mmolteratx

This landed in the mail earlier this afternoon. Didn't get too terribly much time to play with it before I had to go to class, but I'll write a quick first impression review, and update later.



First Impressions:

First, I ran it through an Orange 412 loaded with a quad of V30s. Usually have an attenuator between head/cab, but 1) I didn't have time to set it up and 2) it's not rated for the full 180w output power of the Herbert and I've already blown the attenuator once (still not in 100% working condition actually).

Guitars used so far were two Gibson Historic Les Pauls, a G0 and R0, loaded with Sheptone Tributes and Throbak SLE-101+s respectively. Will be trying it with a single coil Suhr Classic T later when I get home.

No pedals have been used with it yet, though I'll be testing out the loop(s, actually has 3) for sure later. Been having really shit luck with FX loops lately though, so who knows if it will work.

Alright, now on to the sound. First thing I thought when I plugged it in was that it was a bit noisy. Not sure if that's due to tubes, or just the nature of the circuit. I remember the Hagen I owned being quieter, as much as I grew to dislike that amp. I'll be swapping in some NOS Telefunkens later, but it has a **** ton of gain, so who knows if that will solve that issue.

Second impression was that it's got ridiculous amounts of bass. Had to turn the bass knob down to ~9 o clock on channel 3, and the depth knob down to around the same to get rid of the massive low end. However, it's fairly tight and never sounds flubby, just overly boomy. Fairly subdued high end, though it's not exactly dark. More that the fizz has been dialed out. Definitely like that aspect better than the Hagen. Mids are slightly scooped, but the mid controls on each channel have a decent amount of range to compensate.

Channel 1 is the clean channel; I didn't spend too much time with it as a result. It's fairly dark, like every other Diezel I've played/owned. Lots of bass like the rest of the amp. I guess it's a bit Hiwatt-ish in overall tonality, with a lot of headroom and no spiky treble. Pretty compressed though, which makes it decidedly modern in nature. Overall it's a bit bland, but nothing unworkable. I just prefer more treble character for my cleans.

Channel 2 is mid gain, though it has the potential to get relatively heavy and compressed. +/- switch to select the gain range. Don't really like -, as it gets too dark for my tastes. + is really nice though. Certainly much better than channel 2 on the VH4/Hagen. More balanced, and definitely crunchier in the high end with less compression in the lows. Still fairly modern, but has a nice mid range content that's very fat. I'd probably use it has a mid-high gain rhythm in conjunction with channel 3 set up for a lead sound.

Channel 3 is very high gain, with lots of compression. Like I said previously, extended treble has been dialed out to keep it from getting fizzy. Not quite as tight as the VH4, or Hagen, but the response is much more pleasing with less wool around the edges than the Hagen, and a bit more forgiving than the VH4. Wish it had a bit more high mids without having to crank the mid control up, as it gets a bit harsh that way.

Has a global mid cut, which is a bit tricky to dial in. Putting the intensity past ~10-11 o clock is just way too much cut, and it starts to sound awful. Not terribly useful on channel 1 and 2, but it can balance out the harshness of the 3rd channel with the mids cranked up, without losing the cut with careful dialing in.

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311ZOSOVHJH

I'm getting sick of saying this but...

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mmolteratx

Oh yea, forgot to mention. Output tubes are one pair of 6550s, one pair of EL34s and one pair of KT77s. Able to mix and match pairs, as each pair has an individual bias control. Not that I hear a huge difference anyways.

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Dave_Mc

excellent

nice review too

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gregs1020

looks great.

ragingkitty

Epic new amp day d00d

Is it new?

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mmolteratx

lol no

Would never buy an amp this expensive new. Bought it for $2400 on Rig-Talk, which is $2k less than the new price.

Snapped some more pics while it was apart. Solved the noise issue with the hum balance control and some new tubes.

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Robbgnarly

Dude you have a serious problem, and should probably seek professional help.



I am a pro, send me your amps and I will help

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cdr_salamander

It's beautiful.

HNAD!

FlightofIcarus

What a score there!

Happy NAD!

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Tom 1.0

**** you matt.



**** you.

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R45VT

Nice pictures as always. What type of camera?

glad you got the hum out.

Any chance of clips?

HNAD !!

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mmolteratx

Just a D5000 with the cheap lens it comes with. Other lenses are packed up somewhere, though the stock one is surprisingly great. Maybe clips this weekend. TBH, I'm on the fence about keeping it, so I'll probably give it a week and decide then.

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Ippon

Congrats!

So far, Herbert or OD100 SE?

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mmolteratx

SE+, no doubt. Better clean channel and mid gain tones by far, and the high gain tones are more to preference. Effects loops on both are about on par. MIDI capability on the Herbert is so much better though, which is what I really love about Diezels. Just plug in one of my MIDI controllers, program in a couple minutes and it's good to go. Can switch channels, FX loop, master and mid cut all via one switch, and the only other amps I know of with equivalent functionality is the Rhodes stuff, which actually have an even deeper MIDI interface. The compression all over the Herbert is really bugging me though.

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Eppicurt

I give 2 weeks.

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Ippon

Agreed! Still on the look-out for an OD100 SE Plus. For some reason, I thought you preferred the non-Plus.

Glad I saved you $200 with the Herbert, though. What you've discovered so far have been the reasons I prefer the VH4 to the Herbert (Derek will disagree), the Hagen, and the DMoll.

Also, you'll discover (maybe) that your practice settings will require tweaks/changes when in a band setting. This is why I prefer the VH4 and Twin Jet over the Herbert.

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mmolteratx

Meh. I'll be surprised if it lasts that long.



Nah, I've always preferred the +. The original SE isn't quite as fat sounding, though I do like the original Standard and Classic better than the + versions since they're geared towards different tones. And yea, I prefer the VH4 (from what I've played) to any of the other Diezel models. I can definitely see the Herbert not cutting through. I'll be trying it out at a jam this weekend along with the 100B. I almost bought it last week at $2600, glad I didn't.

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Cathbard

Unless you are driving the power amp into distortion tube type seems to have a minimal effect and can easily be swamped by the effect of the preamp. I should imagine that not even I would be driving a Herby into power amp distortion.

HNAD

The real question. The Brigand turned your Hagen into a coffee table - did you need a heavier coffee table?

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