Is the Herbert reliable in the U.S??

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rockstarzusa

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Hi Guys, In the last two weeks we sold off our Bogner Ecstasy and cabinet to make way for a Diezel Herbert. Initially there were some issues similar to that of a bad preamp tube, (which I posted already on the forum) however after buying a full set of Ruby 12AX7's and EL34's (12 total for $187.00) the sound issue remained. Further still the MIDI feature was occasionally not engaging, turning off then on again fixed this problem. Then, about 90% of it's output volume dissapeared, and all manner of bass frequency around 80hz-to 140hz seemed to just be gone. Finally, 4 of the blue LED'S have blown.

I have tried different tubes, different cabinets, speaker cables, guitars, pulling everything off of the FX loop etc, everything outside of the amp head itself has been ruled out as an issue.

Luckily I was able to get a refund on the amp, I still have my NYC cabinet, but so far my Herbert experience has tanked. Here's the thing, I still think the Herbert is the best amp I have played, but am SERIOUSLY questioning the sense in going for a repeat, based on this experience.

Peter has been very helpful, and I know the customer service is first class at Salwander, but I really could only consider a Herbert again if they are truly reliable. Perhaps they are, and I just got a total lemon, but perhaps you can understand my hesitancy. I couldn't deal with the downtime if it heads back in for repair multiple times each year, let alone the shipping costs back and forth each time.

The thing that is a genuine concern is that like me I have read of others on this forum who have been waiting 2-3 months for their Herbert to be fixed which further make me wonder.

Could other Herbert users fill me in with their experience please? This isn't meant as a negative against Diezel in any way, I love the Herbert, but I need to know if this is a problamtic amp in general, here in the U.S?
 
Hey there. I have had no problems whatsoever with my Herbert; had it for about 2 years. I have no experience with repair times, obviously, but based upon the level of support offered by Uwe and Peter, I would think you'd be in better hands with them, than most any other company you could choose instead.

I also know of quite a few Herbert owners that have had trouble-free experiences.

My feeling is that you got a rare unit, and that a future purchase would prove to be a much more positive experience.

Regards,
Stu
 
I've had mine for just under a year, have about 300 hours on it, with no problems. Great amp, my absolute go to.
 
I've had mine for over a year now. No problems at all. Mostly local gig's and traveling to rehearsal. Besides that is stays at home.

I re-tubed and biased it myself based on instructions on the site. Amp is way over designed and clearly laid out. Very satisfied.

I did have a problem with my Einstein combo though. Some capacitors had gone bad based on trouble-shooting by Peter. I posted a video clip on this forum and he diagnosed the problem from that. He was very professional and quickly mailed me 3 new caps which I installed myself. No problems since :thumbsup:
 
2 year owner, weekend gigger here. 1 power tube set replacement, 2 microphonic preamp tube replacements. Never a problem, not even LED lights. Lost a power tube pair during a gig once. The Herbert shut down the pair and continued. Didn't even know 'till I checked the fuse.
 
looks like im the first to respond that has a problem. my amp is still at Uwes shop after about 2 and a half monthes, i toured hard on it and a few monthes back it would just stop making any sound, like someone unplugged it. i tried everything then sent it to uwe, they made some changes then sent it back promptly. it did it again so i sent it back. im still waiting. i am like you in that i prefer the herbert to all other amps. i just want the reliability that everyone else seems to have with their diezels. my einstien did arrive so that is keeping my mind off of it.
 
I cannot believe, that it take months to repair an amp at Mr. Salwenders shop.
I´m interested to know, how many customers got this experience.

When we get an broken amp in our workshop, it needs one or two days
to fix the amp. Customer support is more than important in our company.
We don´t earn our money by charging the customers, most repairs are
for free.

Tube amps need less service than a car but more than a washing machine.
So the reliability depends also on the service You get.

99 % of broken amps are caused by bad tubes. This is the reason why I´m
searching for a good sounding and reliable tube at this time.
Let me tell You our test methods:

We run the new tubes for some hours without load on standby
We bias the tubes
We run the tubes with signal and full load for one hour
We knock hard on the tubes several times to indicate mechanical problems
We bias the tubes
We check them soundwise
We knock on the tubes twice

During this process 30% of power tubes are going into the trash
or will send back for warranty.

We test the preamp tubes for noise. We use only 50% of the 12AX7
preamp tubes, because I´m not satisfied with the sound. The rest
is for the trash can. There is no warranty for weak sounding tubes.

