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4K views 33 replies 14 participants last post by  vwall 
#1 ·
GC called me last night to tell me that my new VHT Pittbull Ultra Lead amp was in!!

Wahooooo!!!!!!!

I am picking it up today at 1pm..
If you all dont see me around here for the next 6 months or so, you'll know why! :D

I am bursting with anticipation!
 
#5 ·
It is utterly amazing!

With the gain stacking feature i can dial ANY tone or crunch I want.. and I mean it, too.
I have never been this stoked about an amp before..
The only issue I have with it is the Edge button on the lead channel.
when I push it in, there is a good bitsqeal/buzz.. But it may just be a bad switch..
I really didnt expect an amp of this caliber to have a glitch like this but
at least its under warranty.

All in all, Its purely amazing..
Greg if you want one or any other Houston guys, I got it for a steal from the assistant manager, Nathan at GC North.
Email me and I'll tell ya what i got it for etc... It would probably be bad form to publicly say how much I got it for...
 
#6 ·
I'm interested in some sound clips.

I'm also interested in getting one of these amps, but here is the problem
I have to pay 60% of a downpayment to even get one in the store that is the only dealer locally, and I CAN"T back out! That is BS. So i'd like to hear one, possibly try one out if anyone in the Southern Ontario area has one.

Anyhow Vwall, let me know if you can put togethe some clips

Thanks

Chris
 
#8 ·
hey chris, will do.
My main prob now is that my computer wont read the audio anymore coming from the sound card... i dont know whgat is the problem.. i cant record anything in my computer right now. I could record on a 4 track and dump it into the computer..
just let me know if that will work and what tones you want..
I will not color the sound with anything.. this amp doesnt need anything.. no sonic maximizer... nuttin.
As a matter of fact, i am not even using the 5 band built in EQ... :D

Scott
BTW, you ever get the Dunlop rack wah we talked about last year??
 
#11 ·
Chris, I am sorry to say I do not have the sound files for ya.
There are some at VHT website.
www.vhtamp.com

I am not using my amp any longer.
I am 100% conviced I have purchased a defect product.
I dont want to touch it until VHT responds to my email and resolves the problem.
(the CS is on vacation til the end of the month so it will be awhile.)

The Hum and hiss issue I am having has only increased and is present at the lowest volumes.
I am VERY unpleased at this point.
I expected a lot more from VHT.
I read the reviews at HC and am convinced i I Just got a lemon..
So i will keep you all posted.

Lets face it.
Even the best stuff can have problems that slip thru QC... 8O
 
#12 ·
Update!

I just got off the phone with Mike the repair guy and Steve the owner of VHT.

Needless to say, they were happy to have the amp sent back to them.
But after further review, I found out that the amp was 11 months old and likely a floor model shipped in.
Unacceptable.

Vht was not able to help out in the least on this matter.
They said I could send it to them and they would look it over and send it back.
I explained I didnt want it back and would like a replacement being it was bought brand new. Apparently, Customer service and the client isn't as important to VHT unless you are an endorsed pro player.
The owner and I went a few rounds on business ethics as I too am a business owner and I guess I stumped him as He wasn't able to offer an acceptable term.

So, Chris, I wont be getting sound files for ya and Gabe and Greg, I encourage you to look in to Bogner.
VHT is great but I don't want to have to deal with them in a customer service setting again. Thumbs down for that.
And a big shame on GC for selling an amp to me under false pretenses of being new.
For all I know now this could have been a floor model
:x

Best Wishes.!
BTW: dont be surprised if VHT drops in to cover their backs.
I told them about this thread...


Scott
 
#13 ·
I realize yer ticked off about not getting a brand-new amp when that's what you expected, but I can tell you one thing for certain -- If you send it back to VHT they will send you the same amp, but it will be in better shape than if you bought it new.

My friend with the Hundred/CLX spoke with Steve, after buying the amp from somebody on Harmony Central, and he offered to fix EVERYTHING, FREE OF CHARGE, even tho it was technically no longer under warranty.

