Diezel VH4S

2009 VH4S with 6550 tubeset, brand spankin'. Amp has 4 channels and does EVERYTHING. I would say nothing is perfect, but I'd be wrong - the VH4 was almost perfect... Now with stereo output perfect for panning FX in the studio recording environment, it's really perfect. Sick wattage too - the 6550's power delivery is almost double the old standard of 100W and is now between 160W to 180W total output. That's crazy!!

MIDI is so simple - plug'n'play. Columbus is the way to go...if you can get one (they're bringing them into the states/n.america again soon.

Versatility - the clean is sparkling clean...unreal. And it can go as loud as your walls can talk without breaking up. Crunch is wicked - brown and SRV to ACDC to the rest of the usual suspects, but very, very tight and refined. Channel 3 is nuts. And Channel 4 is just an experiment gone terribly right for anyone who wants to blow the doors of the "hi gain" department. Channel 3 is very versatile for modern metal and heavy, heavy rock - again - super tight and refined and toneful. Incredibly so. Channel 4 just takes it to another level, but I found is best for leads with some restraint...it's too crazy otherwise.

So - ridiculous versatility and stereo output to boot. Get it.

Hands down one of the best of all boutique amps - period.

Killer - studio amp so it's not abused. But I have a great working relationship with Diezel USA, Canada and even Peter & Peter in Germany, they're always going to be there if I need a hand.

As above - they're the best.

25 years, tons of different guitars, but mostly ESP and Gibson Custom LP's. Active pups as well as hot PAF style pups. If it were stolen I'd do something very evil to the thief and then buy 2 more :)

They're probably the most expensive amp out there that's pretty common, but you're getting an amazing piece of technological art and craftsmanship with this amp. It's the best in so many ways... And stereo just makes it that much sicker!!

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I just wanted to ammend my last review on this for Channel 4:

Channel 4 sounds AMAZING with the gain below 9 o'clock. it's got a classic cranked marshall sound... throw a tube screamer in front of it and it's instant slash on steroids... pretty awesome. i just found my new lead sound...

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I would give this amp a 10 if it had reverb - it basically has its own MIDI switching system... you don't even need to calibrate a MIDI pedal like you do with most gear - i just plugged my midi board straight into the amp and it worked right away - phantom power too.

Ok, first off, I'd give channel 3 a perfect 10 - the thing is just ridiculous. it's got great body and bottom end, but the mids and highs are punchy and scream as well. basically, channel 3 will rip your head off. I've been trying to achieve the sounds i hear on my favorite records and in my head for years - i've gone through mesa dual rectifiers, tremoverbs, all kinds of marshalls, soldano, etc. and nothing can compare to the sound of channel 3. it's the only amp i've played that i've been completely satisfied with(although i haven't tried the bogner ecstasy).

Channel 1, despite what others have said on this, distorts(lightly) quite nicely. I'm not a huge fan of the crystal clean guitar sound, and if i do want that sound ill go to a fender combo or use an acoustic guitar instead. I'm more into clean sounds with a little grit, and the diezel does it perfectly - u just crank the gain knob up.

Channel 2 is great too. it's basically just a little bit more distorted version of channel one(they both have bright switches as well). u can get ac/dc and zep type sounds out of this channel fairly easily - kinda sounds like a plexi or pushed jcm800.

channel 4, to me, leaves a bit to be desired. i basically use it as a boost from channel 3 only for leads, but for some reason the tone of channel 4 seems a bit lacking, not quite as bad-ass as channel 3. it's much more compressed and a little heavy in the lower mid area, i tried boosting the treble and backing off on the bass, but that didnt help. I mean, it's a good sounding channel, but just not as cool as channel 3. before, with my soldano, i used a tube screamer to boost the signal a bit for solos and such, and it just made the sound better and more intense. however, channel 4 does not quite give u the same kick in the pants that a tube screamer will. frankly, i think channel 3 sounds a bit better for lead work anyway. however, i'll still use channel 4 live for the boost effect(slight compromise) because its easier than having extra pedals in front of you.

all in all, great sounding amp.

built like a freakin' tank

probably - never needed it.

totally awesome amp - channel 3 alone is almost worth the money

Hello, I'm from Belgium and please exuses me for my bad english. This is the best amp i ever had !! 4 Channels, midi, stereo seriel, and stereo programmable parralel effect loop. A mute button, also programmable, simply great

I use channel one, three and four. I'm a little bit dissapointed about channel two, the difference between channel two and three is to big for me.
I have also a problem with controlled feetback at lower volume......there is no feetback ?

Buils like a tank, super.

Peter is a great man. Have one time problem with the midi, and after i give hem my name and serial number....3 days later i recieved a new chip

Been playing for more than 35 year, and have got everything. The are only two amps i left over...my Diezel vh4s an my VHT combo.

I feel like Spinal Tap, but this one has TWO OUTPUTS!!! (read my VH4 review for my obsession with this amp's sound).

