Diezel VH4 should I?

[vince3808]

I've been wanting to try a VH4 for about 6 yrs. I live in a spot where I can't try one out so I've always been struggling with the money spent and lost to try it out. I have a Friedman BE 100 which I found at a small local shop. Unreal. Love it. And I don't GAS too bad or trade a bunch.

Anyone here played VH 4 and BE 100 side by side? Should I spring for a used one to satisfy my urge or will I not be too blown away next to BE. I figure with used at least I'm only risking 500 to 700 not 3000 if I bought new and preferred BE.

 

[vince3808]

The small print chorus by muse and the adam Jones tunes which are obviously diezel coloured are my favorite tones of all time. That's why I cant let it go haha

 

[spanny]

Rule of thumb, if you ever find yourself asking whether or not to buy a VH4, the answer is yes. Hands down best high gain amp ive ever played/owned.

 

[Tone Monster]

Yes

 

[maddnotez]

Probably yes

 

[Racerxrated]

Thing is, they're both different enough to have both..Friedman is in the Marshall camp and Diezel..well it has its own camp. If you can afford it you will have 2 of the best amps out there IMO...go for it.

 

[FourT6and2]

I had a VH4 for a long time (as well as an Einstein). Great amp. That said, I do prefer my Peters. And Muse and Tool are two of my fav bands/tones. But you won't be able to try a Peters in person either. So that doesn't really help ya hahah.

 

[cardinal]

I've owned a few VH4s and played a Friedman.

Pretty different amps. IMHO, a Marshall JCM 800 and an overdrive pedal can do the Friedman thing, but nothing else can really approximate the Diezel thing. Whether you like the Diezel thing is another story. Nothing I've played sounds or feels like a VH4, and it's different enough that I think it's not for everyone. Very "stiff feeling." Almost like it's pushing back on you as you play.

 

[Mailman1971]

Yes! For me the best amp made today. I know you head "the swiss army knife of amps before?"
Well this is it.

 

[SBlue]

I have a BE/HBE and a VH-4.
The Friedman does the odl school and modern marshall tones in spades, and the master volume is good enough so it will sound great even at volume 1.
The VH-4 is the king of modern tone. It won't do an old school Marshall tone. But nothing else I've heard would do the VH-4 sound. Great clean, great crunch, great drive and great high gain. But it is the VH-4 signature tone. Also, the one I've got(2003) is loud as hell, and the channel 3 and 4 won't sound good with the master and the channel volume below 9:00. And it's far from a practicing or home/apt amp at this volume.
My advice? Save a lot of money and have both. You won't regret.

 

[cardinal]

^ there have been some revisions to the VH4 circuit. In my experience, I've played a few made in 2007 or later, and they sounded wonderful at any volume. I had one built in the '90s, and it did want to be loud. It was less compressed and less gainy, so kinda struggled at low volumes IMHO. But damn once it had some volume going, it sounded absolutely vicious. The experience made me think that this must me like playing guitar through the engine of a top fuel drag racer. Thumping, snorting, snarling badassness. The new amps were somehow tame in comparison.

 

[vince3808]

Well that's it. I'm gonna have to do it.

 

[RJF]

I'd dump the best Friedman for the worst Diezel in a second.

 

[Mailman1971]

I'd dump the best Friedman for the worst Diezel in a second.

 

[vince3808]

RJF your pic on the left suggests a slight bias haha. Listen to jerry Cantrell play hollow. Friedman is no slouch. But as hard as I try I can't Eq the marshall out of it and that is what keeps me wondering on the diezel.

 

[GtarLover]

I agree with what's been said.
2 different amps, apples and oranges.
Diezel is in a class by itself. ALL Diezels have that Diezel tone, and the VH4 is the one you hear. If you want examples of Diezel tone it's Tool for VH4, Alterbridge for Herbert (mixed with Bogner in this case).

I wouldn't mind owning a Friedman and will someday, yet I will ALWAYS own my Diezels.

 

[chunktone]

If you can swing getting a VH4, go for it! You'll be glad you did. There are many options out there that do what the Friedman amps do, but nothing sounds like a Diezel.

 

[vince3808]

The vh4 serial number is 040 4A6, anyone know what year that would be?

 

[~Abstract~]

The vh4 serial number is 040 4A6, anyone know what year that would be?

No letters in Diezel serials AFAIK.

The "A" is likely a 1

 

[PBGas]

Many moons ago, I made the mistake of not buying a VH-4.

I got an Einstein. Didn't like it that much.
Then I got the Herbert....it was nice but too but it got lost playing live.

If I had started with the VH-4, I probably would have kept it. I tried one fairly recently and it was great!