Diezel VH2: Talk Me In/Out

[Junk Yard Dog]

Long time modded Marshall guy (Splawn, Helios, Marshalls, and now Friedmans the last two years). Main gigging amp is a JJ100 and I love it, but starting to itch for something new.

Tones I like range from Black Crowes, GNR, Ratt (early and later) to AIC/Tool/Metallica. I'm usually boosting the BE channel of my JJ100 and adding some bass from my OD pedal.

I've played a few Diezels in the past: dMoll, Herberts. I dug them.

Been watching the clips on here and on the 'net. I mostly like the 'in room' clips I hear. Some of the mic'd or direct clips have some 'sizzle' to them I'm not enjoying.

I saw quite of few of the Vh2s come up for sale lately, but don't seem to have as much talk as other amps.

Also, what does 'hifi' mean when they describe Diezels? I don't understand what that is. Can someone explain? A lot of folks repeat it in posts, but never describe what 'hifi' means in this context.

Who's rockin' 'em or let 'em go and why.

Cheers!

 

[dirtyfunkg]

I've never played a VH2/4. I have a D-Moll and played an Einstein.

The hi-fi, to me, means that it sounds like it's already processed. It sounds like a recorded guitar with all of the EQ and compression already done. Note definition is pretty great but it's a compressed sound (at least compared to my other amps).

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

I've never played a VH2/4. I have a D-Moll and played an Einstein.

The hi-fi, to me, means that it sounds like it's already processed. It sounds like a recorded guitar with all of the EQ and compression already done. Note definition is pretty great but it's a compressed sound (at least compared to my other amps).

Gotcha. That sounds good to me actually. I know the VH2 is already a 'raw' amp, so... cool. Thanks.

 

[slyym]

Diesels are not hifi in anyway. At least not to me. Only amp that I would call hifi would be an H&K.

 

[maddnotez]

I've never played a VH2/4. I have a D-Moll and played an Einstein.

The hi-fi, to me, means that it sounds like it's already processed. It sounds like a recorded guitar with all of the EQ and compression already done. Note definition is pretty great but it's a compressed sound (at least compared to my other amps).

Gotcha. That sounds good to me actually. I know the VH2 is already a 'raw' amp, so... cool. Thanks.

IMO the Herbert, which you have played was very "hifi" sounding. If you dug that then you will probably be fine with any Diezel.

I say get the VH2, seems killer and is not as frivolous as the VH4.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

Well, I pulled the trigger. Its on the way early next week. I'll be playing it through a V30/CB75 combo or a Redback in 1x12. I've got a MF400, but I never bring that out and I can't play it in my apartment.

I'm pumped. This will be a departure for me.

 

[cardinal]

Congrats!

Definitely let us know what you think of it. I really do like the VH4 but apparently never enough to keep one around. Maybe the cheaper VH2 would stick.

 

[RedPlated]

I’ve had 3 VH4’s. I can never get along with them. They sound and feel like a Ross compressor pedal is out front and fully engaged. Just so much compression. I sold all of them quickly. Just not for me but that’s not to say others don’t love them.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

I’ve had 3 VH4’s. I can never get along with them. They sound and feel like a Ross compressor pedal is out front and fully engaged. Just so much compression. I sold all of them quickly. Just not for me but that’s not to say others don’t love them.

Yeah, it's been years since I played a VH4. I hear the VH2's are pretty raw. I'm not a big fan over overly compressed amps, myself, so we'll see. I like the Dmoll and Herbert and didn't find them too compressed, but that was a while back too.

Cheers!

 

[splatter]

I owned a VH2 for a while and sold it to a friend.I can't say anything bad about it except that peter used some cheap pre amp tube sockets and when you change the pre amp tubes be prepared to have to tighten the sockets. Also the foot switch cable is shit, Mine had a short in it in less than a month. If I had kept it I was going to put a jack in the foot switch so I could just use a guitar cable .Easy fix and definitely not a deal breaker
I sold mine cause I wanted to try a VH4. well now that I have the VH4 the only reason I'm not going back to the VH2 is because I like having at least 3 channels.
The VH2 is less middy than the 4.
Channel 3 of the VH4 is definitely in the VH2 and the VH2 has a better clean than the 4. I would suggest changing the KT77's to el34's though.
I really didn't like the amp till I changed to el34's but thats just personal taste.
Enjoy and congrats on the new amp

 

[cardinal]

Yeah my understanding is that the VH4 is optimized to run with EL34s but Peter ships them with KT77 just because those JJs are very durable.

Im curious how the VH2 is built. The VH4 is a beaut inside with all of the flying leads to the dozens of pots and jacks and power tube sockets. I wonder if the VH2 maintains that or if it's a buncha board-mounted components. Bummer to hear the sockets might be cheap.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

I owned a VH2 for a while and sold it to a friend.I can't say anything bad about it except that peter used some cheap pre amp tube sockets and when you change the pre amp tubes be prepared to have to tighten the sockets. Also the foot switch cable is shit, Mine had a short in it in less than a month. If I had kept it I was going to put a jack in the foot switch so I could just use a guitar cable .Easy fix and definitely not a deal breaker
I sold mine cause I wanted to try a VH4. well now that I have the VH4 the only reason I'm not going back to the VH2 is because I like having at least 3 channels.
The VH2 is less middy than the 4.
Channel 3 of the VH4 is definitely in the VH2 and the VH2 has a better clean than the 4. I would suggest changing the KT77's to el34's though.
I really didn't like the amp till I changed to el34's but thats just personal taste.
Enjoy and congrats on the new amp

Ehhhh... Let's see how I go with it. I do have a 30 day return. ...I wish more footswitches came untethered, like the Friedmans and others.

