Diezel VH4 Blueface

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Are you interested in getting "old-script" Diezel VH4 Blueface?

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I don't know anything about technical details, but can just say from my experience the 2001 version I had did not sound or feel much like the 1997 Blueface I have. I do remember liking it more for sure though than the later versions I recall trying
 
Higgs said:
I meant no disrespect with my comments, but my evidence is over 770 pics of Diezels archived over the past 20+ years and my participation in builder forums going back just as far. Here's some of the rundown in general terms.

Confirmed in a '96 BF: this amp had a tube in position V2 using both tube halves for the original version of Ch1. Also, V3B was in circuit and used for Ch3 2nd stage, which would eventually be removed in future revisions. As far as external indicators, on the front panel there was only a single 3-pos bright switch for Ch1 on this amp. The input tube was also arranged with a cathode follower, but not for all channels. Plate resistors and bypass capacitors are slightly different values than all amps from the late '90s to current. (Have not yet verified a specific year for the changeover.)

There are transition BF amps (likely late '90s, specific years unverified, again) with the original Ch1 completely redesigned (similar to current). These amps use half of V2 as an input stage parallel to the normal V1 input stage, and have two 2-pos bright switches on the front panel, but also continue to use the V3B for Ch3, keeping this channel nearly the same as above, but with slightly different part values all over the place. The input CF may or may not be in these amps.

As of '00 (and potentially earlier) V2 is no longer installed. Input CF is out of circuit from here, going forward. These amps now have V3B out of circuit, changing Ch3 from 4 to 3 gain stages in the preamp along with a TON of other small changes, especially year to year. This is confirmed in '00, '01, & '04 stock amps. The '02 in the video would be similar to these, with minor changes throughout.

And for another bit of fun, there are also amps out there with original blue faceplates that were updated, per owner request, to whatever the current spec was at the given time they were serviced. There are also relatively minor factory-modded variants of everything outlined above.
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Any chance you could upload all these pics somewhere so we all have them for reference?
 
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Higgs said:
I meant no disrespect with my comments, but my evidence is over 770 pics of Diezels archived over the past 20+ years and my participation in builder forums going back just as far. Here's some of the rundown in general terms.

Confirmed in a '96 BF: this amp had a tube in position V2 using both tube halves for the original version of Ch1. Also, V3B was in circuit and used for Ch3 2nd stage, which would eventually be removed in future revisions. As far as external indicators, on the front panel there was only a single 3-pos bright switch for Ch1 on this amp. The input tube was also arranged with a cathode follower, but not for all channels. Plate resistors and bypass capacitors are slightly different values than all amps from the late '90s to current. (Have not yet verified a specific year for the changeover.)

There are transition BF amps (likely late '90s, specific years unverified, again) with the original Ch1 completely redesigned (similar to current). These amps use half of V2 as an input stage parallel to the normal V1 input stage, and have two 2-pos bright switches on the front panel, but also continue to use the V3B for Ch3, keeping this channel nearly the same as above, but with slightly different part values all over the place. The input CF may or may not be in these amps.

As of '00 (and potentially earlier) V2 is no longer installed. Input CF is out of circuit from here, going forward. These amps now have V3B out of circuit, changing Ch3 from 4 to 3 gain stages in the preamp along with a TON of other small changes, especially year to year. This is confirmed in '00, '01, & '04 stock amps. The '02 in the video would be similar to these, with minor changes throughout.

And for another bit of fun, there are also amps out there with original blue faceplates that were updated, per owner request, to whatever the current spec was at the given time they were serviced. There are also relatively minor factory-modded variants of everything outlined above.
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Welcome and thanks for sharing! Is there any chance you have schematics for the ‘96 version of the amp? Also, like hellzington said, if you could upload the pics to Imgur or Google Drive that would be awesome. I have about 50 I downloaded from a Facebook group I could share.

