VHT Pitbull Ultra Lead First Impressions 

Excellent rant, especially the full monte reset at 19:00. 💀 We also appreciate being singled out as “unlike all the other amps behind me”. That perfectly aligns with our mission. Compression and saturation have their place, but not everybody wants or needs that to such excess. Thanks for your honesty! Now, about that amp: 1) It’s a very early model - 92/93. The UL has evolved quite a bit since then, so if this is your first rodeo, your reaction is probably justified. 2) They often get retubed and biased improperly, so that might explain the lack of gain and stiff, spiky response. Tube selection matters a lot. 3) EQ is irrelevant. If it’s set up properly, then it should sound good EQ or not. 4) As others have commented, Celestions don’t do the amp justice. That’s especially true on this early model. Thanks for the entertaining roast 🔥

I have the ultralead with the graphic. Top 5 all-time amp for me. Makes me a better player. Makes you dig in,and pay attention... then it awards you with absolute definition and tightness. I've had it for 14 years and its a total keeper,will never let it go.

TUNE. THE. DAMN. GUITAR. BEFORE. VIDEO.

I have a Fifty/CL. Fantastic as a pedal platform, gain a bit lacking until boosted. BUT, it's a completely different animal when paired with E/V PE-50s; then it really begins to shine. I always bring it out when we're looking for something other than the usual Mesa, 5150 or Friedman tones. Currently have one of Steve's Sound City heads and it's a classic rock monster.

the tone @ about 10 minutes in was the best tone I've ever heard on your channel

I love VHT amps. Currently I rock a GP3 preamp, and while I did do the gain mod on it, it was usable on the rhythm channel before, boosted of course. I had a friend that had the OG Pittbull without EQ back in the day as well, which is what inspired me to get the preamp, and it sounded WAY more aggressive. Thinking the one you had had issues. I think the one you had sounded quite flubby, probably due to having to crank the gain to max, which basically negates the bright cap. Given your comments on the dryness of it I doubt you would like one that didn't have any issues, but you might not hate it quite as much.

My favorite head ever was a VHT CL50 w/EQ. Unfortunately I sold it almost 20 years ago in a pinch. It was massive... I'm not exaggerating, my walls shook. VHT are like the Mesa Mark Series...not in tone, but the built in EQ makes it come alive and you really need to dial it in right. The VHT also reacts differently to speakers. I tried mine through many different cabinets but it wasn't until I got my hands on a VHT 4x12 Fatbottom cab that it really shined. I think they were loaded with Eminence P50's. The difference was night and day. BTW, the EQ was an option on most models but not stock.

Tune your guitar

I own an OG VHT branded Ultra Lead with EQ and as you stated it is an acquired taste. VHT/Fryette amps are and always have been extremely “Dry” amps. They leave zero room for errors and mistakes to be covered up. And like you said the clean channel is kinda Meh🤷🏼‍♂️ But what’s a clean channel anyways 😁 I only use pretty much one setting on this amp. Channel 3, high gain with EQ engaged. That channel paired with downtuned guitars is an absolute, mean, brutal, heavy AF chug machine! I’m guessing that the amps “Dry” characteristics are a big part of why it handles the low tunings well. Something else I discovered using this amp is cab and speaker choice is imperative! I’ve ran mine through quite a few different cabs and different speakers and many different combinations of both and the only one I found that works really good and does the amp Justice is the Fatbottom cab loaded with the P-50’s. What turned me onto this amp and got my curiosity piqued, which is a perfect example of what this amp can do is the Mudvayne L.D. 50 album. If you like Greg’s guitar tone on that album, you will like VHT, simple. (Or Fryette of course) 🤘🤘🤘

You know from my phone audio it actually sounded pretty good, honesty . It wasn't until I listened to this again with my sennheiser 660s that I could pinpoint what you're talking about. To me, it sounds like there might be something faulty with the power amp tubes . Every other demo it sounds really wide open and crisp. I heard they're working on a new version of this amp . I'm still very intrigued by the pitbull since I love the module and every other demo I've heard of it. But I'll definitely wait for the new revision of it vs. getting an old 20 year old beater off of reverb . Hopefully you can revisit this

you didn't want it to sound good, unsuscribed.

