The Diezel Paul 45W Head is a Diezel amplifier. Close alternatives include the Gibson EH-185 and the Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier. It pairs well with the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver and the MXR Micro Amp.
Diezel Paul 45W Head
Diezel · amplifier
The Diezel Paul is a 45-watt all-tube 2.5-channel amplifier head from Diezel Amplification, Germany. Three MIDI-switchable preamp voices — Clean, Crunch, and Insane — span crystal-clean headroom through heavy saturated lead. EL34 power tubes and a pair of parallel and series MIDI-controllable FX loops serve professional live and studio applications. The Paul has a more vintage character than other Diezel heads and is praised for its warmth and sparkle on the clean channel alongside its Crunch voice range from Texas blues to heavy rock.
What stands out
“The Paul has a more vintage character than other Diezel heads and is praised for its warmth and sparkle on the clean channel alongside its Crunch voice range from Texas blues to heavy rock”
— from the listing
“Three MIDI-switchable preamp voices — Clean, Crunch, and Insane — span crystal-clean headroom through heavy saturated lead”
— from the listing
“The Diezel Paul is a 45-watt all-tube 2”
— from the listing
“The Crunch channel spans Texas blues breakup through smooth medium-to-high-gain lead territory — a wider range than typical crunch channels”
— from the community notes
“The Crunch channel earns consistent praise for range: usable from light blues breakup through smooth lead gain”
— from the reviews
- clean
- lead
- crunch
- midi
- smooth
- texas blues
- sparkly
- breakup
Good for
- Live
- Studio
Genres the Diezel Paul 45W Head is commonly used in
- Blues
- Metal
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Alternative
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Classic Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Hard Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Pedals that stack with the Diezel Paul 45W Head
Boss BD-2 Blues Driver
Boss
21% matchpushes an amp at the edge of breakupPushes an amp already sitting at the edge of breakup over the line. (edge of breakup → clean boost)
Feed a edge of breakup signal into Boss BD-2 Blues Driver and it comes out closer to clean boost
Goes in front of the amp
MXR Micro Amp
MXR
21% matchpushes an amp at the edge of breakupPushes an amp already sitting at the edge of breakup over the line. (edge of breakup → clean boost)
MXR Micro Amp takes that edge of breakup character and pushes it toward clean boost
Goes in front of the amp
Z.Vex Super Hard On
Zvex
21% matchpushes an amp at the edge of breakupPushes an amp already sitting at the edge of breakup over the line. (edge of breakup → clean boost)
Stack Z.Vex Super Hard On on top and a edge of breakup tone tightens toward clean boost
Goes in front of the amp
Caroline Guitar Company Parabola State Tremolo
Caroline Guitar Company
15% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Keep Caroline Guitar Company Parabola State Tremolo after Diezel Paul 45W Head in the signal chain, clear of Diezel Paul 45W Head's own gain stage
Goes in front of the amp
Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Micro
Pigtronix
12% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
What Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Micro brings here leans toward mid-forward — that's worth building a pairing around
Goes in front of the amp
Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
Boss
11% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Put Boss DD-3 Digital Delay in Diezel Paul 45W Head's effects loop, clear of Diezel Paul 45W Head's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Sits in the amp's effects loop
MXR Analog Delay
MXR
10% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Run MXR Analog Delay in Diezel Paul 45W Head's effects loop, clear of Diezel Paul 45W Head's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Sits in the amp's effects loop
MXR CAE Wah
MXR
tonal matchGoes in front of the amp
MXR CAE Wah belongs in front of Diezel Paul 45W Head, since a wah tracks picking dynamics best on the raw signal
Alternativessee all similar tone character →
Gibson EH-185
Gibson
53% similarityShared character: blues players, smooth, warm
Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier
Mesa Boogie
51% similarityShared character: hard rock, crunch, vintage charm
Engl E656 Steve Morse
Engl
51% similarityShared character: hard rock, crunch, gain
Dumble Overdrive Reverb
Dumble
51% similarityShared character: gold sparkle, blues players, warm
Diezel VH4 4-Channel 100-Watt
Diezel
51% similarityShared character: gold sparkle, high end, crunch
Framus Dragon 3-Channel 100-Watt
Framus
51% similarityShared character: hard rock, crunch, high gain settings
EVH 5150 III
Evh
50% similarityShared character: hard rock, high end, crunch
Bad Cat Pre-Sale! Hot Cat Head
Bad Cat
49% similarityShared character: gold sparkle, high end, crunch
Mesa Boogie Lone Star Head
amplifier
49% similarityShared character: articulation, crunch, warm
Blackstar HT Studio 20H
Blackstar
49% similarityShared character: studio, hard rock, gold sparkle
Chicago Blues Box Bassman Amplifier
Chicago Blues Box
49% similarityShared character: blues players, warm
Blackstar DA100 Doug Aldrich Signature 100W Tube
Blackstar
48% similarityShared character: high gain settings, high end, articulation
See all alternatives to the Diezel Paul 45W Head (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Diezel Paul 45W Head?+
The closest matches in character are the Gibson EH-185, the Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier, the Engl E656 Steve Morse.
What pairs well with the Diezel Paul 45W Head?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, MXR Micro Amp, Z.Vex Super Hard On — Feed a edge of breakup signal into Boss BD-2 Blues Driver and it comes out closer to clean boost.