Diezel VH4 Pedal and AMT Electronics D2

[mflemmer2]

I was about to pull the trigger on AMT's D2, and stumbled upon Diezel's VH4 Pedal. I understand that no pedal is identical to the amp it emulates, but reasonably close is good enough for me. Has anyone compared these two, and how similar are they to the actual VH4's channel 3?

[El Dunco]

Re: Diezel VH4 Pedal and AMT Electronics D2

I'm positive you can find decent YouTube clips of all 3 and at least try the VH-4 pedal in a music shop.

[mflemmer2]

Re: Diezel VH4 Pedal and AMT Electronics D2

I'm positive you can find decent YouTube clips of all 3 and at least try the VH-4 pedal in a music shop.

There aren't any music stores near me that stock it. I've heard plenty of online demos, but they're not the same as trying it in person, especially if someone out there has tried both the pedal and the amp itself. I know it's not going to be the entire amp--if it's reasonably close the the third channel, I'll be happy.

[El Dunco]

Re: Diezel VH4 Pedal and AMT Electronics D2

There aren't any music stores near me that stock it. I've heard plenty of online demos, but they're not the same as trying it in person, especially if someone out there has tried both the pedal and the amp itself. I know it's not going to be the entire amp--if it's reasonably close the the third channel, I'll be happy.

I understand that. My thinking is, Diezel would know their own amps best out of anyone and I would think that if they really did put the work in and it's essentially the same circuit, it will be closer to the Diezel 3rd channel whereas the D2 would be an approximation of the general Diezel sound without a specific model of Diezel in mind. All the AMT preamps while not bad, have a hollow grainy sound that I'm not personally a fan of and the Bogner brand preamp pedals do the thick, growly Bogner sound better than the B2 does in my experience.

[mflemmer2]

Re: Diezel VH4 Pedal and AMT Electronics D2

I understand that. My thinking is, Diezel would know their own amps best out of anyone and I would think that if they really did put the work in and it's essentially the same circuit, it will be closer to the Diezel 3rd channel whereas the D2 would be an approximation of the general Diezel sound without a specific model of Diezel in mind. All the AMT preamps while not bad, have a hollow grainy sound that I'm not personally a fan of and the Bogner brand preamp pedals do the thick, growly Bogner sound better than the B2 does in my experience.

Okay, that's certainly helpful info--also, I see you responded to me in another forum as well (thank you). I posted in more than one place to increase the chance of getting a reply--didn't notice the same person previously responded to both until just now (silly me). I figured the Diezel pedal would be better, and it should be considering the brand and cost. As you probably know, conventional wisdom doesn't always apply in these cases--- Marshall certainly doesn't currently make the most accurate sounding MIAB pedals, although the original Guv'nor and Bluesbreaker pedals were probably the best when they first came out.

Many out there seem to like certain AMT LA2's, while not necessarily liking all of them. I'm wanting 2 high gain pedals with quite different flavors, and one I'm pretty set on is the P2---it seems to be the overall favorite in the series, at least for 5150 sound. Other than that, I think you've helped me lean toward the Diezel for the second pedal, especially with the Bogner info. For what it's worth, what's your take on the P2, specifically?

[IMENATOR]

Re: Diezel VH4 Pedal and AMT Electronics D2

I think you should send an e-mail to AMT electronics and ask on which Diezel amp and channel their D2 is based on. There are lots of side by side comparisons of AMT LA2 series preamps into the same power amp and they seem to able to nail the real preamps very well. The following are examples on how well they did compared to the real amps. I think adding a Grap EQ pedal after the preamp for maximum tweakability is a good idea.

S2 (Soldano)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKkUkAAJ32E

Vt2 (VHT)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksd-va-QGG0&t=1s

P2 (5150)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj7WRI8eCZk

R1 (Mesa Dual Rec?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfGI-zbBsMc

E2 (Engl)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjHU3fTq4Xs

V1 (Vox) This one is not a side by side really demo but demonstrates how the guy can nail some classic tones along with proper IR Cab

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfDLqnJOizs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j40q7qVEO8k

[mflemmer2]

Re: Diezel VH4 Pedal and AMT Electronics D2

I think you should send an e-mail to AMT electronics and ask on which Diezel amp and channel their D2 is based on. There are lots of side by side comparisons of AMT LA2 series preamps into the same power amp and they seem to able to nail the real preamps very well. The following are examples on how well they did compared to the real amps. I think adding a Grap EQ pedal after the preamp for maximum tweakability is a good idea.

S2 (Soldano)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKkUkAAJ32E

Vt2 (VHT)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksd-va-QGG0&t=1s

P2 (5150)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj7WRI8eCZk

R1 (Mesa Dual Rec?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfGI-zbBsMc

E2 (Engl)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjHU3fTq4Xs

V1 (Vox) This one is not a side by side really demo but demonstrates how the guy can nail some classic tones along with proper IR Cab

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfDLqnJOizs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j40q7qVEO8k

Thanks for the info! I've seen several of the links you sent me. I'm fairly certain I've read somewhere (not directly from AMT) that the D2 is also based on the VH4's channel 3. Not that it deters me from getting an AMT pedal, but I've tried to contact them without much luck. I can't find a phone number (unless I make an international call to Russia). I sent them an email several weeks back, regarding differences between the higher gain pedals (e.g. which has more lows, compression, gain, mids, etc,), and never got a response. Then, I recently sent them a simple inquiry regarding the differences between the Vt2 and D2, since I figured they're somewhat similar. They responded with something like "there is no way to describe the sound in words---you'll have to watch demo videos". Kinda lame and dismissive IMO. I know that tone is subjective, but come on---I would think the manufacturer could do better than that. As most of us know, YouTube videos aren't always good indicators for subtle tone differences. If I get one, I hope I never need warranty work. I probably will get the P2, but I'm leaning toward the Diezel for the second pedal.

I gave up on asking for comparisons between Vt2 and D2, and looked online for contrasts of the actual amps they're modeled after (VHT UL and Diezel VH4). Obviously, the higher gain channels only. From what I read, while they both have fairly tight & dry gain, the VH4 is more pronounced in the lows & mids, and is a bit more raw, while the Ultra Lead is a bit grittier & edgier, and even dryer than the VH4. Of course, I have to hope that the pedals have similar characteristics---I'm not even taking the other channels into account, since they're irrelevant in this case.