This Was a good honest review man 👍 But......lol I own a 2003 UL and damn, it sounds massive and tight, string clarity is amazing, the clean is superb too. The crunch channel in low gain mode is sooo fun to play. The lead channel is crazy aggressive and punches hard as F***. I have 9 heads right now, EVH, Revv, 5150, Friedman, Peters and the VHT. The VHT sits perfectly with all of them and is the one with the most unique tone. You should give a more recent version a spin at some point just to see what you think about it. I am sure you would like it. Maybe something was wrong with the amp, tubes, bias, something!!!!

This is a really early model UL, which you mentioned, it's the OG version. The later models have more gain.

I own a Pittbull 50 CL, which I peronally think is the best Pittbull. It's not quite as dry and stiff, and you can switch it to a tube rectifier and into class A mode to give it more power amp compression, sag, and a more forgiving feel with the same core tone. I love it and I will never part ways with it.

I have the pitbull UL 120watss with the EQ and I love it.. amazing amp. Dry for sure but super clean and precise... but you have to use it with the right cabinet. But I never use it without the EQ. without it it's crap you're right!

As it’s a used amp, it may have an issue. Bad power tube or preamp tube.

You're always pretty well rounded and thoughtfully kind about your opinions on amps, this time i got a good chuckle out of the trashing lol. I had the GP3 when they first came out, and didnt keep it very long. Had many other options that sounded a lot better. The prices on these are just way insane, when I need a VHT fix ill just bring up a profile on my kemper or quad cortex and save the cash.

Man, there has to be something wrong with that Ultralead. Mine sounds absolutely crushing. Actually, I have owned two late 90's models and I loved both! That said, methinks we definitely have very different tastes in amps. I absolutely love the Hughes and kettner Triamp and I know you hated that one and I have never been a 5150 fan. Good thing there are enough amps for everyone! :)

I totally respect your honest opinion of this amp and any other amp you may have played. I too am the same with gear and I don't take it personal if someone says such and such amp I own sucks. Keep it real! \m/

Oh yeah you should try the MXR 10 band EQ in the effects loop and see if you can “fix” the tone.

My '96 VHT Pitbull 50CL w/ graphic EQ records like a beast. It will make your chops better because to get the aggressive tone it's known for, you need to be playing very deliberately.

Maybe that VHT is a dud cause I've heard the Pitbull live and on records with Page Hamilton with Helmet and it sounds great, also Watch John Brown's channel, he plays on the synergy version and it sounds equally badass.

I think it sounds great, but totally dig the honesty

From my experience playing an OG VHT pitbull, and also owning a newer 2008 pitbull model (as well as biasing/re-tubing with an oscilloscope many dozens of other amps), I can easily hear that this amp needs to be re-tubed, and re-biased. The OG Pitbull, while not nearly as good as the newer models, sounds MUCH better than what we heard in this video. You can clearly hear artifacts and microphonics oddities while he's playing. I'd suggest to bring it to a qualified amp tech to fix, or get/borrow a newer model to check it out.

You need to play the updated version. It is a different amp and the new UL is much more aggressive.

Checked them out a bit over the years for the same reasons most do and just never vibed with them, they always felt stiff and sterile. And, I wanted to love them. I've owned a VHT 2150 for my rack setup for decades and I'm pretty happy with it and I like that better than my old Marshal EL34 100/100 and every other power amps I've used.

I'm surprise by this verdict. It contradicts all I have learned about VHT. I am actually thinking about buying no EQ UL head, that's why I'm here

This is getting so comical ...and it's exactly what I knew would happen both the outcome of the video and the comments hahaha blissful

I had the Fryette vesion of this amp and it doe's need a compressor in the clean and a boost pedal.

IMO VHT Pittbull 100CL/EQ is one of the best amps Money can buy. I run mine with a front loaded Diezel 2x12 with k-100s. Sounds huge.

Where do u buy these? I cant find these anywhere?

One more comment and I'll leave well enough alone if you still have this amp around. On the lead channel, turn the mids knob to 3 o'clock. Set the bass to maybe 2 o'clock or slightly lower, CRANK the presence, keep the channel volumes low and compensate with the master volume. Depth is best kept below noon unless you want boomy. Boost, edge, and midshift pushed. Push the voicing switch too and then set the treble to taste. Also, this amp is picky about speakers. I'm running mine through an Orange PPC2x12 with a Swamp Thang and a Fane F70 and it's punishingly brutal, mind you it's a 50 watt EL34 version of this amp, with more gain as it's a later model. As to the clean channel, if you don't like this amps clean you probably wouldn't like a Hiwatt. They share a lot of the same DNA. VERY high headroom so VERY HIGH TRANSIENTS unless you have it absolutely cooking.

