Lickliter Custom 100 Diezel Herbert Engl Fireball 100 Demo

[maddnotez]

I know there's some more opinions on this out there! Let's hear some more!


-Alex

Well I think the custom 100 is pretty bad ass from that clip.

Overall 8/10

Quality looks great as well I think its one of the better looking amps I have seen.

I think comparing it to the Engl was a good choice. But i really liked how the Cutsom 100 has its own flavor, different distortion type than most high gainers, imagine it would be pretty beefy too.

I like it especially for just coming out or whatever.

 

[angelspade]

HERBERT

 

[glassjaw7]

I liked the Engl the best. Herbert sounds good and tight and punchy, but a bit sterile and dare i say lifeless. To me, herberts always sound this way in clips, almost like a solid state amp (a really good one at that). Id love to play one and see how it sounds in person since I love the VH4.

The Liter sounds cool but a little messy and overly gritty. I suppose that could be desirable for certain styles.
Thanks for the clips.

 

[Jordon]

Hard to tell, really. Everything sounds like it has way too much gain and it sounds like they're too loud and compressing the signal going to the mic.

 

[jcj]

I liked the Engl the best. Herbert sounds good and tight and punchy, but a bit sterile and dare i say lifeless. To me, herberts always sound this way in clips, almost like a solid state amp (a really good one at that). Id love to play one and see how it sounds in person since I love the VH4.

The Liter sounds cool but a little messy and overly gritty. I suppose that could be desirable for certain styles.
Thanks for the clips.

Yeah...I'm pretty much on board with this....the Engl sounded much tighter, the Herbert was more of a full sound, and the Lickliter sounded a bit muddy and grainy....fwiw....in person, I VASTLY prefer the Herbert to the E670 I had...couldn't get rid of that (670) thing fast enough....in this application.....the Engl wins, for me....just my personal thoughts....

 

[rottingcorpse]

i can honestly say i liked them all. i can also honestly say i would have already bought a lickliter amp if it was not so expensive. it is hard to clough ober 3k for an amp from an unknown builder than it is to get one from diezel, engl or even cameron and such. i contacted him a while back when a real bro from another forum sent me his way. lickliter really seems to know what he is doing, and makes a great amp that sounds awesome in every clip i hear.. the price point for me was a little too steep.

 

[LickliterAmps]

Thanks for the feedback! I think over time the price has settled down a little. This Lickliter Custom 100 was originally introduced @ $2500.00 which is a great price for an amp with this much versatility. 2 independent channels with solo boost and passive effects loop. This is the economy model. Since this model was created I have gone back and updated all of my designs as this one is the tightest and most articulate yet. I have recently incorporated frequency shelving in my mods and they are shaping up to be some very nice pieces as well. Thanks for all the input! Stay tuned for more clips as time progresses.

 

[angelspade]

I liked the Engl the best. Herbert sounds good and tight and punchy, but a bit sterile and dare i say lifeless. To me, herberts always sound this way in clips, almost like a solid state amp (a really good one at that). Id love to play one and see how it sounds in person since I love the VH4.

The Liter sounds cool but a little messy and overly gritty. I suppose that could be desirable for certain styles.
Thanks for the clips.

I have heard others describe the Herbert with similar comments. The Herbert has a very "produced" sound...Almost like all the often required studio magic that occurs in post is already in the amp. I own a Diezel Herbert and love it, but I do understand the comments as it is not the most "organic" sounding amplifier around. I also own a VH4, and it feel and sounds a little grittier, edgier and natural sounding than the Herbert. Some guys that have owned/tried the Herbert seem feel like its general character is almost too "perfect" sounding, it's tone amazingly balanced and polished. All of that being said, I would never describe it as sterile or lifeless. And believe me, if there was a solid state that could get close to it...I would buy one in a second. Ironically, the comments that you made actually (for me) seem most appropriate for the ENGL high-gainers that I have owned. The Powerball and SE are the most "solid-state" sounding tube amps I have played. Moral of the story: It's a matter of taste. Just my opinion.

 

[Zabra Hexx]

Old news: Herbert still sounds the best.

Sorry, but the Licker amps sound mushy with poor note definition. The Herbert is tight and clear.

+1

 

[bananaladonpcp]

I have heard others describe the Herbert with similar comments. The Herbert has a very "produced" sound...Almost like all the often required studio magic that occurs in post is already in the amp. I own a Diezel Herbert and love it, but I do understand the comments as it is not the most "organic" sounding amplifier around.

That is exactly how I describe the amp tone on my Herbert. Very finished and produced sounding. The Lickliters have a raw but refined sound to them. It's a pretty different voicing then the Herbert but they have a super open feel and sound to them.

 

[Anonymous]

of course everyones going to pick the herbert or engl over the lickliter.. those are WELL known great amps, i would bet the car that his amp comes really damn close to both in person.. give the dude a break, the ones giving bad reviews prob cant build a birdhouse let alone a fucking amp!!!! sounds good bro and keep up the good work.. I would trade my wife in to be able to build a amps!!!!

 

[LickliterAmps]

Thanks for the positive reinforcement!

