Steinmetzify
Well-known member
I want to preface this by saying all of this is my opinion. I'm not trying to invalidate others' opinions or say if you own something I didn't like that you have bad taste....tone is preference and completely subjective and these are just my opinions on these amps with these guitars. For reference I own a few LPs, some custom built guitars, some cheapass guitars, I prefer BKPs to almost everything; I record daily with an AxeII and play with a group of friends on a weekly basis just to jam using a variety of amps including Oranges and Mesas.
Amps were played at low volumes and at 5 on the dial to get a feel for both. Guitars used were a PRS Custom 24, Fender Masterbuilt Strat, Gibson Explorer with an Invader in the bridge, an ESP Eclipse with EMGs and a 201? Gibson V, stock. So here it comes. :blah:
In no particular order:
VH4 > Orange PPC 4x12: I have to say...I was pretty fuckin disappointed in this amp. Cleans were good...nice and full, took all guitars and pickups well, really shined with that Strat and let the tones come thru. The Strat tones here in positions 1-4 were fantastic...even sounded good with the Fender bucker in the bridge.
Ch2 with the gain lower was really nice...serious blues tones for days. It loved the PRS here. It didn't like the humbuckers in the Gibsons that much and pretty much hated the EMGs.
Ch3 was the meanest most hurtful of all.
I've heard for years how good this thing was, and by the time we got to Ch3 I was already ready to give up....it wasn't good. It was a very dry, very uninspiring tone. Kind of bland, really. Got better the louder it got turned up, but at 5 shit was rattling on the walls, and there was no chance ever that I'd get it that loud, and it still didn't really sound like all that. Ch4 was worse.....sounded like a congested mess...Presence and Deep controls helped here, but not much. I honestly don't get the hype. This is not a $5,000 amp to me. Not even close.
The clean channel was the best part about it to me...I don't know how well it takes pedals, but the fact that it had the channel inserts for the loops was dope, and the channel masters were cool, but I couldn't see paying what this amp costs for what it does. Maybe if I'd had some bad experiences with other manufacturers and needed something built to milspec, then yeah, but I'm not that guy. Interestingly enough, I've never liked the VH4 in the AxeII, and figured it was a failing in the Axe; it's not and I just don't like the VH4. I think I would have liked it better with my guitars, which I prefer to anything I was using today, and if I could have boosted this amp and had a delay in the loop it would have been a lot better. This was my first experience with that amp, and I'd honestly like to give it a good 2-3 day workout just to make sure. 45 minutes isn't a lot of time to get a feel for something, but that's what I had and I used the time as best I could. I know a lot of you guys have been using this for years and love it, and went thru a lot of other amps to get to them. I'm just not there yet, don't know if I'll ever be.
I actually A/B'd this with a 5153 50 watter sitting next to it, and VASTLY preferred the 5153 for gain and almost preferred it for cleans as well....the VH4 had a slight edge, but not a $4,000 edge to my ears.
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on Flickr
NEXT!
Friedman HBE >Friedman 4x12: I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm not a Marshall guy. I like lower bassier mids than Marshalls typically provide, I don't really like the top end on em, and they're never saturated enough to cover up my myriad of mistakes. :facepalm:
But this thing? GODDAMN it's good. Doesn't have a ton of low mids, but they're there....saturated, nice sweet top end, nothing shrill here, thing roars like a motherfucker. Can switch between BE and HBE, and it's a noticeable difference. I could easily play metal on this thing for a few hours and not get bored. Loved the EMGs, loved the PRS and the Gibsons, even loved the Strat in the bridge position. Built in boost comes in handy, and the clean channel was fantastic, even better than the VH4 to my ears. Is it a $3700 amp? No. Would I rock one I picked up used for like $2k? Fuckin A. It's a beast for sure, and sounded badass with all the guitars we ran through it, couldn't make it sound bad, really. I see why you guys dig these.
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on Flickr
NEXT!
Friedman Smallbox > Friedman 2x12
I had high hopes for this after the HBE....was a bit of a let down. This is more of a classic rock amp to me, and I'm not a classic rock guy. I think you could get into metal territory with a boost or whatever, but didn't try it. Sounded gainier with the EMGs, the other guitars were pushing on it but didn't have the oomph in the pickups to make it happen. Classic rock guys would love this though.
