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Audiofanzine FR
Published on 03/08/09 at 13:47
(Originally written by tubart/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
I bought this amp head to a dishonest Audiofanzine member who sold it broken to me.
I've been owning it for almost one month.
UTILIZATION
Rather easy to use. Four channels and ideal rear connections. Check them all before connecting speaker(s). Comprehensive but not so complex like a Mesa amp for example.
SOUNDS
Diezel has a strong identity and a very unique gain, which is difficult to explain in words. The four EQs are effective but extremely versatile. The amp faithfully reproduces what your playing... I play a Les Paul Custom Orville By Gibson with Gibson HB-L and HB-R pickups. I get a vintage full sound. I played it with an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and it sounded different. It's a high-quality amp because I tested both guitars with another system (Marshall JMP1 + Mesa 20/20) and it wasn't as easy to tell the difference. Wide dynamic response (I connect the VH4S to a 16 ohm, 2 x 12" ENGL speaker cabinet with V30 speakers). The stereo effect is really good, the sound is rich, thick and wide (perfect if your band has only one guitar). The attack is incredibly well-defined regardless of the gain setting and the channel you use... Even the fourth channel reproduces every note of shred licks accurately.
_ Channel 1: the clean sound is wonderful, certainly the best among current amp heads (although my best experience was with the clean channel of a tube Koch combo). You can give it a modern touch with a brilliance switch. It's perfect! The guitar sings like with a Fender amp. With a Les Paul, set the gain to 9 o'clock to get a mellow sound. At 12 o'clock, the sound gets very punchy (funky licks become powerful...). With higher settings, you get a nice blues rock distortion perfect for blues, rock or even punk rock, depending on the guitar. As a summary, with this channel and the volume control of your guitar you'll have lots of sounds...
_ Channel 2: With low gain settings this channel sounds a bit fatter than channel 1, and it crunches with humbuckers. The sound reminds me of old Marshall amps (see Plexi...) and it is very warm. With higher gain settings you get a boosted JCM800 distortion... A bit more violent than AC/DC. Once again, this channel opens a vast field of experimentation!
_ Channel 3: Even with the gain set to the minimum you'll hardly get a clean sound except (maybe) with single-coil pickups. Depending on your playing the sound varies from clean to crunch. When the gain control is set to 12 o'clock (I don't turn it beyond one o'clock) the amp provides an excellent distortion for power rock and 80's heavy metal with much brilliance and a strong character. This channel is currently my favorite.
_ Channel 4: The "mega" channel! Amazingly powerful! Huge gain headroom: you won't need to turn beyond one o'clock. This channel is conceived for people who feel limited with channel 3... It's a delight for hi-gain fans.
Update from 03/08/2009: I've been playing the VH4S one week with a Fender Telecaster Baja. This mid-range guitar sounds great with this amp... The clean channel sounds wonderful with single-coil pickups, channel 2 is made for blues and channel 3 is great for rock'n'roll rhythm and solos. I also want a Tele...
OVERALL OPINION
I've owned many amps (15 watt solid-state Fender, Marshall Valvestate 265R stereo, JCM2000TSL100 head, Marshall JMP1/Brunetti Mille/Tech21 Sansamp PSA1, Peavey Classic 50-50, VHT 2/50/2) and I've tried out lots of gear. I was looking for an amp head that combined the vintage Marshall sound with modern sounds. I thought about buying a Bogner Ubershall but I'm used to playing with a stereo setup so I don't like mono heads anymore...
The VH4-S provides all features I was looking for (including Midi control) and it has a strong sound character. You'll love or hate this amp! The sound "sings" more than the Mesa rectifier Series (I also thought about buying a Dual Roadster) but the sound character is so exciting... If I ever buy another amp it would be because I want another sound character (not a better one, only a different one) and less output power –if you want to use this amp to its full capabilities you have to overdrive the power tubes, which means you must play at loud volumes (when I play in an apartment, the sound is very different...).
