Diezel VH4

Offers 4 channels, sounds are very punchy, clean is nice overall. The gain is very hot, not really a close plexi type sound though

Great for nu-metal, but thats about it.

Yeah, here is my beef, I tried it out at GC and the damn thing acted up. The volume jumped up and down, the sales guy didn't really help much, but did state that Diezels were not the most reliable, now from reading the reviews on here I guess they are right. Was told it just needed biasing, but c'mon... they wanted me to shell out $4300 for an amp that didn't even survive a music store??

Don't know, can't say really. The sales rep called Diezel but couldn't get a hold of anyone

Glad I didn't shell out my cash for this, P.O.C

As stated hundreds of times here already

Follow up to review below - see below
However, since Peter re tubed the amp, the sound has become more defined, and the cleans sound a lot better. I still need to find a balance between the clean sounding thin, and breaking up a bit too much, but it's getting there.

This is a follow up to my earlier review. I sent the amp off to Diezel, and got it back within two weeks. The repairs did not cost me a thing, and I believe they replaced the circuit board and all the tubes.
The customer service at Diezel is second to none, and although for the price of the amp, I maintain that it should not have had any issues, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the company to others.
Consider this an apology for my hastiness to point out the few negatives of an otherwise fantastic and entirely reliable company.
Also, the warranty on the amps is lifetime. I admit that I was mistaken in believing that it was a one year warranty.
Although the amp did break down within 6 months of ownership, the problem was very quickly and conveniently solved, even with the shipping costs to Germany.

Couldn't have wished for better service from Peter and the team. Best customer support I have ever received. Thank you Peter!

See below - Sounds fantastic. Lets just hope it doesn't break down again!

I've had this amp for a year now, and thought I would be completely honest about it's positives and negatives.
As stated before - 4 channels with Fx loops for each, also a master serial and parralel Fx loop.
Points taken off due to the lack of a simple channel switching device. The amp doesn't come with a footswitch, and only allows midi footswitching. You know what this means?! You have to buy another company's footswitch and hope it works, so you can do somethihng really simple like... urrr... change the channels on a 4 channel amp! Ridiculous. With the price this thing costs, you would think that a simple jack connector would be appropriate, as well as the midi stuff.
I was looking for a simple 4 button midi footswitch for months, until I found that Randall is the only company who makes them. However, Randall have now changed the spec on them so they use 6 pin DIN cables instead of the 5 pin cables, hence, they now don't work with the VH4. I then had to shell out over ??150 for a footcontroller with way more buttons than I will ever use. Sounds daft?! Believe me, I was P1SSED!
Controls on the amp do what they say they do. Prescence and Depth are very handy features.

Good clean sounds. A little dark sounding but very Hi-Fi. Some good tones to be had here, but nothing noteworthy really. 7/10 for clean sounds.
Crunch - Sounds a little flat, but breaks up very nicely. This covers a lot of ground, and although still a little dark sounding, covers early Marshall territory quite nicely. Another 7/10 here
Channel 3 - Great Palm mute sounds here! You can dig into the srtings and the amp sounds like it is crushing under your hand, before blooming into wonderful, pure sounding distortion. Fantastic harmonic overtones and a great clarity and punch to this channel. Not too tight though. 'Machine gun' palm muting isn't quite 'there'... If anything I would want a little more attack on this channel, but each to their own. It does sounds fantastic, and brings a smile to my face when played alone, or in a band situation. Cuts perfectly through the mix. An 8.5/10 here
Channel 4 - More of the same here. Too much gain, less mids, doesn't cut as well as channel 3. I don't use this one too much, as the ammount of gain just gets lost in the mix, and it starts to sound a bit "too much" - even for "TEH BR00TALZ METULZ" Riffs. A bit "Meh" with this channel. 7/10
Very satisfied with the sound. NOT ??2000 satisfied though. I would pay ??1400-1500 for this amp if I was asked to make an offer, but what can I say?! I was irresponsible with my cash!

