First Ever Diezel Herbert in the Philippines

[abyssinianson]

Ag3nt,

I stand by my Day 1 Honeymoon assessment.  Herbert has a unique voicing with 3 great unique sounding channels that are a joy to play at ANY volume.  Just to double check, I set up my VHT Ultra Lead and I only liked 1 channel on it -- the lead channel for metal but the Diezel just sounds great on all channels.  Let me repeat: For what it brings to the table, no other 3 channel amp in Philippines has 3 unique and great sounding channels at any volume.

People who played thru the Diezel last Saturday Night at Magnet with a complete Band: Arie of Guitar Hospital, LC of Southern Grass, Paolo of Snake Charmer, and Mel Po. All of them loved or were amazed with the amp.  Subukan mo humanap ng isang amp na makaka-impress sa mga tao na ito in a band setting for a straight 5 hours.  These guys have different and diverse styles.  P.S. Sayang, hindi nakaPLUG sa deltaslim.  I would have loved to hear what his style would have sound like versus the P10,000 Royal.

Hindi issue dito ang hukay. Mayabang ba ako dahil wala kang Herbert?  Kung ma PROVE ko ang sinasabi ko, mayabang pa ba ako?  Ang issue dito ay ano ba talaga ang Herbert at kung sulit sa US$4100.  Nakasubok ka na ba ng Herbert?

Oas, I just noticed a few things:

1)  The clean channel turns out to have mega headroom.  Zann of Snakecharmer was using a Vox Valvetone for his lead boosts, and surprisingly, it didn't sound as if he was adding mush to the preamp.  
2)  Channel 2 was not as Plexi as I thought in a live setting.  It didn't have that upper midrange grit.  LC was switching from + to - modes of channel 2 and while it has a dash of Plexi voicing, it wasn't as rough as a fully-cranked Plexi at all.
3)  Mel Po used Channel 3 for the open jam.  I think the gain was at minimum.  It sounded fat but it was no Boogie Mark-sounding.  Think Boogie + JCM800?    

Overall I am impressed with channels 1 and 2, while I am still looking for that sweet spot of channel 3.  But the real surprise was how consistent the Herbert sounded at all volumes.  Pretty much like a hi-fi amp.  

Ag3nt, I hope you don't mind, but if you get rich someday, if by then you would still be hooked on guitar, I am pretty sure you would want to try more expensive gear.  It is just that when oas says something about amps hindi na niya madisconnect ang tag price.  But then, it leads us to the question, "Why do you need to spend THAT much for an amp?"  

Just like, "Why do I need to spend THAT much for a Jaguar (the car)?"

You don't have to spend that much on a Jaguar unless you want something pretty to grow tomatoes on. Jaguar's are complete crap, breaks down like there is no tomorrow like the new Volkswagens. What do you expect? Ford is building them. Stick with Benz, Lexus or BMW.

[deltaslim]

Deltaslim,

I did not know that you had a sexual encounter with your teacher.  Heh Heh

Yes, if only I knew at the time that getting butt-spanked IS sex!  

[abyssinianson]

Deltaslim,

I did not know that you had a sexual encounter with your teacher.  Heh Heh

Yes, if only I knew at the time that getting butt-spanked IS sex!  

What if your teacher was Camille Pratts?

[deltaslim]

Deltaslim,

I did not know that you had a sexual encounter with your teacher.  Heh Heh

Yes, if only I knew at the time that getting butt-spanked IS sex!  

What if your teacher was Camille Pratts?

Then I'll be the teacher's pet na "sipsip kay ma'm"

[tele-tubby]

Deltaslim,

I did not know that you had a sexual encounter with your teacher.  Heh Heh

Yes, if only I knew at the time that getting butt-spanked IS sex!  

What if your teacher was Camille Pratts?

ako, i'd rather spend $4k to get Camille Pratts than get a Herbert hehe

the day after my 45-minute encounter with Herbert (aayyy, brokeback), i plugged my tele into my beloved Royal na nilalapastangan ni OAS... I must admit I kinda missed the tone I had the night before yeah Herbert is one sweet tone mofo so i guess i'm not a Herbert virgin anymore hehe

but hope is not lost for the common man as I loved every minute of Delta's playing thru that Royal

[jack in a vox]

Deltaslim,

I did not know that you had a sexual encounter with your teacher.  Heh Heh

Yes, if only I knew at the time that getting butt-spanked IS sex!  

What if your teacher was Camille Pratts?

somebody post more photos of camille pratts!

