Amps I don't need and can't afford: Diezel Herbert

[gergohajer]

I wanted to have this badboy for a very long time and damn... it absolutely delivers!!! Holy smokes, what a beast!
It's one of those amps which definitely needs to have the right boost in the front (at least for my playing style) but when you found the right boost/od and you dialed the amp settings right, it really shines and sounds very-very unique with balls!

 

[MatrixClaw]

I had one and got rid. Didn’t need it either

What I found weird was while I had it, everyone who played it in the room lost their mind over it. When I wasn’t playing it I thought it sounded better than when I was the one playing it. It has a really unique feel that you either like or you don’t.

It has this insane power and thickness that makes single notes feel like chords. It also is so compressed that it evens everything out. Both of those can make an amp quite flattering but if you really want to control your own dynamics it doesn’t give you much to work with.

Despite not really digging it, I did enjoy that it has a distinctive sound and the 180W headroom is really cool to hear and experience in the room for yourself. It really does just sound like it was invented for Korn and low tunings, with ultra clean effecty stuff in between the heaviness.

Tonally, I can’t say I liked it. Stuffy/fuzzy/bloated/lacking bite. Not for me

Agreed. I heard a guy cranking a Herbert in Guitar Center just before close when I was like 15 and I thought it sounded glorious. The greatest high gain tone I'd ever heard. I lusted for that amp for 8 years. Once I finally got one, I kept it for about a month. Just didn't do anything for me. It was a cool sounding amp but it just sounded flat with everything I put through it and it wasn't nearly as pissed off as the 5150s I'd come to love since then. I haven't played one in a loooooong time since. Wouldn't mind trying the newer revisions, but I won't hold my breath waiting.

 

[Orvillain]

In my mind poweramps operated within their headroom…sound very very simular.
If you have a couple of amps with loops…try 1 preamp into different returns into the same cab…

I know this is an old post, but no... they don't. Poweramps operating within their headroom still have unique characteristics, even with the same tube type a lot of the time. Poweramps don't just make things louder. They shape the tonal content significantly.

the overall circuit topology — phase inverter type, negative feedback loop, biasing, transformer characteristics — greatly influences tone. One EL34 power amp may sound round and compressed, another tight and aggressive.

The output transformer is a major tonal component, with the damping factor greatly affecting the final tone.

The amount of negative feedback also greatly affects the feel of the poweramp - even with headroom.

Headroom does not equal neutrality, and you can test this yourself. Try feeding the same preamp into different amp returns: and you will often notice a clear difference in feel, midrange response, and articulation, even when volumes are matched.

 

[Orvillain]

Diezel amps are pretty special, and aren't really comparable to 5150's, Recto's, or Mark's. They're probably closer to pissed off sounding Marshalls, but they often don't have the high-frequency death sheen that a lot of Marshall's do.

They are quite compressed, but in a very cool way I think, and they really do the butt-punch thing very well.

I've played a MKIII Herbert and it was cool. I've currently got a Hagen on long-term loan, as well as my VH4 and D-Moll.

I did them all, but they're not tight and modern out of the box in my opinion. If you're looking for something that has that produced chug 5150 thing, you don't get that with these amps straight away; you need to augment with a pedal or two.

They have this slightly dark aspect to them that I don't always dig. They can be a bit too smooth sounding compared to 5150's and recto's - like, the tremoverb at the studio.... is just fucking AGGY as fuck, and you can't dial it out.



I had my VH4 serviced recently, and had 6L6's put in there. I think I prefer the amp with 6L6's.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Herbert was one of my favorite amps at the mini CO GGF amp fest several years back

 

[CorrosiveMatter]

Man the VH4 on the Crab makes me want to try a real one so bad. I will try the Synergy module I am sure.

 

[megametal7]

I really need that amp so i can feel good about myself lol

 

[Genghis]

Man the VH4 on the Crab makes me want to try a real one so bad. I will try the Synergy module I am sure.

I think the VH4 is my favorite on the Crab, but going from memory, I think I liked the Synergy module even better. I may end up selling the Crab. Has some nice sounds, but my Mesas and EVH head get more of what I like.

 

[JiveTurkey]

There was a Diezel in that Nashville GC with the Soldano. I didn't want to make the salesman cry by playing 2 $3k+ amps I wasn't ever going to buy there

 

[MTB1973]

There was a Diezel in that Nashville GC with the Soldano. I didn't want to make the salesman cry by playing 2 $3k+ amps I wasn't ever going to buy there

You should have jammed away. I don’t see many Diezels in the wild.

 

[ejecta]

There was a Diezel in that Nashville GC with the Soldano. I didn't want to make the salesman cry by playing 2 $3k+ amps I wasn't ever going to buy there

Trust me… Tony doesn’t care.

 

[KingsXJJ]

I think you do need it.

 

[ejecta]

I think you do need it.

Everyone gets a Diezel!

 

[gergohajer]

I wanted to have this badboy for a very long time and damn... it absolutely delivers!!! Holy smokes, what a beast!
It's one of those amps which definitely needs to have the right boost in the front (at least for my playing style) but when you found the right boost/od and you dialed the amp settings right, it really shines and sounds very-very unique with balls!

View attachment 43318

Holy smokes... One of the most brutal tones I've ever dialed in.