Fryette Amplification PittBull Fifty ST Head

The now discontinued (as far as I know), yet staple model for Steve Fryette formerly known as VHT amps. The pitbull ST is the predecessor to the CL series.

specs:

50 watt all tube 2 channel head powered by EL34s.
Clean - Vol, Bass, Mid Treble, Mid Shift, Bright, boost
Drive - Gain, Vol, Bass, Mid Treble, Edge, boost
no 6 band eq
global reverb and presence

I sort of wish the reverb and presence weren't global.


UTILIZATION

Very simple to use, especially since there's no graphic EQ on board. At first I thought I would be missing out, but after playing it for so long I came to realize I can cop amazing tones with the provided EQ sections.

I didn't need the manual to figure out how to use any function of this head. The footswitch is also very clear. You can engage boosts on each channel.

The layout is very very easy to use and starting with everything at noon will get you goin!



SOUNDS

Ok here we go! the best part of the review!!

cleans: AWESOME. Doesn't break up if you don't want it to, depending on how you set it up with or without the boost, which can be used a a dirty boost or a clean volume boost. Very clean and very fender-esque but not completely. It won't get as bright as a true fender amp but it's a very very good clean anyhow! At the time I plugged in straight through with nothing but a decimator to control the noise on the dirty channel.

dirty: This is what has made Fryette FAMOUS. The distortion is VERY clear, VERY tight and will not flop! This particular head I had was equipped with EL34s so it had a bit of that high gain hot rodded vintage vibe to it. Great for rock or heavier music! Very dyanmic and clear and focused is the best way I can put it. I owned this head for 2 years and was never disappointed with how it sounded. Until of course, i grew tired of it sounding so perfect. Yes, this happens to us guitar players it's unfortunate. I could get some great tones out of this amp, at times I felt that I didn't get enough gain so I clicked on the boost and was able to achieve JUST the right amount of gain. Although there were times where I purposely wanted to get some super maximum gain for crazy noises but wasn't able to achieve that with the pitbull. It's a very controlled distortion and the design doesn't allow you to go completely gain crazy which is GOOD, and bad. Good to know that it will always sound good and dynamic, bad if you purposely wanna go crazy for random noisiness.



OVERALL OPINION

Overall it's a great amp. One of, if not the few 2 channel USA handmade amps that have both great cleans AND great distortion channels.

I did buy it used and I think the price was right for what it's worth. You're getting a GREAT amp for the price! It's a shame they're discontinued, they were amazing. I've tested the new CLs and yes they are still true to the ST character, but with more flexibility so it's slightly more complex in terms of acquiring tones on the quick.

But the craftsmanship is great, the sound quality is great and very usable. If I had the money I would definitely get another one. My ONLY beef is both the global reverb and presence. I wish they weren't global as I use different verb settings for clean, none for dirty and presence on clean/dirty varies all the time for me.