Diezel Lil Fokker Amp Questions

[MetalThrasher]

Amp gas has hit me recently! I was about to pull the trigger on the new 5153 EL 34 50 watt but after hearing some reviews gas for that amp went out the door. However, I now have gas for the Lil Fokker. I basically have 2 questions for the people who have owned/played one.

How heavy does channel one get with a boost? Can it get into 80's and 90's thrash metal territory?

Will this amp work with my Orange PPC412 cab?

 

[SavageRiffer]

You won't need a boost, but if you use one, it will love whatever you throw at it. Incredible amp. Damned shame they don't make it anymore. I'm not sure about this, but I think your Orange cab comes with V30's. It will sound incredible with those speakers. It has a deep low end so it will do well with those speakers if that's what your cab has. I'd personally probably go with slightly brighter speakers like CL80's or something, but that's just icing on the cake if you can swap later on. You can play any kind of style with it. The clean channel is so damned good man. You can go to a nice light crunch easily on the clean channel. The overdrive channel has a sweeping range, and I don't know that you'd ever have to turn the gain all the way up even for modern metal. It's a really, really incredible and unique amp.

 

[MetalThrasher]

My Orange does have V30's! So, channel one can get into thrash metal territory? I rarely play clean but if channel one can get into thrash metal territory with my cab that's half the battle! Does channel 2 handle 7 strings well tuned to A standard? If it helps I'm a Mesa Mark lover and I'm just looking for a different flavor per say.

 

[JerEvil]

Man I am also intrigued by the LF if I'm honest They seem to come up at fairly reasonable prices as well.

 

[SavageRiffer]

My Orange does have V30's! So, channel one can get into thrash metal territory? I rarely play clean but if channel one can get into thrash metal territory with my cab that's half the battle! Does channel 2 handle 7 strings well tuned to A standard? If it helps I'm a Mesa Mark lover and I'm just looking for a different flavor per say.

No, channel 1 goes from clean to crunch. It sounds immaculate. Channel 2 goes to brutal. The EQ goes a long way, so I'm sure if you play with it enough you'll find whatever genre you're looking for. It's simpler than other Diezels, but it's very versatile man. It has more punch than the Mesa Boogie and and overall bigger sound, in my opinion, but not as piercing as the Mesa Boogie. If you're one of those guys who like a piercing sound, then you'll get on the verge of it with the Fokker, but probably not anything like the Mesa. I'm going on memory here as it has been probably a year since I played a Fokker or a Mark V. Downtuning real low, I wouldn't know about that. I don't go past drop D or C. Someone else needs to chime in with that expertise.

 

[JerEvil]

My Orange does have V30's! So, channel one can get into thrash metal territory? I rarely play clean but if channel one can get into thrash metal territory with my cab that's half the battle! Does channel 2 handle 7 strings well tuned to A standard? If it helps I'm a Mesa Mark lover and I'm just looking for a different flavor per say.

No, channel 1 goes from clean to crunch. It sounds immaculate. Channel 2 goes to brutal. The EQ goes a long way, so I'm sure if you play with it enough you'll find whatever genre you're looking for. It's simpler than other Diezels, but it's very versatile man. It has more punch than the Mesa Boogie and and overall bigger sound, in my opinion, but not as piercing as the Mesa Boogie. If you're one of those guys who like a piercing sound, then you'll get on the verge of it with the Fokker, but probably not anything like the Mesa. I'm going on memory here as it has been probably a year since I played a Fokker or a Mark V. Downtuning real low, I wouldn't know about that. I don't go past drop D or C. Someone else needs to chime in with that expertise.

So for a guy like me who has a lot of Hot Rodded Marshall type amps, how different is this going to sound?

 

[SavageRiffer]

My Orange does have V30's! So, channel one can get into thrash metal territory? I rarely play clean but if channel one can get into thrash metal territory with my cab that's half the battle! Does channel 2 handle 7 strings well tuned to A standard? If it helps I'm a Mesa Mark lover and I'm just looking for a different flavor per say.

No, channel 1 goes from clean to crunch. It sounds immaculate. Channel 2 goes to brutal. The EQ goes a long way, so I'm sure if you play with it enough you'll find whatever genre you're looking for. It's simpler than other Diezels, but it's very versatile man. It has more punch than the Mesa Boogie and and overall bigger sound, in my opinion, but not as piercing as the Mesa Boogie. If you're one of those guys who like a piercing sound, then you'll get on the verge of it with the Fokker, but probably not anything like the Mesa. I'm going on memory here as it has been probably a year since I played a Fokker or a Mark V. Downtuning real low, I wouldn't know about that. I don't go past drop D or C. Someone else needs to chime in with that expertise.

So for a guy like me who has a lot of Hot Rodded Marshall type amps, how different is this going to sound?

Very different. It's a Diezel. Huge sound. A lot more low mids, not as piercing high mids like Marshall. Though it's not as inherently bright as a Marshall, it cuts through really well. Somehow it sits just right in whatever mix. It has a very punchy, thick feel to it. It's not a slick, greasy response like a Marshall, but it has a real nice punchy response that's quick. You can solo all day long and you'll love every minute of it.

 

[JerEvil]

My Orange does have V30's! So, channel one can get into thrash metal territory? I rarely play clean but if channel one can get into thrash metal territory with my cab that's half the battle! Does channel 2 handle 7 strings well tuned to A standard? If it helps I'm a Mesa Mark lover and I'm just looking for a different flavor per say.

