thegame
Well-known member
This can't be overstated. Do some searches for VHT/Fryette customer support issues on various forums and the results go way back.
Devin
Well-known member
I will say that once they do actually engage with you on a support ticket they follow through very promptly in my experience.
When I first bought my D60, one of the KT88's lost vacuum within like two weeks. They sent me a free replacement pair.
Had to send my D60 to them years ago for repair (burnt snubber cap) - only took one week from the time they received my amp until the time it was sent back to me fixed.
A couple years later the impedance selector on the D60 crumbled on me while I was adjusting it (it truly is a shitty design; cheap plastic) and they sent me one free of charge and I changed it out myself.
They also had my loop mod done very quickly - I think that was about a one week turn around as well.
Of course all of this was way pre-covid
When I first bought my D60, one of the KT88's lost vacuum within like two weeks. They sent me a free replacement pair.
Had to send my D60 to them years ago for repair (burnt snubber cap) - only took one week from the time they received my amp until the time it was sent back to me fixed.
A couple years later the impedance selector on the D60 crumbled on me while I was adjusting it (it truly is a shitty design; cheap plastic) and they sent me one free of charge and I changed it out myself.
They also had my loop mod done very quickly - I think that was about a one week turn around as well.
Of course all of this was way pre-covid
Devin
Well-known member
Maybe, but I would have assumed they made a killing on the Powerstation line. They sell the fuck out of those things
Of course they are in commiefornia so the cost of doing business is probably fucking insane
C
CurlOfTheBurl
Active member
This has also been my experience. Hard to get them, but once you do, it's a quick turnaround/resolution.
I actually bought a CLX from Guitar Center used in not good condition (visible issue was broken EQ sliders), and had them ship it direct to Fryette. Was able to coordinate pretty well. They received it, fixed it up, retubed, did a complete check up, etc then shipped it to me. It was a pretty nice experience.
Other times I'll have to wait weeks to get a response after numerous follow-ups.
Dave Phelge is "support" on TGP and tends to be active there. It's worth a shot. You can also email Eriko directly... I've been able to escalate an issue through her before. (Eriko is Steve's wife and does work for the company).
J
jasonP
Well-known member
Agreed. I used to own a deliverance d120 and it was a great amp and really liked it, but it went down the road after other amps I owned just sounded "better."
C
creep66
Well-known member
Yeah my C+ crushes it on all fronts. I will never sell my deliverance but its definitely taken the back seat.
I liked my deliverance best ran with a 5150 in stereo. Talk about a balls out tone for metal.
marshallmel
Well-known member
So the jacks are proprietary and made just for them. Side note is they are cheap as fuck so if you have a power station count on them breaking at some point and then good luck getting it resolved. I’m on my 5th email and it’s looking like I now have an $800 paper weight.
T
tonedover
Well-known member
Brother Mel - i just emailed Eriko Fryette to assist with my needs - looks like they ARE in fact on a short thxgiving hiatus.
Autoreply:
Thank you for contacting FRYETTE AMPLIFICATION.
I am out of my office between 11/22/2022 to 12/9/2022.
I will be back to normal operation from 12/12/2022.
Our office is partially closed during this period.
T
tonedover
Well-known member
Also - taking a 2 week vacation BEFORE the busy ass holiday season seems pretty fool-hardy….
But what do i know…… im only wildly successful in my industry….
I hope his employees are salary and not hourly so as to also get alll this time off paid.
But what do i know…… im only wildly successful in my industry….
I hope his employees are salary and not hourly so as to also get alll this time off paid.
marshallmel
Well-known member
November 1st was my initial email. Second was on the 17th. Vacation started on 22nd. Both free replacements that were offered should have been here by now if they had sent them. I was informed that they don’t keep track of freebies so I offered to buy some and haven’t heard back yet. The vacation is an explanation as to why I haven’t heard back but it’s not an explanation as to why they haven’t followed through.
I’m done with the whole thing. Told my local repair guy to steal the foot switch jack and use that if it’s possible so I can get it back up and running.
B
braintheory
Well-known member
My experience as well. Had a Pittbull UL and tried the D60 and other models. I get that guys like their punch, openness and clarity, but there are other amps that can match and even exceed them there without the hollow mids, brittle highs and overall somewhat sterile tone. I still kept my 2150 Poweramp though
Greazygeo
Well-known member
My UL was awesome. It had none of what you describe. Would love to have another one.
B
braintheory
Well-known member
Well we all hear things differently, but I’ve played many other UL’s & Pittbull’s other than the one I owned and they all had those qualities to my ears, but there are other amps with those qualities as well to my ears where many guys on here probably wouldn’t agree with me, so to each their own. It’s not that I don’t think they’re good amps, but I’m always judging largely based on AB comparisons and vs a lot of amps (especially good Marshall’s) those qualities become very exposed
J
jasonP
Well-known member
I absolutely did not like the Pitbull UL at all, I totally get it if someone likes that tone, but that amp was not for me at all. Clean was dull and lifeless and the amp punched and was tight and focused on the gain channels but it’s tone wasnt for me. Really liked the deliverance better.
