VHT Pittbull Fifty/Two-Twelve Combo Amp questions

[Venomboy]

I know of a guy selling one in mint condition for $875. 2 12 inch speakers, footswitch

Is this a good price? It also has new EL34 tubes.

Is this a high gain amp like the Ultra Lead series? How would it compare to a Single Recto in terms of gain (and please no "the Recto sucks" comments)?

Thanks.

[data187]

Re: VHT Pittbull Fifty/Two-Twelve Combo Amp questions

i think the pitbull has a better overall sound.
the clean has a bit more richness and the distortion is much tighter in the bass frequencies.

i also think you have a pretty solid deal there [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

[slayer]

Re: VHT Pittbull Fifty/Two-Twelve Combo Amp questions

I have the 100 watt version in a 2-12 with EQ, and can say it is very high gain, and with the EQ you can scoop it up pretty hard, especially with the right 4x12, I currently run her alone or thru a 4x12 Madison. I think the price is a little high for the 50 watter even with an EQ, unless it is less that 5 years old. Mine is a 1993 and I paid $1150 a couple of years ago, before 9-11 wehn the economy was still doing well, now I see the same version of mine going for $800-1000, some have EQ`s some don`t, the EQ makes them so much better and diverse, i wouldn`t get it any other way. also, mine doesn`t have Reverb, but I don`t nead Reverb, but it would still be cool to have sometimes. Does it come with the footswitch? Let me know how old it is, and all it comes with? Jack.

[slayer]

Re: VHT Pittbull Fifty/Two-Twelve Combo Amp questions

Another thing is I can`t compare it to an Ultra Lead, but it is very high gain, and very tight or can be very clean and has gain stacking. Also, I switched over to the EL34 Big Bottle Tubes, and it is even more tight with more headroom, I love these EH Big Bottle Tubes and the Pitbull CLX-100 [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img] Jack.

[Venomboy]

Re: VHT Pittbull Fifty/Two-Twelve Combo Amp questions

It's got a unused footswitch still in the box, a cover, and pop out casters too. The guy bought it new in 1999 for $1300. He says it's in mint+ condition. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have the 5 band eq, but I have a killer MXR 10 band eq with true bypass switching that I could run thru it if necessary..

I might take it for a test drive this weekend and see if I like it or not.

I played some VHT heads at NAMM and wasn't totally impressed. But then again it was with a Hamer with stock pickups; almost all my guitars have EMGs in them.

I played a Peavey XXX yesterday and was blown away by the saturation. The clean channel is like the Rectos: clean, but not stellar by any stretch of the imagination. The damping swith on the XXX is killer. I didn't crank it up too much so I was wondering how clear it would be at loud volumes. My Single Recto always seems to maintain clarity but just never sounds saturated enough.

[slayer]

Re: VHT Pittbull Fifty/Two-Twelve Combo Amp questions

Dude, I will garuntee you my VHT Pittbull CLX-100 would eat a XXX for lunch and dinner. I have played the XXX, but it has nowhere near the gain of my VHT. I don`t know what head you were playing thru at NAMM, but my 1993 VHT CLX-100 is a vicious beast with the combo or the Madison 4x12. Maybe the New ones just aren`t as good as the old ones? I don`t know what you weren`t impressed with, but mine is more vicious that any Marshall or Peavey I have ever played thru or Carvin. I can`t comment on the Mesa Rectos, but I do want to try them for sure. I play thru my VHT with any pickup and it is very aggresive, but the most aggressive with the EMG 81. Did you play thru a vHT Pittbull 100 Classic at NAMM and what Cabinet? I am baffled at you saying you weren`t impressed [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img] Jack.

[Venomboy]

Re: VHT Pittbull Fifty/Two-Twelve Combo Amp questions

I forget which model head I played but it had the 5 band graphic EQ. It sounded good but didn't seem to have gobs of gain. I'm pretty sure it was the guitar with the weak pickups. When I played thru the Bogner Uberschall with a Les Paul, I was like, uh...so what's all the fuss about?

I gotta admit that the VHT guy wasn't terribly helpful in explaining all the tone controls to me and how they interact with each other.

[Venomboy]

Re: VHT Pittbull Fifty/Two-Twelve Combo Amp questions

So I tried the amp this morning. The guy is the original owner and it's in mint condition, purchased in 1999. Even has the original receipt. The footswitch has never been removed from the bubblewrap.

It's got EL34s in it and has the Class A/AB switch and a series/parallel loop. Another nice thing is the tube/tranisitor rectifier switch.

The clean is okay...nothing to write home about but the additional switches on the clean are very cool.

The dirty is nice. Again, the extra switches are cool. When I plugged my 10 band eq in the loop it was killer. Without the eq I'm not crazy about it. Should I be worried that I like this amp more with my eq? Overall, even with the gain at full blast, it seems a bit clearer than my Recto. Definitely no buzzy low end. And I like the mid control better on this amp than the Mesa.

I'm at a loss as to what to do! Is it that much better sounding than the Mesa? Certainly more versatile and smaller. I think it's clearer, which is a plus.

Gah! Somebody make up my mind for me!!!!

[Jerry From Ghana]

Re: VHT Pittbull Fifty/Two-Twelve Combo Amp questions

speaking of VHT and not enough gain. When I first got my 50/ST head I was somewhat dismayed that even with the preamp gain set to the max it did no better than dire straits crunch. i then discovered the "boost" switch and the "edge" switch. I never go past 3 o'clock on the preamp gain, and the 50/ST has less gain than both the CL's and the UL's

[Venomboy]

Re: VHT Pittbull Fifty/Two-Twelve Combo Amp questions

Well...the combo is coming home on tuesday!!

I'll write a full report after I've played with it for a while.