[jack in a vox]

wow.. i just realised it now.. you spent more on the herbert than i did on my audi

[oasgomez-is-banned]

Tele-tubby,

Nothing against your Royal.  Still loved the sound of Deltaslim coming out of that but MAYBE he would have sounded better.  He was throwing around a lot of mids but lacked dynamics but I believe that sound really complemented Arie's style.  Besides, Deltaslim was using a red Fulldrive 2 I assume which really throws around a lot of mids and hum.  The guy from southern grass sounded painfully sharp/piercing with some of his settings on that VG88 which actually is opposite of Deltaslim's sound to my ears.  You partner also tended to throw around a lot of mids without definition on the notes.  So, with the Herbert.  Arie did not have enough volume on his rhythm.  LC also lacked volume.  You had an upfront mid sound and Mel Po just blasted his way thru the jam using the Herbert power section.  In the end, everybody sounded different kasi iba iba ang timpla.  So, everybody just enjoyed which was the most important thing.

By the way, there is a digicam version of one of the songs that the Souldbenders did.  Arie is trying to upload and convert it.

[deltaslim]

Tele-tubby,

Nothing against your Royal.  Still loved the sound of Deltaslim coming out of that but MAYBE he would have sounded better.  He was throwing around a lot of mids but lacked dynamics but I believe that sound really complemented Arie's style.  Besides, Deltaslim was using a red Fulldrive 2 I assume which really throws around a lot of mids and hum.  The guy from southern grass sounded painfully sharp/piercing with some of his settings on that VG88 which actually is opposite of Deltaslim's sound to my ears.  You partner also tended to throw around a lot of mids without definition on the notes.  So, with the Herbert.  Arie did not have enough volume on his rhythm.  LC also lacked volume.  You had an upfront mid sound and Mel Po just blasted his way thru the jam using the Herbert power section.  In the end, everybody sounded different kasi iba iba ang timpla.  So, everybody just enjoyed which was the most important thing.

By the way, there is a digicam version of one of the songs that the Souldbenders did.  Arie is trying to upload and convert it.

Oh, easy lang ha... This is the part where people can agree to disagree na lang.  He loves his amp (but he was still nice enuff to complement yours), and you love yours. Great -everybody happy! Except me, cuz I don't have dynamics

Kulang pa ba sa volume si Arie nung gig?  I really thought na-overpower ako most of the time.

Btw, the hum culprit is the P90s on my Thinline, exacerbated by the Boss compressor. When I use just the FD2 (which, btw, was set to only 9 o clock and wasn't on all the time), less ang hum.

[vegetablejoe]

Ano po ba ang ibig ninyo sabihin ng "dynamics?"... honest question ito ha.

[nathanmanansala]

Kulang pa ba sa volume si Arie nung gig?  I really thought na-overpower ako most of the time.

arie was plenty loud from where i was dun sa bar sa back. slim sounded a bit compressed though, which i think people sometimes refer to as "lacking dynamics", but i thought it was mainly because he was playing a smaller amp. pero ok yung contrast nung styles nila.

i liked both sounds, btw.

[nathanmanansala]

whoops. double post. makulit lang talaga ako.

[nathanmanansala]

at isa pa.

[nathanmanansala]

hmmmm.... i think i was trying to make a point with this quadruple post.

[skunkyfunk]

oas, I think it is not a very good idea to poll guitarplayers alone with regard to the sound of the amps during the gig.  Para kasing Royal vs. Herbert ang dating.  (In your words, P10,000 Royal modded with Celestion Greenback vs. $4100 Diezel Herbert + 2x12 Orange cab with G-12T-75s.)

As I told you during the gig, ask the waiters if they find something different with the tone of the amps, and if they can hear the P200,000 difference between both amps.  Furthermore, they got used to the crappy amps in Magnet.  (If I ain't mistaken, they are a Fender Stage 112SE and a Marshall Valvestate.)

What I DID notice was that during Southern Grass' set, LC had more organic tone (as he was messing with less effects) while the other guy sounded processed.  Maybe it was his Roland VG-88?  The greenback gave the Royal some sort of early breakup IMO.  It had more grit in the high mids though.  The Herbert on the other hand sounded much smoother.  If I played onstage I would demand the MIDI footswitch so I can mess with all the channels and use the V2 boost hehehe.

[tolits]

Sir Jaime,

For me dynamics doesnt only affect the guitar playing but the overall aspect and collective response of the band.  One must learn to listen, one must learn when to soften your attack and when to make it in your face. The important thing for me is that the rythm section must give way to the vocals and guitar riffs when needed. Hey, we should start a new thread.!