No matter if the amp is dialed in well, tubed and biased or whatever you seem to prefer extremely saturated sound with a big scoop and tons of gain which just isn't the sound they have. The speakers and cabinet don't help either though tbh since I know you like the mesa v30 style at least from your past videos I've seen. Fryettes tend to work better with flatter or scooped sounding speakers like CL80, K100 or T75 which is what Mick used with his but it still wouldn't make you like it.

This was how I felt when I owned the UL. It was dry as a barren wasteland, felt undergained and everything about it just felt like it was falling apart in the gain. I've more recently played some of their amps again and really dig the sound. They're super unique sounding, but I struggle to see how they cut as well live as I've heard they do. The sound is very hollow in the mids as far as I can tell, but man does it sound pissed off.

I'm glad you stopped your overall impressions and edited with the more blunt and honest feedback. It was hard for me to watch you pushing buttons and turning knobs and never quite hitting what you were looking for. Your comments to start out seemed to not match the experience of trying to dial it in.

The definitive way to thoroughly evaluate guitar gear is with a band playing live. I don't know how many times I've tinkered with guitar stuff by myself, only to change my mind when rehearsing with my band. The live setting is the real test. If your gear passes the live test then it will hold up in any other scenario like recording or playing in your bedroom.

Wow what a torching. I’ve only played one UL in my life and it was admittedly hard to dial in, but I can tell when it’s in there and when it’s not. The tone was in there, I just had to find it.

Sounds incredible. 😅 It sounds like a raw Marshall circuit before all the added accoutrements.

I was looking for this VHT or a PRS Archon 100. Maybe I will go for the Archon 100 finally ! 😅

Kinda off topic but I value your opinion I can get a peavey invective mh or a PRs mt 15 I play metal what one would you choose ? And I always wanted to ask are you in Michigan love motor city guitars been going there since age 10

I loved the Pitbull when I tried it, was absolutely BONECRUSHING with a SD1 up front

This demo really made my ears go up, since I've been enjoying my Sig X this year.

Very harsh and dry sounding Jarrod, tube stuff going on most likely. Thanks for the video I been wondering about VHT alot of guys like them !

TUNE 👏 YOUR 👏 GUITAR 👏

Your "screaming" description of the rhythm channel is legendary.

I have a CLX Pittbull and it's the BEST damn thing ever. For each his own....

Great video, but there must be an issue because my CL100 eats every amp it’s crossed and it’s the EL34 version. Amazing amps, but yea mine has a lot more gain and a warmer clean compared to this one, though I know the EL34’s contribute to the more rounded clean on mine.

This amp is a work horse!! Steve is a genius!

Honestly, you dialed it incorrectly. That amp is nothing like any of the amps you own. The pots are made to allow you to go too far. As a result, if you use your eyes or memory to dial in tone, you'll never get there. On an amp where you'd have gain at 8, for example, you might have this one at 3 and anything beyond 3 is junk. You may want to go back and do it again. You might still not like it, but you dialed it incorrectly this time around. It's an odd amp on how it was made.

Was in a metal/hardcore band like 20 years ago with a dude who played a VHT Pitbull. Wasn't this one though, it was the model with the EQ sliders circuit. It sounded way more tight and aggressive than the one you've got here, just a mean snarly amp. That said I played a 5150 at the time which I always thought sounded better. He ultimately ended up getting rid of the VHT to go to mesa.

My GP3+2/90/2 is my favorite amp, i never tried any other amp that I liked as much. I hate over compressed and treble hissy amps that seem to sound by themselves and you have to control it, to hold on. The VHT is all the contrary, it's like a humongous fat crunch sound that you have to enter in with punch to make it saturate enough. It makes it way more dynamic, and it doesn't have that hissy white noise all other hi gain amps have over the notes, which I hate. In the end I find it brutal as f$$ even with less gain. + it's super fat !! I also really appreciate that I don't need a noise suppressor, I hate how unnatural they sound.