Maybe there's something about the technicalites of what you can call a "new" product... but if they're not offering a direct replacement, it's not that they're trying to short-change you. I feel you'd get a better deal by having Steve personally take a look at the amp and correcting any problems it may have acquired while sitting in a GC store.

ryan
 
#14 ·
Wow!

Scott-

all I can say is, WOW! that really sucks! :evil:
I don't even know what to say, It sounds like you were royally screwed. I still would send the amp back at THIER cost to VHT and have Steve himself look at it, Ask if you can speak directly to him. I don't think he would shoot himself in the foot like that so I think he would try and accomadate you the best he could!

Otherwise I can offer my Rivera TBR 1SL for your amp! and I'll get it fixed!

Hehehehe

Thanks for offering to do those clips for me! I've already looked into bogner, and at about 1K more for the Uberschall than the VHT I think I'll try to get a VHT!

Chris
 
#15 ·
LOL chris..
so about 15 minutes after I hung up with Steve at VHT, I call GC and task if they are a bogner dealer. I told the guy who sold it to me everything that happened and he said a VHT rep just called him complaining about me!!
I was stupified!

VHT = great amp but also = piss poor customer service.

Ultimately, the GC manager being as nice as he is was able to swap out the amp for a NIB one.

Story ends on a great note but i just wish it didnt have to go the way it did.

If I knew that this kind of interference would be encountered I probably would have looked more into Bogner or another amp..

Oh well, its a Fairy Tale ending so I cant complain anymore.

Chris, it should take about a month to get the new amp as VHT will be producing another batch in 2 weeks, so at that time, if you still want the clips I will make em for ya.
VHT does make great stuff.. Just keep in mind that if you have issues like mine, that even talking to the owner of VHT, Steve, wont mean your issue will be resolved in an ideal business like manner.

Oh and Ryan, as for sending it back to VHT, that would normally be the right thing to do. But its unethical to buy a 3k amp and have to send it in for repairs the first week you own it.
Thats why I felt that only a NIB replacement would suffice..
 
#19 ·
Well, I blew that one...accidently hit enter...

Oh, well I was pretty much done anyway.
Just forgot to sign off.

Thank you all for listening, and hey Scott, even after all that, I'll still give you the benefit of the doubt, until I get the first amp back....

Steven M Fryete

vwall said:
LOL chris..
so about 15 minutes after I hung up with Steve at VHT, I call GC and task if they are a bogner dealer. I told the guy who sold it to me everything that happened and he said a VHT rep just called him complaining about me!!
I was stupified!

VHT = great amp but also = piss poor customer service.

Ultimately, the GC manager being as nice as he is was able to swap out the amp for a NIB one.

Story ends on a great note but i just wish it didnt have to go the way it did.

If I knew that this kind of interference would be encountered I probably would have looked more into Bogner or another amp..

Oh well, its a Fairy Tale ending so I cant complain anymore.

Chris, it should take about a month to get the new amp as VHT will be producing another batch in 2 weeks, so at that time, if you still want the clips I will make em for ya.
VHT does make great stuff.. Just keep in mind that if you have issues like mine, that even talking to the owner of VHT, Steve, wont mean your issue will be resolved in an ideal business like manner.

Oh and Ryan, as for sending it back to VHT, that would normally be the right thing to do. But its unethical to buy a 3k amp and have to send it in for repairs the first week you own it.
Thats why I felt that only a NIB replacement would suffice..
 
#20 ·
i have no idea what has gone on here and cannot follow and posts... but i'd like to comment on one item...

vwall said:
Needless to say, they were happy to have the amp sent back to them. But after further review, I found out that the amp was 11 months old and likely a floor model shipped in. Unacceptable.
i agree with Ryan here. We're talking a boutique amp... new in box is irrelevant... if you have a 100% tweaked amp with full warranty and no blemishes there is nothing to complain about.

people buy "new" guitars off showrooms with more dents and dings because they play good and were tested first hand compared to some "new-untouched" one they'd have to purchase blindly... glen
 
#21 ·
Hey guys, bear with me. I think I deleted my entire reply, so my apologies in advance if this is duplicated.