I toured with just one head, no back up. no problems.

WOW!!! Stereo VH4.... read my review of the VH4 and make it a double shot. Stereo imaging for any chorusing/delaying effects. WOW.

The VH4s is in fact a VH4 in STEREO! All features of the VH4 are present TWICE in the VH4s! This additional option enables the use of wide stereo effects for two cabinets or to use one cabinet "dry" and the other one "wet". Because of the stereo set-up the power output gets down to 50 Watts per side, therefore the sounds are even a little bit softer than the VH4, but the maximum volume is about the same. This amp has 128 programable presets!!!!
EQ gain, treble, mid, bass, volume per channel
add. bright switch on channel 2
insert FX ??? Loop per channel

Tubes 12AX7

Power Amp: Power 2 x 50 Watt

Tubes 4 x 6L6 or alternate type

Master Section 2 x volume / presence, deep, FX???return MX stereo

Speaker - Out 2 x 4,8,16 Ohm

FX ??? Loops: 2 sends stereo ??? 4 insert loops
parallel & serial returns stereo
2 switchable FX loops / Mix ??? mode stereo
midi in & thru / phantom - power

Finish: black, front silver
Stereo 4-tube power amp section. Accepts 6L6, EL34, 5881, 6550, KT66, etc.
Dimensions 74.0 x 29.0 x 28.5 cm

Weight 50LBS

The harmonic resonance of the amp and responsiveness is out of this world. This is by far the most ORGANIC Alive sounding amp I ever owned!!!!!! I'm using a Custom Brian Moore C90P-13 Guitar it features Seymour Duncan Pick Ups, with a JB in the Bridge, Alnico Humbucker in the neck and an Alnico single in the middle position an RMC Piezo system and a 13 pin midi out for connecting to guitar synths. I'm using a TC-Electronic G-Force processor with the VH4S. All 4 channels on this amp are brilliant! The harmonic range is infinite! From Pat Metheny to Allan Holdsworth,Larry Carlton,Sott Henderson,Shawn Lane,Eric Johnson,Brett Garsed,Eddie Van Halen, ETC! You could go from the most breathtaking cleans to Melting Skulls in one click!

The quality in the build is so obvious that Stevie Wonder could see it!!!! This amp works amazingly I highly doubt I'll ever have any issue's with it! These amps are expensive but you get what you pay for (100% reliability)

I've spoken to Peter Diezel and his partner Peter Stapfer a few times with some tech questions! The both of them were extremely helpful and gave me the best support possible! They make you feel like your'e part of the Diezel Family! And Uwe Salwender of Salwender International is a great guy that will go out of his way to give you the best support in the BIZ! on Diezel products and more (Checkout his Web page! )www.salwender.com

I've been playing guitar since I was 5 years old so that's about 31yrs now. I'm mainly play progressive Rock & Jazz Fusion as well as studio work. If this amp was stolen someone would have to FUCKING DIE!!!! I bought an extra one just in case but I doubt anyone is going to take my amp from me! If you get what I mean!

I would give the VH4S a 10 if it had reverb. But in order to get reverb you're going to have to by an expensive rack mounted reverb system or by a cheap reverb stomp box and smash your tone. Other than that it's got everything else you could ever want.

This is where she shines. I've owned both Marshall?s and Mesa/Boogies and their both great amps, but the mesa doesn't have that note for note clarity and the Marshall cant get that deep chugga chugga freight train type rhythms a mesa can get. But my VH4S can get both! It can push as much bass as a bass player but still keep that note for note clarity! F'N AWESOME!!! It eats Boogies and Marshall?s for lunch all day long.

I'm not going to get into what channel can do what, because that?s already been done to death here. But I will say, I can go from playing crazy train, to clean classical/jazz, to brutal death metal, to 80's hair band stuff, to Metallica, to nu-metal, to funk, to country... IMO, it?s the most versatile amp I've ever played... period. If you want to have ONE certain type of sound and you want to sound like everybody else go with Marshall or mesa.

This is where she destroys ALL other amps. When other amps blow tubes you're like, "WTF, it had to blow while I was on stage... f'n piece of sh*t!!!" And then finding out which fuse blew is a freaking nightmare. With any other head you're going to screwed on a gig if she blows a tube. You're either done for the night or you've got a back up head (not likely, unless you're famous musician who can afford to carry around extras). But when the VH4S/VH4 blows a tube... she keeps playing like a champ, with hardly ANY tonal difference? AMAZING!

It will blow a fuse and route the power to the other tube. So not only can you keep playing through your song, but when you?re done with that song, you can easily and quickly replace the fuse LIVE because the red LED on the back lets you know which tube blew! AWESOME, TREMEDOUS, OUTSTANDING, DO A BACK FLIP, KUNG FU ASS KICKING KICK ASS!!! I can not get over how fukin awesome this feature is... I'll NEVER BE DEAD AT A GIG AGAIN!!!

