Diezel VH4

Just a point of clairification for Craig below....the VH4 is not point to point wired....it is PCB.

This model is probably 2003.It has Peter Diezel's initials written with a sharpie on the back panel.4 channels and you have a send/return on each channel! Brilliant design and flawless workmanship! It is 100 watts,6 ecc83's electro harmonix's and 4 el34's electro harmonix tubes, but it will take 6L6 and EL34 and 6550 and KT88,5881 and every other power tubes I didn't mention.The Engl Savage 120 I own is versatile too, but with send and returns on each channel,can it get any better than this???

I use & play Jackson's & Ibanez's & Washburn's & ESP's and that's it, mainly.I have over 40 instruments.My style of music is "Christian Progressive Metal" original music and hopefully,GOD WILLING,I will be recording my first CD within a year's time.I LOVE THIS AMP! It is truly EXPENSIVE,BUT YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR,and that is an old and true saying most of the time.This amp has ZERO noise,handwired point to point and the distortion/gain is MORE than any of the other so called "high gain amps".The DIEZEL has a killer clean sound and this amp's third and fourth channels just sing with a violin type smooth creamy overdrive that is BETTER than any amp, and I've tried them all or most of them anyway.
I own:Framus Cobra head,a Marshall/Splawn modified head,ENGL POWERBALL 7 SAVAGE 120 & Krank Revolution series one head, Mesa Mark 4 Head,Carvin X100B head, and many other Rocktron power and preamp units.This head just KILLS anything and I'm really happy with the Diezel VH-4 head.What else can be said that hasen't been said already???

AWESOME HEAD, I DON'T HAVE TO GIG WITHOUT ANOTHER AMP BUT I WOULD WITH THE DIEZEL.NEVER BROKE DOWN, THIS IS A DIEZEL HANDMADE FROM GERMANY....I'VE HAD IT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS, AND DON'T EXPECT ANYTHING WILL HAPPEN.IT'S MADE LIKE A TANK AND HAS THE BIGGEST AMP CABINET I'VE EVER SEEN.

Emailed Peter Diezel and he emailed me the next day.Seems very cool and happy that I own his line of amps.He stands behind his amps 100% and that's the way it should be.Besides that, it's a DIEZEL!!!

PLAYING SINCE 1979, SO THAT'S 25 YEARS.I OWN 40+ ELECTRIC GUITARS AND A FEW BASSES AND BASS AMPS.I OWN REALLY GREAT AMPS(SEE ABOVE) AND THERE IS NOTHING I HATE ABOUT THE DIEZEL, EXCEPT THE PRICES,BUT HEY, NOW I OWN ONE AND IT WILL BE MINE FOREVER! IF THERE IS ANYTHING, IT COULD HAVE A LITTLE MORE LOW END, BUT THAT'S BEING SUPER CRITICAL.MY FRAMUS COBRA AMP HAS A LITTLE MORE LOW END THAN THE DIEZEL BUT THE DIEZEL HAS MORE GAIN, A LITTLE MORE THAN THE FRAMUS.THE ONLY AMP I CAN EVEN COMPARE THIS TO IS:FRAMUS COBRA HEADS.I OWN A CUSTOM ONE IN RED AND I'M REALLY ENJOYING THAT AMP TOO! ENGL AMPS SOUND GREAT TOO! BUT THE DIEZEL FITS ME AND ALLOWS MY PLAYING STYLE TO SHINE BECAUSE THE SOUND JUST JUMPS OUT OF THOSE SPEAKERS WHEN PLAYING RYHTHM OR LEAD.LET ME MENTION THAT THE CLEAN TONE IN THIS AMP IS CLEAR,AND DISTORTION FREE, WITH MASSIVE HEADROOM.ALL YOU FENDER FREAKS CAN'T TOUCH THE DIEZEL CLEAN.YES, IT'S THAT GREAT OF AN AMPLIFIER IN MY OPINION AND THEREFORE,I'M MARKING ALL THE CATEGORIES A 10, BECAUSE THIS AMP IS THE HOLY GRAIL OF AMP TONE.IT CAN DO ANY GAIN AND SOUND FROM THE 60'S ALL THE WAY UP TO DEATH METAL TO JAZZ, TO PUNK MUSIC TO PROGRESSIVE MUSIC.MANY PLAYERS MAY ENDORSE OTHER AMPS BUT I KNOW THAT BANDS ARE FINDING OUT WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS OVER THESE, BECAUSE ALLOT OF BANDS HAVE NOW BOUGHT THESE.THANK YOU VERY MUCH PETER DIEZEL, FOR MAKING ME SUCH AN INCREDIBLE AMP HEAD THE VH-4...........

