VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

youngthrasher9

youngthrasher9

New member
I might be in the market for a new amp soon. It will be replacing my Blackstar HT-20, which is a pretty good amp but it's not what I need right now. I want an amp to run with my AMT P2 preamp. I'd be using the AMT as my high gain sound, and the VHT as my clean and lower gain sound. I like my cleans somewhere between fender and gilmourish hiwatt, but it doesn't need to be perfect. The lower gain sound would be used for mostly blues. I've heard this amp takes pedals well. How do you think this setup would do?
 
Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

Don't bother with the VHT for cleans. It is OK, but doesn't have the headroom to stay clean. You can put some lower gain tubes and get more headroom at sacrifice of a bit of volume. For your money, go with something 15 watts or more, and a push-pull (usually two tube) output section. You'll get better cleans. I traded my VHT and a bunch of other stuff for a Fender HRDlx, and it was well worth it.

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Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

I think they also tried to pack in too many tonal options in one box. I could never settle on one thing that just worked, and it wasn't due to bad gear otherwise, or cheap or bad tubes.

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Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

Hot rod deluxe. They can be had cheap, and are plentiful. Also look for a used AC15. A Vox Night Train would also fit the bill. What is your budget, anyway?

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Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

May not count out Peavey either. A Classic 50 or Delta Blues, and those are plenty of wattage. If its clean tone you want, higher wattage would keep it as clean as you want at low/medium volumes. Also the old ugly Peaveys like VTs are probably super cheap.

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Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

trevorus said:
Hot rod deluxe. They can be had cheap, and are plentiful. Also look for a used AC15. A Vox Night Train would also fit the bill. What is your budget, anyway?

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I'm trying to keep it at under $350, but that might be impossible. :/
 
Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

jon the art guy said:
May not count out Peavey either. A Classic 50 or Delta Blues, and those are plenty of wattage. If its clean tone you want, higher wattage would keep it as clean as you want at low/medium volumes. Also the old ugly Peaveys like VTs are probably super cheap.

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This is a good place to look also! Also the Crate Vintage Club amps, Carvin Nomad, and there are a few others worth looking at.

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Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

trevorus said:
This is a good place to look also! Also the Crate Vintage Club amps, Carvin Nomad, and there are a few others worth looking at.

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I don't think you'll be saving much money in the used market by going low wattage. I wasn't gonna mention Carvins for once, but yes...Carvin for sure. The vintage and V3m both have great clean channels.

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Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

Bummed to hear about the VHT not stacking up to competition. Been looking hard at the 12/20. The ability to take 6l6 tubes was a big plus for me. Those that have tried it, how does it compare to the Special 6?
 
Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

EET_FUK said:
Bummed to hear about the VHT not stacking up to competition. Been looking hard at the 12/20. The ability to take 6l6 tubes was a big plus for me. Those that have tried it, how does it compare to the Special 6?
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I don't have experience with the 12/20, and it would likely be a bit better. The upscaled power section would likely help quite a bit of the issues with the Special 6. Particularly what I have noticed is that single ended power amps don't seem to take well to a lot of tonal junk in the preamp. The best single ended amps are a volume and tone, that you just crank. Then you're not really chasing cleans, of course.

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Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

Do you need tubes? What about a good solid state amp like a Peavey Bandit? Loud and clean.

There's a tube amp out there that I've never tried, but the design intrigues me: the Visual Sound Workhorse series. I think they made a "Pony" & a "Stallion" model...a 1x12 & 2x12. They were billed as "clean" tube amps...made to take pedals.

They don't make them anymore, as far as I know, but you can find them used. I'm pretty sure they are in your price range, too.

Bummed to hear about the VHT not stacking up to competition
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The Special 6 amp line are good little amps in my opinion, it's just that they won't deliver what the op seems to need...clean headroom. And really, what 6watt tube amp would?

If the build quality of the Special 6 (and ultra) is any indication, the 12/20 your looking at should be a decent amp.
 
Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

BrianS. said:
The Special 6 amp line are good little amps in my opinion, it's just that they won't deliver what the op seems to need...clean headroom. And really, what 6watt tube amp would?

If the build quality of the Special 6 (and ultra) is any indication, the 12/20 your looking at should be a decent amp.
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Tone issues aside, I would agree that the build quality in the VHT was very good. A point to point wired amp made in China, but still of good quality. I definitely appreciated how well it was put together.



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Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

My only doubt is the one channel on the 12/20. If it had a footswitchable gain channel that would seal the deal for me.
 
Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

EET_FUK said:
My only doubt is the one channel on the 12/20. If it had a footswitchable gain channel that would seal the deal for me.
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What is a foot switchable gain channel but a drive pedal anyway? I know it operates differently, but it does work!

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Re: VHT Special 6 Ultra questions

trevorus said:
What is a foot switchable gain channel but a drive pedal anyway? I know it operates differently, but it does work!
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I've always had reservations about getting all my drive from a pedal. I know a lot of guys do it, but it doesn't feel right to me for some reason.
 
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