59Bassman
Member
I heard about this pedal on The Tone Mob podcast. Blake interviewed Scott DeBockler, who owns SNK pedals. One of the pedals they discussed was the VHD preamp. When I heard what it was, I had to own it.
Scott says it's a circuit duplicate of the gain channel of an Ampeg VH-140C amp. Years ago, I traded a mint Marshall Jubilee 50 watt 2X12 combo for an Ampeg SS-140C 2X12 combo (and I threw in cash!). The Ampeg had the tones I heard my heroes (Lynch, DeMartini, Wilton, DeGarmo) using - I was too young and stupid to realize it had to suck because it was solid state. Anyway, I loved that amp - it was my only amp for many years. It got me through hair metal, a brief stint getting deep in to Anthrax, and then a jam band rock phase doing ZZ Top and Allman Brothers covers. The Ultra Mid control on the gain channel was very good for dialing in a variety of different textures.
So I ordered it. It took a couple weeks (one man shop) but it turned up last week. I ran upstairs, and plugged it into the front of my Suhr Bella amp. Grabbed a shredder Charvel and hit a chord. I was immediately disappointed. Rather than the thick drive tones I remember, this pedal was harsh, shrill, and toppy. Much like nails on a chalkboard. I tried adjusting the controls to no avail. Then I remembered Scott saying it was a duplicate of the preamp - I wondered if it would sound better just into a power section. So I plugged the pedal into the effects return of the Bella. BINGO! There was the tone. I've tried it with several other amps, it's the same thing. This pedal wants to run into a power section.
I also tried it into my DAW (Logic). It was the same thing - if I run it into an amp sim, it's harsh and brittle. But if I run it into a cab sim, it's fantastic. The gain tones aren't really as Marshall as I remember - they are more reminiscent of the tight, dry gain of a Mesa Mark (like my Mark V on IIc or IV mode). I'll be honest - I now own better amps for low gain, but the higher gain tones from this pedal are unique and inspiring. I spent a good hour riffing into the DAW with a plate reverb and tape delay going. Very cool tones.
If you can deal with the fact it doesn't like running into the front end of your amps, this pedal is a very cool addition as another gain flavor. One other thing to note about the circuit - it REALLY doesn't like having nothing plugged into the input - mine howls like a screech owl unless there's a cable plugged in.
Scott says it's a circuit duplicate of the gain channel of an Ampeg VH-140C amp. Years ago, I traded a mint Marshall Jubilee 50 watt 2X12 combo for an Ampeg SS-140C 2X12 combo (and I threw in cash!). The Ampeg had the tones I heard my heroes (Lynch, DeMartini, Wilton, DeGarmo) using - I was too young and stupid to realize it had to suck because it was solid state. Anyway, I loved that amp - it was my only amp for many years. It got me through hair metal, a brief stint getting deep in to Anthrax, and then a jam band rock phase doing ZZ Top and Allman Brothers covers. The Ultra Mid control on the gain channel was very good for dialing in a variety of different textures.
So I ordered it. It took a couple weeks (one man shop) but it turned up last week. I ran upstairs, and plugged it into the front of my Suhr Bella amp. Grabbed a shredder Charvel and hit a chord. I was immediately disappointed. Rather than the thick drive tones I remember, this pedal was harsh, shrill, and toppy. Much like nails on a chalkboard. I tried adjusting the controls to no avail. Then I remembered Scott saying it was a duplicate of the preamp - I wondered if it would sound better just into a power section. So I plugged the pedal into the effects return of the Bella. BINGO! There was the tone. I've tried it with several other amps, it's the same thing. This pedal wants to run into a power section.
I also tried it into my DAW (Logic). It was the same thing - if I run it into an amp sim, it's harsh and brittle. But if I run it into a cab sim, it's fantastic. The gain tones aren't really as Marshall as I remember - they are more reminiscent of the tight, dry gain of a Mesa Mark (like my Mark V on IIc or IV mode). I'll be honest - I now own better amps for low gain, but the higher gain tones from this pedal are unique and inspiring. I spent a good hour riffing into the DAW with a plate reverb and tape delay going. Very cool tones.
If you can deal with the fact it doesn't like running into the front end of your amps, this pedal is a very cool addition as another gain flavor. One other thing to note about the circuit - it REALLY doesn't like having nothing plugged into the input - mine howls like a screech owl unless there's a cable plugged in.
