Can I get Some Fryette Sig:X insight?

[Frostmaster]

Hi all I'm looking to get an amp that I can use when I start playing in some local
bands in few months. I'm upgrading from a Raven RG60 and the major amp in
question is of course the Fryette Sig:X.

Here's what I want. I want an amp that can handle super crunchy Hi-Gain
sounds like Firewind or this sound...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT6RLNXeGgI
G5 2013 "Kamuy" in case the link fails

I need an amp with 3 channels and that is why i'm looking at this one. I thought
about maybe pairing it up with a Deliverance Cab or some kind of Marshall or
Mesa Cab but I haven't had the chance to play this amp or even see one in
Person.

I'd love to play this amp and test it for myself but these are so rare that I may
just have to buy one to play it first hand and the Youtube video's are so limited
that i'm hoping to just get your insights on this amp instead of judging by video.

Does this amp have any disadvantages that other Hi-Gain amps do not have?
Can It handle the tones i'm looking for? Think of Firewind's Into the Fire or
The Ark of Lies. I also like bands Wintersun, Dream Theater, and many others
Lime these but I'd prefer to stay In the Firewind and G5 Project "Kamuy" kind
of tone range.

Oh, and i've seen Ola Englund's play through of this amp but over the last few
Months of watching his videos i've decided not to trust his demonstrations. Not
hating him of course it's just that he has a knack for making every amp sound
exactly the same as the previous amp he played.

So yes this is unfortunately another opinion based post but any opinion is
welcome here, good or bad.

 

[TemjinStrife]

They're very dry and unforgiving amps. Sound great and capable of a lot of gain, but they've got their own character going.

 

[Frostmaster]

Can you define Unforgiving? I've heard that term used on Dual Rectifiers but never
understood what it meant.

 

[TemjinStrife]

It means that they don't compress much and they're not super saturated and squishy. Every little inconsistency in your pick hand attack comes through.

On the plus side, that dynamic nature means that they stand out well in the mix and hit like a truck with every note.

ENGLs and 6505s are very forgiving in that they offer lots of saturation, which makes them feel easier to play at the expense of dynamics (and, especially in the case of many of ENGL's modern metal amps, makes it unfortunately very easy to get swallowed up and "disappear" in a band mix).

 

[Hollowway]

Dual recs are anything but unforgiving. A Fryette is pretty much the exact opposite of a Mesa Rectifier in the "forgivingness" department.

By forgiving we mean that if you don't hold a note long enough, or you hit the wrong note, or you hang on too long, etc, the amp will forgive the mistake by round of it out to make it sound better. You know how if you play on a clean sound without all the saturation noise and compression you can hear all of the mistakes in dynamics and note length? A fryette is like that. Essentially, a Fryette is high gain but LOW saturation. A recto is high gain and high saturation.
Within the Fryette line the Pittbulls are the lowest saturation, and the Siggy is more saturated. To get a better idea check out the Fryette users forum. Loads of info over there.

 

[Frostmaster]

Alright that seems understandable as for the Fryette Users forum i'll check them out as well.

 

[protest]

A boost will help with all that if there's not enough saturation or if it's too stiff for you. The boost tightens up the bottom end, but also adds saturation which makes it easier to play, and for me, more enjoyable to play.

 

[Shimme]

I hear pretty consistently that freyettes sound their best with a matching cab as a lot of work goes into having the head and cab pair together perfectly.

Also a fryette deliverance 412 was the best damn cab I've ever played. Tight, but hits you in the chest like a sledgehammer, singing highs. If you can swing the extra cash for one over a Mesa/Orange/whatever I'd do it, because those cabs are just on another level. Nothing wrong or bad about those more common cab brands, but that Fryette just smoked them.

 

[Frostmaster]

Based off of what I've read in the past I'm pretty convinced that I would buy the Deliverance
without even testing it. I guess that since it may come down to just buying these amps
with no prior testing I may end up doing that anyways.

And yes about the money thing. I plan on getting the best Amp + cabinet I can get. I just
don't have the money to buy both of them at once right now.

 

[Hollowway]

Yeah, I've never played my Pittbull CL50 through anything other than the Fat Bottom 4x12 I have. I heard the same thing - that they really should be paired together.

