Diezel VH4 versus Mesa gear

The Boogie Board

Help Support The Boogie Board:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I've got a few questions that are not related to the Diezel.

Do you prefer the Mark IV or the XTC for high gain smooth creamy lead tones?


What cab are you using with the XTC and Mark IV? Slanted or straight?
 
barneyc4 said:
I've got a few questions that are not related to the Diezel.

Do you prefer the Mark IV or the XTC for high gain smooth creamy lead tones?


What cab are you using with the XTC and Mark IV? Slanted or straight?
I've actually got the Mark V, though I use the Mark IV mode. It's still a bit new to me so I probably haven't found the optimal setup, whereas I've had the XTC for almost a year. With both of them, I'm using a greenback stack. The top cab is a slant Mesa Recto 4x12 and the bottom is a Bogner 412 - straight of course. I think I prefer the Bogner but it's still up in the air. I've played many speakers and used to use all V30s, but after using the greenbacks for a day, I sold most of my V30s off and haven't really looked back.

In a comparison of the actual amps for high gain creamy lead, I think the XTC wins by just a little. They're not miles apart sonically, but the XTC has to me one of the most airy, sweet sounding amps I've ever heard. Not only that, but it practically plays itself; you have to play one nearly cranked to get the feeling because it's simply the best at what it does.

The Mark seems to be a little less open, and although I'll get it set up just right and have a whole long post about the amp, I don't really want to say too much about it right now because I just haven't played enough of it.
 
Don't forget, them Diezels do sound more compressed, so picking difference become less sensitive. Again, there are pros and cons to that, depending on what kind of tone you are after...
 
How are you affording all this high end gear as a 19 year old in college? When I was doing my first degree, it took me like four or five years to acquire my current setup.

The thing I also like about Mesa is the versatility. This is the reason it would be so difficult to part with my dual. Btw. how do you do the JCM 800 imitation?
 
I like the definition on the bass on the Diezel stuff. Very well built.

I do not like the compressed feel, lack of mids. They do not cut in a mix / band very well.

I like Herbert best of the Diezel amps.
 
YellowJacket said:
How are you affording all this high end gear as a 19 year old in college? When I was doing my first degree, it took me like four or five years to acquire my current setup.

The thing I also like about Mesa is the versatility. This is the reason it would be so difficult to part with my dual. Btw. how do you do the JCM 800 imitation?
A lot of work! This past summer I worked about 50 - 60 hours per week at Radio Shack. 40 hours regular pay plus 1.5 time for the extra hours. The cost of rent really isn't too bad, so by the end I probably had about $6k or so to spend on gear. Basically, I don't get out much....

JCM800 imitation - and keep in mind I play on greenbacks - is as follows:

Orange channel
Gain: 9:30 - 12:00
Treble: 3:00
Mids: 1:00
Bass: 11:00 - noon
Presence: 3:00 - 5:00
Master - 1:00

Tube rectifier, bold

With V30s it might be more mids and a little less treble or presence, but that should get you started.
 
I still own my Mark 4 and dont plan on selling anytime soon but I have had a chance to play a Diezel. It was the Herbert and I've played it for a total of maybe 3 hours. It sounded amazing. I dont know anything about the VH4 but the Herbert is a monster. 3 channels that all sound very different and the mid cut gives you even more sounds to work with. It is hard to describe the sound but it was just huge. Channel 1 was super clean and with a bit of reverb and delay it would be my ideal clean tone. Channel 2 has a + and - switch for the amount of gain you want on tap and can do classic rock all the way up to metal if you add mid cut on top of it. Channel 3 is just all out high gain. I forgot to mention that it has a deep and presence control that you can bring in and out of any channel too. It would be my end all be all amp but for the money I wont be buying one anytime soon. Plus I like all the blue leds lol. Dont get me wrong I love mesa amps and they have a tone all their own but the Diezel amps are something every mesa player should give a shot. Thanks for your post on the VH4. In many recorded clips the tone was similar to my mark but I'm sure the feel is way different like you described. The only other amps I really want to try out are a couple bogners and a splawn nitro. Anyways.....
 
TheMagicEight said:
The first thing I noticed is that the channels are voiced very similarly - good and bad in my eyes.
+1. I've owned a VH4 for three years. It sounds like a VH4 at all times. If you like that sound, it's cool.

The VH4 was my main gigging amp for a year... it always sounded great alone, but I struggled with it somewhat to get it to cut as well as I wanted with the band. There are so many variables that influence how well a rig cuts, and it could easily have been something other than the amp, but after messing with it for a year I moved on in my tone quest to Mesa gear. I now have a two channel triple Recto (which has been my main amp for the past year) and recently got a Mark IIC+, which is at Mesa getting some TLC. I've had less trouble getting the Mesa's to cut, so I definately feel I'm closer to my tonal goals at this point.
 
