NAD - Diezel VH4

SgtThump

SgtThump

Real OG
Quick story... The Diezel VH4 is a bucket list amp for me. I've been really looking into them the last 2 weeks, even getting a good offer on a new one from a Reverb store and getting a reduced price from Sweetwater for one they had in stock. I couldn't really bring myself to commit and after around 2 weeks, the urge started to disappear.

Then last Saturday I checked the local GC inventory (I do this all the time) and noticed they listed a new VH4 in the store. WTH? They don't get stuff like this, so this is pretty strange. I took it as a sign. lol

I drove there and played it. Loved it. It wasn't a customer return as I expected. They actually ordered it new from the GC warehouse to have it in the store. I got them to give me a good deal on it and now I'm the new owner!

I've had it for 4-5 days. Here are some initial thoughts...

  • I thought the clean channel was meh at first, but after connecting my pedalboard and playing my strat with a compressor and reverb, I realized it's pretty good!
  • Channel 2 is a big surprise. I like it more than I expected. I hear Marshall-like tones here and this will be great for lighter'ish/medium distortion stuff.
  • Channel 3 is a beast as we already know. I'm not a super high gain guy, so I have the preamp gain around 1:00 o'clock and it's fantastic.
  • I've never heard an amp with low end like this. This is a big PUNCHY BEAST! It makes me think of a vintage muscle car with POWER.
  • The serial effects loop works great with my pedalboard.
  • Small movement on the controls really makes a noticeable difference (I've read otherwise).
  • The presence, treble, AND mid controls are helpful in dialing out the "blanket over the cab" muffled tone.
  • I really dig the way the front panel is tilted, so you can read it easier standing up.
  • I haven't spent much time on Channel 4 yet. I plan to use this for high gain leads in a live setting. I do plan to use this beast for outdoor gigs this Summer, even though it's bigtime overkill.
I haven't posted a NAD in many years, but I felt the need with this beast! Very happy!

I'm using it with my Mojotone 1936 2x12" cab (pictured) with Marshall "Vintage" speakers from 1990 and it sounds killer.

Not pictured is my JCM2000 DSL50 head, 1960 Classic 4x12" cab, a Mesa 2x12" open back cab, and my Tone King Imperial combo (which is what I mostly use for gigs.)

Now I need to figure out a simple 4-button midi switch to change channels. Any advice on that?

IMG_0217.JPG
 
rsm said:
VH4 is a classic and a legend IMO.

Congratulations & enjoy!
Click to expand...
Thanks! I know it's an "old amp" to some, but there's really nothing out there that interests me now. I still consider it super modern! LOL
 
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SgtThump said:
Thanks! I know it's an "old amp" to some, but there's really nothing out there that interests me now. I still consider it super modern! LOL
Click to expand...

not old, it's timeless :D

and it seems to have stood the test of time which is why I said it's now a classic, IMO.

Many years ago I was down to Diezel vs Engl for my high gain amp...I went with an Engl rack rig, still have most of it, but always wanted a Diezel, eventually got a VHX a few years ago, and really need to spend more time with it.
 
These amps were like $4,000 twenty years ago, which many of us thought was crazy. But they are still around that same price and now other amps are up there too, so it's not really ridiculous anymore. Not sure how they managed that!
 
I forgot to say that the taper on the volume knobs is nice and smooth and easy to dial in quiet tones. Mine came new with TAD EL34 redbase power tubes and Tung Sol 12ax7 preamp tubes (my preference!) I guess it was ordered with EL34s, instead of the typical KT77s. Not sure.
 
SgtThump said:
Now I need to figure out a simple 4-button midi switch to change channels. Any advice on that?
Click to expand...

Tech 21 Midi Mongoose is great for simple midi controllers. They will run on a 9 volt for a long time and run off a standard 9volt supply.
 
Do yourself a favor and contact Jeremy at Ground Zero amps.
He is a member here.
The best thing I did to my VH-4 was add a Negative Feedback . Jeremy has a simple way to
use one of the 4ohm holes to put a new pot in. Few wires to solder and its done.

