Blackheart Little Giant BH5H

[luvmyshiner]

Well, I sold a couple of things in the last three weeks. My Oscar Schmidt OE30 and my Behringer GMX110. Sold the Oscar Schmidt because after playing CB's electrics, I realized how bad it sounded, and I sold the Behringer because after building the Firefly, solid state just ain't the same.

So I've been looking for a new tube amph to buy with the new funds, to go with Shiner's Custom Cab v. 1.0, and after researching the fret and other sources, I'm thinking I'll go with the Blackheart Little Giant. I'm probably going to order it tonight, but I thought I'd double check with y'all for input. Yea or nay?

[tunghaichuan]

Over the last year I've developed a serious pedal addiction. :thwap: I've found that the BH5H amp takes pedals very well. If you plan on running a few pedals, the BH is a good choice. Or if you play primarily clean. The BH is a very clean sounding amp until you turn the volume all the way up. Only then do you get some grit.

It is a warm sounding amp. So if you like plugging straight in, it is a great little amp. Or if you want to run some pedals into it for a nice OD sound.

tung

[piebaldpython]

OK...what the heck.....I'll play "devil's advocate" here. What can the Little Giant Head give you that you don't already get from the Firefly Head? If you are running both thru the same cab, the thought here is that you have more at your disposal with the Firefly than with the LG. The LG has a few more watts on hand, but other than that.....what am I missing? I was under the impression that the Firefly was an awesome little package.

'Splain yourself son. :D

[luvmyshiner]

Thanks Tung. I always respect your opinion. To be honest I don't even have an electric at this point. CB's collection is top notch so I play one of hers when the mood hits me. One of the reasons I decided to get rid of the modeling amp was that CB has a nice little collection of pedals now. She has four, and with the two Robert is sending me we'll be up to six. Looks like I'm going to have to build a pedal board pretty quick.

[luvmyshiner]

The Firefly is awesome Pie! But five watts . . . come on dude, that amph goes to eleven.:bravo:

[just strum]

I've searched around for the "next" amp and unless some new amp comes down the line, I will be getting the Blackheart LG. The reviews here and elsewhere have been nothing but positive. In the past, I always had something that I was willing to sell, but I am down to only a few items. My RP350 which I have not aggressively tried to sell (waiting on my daughters poor friends) and possibly the Jamman. The Washburn has become the guitar I leave out and plugged in for some quick minutes, so that is probably off the market now as I am growing fond of it.

Based on my research, I think you will be happy with the Blackheart.

[WackyT]

I recently bought a Blackheart Killer Ant for practicing, and it is a fantastic sounding, apartment level amplifier. I also installed the Bitmo Anteater mod to it, and the addition of the tone control is a definite plus. As to the 10" sealed cab it came with isn't so hot. I currently have the amp connected to my Eminence GB12 equipped sealed back Lopo cab. I have a 10" Weber alnico speaker on order, hoping it'll make the Blackheart cab more pleasant sounding.

To come to my point, I'd definitely recommend Blackheart for their amps. This one is very well built, and sounds great!

[TS808]

After I got my Little Giant, I bought a Handsome Devil too I was so impressed. The Little Giant has a really nice tone, very simple, stays clean but begins to break up when you crank it and yes, it does take pedals very well. I run mine either through the Blackheart 112 cab or a 212 cab and it sounds fantastic through both.

Seriously, these amps are very good and literally are a steal for the price. I've played amps that I paid alot more for and they didn't sound as good as these.

[kiteman]

I got the Handsome Devil and all I can say is I'm glad I bought it. :)

[piebaldpython]

Shiner.........Go for the LG head then. Hard to believe but the HLD head costs $150 more than the LG head, yet the LG head only costs $20 more than the Little Ant head.

SIX pedals???? :D Dude, what other pedals do you/will you have beside the Rabid Rodent? Just curious.

Does Maggie May enjoy all of the git-fiddle playin'? :D

[Childbride]

Shiner.........Go for the LG head then. Hard to believe but the HLD head costs $150 more than the LG head, yet the LG head only costs $20 more than the Little Ant head.

SIX pedals???? :D Dude, what other pedals do you/will you have beside the Rabid Rodent? Just curious.