NO I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT RELY ON IT.
Long story short - I had the amp for about 6 months, when it started having all sorts of weird volume issues. I changed all the tubes to no avail. I took it to a tech, who said there was likely a broken track on the circuit board, and it couldn't be fixed without days worth of work unsoldering everything to get to the underside of it.
For ??2000 this should absolutely not be happening. I paid for a reliable amp, apparently built with "Military Spec Components", and I got a f***ing lemon.
Not happy with this. After 2 months of re soldering all visible connections, changing tubes and getting incredibly frustrated with the amp running at about the level of a quiet radio when completely dimed, I decided that I would have to cave in and pay the huge shipping fees to send it back to Germany.
The amp is with Diezel at the moment, who don't pay any shipping fees, and who intend to charge me for any new tubes they decide to put in the amp.
Go figure...

All the staff are very friendly, and very helpful.
As the previous reviewer stated before, they certainly talk a good game, but let's see how they play it.
5/10 due to prompt replies to questions, but yet more charges for fixing an amp that is broken due to poor manufacturing.
1 Year warranty is a joke for something this expensive.

If it were stolen I would jump for joy, claim the insurance,buy a Marshall JVM or similar workhorse and spend the change on a holiday. The only reason I don't sell this amp is because the sound really is great.
The resale value on these amps is so low (Around ??1300) that if I wanted to get rid of it I would run over it with my car and claim it on insurance.
If it breaks down again, I will probably smash it to pieces and claim insurance. What other choice would I have, except to spend another ??300-400 shipping it and buying new tubes?!
Having ranted on about this, though, it is a great sounding amp. Just not worth the price, the hype or the hassle.
Feel free to email me about any of this, or if you want clips of it working, or clips of it broken.
Gaaaa I can't believe the d**n thing is broken! Look at the Rig-talk forums and see how many other people are having problems with this amp! I am not amused.

This is a follow-up to below: Peter & Uwe came through with a new VH-4 as a replacement for my `02 head;this so I could finish these session dates and still get this head repaired. Now, that's customer service! So, here's an amended review.

As regards features, the one thing that might put the amp over the top, assuming it could be done without messing with the audio path too much, would be the addition of a lush reverb. Of course, reverbs always seem to crap out and go down. So, really, a feature-set at around the 8.5 mark (MIDI with EQ for each channel) is probably as good as any head will get.

Again, and as noted, I rate this at 9. It's balls on,though the clean tones may be a little harder and more harsh than one may want in a perfect world. If you're looking for a `64 VOX-like chime, you're probably not going to get it here. As such, the head, while extremely hip for most styles and tones, isn't going to be a chime or surf machine, per se.

Yeah, the only issue has been this strange problem with how the MIDI board has been receiving voltage. It's a fresh problem and isn't related to durability, per se; as it appears to be a problem that may be rooted in a bad batch of parts Peter received. The build strength and quality of the head itself is high--it weighs a ton relative to many other amps and is solid.

Well, customer support has gone above and beyond the call of duty here; with Peter shipping over a new VH4 as a backup/replacement for my head.

Been playing for quite some time and own quite a few different axes and amps. The VH4 serves me well for a number of reasons. I would venture to say that for 70-80% of the players out there, the VH4 would be anideal amplifier. Of course, for many of the others, the VH4 is simply more amp than they need. And for some they require the specificity of a `65 Twin or really are solidly wed to the tone of their `71 SL-100 or something. But for the mass majority, this one amp would most likely do it all. Of course, it isn't inexpensive, so it cannot be rated a 10--Fantastic Value. But it's close.

Here's a follow-up to the last post: Peter has gone out of his way to ship a new VH-4 to me as a replacement for this head; thus allowing the sessions to continue full speed ahead. As noted, the sound/tone of the VH-4 is very good, and if there was some way to develop a smart chime-like reverb system, the features set would be about as good as it gets, as well.