Somewhere on the Fryette User's forum is a post by Steve Fryette about how the different amps (Pittbull UL, CL, Siggy, Deliverance) are voiced. I can't find it now, but it's an AWESOME breakdown of them.

 

[TemjinStrife]

I'd say a Recto (at least, dialed in the way I set it) is pretty unforgiving, since it doesn't seem to compress like a lot of the modded Marshall-style amps (or the SLO, or the 5150) does at modest levels of gain. They're not as surgical as a Fryette, but not what I'd call forgiving either.

 

[Elric]

Dual recs are anything but unforgiving. A Fryette is pretty much the exact opposite of a Mesa Rectifier in the "forgivingness" department.

By forgiving we mean that if you don't hold a note long enough, or you hit the wrong note, or you hang on too long, etc, the amp will forgive the mistake by round of it out to make it sound better. You know how if you play on a clean sound without all the saturation noise and compression you can hear all of the mistakes in dynamics and note length? A fryette is like that. Essentially, a Fryette is high gain but LOW saturation. A recto is high gain and high saturation.
Within the Fryette line the Pittbulls are the lowest saturation, and the Siggy is more saturated. To get a better idea check out the Fryette users forum. Loads of info over there.

Good post. Very nice explanation. This is also why I have never even been a little bit interested in Fryette/VHT amps, I have always heard this about them. My tastes lean toward a little bit more than average saturation (but maybe less the standard rectifier levels ); for some folks/styles they are a great fit but I know they're not for me, I gotta have my amp helping me out. LOL.

OP: If you are into Firewind why aren't you looking @ Blackstar?

 

[FILTHnFEAR]

This might help you out. Found this a while back when I was looking for VHT demos.

It's a Sig:X vs. an Engl Savage. Good quality, too.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBcvQesaGAQ

 

[protest]

I'd say a Recto (at least, dialed in the way I set it) is pretty unforgiving, since it doesn't seem to compress like a lot of the modded Marshall-style amps (or the SLO, or the 5150) does at modest levels of gain. They're not as surgical as a Fryette, but not what I'd call forgiving either.

That's true. Recto's only have as much saturation as you set them up to have. I ran mine on Vintage with the gain below noon, and used a boost at slightly higher than unity gain, so more of an EQ rather than blasting the preamp. It was somewhat similar to the VHT I had at the same time with 6L6's in it. I've only played the 50cl, but the two I've had have some flub to them. Maybe flub isn't the best word..It's a "roundness" to the bottom end. Maybe that's eliminated by the cab, but through my recto 2x12 the two amps felt pretty similar and weren't that different sounding.

Now if you do the stereotypical Recto setup, or don't boost it, it's not really close. But the beauty of a Rec is you can get it to feel and sound very different with different settings, and outboard gear. The VHT still had a faster decay, and wasn't boosted. Boosting the Pittbull tightens up the bottom end a lot, but actually makes it easier to play because it saturates more.

 

[Frostmaster]

To Elric, I have actually been looking at the Blackstar Series one 106l6. The thing is, I can
go and test one of those if I choose too and there's enough information around the web
for me to not ask about it. I do plan on testing that amp out for myself one day but for
right now, I feel it's more important to ask about the Fryette because of it's rarity.

Plus I like the idea of 3 independent Channels with EQ vs 4 channels but with two sets of the
channels having shared EQ .

 

[Hollowway]

I love my 50CL, but I'll be the first to admit that playing alone in your bedroom through one is absolutely no fun. I like rectos for playing alone because of the heavy chugs and wall of sound they give. But the Fryette will cut through in a mix like nobody's business.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

^ man I'd just love to jam on a recto/deliverance combined

 

[UV7BK4LIFE]

Hi, Sig:X owner here

If you go with a Fryette, you really should get a matching cab with it. I like the Fatbottom cab a lot.

Clarity and saturation:
You can dial in loads of saturation and it will not lose note definition. Since it is very responsive, you have complete control over tightness with your muting hand.

There's also 2 gain knobs per channel on ch. 2 and 3. With the first one you control responsiveness to dynamics and with the second you control the amount of saturation. It's also very responsive to the guitar's pickups and output. You can go from clean to distorted on any channel with just your volume knob.

And yes, it scared the hell out of me when I first played it because I heard almost any imperfection in my playing. But after some time I improved and got more confident with it.