Clean channel was a tad brighter and harsher than the HBE, but still usable. This might have been the fault of the cab as I was comparing it to the HBE into the 4x12, but not sure. Good usable amp, would not pay what they're asking for it though. I've had the DSL and it's close enough of a feel and tone that I wouldn't see any need to pay more for this amp. Classy looking thing though:
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on Flickr
NEXT!
Friedman Pink Taco >Friedman 1x12 ported:
This thing is gainy as fuck. I'm not joking....it destroyed the Smallbox for me....I really enjoyed this amp and it sounded fantastic thru the 1x12....maybe the best I've ever sounded thru a 1x12. Volume knob roll offs worked great, it LOVED the EMGs and got spanky with the singles in the Strat, the PRS sounded okay with it and the Invader thumped the crap out of it....didn't really love the V though, don't know why.
Is this a $2,000 rig? No. Used I would buy this just for funsies if I had the $ and wanted a Marshall type thing going on at home. It kinda fell apart loud so I don't know if it'd hold up to a really loud drummer, but for at home or recording this shit works.
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on Flickr
NEXT!
Tremoverb combo. It wins. Goes saturated madness to clean badass with all the guitars. I'm a Mesa guy thru and thru. Nuff said.
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on Flickr
NEXT!
The STANDOUT CONTESTANT....VHT Pittbull w/EQ.
This thing is a fuckin gainy monster....loud, tight, dry and articulate, capable of great anything tones with that EQ and even being able to get a ton of saturation. Loud as fuck but worth the hearing loss. I couldn't believe in a room with all these supposed great amps, this thing wrecked em all for me as far as inspiring tones that made me want to sit and riff. Buddy was busting out everything from AIC to fuckin Gojira and Pantera, and it sounded great doing them all. Cheapest amp that we messed with and made both of us say 'WHOA' out loud. None of the other amps impressed us as much as this one did; it's really got its own thing going on....doesn't sound like anything else, doesn't feel like anything else. BADASS amp. While I was writing this he texted me to say he went back and bought it.
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on Flickr
Interesting day for sure. Digging the Platinum room...they're keeping some good stuff in there and I'm glad I get the chance to go in there and jam it to see what's up.
Flame suit is on, gents. Have at me.
Amps were played at low volumes and at 5 on the dial to get a feel for both. Guitars used were a PRS Custom 24, Fender Masterbuilt Strat, Gibson Explorer with an Invader in the bridge, an ESP Eclipse with EMGs and a 201? Gibson V, stock. So here it comes. :blah:
In no particular order:
VH4 > Orange PPC 4x12: I have to say...I was pretty fuckin disappointed in this amp. Cleans were good...nice and full, took all guitars and pickups well, really shined with that Strat and let the tones come thru. The Strat tones here in positions 1-4 were fantastic...even sounded good with the Fender bucker in the bridge.
Ch2 with the gain lower was really nice...serious blues tones for days. It loved the PRS here. It didn't like the humbuckers in the Gibsons that much and pretty much hated the EMGs.
Ch3 was the meanest most hurtful of all.
I've heard for years how good this thing was, and by the time we got to Ch3 I was already ready to give up....it wasn't good. It was a very dry, very uninspiring tone. Kind of bland, really. Got better the louder it got turned up, but at 5 shit was rattling on the walls, and there was no chance ever that I'd get it that loud, and it still didn't really sound like all that. Ch4 was worse.....sounded like a congested mess...Presence and Deep controls helped here, but not much. I honestly don't get the hype. This is not a $5,000 amp to me. Not even close. The clean channel was the best part about it to me...I don't know how well it takes pedals, but the fact that it had the channel inserts for the loops was dope, and the channel masters were cool, but I couldn't see paying what this amp costs for what it does. Maybe if I'd had some bad experiences with other manufacturers and needed something built to milspec, then yeah, but I'm not that guy. Interestingly enough, I've never liked the VH4 in the AxeII, and figured it was a failing in the Axe; it's not and I just don't like the VH4. I think I would have liked it better with my guitars, which I prefer to anything I was using today, and if I could have boosted this amp and had a delay in the loop it would have been a lot better. This was my first experience with that amp, and I'd honestly like to give it a good 2-3 day workout just to make sure. 45 minutes isn't a lot of time to get a feel for something, but that's what I had and I used the time as best I could. I know a lot of you guys have been using this for years and love it, and went thru a lot of other amps to get to them. I'm just not there yet, don't know if I'll ever be.
