NAD: VHT Sig:X
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EOengineer
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Would also like to know this. Our other guitarist pairs his with a V30 2x12 and doesn’t love it. I keep pushing him towards something like a creamback/greenback family.
laxu
Rock Star
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This actually really highlights what I like and don't like about the Fryette/VHT sound. The cleans are just soooo dry and stiff. I'm not sure if I'd love that even if I slapped a compressor on and drenched it with reverb.
The high gain rhythm sounds, great and unique.
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I almost always just ran my mesa traditional 4x12 with V30s with my fryettes, but also occasionally a whitebox 1x12 with a K100
I always wanted to try the P50e speakers though because everyone swore by them with fryettes
OrganicZed
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OrganicZed
Roadie
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The clean channel on the Sig:X is a different design from the Pitbull and Deliverance series amps. It is very lively and has a nice bit of natural compression happening in the 40W mode (which is how I set my amp). It doesn't take all that much volume to get some edge of breakup style tones happening on the clean channel.
By contrast, the clean channel on the Fryette GP3 preamp (essentially the same preamp as the Pitbull CLX and UL) that I have is much less dynamic and seems sterile sounding.
Stratzrus
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I have a Fryette FatBottom 2x12 with Fryette spec'd Eminence P50Es that pairs really well with the amp. When I was gigging with it that was the cab I used.
I also have a Deliverance 4x12 full stack with the same speakers and the amps sounds wonderful going through it. Some say Fryette amps sound best pushing Fryette cabs but I've seen others say the P50E was not their favorite choice. They work well for me but I haven't tried the amp with any other speakers.
The Sig:X is significantly more versatile than the Pitbull and Deliverance amps but like other gear by Fryette they are not overly compressed so that needs to be taken into account when considering the amp. Unlike most channel switchers all three channels sound great clean and gain comes on gradually not suddenly like many high gain amps so they can be used for many styles other than metal.
Since you listed the price in Euros I assume you're not in the USA so shipping the amp to Fryette for repairs isn't really an issue. I've seen some posts that expressed concern about support but it's been nothing but stellar in my case. I had my Deliverance 120 modded at the factory adding an effects loop and Less/More footswitch capability. The work was done within a week. My Sig:X had a bad part that had to be replaced and that work was also done in a week.
My original PS-1 Power Station came with a fuse that had the wrong value and caused problems. Fryette replaced it immediately free of charge. My PS-100 has been trouble free.
I can't explain why the support has been less than satisfactory for some but given that they're a small builder they might have caught the company at a time when things were happening internally that caused delays in correspondence. Others may have had an approach that wasn't particularly well received. I don't know what caused the problems but Fryette isn't the only small builder that has had support concerns. I figure having some patience comes with the turf when dealing with a small builder.
In my experience complaints about support on the forums can become seen as endemic instead of occasional occurrences. As I said, I've been happy with the support and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one of their products.
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Yeah I've owned three in my lifetime so far! lol. All the TNBD albums used it, apart from the 1st one. I know exactly what they are like. Never got to play a Pitbull though.
laxu
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For me it's been pretty miserable. When I had issues with the PS-100, it took several emails before they would respond, then after a few exchanges they simply stopped answering my mails. Then when the PS-100 broke they didn't answer despite several tries, didn't answer my tech or even find their mails. I had to hunt down their rep on TGP to get them to even acknowledge me. If they can't keep track of their emails, they need to move to a ticketing system.
Fryette makes some cool gear but if I can't trust them for e.g getting schematics to my tech, then I really can't be bothered to buy their gear. Because I sure as hell am not waking up at some odd hour to call them from Finland, or sending heavy guitar gear across the pond for repairs.
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I just don't understand why they'd invalidate my warranty for trying out an AY7 preamp tube. Absolutely mental.
SillyOctpuss
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How'd they know you had a different preamp valve in it? Did it go back for repair with it in?
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No. It happened like this.
- I had some distortion issues on the clean channel. I thought it was inherent to the clean channel because a lot of people posted about that sort of thing.
- I read on the official Fryette/VHT users forum that some people cured it by sticking a 12AY7 or 12AT7 tube into V1 of the preamp.
- The main support dude, Dave, had been posted in that thread too.
- It sounded interesting, so I bought one. Put it in. 2 minutes later, take it out, because it made absolutely zero difference.
- All throughout this I was documenting my intentions in the thread on the forum.
- I decide I need to send it back for investigation, and since I'm under warranty, I'd just get the UK distributor to sort it for me.
- Through a series of emails it was revealed to me that I could do that, but I'd have to pay £60 or so to ship it back to the distributor, and then there would be a charge for servicing the amp.
- The reason I was given was explicitly because they knew I'd been messing with preamp valves. Because of my posts on their forum.
- I tried to argue that there was nothing in the manual that said I couldn't do that, and the manual only talked about power tubes, which I had not messed with.
- I also argued that the presence of the official support representative in a thread where people were advocating for changing preamp tubes, and he didn't say a word against it, constituted acceptance of the practice.
- They disagreed. I refused to send it back.
- My drummer knew an amp builder here in London (now one of my best friends!!) and so we took it to him.
....
Here's a direct quote from the email I got from the distro:
Suffice to say, I won't ever do business with them ever again. This all went down in May 2012.
