OVERDRIVE- DIEZEL VH4....the sound that defines modern Metal

DIEZEL VH4

Current Price $300.00 USD

Who doesn't know that the first time we all heard the sound of today's Heavy Metal was from the bands of the 90's.

Since then there have been dozens of gourmet amps and pedals trying to serve up the 90's cake but with this years icing.

In the 90's the German Amplifier maker Diezel
nailed the voice of Heavy Metal.
The competition soon had no choice but to
make a 'Me Too' amplifier.

I play a varied style of original dirt based Indie Alt. music. I have everything from a Klon and a Tube Screamer to a Amptweaker Tight Metal pedal. With 14 OD's I am not missing anything in the middle either.
My pedals cover the OD sounds of the 60's
70's, 80's and 90's.
BUT this is the missing piece in my puzzle.
My 90's sound is only OK.
I thought my Tight Metal was 'it'.
Not bad ...But not 'it'.
...this is IT!

What Diezel has done is absolutely nailed the original cake and with the original icing
They have cloned their own Diezel VH4 amplifier in a pedal.

I like the first video because you can hear that the bypass clean tone that the pedal will go thru is very very neutral. If what you have is just an average practise amp this vid will give you a reasonable idea of how it will sound on your own rig.    

                                                                            

Just for the pure pleasure of it

The Anderton Twins...lol

This pedal takes the idea of

IF IT'S NOT BROKE DONT FIX IT

if you want to pick on it you will need tweezers

So....did it blow your mind and now you want one? The damn thing is so new that the paint is wet. Only available in Britain. ANDERTON'S have ONE!...and only ONE LEFT !!!
None of the other stores have even got their first order!!!

So let me try and figure this out ...a pedal designed by a German Amp maker...the pedal is built in the USA and is only available in England ??? and England only has ...one!  LO

        So one last video....go to 28...and listen to the pedal go thru a Chinese Joyo $150.00 USD transistor amp.

                                                                 Very persuasive. 

MINE JUST ARRIVED...I got it direct from Diezel USA. It took 8 days.

So it is a very big pedal....4 3/4" x 6 1/2".
I did squeeze it on my board.
I have had a Bogner in the past. If you have played one you have an idea of its sound at 12 o'clock.
In my hast to give it a listen ... I used it with 9 volts...unaware that in the box was a 12v power supply with every adapter in the world included. You can run it on 18v too.
I do not recommend more then 12v...it has more then enough headroom with that. The volume is unity gain at about 9 o'clock. So the output is ridiculous. At 12 o'clock it doubles the volume. OUCH!!!
It is designed to get the best medal sound by boosting the volume and pushing your amp hard.
So at unity...the way I run things it really does not want to 'take off'. This was disappointing.
The EQ is excellent. But if you have never had a tube amp it will confuse you. Tubes are interactive.
You will find by moving perhaps the bass that it changes the mids too etc.
So do not set the knobs the same way you are perhaps doing on an OD you already own and expect even a similar basic EQ. It will not happen. With enough patience you "will' find a great sound. The pedal does have a wide base of tones and they are very rich. It is definitely very fat and punchy. but it is deceptive because it is always tight and focused. It is impossible to muddy the sound.
I did find a nice cross between what it is meant to do and a a more Marshall sound. When I switched to a real Marshall type pedal...I soon seen it was not so close. LOL
It really is a contrast to the Marshall...the Marshall is definitely not tight or focused. LOL
This pedal works for me because I have so many ...especially Marshall OD's and it gives me a very alternative dirt sound.

One thing that deserves special attention. This pedal sounds very impressive with a Strat. No matter how hard you push it your Strat never looses it's voice. It never ends up with that terrible "IT SOUNDS LIKE A CHEAP HUMBUCKER" sound.
Nothing worse then a Strat that sounds like a thin humbucker. NOTHING!!!
It is not hard to back this pedal off a bit and get that just right Strat rhythm ...more Stevie Ray and Hendrix then a Plexi with a Tube Screamer...very similar but much fatter
I may yet get another larger then life Metal/Marshall pedal...but I could never dispense with this one because of my Strat..

So...if the videos got you convinced ...listen to a few different Marshall type sounds first. Because this is definitely the best choice for a more American sound...but if you are a  Marshall lover...get one of those first.
I would use this for short solo's but if I was going to stretch out. NO!
I would go back to a Marshall...probably the Friedman BE-OD.

Summary

A fat punchy sounding pedal great for power chords yet so articulate you can play anything because it will not muddy up.
The tone is excellent. The harmonics are detailed and rich.I really like this pedal. It gave me just the right nudge to write a new tune.

On the down side...the obvious price and it's size.
It likes to be cranked. It does not like unity gain...it will not sing without being pushed to at least 12 o'clock.
If your ears are tuned into a Marshall...think twice before getting this

Keep in mind ...I am not a Modern Metal Player.
when it comes to dirt for me...Sabbath's first album is where I am at. Sluggish tempos with rests between power chords and a lot of linear riffs played in unison with the bass player.