4 channel with independent EQ, basically. With the ability to control through midi or pro tools off stage. The only thing I would love to see added is reverb...otherwise I would rate this a 10. But you can get it added inside the head.

I am a professional player. I use several Diezel heads. I use 2 or 4 Mono heads (for big shows with lots of equipment) and I also have a Stereo head for smaller venues.


This is a great head! Probably the most versatile head out there. One thing that gets me, when I read some of the review (mainly VH 4 reviews) is they don't know how to use them. If you buy a mono head, guess what it's not going to sound as large because it's one signal, hence the name Mono. Or when they say the channels are great but I'm not to happy with the first one for whatever reason. You have to keep in mind they make the amps kind-a at a level that suits most players. If your not to keen with something, you can call Peter Diezel and "he'll" modify it for you exactly the way you want right in front of you. With that said there is no reason why the amp can't sound the way you want it to sound. Really what we are taking about is quality of construction and design, and that is 10. Sound is awesome, 10.

I would say extremely dependable.

Diezel, is a great company. I've seen Peter treat kids as good as me~ and that's very rare in LA

10

I've been playing over 10 years and have went thru alot of gear over the years. The last head that I had was a Mesa Road King. The Diezel does not have the power amp and speaker switching capability that the Road King has, but I have seldomly used these features. I have become very accustomed to a 4 channel head, and the Diezel delivers. The built in MIDI functionality is an excellent feature that is easy to use and I greatly appreciate it. My current set-up requires that I change effects presets and amp channels with one hit of my MIDI footswitch. The Road King required a separate device to convert the amp channels to Midi and there were alot of extra cords to deal with. The VH4 is simple because you just plug a MIDI cord right into your footswitch or effects unit. The Diezel will also supply phantom power to your MIDI board----so throw away that bulky AC adaptor.

I've found this to be the best all in one amp to date. By this I mean, it's an amp that can produce a variety of sounds due to the fact that it has 4 channels. There is no perfect amp, but if you had to choose just one amp and stick with it, this is IT. In comparison to the Road King, the Diezel wins out on every single channel. The clean channel is way better and get get alot more sounds, the second channel is somewhat better for that light distortion sound. The third channel absolutley detroys the Road King. There is no comparison. Leads sing thru the Diezel. The Road King cannot touch this and comes out vey flat in comparison. Channel 4, which I use for the heavy distortion (high bas and treble, low mid) is a little better and more focused than the Raod King. How they do this without the rectifier tubes, I don't know, but it is definetly better.

So far, so good. This seems to be put together pretty well and with quality parts. The Road King, on the other hand, is really a problem. They have so much stuff crammed in there that they use crappy parts.

N/A.

THE BEST in this genre of amps.

2001 2nd hand VH4. The amp has a new set of unbiased 6L6's in it with various 12ax7's in it. (Chinese and Russian)

Great amp! It is a lot "squishier" on the gain channels than I expected. I didn't like that at 1st, but I have really started to love this amp. he 2 clean channels sound good but not as good as I had hoped for (after trying a Diezel Herbert). Channel one has a clean channel that I think compares to most high gain amps- just okay. It works. Channel 2 has more gain and works great for when you don't want to roll your volume down on a gain channel (or don't have time)It works great for "SHE @#$^in' HATES ME" by Puddle of Mudd.
This amp has killer tones; both LIVE and at home at any volume. Channel 3 and 4 are what I think this amp is about! Awesome and very warm, it reminds me of a Bogner Fish preamp. A very "organic" gained out natural tone. I just can't express how much I crave this tone. I go thru the day craving to play some power chords thru it! Really awesome. Channel 3 has a little more "tone" to it but is just enough gain for me when the gain is cranked.... it's enough, but I've been using a ?ZVEX Super Hard On? pedal in the series loop lately to boost it a little more... than it's KILLER. But when I need a little more gain I'll use Channel 4. It sounds similar to Channel 3, not as much tone as Channel 3, but similar and with more than enough gain. I think I have it set up less than 1/2 up. Both channels work great for leads and rhythm and it depends on the circumstance which channel I choose. I gig and play professionally and I have used Soldano's, Bogners, Marshall's, Mesa's, Matchless's etc. I own many high end amps and have played and owned most everything out there.

