Diezel test tone suggestions?!

[Hamilton]

Sooo, I finally am getting the chance to try both a VH4 and Herbert tomorrow...the two amps I am choosing between. I'll have an hour in a studio room with each amp and a Diezel rear-loaded 4x12 with V30's. And I'm bringing my '74 Les Paul Special (w/ EMG's).

Anyhow, I've read up on these amps for months now, and I'm pretty sure I have a good grasp on how to use both. Also, I'd like to think I'm pretty good at dialing up tones on amps that are new for me.

That said, you guys are Diezel MANIACS, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask if anyone has any particular recommendations for settings they really find to be fabulous or unique on either of these amps. I'm interested in it all...sparkling clean, insanely distorted, and everything in between.

An hour is a decent amount of time to spend, but I know it will go quickly, so I'm trying to give myself a whiplash tour of everything each amp has to offer. Hopefully it will help me make my decision!

Thanks to any who can help!

 

[duesentrieb]

On either amp set all pots except the master(s) to noon and start from there. Peter designs/tweaks the amps with the pots @ noon, thats why . . .

On Herbert try the mid cut also with the clean channel

IMO all Diezels need a bit higher setting for the presence. Depending on their volume with mine the presence is between 60 and (low volume) 75%.

 

[guitarobert]

Great! I haven't played a Herbert so I can't speak for it, but here are some thoughts on the VH4.

Start with all Bass, Middle, Treble controls at 12:00 for all channels. It really sounds quite good at this setting. I like the Presence at around 1:00-2:00, and Deep at around 1:00.

Also, check what kind of power tubes are used (EL34s or 6L6s). If they are EL34s you may want to turn Deep up much higher. If they're 6L6s you may want to turn Deep down a bit. Take note for future reference whether they are EL34s or 6L6s, as I've found the amp to be very different depending on which are used.

For gains, I typically have them at around 12:00 for channel 1 and 2. For channel 3, it could be anywhere between 10:00 and 1:00, but usually around 11:00. For channel 4, I typically have it very low, around 8:00! The key thing is not to turn the gain too high on channel 3 and 4. Especially channel 4! It has a ton of gain.

I'm not sure what kind of music you're into, but here are some interesting things to listen for.

Channel 1: Try the neck pickup and listen to how bassy/shimmery it gets.
Channel 2: Try the bridge pickup and play some Skynyrd.
Channel 3: This channel gets very tight while staying huge. Try your fast low-note riffing here. Experiment with turning Middle up and see how the tone changes.
Channel 4: This channel is huge! Slower low-tuned metal riffs are good here, or shredding on the high strings.

Good luck!

 

[KillDivision]

Hi, I have a (EL34) VH4.

Like above, start with all eq at noon.

Just wanted to add that i don't use the "Deep" knob. I find the amp a lot tighter without, but i could be the crappy Marshall cabinets i'm plying with.

 

[Hamilton]

Thanks for the recommendations! Tried both amps this morning and had a great time. I really think the Herbert was much more up my alley, but they were both great amps.

Now just to decide a cab!