Fryette Pittbull Ultralead II

[Eazy-ESP]

Tough crowd...

Guitar players - I want an ultra-lead! Where is my ultra-lead? I have been waiting forever for an ultra-lead, where is it? Damn it, I want an Ultra-lead!

Steve Fryette - Here is the new ultra-lead. We are looking forward, not backward, and made some positive changes to the product enhancing it's usability and versatility.

Guitar players - I don't want that ultra-lead. Where is my ultra-lead?

What if it has a massive flat transformer that still fits in that form factor? Would that be ok? What if it sounds great? What if the heat dissipation from the tubes is not an issue in that size chassis and it is only as big as it needs to be so you aren't lugging around something larger than you need to be?

Do you really think Fryette is going to release something that doesn't work or sound good? Especially his flagship amp after all this time? Give the guy a little credit.

Yeah you’re right. You’ve totally convince me. I actually like the idea of a tiny little screen that will supersede and probably break and that is too small to read and will probably need to be looked at from the right angle and means I have to open menus to make changes.

Also cool that we aren’t using KT88s anymore and that is in rack format which I don’t use. Will definitely be easier for repairs with everything crammed in small form factor too.

Thanks Steve. I should just have trusted you to know better because you are smart and I am dumb.

 

[DanTravis62]

Yeah you’re right. You’ve totally convince me. I actually like the idea of a tiny little screen that will supersede and probably break and that is too small to read and will probably need to be looked at from the right angle and means I have to open menus to make changes.

Also cool that we aren’t using KT88s anymore and that is in rack format which I don’t use. Will definitely be easier for repairs with everything crammed in small form factor too.

Thanks Steve. I should just have trusted you to know better because you are smart and I am dumb.

Yeah, i'm sure the repairs for this four thousand dollar piece of gear won't be complicated by the digital integration at all, either

 

[DanTravis62]

The cool thing is there are thousands of Ultra Lead heads out there - could always just buy one of those if you don't like the new one

Please let me know where there are thousands of them, preferably for not insane prices, I would like to flip literally all of them

 

[Devin]

The amp has been in production since like 1992 - there are quite literally thousands of them out there


You guys are just way late to the party

 

[ZEN Amps]

I’ve had two interactions with Fryette support over the past three years and both were ultimately positive. The first was an issue with the Amp In jack on my Power Station. They responded quickly over email, issued an RMA, and had the unit repaired and back to me within about two weeks.

The second situation was a bit more involved. A buyer of my Deliverance claimed the amp was not working correctly, so I had it sent directly to Fryette for evaluation. They found nothing wrong with it, but still gave it a full tune-up and returned it to me. The only downside was that the support request had to be initiated through the Fryette forum, which is not ideal, but it did get the job done.

In hindsight, I should have kept that Deliverance. Instead, like an idiot, I sold it again. Ironically, I was later contacted by a friend of the current owner, who is very cool, and I’ve been trying to buy it back ever since.

I think being in the US is a big factor. I only realised after the fact that the typical 5 year warranty Fryette offers is reduced to just 1 year (!) internationally. That's a pretty severe penalty for being a good looking Aussie.*





* 50% of this statement is 100% accurate

 

[DanTravis62]

I think being in the US is a big factor. I only realised after the fact that the typical 5 year warranty Fryette offers is reduced to just 1 year (!) internationally. That's a pretty severe penalty for being a good looking Aussie.*





* 50% of this statement is 100% accurate

Yikes, only one year huh - that's a bit of a risk, especially with something digital like that. I wonder what the warranty on the VHX is?

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

To me, that looks like a Rocktron Prophecy II preamp.

 

[thegame]

I think being in the US is a big factor. I only realised after the fact that the typical 5 year warranty Fryette offers is reduced to just 1 year (!) internationally. That's a pretty severe penalty for being a good looking Aussie.*





* 50% of this statement is 100% accurate

Well, Aussies should stop saying mate so much. It's really annoying. Just consider anything of international origin that disfavors Australia in any way to be a 'mate' tax.

 

[ZEN Amps]

Yikes, only one year huh - that's a bit of a risk, especially with something digital like that. I wonder what the warranty on the VHX is?

This was for the power station but yep, a year is very stingy. @Eazy-ESP you might want to consider this if ever looking into a new Fryette purchase.

3 years from Diezel. I love tube devices (and new toys) so was excited about the VHX, but after playing one I was pretty underwhelmed. Innovative, cool tech - but tonally it lacked something, and was surprisingly unversatile.

Could be that the signal is actually digitised in normal operation, despite their "fully analog" claim. Or they fact that the Diezel sound is so distinctive that achieving anything other compressed high-gain tones was difficult.

Well, Aussies should stop saying mate so much. It's really annoying. Just consider anything of international origin that disfavors Australia in any way to be a 'mate' tax.

Thanks mate.

 

[DanTravis62]

Could be that the signal is actually digitised in normal operation, despite their "fully analog" claim. Or they fact that the Diezel sound is so distinctive that achieving anything other compressed high-gain tones was difficult.

I've never played a VHX but the vh4, vh2, herbert, big max, and others i've played have all been cool. It's not really "for me" as it's way modern and stuff generally, but that's the diezel sound i suppose. The digital integration stuff is just thousands of extra dollars on stuff I don't care about anyways - i like to keep the digital modeling separate from the actual amp part of the equation.

