The AMT Bricks Vt-LEAD is a tube lead-channel preamp in pedal form from AMT Electronics, built, in the maker's words, on "the concept of VHT amps Lead channels"1. It is one of the X-Lead/X-Clean line of tube guitar preamplifiers, a range AMT describes as expanding constantly, and it carries the motto the company set for the whole line: "Small dimensions, versatility, and \"adult\" sound"1. The pedal is listed as available now1.
What it is and what it does
The Vt-LEAD is a preamp pedal with a full signal chain behind its drive stage. AMT's media center lists the blocks as a noise gate (a global setting), a compressor, an analog preamp with clean, low gain and high gain options, a power amp section with nine types, an IR cabinet simulation with one IR for both left and right channels per preset, EQ, filters, delay and reverb2. For a player, that means the pedal can carry a whole rig: it can feed a power amp and cabinet, or go direct with the IR cabsim doing the speaker work.
The analog preamp itself offers three gain options: clean, low gain and high gain2. The compact front panel still carries the full set of regulation knobs: Gain, Treble, Middle, Bass and Volume1.
Preamp mode, drive mode and bypass
AMT gives the Vt-LEAD two ways into an amp, and the choice changes what the pedal does to your sound1:
- Preamp mode: connected to the amp's return, the Vt-LEAD's overloaded channels replace the amp's own preamp section1
- Drive pedal mode: connected to the amp's input, it pushes the amp's clean channel like a conventional drive pedal1
The pedals in the chain also talk to each other. AMT says the pedal "can control other devices or be controlled by other devices"1, and that turning on any preamp in a connected chain switches all the others to true bypass, so the units hand off to one another rather than stacking1.
The true bypass behavior is tied to the connected chain: it applies when another preamp in the chain is switched on, per AMT's description of how the Bricks preamps interact1.
Where it comes from: VHT lead channels and the Bricks line
The Vt-LEAD's circuit concept traces to the lead channels of VHT amplifiers1. Within the wider Bricks family, AMT's own detailed review of the series, written by Ivan Demichev, explains the idea behind the lead-oriented models: "it means an emulate drive channels of famous amplifiers"3. The Bricks series is broader than preamps alone: AMT lists preamps, effect pedals, noise suppressors, cabinet simulators, controllers, pedalboards and more among its devices4.
Other lead-channel preamps in the same line include the AMT Bricks X-Lead, AMT Bricks P-Lead, AMT Bricks B-Lead, AMT Bricks M-Lead and AMT Bricks R/S-lead, with the AMT Bricks F-Clean and AMT Bricks Vx-Clean covering the clean side. For players comparing the whole family, the AMT BRICKS preamps page gathers the series, and the preamp pedals type page sets the Vt-LEAD against preamps from other makers.
Manual and documentation
AMT hosts the user manual for the X-Lead/X-Clean Bricks preamps, which covers the Vt-Lead, as an English-language PDF on its site: the user's manual (EN).pdf) is linked from the Vt-Lead page in AMT's media center2.
Videos
Sounder
Ivan Demichev
Questions
Is the AMT Bricks Vt-LEAD true bypass?
Yes, in a specific sense. AMT says that when the Vt-LEAD is connected in a chain with other Bricks preamps, turning on any preamp in the chain switches all the others to true bypass. So the pedal is true bypass when another preamp in a connected chain is switched on, and the units hand off to each other rather than stacking.
Is the Vt-LEAD a real tube preamp?
AMT describes the Bricks line as using either full tube or hybrid tube and semiconductor circuit design, and the Vt-LEAD runs its tube at what the company calls a really high anode voltage of +250 to 300V. It is part of the X-Lead/X-Clean line of tube guitar preamplifiers, so it is presented by the maker as a tube preamp rather than a solid-state emulation.
Can the Vt-LEAD be used as a drive pedal?
Yes. AMT lists two ways to use the overloaded channels: in preamp mode, connected to the amp's return, or in drive pedal mode, connected to the amp's input. In drive pedal mode it shapes your amp's clean channel the way an overdrive or distortion pedal would, while preamp mode replaces the amp's own preamp section.
Does the Vt-LEAD have a cabinet simulator?
Yes. The Vt-LEAD includes an IR cabinet simulation block, with one impulse response serving both the left and right channels per preset. That makes it usable direct to a mixer or audio interface without a real speaker, and it sits alongside a power amp block with nine types in the signal chain.
Where can I find the AMT Bricks Vt-LEAD manual?
AMT Electronics hosts the user manual for the X-Lead/X-Clean Bricks preamps on its own site as a PDF, covering the Vt-Lead among the series. The link appears on the Vt-Lead page in AMT's media center, labeled as the user's manual in English.
Sources (4)
- AMT Vt-lead, AMT Electronics, 2026
- AMT Bricks Vt-Lead, Media center of AMT Electronics
- AMT BRICKS preamps, AMT Electronics, 2026
- AMT Pangaea ULTIMA U-2, AMT Electronics, 2026
