Diezel VH4

Others have already listed. (Too many to list.)

I used an ESP Kamakazi custom with Duncan distortion at bridge, Duncan ssl-1 at the neck. My music style is eighties metal/rock. Ibought this amp because of hype and reviews in guitar player magazine.... Now I know (The hard way) not to buy based on these things. The clean was pretty good. Second channel was fat, but dark (I wouldnt say warm) and no presence. The third channel sounded the same, just a bit thinner with a little more gain... Again, no presence. The same goes for the fourth channel. Despite other reviews, this amp has no chance of getting any brown sound! The gain does not even crunch when you mute chords. ( Get an Engl amp if you like this!) very disappointing, and I thought it was way over priced. I had my amp tech check it out, and the first thing he said was, "It's too dark and has no presence." I couldn't help but agree. the more I turned up the treble and presence, it just got harsh.

I din't keep it long enough to have any. But my amp tech says, "The way it is technically built, your looking at serious service problems in the future."

Very helpful and friendly.

If you want alot of presence and crunchy gain, (Think VH-1 or Dokken "Back for the attack", this is so NOT it!.

I read somewhere that this amp was optimized to sound really good at70-90dB. It does. I have played hundreds of small clubs and I have never really been able to turn up loud. I have only ever played one stage that was big enough to really crank a non-master head. We were the ubiquitous "opening act". So once again I stood on my postage stamp with my amp blasting into my pants with a mike on it. The main bill had already sound checked and there was no changing the PA system. So... yep took right in the balls again. My point here is that this amp is really great for a working guy playing small clubs. I, while tempted, did not buy the 4X12. Mostly because I am fairly smart and once I have made a mistake the requisite twenty to one hundred times, I learn. I bought the Diezel 1X12. I was a littly hesitant to spend six bills on a 1X12 but really out of the four cabs I tried it really was the best. The actual features of the amp are listed ad nauseum elsewhere, but I consider the fact that this amp was designed to sound really great at lower volumes is the best feature this amp has.

I considered buying a Komet amp, a JSX Head and 5150 4X12, a Marshall TSL100, and a Flexi 50 from THD. I really liked the JSX but alas the Diezel is way better and WAY more versatile.

I play two strats with humbuckers in the bridge position. I use this amp for blues style music,it's really rock when I play it. I also do classic rock. It does a great AC/DC and Van Halen. Hell I just used the sample sounds page. Classis Aerosmith etc... It really shines at the Texas tone on channel 2. Think "Texas Flood".

I try to write reviews that are actually helpful to a potential buyer. So with that in mind; here goes. This amp is truly like taking four amps to any gig. Doing the blues/rock thing covering Stevie, Jimi, etc... you can get away without bringing a switch and use only channel 2 and your volume pot. The clean channel or channel one is very nice. It is not however, very good for real jazz. That is to say harmonic, improvisational music like Jobim, Kern, Rodgers, Parker, Coltrane et al. In a pinch though it would do.

Great for legato players which is why I bought it specifically. I suck at picking but I can play pretty fast and proficient using legato. There's a sample on the sounds page. I find it works for me but you really need to have right hand muting together.

Buy the way this is a preliminary review I will update this in the future.

Too soon to tell.

Too soon to tell.

I have been playing since I was eleven. I am now forty, didn't get serious till I was nineteen.

I would buy it again if it were lost or stolen.

What I really love about this amp is its versatility. While one could use it as a four channel amp the individual channels are so flexable one could do a whole blues/rock gig with just channels 1 and 2. A classic rock gig channels 2 and 3. Even on channel 4 the amp responds very well to changes at the volume pot on the guitar.

There is nothing I hate about this amp. I am giving it a 7 though because of the price tag. I am not really complaining but for the cost of this amp one could buy two or three amps and a head switcher and a cab and maybe a few pedals to boot. It sure is convenient to only have to carry one head though.

