AngryGoldfish
New member
So I just came back from holiday in Exeter where I spent two days at Mansons Guitar playing lots of different amps. For the sake of being "on topic", I shall only discuss my thoughts on the Schmidt.
Schmidt – 8.9/10
-Lets start with the aesthetics and build quality. Every Diezel amp I've been in contact with has exemplified the basics of ergonomics and common sense. Everything looks correctly fitted and proportionate. The Bad Cats and Matchless amps I also tried - although being made by the same Mark Si(a)mpson - just don't look right. We all know how frickin' awesome the switches feel on a Diezel amp, and the Schmidt is no different. The knobs are very well-contoured and easy to manipulate. The volume controls are steady and do not shake.
-Regarding sounds, the clean channel is a tad warmer and sweeter than the other Diezel amps I've played. It has wonderfully balanced reverb that never washes out your signal. The notes 'pop' and 'quack' just as the VH4 does, but not in the slightly cold way we're used to. The EQ controls have a marvellous affect on the tone that allows for outstanding diversity. The treble is incredibly important, as this is a very bright and sharp amp. My favourite settings uses the bass at 3 o'clock, the treble at 10 or 11 o'clock, and the middle just slightly boosted. The reverb was perfect at any setting, literally. The master volume was normally set quite high, but didn't need to be. To evoke the warmest, punchiest clean sounds, without break-up, was about 10 or 11 o'clock.
Cranking the clean channel all the way up (and yes, I could sit in front of it with a 4x12 in a tiny sound-proofed room and not feel like I was killing myself, and without feedback) awarded me a really, really chunky rhythm tone. I was incredibly surprised how beautifully distorted it was. I could play some stoner rock and hard blues with this setting and feel quite at home. Once again, increasing the treble was a little on the harsh side. I felt like it needed a Presence control, in order to tame the highs in some way, without altering the EQ too much.
-Channel 2 had tonnes of gain. Way more than I was expecting. Again, a Depth control here could of added the depth and 'boom' that shines on the Herbert, maybe even elevating the sound from the overt sharpness to something more 3dimensional. I put the EQ to basically exactly the same as the clean channel, but with more midrange. The midrange on this amp is superb. I could crank it all the way up and play quite happily at very high volumes for as long as I wish. I was very impressed. The gain control is not as usable at super high settings - it kinda gets a little fizzy and isn't as defined - but I've yet to find an amp that has complete control of the gain stages. I prefer my gain to be tight, unsaturated and crunchy. I don't like that ENGL-type gain very much.
-Channel 3 is essentially channel 2 with more gain. It has way more than I will ever need, and I do play some forms of modern metal.
For a Class A, 30 watt amp with a supple clean channel, this thing ROARS. It won't quite chugga chugga with the Herbert, but that's maybe because it doesn't have a depth knob. I understand that adding a Presence and a Depth control could affect the circuit in an unpleasant way - removing the amps' organics - but it may of helped push this amp into the territory of hardcore metal. I'm not interested in that necessarily, but I'm sure some people are. What I AM interested in is the ability to dial in the amount of bass the power amp has in conjunction with the speakers. Whether I'm playing low gain stoner rock or Meshuggah, having that control is a wonderful thing.
The gain isn't as slushy as my Soldano at high levels, but it is slightly fizzy - and I wasn't playing at low volumes: the master volume was always after 9 o'clock on the dial (although that isn't very loud). The only way to derive more depth and guttural punch from this amp was to crank the volume up super high and reduce the preamp gain. I have no problem doing this as I like loudness!
I hate when you hear musicians playing AxeFx's at talking levels. I mean, some people have to do that because they live in flats or have children. But those that don't... our ears like a nice amount of volume, so don't be cheap!
-Finally, to sum it all up, wow. I was mega impressed with this beautiful, beautiful creation. It's not the perfect amp for me, but I may buy it. I was not able to try the clean channel with a high gain distortion pedal. I was frustrated about that, but maybe it'll happen one day. We'll have to see. Until then, to those hoping to replace their VH4's or Herbert's with a better clean channel, be prepared to suffer in the chugga chugga stakes. But do not be concerned about gain and versatility. This amp has a pristine and typically warm clean channel that Diezel amps are renowned for, and it also rips for blues, jazz rock and metal. I'd like to thank Mansons Guitars for putting up with my weird playing for two whole days and the entire Diezel crew for designed and producing another superb amplifier!