Does Maggie May enjoy all of the git-fiddle playin'? :D


[...] i think he already did, about ten minutes ago. :D

pedals:

boss ds-1 [thanks again, Muddy]
rabid rodent [thanks again, DVM]
boss dd-3
boss ch-1 [the dd-3 and ch-1 were xmas presents from shiner and byproxy]

and now, shiner's two coming from Robert.

as to maggie... interestingly enough, just like katie, she immediately seems to know instinctively that getting around the guitars is Verboten.

i even had the LP plugged in the tv room this weekend finally getting to practice some. didn't touch guitar, cable or stand.

but i think she likes acoustic better. or maybe just shiner's playing. ;)

[tunghaichuan]

You know, now that you mention it, the Handsome Devil may be a better choice. It is going to have a bit more clean headroom. It will get seriously loud in a small room when cranked, though. The HD is cathode bias, so you can just pop in a new set of tubes when the time comes, you really don't have to worry about biasing unless you want to.

Shiner: The Killer Aant amp is around 1W, so it will be closer to your Firefly than the LG or HD amps.

Heck, if you wanted to get complicated you could run your Firefly into a cab sim like the Behringer GI100. Then run the line out of the cab sim into your BH amp. You have to load down the Firefly with a dummy load, but they are easy to make for a 1W amp like the Firefly.

tung





After I got my Little Giant, I bought a Handsome Devil too I was so impressed. The Little Giant has a really nice tone, very simple, stays clean but begins to break up when you crank it and yes, it does take pedals very well. I run mine either through the Blackheart 112 cab or a 212 cab and it sounds fantastic through both.

Seriously, these amps are very good and literally are a steal for the price. I've played amps that I paid alot more for and they didn't sound as good as these.

[rev156]

I've had the LG head for a while now and love it. My AD50VT sees very little use. I have a 1X12 (soon to be 2X12) cab loaded with a greenback and it sounds great. I am currently running an EH 12ax7 with stock power tube. I tried a NOS Jan 5751 in the preamp slot which cleaned it up even more, with nice tone but I liked the grit of the 12ax7. More experimenting is required!
I run a homemade fuzz, dan TOD, Boss ds-1, and EH small stone. The LG takes them very well. When I play at church it's mic'ed but I can't get it past 10:00 without being told to turn down! It's a loud 5 watts!
You'll enjoy it!
Cheers
Rev156

[luvmyshiner]

Thanks for all the input guys. Got the amph ordered last night, so hopefully it will get here this week. Oh, and I made sure to use the fret zzounds link.:AOK:

[Spudman]

Over the last year I've developed a serious pedal addiction. :thwap: I've found that the BH5H amp takes pedals very well. If you plan on running a few pedals, the BH is a good choice. Or if you play primarily clean. The BH is a very clean sounding amp until you turn the volume all the way up. Only then do you get some grit.

It is a warm sounding amp. So if you like plugging straight in, it is a great little amp. Or if you want to run some pedals into it for a nice OD sound.

tung
Yup. What he said. Congratulations on your choice.

[tunghaichuan]

One more thing:

The amp is voiced well for the stock Chinese tubes that come in it. You don't even have to upgrade the tubes when you get it. I swapped out a JJ EL84 in mine, and didn't notice a difference. Usually the JJ is an improvement.

Although I would use JJ tubes when it comes time to replace them.

tung

[just strum]

Thanks for all the input guys. Got the amph ordered last night, so hopefully it will get here this week. Oh, and I made sure to use the fret zzounds link.:AOK:

Congrats Shiner. I would think that the reviews will continue to be good, but I look forward to your comments.

[TS808]

Thanks for all the input guys. Got the amph ordered last night, so hopefully it will get here this week. Oh, and I made sure to use the fret zzounds link.:AOK:


Congrats on your purchase...I think you're gonna like it.

[luvmyshiner]

They shipped her out today. With any luck CB should be jamming on her by this weekend.

