Choosing a Diezel....

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WizardSouth-JP said:
The MCII is probably what you're after for everything from 70's, 80's rock/hair metal, 90's etc. I have a KT88 75w MCII here that packs a punch - have various 4x12 with different speaker combos (V30, Creamback 75, Redback, Alnico 90, Greenback - I may be alright with someone coming to try stuff but if you're a wacko or think there's more than 2 genders I'll probably pass.
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Lol, I hear ya man, was just joking, I wouldn't just come by.
not a libtard, no worries there :)

yea, I spoke to Rick at length via email about it and he was pushing me towards an MCII as well. There is a cat named Jason Hobbs on youtube that does some really good demo's of his Wizards (MCII, Hybrid and W800) and of all of them I think the MCII sounds the best, but he says the W800 is his fav, so I'm kinda torn. I'll probably go MCII.

question, i'm just a bedroom player, and I like the pricetag on the MCii 25 watt, but don't want to take cheap route and end up regretting getting a small headroom amp. Have you any experience with the 25 watt version? Does it have balls / is it a big step away from the 50 or 100 watt versions?

Rick says the MV on the biggies is fine at bedroom volumes, but I don't know. Tubes want volume.
 
MontiCristo said:
Lol, I hear ya man, was just joking, I wouldn't just come by.
not a libtard, no worries there :)

yea, I spoke to Rick at length via email about it and he was pushing me towards an MCII as well. There is a cat named Jason Hobbs on youtube that does some really good demo's of his Wizards (MCII, Hybrid and W800) and of all of them I think the MCII sounds the best, but he says the W800 is his fav, so I'm kinda torn. I'll probably go MCII.

question, i'm just a bedroom player, and I like the pricetag on the MCii 25 watt, but don't want to take cheap route and end up regretting getting a small headroom amp. Have you any experience with the 25 watt version? Does it have balls / is it a big step away from the 50 or 100 watt versions?

Rick says the MV on the biggies is fine at bedroom volumes, but I don't know. Tubes want volume.
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I know Jason as well, good dude - he likes the 800 but the MCII is a lot more versatile and I think has a better saturation and character. The MCII doesn't need a boost to get aggressive like the 800, even though Rick's 800 take has more gain than a regular 800. The MC25 isn't necessarily cheaping out, I had one and was surprised how much punch it had. I have a 40w MTL with 6V6 that rivals most 100w amps...if you decide on a Wizard there's really no bad ones.
 
MontiCristo said:
Rick says the MV on the biggies is fine at bedroom volumes, but I don't know. Tubes want volume.
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Rick has told me that his amps don't need volume to sound good live or especially to record well. In the room I rarely play mine much past 2 on the volume, with it on 3 it's crushing loud.
 
WizardSouth-JP said:
I know Jason as well, good dude - he likes the 800 but the MCII is a lot more versatile and I think has a better saturation and character. The MCII doesn't need a boost to get aggressive like the 800, even though Rick's 800 take has more gain than a regular 800. The MC25 isn't necessarily cheaping out, I had one and was surprised how much punch it had. I have a 40w MTL with 6V6 that rivals most 100w amps...if you decide on a Wizard there's really no bad on
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appreciate the info brother.
 
WizardSouth-JP said:
I know Jason as well, good dude - he likes the 800 but the MCII is a lot more versatile and I think has a better saturation and character. The MCII doesn't need a boost to get aggressive like the 800, even though Rick's 800 take has more gain than a regular 800. The MC25 isn't necessarily cheaping out, I had one and was surprised how much punch it had. I have a 40w MTL with 6V6 that rivals most 100w amps...if you decide on a Wizard there's really no bad ones.
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To follow on. I've had several 150w Wizards and they were all fine at bedroom volumes. But as Justin said, the low watt wizards hang with other amp company 100w amps. I've sold off my higher watt wizards in favor of the 50s. I actually like their sound a little better and I don't need the added headroom of the higher watt versions
 
@wizard
RedB4Black said:
To follow on. I've had several 150w Wizards and they were all fine at bedroom volumes. But as Justin said, the low watt wizards hang with other amp company 100w amps. I've sold off my higher watt wizards in favor of the 50s. I actually like their sound a little better and I don't need the added headroom of the higher watt versions
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great feedback gents. I've actually got a good attenuator so I'm covered either way. Interestingly enough Justin, you may know Lance aka. "the tone doctor" - he's who I use for tech service and he turned me onto the Tom Scholz "power soak". I was initially reluctant seeing as how the thing looks like chit, but man, I've had a RockCrusher and a Fryette powerstation and this power soak has the least tone suck of either of those. Really is a nice attenuator.
 
