I'm a Diezel noob so bear with me please......

[NaturalBornBoy]

Thanks for all the help, guys

One more question, if I were to use a midi footswitch like the Tech 21 Midi Moose, will the VH4 phantom power it? Do I just use a standard 5-pin midi cable?

Yes, the T21 MM will work. The 5 pin DIN cable needs to have pins 1 and 3 wired hot. The pedal cannot exceed 12V @ 800mA draw. Otherwise, you will pop the fuse on the MIDI board in the amp.

Ok so how do I know if pins 1 and 3 are wired hot?

Is it something I have to do myself or do they sell them this way?

Some of them will say so on the specs online. HOSA midi cables work. Monster does not. You can change the pin outs yourself, but they are a bitch to resolder. Like working on a watch. Another option is to get a cable manufacturer like Best-Tronics or Lava to make you one. It will be heavy duty too.

If the description states 'all 5 pins connected', does this mean that it'll work with the VH4?

 

[steve_k]

Thanks for all the help, guys

One more question, if I were to use a midi footswitch like the Tech 21 Midi Moose, will the VH4 phantom power it? Do I just use a standard 5-pin midi cable?

Yes, the T21 MM will work. The 5 pin DIN cable needs to have pins 1 and 3 wired hot. The pedal cannot exceed 12V @ 800mA draw. Otherwise, you will pop the fuse on the MIDI board in the amp.

Ok so how do I know if pins 1 and 3 are wired hot?

Is it something I have to do myself or do they sell them this way?

Some of them will say so on the specs online. HOSA midi cables work. Monster does not. You can change the pin outs yourself, but they are a bitch to resolder. Like working on a watch. Another option is to get a cable manufacturer like Best-Tronics or Lava to make you one. It will be heavy duty too.

If the description states 'all 5 pins connected', does this mean that it'll work with the VH4?

Usually

 

[i.ak]

Yep, as Steve stated majority of those cables which have 5-pins connected do work, but there are some exceptions. I have made all my MIDI-cables inside my rack by myself so as long as you know how to solder and do have steady-enough hands you can build your own in worst case scenario of no suitable cable available. But if that is the route you gonna go make sure you buy a MIDI-cable that has the DIN-connector made from metal with a screw to open + reasseble it (see picture bellow). Those covered in plastic/rubber are usually such that you cannot open them without breaking.

Here is one example of DIN7 (=seven pins) and DIN5 (= five pins) that can be opened up and reassembled easily. NOTE: Just a random pictures from Google.
http://cablesandconnectors.com/PIX/pandin3600.jpg
http://damencnc.com/images/products/Pol ... ectors.jpg

Where are you located? US, Europe, Asia, Australia, some other continent? We could try to give you some hints on the cables, etc. available on your region.

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

I'm in Asia and seeing that I'll be buying the VH4 from Thomann, I would like to get the MIDI cable from there as well.

 

[Peter Diezel]

I'm in Asia and seeing that I'll be buying the VH4 from Thomann, I would like to get the MIDI cable from there as well.

We only deliver 230 volt units to Thomann, please be careful.

 

[steve_k]

While waiting on my new road case.....

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

I'm in Asia and seeing that I'll be buying the VH4 from Thomann, I would like to get the MIDI cable from there as well.

We only deliver 230 volt units to Thomann, please be careful.

Hi Peter,

Singapore runs on 230v so no worries there.

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

The VH4 is the best amplifier ever made. If you don't like it, then you should stop using amplifiers and find a different hobby.

Not everybody likes the Diezel voicing. Just sayin'

I'm a Marshall guy at heart so biting the bullet on something totally foreign to me, like a VH4, is scary.

I don't want another Marshall but what I don't want even more is a low-mids heavy amp. Hence my question about the mid range on a VH4.

 

[steve_k]

The VH4 is the best amplifier ever made. If you don't like it, then you should stop using amplifiers and find a different hobby.

Not everybody likes the Diezel voicing. Just sayin'

I'm a Marshall guy at heart so biting the bullet on something totally foreign to me, like a VH4, is scary.

I don't want another Marshall but what I don't want even more is a low-mids heavy amp. Hence my question about the mid range on a VH4.

You will find the VH4 to be quite neutral, actually, across the complete EQ spectrum. Fortunately, Peter didn't clone any other amp manufacturers circuit when he designed the VH4, so it didn't inherit the tonal limitations or characteristics of some of the early amps. As a long time Diezel user, I can say that a Diezel doesn't sound like anything else. It sounds like a Diezel and has its own unique tone print. It's also all the peripheral functionality of the amp and control of those functions that make the VH4 work for me.

 

[Profound]

Its quite hard to buy an amp without hearing it in person. So unfortunately for you, no matter how many questions you ask our how many clips you hear or watch on the net, you will never get it right. VH4 , SLO, XTC, superlead (and some others) are something like industry standards but still may not exactly fit you because each one of these has its own thing going. But it doesn't mean that you will not enjoy each one of them (especially if you can not compare them in person with something better).

So in order to make it easier for you, as long as you can afford it, go for it. If you cant afford it, go for the D-moll and you are still going to be a happy man.