This amp should come with the NFB .
 
heath said:
Tech 21 Midi Mongoose is great for simple midi controllers. They will run on a 9 volt for a long time and run off a standard 9volt supply.
Click to expand...
Do you know of any that can be run on the power from the amp over the midi cable? I don't want to use a separate power adapter or even a battery if possible.
 
Congrats. The VH4 is one of my few bucket list amps, if I found a decent deal on one locally, I’d probably jump on it.
 
SgtThump said:
Do you know of any that can be run on the power from the amp over the midi cable? I don't want to use a separate power adapter or even a battery if possible.
Click to expand...
Probably not from the factory. Looks like the diezel uses a 7 pin midi port to provide the 9-12 volts for the footswitch. There are a number of 7 pin midi controllers on the market. The rocktron midi controllers are 7 pin and so are the old ADA midi foot controllers. The Rocktron Midi Raider is probably the smallest/cheapest option. The old ADA controllers are decent too. I have one of the old ADA MPC foot controllers somewhere in my gear room. I need to see if it works, but if it does, you are welcome to give it a try.
 
Congrats on the new PUNCHY BEAST! They really are.... like you said, like an old muscle car with a 454 in it, just raw power. Like bringing an ICBM to a knife fight.

Channel 2 surprised me the most, too. It's really really versatile. Can be a second clean channel, fairly high gain, or anything in between and pretty Marshall-like when needed. Channel 1 reminds me a little of a Hiwatt, but that's probably because it's PUNCHY as hell. You're right, it takes pedals really well and a little comp, reverb, delay sits right where it should.

Yeah, all the controls are really usable. It takes a little while to dial in, partly because it is incredibly versatile, more than I'd expected when I got mine.

IMO, if anyone thinks this thing sounds like there's a blanket over the cab... they have not dialed it in. This thing cuts like crazy!

Sorry I can't help you with a MIDI controller suggestion. I use several, depending on what effects I'm running, and they all work.

Anyway, enjoy that amp! Sounds like you already are, too. I enjoy mine just as much as the day I got it.
 
Great amp, i love ch3 but ch2 has some really nice tone also, i like the clean ch too. Ch4 i rarely use, once and a while i will throw a clean boost on my vh4.
 
Yeah, at first, I thought CH4 was a little too much, but when I started looking at it as truly a leads-only channel, I started getting some use out of it. Literally every other multi-channel amp I've ever played through, I've seen the highest gain channel as another rhythm channel that I can play leads on, too. With the VH4, it's just not that way, which works perfectly because CH3 is all the high-gain I need for that. CH4 allows me to dial in something specific for leads and the VH4 is the only amp that has ever worked that way for me.
 
heath said:
Probably not from the factory. Looks like the diezel uses a 7 pin midi port to provide the 9-12 volts for the footswitch. There are a number of 7 pin midi controllers on the market. The rocktron midi controllers are 7 pin and so are the old ADA midi foot controllers. The Rocktron Midi Raider is probably the smallest/cheapest option. The old ADA controllers are decent too. I have one of the old ADA MPC foot controllers somewhere in my gear room. I need to see if it works, but if it does, you are welcome to give it a try.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info! I’m pretty dumb when it comes to this topic, so I kinda don’t know where to start without your info!
 
From what the manual says, it might work if the pedal uses a 5-pin plug and accepts power on pins 1 & 5.

I do know that a standard 5-pin MIDI pedal will work, but none of my 5-pins accept power, so I can't test that. I do know that my 7-pin pedal does get power.

Based on the manual, it sounds like they've wired pin 1 & 6 to the negative power and pins 3 & 7 to the positive power, leaving pins 4 & 5 for data.

https://www.diezelamplification.com/manuals/en/VH4&VH4S_Manual_05062024.pdf
On page 8
 
It would probably be easy enough to wire pretty much any midi controller that works on 9-12 volts to accept power from the 1&5 pins.
 
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