I actually A/B'd this with a 5153 50 watter sitting next to it, and VASTLY preferred the 5153 for gain and almost preferred it for cleans as well....the VH4 had a slight edge, but not a $4,000 edge to my ears.
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on FlickrNEXT!
Friedman HBE >Friedman 4x12: I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm not a Marshall guy. I like lower bassier mids than Marshalls typically provide, I don't really like the top end on em, and they're never saturated enough to cover up my myriad of mistakes. :facepalm:
But this thing? GODDAMN it's good. Doesn't have a ton of low mids, but they're there....saturated, nice sweet top end, nothing shrill here, thing roars like a motherfucker. Can switch between BE and HBE, and it's a noticeable difference. I could easily play metal on this thing for a few hours and not get bored. Loved the EMGs, loved the PRS and the Gibsons, even loved the Strat in the bridge position. Built in boost comes in handy, and the clean channel was fantastic, even better than the VH4 to my ears. Is it a $3700 amp? No. Would I rock one I picked up used for like $2k? Fuckin A. It's a beast for sure, and sounded badass with all the guitars we ran through it, couldn't make it sound bad, really. I see why you guys dig these.
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on FlickrNEXT!
Friedman Smallbox > Friedman 2x12
I had high hopes for this after the HBE....was a bit of a let down. This is more of a classic rock amp to me, and I'm not a classic rock guy. I think you could get into metal territory with a boost or whatever, but didn't try it. Sounded gainier with the EMGs, the other guitars were pushing on it but didn't have the oomph in the pickups to make it happen. Classic rock guys would love this though.
Clean channel was a tad brighter and harsher than the HBE, but still usable. This might have been the fault of the cab as I was comparing it to the HBE into the 4x12, but not sure. Good usable amp, would not pay what they're asking for it though. I've had the DSL and it's close enough of a feel and tone that I wouldn't see any need to pay more for this amp. Classy looking thing though:
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on FlickrNEXT!
Friedman Pink Taco >Friedman 1x12 ported:
This thing is gainy as fuck. I'm not joking....it destroyed the Smallbox for me....I really enjoyed this amp and it sounded fantastic thru the 1x12....maybe the best I've ever sounded thru a 1x12. Volume knob roll offs worked great, it LOVED the EMGs and got spanky with the singles in the Strat, the PRS sounded okay with it and the Invader thumped the crap out of it....didn't really love the V though, don't know why.
Is this a $2,000 rig? No. Used I would buy this just for funsies if I had the $ and wanted a Marshall type thing going on at home. It kinda fell apart loud so I don't know if it'd hold up to a really loud drummer, but for at home or recording this shit works.
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on FlickrNEXT!
Tremoverb combo. It wins. Goes saturated madness to clean badass with all the guitars. I'm a Mesa guy thru and thru. Nuff said.
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on FlickrNEXT!
The STANDOUT CONTESTANT....VHT Pittbull w/EQ.
This thing is a fuckin gainy monster....loud, tight, dry and articulate, capable of great anything tones with that EQ and even being able to get a ton of saturation. Loud as fuck but worth the hearing loss. I couldn't believe in a room with all these supposed great amps, this thing wrecked em all for me as far as inspiring tones that made me want to sit and riff. Buddy was busting out everything from AIC to fuckin Gojira and Pantera, and it sounded great doing them all. Cheapest amp that we messed with and made both of us say 'WHOA' out loud. None of the other amps impressed us as much as this one did; it's really got its own thing going on....doesn't sound like anything else, doesn't feel like anything else. BADASS amp. While I was writing this he texted me to say he went back and bought it.
Untitled by Scott Steinmetz, on FlickrInteresting day for sure. Digging the Platinum room...they're keeping some good stuff in there and I'm glad I get the chance to go in there and jam it to see what's up.
Flame suit is on, gents. Have at me.
If you go, let me know what you think of the VH4.