I BOUGHT IT ON JUNE 2002 DIRECTLY FROM PETER DIEZEL; THERE ARE NO OTHER AMP IN THE MARKET WITH SO MANY FEATURES ( SEE OTHER REVIEWS )
NO COIL REVERB OR STANDART FOOTSWITCHES : NOT A BIG DEAL SINCE I PREFER DIGITAL REVERB AND DELAY RACKS ( TC ELECTRONIC ) RATHER THAN COIL REVERBS. ADD A GOOD CHORUS PEDAL IN THE INSERT CHANNELS AND USE A CHEAP MIDI PEDAL TO CHANGE ALL THE PRESETS AND CHANNELS AT THE SAME TIME AVOIDING FLOOR TAP DANCING, NICE FOR LIVE SITUATIONS !

THE VERY FIRST THING YOU WILL NOTICE IS THAT'S NOT ANOTHER MARSHALL, FENDER OR BOOGIE CLONE AMP ( THANKS FOR THAT !). IT'S A DIEZEL AMP, SO ALL YOU WILL HEAR IS A PURE ORIGINAL DIEZEL TONE. YOU HAVE TO TRY IT BY YOURSELF AND MAKE YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS. I BELIEVE THAT 50% OF THE GUITAR TONE COMES FROM THE FINGERS AND THE OTHER 50% COMES FROM THE AMP AND GUITAR COMBINATION.TONE IS VERY PERSONAL, BUT THE STRONGESTS CHARACTERISTICS IN THIS AMP ARE :TONE CLARITY, TONE ARTICULATION, VERY FAT TONES, VERY SILENT ( NO NEEDS FOR NOISE GATES ), NO MUDDY OR BUZZY TONES ( IN THE DISTORTED CHANNELS )
THE FOURTH CHANNEL CAN GET VERY COMPRESSED WHEN YOU SET THE GAIN KNOB OVER 1:00 O CLOCK, BUT WHO NEEDS SUCH GAIN LEVELS, EVEN ZACK WILD WOULD NOT USE MORE GAIN THAN THIS, I BET ! EVEN FOR THOSE WHO USES GAIN LEVELS ON MAXIMUM IN FOURTH CHANNEL WILL NOT NEED TO USE ANY NOISE GATES, THE TONE WILL NOT BECOME BUZZY OR MUDDY, ONLY OVERCOMPRESSED
THE CLEAN TONES CAN BE USED TO PLAY JAZZ ( A LA BENSON ) OR BLUES ( A LA ROBBEN FORD OR LARRY CARLTON ) WITH NO OVERDRIVE OR BOOSTS PEDALS
I THINK THAT VH4 TONE CLARITY IS THE MAIN CHARACTERISTIC THAT DIFFERS IT FROM OTHER AMPS I HAD TRIED BEFORE !
I USE SEVEN DIFFERENT GUITARS, GIBSON LES PAUL, CUSTOM FENDER, GUILD SEMI HOLLOW BODDY, OLD AMERICAN CUSTOM KRAMER, EPIPHONE JOE PASS, GIBSON CHET ATKINS NYLON STRINGS AND DI CASTELLI'S CUSTOM STRAT ( MADE IN BRAZIL ALL BY HAND BY TOM DI CASTELLI - A MASTERPIECE ! )
I HAVE TRIED SOME PRS CUSTOM GUITARS TOO WITH THE VH4 ( VERY NICE )

THREE YEARS USING IT AND NO PROBLEM UNTIL NOW !

PETER DIEZEL IS A VERY NICE AND FRIENDLY PERSON. I WAS IN MUNICH IN 2002 AND BOUGHT IT DIRECTLY FROM HIM; HE SPEND ABOUT 90 MINUTES WITH ME, MAKING THE LEAST ADJUSTMENTS AND GIVING ME SO MANY TIPS AND EXPLANATIONS ABOUT THE AMP. HIS PARTNER PETER STAPFER EVEN GAVE ME A RIDE BACK TO THE HOTEL LATER ! SOMETIMES I HAVE SOME DIFICULTIES TO GET MY E-MAILS OR FAXES ANSWERED, MAIBE BECAUSE DIEZEL'S COMPANY IS GETTING BIGGER EVERY TIME. ANYWAY I NEVER HAD PROBLEMS WITH MY DIEZEL AMP AS I SAID BEFORE !

