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Not really sure which sub forum this belongs in, and maybe I'll do a version in the amp subform thats less about digital models depending on how this goes. Its been an amp thats fascinated me for years - I guess mostly because of the hype and lore surrounding it more than the sound (although I love Adam Jones's recordings with it).
Much like one of my favourite amps (RECTIFIER), the VH4 has had some pretty drastic changes made to the circuit over the years. Unlike the Rectifier, these changes aren't anywhere near as well documented or discussed anywhere. Its honestly an amp Im a little bit on the fence with sonically, but the fact that so many seem to sound and behave VERY differently doesn't help things at all.
I have a 2006 model next to me, but I'm not sure what work has been done on it. It could well have been updated to more modern specs. I only have this version of the amp next to me, in an ideal world I'd have real world examples of various circuits but thats not possible. Maybe between several VH4 owners we can collate things and get a firmer grip on what the specific differences are.
Based on emulations that I'm able to compare with:
- Helix's model sounds much darker, most of the tone controls and presence behave very differently. It's OK, but I don't particularly care for whatever revision this one is. I also wonder about the channel and master volume relationship on this one as there is only one master in the model (maybe the channel volume was set to 10?). Sounds almost inverse to the real amp I have here. I've tried this model on and off for years, and to get anything that I halfway like, I'd need to get quite heavy handed with the controls. I am certain this is not down to the quality of the modelling, and more that its just a circuit revision I don't vibe with (there are other models like this too).
- STL Amphub. Very similar to Helix, although I prefer it slightly. The way the tone stack and presence work feels very similar to the Helix model. I can get it a bit more scooped and bigger/brighter than I'm able to with Helix. Again, sounds almost inverse to the amp I have here in the mids, albeit I can get this one slightly closer.
- Plugin Alliance/Nembrini VH4. Again, somewhat closer to how Helix and Amphub behave with the tonestack and presence. I can get reasonable tones out of all of these, but I have to push controls further I'd like to and they start getting a bit weird at their limits.
- STL Tonality - Borland. This one is by far the closest to the amp sat next to me. The only difference really is the way the presence control works. On this amp, the control is very subtle, on the plugin it has a wider ranging and more useful taper. I'd imagine this is a very similar circuit to the amp next to me. I think I like it best, it feels intuitive to dial in to what Im looking for.
- Fractal Dizzy V4 Silver 3. A lot more midrangey. Maybe similar to STL Amphub. If I really goose settings, I can get it sort of like the amp, but also with some obvious differences (where you can hear things being bent a bit too far out of shape). Maybe with some knowledge of circuit revisions over the years I could reshape this one into a circuit I like. Would need more information though. Maybe one we can summon the spirit of @James Freeman for. Definitely closer to this amp than the Blue model
- Fractal Dizzy V4 Blue 3. Darker, more midrange, more bloat. More like the Helix one in behaviour.
- Amplitube VHandcrafted4. Weird to me. It's sort of like some of the others but channel 3 has a bright control which I dont think I've ever seen on this channel on the real amp or any other model. To set it at "realistic" level positions produces a REALLY quiet output, so much so I have to add about 30dB of level afterwards. Its probably somewhat accurate to SOME version of the VH4 but I'm not sure I have the patience to investigate as far with this one.
The biggest difference between this real amp, and ALL of the models is that the presence knob on this amp doesn't do a great deal. I'm a little curious to look inside to see if its been serviced at all, but its not my amp (yet at least). Regardless of the fact the presence knob doesn't seem to be doing a great deal here, I really do like the tone of the real amp better than these models. It's less bloated, more open, bigger sounding in the lows and highs and more intuitive to dial in. I don't have to push anything quite as far - most controls can like in that 4-6 range and it sounds like how I want a Diezel to sound. I notice on a lot of the models, the presence and treble can start getting quite strident around 1.5kHz, and thats usually what stops me pushing those controls more (even if I want it brighter). I think this particular behaviour is something that has been tweaked over different versions though, as some do it more than others.
I think the very early versions of the circuit would be way too dark for my taste, and I think as time has gone on changes have been made that brighten it up. I suspect the presence/NFB circuit has probably undergone a few changes too.
I know there are some schematics floating around of VH4's, but also that Peter keeps them quite guarded. I'm pretty sure he might be one of the only people who actually knows what ALL of the various changes are over the years.
