bit. I love it!

This review is my PERSONAL account of the Herbert head that I now have in possession as a Diezel dealer, Tone Merchants. I have decided to keep one unit for myself as this amp would be the one that I'd take home if I could only take home one. This choice is based on my personal style and tastes. I'm into multi-channel high-gain amps because I like versatility along with the best over-the-top distortion for my personal playing needs and enjoyment. I've had the prototype for over 3 months and the one I have now is the refinement of the prototype that has evolved into this final production unit.

Getting into the review, this amp was manufactured in December of 2002. After it arrived at my shop, Peter Diezel also happened to be here for NAMM and spent hours at my shop and at Salwender's to fine-tuning the amp based on my feedback and other players. It was truly an honor to work with Peter so closely on tweaking this monster amp into perfection.

In terms of versatility, it's hard for me to imagine an all-tube amp with more features and tonal flexibility. From a modern yet lush clean sound with virtually infinite headroom to warm vintage type of cleans to bluesy overdrive to AC/DC type of crunch to early-VH distortion to fat saturated leads to the most over-the-top high-gain sounds with huge bass that is never obese or obtrusive, the Herbert delivers any kind of electric guitar sound imaginable while keeping its totally unique sonic character. I like to play super clean acoustic jazz type of music to classic rock to 80's shred to the heaviest metal possible for kicks, and the Herbert delivers in each category with authority and complex detail.

The Herbert has three channels, all with independent EQ controls. Channel one doesn't have a gain control but it isn't necessary since it's supposed to produce the cleanest sound possible with maximum headroom. A truly unique feature of this amp is the assignable (switchable via MIDI, footswitch or manually on the front panel) Mid-Cut section. In the clean channel, it can give an acoustic quality to the electric guitar. In the high-gain channel, it converts a fat singing distortion sound into a huge scooped-mid metal sound that is brutally menacing yet coherent and punchy. The Herbert also features an assignable second master volume. Instead of a boost function that merely adds more gain on so many amps of this type, the second master allows the player to dial in a louder or softer volume level for a particular channel's sound with or without the Mid-Cut engaged.

The Herbert features 3 effects loops: one serial, one parallel with a wet mix control, and a serial switchable loop that you can assign to any channel (and combination of Mid-Cut and 2nd master volume settings) as a stored preset. There are also compensated line out and a tuner out jacks on the back. There are 5 speaker out jacks to run various cabinet configurations as well.

The power section of the Herbert features six output tubes. It now comes stock with six EH EL-34's, but this particular unit I have has a quartet of EH EL-34's and a duet of EH 6L6's. I decided to keep the 6L6's in there because it added more low-mid girth and punch as well as some Fender-ish quality to the clean and low-to-medium gain channels. There is a fuse and a bias control for each duet set of power tubes. This allows for various power tubes to be combined to get the exact power tube response and tonal character. This is, of course, assuming that you will be cranking up the amp somewhat to get the power section involved in the tone shaping process. Since I will keep this amp at the shop's soundroom most of the time, it will get cranked a lot. I expect to keep trying various tube combinations as time goes by.

The amp obviously has more power than most people will ever need, but it still sounds great at low volume levels, even at whisper-quiet bedroom levels. The six power tubes and the super efficient power transformer are necessary to push out the in

I have various guitars: a Brian Moore MC/1, a PRS Custom 24, a PRS Custom 22, a Parker Fly Artist, and two Fender Strats. The Herbert responds beautifully to each guitar and lets the unique characteristics of each guitar shine through. I like to play various styles of music with tonal variety, so each guitar has a myriad of tonal options. This mates very well with the wide-range of sounds available on the Herbert.

Channel 1 is deep yet bubbly and bouncy that is still tight on the bottom and detailed and sparkling on top. For what I like to do, it is the perfect clean channel -- loads of headroom, bouncy yet tight, warm yet shimmering, sweet yet throaty... It is the "best" (for my style and tastes) clean channel that I've heard from a high-gain head. Others may surely prefer the clean channel of the VH4, the VHT UL, the Rivera KHR, the H&K TriAmp Mk. 2 or various other heads, but for me, the Herbert's clean channel has the perfect combination of an amp like the JC-120, a Hiwatt, a Fender Twin, and a Vox AC-30. I love this channel's big round bottom that's tight, the full and warm midrange, and the sparkling and detailed highs. There is a huge depth to the sound yet it retains definition with superb balance across the frequency spectrum. This is a superb clean channel by any yardstick.

The initial prototype had a very limited sonic range in the second channel. But Peter corrected this with a gain/voicing switch that adds a rainbow's worth of tonal colors and gain range to this one channel alone. Starting out with a warm and more vintage-ish clean sound with the switch set on "minus" and the gain set at around 9 o'clock, it smoothly goes into a very natural sounding breakup with the gain approaching noon. This is somewhere in between the first and second channels of the VH4. By taking the gain to around 3 o'clock, the Herbert now spits out some very authentic raw blues-rock sounds. From here, backing off on the treble and boosting the mids gives you some great Dumble-eque fat singing lead sounds a la Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, and Santana. The attack is fast and the envelope is initially tight, but then sags slightly as you hold the notes. The lows are big and punchy but never overbearing. This is the sound I wanted to nail to get that Two-Rock sort of a sound: fat yet tight and fast, fast in its attack yet sweet and spongy during the sustain.

