Which has more low end... VH4 or Hebert? Making Decision...

[crabby]

i myself have played both and i bought the herbert brand new,the low end is chest thumping,yet clean is one of the best cleans on any hi gain amp,very fenderish,something not too many people talk about,how awesome the clean channel is on herbert.

ch 2 you can get a marshall type tone hot rodded or not,a flip of the switch killer low end,chop the mids and your on your way,i cant say it sounds like any other amp really because it was an accident i played a diezel,and for like over a year i could never get that tone out of my head,had to buy one,played all 3 and went for herb.do i like other amps absolutely! but a diezel is a diezel dont compare it to anything else out there,when you hear it youll know why. ch3 voiced diff add more fire to the dragon and sustain and harmonics are out of this world.

yeah,you can say I LOVE MY HERBERT!

ps also own a marshall jvm,mesa triple rect,and a splawn nitro on order...so i get what ever i want in sound.ive owned all kinds of other amps ,and played a lot of others ...but diezel is my favorite amp.

 

[nbarts]

yet clean is one of the best cleans on any hi gain amp

No, it's THE best cleans, no amp can compare!

 

[fearhk213]

hmm, do i need to consider a switch? how close are the amps honestly? would it be worth my trouble? what exactly puts the vh 4 "in the lead"? how different is the clean channel? Leads are the most important thing for me, so which amp would be nicer? Is the tightness on the vh 4 gonna make it too stiff feeling for leads? i strive for the polished smooth lead tone. sorry for all the questions but, i could really suse some advice hear. Would i just be trading for a really similar amp? its been so long since i have heard the vh 4 my ears have forgotten. thanks for your help fellas

peace
Andy W

They're close in that they both have that diezel tone, but I found them pretty different in tone and feel.

IMO the clean channel is rather different. The Herbert clean is noticeably bigger sounding. There's no grit at all, so you can't dial in the slightly breaking up clean on channel 1. But if you need that grit channel 2 in "-" mode will get you there. I'd take the Herbert clean over the VH4 clean.

I didn't find Channel 3 to be too stiff for leads, but if it is you always have Channel 4, which isn't too stiff at all.

IMO when deciding between the Herbert and VH4 you need to figure out if you're a VH4 channel 3 guy or a Herbert channel 2/3 guy.

 

[van hellion]

cool, thats what i thought and i use a fulltone ocd on ch 1 to get me that clean grit kinda sound. thanks for the info its good to hear that they are really similar and if thats the case i really dig the lead im geting out of the 3rd channel of my herbert, i just got a case of self doubt peace
Andy W

 

[ajharris1215]

i just got a case of self doubt peace
Andy W

i can relate

 

[Sacha]

hmm, do i need to consider a switch? how close are the amps honestly? would it be worth my trouble? what exactly puts the vh 4 "in the lead"? how different is the clean channel? Leads are the most important thing for me, so which amp would be nicer? Is the tightness on the vh 4 gonna make it too stiff feeling for leads? i strive for the polished smooth lead tone. sorry for all the questions but, i could really suse some advice hear. Would i just be trading for a really similar amp? its been so long since i have heard the vh 4 my ears have forgotten. thanks for your help fellas

peace
Andy W

I played my VH4 with the band last night. Honestly you would have to try it for yourself. I see so many differing opinions on the web that it's obviously too subjective to try and evaluate this way. Nonetheless my thoughts:

The VH4 is definitely tighter with a very fast precision attack. It is a touch less agressive to my ear then the Herb but still more then capable of crushing Metal tones. The high end is smoother and the mids are more full and balanced. Plenty of huge low end available on both but this is not something I dial in for a band situation.

I find channel 4 of the VH4 excellent for leads but so is channel 3 of the Herb, I could go with either here. It definitely does not feel too stiff to me, I find it very nice to play with excellent harmonics and sustain that blooms into musical feedback.

The clean on the VH4 is not as 'fendery' and huge sounding. It's more of a warm balanced sound that works great with pedals.

As for trading I would definitely A/B them first if you can, they are similar but there are definitely differences in flavor. Both are excellent however and you can't really go wrong with either. If you are happy with your Herb don't sweat it!

 

[ajharris1215]

I played my VH4 with the band last night. Honestly you would have to try it for yourself. I see so many differing opinions on the web that it's obviously too subjective to try and evaluate this way. Nonetheless my thoughts:

The VH4 is definitely tighter with a very fast precision attack. It is a touch less agressive to my ear then the Herb but still more then capable of crushing Metal tones. The high end is smoother and the mids are more full and balanced. Plenty of huge low end available on both but this is not something I dial in for a band situation.

I find channel 4 of the VH4 excellent for leads but so is channel 3 of the Herb, I could go with either here. It definitely does not feel too stiff to me, I find it very nice to play with excellent harmonics and sustain that blooms into musical feedback.

The clean on the VH4 is not as 'fendery' and huge sounding. It's more of a warm balanced sound that works great with pedals.

As for trading I would definitely A/B them first if you can, they are similar but there are definitely differences in flavor. Both are excellent however and you can't really go wrong with either. If you are happy with your Herb don't sweat it!

thanks again to enditol, nbarts, and everyone else for the info... i'll a/b them soon and make my decision. METAL!!!

 

[guitarman967]

The Vh-4 is twice the amp the herbert is honestly.. the Feels are a bit different with the Herbert having a more spongy feel and the lowend is not as tight. The Herbert does not sound that great in the mids without the Midcut on and when it is on the highend sounds very processed unless the head is very loud. I've owned both and I would stick with what you have.. Lots of hype about the Herbert

I totally disagree. Matter of factly I think the Herbert is twice the amp the VH4 is...so there!

Dude, it's all opinion, but from what the thread-starter wants, the Herbert seems the better choice.