First of all, I told you on the phone that I would respond to your post if it were inaccurate or misleading. It is all of that.

In the first place, we did not call GC in Houston to complain about you. This is a ridiculous assertion. We called them to verify that the Ultra-Lead in question was transshipped from GC Indianapolis and to ask your salesman if there were any problems with the amp that he was aware of. Not only did he say the amp was fine, but that you were "stunned" with the sound and thrilled with the amp.

Now, to the facts regarding our phone conversation. I was nothing if not totally calm and professional with you in the face of your extremely condescending attitude and your insulting comments: "this thing is a piece of crap" "my Peavey 5150 is quieter and sounds better" "I don't want an amp that's been thrashed"…etc, etc… Your assertion that I "spit on" you is an outright lie. Obviously you are one of those people that feel they can post any crap on the Internet with impunity.

Let the others reading this post be the judge of the following: You claimed that the amp was humming excessively. When I asked you if it hummed with no guitar plugged in you replied, "Yes". When I asked you to demonstrate the hum over the phone, you stood right in front of the amp (I know this because I could hear you changing settings on the amp during your demonstration) WITH THE GUITAR VOLUME ALL THE WAY UP, and the gain of the lead channel maxed (according to your own description of the amp settings). When I instructed you to unplug the guitar, you unplugged the GUITAR end! Of course it's going to hum! Any rookie knows that a live guitar cable plugged into an amp will make noise regardless of the gain. When I insisted that you unplug the cord from the AMP, Voila! The hum completely stopped.

In spite of all of your insulting, condescending behavior, I remained calm and offered you the option of having the amp returned here for evaluation or to GC for replacement. You responded with more insults and invectives and insisted that it was my obligation to personally replace this amp with a new one, even though I explained that I did not believe there was a defect.

Regardless of whether or not I believe there is anything wrong with this amp, your behavior with me on the phone as well as on this forum is unworthy of all of the time I have spent responding.

Over and out.

Steven M Fryette

vwall said:
LOL chris..
so about 15 minutes after I hung up with Steve at VHT, I call GC and task if they are a bogner dealer. I told the guy who sold it to me everything that happened and he said a VHT rep just called him complaining about me!!
I was stupified!

VHT = great amp but also = piss poor customer service.

Ultimately, the GC manager being as nice as he is was able to swap out the amp for a NIB one.

Story ends on a great note but i just wish it didnt have to go the way it did.

If I knew that this kind of interference would be encountered I probably would have looked more into Bogner or another amp..

Oh well, its a Fairy Tale ending so I cant complain anymore.

Chris, it should take about a month to get the new amp as VHT will be producing another batch in 2 weeks, so at that time, if you still want the clips I will make em for ya.
VHT does make great stuff.. Just keep in mind that if you have issues like mine, that even talking to the owner of VHT, Steve, wont mean your issue will be resolved in an ideal business like manner.

Oh and Ryan, as for sending it back to VHT, that would normally be the right thing to do. But its unethical to buy a 3k amp and have to send it in for repairs the first week you own it.
Thats why I felt that only a NIB replacement would suffice..
 
#22 ·
Steven - thanks for taking the time to post and welcome to the forum. Hopefully you can participate as needed under more friendly circumstances :) (If you ever want to send over a VHT to be reviewed that might never find it's way back lemme know... LOL).

Not to bash on Scott, but I'd like to point this out as a PRIME EXAMPLE of how the internet can used in such a manner to make companies gun-shy (to put it politely). A thread like this is ONE REASON why companies (*cough*ibanez*cough*) see the internet as more of a hassle than what it is worth. Not to speak for any company but as a generality. For example for every 50 excellent correspondences that go unnoticed, you get 1 like this where things go crazy and 20 replies / 228 views so far.

Hopefully this can be 100% resolved. Please do it by email or phone, especially if facts cannot be substantiated. Thanks... glen
 
#23 ·
Thats ok, jemsite, you guys can beleive what you want.
If i was the owner of an Amp company, I would want to protect my interest as well.

I will say FOR THE RECORD, that Steve's claims to our conversation are incorrect. Esp about the Hum/hiss sound. I can still prove it to this day that it does it in all circumstances.
Sorry... no 'Voila!' for you on your point...