It's just an premium amp, try it...
I bought this amp head to a dishonest Audiofanzine member who sold it broken to me.
I've been owning it for almost one month.
UTILIZATION
Rather easy to use. Four channels and ideal rear connections. Check them all before connecting speaker(s). Comprehensive but not so complex like a Mesa amp for example.
SOUNDS
Diezel has a strong identity and a very unique gain, which is difficult to explain in words. The four EQs are effective but extremely versatile. The amp faithfully reproduces what your playing... I play a Les Paul Custom Orville By Gibson with Gibson HB-L and HB-R pickups. I get a vintage full sound. I played it with an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and it sounded different. It's a high-quality amp because I tested both guitars with another system (Marshall JMP1 + Mesa 20/20) and it wasn't as easy to tell the difference. Wide dynamic response (I connect the VH4S to a 16 ohm, 2 x 12" ENGL speaker cabinet with V30 speakers). The stereo effect is really good, the sound is rich, thick and wide (perfect if your band has only one guitar). The attack is incredibly well-defined regardless of the gain setting and the channel you use... Even the fourth channel reproduces every note of shred licks accurately.
_ Channel 1: the clean sound is wonderful, certainly the best among current amp heads (although my best experience was with the clean channel of a tube Koch combo). You can give it a modern touch with a brilliance switch. It's perfect! The guitar sings like with a Fender amp. With a Les Paul, set the gain to 9 o'clock to get a mellow sound. At 12 o'clock, the sound gets very punchy (funky licks become powerful...). With higher settings, you get a nice blues rock distortion perfect for blues, rock or even punk rock, depending on the guitar. As a summary, with this channel and the volume control of your guitar you'll have lots of sounds...
_ Channel 2: With low gain settings this channel sounds a bit fatter than channel 1, and it crunches with humbuckers. The sound reminds me of old Marshall amps (see Plexi...) and it is very warm. With higher gain settings you get a boosted JCM800 distortion... A bit more violent than AC/DC. Once again, this channel opens a vast field of experimentation!
_ Channel 3: Even with the gain set to the minimum you'll hardly get a clean sound except (maybe) with single-coil pickups. Depending on your playing the sound varies from clean to crunch. When the gain control is set to 12 o'clock (I don't turn it beyond one o'clock) the amp provides an excellent distortion for power rock and 80's heavy metal with much brilliance and a strong character. This channel is currently my favorite.
_ Channel 4: The "mega" channel! Amazingly powerful! Huge gain headroom: you won't need to turn beyond one o'clock. This channel is conceived for people who feel limited with channel 3... It's a delight for hi-gain fans.
Update from 03/08/2009: I've been playing the VH4S one week with a Fender Telecaster Baja. This mid-range guitar sounds great with this amp... The clean channel sounds wonderful with single-coil pickups, channel 2 is made for blues and channel 3 is great for rock'n'roll rhythm and solos. I also want a Tele...
OVERALL OPINION
I've owned many amps (15 watt solid-state Fender, Marshall Valvestate 265R stereo, JCM2000TSL100 head, Marshall JMP1/Brunetti Mille/Tech21 Sansamp PSA1, Peavey Classic 50-50, VHT 2/50/2) and I've tried out lots of gear. I was looking for an amp head that combined the vintage Marshall sound with modern sounds. I thought about buying a Bogner Ubershall but I'm used to playing with a stereo setup so I don't like mono heads anymore...
The VH4-S provides all features I was looking for (including Midi control) and it has a strong sound character. You'll love or hate this amp! The sound "sings" more than the Mesa rectifier Series (I also thought about buying a Dual Roadster) but the sound character is so exciting... If I ever buy another amp it would be because I want another sound character (not a better one, only a different one) and less output power –if you want to use this amp to its full capabilities you have to overdrive the power tubes, which means you must play at loud volumes (when I play in an apartment, the sound is very different...).
It's just an premium amp, try it...