Peter changed the clean channel, Ch. 2 with more gain, Ch. 3 with more gain and the presence circuit in 2007. It's a totally
different animal than my 2000 and 2001 models. It's no longer an amp stuck on channel 3. :D
 
After being a huge Mesa user for a long time I got a VH4S in '05. It's my main amp now, the only amps I got rid of were a Solo Rec and a Blue Angel, kept my Traixis/290 rig, Maverick 212 and Heartbreaker head. Running the Diezel into a Rectifier cab with V30s and EV12Ls and the sound is awesome, plenty of mids for my taste and no problem being heard in a band mix. I like mixing it with the Heartbreaker through a Rec 212 cab. When I do that I run the VH4S through a Genz Benz G Flex 212 cab. Too much fun :D

Martin
 
TheMagicEight said:
This is in contrast to the Mesa, where Treble, Mid and Bass can radically alter the feel of the amp because the stack comes before the gains stages. Case in point, if you want to give a Recto more bite, turn the treble up. If you want more bite out of the Diezel, sell it and buy something else! :lol:

not all Mesa amps have tone stacks before gain stages. Only the Mesa amps with "mark circuit" (mark's, lonestar, triaxis..), Recto's have tone stack after gain stages, like all higain amps with "british circuit", also like Diezel VH4 have.
 
I played the Herbert, moat amazing sound ever. I have not or think I ever will get over the smile that spread across my face when it first turned on. I dream about this amp. Too expensive, and I'm pretty happy with my mark v, I even considered selling it and trying to raise some cash for the diezel, but at the end of the day the Mesa has more tone for more things, I would buy the Herbert and just play metal riffs on it all day, at least the Mesa mark v has tones that make me venture off into different styles and probably make me a more rounded player overall...
 
4Eyes said:
TheMagicEight said:
This is in contrast to the Mesa, where Treble, Mid and Bass can radically alter the feel of the amp because the stack comes before the gains stages. Case in point, if you want to give a Recto more bite, turn the treble up. If you want more bite out of the Diezel, sell it and buy something else! :lol:

not all Mesa amps have tone stacks before gain stages. Only the Mesa amps with "mark circuit" (mark's, lonestar, triaxis..), Recto's have tone stack after gain stages, like all higain amps with "british circuit", also like Diezel VH4 have.
Not the Rectifiers I've owned....
 
TheMagicEight said:
Not the Rectifiers I've owned....
I don't want to start flamewar, but I bet you aren't right :) As I know, recto channel is "british" circuit, it means tone controls after all gain stages. Recto's (now I mean whole amp, not only one channel) have tone controls before gain stages only in the clean channel (except 2ch Rectos which are basically one channel amps with double tone controls) and that's because of the fact, that Mesa uses the same type of mark/fenderish circuit for clean channels in few variations in the all Mesa's amps, I think.

Could you please write what Rectifier amp have tone controls before gain stages (let speak about distorted channel, what is the typical recto sound)? Maybe I'll learn something new for me :)

(no offence)
 
4Eyes said:
TheMagicEight said:
Not the Rectifiers I've owned....
I don't want to start flamewar, but I bet you aren't right :) As I know, recto channel is "british" circuit, it means tone controls after all gain stages. Recto's (now I mean whole amp, not only one channel) have tone controls before gain stages only in the clean channel (except 2ch Rectos which are basically one channel amps with double tone controls) and that's because of the fact, that Mesa uses the same type of mark/fenderish circuit for clean channels in few variations in the all Mesa's amps, I think.

Could you please write what Rectifier amp have tone controls before gain stages (let speak about distorted channel, what is the typical recto sound)? Maybe I'll learn something new for me :)

(no offence)
Actually, you're quite correct! Figured I'd give Boogie a call and find out for sure, and they confirmed what you were saying; this gives me quite a different perspective now!

I suppose what I've been hearing is how interactive the preamp and power amp are in my Rectifiers. Anyway, thanks for the info!
 
TheMagicEight said:
4Eyes said:
TheMagicEight said:
This is in contrast to the Mesa, where Treble, Mid and Bass can radically alter the feel of the amp because the stack comes before the gains stages. Case in point, if you want to give a Recto more bite, turn the treble up. If you want more bite out of the Diezel, sell it and buy something else! :lol:

not all Mesa amps have tone stacks before gain stages. Only the Mesa amps with "mark circuit" (mark's, lonestar, triaxis..), Recto's have tone stack after gain stages, like all higain amps with "british circuit", also like Diezel VH4 have.
Not the Rectifiers I've owned....

What Rectifiers did you own ?
 
stephen sawall said:
What Rectifiers did you own ?
A 3 channel Dual, 2 channel Triple, and two 2-channel Dual Rectifier Rev. F models. Just to reiterate though, I was not correct in believing Rectifiers have their tone stack before the gain stages.
 
TheMagicEight said:
stephen sawall said:
What Rectifiers did you own ?
A 3 channel Dual, 2 channel Triple, and two 2-channel Dual Rectifier Rev. F models. Just to reiterate though, I was not correct in believing Rectifiers have their tone stack before the gain stages.

Every recto that I've owned (excluding the ROADSTER) have all sounded like pure **** without a TS808 or MAXON boost to give the tone more of a smooth character. The deep sawtooth fizz or sizzle of the rectos are just not my thing. I don't know what MESA did to the Roadster model, but it sounds 1000000 times better than any other standard recto, but even with that I needed a boost.

Though I love how the MK V is more throaty than any other Mark amp. The Diezel vh4 is a fantastic amp. I had the priviledge of playing that amp for a couple of days and it sounded absolutely fantastic. Is it worth the $4k+...nope. I'd take two Mark V's over a Diezel any day of the week.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top