Anyone prefer Mesa to Diezel?

[Anonymous]

I'm very impressed by the Diezel amps. I think they're a great company and for pretty much any use, they kick ***. However, what I find is that no matter how great the Diezel sounds, there's just something about the Mesa, maybe a little extra character, that gives it the tonal edge over the Diezels.

In particular, I compared my 2 channel TR to a VH4 and Herbert and greatly prefer the Recto. It's not tighter, nor is it as versatile, but there's just something about the tone of my TR that blows me away every time I plug in, no matter what.

Anyone else feel the same way?

 

[rich]

i agree!

diezel is fuckin awesome, and I plan to own one one day.
but, something about it just seems a little "solid state." I don't mean that as shitty as it sounds, diezels just seem to lack the character that all of my mesas always have an abundance of.

 

[Silverwulf]

Diezel's are amazingly well built and well made amps. However, there's something very non-organic about them. It's the same problem I have with most ENGL, etc...amps that I've played too. I can't put my finger on it exactly what it is, but it seems like they sacrifice their soul to be "tight."

I could own a Deizel if I truly wanted one. But, I can make my Recto as tight as a Deizel with a boost, but there's nothing I can do to a Deizel to give it the character my Rectos have.

 

[Areola]

Lets put it this way...

With the price of Mesas in Australia, If i wanted to buy a Diezel, I would. Its not that expensive considering.

http://www.guitar.com.au/amplifiers/electric/mesa_boogie/index.htm

 

[fishyfishfish]

I got to mess around with a VH4 for about an hour, and it is quite an amazing machine. I think the build quality and tone is second to none, but missing that "Hippie Magic" that Boogies have. I've been on the fence between getting a Herbert, but after Saturdays little gig, I couldn't be happier with my Dual. I also used the slave out into my F30's loop just using the power amp, freaking awesome blend of sounds. My .02

 

[Triple Cheeseburger]

Lets put it this way...

With the price of Mesas in Australia, If i wanted to buy a Diezel, I would. Its not that expensive considering.

http://www.guitar.com.au/amplifiers/electric/mesa_boogie/index.htm

mate, i feel your pain :lol:

 

[MF]

Lets put it this way...

With the price of Mesas in Australia, If i wanted to buy a Diezel, I would. Its not that expensive considering.

http://www.guitar.com.au/amplifiers/electric/mesa_boogie/index.htm

mate, i feel your pain :lol:

SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS that's pricey :shock: . And i thought Boogies were expensive here in Canada. $2000 for a Dual Rec seems like a steal compared to that. Fortunately i bought mine last year in the US when the CAN dollar was at par with the US dollar and i paid just a bit more than half that for a used one.

 

[jdurso]

the ONLY and I mean ONLY thing I envy about Diezel's is the VH4 Stereo. If boogie built a Recto Stereo amp i'd be there in a heartbeat. That and maybe all the different effects loops... for some it might not matter but a few extra fx loops would be a nice to have.

Also, while I agree there is a sort of SS feel to the Diezel's, i think thats what makes them they're own sound instead of another hot rodded marshall company. Some people dig it (I being one of them) but at the end of the day thats just their tone. To compare it to a Recto is a little unfair, as its apples to oranges. Same thing with companies like VHT/Fryette and ENGL... they're not just another copy, they bring something different to the table which I can always appreciate.

 

[lame guitarist]

.

 

[clutch71]

I prefer the fact that Mesa's cost about half of what the Diezels cost in the US. Never even seen one in person let alone tried one. At the prices I've seen for the Diezels, not even sure I'd try one because...

1) What If I some how broke it?
2) What if I liked it?

 

[Anonymous]

I prefer the fact that Mesa's cost about half of what the Diezels cost in the US. Never even seen one in person let alone tried one. At the prices I've seen for the Diezels, not even sure I'd try one because...

1) What If I some how broke it?
2) What if I liked it?

I've tried the VH4 and Herbert, and owned the Einstein combo for a while. The Einstein was pretty good for less distorted applications, and with such a small cab it was an impressive little amp! I was less than pleased with the higher gain channel, regardless of the cabinet used.

The Herbert and VH4 were very nice amps, and I look forward to owning one someday, but they just don't hold up to my TR when going for that type of tone. Nor will they come close to my XTC for a smooth lead tone. However, for a lot of other applications, the Diezels seem amazing; they just lack some character IMO.

On top of this, there's the question of reliability. Harmony Central can't be taken without a grain of salt, but there's too many people that flame Diezel for being unreliable to assume there's no truth in it and they just screwed it up. I'd want to get one with a warranty or something because if something does go wrong, I'd hate to have to ship it off and pay the hundreds (thousands?) it would probably cost to fix.

 

[Triple Cheeseburger]

Lets put it this way...

With the price of Mesas in Australia, If i wanted to buy a Diezel, I would. Its not that expensive considering.

http://www.guitar.com.au/amplifiers/electric/mesa_boogie/index.htm

mate, i feel your pain :lol:

SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS that's pricey :shock: . And i thought Boogies were expensive here in Canada. $2000 for a Dual Rec seems like a steal compared to that. Fortunately i bought mine last year in the US when the CAN dollar was at par with the US dollar and i paid just a bit more than half that for a used one.

with the cab i think i paid a little over 6 for my dual rec. it is ridiculous, but its just the price.

