My 2 cents on the Schmidt and a possibly upcoming amp

After hearing that the Schmidt only sold 187 times and there might be another low-wattage amp coming, I hope I can say this safely:

The concept of the Schmidt was flawed. No matter how good the tone is, most people interested in a small, low-wattage, bluesy, old-school, Class-A amp will not want a lot of controls and features on their amp. Having three gain/volumes and two bass/mid/treb controls is too much for them. Give them a gain and a tone control, two inputs and don't try to make this practical with channel switching and effect loops. Keep it impractical. They'll love it and say how much better the tone is without having to go through all those controls.. If you make it PTP, they'll go crazy!

I just want to give some input on this maybe upcoming amp and I'm curious what the rest here has to say

Great video!!

Rezamatix":7wufcjbz said:

Nah. schmidt is perfect as it was made.

Click to expand...

I am wondering, what would YOU say is the reason it simply did not sell?

For me, there is some unpleasant harsh-glassy character in the tone that I never liked and it is very prominent in every Schmidt demo, I hear it in yours as well... just not my cup of tea but that's personal preference.

Is the target group "blues players" too stuck on the usual-suspects?

Rezamatix":3flz3d1e said:

Play one in person and let me know how you feel.

Click to expand...

I did, several times over the last couple of years. I am not too far from the source! I somehow liked it better through the Diezel hempcones and less through a V30 cab but where e.g. a Vox is "glassy", the Schmidt always left me feeling "meh" and bothered by those eerie high frequencies and too thin or "tinny" "shimmer"... like I said, personal preference so keep rocking yours irregardless, bro! But being class-A and all, it definitely had a great playing feel and of course the Diezel quality to it!

At the same time I am wondering why it did not sell that well, there are enough Blues and Jazz cats here in Germany too and quite a few tiny builders can survive on nothing but catering to them. ~187 sold seems like a shame.

Rezamatix":3flz3d1e said:

I don't know if Class A low wattage amps have big sales numbers for anyone.

Click to expand...

The hugely popular (sort-of-)class-a usual-suspects aside (AC15, AC30, small 7enders) Matchless, Bad Cat, Dr Z and a whole bunch of other builders offer class a amps and many of the smaller practice amps are class a. The way I understand it, they are harder to do right (run hot, less efficient) which is probably why you will also find some obscure voodoo-following for some brands like alessandro.
In terms of sales numbers it is an interesting question, I imagine it would be divided mainly between small practice-style amps with lots of class a and the big guns which are typically a/b - so the Schmidt might just face tough competition at that price point from both the usual suspects and obscure voodoo boutique brands with religious following. Most people probably would think "vox" or "matchless, bad cat" when looking for a class a beast.

And for some reason Diezel mainly has the "great metal amps" association in lots of people's minds, when they are actually all so much more!

Enough ranting for tonight!

Hopefully not to offend anyone, but it didn't sell well because it says Diezel on the front and not Two Rock or whatever. I suspect people associate Diezel primarily with the VH4 and Herbert, both of which are very versatile but are legendary for being bad ass high gain amps. The Schmidt was for a different crowd, so typical Diezel fans passed it over and the target audience looked over it too assuming (incorrectly) that Diezel's are only good for high gain, metallic tones.

Not to say Diezel or anyone else shouldn't offer a diverse line up, but people have the prejudices and bias. Two Rock could release a metal monster, but I doubt many would give it much thought because regular Two Rock guys wouldn't want it and metal heads wouldn't bother. It works in reverse too.

I disagree with the OP.

As one of those 187 Schmidt owners, I can say that I almost overlooked it... simply because it said Diezel on it.
I have a very strong feeling many others have done the very same thing. While Diezels are amazing amps, they have a reputation. The post above me nailed it. Most people looking for a Diezel amp want MASSIVE GAIN and probably wouldn't give it a chance.

I can honestly say that if the shop I bought mine from actually had the Matchless or BadCat amps I went in looking for, I would've easily passed it over. I'm glad I didn't miss out.

LoL my 2 cents.I'm playd and grew up in San Francisco in the 60's.I've played at various levels from clubs to arena's.I bought my first hot rodded fender from randall before boggie excisted.Played numerous shows with Y&t who incidently visited pappa at factory.Bought my first boogie when he was still making them out of his house.With all that crap said.I know live in bum truck alaska and I don't have any way to test any of the great amps available these days live.That being said ,I must agree with the statemaent about said amp on video.I currently own a 100 Wtt Einy.I guess what I'm tryn to say is I was raised on spinal Tap logic.I don't care for amps with too many controls.In my prime ,people you to often comment that some nights I had great sound and others it was out of sync.Just my opion,I want an amp with a quality build,Monster gain available,i.e.harmonics.Any amp of decent quality these days gets a good clean.Seems to me players now rely on gizmos and crap for a tone.It's often been said you put any known superstar on any rig and it will essentialy sound like them.L love to plug str in and rip,no sustain devices added.Diezel is the only amp I've played in 40 _ years of playing that rocks my world.My only regret is Pappa wasn't producing these dream machines in the day.LoL Peace Out from an old Rocker .P.S. Thx pappa for making the shit.