The best, period. When will the Company heads of Marshall or Mesa reply personally to your calls and e-mails? Thats right... NEVER!

I would give this a perfect ten if it had reverb, because she is the closest amp I've owned that comes close to a perfect 10. What a wonderful product!

You allready know the features by reading the other reviews! If I had to buy a new one I'd prefer to have second master volume... furtunately the mod had allready been done when I bought mine used!

I use a Fender Strat, Gretsch 6129 with modified bridge pu, Carvin Flying V. I play Grunge, Numetal stuff.

What about the sound of this tonal beauty?

Channel 1: Good clean, but a little lack of headroom or bass response to my taste.

Cahnnel 2: My favourite! Most people enjoy the sound of channel 3 and give a damn about the other channels! But I like low distortion rhythm sounds and this amp makes them sound open and fresh. Brilliant!
This is really a matter of taste, but I found my tone...

Channel 3: I use this one to get a more brutal sound. Cutting some of the mids turns the amp into a little beast. Good low end response, your lower notes will always sound very clear and tight - you have to love it!!

Channel 4: Some say, the amount of gain makes this one sound nearly "comical" or they don not use it at all!!! This is absolutely ridiculous: everybody that tells you stuff like this has wasted most of his money!!! This is the channel to go for if you are into high gain lead sounds without harshness or too much compression, but with a good response to your picking!!! I absolutely fell in love with this one!! Even if you push this one far into higain, it still sounds open like no other lead channel I heard so far...

Nothing happend so far...

Peter is always kind and responds very quick in case you don't get him on the phone...

It' a brilliant piece of art!!! It seems to me like a perfect mixture between a old school Marshall and Mesa, but with it's own character!
Finally, cause I own a "Herbert", a Vh4s and a "Triaxis" + 2:90, I am able to tell you one thing:

I found the Triaxis to be the only unit being capable to produce a comparable lead sound like channel 4 --- but the VH4 sounds more organic and alive and most of all --- quiet. The triaxis is noisy as hell, "waterfall" would be an adequat description!

This is the most versatile amp head and I found during my long journey on the search for "tone". I tried Marshall, Mesa etc and I finally arrived at Diezel and will stay with it...If you are into playing lead this amp is a must. If connected to a good stereo fx this one will warp you into another dimension!!

"Huh, but whats about the herbert?" some of you may ask. Don't worry, the second channel of the herbert is still the most brutal sound I ever listened to, but sorry Peter: the lead channel of "Herb" is hardly to compare to the brilliant channel 4 on the VH4: it has too much gain, too much compression (even at lower gain settings) and tends to get muddy on the lower strings!! It was little disappointing to hear the difference, when I made A/B testing at home...

So if you are a lead player I advise you to check the VH4(s) instead of the Herbert!

I think the amp is a 2003 model. This amp is so overwheliming versatile, that is the main reason why I hunted one down off of ebay. It play's soooooooooooooooo smooth. I think this is a great blues and Led Zep like amp, but with the most bass I've ever heard from a guitar head. Set the deep all the way and I can push as much bass as my bass player! It really freaks him out. Here's my one and only problem with the amp, it's a bit picky but, I really like to set my higer gain channels with a lot of bass (deep dial) it makes the sound very full and almost gong-like but I like the first two channels with thte deep at like 11 or 12. It's a bummer there isn't a deep and present for each channel. That and I would like to see reverb in her. What I do like is the head is very, very easy to use! Unlike some Mesa's...with all their crazy dials and switches in the back...I'm going to give her a 9...because it dosen't have those two things...but in my heart I should give her a 10...

10. This head is like the greatest head Marshall never made.

Just got it.

SO far I am impressed. I no longer need to take two or three amps to a gig, and i can do eveyting with her and blow everyone away. Oh, and this amp is loud! Watch out for hearing damage!

I just got her about two monthes ago. The features are well thought out. Everyone here reviews them pretty dam good, so that saves me some work! The only thing that I'm kind of picky about is the angle of the face plate on the head. It's dipped back a bit, probably so you do step on your cable and rip it out of the head. But The angle is so extreme I think it's putting pressure on the bent part of my cable and breaking the ground in it. But to fix that I just simply run the cable through the cab handle on the side and leave a bit of slack where she connects to the head. Oh, and she works great with all my effects beacuse of all the great ports on her. So far so Good...

At first the sound was kind of disapointing, I bought this head used with a Marhsall Cab. But I put some nos EL34's in her and paired her up with a Front loaded "Diezel" cab and wow it was like night and day! This baby really screams through it's Diezel cab!!! I was very happy with the tone after these changes.

Only had her for a short time...but seems good.

I've done most of my support through Tone Merchants...they are good though..

I'm really happy with her. This is the first head I've owned that "feels" like a professional head. Well worth the investment.