This, haha.
This 2004 VH4 is my third VH4. I've also owned a 2010 and a 2022. This 2004 VH4 sounds so incredibly different from the other two I had, I can't even explain it. Way less compressed and fizzy than my 2010 and dare I say more "vintage" and "raw" than my 2022, which sounded good but was very polished and modern.
This 2004 is darker than those two, with less compression and less gain globally (except on Channel 2, interestingly, which has more gain than I remember either of the other two having). The lowered global gain makes the sweep of the gain knobs much more useable from 1-10. Sure, the clean channel on the 2004 is not as pristine and shimmering as the other two, but the amp is overall much more organic and punchy, with a more pleasant top end. It has more pleasant harmonic content and the frequencies coming out of the amp are more balanced and classic. The under-the-finger feel is better and the amp responds more naturally. It just has more personality. It's more fun to play and more satisfying to your ear. THIS is the VH4 tone I had been chasing. Crazy how they can all be so different.
A forum member who has known Peter Diezel since 1998 told me that up until 2006, all VH4s were pretty much the same as the old "Blueface" circuit from the mid-to-late 90s. But in the mid-2000's, Peter got many requests to make the VH4 brighter and sharper, with more gain and cut. Players wanted more gain and articulation for "chug"/metal/down-tuned sounds. So Peter made an interesting modification to the amp. Adding a certain resistor to the circuit it would increase the gain, compression, brightness, and sizzle. The lower the value, the more gain, compression, brightness, and sizzle.
In 2007, VH4's started coming stock with these resistors. This is why the post-2007 VH4's all sound the way they do, and it's the way the market was trending at that time. If you recall, Mesa Boogie made similar changes to the 3-Channel Rectifiers in the 2000's to give them more gain, cut, and sizzle. (People now call them "fizzy" but at the time, people liked them.) Peter kept the resistors in the amps and continued adjusting the circuit to players' ears over the years, and as a result the VH4 continued to get more polished and produced as the years went on. I don't know what value they are using in current production VH4's.
When anyone asks about the VH4, my question is always, "Which VH4?" because they can be very different.
I have clips of my 2004 against @pipboy90 's 2022 (we left the mic's running when we were comparing the two). I'll try and get that video finished this week so you can check it out yourself.