This amp has a MONSTER size box. I've never seen such a MONSTER amp!! It looks better in person than in the pics- I think it's a REALLY cool looking amp. The logo is just KILLER.
I found it difficult to change the preamp tubes without taking the amp out of the box. (4 screws no biggie)

I hear it's very good. Although the factory is in Germany!

This amp is killer. It'd be perfect if the 1st channel was as good as the Herbert. Thats another Killer amp I'm looking to own. Diezel- what a great amp company. Believe the hype!!

I have this amp only for a few days now, so i haven't really been through all the MIDI options right now, but from what i have read from the manual, there will be nothing left to wish for in this beast. There are Rubytubes el34's in mine. One major let-down is the missing of a spring reverb though... there's room enough for it inside the head. Now i will be forced to buy a tone-degrading digital reverb or a $$$$ hard to take-along spring reverb unit like Fender. So i'll take two points off there. Furthermore the series/parallel loops and channel inserts are something i dreamt of having in an amp for years... I play different styles of music so with four completely different sounding channels it's like i bought four new amps for the price of two.

My main guitars are a Gibson LP custom '57ri with Duncan distortion and '59 and a Ibanez s540fm with diMarzio X2N,Fasttrack and PAFpro. My cab a Mesarecto std. I play in a pop/rock band, a modern metal band and a grunge/rock band. At home i play alot of clean stuff also so the versatilaty of this amp was just what i was looking for. I'll run through the channels;

1) very articulate, warm sounding on the right settings. I prefer it with bright switch on. I like my clean on the edge of beeing clean so i turn the gain fairly high up here and when i want pure clean it cleans up nicely when rolling back the volume on my guitar. Really miss a spring reverb here though.................

2) Well it sounds okay but i don't think i will use it quite often. I use it now as my E-bow channel with some delay.

3) Yeah... Unfortunatly i haven't been able too crank the volume up real loud since i have only used it at home 'till now but i can hear already this thing is gonna blow some people's heads of my first coming gig. My other amp is a DSL 100 and after comparing those the Diezel sounds much more defined and less shrill on high gain settings. There's an incredible pumping low end that doesn't fart out. I really like this channel, Like a Marshall, but much more focused and dead quit when needed.

4) Sounds kinda like the third channel with even more gain. It has more high-end and less lower-mids too imo. Wouldn't use it as a rhythm channel only for leads. A little noisy on high gain settings but nothing to worry about.

I can't comment on that since i have only had it for a few days.

I can't comment on this either 'cause i never tried. (And hopefully won't ever need too)

I am playing for about 14 years now and it's the most expensive piece of gear i ever bought. If someone tried to steal it from me he would also take my 4x12. Up his tailpipe!!!!! I love it's versatility and it sounds very good. Perfect is something impossible to achieve 'cause tastes differ. I think this will be a keeper maybe for as long as i live or someone else makes an amp that's even more to my tastes.

Too much to sum up. It has everything you'll ever need, and then some.
4 channels of tube power: from clean to crunch to high gain to lead.
You can switch between the channels by means of a MIDI-footboard, or the new Diezel-footswitch.
2 sends, 4 insert loops,parallel & serial returns
send 2 FX, ....
4,8 or 16 ohm speaker out.
100 watt. Loud enough to bring down the house, but also great sounding at lower volumes. Cuts through in any band situation, gigs...

