Blackheart Little Giant Head BH5H

[GuitarsCanada]

Review Submitted By
Chito

Product Name
Blackheart Little Giant Head BH5H

Would you recommend this product to others?
yes

Your overall review of the product
great

Did you feel there was good value for the money?
yes
This amp sells for less than a lot of pedals.

What is your website?
www.spillback.com

How would you best describe yourself?
Part Timer

please select a choice
I own this gear

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Your full review

First the build. I've not had a chance to open it up yet but it looks solid from the outside. The tolex cover is good and not cheap looking. I know a few people have expressed their dislike for the logo but I do like it. There's 3 tone controls, high, mid, low and a volume control. It has a 2 switches, one for the choosing 5 or 3 watts and the power switch. It has 5 output jacks, 1-16 Ohm, 2-8 Ohms and 2-4 ohms.

The day I got the amp, I had a chance to play it during band practice with just our singer and the other guitar player(he was using a Mesa Boogie Lonestar Classic with a 2x12 cab). No bass or drums so I am not able to say how loud it is with a drummer. But based on the volume level we were playing, I honestly think it can be used for practice/ or miked in small venue gig. This amp is loud!!

Comparing it to the VJ, I find the BH to have more clarity and responds to pick attack really well. On the 5 watt Pentode mode it starts to break up just before the halfway mark and the crunch gets heavier as you turn it up. There's less gain on the 3 watt Triode mode and more compressed sounding when turned up.

Ive used this side by side with a stock Epi Valve Jr and the BH has a bit more headroom compared to the VJ. I find the VJ gets muddy when pushed , this is not the case with the Blackheart.

The cleans are fine, not chimey or "Fender" like but good enough on its own. Having a Lonestar to compare it when we practiced, shows a bit of its shortcomings which is understandable.

It takes to pedals really well too. I used an MI Audio Crunchbox and Blues Pro with it as well as a Tonebone Classic and all the pedals sounded great. One thing that I noticed more than anything is how smooth and warm sounding it is when doing solos.

I didn't play with the tone controls much and just left it at "noon". I didn't feel I needed to tweak it although it's really a nice option to have which I find missing in a stock VJ.

I like this amp. I've been using it to practice the last few days and I've not gotten tired of playing it yet. Which tells me it's going to be a keeper.

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Gear used for this review

Cabs : Avatar Traditional 1x12 cab with Eminence Legend GB128, Peavey SX112 cab loaded with a Peavey Blue Marvel

Guitars : PRS Soapbar SE II, PRS Custom SE

Effects : Radial Tonebone Classic, MI Audio Crunch Box, MI Audio Blues Pro, Modded GCB95 wah, GoudieFX Delay, GoudieFx Compressor, Boss Dimension DC-3, BBE Boosta Grande

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[Tarl]

Nice review. I am thinking about picking one of these up just to play around with. What kind of cab / speakers were you using?

[torndownunit]

Thanks for the review. I like the logo as well. Surprised so many people don't.

[ne1roc]

Great review. I was really interested that you say it is possibly loud enough to jam or gig with! I was about to try one out last Saturday but the sales guy said it's not loud enough in a band situation. Its more for recording and at home practice. Well that turned me off so I didn't bother trying it, which now that I think about it, why the hell did I care if he thought it wasn't loud enough? :mad:

[Robert1950]

Great review. I was really interested that you say it is possibly loud enough to jam or gig with! I was about to try one out last Saturday but the sales guy said it's not loud enough in a band situation. Its more for recording and at home practice. Well that turned me off so I didn't bother trying it, which now that I think about it, why the hell did I care if he thought it wasn't loud enough? :mad:

If you don't think the 5 watt is enough, there is the 15/7 watt Handsome Devil. It's in the same power range as the Orange Tiny Terror:

http://www.blackhearteng.com/bh15h.html

Don't know if it is out on the market yet, but should be by spring

[Chito]

Thanks guys!

Tarl, I used an Avatar Traditional 1x12 (partial open back) with an Eminence Legend GB128 and a Peavey 112SX with a Peavey Blue Marvel. I still have another cab (Traynor Blue ext cab with an Eminence Governor) and a couple of WGS speakers that I have not tried it with. I'd also like to try it using a 2X12 or even a 4x12.

[KHINGPYNN]

Thanks for the great interview. I'm interested in a Black Heart Amp... any sound clips?

[Tarl]

I now have one on backorder from LA music.

[Soldano16]

Just some additional info. I read that the speaker in the combo is different tan the cab. Combo is American voiced and cab is Brit.

[Baconator]

I now have one on backorder from LA music.

Hey Tarl,

Did you ever get that amp? I was thinking about the head/cab combo. For $300 I don't think you can lose, but it's always nice to hear more opinions.

[Chito]

He already did a review of it:

http://guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=12074&highlight=blackheart

[Baconator]

I missed that - thanks.

[thechamp96@hotmail.c]

Has anybody installed one of the mod kits available for the Blackheart amps?

