C0UNT3RP01NT
Member
Hey!
So I've had the VHX for awhile now, and it's a fantastic amp. No complaints about how it sounds or works.
However, I'm also pretty young, in my mid 20's. I had a stroke of financial luck and the VHX became my first entry into the boutique amp world. I was having a conversation with an older gentlemen at a bar last night whom also played guitar, and on the subject of amps, he mentioned that he had a Marshall Superlead that he had bought in the 70's. He had it serviced a few times, but he still had it and still loved playing it. Whenever I visit my father, I play on a 1960's Super Reverb that my dad had bought sometime in the 70's or 80's. That amp has also been serviced a few times, and still plays great. My point here is that these amps have lasted 50 years with maintenance.
I've had a few conversations on different forums, with guitarists whom think the VHX looks like a great amp but they're concerned about the digital elements of the amp. I believe there was a post on here once with similar concerns and Peter said something to the effect that Diezel has been providing great customer support for the last 25 years and they don't plan on stopping. The customer service is amazing, but I would like to know more about the serviceability of the VHX in the event that Diezel is unable to provide that level of support anymore?
I understand the amp is analog with a digital section. The signal is analog through the preamp is converted to digital before the loop and is then converted back to analog through the power amp. Please correct me if I'm wrong. My questions are as follows:
I understand there might be some propietary trade secrets that I'm asking about, it's not my intention to get you to divulge anything like that. This might have been discussed in detail somewhere else, and I missed it, so my apologies if that's the case. I don’t mean to come off as ignorant regarding the design of the amp. Like I said I think it's a great amp, I was just looking for some more concrete details on how to service the VHX in general?
Thanks!
- C
So I've had the VHX for awhile now, and it's a fantastic amp. No complaints about how it sounds or works.
However, I'm also pretty young, in my mid 20's. I had a stroke of financial luck and the VHX became my first entry into the boutique amp world. I was having a conversation with an older gentlemen at a bar last night whom also played guitar, and on the subject of amps, he mentioned that he had a Marshall Superlead that he had bought in the 70's. He had it serviced a few times, but he still had it and still loved playing it. Whenever I visit my father, I play on a 1960's Super Reverb that my dad had bought sometime in the 70's or 80's. That amp has also been serviced a few times, and still plays great. My point here is that these amps have lasted 50 years with maintenance.
I've had a few conversations on different forums, with guitarists whom think the VHX looks like a great amp but they're concerned about the digital elements of the amp. I believe there was a post on here once with similar concerns and Peter said something to the effect that Diezel has been providing great customer support for the last 25 years and they don't plan on stopping. The customer service is amazing, but I would like to know more about the serviceability of the VHX in the event that Diezel is unable to provide that level of support anymore?
I understand the amp is analog with a digital section. The signal is analog through the preamp is converted to digital before the loop and is then converted back to analog through the power amp. Please correct me if I'm wrong. My questions are as follows:
- How easy is it to replace the digital components?
- Is it propietary digital hardware, or can generic replacements be ordered (that you can upload the firmware to)?
- If there's an issue with the amp, how would I determine whether it's caused by the digital hardware/software vs the analog components?
- How do the digital components affect the serviceability of the analog components? I assume switching the voice or shape changes the signal path, but are these analog switches controlled by the digital "brain", or are these switches a part of the digital brain?
- How easy is it to service this amp in general? Can a regular amp tech take care of these issues, or is it something to be mailed off to a specialist. I do a lot of electrical engineering work for my job (though I'm a different kind of engineer). Can I repair this amp with a schematic and a components list? Or are there specific repairs that can only be completed by those with access to restricted company information.
- Mods? I don't really see a need for them honestly, but if for some reason I wanted to change a cap or resistor is that going to mess with how the amp changes the voicings?
I understand there might be some propietary trade secrets that I'm asking about, it's not my intention to get you to divulge anything like that. This might have been discussed in detail somewhere else, and I missed it, so my apologies if that's the case. I don’t mean to come off as ignorant regarding the design of the amp. Like I said I think it's a great amp, I was just looking for some more concrete details on how to service the VHX in general?
Thanks!
- C
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Chefs kiss! Well done! Bravo! Amazing job! Brilliant engineering!