It’s crazy how many tweaks have been made to this amp throughout its lifespan. It’s honestly a little annoying, if you like a certain sound. I wish Peter just made different versions of the vh4 or made them separate amps.
 
pipboy90 said:
It’s crazy how many tweaks have been made to this amp throughout its lifespan. It’s honestly a little annoying
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Agree...
I have been looking for information about Blueface for many... years?
Hope we will get closer to understanding it one day.
 
pipboy90 said:
Welcome and thanks for sharing! Is there any chance you have schematics for the ‘96 version of the amp? Also, like hellzington said, if you could upload the pics to Imgur or Google Drive that would be awesome. I have about 50 I downloaded from a Facebook group I could share.

It’s crazy how many tweaks have been made to this amp throughout its lifespan. It’s honestly a little annoying, if you like a certain sound. I wish Peter just made different versions of the vh4 or made them separate amps.
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Are those ~50 pics of VH4S # 961015 by any chance, or another one? If it's the pics I'm thinking, those finally confirmed a couple part values after more than 15 years of waiting. There are still around a dozen cap values that can't be 100% confirmed even with those pics, but for about half of those, assumptions can be made pretty safely.

If you go digging, right now there's currently a partial gut shot of VH4 960034 from its archived Reverb listing and another full pic of 1996 VH4S (# ?) on the FB page of an electronics repair shop in Switzerland.

And yeah, I wasn't sure what to think about the constant changes to the VH4 circuits, but lately I've started to think about it as if it's a high-end sports car. The make and model is the same, but what you got 10 and 20 years ago was a completely different thing. I know the analogy isn't 100% accurate, but IDK.
 
Higgs said:
Are those ~50 pics of VH4S # 961015 by any chance, or another one? If it's the pics I'm thinking, those finally confirmed a couple part values after more than 15 years of waiting. There are still around a dozen cap values that can't be 100% confirmed even with those pics, but for about half of those, assumptions can be made pretty safely.

If you go digging, right now there's currently a partial gut shot of VH4 960034 from its archived Reverb listing and another full pic of 1996 VH4S (# ?) on the FB page of an electronics repair shop in Switzerland.

And yeah, I wasn't sure what to think about the constant changes to the VH4 circuits, but lately I've started to think about it as if it's a high-end sports car. The make and model is the same, but what you got 10 and 20 years ago was a completely different thing. I know the analogy isn't 100% accurate, but IDK.
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Yes, it's the same pics you're talking about. I'll link them here in case anyone else wants to check them out: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1l5dlyXaxZFR9h-9Gz1ul1c7gxLdtfT_5?usp=drive_link
 
Hi all! Maybe my first post here, hadn't realised I have a RT account, must've been created years ago. 1996 VH4S 961015 is mine, nice to see the pics linked here along with the rest of the BF chat. I'm spending some time with it this weekend, had a request for some more info on the circuity so I'll take a look and see what's what. Hello and Cheers!
 
Quinny said:
Hi all! Maybe my first post here, hadn't realised I have a RT account, must've been created years ago. 1996 VH4S 961015 is mine, nice to see the pics linked here along with the rest of the BF chat. I'm spending some time with it this weekend, had a request for some more info on the circuity so I'll take a look and see what's what. Hello and Cheers!
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Any interesting updates?
 
That's subjective I suppose.....had a gent asking for pics of various components, which I provided and he seemed quite happy with....but, my involvement with amps is limited to playing them (even that's arguable!) and as much as I can appreciate the build quality the various components, circuitry and values don't mean much to me outside of tubes and transformers. Happy to share those pics if you're interested. My main squeezes are turret board Marshalls which I can JUST about understand when looking at a circuit..... the VH4/S? In awe of how it all looks, but really how it works is well over my head!
 
It's a work in progress. First off, huge thanks to Quinny for taking the time to capture clear photos of your amp. Do you have any idea if this one was ever serviced or updated at any point? From the looks of it, everything on the board appears all original. The only things I can spot are the Ch4 volume pot and both of your master volume pots look as though they were repaired/replaced, but otherwise that is super clean and in awesome condition for a nearly 30 year old amp.

