Friedman, Diezel, Bogner: which high-gain head is for you.
Three amps, three different ideas of what high-gain even means.
I am going to compare three amps I have spent serious time with: the Friedman BE-100 Deluxe, the Diezel VH4, and the Bogner Ecstasy 101B. I have played all three in a studio setting through a Mesa 2x12 cab loaded with V30s and a Marshall 4x12 with Greenbacks. I have used all three on records. I am not a metal guy, so the VH4 review will be biased toward what I actually do with it, which is loud rock. If you came here for djent advice, log off.
The Friedman is a Marshall plus. That is the entire pitch. Dave Friedman built it because he wanted the sound of a modded Plexi without owning a fleet of modded Plexis. The BE channel is everything good about a Jose Arredondo-modded Marshall — articulate, aggressive, present in the mid-700-Hz range where guitars live in a mix — without any of the noise floor or the inconvenience of having to find Jose. The HBE switch adds gain and tightens the low end. The clean channel is honestly the weakest part of the amp; it is fine but it is not the reason you bought it.
The Diezel is a different animal. The VH4 is a German engineering exercise in punishing low-end clarity. The fourth channel is the famous one — tight, aggressive, scoopable. The second channel is the underrated one — a beautiful crunch that sits somewhere between a Marshall and a Soldano. The Diezel does not break up musically the way the Friedman does. It either has gain or it doesn't, and when it has gain, the gain is precise and unforgiving. If you play sloppily through a Diezel, the Diezel will tell on you. If you play sloppily through a Friedman, the Friedman will let you off the hook.
The Bogner is the wild card. The Ecstasy is the only one of the three I have heard cover the most ground. The blue channel is the best clean-to-crunch on any high-gain amp I've used. The red channel is a Marshall in dirty clothes. The yellow channel is the rhythm channel I actually use most. The Ecstasy is also the most temperamental — it has a structure switch and a pre-EQ switch and three channels and a boost and you can spend an entire afternoon getting lost. The Friedman is plug and play. The Bogner asks you to commit.
Verdict, since you asked. If you are a Marshall guy who wants more, buy the Friedman. If you are a metal player who needs articulation at any gain stage, buy the Diezel. If you are willing to read the manual twice and want one amp that covers the most ground, buy the Bogner. If you don't know which one you are, you are not ready to buy any of these. Save up another six months and play all three in person at the same shop on the same day. Don't trust YouTube videos. The room is more of the sound than the amp is.
'If you play sloppily through a Diezel, the Diezel will tell on you. If you play sloppily through a Friedman, the Friedman will let you off the hook.'
— Johnny
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