DEFINITLY A CLASSIC HEAD, LOTS OF TONE PERSONALITY, NO TONE CLONING, BUILD YOUR OWN TONE ! I STILL HAVE A RIVERA KNUCKLEHEAD 100 WATTS HEAD FOR BACKUP ( VERY GOOD AMP BUT NOT IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS DIEZEL ) I HAVE TRIED : SOLDANO SLO 100 AND HOT ROD 50 XL PLUS HEADS; VHT PITT BULL ULTRA LEAD HEAD ( VERY NICE ), BOOGIE MARK FOUR HEAD; RIVERA KNUCKLEHEAD REVERB 100 HEAD; CUSTOM AUDIO PRE AMP; BOOGIE TRIAXIS PRE AMP; EGNATOR PRE AMP; BOOGIE 2:90 POWER AMP; MARSHALL JMP-1 PRE AMP; TWO MARSHALL JCM 800 REISSUES MODDED BY JOHN SUHR AND HARRY KOLBE ( BOTH NICE FOR HEAVY METAL ); MARSHALL JCM 900 ( AWFULL HEAD ) I'M PLANNING TO SELL MY RIVERA HEAD AND MAYBE BUY A NEW DIEZEL EINSTEIN HEAD

Head with four complete independant channels. ( indep. gain,vol.,treb.,mid.,bass)on each channel and they DO SOMETHING!!
Power section with master and deep switch. A lot of loops on the back
( you can set a loop as second master volume,..great).No reverb.

Main guitars used:Lag Roxanne with Duncans,Gibson Lespaul with Bareknuckle p.u.'s,. Hamer special with P-90's.
channel 1 : sparkling clean with gain low and chorus in the loop.
Very dumble like with gain allmost maxed.
channel 2:Very,very bluesy,reminds me on ROBBEN FORD's tone.I mostly set the gain at 75 %,treble at 4 ,mids6, 6.5 ,bass 4.5, wooaw..
channel 3: very dry ,awesome leadchannel!, i keep the gain at about 6.5 to 7,and it never becomes mushy. Sounds incredible with the P-90's. Screams like Satch .
Channel 4: my favourite!!, fatter than chann. 3,very fluid.Gain at 4 is enough.I use the loop for lead boost.Gambale comes to mind.
I play for allmost 20 years ( am 49,pff),and i think there is no sound you cannot produce with this head.I had an Orange AD 30 -combo that was a little crunchier on lead,but the VH-4 second channel comes very close!I hope that my wife will forgive me to have spent that amount of cash for an amp.It was worth it for shure!!

Seems built like a Benz ,I use a Framus -cobra too,(also great amp!)
Gonna care for it,so we'll see.To new to rate

Great! I have some problems with the foot- switch,and Peter mailed me to send it to him directly.The shop "Feedback" in Rotterdam where helpfull too.I don't think there is a dealer here in Belgium,but Rotterdam is not so far from my place.

I play 20 years,in 3 bands.Mostly technical,fusional to jazzy-blues.
Try to improve myself.You have to work hard to play what comes to mind,but playing through good equipment inspires you.I found my sound in the Diezel.I am not gonna say it is better than,.....,but it surely is more versatile than some 3500-dollar "vintage" amps.
I hope i'll never have to buy it again,...that's gonna cost me a divorce!

This amp has more features than I know what to do with. Four channels of pure bliss to begin with.

Channel one has an amazing clean tone. I don't use it that much, but when I do, I love it. I had a Triple rectifier before and while owning this, and this clean sound is actually clean. Very warm and not a tinny sound like the Mesa seemed to have.

Channel two is great for a warm overdrive tone that I use for blues, or even playing covers of bands like Pearl Jam or Zep. Very warm and thick sounding.