No, channel 1 goes from clean to crunch. It sounds immaculate. Channel 2 goes to brutal. The EQ goes a long way, so I'm sure if you play with it enough you'll find whatever genre you're looking for. It's simpler than other Diezels, but it's very versatile man. It has more punch than the Mesa Boogie and and overall bigger sound, in my opinion, but not as piercing as the Mesa Boogie. If you're one of those guys who like a piercing sound, then you'll get on the verge of it with the Fokker, but probably not anything like the Mesa. I'm going on memory here as it has been probably a year since I played a Fokker or a Mark V. Downtuning real low, I wouldn't know about that. I don't go past drop D or C. Someone else needs to chime in with that expertise.

So for a guy like me who has a lot of Hot Rodded Marshall type amps, how different is this going to sound?

Very different. It's a Diezel. Huge sound. A lot more low mids, not as piercing high mids like Marshall. Though it's not as inherently bright as a Marshall, it cuts through really well. Somehow it sits just right in whatever mix. It has a very punchy, thick feel to it. It's not a slick, greasy response like a Marshall, but it has a real nice punchy response that's quick. You can solo all day long and you'll love every minute of it.

Nice!

 

[Ventura]

Very different. It's a Diezel. Huge sound.

Pretty much right there

 

[MetalHeadMike]

The Fokker is another one that I've been wanting to give a go. Dam it! Thought I had it narrowed down to 10-11 more amps I wanted to try.

 

[Mailman1971]

Very different. It's a Diezel. Huge sound.

Pretty much right there

Also owned the Fokker. This sums it up. It can do rock and metal easily.
Way more thick in tone over Marshall. I only sold mine since I had 3 Diezels at the time.
Definitely an Unsung Hero nobody really talks much of.

 

[K-Roll]

I tried a lil fokker with my orange PPC412 and HATED it. There was something about the low/bass sound that made it sound very tuby, almost as if the sub bass was too prominent.

We had to literally put the bass knob and resonance on 0-1ish while it still sounded weirdly hollow, piercing but flubby. We tried it then with a mediocre marshall with 4X12 V30s and it was sounding great. It somehow did not pair right for what I am doing. (playing both an ibanez 7 in standard B and a telecaster in drop B)

 

[SavageRiffer]

I tried a lil fokker with my orange PPC412 and HATED it. There was something about the low/bass sound that made it sound very tuby, almost as if the sub bass was too prominent.

We had to literally put the bass knob and resonance on 0-1ish while it still sounded weirdly hollow, piercing but flubby. We tried it then with a mediocre marshall with 4X12 V30s and it was sounding great. It somehow did not pair right for what I am doing. (playing both an ibanez 7 in standard B and a telecaster in drop B)

"Hollow, piercing but flubby" would never be words I'd use to describe the Lil Fokker. If there were 50 reviews on it, I doubt one would use those words. There MUST have been something wrong with the amp.

 

[Vin Diezel]

I've played and recorded with Fokker more than a year and it does not sound piercing or flubby. There is no need to set resonance to 0.
I would not call it a thrash metal amp. It has a soft mid voicing and sounds darker than other amps.
My 6505 is a lot more piercing and flubby.
6505 or Marshall JCM 800 sounds thrashier to me.

 

[SavageRiffer]

I've played and recorded with Fokker more than a year and it does not sound piercing or flubby. There is no need to set resonance to 0.
I would not call it a thrash metal amp. It has a soft mid voicing and sounds darker than other amps.
My 6505 is a lot more piercing and flubby.
6505 or Marshall JCM 800 sounds thrashier to me.

I'm not saying that your perception is wrong, and yeah I remember having to eat a couple of words in that discussion, just that I probably dial it in a lot different than most Diezel users. Depending on how loud it is and how much gain, bass at 12:00 is too much. Mine was never piercing, but it did seem a little dark in comparison to my Diezel Paul, so I'd turn up the treble and lower the presence a bit. Even though it's slightly on the darker side, it always sat just right in a mix. If I were to make it sound piercing, I'd have to scoop the mids, and turn up the treble and presence a lot. That's why I say something must be up with that one because that was not the perception I would have gotten. The flubby thing, we'll I've learned that it's rather subjective. On some amps my palm muting sounds great, but through other amps it sounds flubby. When I got into Diezel, I had to change my palm muting technique a bit to get the right sound. Now I don't even think about it anymore. Maybe it could be that the low end is just very unforgiving. Either way, I didn't mean to make it sound like you don't know what you're talking about. It was just a different experience for me.

 

[Mailman1971]

I have owned 10 different diezels thru the years.
On every single one of them I can set all dials at noon. And they sound terrific!!
That’s just my experience. Out of the box they are plug and play.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

In terms of modernish metal, how does the Fokker's gain channel compare to the Herbert's Ch 2? Others have said its more raw and not as compressed.

 

[MetalThrasher]

Come on guys' I'm not trying to start a pissing contest. I just want to know if channel one on the fokker can get into the trash zone with or without a boost. Like every amp it takes time to dial it in. I realize that channel two can get into that zone no problem but I'm more interested on how heavy channel one gets.

 

[Mailman1971]

Channel 1 seemed pretty clean to me. But never spent much time on it.
2 is pretty flexible.
I would say channel 1 gets about AC/DC.

 

[MetalThrasher]

Thanks Mailman! Maybe I should look into a KSR Ares.