The sound quality is as noted before: near the manifestation of a Platonic form in the material realm. I've never heard an amp that was a 10--I've had heads that had channels that qualified as 10's, but never an entire head. As such, a rating of 9 is as good as it comes from this player.

My original VH-4 seems to have a very odd and elusive issue. Odd insofar as it has been spot on perfect for years and then just went down.

After a rare problem with the head, and balls-deep in various session projects, Peter has sent me a new VH-4 as a substitute for my injured amp. Now, THAT'S CUSTOMER SUPPORT!

Me? I've been playing since Les Pauls were $500.00 new. The VH-4 is a good fit for my rig insofar as I use it together with an old Bruce Egnater MICA TOL-100 head, each split side to side with a 4x12 & 2x12 cab apiece. Because each head is MIDI, it's a no brainer. So, the VH4 is great because it makes utilizing a deep rack rig easy. It also allows for 4 channels which I find is really important. The clean may be a bit too chrisp for some tastes, but the gain is good and doesn't come off like the buzzy, preamp-driven crap that many builders seem to shoot for these days. Of course, the VH4 is not inexpensive, so the bang for the value ratio may be a subjective element. As far as other gear...I have enough to get the job done.

Amp has crapped out and nobody seems to respond to email; though they have my $4000.00 amp. We'll no longer recommend Diezel products to clients here.

Well, they talk a good game, but over three weeks and no report on the issue with this amp, and a week with no response to email concerning the problem that required the initial repair. At these prices, some word as to a preliminary bench analysis should be forthcoming within 10 days.

Well, anymore, apparently hype trumps reality. It's a George Bush world. But when I shell out serious dough for an instrument, it needs to function as designed. And if not, it needs to be rectified in a timely manner. This head is a large waste of time and money.

The features have been said 50+ times. I will focus on the interaction. It is layed out so good, I can easily dial in tones... I mean more than one! I have the independent controls over each of the four channels and then I adjust the DEEP knob to fill out the low end after I get it where I want it. Man, this is the only amp I will ever need. 4 Channels and.... (see next section)

THEY ALL FU<KING ROCK! I was turned on to this amp by one of the producer's of my album, Kris Singh, and I will never turn back. It has more balls than any Marshall and it always maintains a clarity that can't be messed with. We used it on our recording sessions and we tried hard to beat it. We put up vintage Plexis, Bogners XTC and Ubershall, Engl, Soldano SLO, New Marshalls, Modded JCM 800s, we tried pedals, we tried everything. At the end of the day, NOTHING could touch the Diezel for our sound. We do range from classic Rock, Blues Rock to Classic Punk and Modern Heavy Metal. My band is "Stereo Transmitted Disease." You can hear the Diezel all over our songs at our myspace site:

http://www.myspace.com/stdthebanddotcom

We did not use any pedals for added distortion. All Diezel. Various channels though.


The Bogner Ecstasy was the second best amp for us and we used that a little too.

I had to buy a Diezel after the sessions and I don't regret it. It is my #1 amp! I wish I could rate it higher than "10"!!!

Took it on the road. No problems. It is solid as hell.

Never needed their support, that is the best kind ;-)

Best heavy rock amp I have ever used (and we tried a lot of the top ones next to it in the studio). Great for classic rock, clean, AC/DC on up. It can ever get you that Joe Walsh sound. Amazing. I cannot believe that many sounds are all in one box. My producer called it the swiss army knife of guitar tones. and it is. I am their biggest fan. They brought the sound out of my head, through my fingertips and out the speakers. What more can you ask for???

I hate to give all 10's but this amp earns it.

Mde in 2004. I bought it from someone and traded my brandnew Dual Recto in.
I play metal.
I use a Boss FC50 to switch between channels.
Mine has new JJ EL34L in it, and of course a bias job.

I don't know if the ESP Kamikaze guy was def or just jealous, what a bullsh*t review!!

