Diezel Herbert vs SLO-100... sometimes it’s best not to meet your heroes.

[ChurchHill]

I haven't tried the JP2C, mostly because I've got the Mark III and Mark IV. I've been thinking about the IIC+ RI but haven't for the same reason.

I've got a Bogner and a Marshall SLP that have the transformer hum. With the Marshall, when I use it with a load box, I can actually hear the notes coming from the transformer. I've never had any problems with either and, as long as I keep the heads away from a mic, it doesn't bother me.

 

[belensky]

I haven't tried the JP2C, mostly because I've got the Mark III and Mark IV. I've been thinking about the IIC+ RI but haven't for the same reason.

I've got a Bogner and a Marshall SLP that have the transformer hum. With the Marshall, when I use it with a load box, I can actually hear the notes coming from the transformer. I've never had any problems with either and, as long as I keep the heads away from a mic, it doesn't bother me.

No, that load box noise is completely normal. Actually, if you had the cab in a separate completely silent room, you’d probably hear notes coming Fro the transformer just the same . Having the speakers in the same room just masks it.

What I mean by hum is that when you turn on the Herbert — even without playing anything, or even switching off standby — it has a lot of mechanical hum, like a huge nuclear power plant is running next to you. Well, nuclear plants don’t actually hum, but you get the idea.

 

[ChurchHill]

Yeah, I get the load box noise on most amps, but this one Marshall is really loud, much more so than any other.

Both the Marshall and the Bogner I mentioned hum from the transformers before flipping the standby switch. I can feel it when I touch the transformer's bell housing, which also dampens it a bit, but doesn't reduce it. It's definitely mechanical in nature and definitely coming from the power transformer just passing current through it as soon as I flip the power switch. I made sure that the bell housing and the transformer itself were attached tightly, but they are.

I think it's just a slightly loose winding and, as long as it doesn't wear through the insulation, it shouldn't be a problem. I think all transformers do this to a certain degree just because the current passing through the coils of wire creates a magnetic field that fluctuates at the same frequency as the alternating current power source. That causes anything magnetic within the magnetic field created by the current to vibrate at the same frequency unless there's something physically preventing it from moving.

 

[belensky]

Funny thing is, even though the Herbert is 180 watts, I barely warm up the Suhr Reactive Load if I run it at moderate volumes. I also tried plugging it into 2x Suhrs to really dime the Herbert, but I didn’t really like its power amp distortion. I mean, it’s not a Plexi lol.

 

[ChurchHill]

I rarely use an attenuator on my Herbert. The masters are really good, and it sounds consistent at any volume. With 180w, it's still got tons of headroom, even with a loud drummer, and it doesn't need the power amp to clip to sound its best.

 

[belensky]

Testing the SLO vs. Herbert more. Still not crazy about the overdrive channel on the SLO — it’s insanely saturated and has a bit of that Velcro-like fuzziness to the attack. On the initial attack, notes get squashed and then release themselves a millisecond later. Gain at 4-5 max. So the lead tone ends up sounding kind of small, which becomes very obvious if you play staccato parts with a lot of palm muting.


The Herbert, on the other hand, has punch for days — each note hits like somebody is banging hard on a door.

Nevertheless, the crunch channel is very nice. I seem to prefer staying on the crunch channel and either boosting it with a pedal or rolling down the volume knob instead of using the overdrive channel altogether.

Tried dialing the Herbert CH2- to match the SLO crunch channel, and honestly it can get very, very close. There are still a few nuances, though. The SLO is more saturated and a bit more chaotic, whereas the Diezel stays tighter and more controlled. Obviously the Diezel has a lot more low end, so I turned the deep control all the way down.

When picking hard, the SLO jumps out a bit more aggressively, which can make it feel like it has more gain. The Diezel is more controlled and has better definition for fast staccato riffs. I think they could probably be dialed even closer, but it really depends on what you’re playing and how hard you hit the strings. They also react differently to tolling volume down (Herbert stays a bit more chimney) and reacts differently to boost pedals (Herbert again gets a bit more overdriven and brighther)

 

[ChurchHill]

The SLO Crunch channel is really something. It's looser than Herbert, sounds like it's on the verge of self-destructing, but that can be fun. As you say, Herbert is more controlled and defined. I can definitely see a use for both, but it comes down to what works best for the music and the player in a given situation.

Great video, BTW! That really shows how versatile Herbert can be. I think both sound great here.

 

[belensky]

The SLO Crunch channel is really something. It's looser than Herbert, sounds like it's on the verge of self-destructing, but that can be fun. As you say, Herbert is more controlled and defined. I can definitely see a use for both, but it comes down to what works best for the music and the player in a given situation.

Great video, BTW! That really shows how versatile Herbert can be. I think both sound great here.

True, the Herbert is incredibly versatile. I just wish I had more amps on hand to really demonstrate how many different sounds it can cover, because it can do far more than most people expect. Honestly, I think a lot of the perception around the Diezel sound comes down to the cabinets and speakers people usually pair with them.

I remember owning a Fender ’57 Deluxe combo, and plugging the Diezel into that speaker actually got me surprisingly close to that kind of vibe. Sure, the Fender was still more dynamic and lively sounding, but it’s a lot more simple pure sounding circuit so it’s kinda expected. And despite being only 12 watts, it was barely usable at home because the volume taper was so extreme—it went from almost silent to way too loud almost instantly.

So yeah, the Herbert can definitely live in that SLO-style crunch territory, even though the two amps use completely different tubes. But I don’t think I could really go the other way around and recreate a proper Diezel sound with an SLO, especially at higher gain settings. Once pushed harder, the SLO starts moving into a completely different territory, with a gain character that becomes more fuzzy and saturated.