Description
A 2008 Mackie Hotwire VT12 mode switching tube hybrid combo amp with matching EX12 extension cabinet. This is an extremely rare amplifier. It is rumored that less than 100 of these amps were ever produced, and very few of these were purchased with extension cabinets. Aside from some minor paint chipping on the edge of the control panel, the amp is in excellent condition. Included are the PB-4 foot controller and original Mackie slip covers. Other sellers are asking well over $1000 for just the VT12 combo. Here's your chance to own the whole stack for consideraby less--don't miss out on this rare piece of music history! This amp has been cleaned and tested. It is fully functional and sounds great.
Manufacturer's Description...
The Hotwire VT12 is a single 12" combo amplifier combining extremely high power with a remarkably lightweight, compact package offering players maximum flexibility of features with authentic vacuum tube tonality. This unique guitar amplifier was created by Greg Mackie over a period of several years of meticulous research and design, using proven techniques (okay, and some trial and error) to fine tune the circuitry and obtain the sounds for each mode. Other guitar amp manufacturers use DSP to “model” the sound of various vacuum tube mplifiers. Greg thought, “Why use DSP to model tubes when we can simply put tubes in the amp?” So the VT12 has two 12AX7A tubes in the preamp section, which can be literally rewired, or Hotwired,” to create different tube circuits by using the Mode control. The VT12 comes with 12 Factory Modes, with the capability to modify and store them, and recall the original Factory Modes at any time using the VT12’s control panel application.
These modes serve as the basis to create presets, which can also be stored in memory. You can create up to 96 presets (24 banks of 4 channels each: Clean, Crunch, Overdrive, and Lead). The distortion sounds are created by the tube circuitry for that genuine tube overdrive sound. A 1.35" compression driver is included for highfrequency enhancement of the Line, Acoustic, and Hi-Fi modes. Thus, the VT12 can become a full-range system for acoustic guitars, keyboards, microphones, and other sources. There is a microphone input on the rear panel, so as an example you could sing through the microphone in full-range mode while the guitar is routed through the tubes and limited to the 12” speaker. Of course, standard tone stack controls are provided; Bass, Middle, and Treble, along with a Presence control. Standard effects controls are also included; Modulation, Delay, and Reverb, with numerous types to choose from for each effect.
There is a unique Output Power control, with settings from 120 watts down to 1 watt. Each click of the control reduces the output power by 3 dB (or one-half), Most guitar players like the sound of their amp at high volumes, but can’t always play it that loud (rehearsal, small clubs, etc.). The Output Power control allows you to retain the soft overload and distortion characteristics of the amplifier without the high volume. A USB connection is provided on the rear panel for connecting to your computer. You can install the VT12 control panel application on your computer (PC or Macintosh), which gives you access to even more editing of user modes, presets, speaker EQ curves, and effects settings. It also allows you to stream audio from the VT12 to your computer’s DAW application for recording.
Overview
-Power Output: 120 Watts (150 Watts w/ External Speaker
-Tubes: 12AX7 (2)
-Speaker: 12" Mackie GCM-12 Neodymium
-Controls: Gain, Mode, Drive Volume | Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence, Modulation, Delay, Reverb, Master Volume | Output Power
-Combo Dimensions: 18.5" x 18" x 10", 30 lbs
-Cab Dimensions: 20" x 18" x 10", 22 lbs
Features
-Real tube tone, ranging from crystalline clean to full-on high gain distortion sounds
-MOSFET power amp
-Fully-configurable vacuum tube preamp circuitry with 12 distinct wiring modes
-120-watt main amplifier with eight-position Output Power selector
-Separate 30-watt amplifiers for compression driver and EX12 extension speaker
-Four-band tone stack with user-selectable USA and UK tone stack types
-Front-panel selectable USA and UK speaker voices
-32-bit onboard digital effects
-One-button Buzz filter
-Notch filter, for reducing feedback from acoustic instrument sources
-Manual mode
-Storage capability for 96 presets
-Rear-panel microphone input with independent level and processing control
-Onboard compressor/limiter
-Click (metronome) function
-Onboard chromatic tuner
-FX Loop
-Stereo line inputs
-Cabinet emulated stereo line outputs
-Stereo headphone output
-USB jack