I play a LTD EC1000 with JB and a Ibanez ICJ100WZ (EMG81, now JB).
Amps i've owned:
Marshall JCM800
Marshall 2550 Jubileum series
Crate Stealth
Mesa Boogie Mark III
Mesa Single Recto
Mesa Boogie Mark IV
Mesa Triple Recto
Engl Powerball
Mesa Dual Recto


I will not review channel 1 and 2, because i don't use them. I'm a redneck metalplayer, sorry.

Channel 3 is why i bought this amp.
The thing with Recto's is that i love the brutal sound, but it needs a tubescreamer/overdrive (with passive pickups)to be tight! And those pedals just eat low end and body. The VH4 is supertight WITHOUT pedals in front!! I now play with JB's cause i love the dynamics of it together with the VH4. Channel 3 has enough gain to be a solochannel.

Channel 4 has more gain, is different voiced and great for solo. It is still very tight and can be used as a rythmchannel. I've had tight palmmute sounds with a dark PAF-like pickup.

When i bought it used there was a single powertube broken. I just noticed this because a led at the back was on. You can still play this amp with one powertube!! Have had the VH4 now for 8 months, being used on stage and rehearsalroom. No problems.

Just check the Diezel forum!!!


You will love the owners.

So i've owned some pretty good amps but would only buy another VH4 if it was stolen. No more pedals in front or recto's lacking tone.
I like Recto's, but the Diezel is just so much better. The Recto distortion is in the highfrequenties section, while the Diezel's is more in the midlow section. Recto's scream like a pig, Diezels bark like a big mad Danish Dog. (my 2 cents)

Mine is made in 2003 and i own it for about three years now, still on the original Ruby's (EL34). My other amps are a Marshall JCM800 2204 and a DSL100 head, which i will mainly be comparing it to in this review. I use a Mesa STD. 412 cab with V30's and Gibson LP's. It doesn't get any more versatile as this, you know the feature's. Parallel AND series loop AND seperate channel insert loops for each 4 channels. WOW. Instead of boring you with how fantastic this amp is (it really is!!!(;), i'll tell you about the things that i less like. First, you can only switch this amp with a MIDI floorboard. Beeing a big fan of analog pedals (and alot of them) it's a mess in front of me with everything connected. I'd wish Diezel would make a compact fitting footswitch for it like the Mesa Recto or Marshall TSL footswitches. Not everyone likes digital rack effects, to my ears they always sound thin and fake, even the real expensive ones. Also, the lack of a spring reverb really dissapoints me. No reverb sounds better as the ones built in Marshall or Fender amps. Therefore i knock 2 points off. (though i can't really justify that with all the other features this amp has)

Channel 1, clean. Reminds me of a Hiwatt 100. VERY clean, personally i prefer the "bell" like "under the bridge/Peppers" cleans of my JCM800 better. It's just a little TOO clean and open sounding for my tastes. But that's just me (:
Channel 2, raw. Great for that breakup sound that goes well with chording alternative/pop/rock music. or with chorus and delay, some pretty nice ambient sounds think U2 or (later)Pink Floyd. With the gain all the way up, it has about the same amount of distortion as a JCM800, the AC/DC territory.
Channel 3. The reason i bought this amp. The massive low end paired with tons of gain without getting brittle and muddy, like all main production high-gain amps do, just made the hairs in my neck rise when i first played it. I knew i had to own this. It "Thumps" like thunder with palm-muted riffs (also due to the deep control), >HINT< Don't place your bottle of beer on top of your amp or anywhere close, also don't play it out loud when you have diarrhea. Brown sound x 2! (;
Channel 4, lead. Great as a solo channel, again it has that "dark brown" vibe goin' on that doesn't pierce your eardrums like main production amps do on high notes. And it's great to have a seperate lead channel with it's own volume/gain control AND channel inserts for some delay/verb. Metal players would like this channel as a "rhytm channel" as it has even more gain as the third channel.

this amp isn't noisey at all compared to my Marshall's or any other amp i owned/played, even with everything past noon (don't try this at home, kiddies(:).
It has that "open, in your face" like vibe to it. That's great on the 3/4 channels, but not (though very good) on the first 2 channels. I like my cleans to be more "organic" (god i hate explaining sound in words) So i would rate channel one at 7, channel two at 9, channel three at 13, and four at 11. (:

I'm sure you can drop it from a 2 story building and it would still work...