I am not into the modern quarter note throbs with chords being muted to drive the rhythm and pinched harmonics pulled out every few bars. Oh yes..and a 'floyd' working overtime.
It sounds like great fun...but with a bass player/singer that has affinity to turn anything into jazz. No.  lol

I am sure this pedal would be King for that because it just will not muddy up...and is tight! tight! tight!

Last week at the Namm show Diesel have announced

 a "NEW" 

VH-4 ???

It has a switchable second channel. Itis also going to be $80.00 USD more...ouch!!

The original one was only shown at the the Summer Namm in August and has only been available since about Oct.  In fact the earliest review was mid Nov. 2006.
This is going to pizz off a lot of players who would prefer the new one.

THE DIEZEL DIEFET DELUXE DH-4

The new one at the show had 2 separate gains. The gains are now stacked. The pedal is otherwise the same as the prototype. It gives you a bit more gain and a bit more low end.
So if you have the original one...You are not going to miss too much. As for me I always like to find the very best sound the pedal can do then leave it. If I need more or less overdrive I just use a different  pedal.
You will note that the NEW VH 4 at NAMM was a 9 knob prototype without a name change.

The production model has 8 knobs and is now called the  Diesel Diefet Deluxe DH-4. The new knobs are labeled Structure and Deep. The 2 gains are stacked. . Deep is for an extra low resonance boost it is opposite of the tight control on a Marshall style pedal and Structure is a negative feedback loop from the preamp of the amp it copies it changes the overall EQ to match the original amp. It is hard to explain other then to say if you push the second gain too hard you it can smooth out the sound. It seems nuts but works because it is trying to fight the distortion and clean up the signal. lol

CODA

The Deluxe takes this pedal from one of the best OD's you can buy for a great American style to

a Swiss army knife METAL pedal. true Metal players will all have this on their short list.

For me the first one is perfect BUT...there is no such thing as too much as too much OD especially as I imagine I could use a sprinkle of the sounds it offers. In short knobs can be turned up or down to taste.

Serious Metal players will most certainly have this on their short list.

Others like me will probably give it a miss because they will not know how good it sounds stripped of the new overkill features. If they offered both models that would not happen.
Oddly enough the American website is selling the old one with the new one not to be found???
So if you want the old one ...now is the time.

I would recommend the new one...just wait until the dust settles.

FEB. 28....and the only pedal for sale on the DIEZEL USA site is v.1 ....they have had a sh@t load of time to update the site.

THIS HAS TO BE DELIBERATE...IT TELLS ME THEY WANT TO CLEAR THEIR STOCK AND NEITHER DISCOUNT THE PRICE OR GIVE YOU A CHOICE. 

GREED CITY!!!

BOTH PEDALS ARE GOOD.. but to say this is pizz off is an understatement.

UPDATE: May 5/5

Well...I found that I was only using it on my Strat. set to give me a medium gain. Coupled with my Strat it sounded much like a Marshall JMC 800. Dialing up this tone made me relize that the PedalPalFX PAL800 JMC EMULATOR has a similar sound... for less then half price.

So I put my Diezel on REVERB...I did well I broke even.

JULY

The site has no sign of the new pedal.

It has instead a massive campaign promoting the old model with video's etc.

They screwed up big time... just when all the STAR video jocks were reviewing or about to review the old pedal they announced the new one. They seemed have simply pulled out the new one and kept their mouth shut. they got away with it. LOL

The great reviews for the old one have just been pouring in.

i did get my substitute for it and it was twice as good as i thought it would be.

HAPPY ENDING!!!

^^^The Musician's 11th Commandment

NEVER LET OBJECTIVE REALITY INTERFERE

 WITH YOUR SENSE OF SELF IMPORTANCE

No ...this is not a flippant statement. If as a musician you do not believe that you have as much to say musically as everyone on the planet ...and the right to say and believe in it ...you will be headed to oblivion.
So repeat this statement to yourself every day.

Trust me ...this is the truth!
Imagine a world without music
good...
NOW YOU KNOW YOU ARE IMPORTANT!!!

IF YOU ARE NEW...touch base here

"DON"T PIZZ ME OFF ...JUST DO IT!!!"

EASY...just go to the Post ....HOW TO USE SDS

GIBSON HAS THEIR CREDIT RATING SLASHED

REALLY DUMB

In 2015 Gibson's biz tanked. What they sold was full of quality issues. They put out some dumb

stuff...
The highlight was the tuner on the LP.

WHY WOULD SOMEONE SPENDING OVER $3000.00  NOT WANT THIS BLOB OF JUNK PERMANENTLY ATTACHED TO THERE GUITAR      LOL

THE QUALITY TANKED.
And as we all know better made guitars are available at less the half the price.
and an exquisite hand made state of the art guitar can be had for around $2000.00 USD 

In 2016 they did better but could not recover from 2015. The banks have there eye on them!