As far as Me giving him 'crap'
I spoke to him in a professional way and questioned his business ethics.
As for my condecending comments to Steve, they were only started after he was beligerant and patronizing towards me and even then they were directed in a calm fashion.

I did compare the amp to my 5150 as it hums and hisses and said that I wouldnt have expected it to be like the 5150 and that they way the amp is now that it is as crappy as the 5150...

As for GC statements to me about what Keith from VHT said.. I can only go off what I was told by them..
Just remember that Steve likely vented his frustrations to his guy and told him to take care of it with GC.
this is speculation but it makes alot of sense..



As for Steve wasting his time.. I told him this thread existed so I am responsible for the furthering of this..



As far as your post Glen, I agree and will refrain from any further references in such detail.
Its the first time I ever have actually reviewed a product in such detail...

You all know me here and I would hope that my stature will validate my claims...
 
#24 ·
I just read this entire thing and well...

It appears to me that Guitar Center is at fault, not VHT.

If Guitar Center sent you an 11 month old amp that (knowing Guitar Center) was probably on the floor and played often and told you it was new, I think you should have taken up your beef with Guitar Center.

The hum/hiss from the "edge" button (or whatever it is) could've very well happened in one of two (or both) very hostile envirionments for an amp: a) a Guitar Center showroom or b) in transit across half the US to get to Houston, Texas.

Personally I think Steve was very kind to offer to take care of it since in my opinion, it's not really his problem. The problem lay directly on the shoulders of the person who sold you the amp.

Now if he was a jerk or something over the phone, that's different. No one can attest for the conversation that took place other then the two of you. So as far as that goes in this debate, it's moot.

The brunt of it is: who is responsable and are they doing anything about it?

Guitar Center was responsable. So in my opinion, approaching VHT for a new replacement was out of line on your part, Scott.

If I were in your shoes at the time, I'd have approached VHT for technical support and the manufacture date of the amp. As soon as I found out it was 11 months old and shipped from a few thousand miles away, I'd have said "Thanks." , hung up the phone and gone right back to Guitar Center.

I don't think this is really a problem with VHT customer service, I'd say it's more of a disagreement on liability.

Scott thought VHT was liable. VHT didn't think they were liable but offered anyway.

Once the product leaves VHT, if it's not a warranty issue, it's the customer's responsability to take it up with the person who sold it to them.

A faulty button on an 11 month old amp that was likely a floor model in a Guitar Hell.. er Center isn't likely a warranty problem unless that call comes from Guitar Center.

So everyone suck it up, be happy Scott's still getting a new amp and keep this chain of events in mind the next time a "new" product you buy from a super-chain doesn't work like it's supposed to.

It may not be the party's fault you think it is. :)
 
#25 ·
FYI: I didnt call VHT, they called me about a settings card. when they called, i asked if it was about the email i sent for the problems and they said no.
Being that they did call, we ended up goin over the email and problems in which case the tech told me he would have Steve call me back.
I must have spent 5-7 minutes with the phone up to the amp on different channels and settings.

As far as Steve being kind enough to take it back.. well, thats kinda moot too since its a warranty issue anyways and VHT would have to render services.
My contention was that it was 2 days old to me and Im not droppin large dollars on a 'new' amp for it to have to be sent in for repair..
The actual age was discovered from VHT on the serial number...

so as far as your opinion of me being out of line..
thats moot as well since thats not what happened
but I appreciate you input.
 
#26 ·
Please stop the he-says-she-says here in public :D

I'm sorry to say this but exchanges like this are an embarrassment to the community here. When you sit back and read threads like this, you will find no good that can come out of it... seems like vocalizing misplaced frustration and WORSE is that it appears to be 99% preventable in the first place by using courtesy and following the proper chain of command. You buy something, you talk to the store and work out the details THRU the store, not the manufacturer or owner of the company.

Should the next guy buying a JEM that comes with pickguard scratches from hanging in the showroom email steve vai and phone hoshino of america and japan directly?

Thanks in advance... glen
 
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