VHX or VH4

[BatmansRigTalk]

2022 I am going for a Diezel head if production can provide.

I like the VH4 but I also like the VHX. I am wondering though if VH4 users are thinking a VHX head is a way to go or not. I like the Herbert also. So the VHX in that respect as a collection of all Diezel in one might be the selling point for me. How do people find the tonal differences?

Cheers.

 

[MourningEngine]

Let me respond with a quote of mine from the gallery thread.

I love both VHX and VH4 but if I would be forced to choose one I'd definitely go with the VHX. Not only is it one of the most versatile and feature-rich tube amps of all times, it does the Herbert, Hagen and VH4 voicing with a flick of a (shape) switch. Does it sound exactly the same as the mentioned amps? No, but it takes the essential elements of these amps and gives you an even better interpretation of them.

To answer your question: Yes, it does the VH4 Ch3 thing (Shape 0 with Classic voicing) but with a more modern flavour, meaning even tighter low-end and more clarity in the highs. It's a f***ing masterpiece.

Keep in mind I'm talking about upcoming VHX firmware 4.X which introduces a huuuge sonic improvement over firmware 3.X.

 

[Philhouse]

If you just want the streamlined VH4 sounds, and they are versatile and not just a Ch3 wonder like many can pigeonhole them into, then the VH4 is a kick ass amp.
If you want that sound and way more versatility go for the VHX.
The ability to save your settings into presets and instantly recall them is a huge positive over using the VH4 and having to be tweaking it's pots to get the maximum range of tones. I have my perfect settings on each channel of my VH4 and I don't wanna mess with them, that's not an issue on the VHX, dial it in, save it, dial in another tone and save on the next preset space.. rinse repeat.
I love that I can also use a preset and tweak it on the fly to what I want that day or when my ears are a bit fatigued but I wanna keep playing, more mids, less presence etc... then when I'm done I can go right back to my original saved setting next time. I don't play it next time and think wtf did I do to that setting and why does it now sound annoying with my fresh ears and how do I get back?

I can dial my VHX into my VH4 setting easy enough and I wouldn't hear a difference, esp when you crank up the volume. You'd only real hear a tiny difference if you A/B'd them for a while, which once you get each amp dialled into the sound you want anyway why would you bother doing that and end up just splitting hairs.
The VHX punches just as hard as the VH4 in volume, but it's digital setting Channel volume, as opposed to the analog channel pot on the VH4, makes it fantastic for a minute volume increase/decrease ability and not just having to remember where the indicator is pointing each time you change it. Much more precise.

 

[zeen]

Using still both, it would be hard for me to tell which one I would keep if I would need to decide.
I guess it's a question on which kind of playing you are in. So staying with 3-4 dialed in tones, I would opt in for the VH4 (and this is really a versatile amp with a much underestimated CH2).

As already said, the VHX is great for its option to store different settings and (at least for me) you save on some effects, as the built in ones sounds really good especially with the changes over the last releases.

Both are great Amps and the VHX can sound very, very similar to the VH4 for my ears, but still it's two different amps.

 

[WyvernClaw]

I've also voiced this sentiment in other threads. I haven't been able to compare any other Diezels directly, but the VHX is my favorite amp. Mostly for the tone, but also for the features. If you only need a small handful of sounds to set and forget and maybe fiddle with once every year or two and you already have your ideal pedalboard for external effects (assuming you use effects), then there's nothing wrong with the VH4. But if you've never played a VH4 to know if it will truly be your sound or not (I found out I prefer the Herbert, judging by my main VHX presets) or there is ANY possibility you will need more flexibility, a wider array of tones, built-in effects, or anything else the VHX offers, then I'd strongly urge you to go with the VHX.

There is definitely an upcharge over the VH4. It's not "nothing", but the price difference relative to the vast amount of extras you get makes it pretty hard to pass up in my opinion. I personally like to plug directly into an amp. I do like a few different effects though, so having them all built in is huge for me, as well as the fact that the VHX is capable of higher/tighter gain sounds than a VH4, which allows me to get away without an overdrive. From what I hear of people who play extreme metal and plug into a VH4, the sentiment seems fairly universal that it needs an overdrive. Not so much for lack of gain, but just something about the gain structure and overall feel of the amp. So bear that in mind as well if your style leans in that direction as well.

 

[rng52465]

Love my VHX. Best amp I’ve owned and I’ve owned them all.

 

[turtlefingers]

Does the VHX some Hard Rock/ Jose sounds?