From here, you flick the gain/voicing switch to "plus" and observe the Herbert morph into the brighter Marshall-like territoty with more punch and definition while retaining warmth in the midrange. It's not quite the 3rd channel of the VH4, but it was never meant to mimic the 3rd channel of that amp. With some tweaking, I was able to simulate some early-VH-esque sounds. With the gain cranked, the 2nd channel delves into the 80's metal sounds -- think Ozzy, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, etc. The Herbert's second channel can cover decades' worth of classic sounds on its own. Always toneful with a throaty midrange, this is the channel that will surprise many Diezel fans. Peter has allowed you to dial in some great low-to-medium gain sounds with more punch and definition on the bottom. I really love the fact that the Herbert can get some very nice classic rock sounds as well after these tweaks performed by Peter.

The third channel is heavy on the gain but very sweet sounding with a lot of cutting mids. This channel is superb for all-out shred a la Shawn Lane and Buckethead and over-the-top pummeling Nu-Metal rhythms and super fast Death Metal riffs. Still featuring a super fast transient attack that slowly and surely evolves into a pleasant sponginess, this channel exhibits remarkable tonal balance and tactile response with touch sensitivity. With the gain at around 1 o'clock, the treble at 2 o'clock, the mid at 3 o'clock and the bass at around noon, you get a juicy yet tight and liquid high-gain sound that's perfect for that Satriani, Vai, Petrucci sort of a s

It's too early to tell. Will post more info as time goes by...

The whole Diezel experience will last long after you've spent the money on this amp. Salwender and Peter Diezel provide the very best in Customer Support in this industry. The warranty lasts a lifetime to the original owner. It's simply not possible to get better service than what Peter has to offer.

The Herbert sets a new standard in high-gain amplification. My expectations were high, but the amp has lived up to its hype. For me, this is the head that I've been waiting for many years. It's got the great features, but ultimately, it's about the tone and the Herbert delivers it in spades. I'm really happy about this amp. It's the one that I've been searching and waiting for. Long live Peter Diezel! Thanks for releasing such a superb amplifier that will be the new standard in high-gain channel-switching amplification.

Price is retail, add Tax if applicable. Currently backordered.

3 Channels, 180 Watts, stock with six Ruby EL-34STR tubes. Each channel carries independent bass, mid, treble, and master. Channel 1 no gain, while 2 and 3 have independent Gains.

6 total power tubes, however, can use any combination of duet/quartet or duet/duet/duet in this amp. See www.tonemerchants.com for more detailed description of this and more.

Footswitchable Mid-Cut section that can be assigned to any/all of the three preamp channels (intensity w/ separate level - compensates for intensity, not a separate master), three FX loops (1 fsw-able), switchable second master volume, and incredible tone. MIDI controllable.

I'd basically call this amp a Road King (Mesa) that actually sounds awesome as awesome as it's schematics.

I demo'd the amp while actually going set on purchasing a VH-4 or VH-4S. After trying this, I am screwed into deciding now. I used a PRS Standard 24, basically sounds like any well-built mahogany guitar with a Duncan JB equivalent. Tones of Diezel amps are very well open, with tons of headroom, a term abused often, however, lived up to here.

The amp clean is not as warm as the VH-4, but it is still very nice, and very bold considering the power behind it. Even though there's no gain control in channel 1, pushing the volume makes it that ballsy old fender/blackface classic tone.

Channel 2 carries a wide variety of overdrive tones through many generations of music. Especially with the mid-cut footswitchable section, you can really change the dynamics of your tone quickly, via MIDI controller (all channel applicable).

Channel 3 is even more push, the amp is relatively cold sounding, however the consistency in the distortion, the headroom, hearing the tubes ripple with tone, I do try to keep this review brief, but you just have to hear to believe.

Not a perfect 10 because channel 3 on the VH-4 is the crown jewel of the Diezel line, but anyone who skips this amp is a fool.

German made, could be used as a wrecking ball in construction while playing, I seriously doubt anything would ever happen to this. Separate fuses for each power tube means if a tube were to blow out, that duet will cancel out and allow you to finish the show without fault (obvious minor tonal and volume affliction).

Peter Diezel hits the states several times a year. Ed at Tone Merchants (www.tonemerchants.com) and Uwe at Salwender (www.salwender.com) make an incredibly resourceful combination (considering they are local to me - Orange County, CA). You could sit and play a Diezel head while Peter himself solders and re-solders capacitors, this and that, to structure and totally customize the tone if you wish. Ship it to Germany for tweaking or whatever, they'll do it, ship it back without a hitch. Talked to these guys at NAMM '03. Small company (3 people) but best yet.

Anyone seeking a boutique amp, versatile, powerful, ease of midi functions all around, plenty of classic sounds yet still modern and pushed, incredibly reliable and unmatched customer support, consider the Diezel line and this head.

I'm not sucking some Diezel junk, but have played many amps, older fenders, marshalls, blackface/plexi, mesa recs, mark 2's, vht, rivera, matchless, vht, too many to list. You'd be foolish not to check this out. Good luck in your amp search.