Of course its all opinion and I think Mine's valid...
Have you A/Bed the two or have you just heard comparison clips?

I read the guys thread and I honestly think that the VH4 is better for what he wants.It has more lowend, it's tighter..
There's something going around on these forums where people default the Herb as the Metal amp and really its not true. Both can do it simply but it depends what type of tone you want to get..

I've found that the Herbert is better if you want that Dual Rectifierish Low mid Grind. It's has that Big bottom end but also that Recto Looseness to it as well. Not quite as loose as a Recto but similar..Thats never been my type of tone and I hate the way rectifiers sound and react to my playing so I generally don't like other amps that are similar.

 

[nbarts]

1st Uberschall has DA TONE, but you need to spend some time to dial it right. First time I've tried it my impression was ... well ....not a good one. Later I've learned to dial it right & it sounded awesome. Seriously, right PU & cab combination makes Uberschall sing like no other amp I've heard. I've tried Uber with many guitars,but my LP Custom with EMG81s just blew me away & I'm not that much of EMG fan, I like more vintage vibe.

You can take the Uberschall off the scale
After messing with channel 3 of Herbert I could get everything 2nd channel of Uberschall does. Unbelievable!
I'm gonna give it a little more time & probably sell the Uber to finance Einstein or VH4.

 

[scottph]

The Vh-4 is twice the amp the herbert is honestly.. the Feels are a bit different with the Herbert having a more spongy feel and the lowend is not as tight. The Herbert does not sound that great in the mids without the Midcut on and when it is on the highend sounds very processed unless the head is very loud. I've owned both and I would stick with what you have.. Lots of hype about the Herbert

I totally disagree. Matter of factly I think the Herbert is twice the amp the VH4 is...so there!

Dude, it's all opinion, but from what the thread-starter wants, the Herbert seems the better choice.

Of course its all opinion and I think Mine's valid...
Have you A/Bed the two or have you just heard comparison clips?

I read the guys thread and I honestly think that the VH4 is better for what he wants.It has more lowend..
There's something going around on these forums where people default the Herb as the Metal amp and really its not true. Both can do it simply but it depends what type of tone you want to get..

I've found that the Herbert is better if you want that Dual Rectifierish Low mid Grind. It's has that Big bottom end but also that Recto Looseness to it as well. Not quite as loose as a Recto but similar..Thats never been my type of tone and I hate the way rectifiers sound and react to my playing so I generally don't like other amps that are similar.

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but you say "the VH4 is better for what he wants.It has more lowend.." and then you say "I've found that the Herbert is better if you want that Dual Rectifierish Low mid Grind. It's has that Big bottom end", so it seems to me that you're contradicting yourself.

Anyhow, yeah I tested the VH4, the Herbert, and the Einstein (both 50 and 100) for a few weeks with different cabs, before I decided to go with the Herbert. I don't agree with your Recti-reference at all either. To me the Herbert doesn't sound anything like a Recti at all - I've owned a DualRecti and a DualRecti T-verb and they sound nothing like the Herbert. You can dial it in to sound somewhat similar, but it's still way more Marshall-sounding than Mesa-sounding to me.

So since the guy is looking for lowend, I stand by my recommendation.

 

[guitarman967]

I didnt say it sounds like a Rectifier, I posted that it has a low-mid grind like a rectifier. I used that amp as a point of reference because most are familiar with it

 

[guitarman967]

Addendum: The recto reference was because of the Low mid sound, the mids on the VH4 are more traditional sounding like a Marshall. This may be where the "Herbert gets its "more metal" sound to some people.
Both amps have way more low end that you would ever need but very different mids.
No contradiction, just your reading apprehension may be skewed

 

[scottph]

Whatever...

The Herbert has more low end.

 

[RedB4Black]

You can take the Uberschall off the scale
After messing with channel 3 of Herbert I could get everything 2nd channel of Uberschall does. Unbelievable!
I'm gonna give it a little more time & probably sell the Uber to finance Einstein or VH4.

That's why I sold my Uber last summer. I ended up buying an Einstein. I loved it, but honestly didn't think it added anything my Herbert couldn't get me so I sold it. I've played a VH4 and the tightness of it made it more different from the Herbert to me. I don't think I'd own both though as they are not different enough to me - both having that Diezel tone.

I recently got a Splawn Nitro and that amp kills the Uberschall.

 

[guitarman967]

Whatever...

The Herbert has more low end.

 

[scottph]

I don't think we really need that here, but whatever floats your boat I guess...

 

[nbarts]

That's why I sold my Uber last summer. I ended up buying an Einstein. I loved it, but honestly didn't think it added anything my Herbert couldn't get me so I sold it. I've played a VH4 and the tightness of it made it more different from the Herbert to me. I don't think I'd own both though as they are not different enough to me - both having that Diezel tone.

I recently got a Splawn Nitro and that amp kills the Uberschall.

Good to see your thoughts, I'm sort of debating between Ecstasy, Einstein & VH4. Or maybe just wait & see what Peter's new amp is like.

 

[RedB4Black]

...Or maybe just wait & see what Peter's new amp is like.

That seems like a good idea

 

[ajharris1215]

Whatever...

The Herbert has more low end.

thanks again everyone for all this input. i think the vh4 has the best tone for me. after a shoot out including the herbert, uberschall, einstien, and vh4, i've decided to stick with my vh4.

the uber and herbert seem to have that metal saturation that i shy away from. the splawn nitro falls into this category as well (although i really liked it, i dig my promod more). as i've said, i'm more about pure TONE...

 

[Les Zombie]

ive owned both and i like the herbert the best, at first i wasnt a diezel fan but ive owned my current herbert for 3 months and i love it, i didnt like my vh4 at all and 3 days ago i got a chance to try the vh4 again and for my style of music the herbert is better for me.