 

[Binith]

VHX! Sheer versatility. It’s hard to explain, but dialing in tones is just so much easier than a helix - hard to get a bad tone out of this thing, clean to gnarly.

 

[willmcfarland]

Doesn't really matter what tone you want, you can get it with the VHX. The updates are coming through regularly and making huge improvements to effects and tones, addition of effects, etc. I sold all my other amps once I got my VHX. I just have a Kemper and a VHX now.

I will say that you really can't hear what the VHX can do until you plug it into a 4x12. I used someone's 4x12 this past weekend for a jam with my band and was smiling the whole time. I use a Mesa 2x12 at home and it's just not getting all those frequencies that a 4x12 does...

 

[MesaSean]

Sorry for the noob questions... but can you get a sparkly clean chorus tone like a JC-120?

On my VH4 now I run a 12 band EQ and Chorus pedal through the channel insert to clean up Channel 1. I feel it's al lil too dark for my taste. I love the JC-120 but don't want to buy another amp just to A/B them for clean.

Thanks!

 

[C0UNT3RP01NT]

Sorry for the noob questions... but can you get a sparkly clean chorus tone like a JC-120?

On my VH4 now I run a 12 band EQ and Chorus pedal through the channel insert to clean up Channel 1. I feel it's al lil too dark for my taste. I love the JC-120 but don't want to buy another amp just to A/B them for clean.

Thanks!

I mean sort of. I always felt like the the JC-120 was a pretty darkish amp as is, compared to say a Fender or Vox. I personally think the chorus on the VHX is pretty good, but it’s still a Diezel with a chorus (i.e. Dark). I haven’t played a VH4 so I can’t compare which one is darker between the two. However, I have played a JC and I’d say the VHX is darker between the two. That being said, I personally think the clean channel on the VHX is spectacular. It’s dark and glassy. Opposite tonally of a great Fender but just as beautiful. If a Fender dissipates into the air, then a Diezel sinks into a crystal clear lake.

After playing around with it, and comparing to sound demos and such, the VHX sounds to me like it was designed as a VH4, then from there they developed tone shaping options to be able to get in the ballpark as the other Diezels. It’s not the X-Bert or the X-gen. It’s the VHX. All of its voices sound pretty similar, but there are noticeable differences. The voices don’t suddenly get you a Marshall or a Fender sound, it still all sounds like Diezel. I believe there’s 32 different tone options: Each of the four channels can switch between ‘Vintage’, ‘Early’, ‘Classic’, and ‘Modern’ voicings. Channels 1 and 2 have a bright switch, and channels 3 and 4 have three different subvoicings within the main voicings. Among the main voicings, ‘Vintage’ is the chewiest/thickest, while ‘Modern’ is the tightest/clearest, with the other being something of a linear gradient between those two.

The FX are good. They sound great, but the controls are more limited than what you would find in the boutique market. Imagine the standard version of each FX type, with some modern updates. Look up the manual if you want to see what to see what controls you have for each FX. I use them constantly, but they haven’t replaced my board. Ironically, I think their on-board Reverb and Delays are fantastic, but since those are the FX I’m pickiest about, those FX are the ones I prefer my board for.

If you’re not interested in the tone shaping, or the on-board effects, then I don’t think you’re going to get anything much different than what you’ve already had in the VH4. If you didn’t like how dark that was, then the VHX probably isn’t going to sound much different in that regard.

 

[MesaSean]

I mean sort of. I always felt like the the JC-120 was a pretty darkish amp as is, compared to say a Fender or Vox. I personally think the chorus on the VHX is pretty good, but it’s still a Diezel with a chorus (i.e. Dark). I haven’t played a VH4 so I can’t compare which one is darker between the two. However, I have played a JC and I’d say the VHX is darker between the two. That being said, I personally think the clean channel on the VHX is spectacular. It’s dark and glassy. Opposite tonally of a great Fender but just as beautiful. If a Fender dissipates into the air, then a Diezel sinks into a crystal clear lake.

After playing around with it, and comparing to sound demos and such, the VHX sounds to me like it was designed as a VH4, then from there they developed tone shaping options to be able to get in the ballpark as the other Diezels. It’s not the X-Bert or the X-gen. It’s the VHX. All of its voices sound pretty similar, but there are noticeable differences. The voices don’t suddenly get you a Marshall or a Fender sound, it still all sounds like Diezel. I believe there’s 32 different tone options: Each of the four channels can switch between ‘Vintage’, ‘Early’, ‘Classic’, and ‘Modern’ voicings. Channels 1 and 2 have a bright switch, and channels 3 and 4 have three different subvoicings within the main voicings. Among the main voicings, ‘Vintage’ is the chewiest/thickest, while ‘Modern’ is the tightest/clearest, with the other being something of a linear gradient between those two.