Thanks for the heads up on your experience. I'm sure I'll love it, just not sure if it'll be a keeper. I'm hoping. Cheers!

Yeah my understanding is that the VH4 is optimized to run with EL34s but Peter ships them with KT77 just because those JJs are very durable.

Im curious how the VH2 is built. The VH4 is a beaut inside with all of the flying leads to the dozens of pots and jacks and power tube sockets. I wonder if the VH2 maintains that or if it's a buncha board-mounted components. Bummer to hear the sockets might be cheap.

Yeah, I'm a bit surprised for the $$$ some things got out of QC or the inherent design of sockets may be flawed, but we'll see how we go!

 

[Vin Diezel]

I agree on the foot switch cable. I cut a few inches and then resoldered.
Solved.
The hypothesis that Peter used different or cheaper tube sockets for the VH2 than for his other amps is quite certainly untrue.
Peter uses the best stuff that is available to him. Do you really think it makes sense to save a few dollars on a particular item and then have people complain about it if you are such a small company known for its rigorous build quality?
That's not the Diezel way of doing things.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

I agree on the foot switch cable. I cut a few inches and then resoldered.
Solved.
The hypothesis that Peter used different or cheaper tube sockets for the VH2 than for his other amps is quite certainly untrue.
Peter uses the best stuff that is available to him. Do you really think it makes sense to save a few dollars on a particular item and then have people complain about it if you are such a small company known for its rigorous build quality?
That's not the Diezel way of doing things.

Hope so... Have you played the VH2? If so, thoughts?

 

[splatter]

I agree on the foot switch cable. I cut a few inches and then resoldered.
Solved.
The hypothesis that Peter used different or cheaper tube sockets for the VH2 than for his other amps is quite certainly untrue.
Peter uses the best stuff that is available to him. Do you really think it makes sense to save a few dollars on a particular item and then have people complain about it if you are such a small company known for its rigorous build quality?
That's not the Diezel way of doing things.

maybe they aren't cheaper sockets but I can say from experience that upon changing the pre tubes on 2 different amps the pre sockets developed opens . I returned the first head because of it . Then it happened on the second.
Once again its not a deal breaker it only takes a few seconds and very little know how to tighten them up.

 

[LCW]

I’d go Herbert 10x over a VH2.

 

[glassjaw7]

I’d definitely take a VH2/4 over a Herbert. Very different amps and it just depends on what voicing and feel you like. I could not get into the Herb either time I played them. I love the VH4 and judging from the clips, the 2 delivers that sound.
Congrats on the new amp!

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

I’d go Herbert 10x over a VH2.

As as dig the Herbert, it’s not me and a bit more than I need.

I’d definitely take a VH2/4 over a Herbert. Very different amps and it just depends on what voicing and feel you like. I could not get into the Herb either time I played them. I love the VH4 and judging from the clips, the 2 delivers that sound.
Congrats on the new amp!

Cheers, Man. I can’t wait to jam on it and see how it goes. This is my first “non-modded-Marshall” amp in ever. Always had some variant of it. But I hope it can cop some nice cutting raw grind.

 

[Speeddemon]

Diesels are not hifi in anyway. At least not to me. Only amp that I would call hifi would be an H&K.

While I agree that some H&K's have a hi-fi quality, it's in a different vein than what people are talking about when describing Diezels sounding hifi.

With H&K it has more to do with the EQ curve of the tone, while with Diezel it has more to do with the compression of the tone and the polished/processed sound that stems from it.

Being quite familiar with lots of Engl amps -that are also known for processed/compressed tones-, I tend to gravitate towards the Engls that have a more raw/vintage type of tone. That's why I love my lil' Savage 60 so much. And why I sold the SE EL34 and miss the kerrang from my Invader's channel 2.
I was very close to buying a Diezel Dmoll once, but I couldn't dial out that low-mids compression, that did make it sound like an already recorded guitar sound. I must say the clean channel of the Dmoll is in my top 5 though.

Anyway, make sure you make yourself familiar with the Diezel's signature tone, which will be stronger or weaker depending on the amp (I recon the Paul and Schmidt were more vintage/raw voiced) before you decide whether you like that.

 

[Vin Diezel]

I agree on the foot switch cable. I cut a few inches and then resoldered.
Solved.
The hypothesis that Peter used different or cheaper tube sockets for the VH2 than for his other amps is quite certainly untrue.
Peter uses the best stuff that is available to him. Do you really think it makes sense to save a few dollars on a particular item and then have people complain about it if you are such a small company known for its rigorous build quality?
That's not the Diezel way of doing things.

Hope so... Have you played the VH2? If so, thoughts?

I know the Fokker very well, which is the VH2 with a different OT.
Channel 1 is better than VH4's. Channel 2 is a bit fatter (more low mids) and less mid-rangey (think 1000Hz) than VH4's CH3.
Very nice amp.