 

[Audioholic]

I thought the herbert was my favorite, followed very closely by the lickliter, then didn't really care for the engl. But overall needs less gain on all these clips... nice amp though.

 

[CECamps]

I like them all in their own way.

-I like the Lickliter for it's raw aggressiveness. I really dig angry sounding gain tones.

-I like the balanced distortion character of the ENGL, even if it isn't my personal preference for a distorted tone.

-I like the massiveness of the Diezel.

Great thing about amps is it's totally cool if they are different. Each is a tool that serves its own purpose.

 

[snowdog]

I would be interested to see how this might have went if it was a blind testing.

 

[LickliterAmps]

Actually sounds like a good idea. Whats behind curtain #1 and then Curtain #2 and so on. Need 6 or better amps to make this happen.

 

[rottingcorpse]

Great thing about amps is it's totally cool if they are different. Each is a tool that serves its own purpose.

AMEN, BROTHER!! PREACH IT!!

that's why my amp collection is quickly outgrowing my guitar collection. so many great tones out there.

when my bro first pointed me toward lickliter (god, that was right after feb of last year), i heard the clips and knew i wanted one. same with the cec and rhodes. the only thing that really stops me is all the insane deals that are available out there right now. everyone is selling something cool used at an outrageously cheap price. it is a buyers market. the choices are insane.

in the last few months i picked up 2 pittbull ultra leads. one for 1600, and one for 1200. a herbert for 2400.

so it's hard for me to consider and more boutique amp (read, less known) for anywhere more that 1600. too much stuff available right now. i want a lickliter, and a cec, and a rhodes so badly, but not with everything else thats available.

you guys wanna get your amps out there to people who will drag them around for others to try them out? consider selling a couple to humps like me at a reduced price. i have bros coming over all the time to blow out amps at my house. hell, we are having another ampfest at my place on the 21st.

 

[CECamps]

AMEN, BROTHER!! PREACH IT!!

that's why my amp collection is quickly outgrowing my guitar collection. so many great tones out there.

when my bro first pointed me toward lickliter (god, that was right after feb of last year), i heard the clips and knew i wanted one. same with the cec and rhodes. the only thing that really stops me is all the insane deals that are available out there right now. everyone is selling something cool used at an outrageously cheap price. it is a buyers market. the choices are insane.

in the last few months i picked up 2 pittbull ultra leads. one for 1600, and one for 1200. a herbert for 2400.

so it's hard for me to consider and more boutique amp (read, less known) for anywhere more that 1600. too much stuff available right now. i want a lickliter, and a cec, and a rhodes so badly, but not with everything else thats available.

you guys wanna get your amps out there to people who will drag them around for others to try them out? consider selling a couple to humps like me at a reduced price. i have bros coming over all the time to blow out amps at my house. hell, we are having another ampfest at my place on the 21st.

I don't want to get the thread too far off track, but figured I'd address this quickly here.

I totally understand the price issue. I can't speak for other manufacturers, but I have an incredibly small profit margin on my amps in an effort to price them as reasonably as I can while still remaining in business and providing a premium quality product in and out. As an example with your $1600 figure, I can't even build a Brigand for that cheap at cost and I get my parts at wholesale--but not in large quantities so the tier pricing of parts isn't at the level of larger manufacturers yet for me. At this point, I'm making next to nothing for labor on amp builds due to how low the profit margin is, but you're still getting class 2 to 3 IPC standard soldering (usually class 3) and micro level quality inspection on the entire amp build as opposed to typical wave soldered PCB's with much lower level inspections afterwards--just as a for instance.

Another thing to consider is the level of service and support you get after the sale. Again, I can't speak for the other manufacturers, but with my amps for example, you get personalized service and support from me for as long as you own it on top of the warranty. If you sell the amp, the next guy gets it too, regardless of the fact that I never actually got any money from him. So with a lot of us little guys, there is more that you get with the price than just the amp. To some it matters and to others it won't of course.

All that said, I'll reiterate that I totally understand price is a HUGE deal. Some small manufacturers can meet the lower price points, but it is very dependent on the product and everything that goes into it. Guys like me have to understand that my amps aren't going to have mass appeal or be built in large quantities because they fall into more of a niche product category.

Just my .02 on it FWIW. But I don't want to totally derail Mike's thread, so back to the shootout!

 

[rupe]

The clips all sound good...I'll refrain from any comments on particulars until I can listen to them on something other than my laptop.

My question is: When did the "asshole" attitude start to become a common thing here? Take this for example:

Joined: Sun, Jan 08, 2012 7:26pm
Posts: 3

The poster, RJF, completely disrespects the opinion of another poster due to his short tenure here even though he knows nothing about the dude. WTF is up with that? Find something out about the guy before coming off like a complete douche-nozzle...until then STFU. If he turns out to be an alias or shill, we can deal with it then...until then at least a modicum of respect should be shown.
This place was always cool IMO due to the lack of assholes...seems lately thats beginning to change. Bummer. Rant over...carry on.

 

[bananaladonpcp]

Actually sounds like a good idea. Whats behind curtain #1 and then Curtain #2 and so on. Need 6 or better amps to make this happen.

+1