MontiCristo said:
@wizard

great feedback gents. I've actually got a good attenuator so I'm covered either way. Interestingly enough Justin, you may know Lance aka. "the tone doctor" - he's who I use for tech service and he turned me onto the Tom Scholz "power soak". I was initially reluctant seeing as how the thing looks like chit, but man, I've had a RockCrusher and a Fryette powerstation and this power soak has the least tone suck of either of those. Really is a nice attenuator.
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I don't ever mess with attenuation - all the amps here have great master volume and I don't really get into power tube distortion.
 
WizardSouth-JP said:
The MCII is probably what you're after for everything from 70's, 80's rock/hair metal, 90's etc. I have a KT88 75w MCII here that packs a punch - have various 4x12 with different speaker combos (V30, Creamback 75, Redback, Alnico 90, Greenback - I may be alright with someone coming to try stuff but if you're a wacko or think there's more than 2 genders I'll probably pass.
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are you interested in selling any of the ones you have?
 
MontiCristo said:
are you interested in selling any of the ones you have?
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also, I cannot deal with overly compressed / tight amps anymore. Again, I haven't played a Wizard yet, but I need to be able to do legato runs without having to pick each note and I cannot do that on a Diezel amp effectively, they are just too stiff. I see the both of you have commented on the Uber Ultra. Less expensive. Is the Uber tight and stiff or does it have a good "slick" feel to it?
 
MontiCristo said:
also, I cannot deal with overly compressed / tight amps anymore. Again, I haven't played a Wizard yet, but I need to be able to do legato runs without having to pick each note and I cannot do that on a Diezel amp effectively, they are just too stiff. I see the both of you have commented on the Uber Ultra. Less expensive. Is the Uber tight and stiff or does it have a good "slick" feel to it?
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If you don't want tight and clear tone, then Wizard isn't for you. The contour on the MC2 will give its some squish, but it's still a tight amp. Definitely not compressed though. The bogner is fairly tight as well, but there's more controls to dial some of that out. But it's probably more modern voiced than you'd want. I'd say go for the Ecstasy if that's your thing, or stick with the diezel or maybe go for an SLO.
 
RedB4Black said:
If you don't want tight and clear tone, then Wizard isn't for you. The contour on the MC2 will give its some squish, but it's still a tight amp. Definitely not compressed though. The bogner is fairly tight as well, but there's more controls to dial some of that out. But it's probably more modern voiced than you'd want. I'd say go for the Ecstasy if that's your thing, or stick with the diezel or maybe go for an SLO.
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I may be describing it as tight and actually mean compressed / thick. Had an XTC101b and really liked it.

Basically I play all my Diezels with the depth completely off of that makes sense. Seems to give it the most “note bloom”.
 
MontiCristo said:
also, I cannot deal with overly compressed / tight amps anymore. Again, I haven't played a Wizard yet, but I need to be able to do legato runs without having to pick each note and I cannot do that on a Diezel amp effectively, they are just too stiff. I see the both of you have commented on the Uber Ultra. Less expensive. Is the Uber tight and stiff or does it have a good "slick" feel to it?
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I would say something like a Diezel Vh4 is "compressed and tight" whereas Wizards are "uncompressed and tight". To me, Wizards feel great to play; there is some give when you pick. They are unforgiving not in how they feel, but how they respond, which is immediate, clear, loud and proud! Diezels have a much stiffer feel.

I had a chat with Rick (Rock Standard on the way....thanks again for the advice @WizardSouth-JP !!) he said his amps are in two main camps: the Vintage, w800 and rock standard and then the MC's, MTL and HellRazor with the latter having more gain and "harder" playing characteristics as he put it.

If you are considering Wizard, pretty tough to beat an MCII, as it can easily dabble on the vintage side of things and with the bright and contour up on the boost channel, it can get very aggressive.

I owned an Uber Ultra as well. Beast of an amp: modern era Uber tones. See, that one is a bit different again, as I would call an Uber Ultra "tight and saturated" so, while it does feel good, I found it a different playing experience to the Wizards I own and have played and the Diezels. It gets compared to the Hellrazor alot, but I have not tried that model yet.
 
VHTStark said:
I would say something like a Diezel Vh4 is "compressed and tight" whereas Wizards are "uncompressed and tight". To me, Wizards feel great to play; there is some give when you pick. They are unforgiving not in how they feel, but how they respond, which is immediate, clear, loud and proud! Diezels have a much stiffer feel.

I had a chat with Rick (Rock Standard on the way....thanks again for the advice @WizardSouth-JP !!) he said his amps are in two main camps: the Vintage, w800 and rock standard and then the MC's, MTL and HellRazor with the latter having more gain and "harder" playing characteristics as he put it.

If you are considering Wizard, pretty tough to beat an MCII, as it can easily dabble on the vintage side of things and with the bright and contour up on the boost channel, it can get very aggressive.