Greazygeo
Well-known member
Yeah I get what you are saying. I just don’t really do comparisons. An UL to me sounds nothing like a Marshall, and not what I was looking for in it. Already have some great Marshalls. If that is what a person was expecting, I could see disappointment.
With the UL, Channel 2 was it, never used any of the other channels or even the graphic eq. That channel was awesome.
Gigged with mine pretty heavy playing fusion stuff in a trio, great amp for that. Nice big sound stage. Couple things I always did was let the amp get good and warm first and always have the master at least 3:00. That was a fun band…
B
braintheory
Well-known member
I knew it wasn’t a Marshall flavor amp and never was trying to get that out of it at all. That had nothing to do with it for me. It was a great amp to me for a while when I didn’t have much yet, but then I got other amps later on that made it hard to find a reason to keep it around anymore. The powerchords on it to me sounded hollow and lacking a complete growl/roar/too smooth vs other amps, the inherent tone was just flat/filtered/sterile vs any vintage amp and even some of the few good modern ones like a Wizard or Naylor. I liked its clarity, punch and tightness, but other amps I had outdid it there too, so I couldn’t find any reason to justify keeping it. That’s how I am. If there’s one thing an amp does better than anything else I have, no matter how specific it is, it’s a keeper (this is why I have almost 30 amps and several power amps & preamps), if it’s just good with nothing exceptional then it’s going asap. That’s how it was for me. Agreed on the master being 3:00 or higher
I think comparisons are crucial for me to really understand thoroughly what I’m hearing. When I said it’s sterile, hollow, brittle highs, I meant vs other amps I had (not just Marshall’s), but having been through so much gear comparison testing over the years, those undesirable qualities to me of those amps I will usually hear right away these days even before doing the necessary comparisons. That hollowness (which the Wizards & hiwatts have also) is one particular thing I really dislike in guitar tone. It’s for me as bad as for others when they complain about things being too bright or harsh
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Orvillain
Active member
I love my VHT Sig:X, but yeah, always had pretty sub-par customer support with Fryette.
I had a pretty hilarious revoking of warranty with my first Fryette Sig:X when I tried an 12AY7 tube for a few minutes in V1 to try and clean up the distortion on the clean channel. This was years and years ago. I'd read about it on the Fryette/VHT users forum, and Dave was even posting in the same thread!!!
Not once did he tell anyone that trying this would invalidate their warranty. So I tried it anyway. Didn't change anything so I put the 12AX7 tube back in.
Eventually it turned out the issue was actually the rectifier tube. But that didn't matter - lost my warranty. The UK distributor at the time was garbage too.
In the intervening years, every single amp genius and tech I've ever spoken to, I've told that story to. They've been absolutely flabberghasted that I lost my warranty for trying a 12AY7 tube instead of a 12AX7 tube; because this is an extremely common thing that blues wankers do.
So yeah, I don't even bother with them these days. Just take the amp to my tech if I need anything.
Diezel are a small business too, and they run rings around Fryette when it comes to customer support. So I don't buy the 'small company' explanation. They're just incompetent, unfortunately.
I had a pretty hilarious revoking of warranty with my first Fryette Sig:X when I tried an 12AY7 tube for a few minutes in V1 to try and clean up the distortion on the clean channel. This was years and years ago. I'd read about it on the Fryette/VHT users forum, and Dave was even posting in the same thread!!!
Not once did he tell anyone that trying this would invalidate their warranty. So I tried it anyway. Didn't change anything so I put the 12AX7 tube back in.
Eventually it turned out the issue was actually the rectifier tube. But that didn't matter - lost my warranty. The UK distributor at the time was garbage too.
In the intervening years, every single amp genius and tech I've ever spoken to, I've told that story to. They've been absolutely flabberghasted that I lost my warranty for trying a 12AY7 tube instead of a 12AX7 tube; because this is an extremely common thing that blues wankers do.
So yeah, I don't even bother with them these days. Just take the amp to my tech if I need anything.
Diezel are a small business too, and they run rings around Fryette when it comes to customer support. So I don't buy the 'small company' explanation. They're just incompetent, unfortunately.
Orvillain
Active member
Okay Steve. Now get back to the workshop and finish the SigX v2 yah??
Orvillain
Active member
Nah, not a deal breaker. Just know what you're getting into.
The Powerstation is a pretty cool device. The only thing I didn't really like about it was the subtle high-frequency roll-off.
M
MusicIsLife
Well-known member
That's one of the caveats of some of these small builders, where something that affects one employee means 20% of your staff are down. Sometimes too though, it feels like priorities are a little out of order. I think Steve would rather design and create and tweak and the "fun" stuff, rather than deal with the customer or business side of things. I've heard stories like this about Fryette before. I think he's a great designer/builder, but it takes more than that to run a business, especially as it grows. I think Bruce Egnater is a little like that too, where he'd rather let others handle the business side of things, but he at least seems to have tried to be better about planning for that with his ventures.