Mine has 6l6-tubes, but it's compatible with just about every type of tube out there. The EL-34's I had in the beginning were too compressed, the 6l6's open everything up nicely and give you some nut-cracking low-end.
I play mostly metal. Lately I'm very much into Killswitch engage, Soilwork, fear factory, trivium, mnemic,... Pretty hard stuff.
I hear that a lot of people are using channel 4 for extremer metal, which makes absolutely no sense to me. Channel 3 is the rythm channel, and it has enough gain for ANY style of heavy music. Hell, you can make single coils sound like beasts on this channel with the right tweaking. It can go from a small crunch to AC/DC to Van Halen to Metallica to fear factory to whatever you can think of.
My current sound is almost identical too Killswitch Engage's sound on "the end of heartache", if not even more defined. And all I use is my guitar and channel three, that's it. No boosts, nothing!
Channel 4 does what it's supposed to do as a lead channel. Do NOT use it as a rythm channel, channel 3 is a masterpiece and will cover all your rythm needs (think of a hotrodded JCM 800, but with extreme versatility and definition)
Channel 1 provides you every type of clean out there. I play a lot of clean stuff aswel which it does perfectly. The melodies that flow from this channel bring tears to your eyes. From juicy gibson-jazzy type-sounds, to the brightest fender clean (just flip the bright switch!). Channel 2 I almost never use. I guess it would be great for bluesy type stuff, but I don't know enough about that stuff.

It always keeps its clarity. It sounds insane at low tunings!! The tone never turns to mud, always keeps its clarity and definition.

The amp is pretty unforgiving also. very fast attack.

It's a tube amp, so it's never solid state-reliable, but it definetly is the next best thing. It has a tube fault system that tells you if a tube is causing problems. If a tube breaks down on you (which usually happens 10 minutes before a gig), you can just take the bad one out, and continue on the remaining three! It's the only amp, I would ever consider gigging with, without a backup.

I gave it a 9, because it still is a tube amp.

Excellent. You're dealing with Peter Diezel. that's all you need to know.

If your reading this you probably know all of the specs. This amp is GOD!!!! Hands down the best sounding amp I have EVER heard. You can do everything with it. I bet it would do my dishes if i hooked it up to the sink.

I use Les Paul guitars. I play mostly hard rock and thrash metal (Alice in Chains, Tool, Slayer, Megadeth, 80's cock rock). This thing doesn't make sounds, it sings. It rich and WARM, I had to turn the air conditioner on this this is so warm. Sounds great at low and high volumes. The distortion is what it distortion is suposed to be. Not that mesa boogie crunch that sounds like rocks in a blender.

Brand new. Can't answer yet, feels like a tank though.

I dealt with tone merchants and Ed was great.

I have been playing for 10 years. I have owned Mrashalls, Crates, I have a Mesa Boogie Triple Rect. I have two Gibson Les Pauls, Standard and Custom. I have a few boss pedals, a Line 6 POD, and a Digitech GNX3. I do wish it had reverb, but thats ok, I can manage with out it.
Don't waste your time getting something in the middle, save the extra money and buy one. If i could give this thing a 12 I would.

This amp was born in 2003. I play metal, aggressive music with plenty of palm-muting. I am mainly a rythm player, though I do occaisionally play leads (I handle all the guitar chores in the band). This has all the features I could possibly need. Just for the hell of it, here we go: Serial and Parrallel (which can be midi controlled) effects loops. Channel inserts for stompboxes on each channel. A thru jack for plugging into a second head. LOUD (or quiet, if desired, much better master control than most tube high-watt amps). The Deep and the Presence controls really makes this amp stand out in dynamic control. I'm too lazy to go on in this section.

I feel this amp is definitely geared towards METAL. And, in my opinion, that's a good thing. I use two Studio Gibson LP's (one gothic) loaded with a Duncan JB and a Jizz. I also own an ESP Grynch with EMG 81 and 60, and a Gibson gothic SG with the Duncan combo. I don't bother playing the latter two any more. To reach this amp's true metal potential, nothing beats a LP. This amp really need to have the right guitar and the right pickups, the amp really lets each different guitar shine through, with all their faults exposed. This amp sounds much tighter and has much better tone with PASSIVE pickups. With any quality handbuilt amp, EMG 81's are unnecessary (but they are necessary for a Triple XXX or a piece of crap rectifier (I hate those things!-- had to vent)), and will make the amp much, much harder to tame. With the JB I can turn the gain up on the fourth channel to 3 o'clock (or so), with the bass maxed out and the depth at noon (using more on the bass control than the depth control makes the sound much tighter), the presence at one, and have a massive tight sound that still responds to your playing dynamics. If you set the gain above 3 you get a more compressed sound. The fourth channel is where it's at for me, comparable (but with even more gain) with the Uberschall's distortion channel. I should note that I did have the amp modified so that the fourth channel is eq'd like the third channel for maximum clarity since I'm mainly a rythm guy.
It has a better clean channel than anything but say, a roland jazz chorus, better than any other high-gain tube amp I've played except for the VHT Ultra-Lead, this amp did have a nice clean channel (but got squashed when it came to high-gain channel).
I don't use the second channel, and use the third channel only occasionally.
I play in a band, but I also like to play by (with) myself at low volumes, and the amp's master control makes both a cinch, and it always sounds great (I keep the channel volumes at noon).
This only amp I could consider putting in the same category as this amp for metal tonewise would be the Bogner Uberschall. No solid state or mesa or peavey can compare. This things eats those for breakfast, and eats VHT's Ultra-Leads (sorry!) for lunch. The low end of the VHT couldn't compare. I do play this amp through a VHT Fatbottom straight 4x12" loaded with P-50e's (better than celestion V-30's in my opinion),however, and that cab really brings the amp to life. I have played it through Mesa rectumfire cabs, and those sound dead (or vainly struggling to live) in comparison.
This is not a blues amp, or an amp for the fender fan (PLEASE!). Make sure this amp suits your style of music before you buy it, and make sure you have a good guitar and if you really want the most out of it, a good cab! Throw those EMG's away! You won't miss them with this amp. Even James Hetfield doesn't use EMG's with this amp (he uses this amp live and in the studio, the rectumfiers on stage are just for show).
This amp will rattle your chestcage and balls like no other!

