MusicRadar

Enough knobs for most...

View in gallery

• Related News
• Review

Overall versatility really is impressive; each channel has its own individual insert, while the effects loop is available in serial or assignable parallel flavours. The parallel loop can also function as an additional master volume when the send and return are connected with a patch lead. The level can be adjusted via the front panel's parallel mix control and the boost can then be engaged via the appropriate send 2 button.

Rather than the traditional latching footswitch arrangement that players might have come to expect, floor-based switching needs to be carried out with an appropriate MIDI controller. The VH4 can supply phantom power to a MIDI pedal via a 5-pin DIN cable, negating the need for your MIDI pedal's PSU. Programming is relatively easy and is achieved via just two pushes of the Store button.

The manual provides easy to follow instructions regarding programming and it is quick and simple to set up the channels, loop and inserts as desired, although whether or not you take advantage of this is entirely dependent upon the amount of external processors that you intend to use to alter the basic unembroidered voices of the VH4's four channels.

Sounds

So forget the considerable hype and the A-list endorsees, how does the VH4 perform up close? Channel one is the first stop for all things clean. While the gain control allows for some bite and break up to be dialled in, we found that the best performance was achieved by keeping this in check and enjoying the enormous clean headroom that the VH4 offers.

It is immediately apparent that even with a quartet of 6L6s, the VH4 doesn't compete with the kind of character and touch responsive performance that a good Blackface Fender can elicit; however, the VH4's bold clean tone has a broad EQ range on tap and provides a solid platform for any modulation and delay effects that you might need to add. In any case, we have a sneaking suspicion that players who specialise only in clean and vintage crunch styles won't necessarily have the VH4 on their shopping list in the first place.

Channel two is voiced for crunch and classic rock, reaching cranked Plexi levels of approximate gain and while not quite possessing the organic richness and chest-thumping authority of a vintage Marshall original, there are some high-quality AC/DC-a-like tones to be found here. One of our favourite sounds at the cleaner end of the VH4's sonic spectrum was also to be found on this channel, with the bright switch engaged, the EQ flat and the gain rolled back between nine and ten o' clock depending upon pickup output. This generates a really raunchy Fender-like tonality that seems at home with vintage single coils and bluesy noodling.

So far pretty solid, nevertheless we were waiting for the real fireworks to emerge and happily, channel three delivers in spades. With a Seymour Duncan JB-loaded electric and the master volume wound up, the earth shook and polar ice caps melted as we kicked out some fat chords and evil riffs. The basic tone of this channel is juicy and explosive and it's such a rewardingly powerful high gain voice that you just have to dig in and rock out.