[skunkyfunk]

Sir Jaime,

For me dynamics doesnt only affect the guitar playing but the overall aspect and collective response of the band.  One must learn to listen, one must learn when to soften your attack and when to make it in your face. The important thing for me is that the rythm section must give way to the vocals and guitar riffs when needed. Hey, we should start a new thread.!

Ser kayo ba yung kumakanta na naka-'75 Jazz bass?

[tolits]

Skunkyfunk,

He he , 71 po yun!

[vegetablejoe]

Sir Jaime,

For me dynamics doesnt only affect the guitar playing but the overall aspect and collective response of the band.  One must learn to listen, one must learn when to soften your attack and when to make it in your face. The important thing for me is that the rythm section must give way to the vocals and guitar riffs when needed. Hey, we should start a new thread.!

Tolits,

salamat sa explanation. Pero di ako papayag na Sir ang tawag mo sa akin. Kalbo lang ako, di pa ako matanda...  

[skunkyfunk]

Skunkyfunk,

He he , 71 po yun!

My mistake.  Para pala kayong si Clapton kumanta.  Hehehe...

[deltaslim]

... Para pala kayong si Clapton kumanta.  Hehehe...

Naku palakpak tenga nyan si Lito... idol nyan si Clapton!  Eh mas magaling pa sa akin mag-gitara yan e!

Pero tama si Lito, ang dynamics sa banda, very important, especially sa blues. It's one of the things that separate good bands vs. just about every other band in a live performance.

As for my guitar, I knew I was sacrificing some dynamics kasi naka-compressor ako most of the time and ung FD2 naka set sa Mosfet + compressed (vs. comp-cut) setting.  About halfway through the set, I realized I didn't really need the CS2 that much. Besides it was too noisy.  The Royal amp itself was very dynamic and un-compressed (lots of clean headroom too).  Now, if I was playing through an amp w/ natural OD, I would never have used a comp or even the FD2 much.  But since I was playing slide almost all throughout and needed sustain, I had to add a bit of compression to the amp w/ the CS2 and/or FD2.  

In short, it was a trade-off: I normally like to play with a lot of dynamics but the need to use comp for more sustain w/ slide and add dirt to the clean amp's signal, forced me to have a more compressed tone than I would like.

[Kulas]

argh, sayang hindi ako nakanood ng gig nyo, sabi nga ni arie sakin na may gig daw kayo sa mag:net eh, eh nagkataon nasa baguio ako nung saturday, sayang narinig ko na sana yung "fabled" diezel na yan.

oas, sayang, sabi ni arie you live in (secret) daw, kapitbahay pala kita dati. i used to stay in cliff drive. we just moved early this year. kung dun pa ako nakatira pwede ko sana test-test yung amps mo, hehe. that is, if you'll allow me to, hehe.

[PRSMan]

argh, sayang hindi ako nakanood ng gig nyo, sabi nga ni arie sakin na may gig daw kayo sa mag:net eh, eh nagkataon nasa baguio ako nung saturday, sayang narinig ko na sana yung "fabled" diezel na yan.

oas, sayang, sabi ni arie you live in (secret) daw, kapitbahay pala kita dati. i used to stay in cliff drive. we just moved early this year. kung dun pa ako nakatira pwede ko sana test-test yung amps mo, hehe. that is, if you'll allow me to, hehe.

cliff drive... blue ridge?

[oasgomez-is-banned]

Deltaslim,

Ok naman tunog mo.  Actually, you were the loudest during your set from the perception of the people watching in the middle right just before the bar.  So, hindi ko alam sa ibang position sa bar.  Sabi raw naman sa bar ang diezel naman ang mas dominant.  

Dynamics -- Arie just had more range from soft to over the top.  What it does prove that even at low volumes the Herbert can be soft and yet cut through when required.  So, they functioned perfectly together: Tele, sometimes a TS9, cable and clean channel of the Herbert.  Arie never switched to Channel 2 during the whole gig.

[Kulas]

argh, sayang hindi ako nakanood ng gig nyo, sabi nga ni arie sakin na may gig daw kayo sa mag:net eh, eh nagkataon nasa baguio ako nung saturday, sayang narinig ko na sana yung "fabled" diezel na yan.

oas, sayang, sabi ni arie you live in (secret) daw, kapitbahay pala kita dati. i used to stay in cliff drive. we just moved early this year. kung dun pa ako nakatira pwede ko sana test-test yung amps mo, hehe. that is, if you'll allow me to, hehe.

cliff drive... blue ridge?

secret nga bro eh, hehehe. you know someone from there?