The FX are good. They sound great, but the controls are more limited than what you would find in the boutique market. Imagine the standard version of each FX type, with some modern updates. Look up the manual if you want to see what to see what controls you have for each FX. I use them constantly, but they haven’t replaced my board. Ironically, I think their on-board Reverb and Delays are fantastic, but since those are the FX I’m pickiest about, those FX are the ones I prefer my board for.

If you’re not interested in the tone shaping, or the on-board effects, then I don’t think you’re going to get anything much different than what you’ve already had in the VH4. If you didn’t like how dark that was, then the VHX probably isn’t going to sound much different in that regard.

Appreciate the detailed response.

I am pretty sold on it. I hate the mess of pedals I have to use with my VH4 and watched some demo videos. The clean chorus sounded wonderful and the tones sounded just like the other Diezel's. Looks so good.

Just a few questions.

My VH4 is so dam loud I have to use a Bugera PS-1 to attenuate it because of neighbors. (I am a home player) Seems like the VHX is nice a lower volumes as well?

I use a Voodoo Labs Ground Control Pro for my VH4. I am assuming I can use that to store all my patches? I really would love to ditch all my pedals and just have a Ground Control and no mess. Just a tuner and wah.

Is it complicated to dial in?

Also since I have a Diezel 4X12... I am assuming I would not run it in Cab sim mode right?

Thanks everyone! I am GASsing so hard for this amp. I love my VH4 but I have been eyeing this one for a while now.

 

[Techdeth]

Appreciate the detailed response.

I am pretty sold on it. I hate the mess of pedals I have to use with my VH4 and watched some demo videos. The clean chorus sounded wonderful and the tones sounded just like the other Diezel's. Looks so good.

Just a few questions.

My VH4 is so dam loud I have to use a Bugera PS-1 to attenuate it because of neighbors. (I am a home player) Seems like the VHX is nice a lower volumes as well?

I use a Voodoo Labs Ground Control Pro for my VH4. I am assuming I can use that to store all my patches? I really would love to ditch all my pedals and just have a Ground Control and no mess. Just a tuner and wah.

Is it complicated to dial in?

Also since I have a Diezel 4X12... I am assuming I would not run it in Cab sim mode right?

Thanks everyone! I am GASsing so hard for this amp. I love my VH4 but I have been eyeing this one for a while

What’s you mater volume up to on vh4 when you feel it sounds good

 

[MesaSean]

What’s you mater volume up to on vh4 when you feel it sounds good

With the Bugera PS-1 on... I have the master at around 11PM.

 

[Techdeth]

With the Bugera PS-1 on... I have the master at around 11PM.

What did you have it at without . Just wondering. I’m messing with mine atm. You had it cranked !

 

[MesaSean]

What did you have it at without . Just wondering. I’m messing with mine atm. You had it cranked !

hehe yeah well with the Bugera PS-1 you can raise the master to push the amp and it still sounds really nice. I tried so many attenuators and never liked any until I tried the cheap Bugera. Go figure.

Not sure what I had it at before, but I just found it too loud to make it a bedroom amp. But wow I was watching all the VHX videos last night and I really want it.

 

[C0UNT3RP01NT]

Appreciate the detailed response.

I am pretty sold on it. I hate the mess of pedals I have to use with my VH4 and watched some demo videos. The clean chorus sounded wonderful and the tones sounded just like the other Diezel's. Looks so good.

Just a few questions.

My VH4 is so dam loud I have to use a Bugera PS-1 to attenuate it because of neighbors. (I am a home player) Seems like the VHX is nice a lower volumes as well?

I use a Voodoo Labs Ground Control Pro for my VH4. I am assuming I can use that to store all my patches? I really would love to ditch all my pedals and just have a Ground Control and no mess. Just a tuner and wah.

Is it complicated to dial in?

Also since I have a Diezel 4X12... I am assuming I would not run it in Cab sim mode right?

Thanks everyone! I am GASsing so hard for this amp. I love my VH4 but I have been eyeing this one for a while now.

I play it in my house with my family. My music room is the small guest bedroom upstairs. I don’t have an attenuator and I’m able to use it just fine up there. It sounds great at bedroom levels. Like any amp you’ll have to dial it into taste once you get a feel for how the controls interact.