Channel three is where I spend most of my time. It is such a big, thick, mean, raunchy, and I'll say it again, thick sound. Very warm, and yet mean at the same time. Just what I was looking for. BIG BIG BIG! Some of my influences are Tool (reason why I tried Diezel in the first place), The Melvins, Faith No More, Etc. Works great for those types of musical styles.

Channel four is quite the very high gain sound. A bit more punchy, and mid driven than channel three, but it rages with tone and overdriven distortion. I can play things like Slayer or Meshuggah sounding things on this channel. All of that, but not a thin tinny sound, or overcompressed.

As I said I had a Triple rectifier before and for a while after getting the Diezel. I sold it. I just could not compare. It took a little while to get used to justplaying the Diezel, I think because I was used to the Mesa's tone, but after about a week or so, I could not play through the Mesa anymore. Sorry Mesa, you guys do make great cabs though. hard to believe this amp has all of these tones and sounds all in one unit.

Then you have the effect loops that I almost forgot to write about. Each channel has it's own separate loop you can use. Also it has a serial loop and a parallel loop for the amp as well. It ismind blowing what you can do with it. I play around with the loops a lot, and every combination I have used sounds great. Incredibly versitale.

Well, I guess I worte about the soundsunder features. I will learn to follow directions better one of these days. But great for anything from blues, to rock (modern or vintage), to metal, to whatever. I love it.

I use mostly Gibson Les Pauls through it. I have several different models, with several different pickups in each. The 490 and 498 series, '57 classics and classic plus, burstbucker 3's, an origianl PAF, and the 500t ceramic series. They all sound great through it, and each sounds different.

The amp responds well to different pu's and different guitars. Makes it even that much more versitale. The Alnico pickups all sound very warm, and mean and nasty through the channel 3 and 4. The ceramics sound very ballsy, and a bit more compressed in channel three and four. And that is what they are designed for, overdriving amps. They all sound great through it.

Quite reliable. Occasionally I loose my midi presets, but if reboot it, and it works fine. Not sure it is the amp or my Ground Control pro. It could also be me, as this is the first and only midi device I use. Other than that it is great. I give it a ten because like I said, I am not sure the cause. I am guessing it is me.

Had it for 3 or 4 years now, and it still runs great.

Everyone I have dealt with before and after getting the Diezel has been great. Uwe, and his partner out in CA have been quite helpful on the phone. They don't ever sound like you are bothering them, nor do they rush you off the phone. They spend time talking with you about effects advice(not that you really need any with this amp) to tube advice, to whatever you ask them.

I bought it at Motor City Amps in Detroit. I live in Cleveland, so they were the closest. I am glad, because Martin is awesome. His studio was under construction, so he invited me to his house for the demo. He walked me through everything the amp had to offer, and there was no pressure at all. There didn't need to be actually becauseI wasin love from the beginning. And I love it now more than then!

Martin is always quick to reply to e-mails, phone calls, and even stupid questions. The guy is great, and so is the amp. However, great does not even begin to describe either of them!

It has to be a 10 because nothing else I have playedor owned comes close. I have been playing for 20 years or so, and it is the first time I have been 100% satisfied with my sound.

I use a Dunlop 535Q wah, straight into it, and a couple other effects. I fool around with set ups, different loops and such, to try different sounds. they all sound great. It is almost like it has too much stuff, beacauseit makes me want to go out and buy a bunch of different effects to run in all the different loops, just to say I have them all used! Very cool set up!

It is expensive, but worth everypenny. I have insurance on it,and if something happened to it, I would be on the phone with Martin ordering another. One of these days I will get another, well just because. I can keep one at the house, and one with whoever I am jamming with at the time if it is not at my place. Itis hard to play through even small practice amps, because I just always want that Diezel tone and sound.

I have a feeling they don't make many of these which is cool. If you get one you will have a very unique tone. An advantage of it costing a lot and being in small numbers, not everyone has one like a Mesa or a Marshall, or Peavey, or whatever the hell else people are using these days. Makes no matter to me, I have my Diezel!

This amp has everything you need including for chanels wich is awsome.plain and simple if you want it this amp has it.