It was probably something wrong with the amp you're were playing. The Fryette UL does not sound or behave like you describe at all. It could be all the factors that Fryette pointed out in the comment but hearing your story it really makes me suspect the amp you're were playing was in bad condition in some way.

Get one with the eq. That thing is is useful

Yeah I was about to say where is the EQ? I loved my CL and the sig X never got to play an OG ultra lead.

After hearing the whole video, I am way more happy with the Iconic even my old crate sounds better..

How did this compare to the ultralead synergy module? Maybe the EQ makes a really big difference?

I tried a new Sig X about a decade or so back and remember it being brittle and harsh without any gain or saturation tap. I’d still like to give a pitbull a spin but what you experienced is exactly what I ran into on my play through.

I had it in the back of my head that Dave Mustaine used one of these in the studio, but I can't find anything about that googling it. ......I guess my memory is failing me. I've never played this version of the pittbull, but I used a VHT Pittbull Super 30 (they only made a few hundred of these) for over a decade. That thing was awesome! ...but I don't do the metal chug stuff so I have a really different use case.

That amp is an ancient Ultra-Lead…way different than the new ones. You can tell by the faceplates and no mini toggle switches for normal and higain modes on the rhythm and lead channels. Not representative of the current versions.

These amps are different, and take some getting use to. I have a old 91/92 Pitbull Classic, looks just like this one, but it's not ultra-lead. Anyhow they are dry, less forgiving, and don't sound amazing by themselves. However in a mix, or in a band situation they sound amazing. That being said, I do not like the clean, it's pretty unusable in any scenario.

Obscure bands that played this amp : Slipknot, Helmet, Suicidal Tendencies, Mudvayne, Skinlab ...

What kind of guitar is that? absolutely beautiful! Kiesel?

I owned this amp when I played in a metal band. Too dry for me and too loud. I had to get it up fairly loud to be usable and made gigs a nightmare.

The amp would have sounded better if you had used a "pro level" guitar. Playing with $3500.00 instruments is no way to demo an amp. You should be using guitars that cost at least 4100.00 $4100.00 is the official cutoff for amp tests. EVERYBODY knows that.

Is your guitar a Kiesel? What pickups are in there?

You got the wrong one .The graphic eq is amazing on these . Try one of those if you can

Sounds like an SS amplifier doing a pretty good simulation of a high gain tube amplifier. It would be great to compare to the Orange super crush 100

thanks for your honest and detalied opinion!

I play in e standard and I liked the pitbull not my favourite amp but not terrible , I agree vht is very dry amp , I like your honest opinion

When someone says dry i get really iffy about even trying the amp

I have a 2006 VHT Deliverance 60 yeah man it blows nothing but regrets on that purchase

You said it exactly right Jarrod. I agree. Wierd voicing at least on this particular VHT amp. Before you even commented...it's like the amp isn't allowed to breath, has that nasal effect on all 3 channels. No warmth and no luster. Thank God I never owned one..!! Thanks for the "ewe" and "Meh" video

Far from my favorite amp you tried out. I don't mind dry (used to love the 5150 OG). Not enough saturation.

Get it looked at. Its got the VHT faceplate so it means its old as heck. You never know. This thing should be tight and dry as hell. Not dry as in not saturated, I cant describe it. Also the one people love most is the EQ version. I mean everyone from Page Hamilton tomslipjnot to Mudvayne was playing this thing. Its responsible for a lot of brutal sounds.

Thompson Jose Garcia Sarah Gonzalez Mary

It honestly sounds like you got a bad used one that needed service and/or new tubes. John Browne, Reza and Kyle Bull all have stellar demos of this amp that sounds nothing like this. Pretty sure that the same thing happened to you with the Mark V.

And yes ive played em all too.

John Christ used this amp. That's why I would buy one.

Dry and stiff. Not my thing. I hated this amp and gigs were embarrassing. I am still saving for the Revv Gen 120.

21:49 😂🔥 lol that was awesome

I love people that give their true and honest opinion. I’m sick of people that kiss every companies ass. But in your review you say that the amps behind you are so much better. This amp is pretty old. Amp companies learn from each other and made modifications that provide that modern sound. The amps behind you are modern. The pitbull is not a modern amp.

