Blackheart Little Giant 5 Watt Valve head

**ibanezjunkie** · May 17th, 2009, 06:28 AM

just thought id do a little review of this for anyone conidering getting one.

well, to start with, this amp has a boutique design and in my opinion sounds as good as any marshall JCM or JVM head/combo ive ever played, whilst being about a quarter of the price.

even with the chinese stock tubes in it, it sounds pretty awesome. ive been putting it through its paces since i got it on friday. so thats about a day and a half of thrashing it. ive put every pedal i have through it and tryed it on every possible EQ/volume setting. so far, i havent found anything that makes this amp sound bad.

Digitech deathmetal - it does this heavy grind distortion very well.
echohead - makes the echos and delays sound very deep and reverb-like.
crybaby - on alot of amps, the treble frequency hisses, but not on this one.

the signal starts to break properly at about 7 on triode mode and about 6 on pentode mode. so in short, this thing has got some real kick to it.

so, in short.

price paid: £109 GBP + £7.99 next day delivery
durability: no answer, only had it for about 2 days.
sound quality: 10/10 the tones you get out of this head are amazing.
customer service: i emailed Crate to ask them how long the stock tubes should last and i had an email about half an hour later 10/10
Features: 9/10- 3 band EQ, volume. all you need, nice n' simple, just how i like it. would prefere some reverb though. (must get a reverb pedal soon.)

**ragnarpk** · May 17th, 2009, 07:04 AM

how loud will that thing go?

**ibanezjunkie** · May 17th, 2009, 07:06 AM

well, through my 4x12, it caused me to go temporarily deaf yesterday when i stomped on the DDM which happened to be on full volume at the time :S

so, pretty damn loud, even when its only on the triode mode.

**ragnarpk** · May 17th, 2009, 07:08 AM

siick.. nice review, might look into those

**ibanezjunkie** · May 17th, 2009, 08:23 AM

i notice you have no amps in your sig...how do you play with all them pedals? :P

**ragnarpk** · May 17th, 2009, 08:57 AM

toneport, baby

or well i have a crappy Kustom KGA10 practice amp from way back. i rarely use it :/

for live stuff, though, i just borrow amps or something.. like my friend's ENGL..

**ibanezjunkie** · May 17th, 2009, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by ragnarpk

toneport, baby

or well i have a crappy Kustom KGA10 practice amp from way back. i rarely use it :/

for live stuff, though, i just borrow amps or something.. like my friend's ENGL..

yeah ive had ENGL gas for months...

**ragnarpk** · May 17th, 2009, 11:45 AM

its probably the sexiest thing i've ever made scream.

**ibanezjunkie** · May 17th, 2009, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by ragnarpk

its probably the sexiest thing i've ever made scream.

i dunno about that...

but anyway theyre really nice. i have GAS for alot of things

peavey VKs
ENGL powerball
Vox Nightrain
Orange Dual Terror 30w
gibson les paul custom

and more things like that.

**ragnarpk** · May 17th, 2009, 12:41 PM

if i made a list of all the things i had daily GAS attacks for... it'd be a damn long list. but seeing as i'm just a broke teenager, i'm somewhat out of luck.. for now..

**ibanezjunkie** · May 17th, 2009, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by ragnarpk

if i made a list of all the things i had daily GAS attacks for... it'd be a damn long list. but seeing as i'm just a broke teenager, i'm somewhat out of luck.. for now..

yeah i have a GAS list myself, but seeing how im a broke teenager too, im having my own personal financial crisis

**ragnarpk** · May 17th, 2009, 01:47 PM

mmm especially since i need money to live in london next year.. its holding me back

**ibanezjunkie** · May 17th, 2009, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by ragnarpk

mmm especially since i need money to live in london next year.. its holding me back

i dont have to worry about moving out yet...my girlfriend is trying for med school..which means she'll be living near a university first, then near a medical institute. i can just bunk down wherever shes at, and pay half rent.

woo

**ibanezjunkie** · May 17th, 2009, 02:06 PM

this review thread turned into a GAS list chatroom xD

how cool.

**ibanezjunkie** · May 31st, 2009, 02:52 PM

i now have some solid evidence of how damn good this amp sounds..

the bassist for my band, who also plays guitar Every so often, had a go on my blackheart one day when we were practising, he loved it so much, 3 days later he informs me hes just gone and ordered one.

=]

**ragnarpk** · May 31st, 2009, 04:18 PM

not bad..

i'm getting a marshall mg100hdfx halfstack tuesday for very little money because i need a decent amp.. later when i need something more awesome i can sell it, but for now it'll do nicely. its gotten mixed reviews though, so i'll be sure to test it thoroughly before i buy.. i used to play through a 60 watt mg series combo that my friend had at practices when i was in this band, so they're alright amps from what i've experienced. i know its not tube and it doesnt cost a million dollars, but it suits me at this point.

**Kazz** · July 27th, 2009, 05:30 AM

Rag.....that is signature material of the first order :-) You have now been immortalized in the world of forae.

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