WOW!!! Igot interested in this amp when I saw Adam Jones from tool playing it.Nowdays it's hard to find an amp that has it all.That's what I was looking for.Messas have tons of low end Marshalls have huge roar but if you put them by there selfs theres something big lacking.Even when you get three or four great amps running at one time they still can't match the complete tone of the Diezelvh4.Bottom line-THE ONLY CONPLETE PERFECT AMP OUT THERE.

This thing is built like a tank.I'ts almost indestructible.Amazing.

Diezel definitly has the best custemor suport out there.They will gladly help you wether you have a supid question or a complex problem.They are never to buisey.

I usually plat real heavy stuff like tool or korn.I'm not sucking upwhen I say this i'ts the truth-THE BEST AMP EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

please read other eviews or visit www.diezelamplification.com

Well, I'm not going to rate this category for the simple fact I only tried this amplifier in a little shop in Bassano, Italy for about 15 minutes. I tried it with a bad Epiphone SG (150 euros), but the sounds from this amp were amazing. I tried Channel 1 first: it's a very good clean channel, deep and sparkling in the same time, even if it can't compare to a good fender... however I liked it very much. I didn't try Channel 2. Channel 3 has a great amount of gain and I think it's perfect for rhythm, although it isn't very smooth. Channel 4 is instead very smooth, perfect for solos, and has got an enormous amount of gain, too much i think to play rhtythm parts when maxed. But solos are great with this channel.
The thing that surprised me was that this amp sounded very very very well at low volume (I was trying it in a small room), even the distortion was big and defined. This amp has got a very tight distortion, specially on channel 4: I tried also a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and an Engl Powerball, but their distortion weren't tight and focused at all, specially the Engl. But I must say I hadn't time to try them very well. However I think Diezel VH4 it's the best hi-gain amp if you're searching for an amp which must sound perfect at any volume. This fact is, I think, the reason for which a guy wrote it sounded like a transistor amp... but I definitely say that this is the better amp I played, and, having played it at low volumes, I only hope for better things when you turn up volume

I'm gonna try it another time when I return down to Bassano, and compare it to a Soldano, a Mesa Dual rectifier, a Marshall JCM900 and others.

Can't say, only tried in a store

I don't own this amp, but I definitely go for a 10. You can contact Peter Diezel and get your amp modded when you want. He also in person answer the messages you write on the forum of he's website (www.diezelamplification).

Can't rate it, I should own it

I waited a while to wrote this review for the vh4. I wont say anything about what has already been cover. 4 channels of beautiful tone....Period......Hands down the best amp I have ever played. I have owned a vh4s and the current 2004 vh4 im running. What is most outstanding to me is the fact that this amp will truly give you YOUR SOUND.No other amp truly forces you to be a better player. The amp is very unforgiving in that it does not have the buzzy lose gain structure. It is very in your face and focused.

No other amp truly forces you to be a better player. The amp is very unforgiving in that it does not have the buzzy lose gain structure. It is very in your face and focused. vh4 works with you to truly bring out your playing. If you miss a note in a fast run on most amps, it's not that noticeable. Vh4 does not hide this at all!! Also I know of no other amp that cuts through like this in the high gain sounds. I got to sleep thing about the sound of this amp.
Channel 1 is beautiful dark to bright clean tones. Took a little while before I liked it since I was used to crappy mesa amps. Truly a very open natural clean that can even get a little gritty with higher gain. Channel 2 is a good one but I don't use it to much. Great for a bluesy classic rock sound. Very vintage "fat" sounding!! Channel 3=This is worth the 4K alone!! This is the sound.....period. I have to give it to Peter with this channel. The best sound ever from a amp. Channel 4 is also great for leads and very extreme. Not as open as channel 3 but stands on it's own. I play this amp and my Herbert with Diezel 4x12 front and rear loaded cabs. The only cabs that can stand up to these tone machines. The vh4s I had KILLED the Mesa Recto cabs I had. They started farting out cause they could not handle the bass. I also play with Paul Reed Smith guitars(custom 24's and singlecuts).
The one thing that is good and bad is it is very responsive to different pickups. I wish it would sound a little more accepting off different ones.