Now.... all throughout this time period (a couple of weeks) ... the rectifier tube had been making a kind of rainstick noise. Almost like it was full of beads that were rattling around. Because I never had an amp with a rectifier tube in it before, I didn't really know it was an issue.
But it was. Reading back through emails, it had been doing that sound and getting worse for 9 months!!!
Amp tech friend replaced the rectifier tube, and the excessive distortion on the clean channel went away. Actually it had turned out that all channels had excessive distortion, but I just couldn't hear it on the gain channels.
Fryette refused to believe this explanation when I told them. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, so I sold the amp. That was when I discovered the Satriani JVM.
Worth noting as well that it was my 2nd Sig:X - the first one turned up DOA !!!
In 2014 or 2015, I bought another Sig:X. Because all that bullshit aside, I really loved the amp. Never should've sold the first one tbh. Although I will say, I did quite a few gigs where the amp would just randomly change channels by itself.
I sold it last year to buy my Dual Rectifier. I do miss it though.
Oh... and my tech - who builds proper PTP handwired sexy motherfucking amps - he found it fairly laughable that I'd be told not to use an 12AY7 in V1. People have literally been doing that since the 60's, probably earlier. Their description of it being a "driver" (in another email) tube is just categorically false.
They just didn't want to look after a customer. Compared to how Marshall treated me with my JVM.... totally different scenario. Marshall were AMAZING.
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They think they're making Dumble amps, but they're actually making the amp equivalent of an early 90's BUSH VCR player.
<ducks>
Life Eats Life
Shredder
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You know what’s interesting?The Sig:X is not nearly as dry or stiff as the Pittbull series but in comparison to a 5150 or other compressed high gain amps it is.
As spawn said, it does make you a better player. I noticed a distinct improvement in my technique after doing the work to clean up my fingering/picking because the amp will reveal any sloppiness.
But the reward is that it reveals the nuances of your playing allowing you to be much more expressive than an amp that smears the attack.
The Sig:X has been my main big iron head for a decade and the fact that it sounds great for Jazz, Blues Rock, Classic Rock, and Modern Metal says a lot. Most high gain channel switchers have cleans and overdrive tones that sound like secondary considerations, not the Sig:X. It does them all very, very well.
I can't tell you how many posts I've read by players who said they wish they'd never sold theirs. Mine isn't going anywhere.
Many voicing options, more or less gain on each channel, 40 or 90 watt switching on all channels, parallel or series effects loop...the amp is really set up to meet your personal preferences. The original promotional copy said the name Sig:X meant it was designed to allow you to create your own sonic signature. In my experience it lives up to that and more.
I become a better player when the amplifier
is real woody & juicy tight.
-the train without too much gravy.
That desirable squidge of give is right where
I put the love on it
A true “tone in the bones zone”
!Word
.If it’s dolphin butthole tight, it will clank when
I put the love on it
One man’s clank is another man’s bank….
LTFOL dudes!!
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SillyOctpuss
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That's really poor customer service. I wouldn't give them anymore of my cash either if I'd gone through that. Genuinely shitty.
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If they came out with a Sig:X v2, and had proper EU/UK distribution again, then I probably would buy one. But yeah, it didn't leave me with a good impression.
Versus Marshall.... I bought my first Satch JVM.... and it was great for a while... then I noticed that whenever I plugged into the amp without any pedals, the signal was very low volume, muffled, and undergained. But if I went through a buffered pedal first (like a Boss stomp or something) then it was perfectly fine.
So first of all... they let me go up to the HQ in Bletchley. Then they said they'd fix it on the spot, and I waited in the reception. Unfortunately the issue was more complicated than they thought, and it needed a new main board, which they didn't have in stock at that moment. So I came home. 4 days later my amp was shipped back to me, with a new main board, rebiased, packaged up really well, and shipped completely for free.
Markedly different experience. Diezel have also been really good support-wise over the years. Peter even sent me free replacement capacitors and a programmed midi eprom chip for my VH4.
SillyOctpuss
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Quality service like that just makes you want to support a company. It's hard to find with bigger companies these days.
I would like to try one of those satriani jvms, I bloody love mine and would like to see how much difference there really is in day to day use.
OrganicZed
Roadie
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I have also had mixed experiences with Fryette support. Mostly, they just don't respond to my support emails. The I'd say the response rate for emails sent to them has been about 30%. That's pretty abysmal IMO. The times they have responded they have been very helpful.
Steve Fryette is a brilliant guy with a great ear for tone. I really like the amps that he makes. Based on watching many interviews and videos, I suspect that the man himself is a bit of a love or hate kind of person. If he sees you as a friend you will be treated with respect, kindness, and generosity but if you end up on his bad side you may as well not exists. It does not seem to take very much to end up on his bad side either.
Not many companies would bother to put a message like this inside their amps.
Steve Fryette is a brilliant guy with a great ear for tone. I really like the amps that he makes. Based on watching many interviews and videos, I suspect that the man himself is a bit of a love or hate kind of person. If he sees you as a friend you will be treated with respect, kindness, and generosity but if you end up on his bad side you may as well not exists. It does not seem to take very much to end up on his bad side either.
Not many companies would bother to put a message like this inside their amps.
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See... that would be fine if the amps were tip top. But they're not. They're quite prone to issues.
That photo has been bandied around a long time, and whenever I see it, I get 2nd degree embarassment for him!