 

[JimmyBlind]

It's a lot of money to spend on an amp without playing it. It's not something I would do personally, but theVH4 is such an amazing amplifier that you can't not be pleased with your purchase.
The VH4 is a pretty rewarding amp, tonally. I know some people who haven't enjoyed it. Usually people who dial in horribly scooped, fizzy tones & can't appreciate the rich midrange it offers. The VH4 does very little for disguising your mistakes, which is only a good thing.
I'm on my second VH4 now. I play a range of styles & find the VH4 delivers well. I don't play metal & I don't consider the VH4 a metal amp. I play mostly overdriven leads & cleans with stomp effects.
I've dabbled with other amps & AxeFX's here & there, but think i'm settled with her for good. It has a broad spectrum of tones & houses, arguably, the greatest crunch pre-amp in the business. It has more switching options that you can imagine, is built from military grade components, providing you with one of the greatest rock guitar platforms of all time.

It's not a bedroom amp, i'll be honest. At semi-quiet volumes, the VH4 still sounds excellent but she is designed to test the stadium & festival stage.
Don't let the barrage of appalling Youtube videos deceive you. There isn't enough hours in the day to test the VH4's tonal spectrum & no YT video with its horribly compressed audio can hope to do justice to the wall-paper-stripping, grandma's-underpant-shitting assualt that the VH4 delivers in real life.
I had the opportunity of pushing the VH4's master to noon at a band practice once & was immediately told to turn it down.

 

[kahawe]

Iwall-paper-stripping, grandma's-underpant-shitting assualt that the VH4 delivers in real life.

It's a good day when "room reverb" turns into "structural integrity of the building I am in reverb" - aka I can feel and hear the walls around me shaking

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

This is the video that made me go, "Fuck me I need a VH4!"

 

[steve_k]

It's a lot of money to spend on an amp without playing it. It's not something I would do personally, but theVH4 is such an amazing amplifier that you can't not be pleased with your purchase.
The VH4 is a pretty rewarding amp, tonally. I know some people who haven't enjoyed it. Usually people who dial in horribly scooped, fizzy tones & can't appreciate the rich midrange it offers. The VH4 does very little for disguising your mistakes, which is only a good thing.
I'm on my second VH4 now. I play a range of styles & find the VH4 delivers well. I don't play metal & I don't consider the VH4 a metal amp. I play mostly overdriven leads & cleans with stomp effects.
I've dabbled with other amps & AxeFX's here & there, but think i'm settled with her for good. It has a broad spectrum of tones & houses, arguably, the greatest crunch pre-amp in the business. It has more switching options that you can imagine, is built from military grade components, providing you with one of the greatest rock guitar platforms of all time.

It's not a bedroom amp, i'll be honest. At semi-quiet volumes, the VH4 still sounds excellent but she is designed to test the stadium & festival stage.
Don't let the barrage of appalling Youtube videos deceive you. There isn't enough hours in the day to test the VH4's tonal spectrum & no YT video with its horribly compressed audio can hope to do justice to the wall-paper-stripping, grandma's-underpant-shitting assualt that the VH4 delivers in real life.
I had the opportunity of pushing the VH4's master to noon at a band practice once & was immediately told to turn it down.

Good post and summary

The goodness of the amp really starts to shine with the channel volumes around 1:00 and the master about 10:00. At this point, you get all of the post-EQ working for you as well as all the channel EQ - and the mighty VH4 then opens up and breathes (like a fire-breathing dragon)....

 

[dass101]

This is the video that made me go, "Fuck me I need a VH4!"

IMO this is a very good example of how a Diezel amp sounds. You can hear the dry bark and the perfect tight low end.
The VH4 and other Diezel amps to some degree don't have neither a high mid presence like a Marshall nor a low mid heavyness like a Bogner. I always thought of them like a perfectly EQed guitar tone. Dial down a bit of 200-300 Hz for added clarity in the low end, noch out a bit of 2-3K to remove fatiguing high mid presence, and you are left with a tone that still has balls and cut and sits perfectly in any mix. You get that with Diezel right out of the box.

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

Do any of you VH4 owners past and present, find that the low-end is overwhelming?

 

[JimmyBlind]

Do any of you VH4 owners past and present, find that the low-end is overwhelming?

I'm not sure I find that, even on neutral settings. The master depth controls are pretty responsive though. Beyond 12 o clock, the deep knob starts to make the amp sound a bit whoofy. I tend to keep it around 11am & the presence at 12/1pm.
I had an Einstein that I think had a fault in Ch2. The bottom end was awful to the point of needing to remove the bass completely from the EQ.

I don't play any drop-tune styles or need a lot of bass in my playing. The VH4 seems to be pretty well balanced for the music I play.

 

[steve_k]

Do any of you VH4 owners past and present, find that the low-end is overwhelming?

Not at all.

 

[Metaddict]

This Amp is the shit.Every Channel is great.Period!!!!
You can do a lot with it.From the Channel Inserts to seriel and parallel Effect-Loop.It does it all.
I would like to buy me a second one and run them in stereo.
One of the things i like the most is that this amp has a certain kind of percussive sound to it that i didn´t heard from another amps.
Played it with different guitars and pickups and they all sounded great.
All of my guitars have the EMG James Hetfield Pickups in it.I know they are hot but i like it.

 

[Ventura]

Do any of you VH4 owners past and present, find that the low-end is overwhelming?

Nope