Over a year ago, I got a chance to do a few shows with an artist doing some showcases down south. We were given a rider and my wishes for my backline were either my trusted, tried and true Koch Powetone head and cab or a similar set-up by VHT, preferably in the Pitbull line. I was going to use my own pedals. When we got to the venue, to my surprise there was a VHT Sig:X head a Deliverance 212 cab waiting for me on stage. I wasted no time in getting my pedalboard set up and tweaking the three channels. Immediately and intuitively, I was able to call forth a wide variety of sounds just from Channel 2. That’s pretty impressive for the first 5 minutes of getting to know an amp. I’ve always been one to suffer from option anxiety so my first impression was one of, well…option anxiety! Once I got to know the lay of the control panel, my curiosity kicked in and my tweaker nature took over. I must say that it wasn’t long before I had my trademark “Klean”, “Ka-Chunk” and “Kill” settings in place. The amp performed beautifully that night. I never really felt that I was max-ing out the amps headroom. The tone was always clean, clear, musical and hellacious at the same time. I still remember the monitor mix guys smiling face when I was thoroughly rocking the hell out of the amp. The most disappointing thing about this experience had to be unplugging and giving the amp back to the sound and cartage company.
Aside from the uber modern look of this amp, there isn’t a tone that you can’t get out of this powerhouse. I could go into all the specs and geek out on you all, but Fryette amps are real amps made by real people who care about tone and putting out the best product at a fair price. Being a Pitbull user myself, I can totally vouch for the top notch fit and finish of these amps. In fact, my marriage is in trouble as we speak because I totally want to take this puppy home. Sneaking it in will be a whole other issue. From the voicing switches to the power soaks to the sheer versatility across the three channels, this is an amp for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re a blues guy or a Norwegian Black Metal monger; The Fryette Sig:X is an amp that allows any player the ultimate freedom of expression. If you all out there are wondering what the significance of the Sig:X moniker means, it’s actually meant to depict “Enter Signature Here”. Finally, I get to have a signature head for my signature aural punishment.
Mike McAvan