So i'm not the target audience for the VHX (or the new pittbull for that matter)

But that sucks it didn't sound good to you. I don't think i've ever even heard a clip of the VHX before.

 

[Eazy-ESP]

Well, Aussies should stop saying mate so much. It's really annoying. Just consider anything of international origin that disfavors Australia in any way to be a 'mate' tax.

US can be put up in front of a war crimes tribunal for use of pal, bro and bud then.

 

[Simon Dorn]

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.

It happens. Years ago i sold 2 RevF, 1 Rev D, 2 Rev G, 1 Original Überschall, several Kerry King 2203 did not buy a Zakk Wylde 2203 for cheap and so on

 

[thegame]

US can be put up in front of a war crimes tribunal for use of pal, bro and bud then.

You're out of line dude

 

[Eazy-ESP]

This was for the power station but yep, a year is very stingy. @Eazy-ESP you might want to consider this if ever looking into a new Fryette purchase.

3 years from Diezel. I love tube devices (and new toys) so was excited about the VHX, but after playing one I was pretty underwhelmed. Innovative, cool tech - but tonally it lacked something, and was surprisingly unversatile.

Could be that the signal is actually digitised in normal operation, despite their "fully analog" claim. Or they fact that the Diezel sound is so distinctive that achieving anything other compressed high-gain tones was difficult.



Thanks mate.

Yeah that is shit house really. Thanks for pointing that out. Typical Australia punishment.

That said… with things like his amps, they are nice and serviceable so I’m less worried. It’s only his new stuff and the obsession with building things into small form factor that I worry.

I’ve got my series 1 Deliverance 120 and will just buy a matching can when Better Music get them in.

 

[Simon Dorn]

Well, Aussies should stop saying mate so much. It's really annoying. Just consider anything of international origin that disfavors Australia in any way to be a 'mate' tax.

Calm down, Mate.

 

[ZEN Amps]

I've never played a VHX but the vh4, vh2, herbert, big max, and others i've played have all been cool. It's not really "for me" as it's way modern and stuff generally, but that's the diezel sound i suppose. The digital integration stuff is just thousands of extra dollars on stuff I don't care about anyways - i like to keep the digital modeling separate from the actual amp part of the equation.

So i'm not the target audience for the VHX (or the new pittbull for that matter)

But that sucks it didn't sound good to you. I don't think i've ever even heard a clip of the VHX before.

Yeah it did the VH4 and Herbert tones say 80% as good as the originals, but the other tones - Marshally crunch, Fendery cleans - were in the useable-but-not-inspiring camp.

Yeah that is shit house really. Thanks for pointing that out. Typical Australia punishment.

That said… with things like his amps, they are nice and serviceable so I’m less worried. It’s only his new stuff and the obsession with building things into small form factor that I worry.

I’ve got my series 1 Deliverance 120 and will just buy a matching can when Better Music get them in.

Yep fair call. Is the matching cab just for looks, or is the something unique about them?


As a broader comment, it's understandable that some players are wary of any digital integration, and others find it exciting. I'm of the opinion that there's plenty of room for both.

There's near endless choice in regular tube amps. I mean how many Plexi type amps have been released in the last few years alone? If that's not your thing there's tonnes of Fender clones, "traditional" high gainers from Boogie, Soldano, Bogner, Peavey - all the new stuff from Revv, KSR, Driftwood. Plus all the Marshall mod guys, and DIY options... and knock-offs from Asia. Crazy choice.

So this box from Fryette, the VHX, hell even the rumoured return of the Triaxis - I say bring it on and bring it on hard. If some punters don't like it, so be it. But it would be a real shame if innovation was stamped out for the 25% that crave it because the other 75% don't.

Oh, and we're developing a tube amp with digital control so I'm incredibly, shamelessly biased.

 

[Techdeth]

Way too ugly and way too many people are going to buy it .
The wizard mtl2 with 6l6s is like the pitbull III in my opinion . It sounded like my old vhts but just an onslaught . And it sounded nothing like my mtl2 with EL34s which I prefer
But hey @alund ill probably want my wizard mtl2 6l back someday lol

 

[Techdeth]

It looks like an ugly axe efx

 

[Eazy-ESP]

Yeah it did the VH4 and Herbert tones say 80% as good as the originals, but the other tones - Marshally crunch, Fendery cleans - were in the useable-but-not-inspiring camp.



Yep fair call. Is the matching cab just for looks, or is the something unique about them?


As a broader comment, it's understandable that some players are wary of any digital integration, and others find it exciting. I'm of the opinion that there's plenty of room for both.

There's near endless choice in regular tube amps. I mean how many Plexi type amps have been released in the last few years alone? If that's not your thing there's tonnes of Fender clones, "traditional" high gainers from Boogie, Soldano, Bogner, Peavey - all the new stuff from Revv, KSR, Driftwood. Plus all the Marshall mod guys, and DIY options... and knock-offs from Asia. Crazy choice.

So this box from Fryette, the VHX, hell even the rumoured return of the Triaxis - I say bring it on and bring it on hard. If some punters don't like it, so be it. But it would be a real shame if innovation was stamped out for the 25% that crave it because the other 75% don't.

Oh, and we're developing a tube amp with digital control so I'm incredibly, shamelessly biased.

My real fear is years from now I own the thing. Very often I am repelled and vocal about the thing years later I fall in love with.

Bit of both on the cabs. Would be cool to have a matching cab, but also I like Fryette’s non traditional speaker choices. I want to try the Fane speakers he uses.