Thank you so much for the comments, guys.

I´m playing around with a 22 watt / 2 channel amp.
Digital spring reverb simulation which sounds very
close to a Accutronics reverb can.
No midi but it´s easy to use external switchers or
switching jacks from effect units.
Silent recording and half power switch for the home
and studio users. Recording out with or without IR´s .
Combo version should have no more than 12 kg.

Big problem is the design and the Diezel logo.
Any suggestions ? How to get the young and
old customers ?

Peter it sounds already great!!

I think that something similar to the look of the D Moll but with the control panel in black and the D's on the panel in dark grey would be it. With the letters "Diezel" sized in the same proportion as in the D Moll (in a whitish color with a finish a bit less shinny, think the white finish from the Audi S6). I would buy

Peter Diezel":2wc0e8oy said:

Big problem is the design and the Diezel logo.
Any suggestions ? How to get the young and
old customers ?

Click to expand...

I always planned to get a Schmitt and I love the blackface ones like this:



In fact I'm going to the Great British guitar show for the express purpose of trying one out

Lets be honest the styling of the blackface ones does not look that much different to a two rock like this:



So clearly it's the usability, lack of compromise and feature that's putting them off

Oh well Papa - you make the finest sounding rock and metal amps, bar none, we all have our crosses to bear that it would seem is yours!

Peter, why is the logo the problem?
Your logo is a trademark and burned into the brains of guitar players. Changing the logo would be the wrong way. I see no problem at all.
I would rather experiment with the size and the place of the logo.

About the design...it would be so lovely to have a little Diezel amp with a little Diezel metal grill. That would be cute. Or it can only be one row of D's. Just enough to see the tubes inside.
What would be awesome is the look of a vh4 in small. And blue LEDs.

Peter Diezel":35qxcot6 said:

Big problem is the design and the Diezel logo.
Any suggestions ? How to get the young and
old customers ?

Click to expand...

I'd use a sub-trademark, but I told you that already.
Why not use "Stapfer" ?


Of course no metal grille IMO.
IMO Stapfer had the right direction with the very early designs of Schmidt with the mixed tolex IMO.
Different.
Think different.

and a teaser

Killer looking:

http://newvintageamps.com/wp-content/up ... banner.jpg

Bato":23x8n5ne said:

Peter, why is the logo the problem? Your logo is a trademark and burned into the brains of guitar players.

Click to expand...

You answered your own question. The logo and Diezel trademark is burned into guitar players - along with it comes the sort-of stigma of being über-trve ultra-hardcore metal amps - AND NOTHING ELSE. WE all know they can do so much more but I am pretty sure the majority of international customers are simply not aware of that and most shops don't praise them for that either and place them as high gain monsters instead. That sells them. Or at the very least they are legendary for the gain. (I am talking public average-guitar-joe opinion here, folks. Not facts. This is all about public perception and image!)
I am pretty sure anyone who heard of Diezel associates fantastic quality and great brand image with it; at the same time they are in the "metal" corner. Look at the typical A-list famous folks known for playing one, the ones mentioned in most videos and on most websites. You hear about Korn, Hetfield, Smashing Pumpkins, alter bridge....


On the other end of that are, I am assuming here folks, are players looking for sweet, versatile clean and overdrive to medium gain amps. What's floating around their heads is probably vox, matchless, bad cat, lots of 7ender and at the diezel price point they might be dreaming of a tworock, fuchs, /13 and others like that instead.

See the problem? Before they even TRY a Schmidt or NewSchmidt they don't even consider the possibility because "all Diezels are great quality gain monsters" so they automatically look elsewhere.

I do think the main challenge for the NewSchmidt is rather a marketing / image campaign thing than a purely technical task. Papa makes great frakking amps, WE all know that! But the NewSchmidt could probably benefit from better placement and that means NOT getting caught and stuck in the "metal amp" corner when people see the NewSchmidt.

What about sort-of something like this?
Instead of the full "Diezel" logo, just go for a "D" or something like that and make it look a touch "NOS" but classy and also a bit timeless. Make that "D" (or whatever) less pointy, less "metal" looking.

The "Z" logo is even worse than the original Diezel logo

But I think the idea of just using a D or DS logo is worth a second thought for sure
(have a look at the old Citroen DS - haha:


de gustibus non est disputandum of course . . .

Oh man...that's complicated.
Marshall did a logo change but the sound was the same.
But who knows. It is very funny how important the optics are in an audio business.

Marshall did their small 50 anni amps and sold them all. They look like the big ones. This was the best marketing step IMHO.

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind.

Düsi: Those were just examples, imagine a "D" where the Z is, of course!
(I saw a fully renovated DS in BKK once, so classy and gorgeous!)

Bato: It is probably partly the looks and partly the perceived brand "identity"; e.g. DrZ gets away with a pointy Z, their overall image is a different one.

Peter Diezel":2qbfatnv said:

Big problem is the design and the Diezel logo.
Any suggestions ? How to get the young and
old customers ?

Click to expand...

Design: I like natural wood grain instead of tolex.

Logo: why not your script (signature) last name? It's still a Diezel, just something new.

Killer demo, class A definitely has it's own flavor