I owned an Uber Ultra as well. Beast of an amp: modern era Uber tones. See, that one is a bit different again, as I would call an Uber Ultra "tight and saturated" so, while it does feel good, I found it a different playing experience to the Wizards I own and have played and the Diezels. It gets compared to the Hellrazor alot, but I have not tried that model yet.
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I appreciate the response bro. I think you’re right about Diezel’s being “tight and compressed”. Easiest way for me to explain it is when doing a 3 note per string legato run. With a Diezel when I get to the next string I have to pick again because the pressure from my fingers isn’t enough to bring out the note. I don’t like that, I’d prefer my fingers be able to run up and down with just finger pressure. I don’t know if that’s “tightness” or “compression” but I don’t like it. Seems to me like the Wizard isn’t like that, much more “slick”.

I had an XTC101b and liked it, but hates the FX loop and MV so sold it. I’m thinking an MCII would be perfect for me because when I play my diezels I roll the depth knob all the way off, this is the only way I can get fast accurate legato runs. Hope that makes sense
 
MontiCristo said:
I appreciate the response bro. I think you’re right about Diezel’s being “tight and compressed”. Easiest way for me to explain it is when doing a 3 note per string legato run. With a Diezel when I get to the next string I have to pick again because the pressure from my fingers isn’t enough to bring out the note. I don’t like that, I’d prefer my fingers be able to run up and down with just finger pressure. I don’t know if that’s “tightness” or “compression” but I don’t like it. Seems to me like the Wizard isn’t like that, much more “slick”.

I had an XTC101b and liked it, but hates the FX loop and MV so sold it. I’m thinking an MCII would be perfect for me because when I play my diezels I roll the depth knob all the way off, this is the only way I can get fast accurate legato runs. Hope that makes sense
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The only experience I have with Diezels is the modern version of the VH4. It is a dry, compressed and tight amp. If you like light legato runs then compression is going to be your friend, along with saturation (more gain), which will help make solos easier to play. I’d recommend what @RedB4Black said above and look at getting another XTC, SLO, Mezzabarba or something similar. They will give you what you’re looking for.

The MCII and MTL are tight, stiff, immediate unforgiving amps. You might find the saturation you want with the MTL but I don’t know if you’ll like the way the midrange sits in comparison to other amps, especially if you’re a mostly rock guy. You will need a boost pedal to get the saturation/compression you want from the MCII if you go that route. It doesn’t have a lot of gain.
 
pipboy90 said:
The only experience I have with Diezels is the modern version of the VH4. It is a dry, compressed and tight amp. If you like light legato runs then compression is going to be your friend, along with saturation (more gain), which will help make solos easier to play. I’d recommend what @RedB4Black said above and look at getting another XTC, SLO, Mezzabarba or something similar. They will give you what you’re looking for.

The MCII and MTL are tight, stiff, immediate unforgiving amps. You might find the saturation you want with the MTL but I don’t know if you’ll like the way the midrange sits in comparison to other amps, especially if you’re a mostly rock guy. You will need a boost pedal to get the saturation/compression you want from the MCII if you go that route. It doesn’t have a lot of gain.
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To my ears - although you can dial them in for a tighter tone, they’re fun as hell to play and still feel good under the fingers, you can dial them in to sound very familiar - almost a produced tone - or they can be surgical depending on guitar, boost, settings.
 
VHTStark said:
I would say something like a Diezel Vh4 is "compressed and tight" whereas Wizards are "uncompressed and tight". To me, Wizards feel great to play; there is some give when you pick. They are unforgiving not in how they feel, but how they respond, which is immediate, clear, loud and proud! Diezels have a much stiffer feel.

I had a chat with Rick (Rock Standard on the way....thanks again for the advice @WizardSouth-JP !!) he said his amps are in two main camps: the Vintage, w800 and rock standard and then the MC's, MTL and HellRazor with the latter having more gain and "harder" playing characteristics as he put it.

If you are considering Wizard, pretty tough to beat an MCII, as it can easily dabble on the vintage side of things and with the bright and contour up on the boost channel, it can get very aggressive.

I owned an Uber Ultra as well. Beast of an amp: modern era Uber tones. See, that one is a bit different again, as I would call an Uber Ultra "tight and saturated" so, while it does feel good, I found it a different playing experience to the Wizards I own and have played and the Diezels. It gets compared to the Hellrazor alot, but I have not tried that model yet.
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The Rock Standard is probably one of the best single channel amps out there - no BS but super flexible EQ tweaking for a whole host of tones (classic to heavy rock.)
 
WizardSouth-JP said:
The Rock Standard is probably one of the best single channel amps out there - no BS but super flexible EQ tweaking for a whole host of tones (classic to heavy rock.)
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I'd throw the Big Max in the ring for a great single channel amp as well. Very nice amp, covers a lot of ground. Low Sensitivity with a boost is heaven.
 
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