My first Diezel - NEED INFO !

obZen

obZen

New member
Hello everyone,
I'm a newb here so please go easy on me.
And sorry for the bad english, if it occurs.

I'm thinking of buying my first Diezel amp (and my first tube amp head for that matter), and I'm leaning towards the Lil Fokker.
The main reason for that choice I suppose would be the fact that I like simplicity and the straight forward approach to things and also the fact that the price is affordable for me.
I know that the Lil Fokker is an amp on it's own, but I would like to know how does it compare to the D Moll (cause they are roughly in the same price range), and how does it compare to other amps like the Marshall JVM410 or the Engl Powerball?
I don't have the opportunity to try it out because I live in a shit town in an even shittier country, and there are not much reviews of the Lil Fokker out there, so I'm trying to gather all the information that I can.
Just for the record, I like all sorts of music, from 70's prog rock to old school death metal, but I'm mostly playing prog-hard-rock-prog-metal (Mastodon, Tool kind of stuff), so I would also like to know is the Fokker a good choice regarding that musical style (I'm not trying to dial in or copy Adam Jones or James Hetfield tone with one amp, I'm fully aware of that). My main axe is an ESP Eclipse II with Seymour Duncan SH-1n ('59) & SH-4 (JB).

Thanks to everyone in advance,
have a good one.
 
Diezels are built to a higher quality than Marshall or Engl. That's easy.

The DMoll will be more versatile.
3 channels.
Mid Cut (which is pretty damn awesome)
2 loops. Serial and Parallel.
MIDI functionality.

The Fokker is simple and great.
2 channels.
1 loop.
2 master volumes...great for solos.
Comes with a footswitch...no midi.

The Cleans go from crystal clear to mild breakup a bit heavier than AC/DC.
The Dirty side is more modern and does everything you expect from the heavy channels on a Diezel.

I've owned VH4/VH4S/Herbert/Fokker. The Fokker had the best cleans. And IMO felt like the VH4 in the high gains.

If I were looking at these amps...I would consider where I would be using them.

If I was playing in a band...I'd pick the Fokker, no question. It's simple, it does what it should, and sounds amazing.

If I was recording or rocking Madison Square Bedroom...I'd grab the DMoll. There are WAY more tonal options and by all accounts they're wonderful tones.


They're both the correct choice. You can't go wrong.
 
/\ That's an awesome answer. Totally not helpful but can I just say to the OP - excellent account name :thumbsup:

There is no bad choice here. You will LOVE a Diezel. Best money I've ever spent on gear.
 
Thank you Abstract for your reply, that was helpful. I know that words can't quite suffice for the feel and the tone, you always have to try out an amp to get an idea of what's it about.

I know this is a Diezel forum, so not many people here, if any, would say anything bad about their amps, but it would be nice to know if there are any cons to the Lil Fokker, besides the lack of features (I dont consider that a downside), tone wise in compare to other manufacturers. I know that's also a matter of taste, so this is a hard subject to discuss objectively.

I think I'm gonna go for the Fokker.

Also, building my own 4x12 cabinet for it, I can post pictures when it's done, if anyone's interested. :)

tarices22":1k8kh43r said:
/\ excellent account name :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Thanks :D
 
Lil Fokker is the on-ramp to the VH4. You could always trade up if you decide you need ch2 and ch4 from the VH4 and more flexible routing, switching, etc. VH4's are much easier to find new and used and you won't have a problem off-loading the lil Fokker if you need to.

Let us know how that cab works out for you! Any particular design or specs that you're using for inspiration?
 
Besides the features, the main differences between the 2 amps are:

Clean channel: bell-like cleans with tons of headroom on the D-Moll, beautiful, whereas the Fokker's clean channel would get overdriven earlier. Really nice if you're after slightly grittier cleans. I believe that's based on people's request.

Dirty channel: D-Moll sounds bigger and fatter, somewhat overwhelming, if compared to the Fokker, which is rather in your face and focused. It's also more articulate and tighter in the low register than the D-Moll.

If I were to choose based on your musical preferences, I'd go with the Fokker.

Marshalls and Engls can't compete with Diezels. Diezels are just superior in every aspect. If you can get close to any of the two soundwise with any Diezel amp, you can't come any close to a Diezel with any of them. Diezels sound like guitar foundations in any mix or band situation. It's that simple.

Re cabs, do yourself a faviour and save some money for a proper one, I mean a Diezel. Seriously, if you're planning on buying a Diezel amp you should get it the best cab too. I have spent time to compare and other makers' cabs just don't sound right even when tested with different amps it's always the Diezel ones that win. Regardless of the genre. Fuller, more detailed, richer in frequences, which I believe is due to the resonance created inside them.

I hope this would help.

Cheers,
Stani
 
Thank you guys on your responses and input, now I'm positively sure on getting the Fokker :D

And as for the cabinet, I'm using 3/4" thick birch plywood, same dimensions as the Diezel one, it's gonna be tight, well sealed and robust, and gonna front-load it with 4x12" Celestion Vintage 30's. I think it's gonna work out just fine :D
Also, I'm going to try out the Fokker on other cabs, just to see if mine handles well.

Cheers !
 
Stani is right. The first Fokker had a bit more gain
on channel one but there were complaints to get it
clean. So I reduced about 20%. Already enough
for good crunch.

The loop schematic is a bit different because there
is only a serial loop. So there are 5 preamp tubes
because we don´t need the parallel return driver.
Of course the loop is tube buffered.

Cheers,
Peter
 
Peter Diezel":1uyfy49l said:
So I reduced about 20%.r
Click to expand...

Hello mr. Diezel!

I ordered the Lil Fokker from Thomann website and it seems to be the last one in their stock.
Can you tell me is that the one with more or less gain in the first channel?

Also, AMAZING support from you and thank you!

Cheers,
Ivan.
 
I would have gone Dmoll. Far more versaltile and all the bells and whistles. Enjoy your new amp! Still having a blast with my hagen!
 
obZen":2e94shak said:
Peter Diezel":2e94shak said:
So I reduced about 20%.r
Click to expand...

Hello mr. Diezel!

I ordered the Lil Fokker from Thomann website and it seems to be the last one in their stock.
Can you tell me is that the one with more or less gain in the first channel?

Also, AMAZING support from you and thank you!

Cheers,
Ivan.
Click to expand...

Should be a new one.
If you need more gain, we can do it with the solder pen.
Maybe not necessarry.

Cheers,
Peter
 
Hallo Peter, hello everyone (I'm new here) is the 2nd channel closer to Hagen or VH4? How many gain stage it uses?
 
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