Depends on how you set it up. There are 99 preset slots and everything is controlled digitally. You have a few global settings but everything else is preset dependent. You can turn effects on and off, but not every parameter is available to be controlled by midi. That being said it isn’t too hard to setup similar channels with differences in FX settings and switch between those. Check the manual for MIDI settings.

Complicated: not exactly. It’s very straightforward. That being said, there are more tonal options than your normal Diezel. I think you’ll find a lot of time tweaking and experimenting with different voicings, but it’s not complicated to do so.

A final point: All the effects are ran after the preamp. Not the actual loops themselves (there’s two), but as far I know, there’s no way to insert any of the onboard digital FX in between the guitar and the amp. So if you like your delay or modulation in the front, you’ll still need pedals.

 

[MesaSean]

I play it in my house with my family. My music room is the small guest bedroom upstairs. I don’t have an attenuator and I’m able to use it just fine up there. It sounds great at bedroom levels. Like any amp you’ll have to dial it into taste once you get a feel for how the controls interact.

Depends on how you set it up. There are 99 preset slots and everything is controlled digitally. You have a few global settings but everything else is preset dependent. You can turn effects on and off, but not every parameter is available to be controlled by midi. That being said it isn’t too hard to setup similar channels with differences in FX settings and switch between those. Check the manual for MIDI settings.

Complicated: not exactly. It’s very straightforward. That being said, there are more tonal options than your normal Diezel. I think you’ll find a lot of time tweaking and experimenting with different voicings, but it’s not complicated to do so.

A final point: All the effects are ran after the preamp. Not the actual loops themselves (there’s two), but as far I know, there’s no way to insert any of the onboard digital FX in between the guitar and the amp. So if you like your delay or modulation in the front, you’ll still need pedals.

Hey thanks again. I run my FX now in the loops so the only pedals I would have probably would be a wah and 2 OD pedals for boosts. I normally run chorus, EQ, reverb, delay etc. in my VH4 loops.

With regard to turning FX on and off... easiest way I would think be like.... I make a preset of a Silverface with no delay as say preset 3... then preset 4 is the same amp settings but a raise the gain a bit and engage delay and save it. Then I "technically" am using the same amp but with one foot switch hit on my GC Pro I just added more gain and delay... do I have that right? Not looking to turn FX on and off while playing with an amp setting. I would make so many presets of the same amp and save different presets with some FX on and some off.

Do you use the on board EQ effect much? Is there a need for it? I do use a 12 band on my VH4 channel 1 to sparkle it up now.

Thanks!

 

[Leo Diezel]

Hey thanks again. I run my FX now in the loops so the only pedals I would have probably would be a wah and 2 OD pedals for boosts. I normally run chorus, EQ, reverb, delay etc. in my VH4 loops.

With regard to turning FX on and off... easiest way I would think be like.... I make a preset of a Silverface with no delay as say preset 3... then preset 4 is the same amp settings but a raise the gain a bit and engage delay and save it. Then I "technically" am using the same amp but with one foot switch hit on my GC Pro I just added more gain and delay... do I have that right? Not looking to turn FX on and off while playing with an amp setting. I would make so many presets of the same amp and save different presets with some FX on and some off.

Do you use the on board EQ effect much? Is there a need for it? I do use a 12 band on my VH4 channel 1 to sparkle it up now.

Thanks!

Yes, you can do different presets with midi PC, toggle all effects within the same present with CC or any of it still with midi CC.

The easiest and most common way is to make different preset, but in case you want more powerful control you can also use CC within the same preset, or just tap tempo if you only need delay or tremolo tempo variation

 

[MesaSean]

Yes, you can do different presets with midi PC, toggle all effects within the same present with CC or any of it still with midi CC.

The easiest and most common way is to make different preset, but in case you want more powerful control you can also use CC within the same preset, or just tap tempo if you only need delay or tremolo tempo variation

Thanks Leo. Mainly looking to use my Voodoo Labs Ground Control Pro to switch channel presets and thus channels.... so not to turn FX on and off per say... but do something like this:

I dial in a Blueface rhythm tone. Sounds great. I save it to preset 1. Then I want the SAME tone but with delay and more gain. So I raise the gain, add delay and now I hit save to preset 2. Same EQ and everything, just when I tap my GC Pro I can switch between the 2 presets. That is mainly what I am looking to do.

Or have presets 1 and 2 both the same clean with comp and reverb but one has chorus and one does not. BUT the EQ's are both the same and except one has chorus and one does not.

I love how on the VH4 I hit store and Boom... my GC Pro stores it on that preset on the floor. I am assuming it's the same on the VHX with pressing "store" on the user interface? @Leo Diezel

Thanks Leo!