BUT...

The metal parts on the housing (corners and handle) are showing rust-speckles. They did so since i hardly owned it a year. I clean all of my stuff reguarly and even my '84 JCM 800 looks brand new and i never even dusted it since the early 90's when i got "mature". Maybe has nothing to do with reliability but still for the price these things go for you might expect something better.

Never tried.

This amp is all about versatility. The third channel is the best crunch channel i have ever heard. I play alot of music varying from rock to grunge to alternative to pop to stoner. This amp delivers in every catagory. If i had it my way it would be a JCM800 as channel one, a Vox AC30 as channel 2, and the Diezel VH4's channels 3/4 for crunch/lead. I don't think i will come any closer to my ever illusive "perfect amp"

2002 model with every feature an amplifier could have. Multiple FX loops, independant channel controls, channel select buttons, mute, 7 Chinese 12AX7's, and TONS os power through 4 6L6's. I use this amp in medium to large venues, and tour with it 7 months out of the year. It's got everything you'd need, except a footswitch.

I use this amp with a variety of Les Pauls, and a Splawn 4x12 cabinet. I tour with a hard rock band, and do lots of studio work. I wanted to get one amp that would "do it all". This is about as close as you can get to the perfect all round amplifier. It is dead quiet on every channel.

Channel 1: Stiff, super clean sound. Almost impossible to break up. I find there is not enough low end on this channel, and it has a very bright tone even without the bright switch on. Sounds incredible with reverb and chorus on it, though.

Channel 2: Nice broken up clean to JCM 800 territory. Sounds great with an overdrive in front. Not my favorite, but very good.

Channel 3: Big, FAT, rhythm sound. Lots of gain, but like channel 1, it feels a bit stiff. I also have a Splawn Quick Rod, and a EL34 modded 5150. Harmonics explode off the fretboard easily with both of those amps, but I just can't get that feeling from this channel. It is great for doing rhythm work, and complex chording, but for super tight "chugging", I prefer the Splawn head.

Channel 4: This channel is incredible. Violin like sustain, and lots of punch. It reminds me of my old Mesa MK-2C+, but way beyond. The gain does not need to go past 11:00 for any reason. I tends to squish a bit past that. This is a tighter channel than channel 3 in my opinion. I like this channel better for tight rhythm work.

I plan on switching the tubes to Ruby EL34B-STR's very soon. I've messed with SEVERAL preamp tubes and combinations, but the stock Chinese 9th generation 12AX7's seem to work the best so far. I grew up playing Marshalls, so I'm used to that tight upper midrange EL34 sound. The 6L6's don't really do it for me, but I've been trying to give them a chance.

One of two Diezel amps I own. They are incredibly well built, and HEAVY. Only problem I've had was a burned out preamp tube. Very dependable.

Salweinder company has been incredibly helpful. The warranty is a bit of a joke to me. A $4000+ amp should have a lifetime warranty. My Soldano SLO has a lifetime transferable warranty. I'd think Diezel could do better than a one year warranty. I've never heard one bad thing about the company's service, and have never heard of any problems with the amps. Hopefully I won't ever need the warranty.

I've been playing for over 20 years, and own MANY boutique amps as well as run of the mill Peaveys, Marshalls, etc. Every amp does something different for me. I can't say one is better than the other, but there are attributes of each one that I prefer. My Splawn and my Diezel Einstein are the ones I enjoy playing the most. The VH4 is a great "all round" amp that does everything very well. I like to use it on the road for that reason, and that it is MIDI controllable. I don't feel that this amp is as "open" sounding as the Einstein, but is close. The Einstein is incredible!