 

[bradg]

I guess I'll be the only guy that thinks a Diezel sounds better. :lol:

I have a VH4 and have owned a couple Mark IV's (A&B), Roadster, Rectoverb, Tremoverb, and a Stiletto and I think the Diezel sounds better. It's tighter, much more versatile and much more articulate. I have a Mark V on order so we'll see about that one. I do think the lead tone on the Marks are better though. I do prefer Mesas to ENGL's, Bogners, VHT, Framus, etc.(just about everything else) but the Diezel VH4 sounds better than any Mesa I've had so far.

 

[siggy14]

You just might be in the dimebag league, prefer the solidstatish sound better. Diezels are very high fi sounding, more of that euro sound.

I guess I'll be the only guy that thinks a Diezel sounds better. :lol:

I have a VH4 and have owned a couple Mark IV's (A&B), Roadster, Rectoverb, Tremoverb, and a Stiletto and I think the Diezel sounds better. It's tighter, much more versatile and much more articulate. I have a Mark V on order so we'll see about that one. I do think the lead tone on the Marks are better though. I do prefer Mesas to ENGL's, Bogners, VHT, Framus, etc.(just about everything else) but the Diezel VH4 sounds better than any Mesa I've had so far.

 

[bradg]

I would agree with hi-fi but not the solidstate comment. My VH4 tone is fat, organic and articulate. Nothing solidstate about the tone I'm getting. Like I said, it's a better tone than I've got out of any Mesa I've owned. I do hear what you are saying based on some youtube videos I've heard though. Some people tend to dial them in really bright and that mixed with the crap camera mic sounds pretty meh.

You just might be in the dimebag league, prefer the solidstatish sound better. Diezels are very high fi sounding, more of that euro sound.

I guess I'll be the only guy that thinks a Diezel sounds better. :lol:

I have a VH4 and have owned a couple Mark IV's (A&B), Roadster, Rectoverb, Tremoverb, and a Stiletto and I think the Diezel sounds better. It's tighter, much more versatile and much more articulate. I have a Mark V on order so we'll see about that one. I do think the lead tone on the Marks are better though. I do prefer Mesas to ENGL's, Bogners, VHT, Framus, etc.(just about everything else) but the Diezel VH4 sounds better than any Mesa I've had so far.

 

[Freefall]

I'm very impressed by the Diezel amps. I think they're a great company and for pretty much any use, they kick ***. However, what I find is that no matter how great the Diezel sounds, there's just something about the Mesa, maybe a little extra character, that gives it the tonal edge over the Diezels.

In particular, I compared my 2 channel TR to a VH4 and Herbert and greatly prefer the Recto. It's not tighter, nor is it as versatile, but there's just something about the tone of my TR that blows me away every time I plug in, no matter what.

Anyone else feel the same way?

Funny this topic should appear. I've owned a Diezel VH4 for about a year and a half, and although it has a distinctive, pleasing sound, I have struggled to get it to cut and to get rid of a harshness in the tone that's been driving me crazy the whole time.

I tried a Roadster at GC, liked it, and owned it for the 30 day trial period, but I just couldn't get that amp to cut the way I wanted either... in fairness, I didn't have a lot of time to dial it in before I had to decide to keep it or not, so I returned it.

Anyway, a friend has a 2 channel TR, and I borrowed that last night and used it head-to-head with the VH4 at practice last night. I was very impressed with the TR... it was warmer, fuller, and cut better than the VH4. Unlike the Roadster, I found the TR easy to dial in as well. My only complaints are the parallel loop (I prefer serial) and of course, it only has two channels so on-the-fly tonal options are more limited. Overall though, I really liked the TR, and I can see why I've read a number of posts on here that like the 2ch TRs better than the 3ch TRs, which I also tried at GC and wasn't as thrilled with.

I think I'm now in the market for a 2ch TR, or perhaps I'm going to wait to check out a MkV. Of course, tone is subjective, and folks get great results from all kinds of amps, but for me, I have to agree that the 2ch TR was best.

 

[Anonymous]

I was very impressed with the TR... it was warmer, fuller, and cut better than the VH4. Unlike the Roadster, I found the TR easy to dial in as well. My only complaints are the parallel loop (I prefer serial) and of course, it only has two channels so on-the-fly tonal options are more limited.

I actually modded my loop from parallel to serial. It's really easy to do, and now the only thing I wish was better about my TR is its lack of versatility. I do pretty well with the volume control and red channel, but of course another channel would be nice. However, since more components can cause changes in the signal, I guess I'm just fine with the setup!

Glad to hear you found an amp you like!

 

[screamingdaisy]

the ONLY and I mean ONLY thing I envy about Diezel's is the VH4 Stereo. If boogie built a Recto Stereo amp i'd be there in a heartbeat. That and maybe all the different effects loops... for some it might not matter but a few extra fx loops would be a nice to have.

The ***** part was having to carry it. It was a heavy mother-f*cker.

 

[jdurso]

the ONLY and I mean ONLY thing I envy about Diezel's is the VH4 Stereo. If boogie built a Recto Stereo amp i'd be there in a heartbeat. That and maybe all the different effects loops... for some it might not matter but a few extra fx loops would be a nice to have.

The ***** part was having to carry it. It was a heavy mother-f*cker.

I bet man... i remember when i had the Triaxis/2:90 and that was heavy. This would probably be 10-15 lbs heavier due to the Recto preamp. But yeah I wish they made something liek the recto pre/2:100 combo in a head version, except with a serial fx loop and maybe something a recto has never had, a drive control like the mark iv. Basically to emulate a boost or OD before the signal hits the preamp, I think if there is anything left for Randall to do in the recto family is a pre-preamp drive that would be switchable on and off.