I would love a review of the mods.

http://www.blackhearteng.com/mods.html

[mrmatt1972]

I played a Blackheart today through a closed back 2x12 cab loaded with ceramic Tone Tubbies. I also played a Crate 30 watt v-series amp and the Orange Tiny Terror through the same cab (it's nice to have small town service sometimes :smile:) The Blackheart was the clear winner of the three. It competed with the Orange for volume and was plenty loud for jamming/stage use. It is NOT a bedroom/practice amp. I really liked it, but it really doesn't have a lot of clean headroom. Has anyone tried a 12AT7 or 12AU7 in the preamp of one of these?

Matt

[thechamp96@hotmail.c]

I played a Blackheart today through a closed back 2x12 cab loaded with ceramic Tone Tubbies. I also played a Crate 30 watt v-series amp and the Orange Tiny Terror through the same cab (it's nice to have small town service sometimes :smile:) The Blackheart was the clear winner of the three. It competed with the Orange for volume and was plenty loud for jamming/stage use. It is NOT a bedroom/practice amp. I really liked it, but it really doesn't have a lot of clean headroom. Has anyone tried a 12AT7 or 12AU7 in the preamp of one of these?

Matt

Cool. What was the volume like? I've heard that it's not quite loud enough to play with a drummer, but pretty darn close. The 15w model is supposed to be released soon I think.

[mrmatt1972]

Cool. What was the volume like? I've heard that it's not quite loud enough to play with a drummer, but pretty darn close. The 15w model is supposed to be released soon I think.

It's pretty loud at full volume (5W). If you want the level of crunch that full volume provides you could hang with drums in a jam/practice situation quite easily. If you play in a situation with a PA it would be great as a miced stage monitor (and club owners would love you).

matt
:rockon:

[KHINGPYNN]

I got a Blackheart Little Giant head last week. No cabs yet they... two are on order.

I've been running it through one of my Lynch Box 4x12 cabs.

After reading some of the comments I have to agree that for a small single ended EL84 under $200 the clarity and responce to oicking dynamics is incredibl with this amp. The Valve junior i tried was ok but notnear the quality of tone that this amp is. The Tiny Terror is a nice amp but it lacks the dynamics of the LG. The LG also has that classic soft breakup thats no crunchy at all... not sparkly or chimey however a nice pleasing soft dirt sound. Excellent for classic rock and blues. When I hit it with the BBE Green Screamer it get a RUDE streak going.

Volumn wise it is exactly what I expected... a little beeter than 1/4 as loud as a 100 watt head... it's easily loud enough to jam with acoustic drums when played thru a 4x12.

Build quality wise it does not compare to Soldano of anything in that ilk but it easlily compares to or even out classes other amps closer to $1000... think Peavy, Crate, etc...

Overal I'm very impressed with Blackheart's Little Giant... I will definetly take a serious look at a higher watt model... a 30 or 50 watter would be perfect.
Tonally this amp reaches for the stars and touches Pluto... it has excellnt tone for $200 something I'm sure will revolutionize the tube amp industry.

Craig

[Tarl]

I got a Blackheart Little Giant head last week. No cabs yet they... two are on order.

I've been running it through one of my Lynch Box 4x12 cabs.

After reading some of the comments I have to agree that for a small single ended EL84 under $200 the clarity and responce to oicking dynamics is incredibl with this amp. The Valve junior i tried was ok but notnear the quality of tone that this amp is. The Tiny Terror is a nice amp but it lacks the dynamics of the LG. The LG also has that classic soft breakup thats no crunchy at all... not sparkly or chimey however a nice pleasing soft dirt sound. Excellent for classic rock and blues. When I hit it with the BBE Green Screamer it get a RUDE streak going.

Volumn wise it is exactly what I expected... a little beeter than 1/4 as loud as a 100 watt head... it's easily loud enough to jam with acoustic drums when played thru a 4x12.

Build quality wise it does not compare to Soldano of anything in that ilk but it easlily compares to or even out classes other amps closer to $1000... think Peavy, Crate, etc...

Overal I'm very impressed with Blackheart's Little Giant... I will definetly take a serious look at a higher watt model... a 30 or 50 watter would be perfect.
Tonally this amp reaches for the stars and touches Pluto... it has excellnt tone for $200 something I'm sure will revolutionize the tube amp industry.

Craig

I think you have captured the good and bad about this amp to a tee. Not great for crystal cleans but awesome for the crunch and takes pedals well. I have used mine at practice (into a 2x12) with an un-mced drummer and had volume to spare. A fun and well put together amp for a very reasonable price.

[Tarl]

I see that the Handsome Devil is now on sale at LA music. For $279 it seems like a great deal for a 15 watt tube combo.

http://www.lamusic.ca/default.asp?szNav=Product&PID=22707#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ykiak1PQNo

[Tarl]

OOOOPS...my bad ....thats the LG combo.........the Devil is not out yet.