AMP Drama, need advice.

I don't think you are going to get anywhere near Joe's tone with a VHT...they have a distinct lack of a mid-honk to my ears and don't do the low gain stuff at all.
You're going to get a seriously lot more 'tone' from the JMP on it's own and booster. Plus you'll be getting a lot closer to classic tones with more vocal pronunciation.

I think the VHT is a great amp, but its voicing is lightyears away from what you are looking for. Actually players like Joe got their tone in their fingers and Joe would sound like Joe B. playing on a battery driven toy amp. But notheless, I know what you mean and what you are talking about. I fact setting a starting point with a nice Marshall (I myself play a JTM45) and a good pedal like for e.g. the awesome Xotib BB Preamp could bring you very close to the sound you are looking for.

I wouldn't trade that VHT against the Marshall. Check the current market prices and bear in mind that VHT is history, it's called fryette right now, so this could be a good starting point in negotiating.

Good luck and keep your fingers away from all these super modern amps if you want that distinctive creamy vintage sound.

Is it the 50CL or the regular pitbull. I played through a pitbull 45 once, and had no problems getting an Angus type tone out of it (Marshall JMPs or SLs). Have you tried running the dirt channel with treble down, mids and lows up and the gain down, then drive it with the BB. Or maybe crank up the clean side and drive it with BB or a TS?

VHT started out as hot rodded Marshalls, some of the later models were more geared to metal, but the regular pitbulls always sounded pretty Marshally to me.

The older VHTs are very well made amps, don't know about the new versions (which is a whole different company that bought the VHT name).

First time I've seen mention of VHT's on here so although not a player and therefore I have nothing practical to add to the discussion, I was just interested in the subject matter.

Both guitarists in my current band use VHT's through Marshall. One has a Pitbull Ultra (an old one) and the other guitarist dumped his previous rig and invested in one too because he just couldn't match or compliment the power and tones from the other side of the stage.

They are both afficiandos of the product but both would admit you either love it to death or have no feelings about it. Both admit to practising more because it doesn't suffer any sloppy playing. We are playing predominantly rock which they (the Pitbulls) seem well suited to although one guy has a side job in a blues outfit and to my untrained ears it sounds perfectly at home in that enviroment too.

As I understand it Steven Fryette sold the VHT trademark which was a brave thing to do but the full range is still being produced as someone said under his own trademarked Fryette name. Things tend to go in cycles though and as Jimi75 and nic said 'History and Resale value'. Could be quite valueable item one day.