I’ve owned the Herbert and Hagen so that’s all I can compare to. It’s definitely different but still a Diezel. I think the “Diezel take on a modern Marshall” is a good description.
After all these years...still want an EinsteinNice! Always wanted a Diezel!
The Big Max is a killer amp. I've been low key looking for another one now that I am working again
The Big Max is a killer amp. I've been low key looking for another one now that I am working again
The best way to think of it is: "...if Peter Diezel made his version of a Marshall 2204." It's the most Marshall-y sounding Diezel I've played, but it does its own thing, too. It's far thicker, bigger, chunkier, gainier, and darker than a 2204. That said, the bright switch is a nice touch and can give you some of the "kerrang" back. There is a surprising amount of gain on tap (especially with higher output pickups), far more than a stock 2204 and at lower volume levels. Speaking of which, the master is excellent and this amp can easily be used at home. The real feature here, though, is how well this amp takes pedals, and I'm not talking about into the low-gain input. If you throw a Plumes or modded 808 into the high-gain channel, watch out. It gets very gainy and aggressive very quickly, especially if you turn the bright switch on and keep the amp's gain a little lower (adjust Presence and Depth to taste). Another fun thing to do is throw a fuzz in front of it for those Pumpkins tones.
It's just an all-around awesome amp that more should people should check out. In fact, Mike from Omega Ampworks told me that he thinks it's the best circuit Peter Diezel has made since the VH4.
You can check out the video below. It's one of my older videos so it's just an iPhone in a room with no post-production of any kind, but it's representative of the sound and the stuff I talk about is on point.
The Big Max is a killer amp. I've been low key looking for another one now that I am working again
The best way to think of it is: "...if Peter Diezel made his version of a Marshall 2204." It's the most Marshall-y sounding Diezel I've played, but it does its own thing, too. It's far thicker, bigger, chunkier, gainier, and darker than a 2204. That said, the bright switch is a nice touch and can give you some of the "kerrang" back. There is a surprising amount of gain on tap (especially with higher output pickups), far more than a stock 2204 and at lower volume levels. Speaking of which, the master is excellent and this amp can easily be used at home. The real feature here, though, is how well this amp takes pedals, and I'm not talking about into the low-gain input. If you throw a Plumes or modded 808 into the high-gain channel, watch out. It gets very gainy and aggressive very quickly, especially if you turn the bright switch on and keep the amp's gain a little lower (adjust Presence and Depth to taste). Another fun thing to do is throw a fuzz in front of it for those Pumpkins tones.
It's just an all-around awesome amp that more should people should check out. In fact, Mike from Omega Ampworks told me that he thinks it's the best circuit Peter Diezel has made since the VH4.
You can check out the video below. It's one of my older videos so it's just an iPhone in a room with no post-production of any kind, but it's representative of the sound and the stuff I talk about is on point.
Wow I'm a huge Diezel fan never seen one ? How does it sound compared to vh4, what tubes is Peter using in big max ?
Has more Marshall DNA than the VH4. Honestly sounds a lot like AJ’s tone because the Big Max is like a VH4 and a 2204 mixed together. My old one had KT77’s. Unsure what they’re using now.
I’ve never owned the VH4, only the Hagen and Herbert. I have the VH4 Synergy module as the only comparison.
Thank you sir for the information
Gotta be honest, I have revisited this thread and have been doing more research on the amp....could be a contender...
It's hard to beat the price on Diezel level build quality and tone in this instance. I'm more of a single channel guy anyway so it's been on my radar for awhile. I put all the Big Max listings I could find on Reverb on my watchlist, and got a few dealer direct offers. I ended getting this one for $2199 brand new.
With the market as slow as it is, this is a great tactic. I added a R7 to my watchlist the other day -- retail price $6899
-- and got a dealer direct offer for the same guitar for $5500. If I called the dealer and told them about the direct offer I had received from them on Reverb, I could probably get it for $5000 shipped to my door. Boom, just saved $2k over the retail.
Yeah man I loved the range of tones you were getting out of it. Then to just go into Def Leppard mode and have it sound like a really great 2204 sealed the deal for me. I plan on boosting the hell out of it to see how heavy it can get. It does have 4 preamp tubes vs the JCM800's 3 so I'm really curious about how nasty I can get it.With the market as slow as it is, this is a great tactic. I added a R7 to my watchlist the other day -- retail price $6899
There's a Big Max down at Pitbull Audio (local to me) that I might go check out next week. I know the manager of the store and I bet I could take it home for something like $2k out the door. Killer deal for such a great amp I wish I hadn't sold.
Hellz just wondering if you felt it was necessary to go through the Power Station for your demo, does it give up the goods at a certain volume better than with just the master alone (like a real JCM 800 I'm assuming)?With the market as slow as it is, this is a great tactic. I added a R7 to my watchlist the other day -- retail price $6899
There's a Big Max down at Pitbull Audio (local to me) that I might go check out next week. I know the manager of the store and I bet I could take it home for something like $2k out the door. Killer deal for such a great amp I wish I hadn't sold.
Nah, you don't need the PS. I used it upstairs in my living room for months with a Suhr 2x12. Sounded great.
I don't have a Big Max and my JCM is modded now 