Schmidt – 8.9/10
-Lets start with the aesthetics and build quality. Every Diezel amp I've been in contact with has exemplified the basics of ergonomics and common sense. Everything looks correctly fitted and proportionate. The Bad Cats and Matchless amps I also tried - although being made by the same Mark Si(a)mpson - just don't look right. We all know how frickin' awesome the switches feel on a Diezel amp, and the Schmidt is no different. The knobs are very well-contoured and easy to manipulate. The volume controls are steady and do not shake.
-Regarding sounds, the clean channel is a tad warmer and sweeter than the other Diezel amps I've played. It has wonderfully balanced reverb that never washes out your signal. The notes 'pop' and 'quack' just as the VH4 does, but not in the slightly cold way we're used to. The EQ controls have a marvellous affect on the tone that allows for outstanding diversity. The treble is incredibly important, as this is a very bright and sharp amp. My favourite settings uses the bass at 3 o'clock, the treble at 10 or 11 o'clock, and the middle just slightly boosted. The reverb was perfect at any setting, literally. The master volume was normally set quite high, but didn't need to be. To evoke the warmest, punchiest clean sounds, without break-up, was about 10 or 11 o'clock.
Cranking the clean channel all the way up (and yes, I could sit in front of it with a 4x12 in a tiny sound-proofed room and not feel like I was killing myself, and without feedback) awarded me a really, really chunky rhythm tone. I was incredibly surprised how beautifully distorted it was. I could play some stoner rock and hard blues with this setting and feel quite at home. Once again, increasing the treble was a little on the harsh side. I felt like it needed a Presence control, in order to tame the highs in some way, without altering the EQ too much.
-Channel 2 had tonnes of gain. Way more than I was expecting. Again, a Depth control here could of added the depth and 'boom' that shines on the Herbert, maybe even elevating the sound from the overt sharpness to something more 3dimensional. I put the EQ to basically exactly the same as the clean channel, but with more midrange. The midrange on this amp is superb. I could crank it all the way up and play quite happily at very high volumes for as long as I wish. I was very impressed. The gain control is not as usable at super high settings - it kinda gets a little fizzy and isn't as defined - but I've yet to find an amp that has complete control of the gain stages. I prefer my gain to be tight, unsaturated and crunchy. I don't like that ENGL-type gain very much.
-Channel 3 is essentially channel 2 with more gain. It has way more than I will ever need, and I do play some forms of modern metal.
For a Class A, 30 watt amp with a supple clean channel, this thing ROARS. It won't quite chugga chugga with the Herbert, but that's maybe because it doesn't have a depth knob. I understand that adding a Presence and a Depth control could affect the circuit in an unpleasant way - removing the amps' organics - but it may of helped push this amp into the territory of hardcore metal. I'm not interested in that necessarily, but I'm sure some people are. What I AM interested in is the ability to dial in the amount of bass the power amp has in conjunction with the speakers. Whether I'm playing low gain stoner rock or Meshuggah, having that control is a wonderful thing. The gain isn't as slushy as my Soldano at high levels, but it is slightly fizzy - and I wasn't playing at low volumes: the master volume was always after 9 o'clock on the dial (although that isn't very loud). The only way to derive more depth and guttural punch from this amp was to crank the volume up super high and reduce the preamp gain. I have no problem doing this as I like loudness!
I hate when you hear musicians playing AxeFx's at talking levels. I mean, some people have to do that because they live in flats or have children. But those that don't... our ears like a nice amount of volume, so don't be cheap!-Finally, to sum it all up, wow. I was mega impressed with this beautiful, beautiful creation. It's not the perfect amp for me, but I may buy it. I was not able to try the clean channel with a high gain distortion pedal. I was frustrated about that, but maybe it'll happen one day. We'll have to see. Until then, to those hoping to replace their VH4's or Herbert's with a better clean channel, be prepared to suffer in the chugga chugga stakes. But do not be concerned about gain and versatility. This amp has a pristine and typically warm clean channel that Diezel amps are renowned for, and it also rips for blues, jazz rock and metal. I'd like to thank Mansons Guitars for putting up with my weird playing for two whole days and the entire Diezel crew for designed and producing another superb amplifier!
