SPECIAL INGREDIENTS
Typically, a guitar amp at this price point – even tube models – would feature a PCB board construction to cut down on cost. The Special 6 however is entirely hand-wired. Not only that, the trimmings inside and out are considered with quality in mind. It comes loaded with a custom-voiced 10” speaker designed in house at VHT. Going further under the hood, you’ll find one 6V6 output tube paired with a 12AX7 preamp tube. The controls are reminiscent of the famed low-wattage tube amps of the ‘50s and ‘60s, albeit updated with some additions for the modern player – a single tone and master volume knob, with the welcome addition of a pull- activated boost knob. It also features ‘lo’ and ‘hi’ inputs for matching pickups to the amp. All in all, this is an amp that’s clearly inspired by golden era amps, while still offering some well thought out innovations.
V IS FOR VERSATILE
I’m not entirely sure what the ‘V’ in VHT stands for, but from the way the Special 6 performs – I can only assume that it’s for versatility. As well as offering a decent spectrum of clean and dirty tones, the amp is currently lauded as one of the most easily modded and customisable builds on the market. The circuit is wired with this in mind, using eyelets to make modifications easier for anyone who is keen to get their hands dirty and learn more about tube amp theory.
In saying this, the amp is good to go and sounds great right out of the box. While it does lack a little top end sparkle, the clean tone is balanced enough to avoid colouring the original tone of your guitar too heavily – giving a great foundation to build the rest of your sound off. If you’re after more overdrive out of the amp, simply adding a clean boost into the chain really squeezes the most out of the tubes. A foot switchable lead channel is handy for times you don’t want to lug a pedalboard down to the gig, and a special low power mode acts as a built in attenuator that offers the cranked sound at bedroom volumes. Whether it’s for small to medium sized gigs, or for moments when you are one noise complaint away from getting kicked out of your share-house, the Special 6 makes a worthy choice.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
VHT have managed to offer a functional, gig-ready amp that is packed with features usually reserved for models three times its price. It looks like we’re beginning to see higher end construction trickle down into cost effective solutions, and in that respect – VHT and their Special 6 are leading the charge.