Gonna give them a pass on this one, it did develop a problem shortly after I got it, and had to be repaired, but since I've got it back there have been absolutely no problems. Read below. Now that it's been fixed I feel like it's utterly reliable (even if a power tube blows, I'll still be playing).

No other amp company can compare in customer service. Period.
I got the amp and after a month or two it started wigging out. I called Uwe, and shipped it to him (in California) for repairs. I figured since it was there, I might as well ask to have the fourth channel modified to suit my style of playing better. Uwe told me Peter Diezel was flying in the next week, so I waited a week and Peter Diezel personally repaired, retubed, and modified the amp.
These guys will take care of you!
The amp has operated flawlessly since, and Peter- I really love what you've done for my amp. Thanks!

I've been playing for 11 years. I have owned a Mesa Dual Recifier (what a piece of crap--fizzy mud), a Peavey Triple XXX (Better than the Dual Rec, but still squashed!), and a VHT Ultra-Lead which I sold after I got this amp. I also own a Bogner Uberschall, which is a great amp (I love that amp too). I have a hard time deciding between the two. If you only need a high-gain metal channel, you should check that amp out, too. I will never sell the Diezel, though, I play it all the time and record with it, too. It's a lifetime amp, a keeper. I'm not a yuppie hobbyist, I use this amp with a band at shows and recording, I have spent a love of time and tried a lot of things to get the best sound, and the only amp I've heard that would compare is the Bogner Uberschall. The Herbert sounds good, too, from what I've heard, but I think the VH4 sounds more organic and pure. I mainly just play guitar straight into the head for the best tone, with no processors, and occaisionally use a stompbox through the channel inserts.
The only thing I wish it came with is a footswitch, midi or otherwise. This amp is expensive, so if it got lost the only other amp I would consider would be the Uberschall. If I had the dough, though, I would get it again. With the Bogner, however, I would (do) pair it with a Roland Jazz Chorus.

Tons of features. Well thought out, midi capable. 6l6 version. Doesn't come with a footswitch (pretty cheesy for a amp this expensive).

4-ch amp. Channel 3 is very good. Channel 4 was the let-down. Channel
1 is very good clean like I said and ch2 was okay. Sorry, I sold it after 6 months.

Good clean sounds on ch 1. 3-d like and chimey. Ch2. - very good distortion sounds from ac/dc style crunch to more intense metal. Ch3. somewhat disappointing, it doesn't take you over the top, like you might expect. My least favorite channel and a major let-down. The amp is good, not great! If you think you are getting great you will be very disappointed. This amp is a perfect example of HYPE. You would think this amp represents the best out there but it is no better than amps half its cost. Some of the comments on this site are just kids with no experience or better yet they are the from the manufacturers and dealers taking advantage of people making them believe this amp is worth over $3500plus. It is not worth the money, period!

Seems very sturdy and reliable.

Very good. call and speak to a real person.

A decent amp but at these prices there are many better choices. I wanted to love this amp, but it just doesn't deliver the goods that a amp in this price range should. Over-rated.