I want to be honest: We had some troubles with the 22µ/500V cap loosing
the capacity. We bought 10000 LED´s and had some troubles
and we had some issues with the controller chips on the former VH4´s.
All this parts were not cheap and came from suppliers best known of
their good quality.

It makes no sense for us to sit down and cry, so we replace the
broken parts very quick and by warranty. That´s what we can do to keep
the customer satisfied. Since we have internet, every guy can go there
and cry about the broken amp. So 10000 people will know when one amp
is broken. That´s dangerous for the company, You will get a bad call within
10 minutes. Nobody wants to know, that we have 7500 transformers
without problems. The people wants to have a sensation: "4000 $ amp
got broken yesterday night, what a mess"

To come to the end of the story. If You have troubles with Your service
or with Your amp or with Your girlfriend feel free to contact me at

peterdiezel (at) diezelamplification.com

If You can understand my bad English, You can call me at

+49 9288 957662

Last question: Is the Chevrolet reliable in Europe ?

;)
 
If You have troubles with Your service
or with Your amp or with Your girlfriend feel free to contact me at
Click to expand...
:hys:

So far no problems with mine. Even if I have a problem some day there is only one amp I can replace the Herbert with - another Herbert. As for amp shops - they suck, it took about a month & half for a local shop to fix my Mesa, not too many qualified repairmen out there, a lot of them don't know what they are doing.
 
Lol, thanks Peter, I will be sure to pass on your details to my frineds whose girlfriends need 'repairing'

Well, it looks like I just came across a lemon. Looks like the Herbert is pretty decent after all. Now I have to try and find another one. If anyone comes across one, feel free to post it here and let me know. Would be most appreciated.

Peter, the reason I asked if they are reliable here in the U.S, was because a while back I was an endorsee for Peavey, and we did an Australian Tour with an older model iof theirs called the Ultra Plus, a 3 channel head. We must have gone through 15 of these heads, they just kept blowing transformers.... in the end it turned out there was an incompatibility during the alternation from U.S 120v to Aus 240v, and the load just caused them to blow....first time I had seen an amp put on a pyro show!!

I was hoping that the Diezel was not some type of repeat of that past incident over here. Looks loike it is not at all.

Cheers.
 
Oh yeah, thanks to all you guys who posted to tell me your experiences, thats great news, and encouraging.
 
We will learn from the issues of the past and I promise
to increase the reliability in the future. I have a meeting
on Wednesday with my partner and we will check out some
power tubes.

I will keep You posted about the results.

Thanks for Your patience :thumbsup:
 
Any complicated mechanical device can have problems...it doesn't matter who built it, they can't build every component. I think it's pretty obvious the Diezel's are well built and in use with a lot of touring pros. Not only that but they will have great service and warranty should you run across a problem. Pretty killer insurance policy I would say.

I play my Herbert loud constantly and move it around / gig / tour with it and no problems yet after a couple of years. :rock:
 
I have never had an issue. Everyone I have gotten in, played and/or sold...were perfect! Anything can happen tho!

Josh
 
Peter Diezel":5f434 said:
If You have troubles with Your service or with Your amp or with Your girlfriend feel free to contact me at...
Click to expand...

I´ve got a wife, can i contact you too? :lol: :LOL: But never had problems with her.


My Herbie works fine. :thumbsup:
Oh shit, but i´m in europe! :confused:

Are Mesa´s reliable in europe? Fender? :hys:
 
Peter that post had me crying i was laughing so hard! i am by no means crying about the amp being broken i have still been preaching the gospel about your amps. i even picked up a 100 watt einstein while my herbert has been down so that shows ya how much i love your gear ;) i just got a little unlucky with my herbert, it had to go to Uwe's shop twice, no big deal im just really missing it. Your amps, customer support, and even relationship advice is second to none. :) You guys are the best company i have ever worked with (although Roy at Anderson guitars is pretty top notch). I have worked as an artist for 2 other amp companies and niether of which is as easy to deal with as Diezel. thanks for the great support and involvement with the musicians out on the road taking your amps to the trenches of touring and studios around the world.
peace
Andy W
 
Hey pm me. I know a store that has one in stock. are you in the states? this is in the midwest.
I don't kow if they want to be on this forum or not so I wont give the name out.
Good luck
 
^ heck yeah he does, i just ordered anderson number 4!!! :rock: if i could just get herbie back i would be living large!
 
ive owned 2 herberts in the last year and both worked just fine, like every company there will be a few that have a problem but very few people have problems with diezels that arent just a tube problem.
 
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