[luvmyshiner]

She came in today, and she is a monster! One of the lawyers I office with was laughing at me for buying an amph when I don't have any electrics anymore, but I reminded her that CB has four I can use anytime I want.:beer:

I noodled around with her for about 30 minutes, listening to all the other guitars in the room humming in harmonic approval. Tested out Wingsdad's ASAT and Rocket's LP, both sounded incredible, but different (excuse me, I meant "CB's ASAT and LP":D ). CB played around for about 20. Pics will be on the way this weekend.:beer:

[Childbride]

[wolf whistle here]

meeeee likey. :D

[Blaze]

Thanks for all the input guys. Got the amph ordered last night, so hopefully it will get here this week. Oh, and I made sure to use the fret zzounds link.:AOK:

Congrats Shiner ,sounds like a good purchase.:AOK:

You guys in the U.S are lucky to get ZZounds link ,we Canuks don t get any deals from beein Fretneters + the - 20% on USD ad to that the shipping ..

I d say it turns down some G.A.S projects..

[tunghaichuan]

Sweet. :beer:

Welcome to the Blackheart amp club :AOK:

tung

[oldguy]

Congrats, Shiner! I bet you kids are gonna love crankin' up that amp and wailin' on the weekends. :)
How does it compare to the firefly? I think I remember CB sayin' how loud that little baby was.

[luvmyshiner]

They are different OG, but I don't know that I can really describe it yet. Other than the obvious (the Blackheart is LOUDER), it also seems to be "beefier" (is that a word?), darker than the Firefly. I'm still playing around with adjusting the tone knobs, so I haven't locked anything in there yet. I'll check back in a couple of weeks and see if I can give you a better description.

By the way . . . signature updated \/ \/ \/ \/ :beer:

[just strum]

I thought you would have gone with the two for the price of two sale and send me the one that was the same price as the other one:D

[luvmyshiner]

I thought you would have gone with the two for the price of two sale and send me the one that was the same price as the other one:D

I did dude! I shipped it to Rocket and he's going to send it to you with your free Epidot.:AOK:

[just strum]

I did dude! I shipped it to Rocket and he's going to send it to you with your free Epidot.:AOK:



smokeeeeennnnnnnnn!!!!!

[TS808]

Congrats again! You are warned: Blackheart amps are highly addicting!!

I'm having a great time with my Blackheart Little Giant and Handsome Devil. The tone and quality is very good, and the price is unbeatable too. The cool part is that the Little Giant sounds equally as good with single coils or humbuckers.

There are cool qualities of both the pentode and triode modes too..triode is a little "muddier" or darker, but again, a fun little amp and it WILL get loud.

Enjoy the amp...now run out and get an electric!!

[Guitar Gal]

Sounds like it's a winner Shiner :AOK:

Can't wait to hear some clips :rockon:

GG

[just strum]

Sounds like it's a winner Shiner :AOK:

Can't wait to hear some clips :rockon:

GG

LTNS

[Childbride]

LTNS

:confused:

[just strum]

:confused:

long time, no see

[Guitar Gal]

Hey Strum and CB :D

Yeah it has been LTNS.......been crazy busy here :poke:

How are yo liking the new Blackheart CB?

GG

[Childbride]

Hey Strum and CB :D

Yeah it has been LTNS.......been crazy busy here :poke:

How are yo liking the new Blackheart CB?

GG

like her; love tube amphs. don't know if this makes sense, but i like the LP through the blackheart and the ASAT through the firefly.

shiner is already talking about building a monster amph. :D

good to 'see' ya, GG! :)

[Guitar Gal]

like her; love tube amphs. don't know if this makes sense, but i like the LP through the blackheart and the ASAT through the firefly.

shiner is already talking about building a monster amph. :D

good to 'see' ya, GG! :)


With all your guits and amphs, you and shiner are going to have to build an addition on to your house :dude: I'll be looking forward to seeing shiner's "monster amph" building project....

Nice to "see" ya too CB :AOK:

[just strum]

like her; love tube amphs. don't know if this makes sense, but i like the LP through the blackheart and the ASAT through the firefly.


Makes sense, I prefer my Strat and Wildkat through the Valve Jr and my Washburn through the Vox

My Dot through just about anything.



shiner is already talking about building a monster amph. :D

good to 'see' ya, GG! :)

Tell Shiner to give this a thought

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/16167272.jpg

[just strum]

SVL, in response to your comment over in the amp poll. Yep, I think the BH is the most practical choice for me based on size, power, and reasonable cost.