WHAT'S NEXT GIBSON GUITARS MADE IN USA  KOREA !!!!

ELECTRO HARMONIX SUES MOOER

LAW SUIT

Still $55.00 USD if bought online straight from China

Mooer are famous for their clones. How  I understand cloning is that if you wire up separate analog parts...as in transistor x goes into transistor y...no problem. The reason that is OK is because if it were illegal...and that combination was patented ...the same part of that circuit might show up in a garage door opener ... and we all know that the guy with the door opener is not trying to rip off a pedal maker. 

But with octave pedals one is using digital software ...which can be literally downloaded from chip A to chip B....a big no-no

$284.00 USD

So kids if you want a great cheap octave pedal grab the Mooer quick as they are being recalled.

IF YOU WERE NOT CONVINCED THAT
YOU ARE GETTING THE SAME PEDAL.
EH...MAKES A GOOD ARGUMENT THAT
YOU ARE.  LOL

If you buy a few...you can sell the extra pedals and your's will be free. lol

OVERDRIVE- TECH21 RICHIE KOTZEN OMG

TECH21 RICHIE KOTZEN OMG

This is an overdrive that takes the old school approach. It is not trying to copy a specific amp. It just goes for a huge warm mid range sound. It definitely is Brit sounding.

Current Price $189.00 USD

Well worth a listen.

ANOTHER HERO !!! ANOTHER BEST ON-LINE STORE

 ROGUE MUSIC 

If you have read the TECH21 HOT-ROD PLEXI post...you have seen the video of one damn impressive pedal.
The point is the demo is of the limited edition export model. There were only 1000 made.
and that was back in 2013.
Used they go for as much as $500.00 USD The limited edition is black. The standard model is a very dark purple.

 ROGUE MUSIC put a picture of the black pedal on-line to sell  ...but it was the purple one that they stock and sell.

I sent a note explaining that I wanted the one in the pic...or cancel the order..I got a note from Dick Michaels... basically confirming that I would get the black one in the pic.

By the time the person who pulls the product off the shelf and ships it the link had been broken.

Yes...I got the purple pedal because for one thing they only ever had the purple pedal.
Basically they just probably went to a library of pics for the Ad and up pops a nice pic...to be fair the purple is so dark it looks black.

.....and yes I returned it for a refund.

But Dick ....was not going to have me disappointed.

He got hold of the manufacturer. They scoured the warehouse...and Bingo there was one lost and forgotten for years sitting collecting dust in a back corner.
So I not only got the pedal...I got it for $179.00 NEW...not used for $500.00 used.

I'VE SAID IT BEFORE.
THE BEST STORE IS NOT ONE THAT NEVER MAKES A MISTAKE ...BUT THE STORE THAT DOES AND SORTS OUT YOUR PROBLEM IN A FAIR AND EXPEDIENT WAY.

So children,,,Rogue Music has good prices. Check and see if they have what you want before you buy some where else. They are great with shipping...cheap and no bad surprises.

So in short I got a brand new pedal for less then half it would have cost me used. Better still a rare pedal that has a value that can only go up.

...and Dick Michaels ...made it possible by going way beyond anyone I have ever dealt with.

This makes Dick an SDS Hero...SO THANKYOU DICK!!!

Tell your boss that Paul says that you should get a week off with pay. Thanks to you the store will now

have as many as 14,000 players know that Rogue Music is a great place to shop.

OVERDRIVE- LARENCE PETROSS DESIGN LPD EIGHTY 7 ..... An SBS world preview!

LAWRENCE PETROSS DESIGN

LPD EIGHTY 7 

This is LPD's newest pedal. It is not formally on sale until January 2017. 
In fact the colour and  graphics are not finalized These pics are just the prototypes.
But  thanks to Lawrence Petross SDS has a preview complete with a couple of short vids

WHAT IS AN 87 ?

This is the second Plexi pedal by LPD. The first is the LPD SIXTY 8...which is just gaining an under ground status not unlike the early Tube Screamer or more recently the Klon.
.
So...this is like a first time film director winning an Oscar. It is hard act to follow.

In the 80's the JCM800 was out...this was Marshall's attempt to deliberately push the tone into the highs and upper mids to make a real screamer!
Many players thought they were especially harsh because they pushed the highs too much. A few modified Plexi's in California became the studio's choice. They were more of a cross between a Plexi and a JCM800. They had that solid Plexi sound but with a much more aggressive gain.

Many of today's gourmet amps take this route Basically they put another gain stage in a Plexi design.

The 87...captures this sound.

.
The beauty of the PLEXI is that it keeps out of the way of the vocals giving the player a fat huge exhilarating sound to play all night .

I wish to thank Lawrence Petross for giving SBS the first preview of his new pedal.

A  NEW VIDEO THE FIRST FOR THE NEW YEAR!!!

Lawrence gave me a heads up...he knows SBS come here to get pedal news first!!

now we have a chance to see what it can really do...