Thanks again!
 
Joseph - that you? ?

Pretty sure it's never been serviced - chap I bought it from got it new from Diezel in '96, used it for a few years then it sat in storage for a long time. He didn't mention any work and as far as I know it's 100% stock..... but, trying to work out a road trip to get it to Peter for a service later in the year, so will be interested to hear his thoughts when he has had a look.

Cheers!
Q.
 
The seller directly wrote that the amplifier had been modified.
It's really sad.
 
What IS the story with that one exactly? It was for sale around the same time as my '96..... was something about it which didn't feel right to me. Is it indeed one of the first VH4 ever built, then modded to more modern spec over the years? Kinda like the 'Blueface reissue' thing, silver face VH4 in a blue coat?
 
Quinny said:
What IS the story with that one exactly? It was for sale around the same time as my '96..... was something about it which didn't feel right to me. Is it indeed one of the first VH4 ever built, then modded to more modern spec over the years? Kinda like the 'Blueface reissue' thing, silver face VH4 in a blue coat?
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The very first Bluefaces have a different layout, thin lines passing in the middle of the knobs, that one was a 97, thick white lines, the same as a silcerface aesthetically ( black lines) but blue, different board, a new one. So that amp was a 97 blueface aestheticallybut a silverface in reality, so his vale was nowhere near what he was asking for.
 
Damn, I think that one ended up in the USA if I recall properly. I wonder what the actual selling price was, and whether buyer knows what he actually has.
 
I've always felt I could nail Adam Jones' tone with a Rectifier so I've never put too much thought into seeking out a Diezel.
 
SonVolt said:
I've always felt I could nail Adam Jones' tone with a Rectifier so I've never put too much thought into seeking out a Diezel.
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While I want to disagree with you on this point, part of me does actually agree, and I share the same opinion regarding a lot of music gear. For example, as far as creating music is concerned, a used HH Strat can functionally cover much of the same ground (if not more) as a Les Paul at <1/10 the cost for a working musician. But, that said - a Squire is not a '59 Les Paul, right?

It's part of the fun to see cover bands where the guys are running super-expensive gear like the 'Adam' guy with a silverburst LP into a VH4 & Marshall or the 'Hetfield' guy rocking a Ken Lawrence into a Mark. More power to 'em, although a couple of these dudes could afford to practice a bit more. LOL

My personal long-running interest in the VH4 is just seeing how the circuit has evolved over time. Simply documenting the changes is pretty interesting to follow. There was a similar thing going on with the Mesa Mark III a while back, since that amp was tweaked a bunch of times during its production run.
 
Higgs said:
There was a similar thing going on with the Mesa Mark III a while back, since that amp was tweaked a bunch of times during its production run.
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No/Black stripe, Purple, Red, Blue, Green...
Not unlike the revisions/tweaks to the Rectifier: C, D, E, F, G, 3-Channel, Multi-Watt... ?‍?
 
Higgs said:
While I want to disagree with you on this point, part of me does actually agree, and I share the same opinion regarding a lot of music gear. For example, as far as creating music is concerned, a used HH Strat can functionally cover much of the same ground (if not more) as a Les Paul at <1/10 the cost for a working musician. But, that said - a Squire is not a '59 Les Paul, right?

It's part of the fun to see cover bands where the guys are running super-expensive gear like the 'Adam' guy with a silverburst LP into a VH4 & Marshall or the 'Hetfield' guy rocking a Ken Lawrence into a Mark. More power to 'em, although a couple of these dudes could afford to practice a bit more. LOL

My personal long-running interest in the VH4 is just seeing how the circuit has evolved over time. Simply documenting the changes is pretty interesting to follow. There was a similar thing going on with the Mesa Mark III a while back, since that amp was tweaked a bunch of times during its production run.
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Well, Jones did use a Triple Rectifier on his early albums so that's the era that I prefer and most associate with his tone.

UQt1VTE.jpg
 
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