PurityS.L.G
Well-known member
I got the opportunity and pleasure of demoing a 1 off proto of @JackBootedThug Thors Hammer. I was very curious of it since I’m a big fan of the Diezel VH4 amp and own the preamp pedal. I’ve owned a 2011 model of the actual amp as well years ago so I’m very familiar with the sound. The pedal gets extremely close, especially when paired with a power amp. In my case currently, the Fryette PS100 power station.
I gotta give HUGE props to Wayne @griff10672 for his attempt on this pedal. He nailed the tone and I actually prefer his take versus my actual VH4 pedal. First off, it has a tighter low end response. The deep knob is more useable past noon versus the OG, and it actually has MORE lowend but becomes way too much past 2 o’clock. The OG gets super mushy in comparison. I’m actually a little turned off by it now to be honest.
The high end is not as sharp on Thor but its pleasantly smoother and I dig it more that way. I do wish the treble on Thor had a bit more sweep if needed. Not much more difference than the OG after that IMO. The mids sound and behave the same as the OG pedal. Again, overall a great job!
So I was always curious how close my VH4 plug-ins sounded to an actual VH4 and this was a perfect time to finally to investigate in my way. The clip below will show you just how different they all sound. They all get ballpark. I would say Thor, VH4 pedal and Plugin Alliance official plugin are the absolute closest to sound and most importantly feel. ML Sound Lab Bassford is the most fun to play as it sounds and feels like a goosed up version of the actual amp. Its not 100% accurate if thats what you are looking for. IK Multimedia plugin is my least favorite. Then again, their plguins all sound pretty whack IMO. All dull and lifeless versions of the real deal even when using my own preferred IRs.
So the candidates were
Griffin Analog Thor’s Hammer, Diezel VH4 pedal, IK Multimedia VH4, ML Sound Lab VH4 and Plugin Alliance VH4.
Pedals signal chain: guitar>monster cable>pedal-monster cable>Fryette PS100>ML Sound Lab Mikko 2 IR Loader>Mega V30 IR on left/Mars 75 IR on right
No technical playing. As usual I like to play hanging chords to showcase the grind/growl of the amp voicing for a better comparison sake.
I’ll disclose which was which by end of the day so you guys can have some fun with guesses.
I gotta give HUGE props to Wayne @griff10672 for his attempt on this pedal. He nailed the tone and I actually prefer his take versus my actual VH4 pedal. First off, it has a tighter low end response. The deep knob is more useable past noon versus the OG, and it actually has MORE lowend but becomes way too much past 2 o’clock. The OG gets super mushy in comparison. I’m actually a little turned off by it now to be honest.
The high end is not as sharp on Thor but its pleasantly smoother and I dig it more that way. I do wish the treble on Thor had a bit more sweep if needed. Not much more difference than the OG after that IMO. The mids sound and behave the same as the OG pedal. Again, overall a great job!
So I was always curious how close my VH4 plug-ins sounded to an actual VH4 and this was a perfect time to finally to investigate in my way. The clip below will show you just how different they all sound. They all get ballpark. I would say Thor, VH4 pedal and Plugin Alliance official plugin are the absolute closest to sound and most importantly feel. ML Sound Lab Bassford is the most fun to play as it sounds and feels like a goosed up version of the actual amp. Its not 100% accurate if thats what you are looking for. IK Multimedia plugin is my least favorite. Then again, their plguins all sound pretty whack IMO. All dull and lifeless versions of the real deal even when using my own preferred IRs.
So the candidates were
Griffin Analog Thor’s Hammer, Diezel VH4 pedal, IK Multimedia VH4, ML Sound Lab VH4 and Plugin Alliance VH4.
Pedals signal chain: guitar>monster cable>pedal-monster cable>Fryette PS100>ML Sound Lab Mikko 2 IR Loader>Mega V30 IR on left/Mars 75 IR on right
No technical playing. As usual I like to play hanging chords to showcase the grind/growl of the amp voicing for a better comparison sake.
I’ll disclose which was which by end of the day so you guys can have some fun with guesses.