The amp sound is just about right, VHT/FRYETTE are known for being super dry sounding. I honestly really like how they sound, specifically the sig X. Which I owned back in the day, although. The real problem is that they are build like shit. The main reason why I don't have it anymore is because the piece of crap caught on fire😅 and I know people that have had a lot of reliability problems. And at least in Europe, the customer service is non-existent.

There’s definitely an issue with that amp. Have a tech look at it. Something is wrong.

Maybe your fingers are too weak for such a tight amp lmaoo

Sounds terrible. Lol always been curious about these. I tend to have similar tastes in amps as you, but very different EQ tastes haha I like a very mid forward sound. I just tend to dial less bass, less gain, and more mids than you. But I generally agree with your amp choices.

Little brother, the Pitbull with the EQ and EL34's is a better amp.

I'm not very metal but I've heard other metal amp demos that sounded much better than this. The clean channel was okay and seemed to fit the kind of cleans you might hear in metal. The rhythm and lead channels had too much noise. I mean that toneless noise that's always in the background no matter what you play. Not trying to be toxic but it sounds like cheap solid state amp gain.

Page Hamilton has entered the chat

Cool Amp

Do you even hear how out of tune your guitar is ?

No tube issue, these things are notoriously dry and, imo, massively overrated. I think the Laney Ironheart sounds quite similar- so dry it's almost unusable.

Damn I love the tone of this amp

Hmm… not my experience at all with those amps. I’m thinking there’s either bad tubes, or it’s not biased correctly, or a combination of both. That said, the guitar was horribly out of tune and the playing not too great. VHT/Fryette amps only give what you give them, which is why bad guitarists seem to not like them. 🤷🏻

I do own 2 VHTs and I am on FB VHT group which started to comment your video... fanboys are going to be fanboys... Again cannot express how much I like this channel, it's like finding somebody who finally says what I think contrary to the internet hype. One was the Bogner, now VHT. Lots of people just blindly repeat how tight the amp is. Ok then lets ask: is Splawn Nitro, 5150, mid gain Engl Savage, new Marshall DSL less tight? I dont think so. These are more saturated. If you want to get that level of saturation with VHT, it will be even worse. Many amps can be quite tight on low gain/saturation with mids cranked a bit... I think UL likes to be loud and graphic EQ helps a lot, also sometimes counter intuitive settings may help, on UL lead channel I remember sometimes I did reverse scoop (mids high, bass treble lower) then adjusted graphic EQ. Also the amp seems to like more modern cabs, which handle flat frequency response better, VHT, Marshall MF280, even bogner with high end sizzle helps, with typical Marshalls like 1960AV it can be pretty neutral, honky, smooth, lifeless/dull. I prefer 50CL to UL - it is a bit more saturated has more low mids, so generally sounds more full to me, especially on low volume. After raising treble, combined with fuller low mids, it sounds less flat than UL. It is slightly less tight than UL though. SigX is going to have more bogner-ish sizzle (in a good way, like Bogner Ecstasy), it is more interesting in terms of sound I think, not necessarily better, just different.

Well, it really sounds awful on the video. Mid hump is enormous, sounds way too honky. But I am wondering maybe the set up is wrong, as some other videos outhere have much better tone. Besides, it would be good to turn your guitar before recording anything (at 16:05 it is just piercing my ears).

It is entirely possible something is wrong with it. It's gotta be pretty old too since it has a VHT badge...so who knows how well it has been maintained. I prefer the Deliverance myself.

Why bother even being a tube amp if you're gonna make it sound so damn dry and flat? The beauty of tubes are the saturation and character they provide (in the right circuit mind you).

*Gasp!🫢 How dare you! I’m so offended!! 🤣😂🤣

Anyone looking for an educated review and tips on how to dial in the tone should check out the John Browne review of the Pitbull from a few years ago. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4SIAdtnyDSY.html This guy talks about how he doesnt like the amp being responsive to picking dynamics...So what do you want, your amp to just sound the same regardless of how you play? I'm surprised this guy has an ENGL considering theyre also pretty dry and ice pick sounding. It sounds like the amp you got had some ruined tubes or poor biasing. These amps are very dry and cut through a mix really well. This seems a lot like a mechanic blaming his tools. The VHT/ Fryette stuff takes some patience to dial it in terms of settings. But these amps shred

Glad I'm not the only one that thinks it stinks. A line 6 Vetta sounds better. It's the only expensive tube amp I ever had that made my JVM410 sound boutique. (Yes that bad)