You know I hate to do it but I got to give only a 9 here. The only thing I have ever had a problem with is the midi. My first vh4 got midi freaky every now and then. It would sometimes switch to the wrong channel with midi changes. Not very cool when your at a show. It still worked and Uwe and I could not figure it out. These things happen and I thing everything else is a 10.

HANDS DOWN THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE ANYWHERE! Ive never met Peter but hope to sometime. Uwe Salwender is the coolest guy ever! He has always helped with the tons of questions I call him about. Never to busy to talk to you and help to make sure your getting the most from your amp. I bug him constantly ; )

.

Playing 9 years and tried Mesa,Bogner,Marshall,Vht.....Not cutting it. Diezel is the way to go. sold the other crap and got more DIEZEL. I am a happy owner of a VH4 and a Herbert. I also own 2 Diezel 4x12's front and rear loaded. If I buy another amp.......I will be the next Diezel.

This VH-4 was made in 2003. I waited eight months for it. I owned tons of amps, and this is the only one that addressed all my needs as a funk player who also plays blues and hard rock.This amp has 4 channels, each with it's own EQ, stompbox insert, assignable parallel
loop, and global series loop. I love that this amp only switches via midi, and powers the footswitch. This amp never pops when switching channels. I wish the master volume boost was separate from the parallel loop, but it is a very transparent boost. Personally, I believe this is the most versatile amplifier available to date.

I use Fender Strats with Bridge Humbuckers, and an Anderson Swap Ash
Drop top Classic, all SSH. Over my 27 yrs of writing, playing, and recording, I've come to realize I need four basic tones. High headroom
clean with good highs and lows, and in-between Spin Doctors hairy clean that morphs into defined crunch in Humbucking mode, Delicious Heavy Crunch for rock riffs and power chords, and a Gary Moore style
"Pretty Woman" style lead. This amp can do all of this with very little tweaking, if you have a killer guitar or great pickups.
Ch-4 was too compressed, so I had Uwe modify Ch-4 to have less gain and more cutting power. I also had the Deep frequency set to match the Herbert for bigger lows and the Presence moved to @6k. I found 4k a little strident to hear all the time. These guys care about tone. I'll play my Bogner XTC and switch to the Diezel. The Diezel says
"so what". I'll play an Aiken Sabre, go home and plug in the VH-4
and again the Diezel is just badass. These other amps are incredible,
but the four tones I need exist without compromise in the VH-4.
The Herbert is not better, in my opinion, just different. To me the
VH-4 is the Flagship amp by Peter Diezel.

The most Reliable amp I've ever owned. Period

Lifetime Warranty to original owner. Best customer Service by far.
Uwe Salwender gave me amazing response times, And listened to my ideas,and did the mods.

Incredible Amp. I will never sell it. I've stopped plugging in at Music stores everytime I go, or researching new amps. Quite frankly, it's up to me now. I've got no excuse. This amp is worth the money.
I've been waiting 27 years for this amp. Stop spending money on amp after amp, and get a VH-4

I left a review a while ago, this is just an update on the Customer Support. One of the coolest features on this is that for each tube there is a little light and a fuse, when that tube goes out it blows the fuse, but it doesn't kill the sound. So if your in the middle of a set, you will hardly even notice at all, so no embarassing moments. Another cool feature. If you want to have a boost button you can. Just use Send Loop 2 and the efects loop knob on the front acts as a second Master Volume. Totally killer!!!

Super reliable. Not one problem yet.

I delt with Uwe and he was amazing. I have never imagined in a million years that I would call and order tubes from him and he would tell me that when I received them that he would teach me to BIAS MY AMP OVER THE PHONE!!!! If that isn't customer support than I don't know what is. I noticed someone saying that the only Service place for these is in Germany. That is not true Uwe is in L.A. and would be more than happy to work on your amp as long as you pay for shipping.
Diezel USA
Salwender International
1140 N. Lemon Street #M
Orange, Ca 92867
714-538-1285