I can make some example clips if there is enough interest for me to do so - for this kind of thing I'd need to decide on some kind of baseline settings though.
Much like one of my favourite amps (RECTIFIER), the VH4 has had some pretty drastic changes made to the circuit over the years. Unlike the Rectifier, these changes aren't anywhere near as well documented or discussed anywhere. Its honestly an amp Im a little bit on the fence with sonically, but the fact that so many seem to sound and behave VERY differently doesn't help things at all.
I have a 2006 model next to me, but I'm not sure what work has been done on it. It could well have been updated to more modern specs. I only have this version of the amp next to me, in an ideal world I'd have real world examples of various circuits but thats not possible. Maybe between several VH4 owners we can collate things and get a firmer grip on what the specific differences are.
Based on emulations that I'm able to compare with:
- Helix's model sounds much darker, most of the tone controls and presence behave very differently. It's OK, but I don't particularly care for whatever revision this one is. I also wonder about the channel and master volume relationship on this one as there is only one master in the model (maybe the channel volume was set to 10?). Sounds almost inverse to the real amp I have here. I've tried this model on and off for years, and to get anything that I halfway like, I'd need to get quite heavy handed with the controls. I am certain this is not down to the quality of the modelling, and more that its just a circuit revision I don't vibe with (there are other models like this too).
- STL Amphub. Very similar to Helix, although I prefer it slightly. The way the tone stack and presence work feels very similar to the Helix model. I can get it a bit more scooped and bigger/brighter than I'm able to with Helix. Again, sounds almost inverse to the amp I have here in the mids, albeit I can get this one slightly closer.
- Plugin Alliance/Nembrini VH4. Again, somewhat closer to how Helix and Amphub behave with the tonestack and presence. I can get reasonable tones out of all of these, but I have to push controls further I'd like to and they start getting a bit weird at their limits.
- STL Tonality - Borland. This one is by far the closest to the amp sat next to me. The only difference really is the way the presence control works. On this amp, the control is very subtle, on the plugin it has a wider ranging and more useful taper. I'd imagine this is a very similar circuit to the amp next to me. I think I like it best, it feels intuitive to dial in to what Im looking for.
- Fractal Dizzy V4 Silver 3. A lot more midrangey. Maybe similar to STL Amphub. If I really goose settings, I can get it sort of like the amp, but also with some obvious differences (where you can hear things being bent a bit too far out of shape). Maybe with some knowledge of circuit revisions over the years I could reshape this one into a circuit I like. Would need more information though. Maybe one we can summon the spirit of @James Freeman for. Definitely closer to this amp than the Blue model
- Fractal Dizzy V4 Blue 3. Darker, more midrange, more bloat. More like the Helix one in behaviour.
- Amplitube VHandcrafted4. Weird to me. It's sort of like some of the others but channel 3 has a bright control which I dont think I've ever seen on this channel on the real amp or any other model. To set it at "realistic" level positions produces a REALLY quiet output, so much so I have to add about 30dB of level afterwards. Its probably somewhat accurate to SOME version of the VH4 but I'm not sure I have the patience to investigate as far with this one.
The biggest difference between this real amp, and ALL of the models is that the presence knob on this amp doesn't do a great deal. I'm a little curious to look inside to see if its been serviced at all, but its not my amp (yet at least). Regardless of the fact the presence knob doesn't seem to be doing a great deal here, I really do like the tone of the real amp better than these models. It's less bloated, more open, bigger sounding in the lows and highs and more intuitive to dial in. I don't have to push anything quite as far - most controls can like in that 4-6 range and it sounds like how I want a Diezel to sound. I notice on a lot of the models, the presence and treble can start getting quite strident around 1.5kHz, and thats usually what stops me pushing those controls more (even if I want it brighter). I think this particular behaviour is something that has been tweaked over different versions though, as some do it more than others.
I think the very early versions of the circuit would be way too dark for my taste, and I think as time has gone on changes have been made that brighten it up. I suspect the presence/NFB circuit has probably undergone a few changes too.
I know there are some schematics floating around of VH4's, but also that Peter keeps them quite guarded. I'm pretty sure he might be one of the only people who actually knows what ALL of the various changes are over the years.
I can make some example clips if there is enough interest for me to do so - for this kind of thing I'd need to decide on some kind of baseline settings though.
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