Fryette Pittbull Ultralead II

[stephen sawall]

At long last, the Fryette Amplification announces the launch of the Pittbull Ultra-Lead II 120 watt head.

From its introduction in 1995 up until its discontinuation in 2017, the Pittbull Ultra-Lead had long been the flagship of the Fryette amplifier line and customer demand and desire for the Ultra-Lead to be reissued has never waned.

The result of an uncompromising three-year labor of love, the new Pittbull Ultra-Lead II is a fully reimagined touring and recording tone machine, specifically designed to be the centerpiece of your playing and gigging environment. With this breakthrough product, Steve Fryette has created an innovative testament to the future of tube amplification.

We prioritized the most popular features and functions of the original Pittbull Ultra-Lead and then added a compact, lightweight form factor, flexible three-channel topology, a graphic EQ and super dynamic 120-watt power amplifier. Next, we incorporated the smoother harmonic balance of the former sister-ship, the Pittbull Hundred CLX and imported its personality into the Ultra-Lead platform by way of a Patent Pending power tube blending technology that extracts peak performance out of mixed pairs of EL34 and 6550 power tubes. Finally, we developed an all-new switching and signal processing platform that offers a stunning array of sonic possibilities in a slick, intuitive sound modification system that can be managed via the onboard LCD display or operated remotely via a custom graphical user interface.

“Many amp manufacturers view legacy product reboots in the most literal way possible, offering as accurate a reproduction as possible, given modern regulatory limitations. In our view, that approach is just uninspired and assumes that a great tube amplifier can’t be truly innovative. We believe that the Pittbull Ultra-Lead origin story was about moving beyond, and that is just as true today as it was in 1995” commented Steve Fryette.

 

[espquade]

From this to that?

 

[japetus]

Wild look, but I dig it. Can the tubes breathe though?

 

[Devin]

Fuckin thing rules


I'm too poor for it though

 

[stephen sawall]

Fuckin thing rules


I'm too poor for it though

$3999

Available end of March.

 

[RockyStar]

Looking forward to this one! It has been a long wait. I care more about how it sounds than how it looks.

 

[PurityS.L.G]

I wonder if this is just 1 iteration of it. You guys think he’ll release an actual head as well? I mean Page Hamilton was seen touring with the prototype head, unless Fryette changed his mind and direction.

 

[Greazygeo]

Awesome finally! Been waiting patiently for this.

 

[stephen sawall]

I wonder if this is just 1 iteration of it. You guys think he’ll release an actual head as well?

No

Not any time soon anyway. I'm guessing never.

They have a two space rack on their website for the Power Station. That will be the head version.
https://fryette.com/power-station-rack-head-case/

 

[hellzington]

This reminds me a lot of the VHX. It’s a cool idea, but the market for blending tube amps with digital technology has been pretty cold. I suspect it ends up as a niche product, mainly because most people buying boutique amps want a real tube head, not something that feels like rack gear. Personally, I don’t think this recent “return to the rack” push from manufacturers is going to land. It feels out of step with where most guitarists are headed. Most players are trying to shrink their rigs, not rebuild massive, heavy racks all over again.

 

[The~Kid]

This is pretty fucking stupid

 

[espquade]

I wonder if this is just 1 iteration of it. You guys think he’ll release an actual head as well? I mean Page Hamilton was seen touring with the prototype head, unless Fryette changed his mind and direction.

I sure hope so and more along the lines of the original, but judging from the official Fryette statement it seems like they are interested in moving forward and not looking back.

I like to look back...

 

[Greazygeo]

This reminds me a lot of the VHX. It’s a cool idea, but the market for blending tube amps with digital technology has been pretty cold. I suspect it ends up as a niche product, mainly because most people buying boutique amps want a real tube head, not something that feels like rack gear. Personally, I don’t think this recent “return to the rack” push from manufacturers is going to land. It feels out of step with where most guitarists are headed. Most players are trying to shrink their rigs, not rebuild massive, heavy racks all over again.

How is it not a real tube head? It has el34/6550 tubes in it.

 

[espquade]

Awesome finally! Been waiting patiently for this.

I was waiting, but for this !

 

[espquade]

If I just knew what I know now back then I would of never bought and sold so many Ultraleads

I sold my last one sometime in 2016 for around 1600... and it took a few months to sell as well and now they hardly ever come up used and when they do it's usually in the 3 k price range for one. I made a mistake once again on that one.

 

[ZEN Amps]

I love the idea of looking forward, and being innovative. What I'm suspicious about is the small iron footprint they've gone with.

Both the Synergy 5050 and Fryette LX II feel wimpy next to literally anything with beefy transformers. Makes we sceptical this will be any different, let's see (hear) how it plays out.

 

[OldGtrGuy]

If I just knew what I know now back then I would of never bought and sold so many Ultraleads

I sold my last one sometime in 2016 for around 1600... and it took a few months to sell as well and now they hardly ever come up used and when they do it's usually in the 3 k price range for one. I made a mistake once again on that one.

Same, I sold my 100CL geq for like $900 shipped.

The only UL ive had was the pre update with the 12AT7 PI or whatever and that one sucked

 

[espquade]

I love the idea of looking forward, and being innovative. What I'm suspicious about is the small iron footprint they've gone with.

Both the Synergy 5050 and Fryette LX II feel wimpy next to literally anything with beefy transformers. Makes we sceptical this will be any different, let's see (hear) how it plays out.

Yes, your correct as the iron inside this 2 space rack setup is not going to have the grunt of the big iron. I just don't see how it's possible or am I wrong on this?

 

[hellzington]

How is it not a real tube head? It has el34/6550 tubes in it.

blending tube amps with digital technology

I said it was a tube amp, it's just not a head in the traditional sense everyone was hoping/expecting.

 

[hellzington]

I love the idea of looking forward, and being innovative. What I'm suspicious about is the small iron footprint they've gone with.

Both the Synergy 5050 and Fryette LX II feel wimpy next to literally anything with beefy transformers. Makes we sceptical this will be any different, let's see (hear) how it plays out.

I would hope there will be an option to disable the internal power amp in the rack unit and use it as a preamp with a power amp of your choice (e.g., 2150, PS-100, etc.)