[sunvalleylaw]

SVL, in response to your comment over in the amp poll. Yep, I think the BH is the most practical choice for me based on size, power, and reasonable cost.

For what you have been talking about, I agree. The C-30 can sound good in the house and at lower volumes, but I think, based on playing around with Spud's that if you really want to use it only for "bedroom" purposes, the BH Little Giant seems more practical.

[mrmudcat]

Nice going down there with your new amph!!!

Dont skimp on a good speaker cable http://lavacable.com/

USA made :beer:


Warning some prices could lead to less beer:rotflmao:

Canare being the cheapest brand in that dept.(speaker cable)

I just bought two speaker cables and one instrument and boy it was costly :thwap: :whatever: Worth it though!

[luvmyshiner]

Thanks for the tip Muddy! I'll try to get some pics up this weekend.

[luvmyshiner]

Here ya' go, a couple of pics.:beer:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m159/luvmyshiner/P3190047.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m159/luvmyshiner/P3190049.jpg

[Rocket]

Dude, I appreciate sliced tree as much as the next man but get some Tolex, Tweed, or some kind of fabric on that nekkid cab... looks like a microwave cart or yuppie bar!

[luvmyshiner]

Is there an echo in here dude?

Rocket, Rocket, Rocket, I know you didn't just trash Shiner's Custom Cab v. 1.0! Are you just trying to piss me off?:poke:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m159/luvmyshiner/Cab%20build/P5040021.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m159/luvmyshiner/Cab%20build/P5040022.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m159/luvmyshiner/Cab%20build/P4250003.jpg

Besides, it's not like I built it for you.:D

[Rocket]

No trash.
I said I appreciate it... and I do... but... it looks like fine furniture, not abusable equipment!

[luvmyshiner]

Trust me Rocket, with three coats of spar varnish, you can spill two or three beers on her and leave it there all night, and she'll be fine. I have been playing around with the idea of building a 2x12, after I build CB's pedal board. But I've never worked with Tolex and to be honest the thought of it intimidates me a little. We'll see.

[Rocket]

You tired of echo-posting yet?

[luvmyshiner]

Yup.

[TS808]

Shiner

Awesome cab! Go for it and build that 2x12 or 2x10. The Little Giant Sounds really good through a 212 too.

[just strum]

I think I may have just picked up a Blackheart head for $100. I'm waiting for the guy to get back to me. I was too late for a Epi Riviera that was a sweet one.

Now I have to get one of those microwave stands.

[luvmyshiner]

Dude, if you can pick up one of these amphs for a hundred bucks, jump on it. You won't regret it. I may even make you a sweet deal on the microwave stand after I build my "gater skin" covered 2x12.:beer:

[sunvalleylaw]

Congrats Strum! Sounds like a good score!

[wingsdad]

I think I may have just picked up a Blackheart head for $100. I'm waiting for the guy to get back to me. I was too late for a Epi Riviera that was a sweet one.

Now I have to get one of those microwave stands.
Strummy,
If that falls thru, I know where's there's a 'Little Giant Half Stack' - the head w/ the BH112 1x12 cab - for $200...looks almost new, was traded in. May be negotiable, maybe not. It was at 'My Local GAS Station' Sunday...

[just strum]

Strummy,
If that falls thru, I know where's there's a 'Little Giant Half Stack' - the head w/ the BH112 1x12 cab - for $200...looks almost new, was traded in. May be negotiable, maybe not. It was at 'My Local GAS Station' Sunday...

Well, the one I am getting is still pending and it is really up to me now if the deal goes through. I'll PM you.

I have to sell some things. The kid that my daughter goes to school with is still mowing over the Washburn Idol and RP350 (I thought I was bad). I'm sure he will want it once the items are sold.

[scottyscott66]

What do ya think shiner? Ive had mine for almost a year and it is by far the best head and cab unit for the cash. The price has gone up 100 bucks since I bought mine. I put a demo of the amp on youtube when I first bought it.

[luvmyshiner]

I don't use it near as much as my lovely Child Bride Scotty. She's the electric rock goddess, and I'm more the acoustic guy. But I LOVE it!:bravo:

In fact, I've been neglecting my Firefly amph since she came along.:thwap: