Blackheart Little Giant 5W Tube Amp - Page 2

Wes Kuhnley · 30th March 2008

No need to pull the chassis to change tubes. Just wait till they are cool enough to touch, pull up gently in a circular motion. When replacing tubes, push firmly untill the tube is all the way in the socket. Make sure to align the gap between pins 1 and 9 properly.

jauron · 31st March 2008

Got it! Let the rolling begin!

skillzburn · 1st April 2008

how do you like it with the new tubes, I think for the money it sounds incredible. M

jauron · 1st April 2008

Very sweet sounding amp. The tube upgrade if you go with the EH/JJ is less than $30, and is very highly advised.

With a Zoom G1, and the Digitech Hendrix pedals, I'm getting just about every sound I can imagine.

The mission was certainly accomplished with this amp.

Thank you for the help!

Jauron

clayman06 · 1st April 2008

I picked the combo up a few months back, and I think it's a great little amp. Mind you, I am a beginner on guitar, but it has a great sound IMO.

Question: when changing the tubes, have you had to re-bias the amp? I have been trying to find this out online, but can't find any info about biasing for the Little Giant.

Thanx
Clay

jauron · 2nd April 2008

I was told if the tubes were direct replacements, there is no need to re-bias.

Wes Kuhnley · 2nd April 2008

There is no need to re-bias amps that are "cathode-biased". They effectivly bias themselves. Fixed bias amps are the variety that require the attention of a qualified tech. The Little Giant, and most other small amps are cathode-biased. If you don't know whether you amp does require the attention of a tech, call your local repair shop and ask, they'll be straight up with you.

skillzburn · 3rd April 2008

I just got a new custom tele with a south american cedar body, 10lbs! It sounds fantastic through this amp. A very slutty guitar on a very cheap but definatly worth the money amp! What other specific guitars do you guys like jam with on this amp? M

jephthah007 · 19th April 2008

I just got the blackheart combo, pretty happy with it. Got it for $219 from zzounds, it was a"factory reseal", I think that means it was returned. Anyway, I replaced the stock preamp tube with an electro harmonix 12AX7, big difference. I'm playing a PRS hollowbody II thru it & I'm able to get a pretty nice jazz tone out of it, haven't tried a solidbody thru it yet.
Only prob I've found is a pop when switching fron 3w to 5w. Anyone know how to fix this? Also, has anyone performed any mods that they would recommend?

clayman06 · 22nd April 2008

yeah, I've had the same thing (pop when you change from 3w to 5w or vv). I just turn the amp off before I do it now. Don't know the technical reasons why the amp would do that though.

Wes, thanx for the biasing info.

I think I'll try some different tubes as well, the chinese tubes are noisy (hissy) I find, is this normal?

Clay

skillzburn · 23rd April 2008

dude the chinese tubes really suck, try a tung-sol or mullard reissue for a cheap fix and any number of el84 replacements will sound much better than the stock output tube. I'm running a mullard 12at7 and a 1964 ge el84 and I think this combo is how I want this amp to sound. I stripped off all the tolex and removed the blackheart logo (sos nobody knows it was cheap as hell) and I'm bringing it and a 1x12 greenback to a session this weekend to test on some tele lead tracks. It's gainy cleen is the shit with a tube screamer on top and the dd6 reverse with a strat is Hendrix all day, dirty.

bpitsenb · 14th March 2009

I am looking into buying a little giant. It seems like a lot of people complain about the sound in the stock cabinet. Which seems to sound better off the shelf the combo or half stack? Also has anyone had any luck getting a good metal sound out of this amp?

Jonboy79 · 14th March 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpitsenb

I am looking into buying a little giant. It seems like a lot of people complain about the sound in the stock cabinet. Which seems to sound better off the shelf the combo or half stack? Also has anyone had any luck getting a good metal sound out of this amp?

You're not going to get a metal sound out of this amp unless you run a nice metal pedal into it. I've had great luck running an Electro Harmonix Metal Muff into a Fender Princeton Reverb so you might have similar luck with something like that into a Blackheart but you won't get that sound stock, that's for sure.

DJCSUN · 27th March 2009

Hey folks. I just got a Little Giant to keep around my studio and recorded some clips with an Epiphone Dot and a 57, through a Golden Age mic pre (linked below). Also used a Boss Blues Driver in the chain for some gain. This is one file with 3 clips, moved the mic around a little for each of the three, also tweaked the amp some. I think it's pretty awesome so far, should get to use it on a real session soon.

https://rcpt.yousendit.com/668850767...3823c094fcfa7e

30th March 2008	#31
Wes Kuhnley Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2006 Posts: 596	No need to pull the chassis to change tubes. Just wait till they are cool enough to touch, pull up gently in a circular motion. When replacing tubes, push firmly untill the tube is all the way in the socket. Make sure to align the gap between pins 1 and 9 properly. __________________ Resonant Electronic Design "If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." -Carl Sagan

22nd April 2008	#40
clayman06 Gear interested Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 9	POP yeah, I've had the same thing (pop when you change from 3w to 5w or vv). I just turn the amp off before I do it now. Don't know the technical reasons why the amp would do that though. Wes, thanx for the biasing info. I think I'll try some different tubes as well, the chinese tubes are noisy (hissy) I find, is this normal? Clay

14th March 2009	#42
bpitsenb Gear interested Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 1	I doubt anyone is still interrested but... I am looking into buying a little giant. It seems like a lot of people complain about the sound in the stock cabinet. Which seems to sound better off the shelf the combo or half stack? Also has anyone had any luck getting a good metal sound out of this amp?

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31st March 2008	#32
jauron Gear interested Joined: Mar 2008 Posts: 5	Got it! Let the rolling begin!

1st April 2008	#33
skillzburn Gear Head Joined: Jul 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 59	how do you like it with the new tubes, I think for the money it sounds incredible. M

2nd April 2008	#36
jauron Gear interested Joined: Mar 2008 Posts: 5	I was told if the tubes were direct replacements, there is no need to re-bias.

3rd April 2008	#38
skillzburn Gear Head Joined: Jul 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 59	I just got a new custom tele with a south american cedar body, 10lbs! It sounds fantastic through this amp. A very slutty guitar on a very cheap but definatly worth the money amp! What other specific guitars do you guys like jam with on this amp? M

19th April 2008	#39
jephthah007 Gear interested Joined: Apr 2008 Posts: 1	I just got the blackheart combo, pretty happy with it. Got it for $219 from zzounds, it was a"factory reseal", I think that means it was returned. Anyway, I replaced the stock preamp tube with an electro harmonix 12AX7, big difference. I'm playing a PRS hollowbody II thru it & I'm able to get a pretty nice jazz tone out of it, haven't tried a solidbody thru it yet. Only prob I've found is a pop when switching fron 3w to 5w. Anyone know how to fix this? Also, has anyone performed any mods that they would recommend?

23rd April 2008	#41
skillzburn Gear Head Joined: Jul 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 59	dude the chinese tubes really suck, try a tung-sol or mullard reissue for a cheap fix and any number of el84 replacements will sound much better than the stock output tube. I'm running a mullard 12at7 and a 1964 ge el84 and I think this combo is how I want this amp to sound. I stripped off all the tolex and removed the blackheart logo (sos nobody knows it was cheap as hell) and I'm bringing it and a 1x12 greenback to a session this weekend to test on some tele lead tracks. It's gainy cleen is the shit with a tube screamer on top and the dd6 reverse with a strat is Hendrix all day, dirty.

27th March 2009	#44
DJCSUN Gear interested Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 25	Hey folks. I just got a Little Giant to keep around my studio and recorded some clips with an Epiphone Dot and a 57, through a Golden Age mic pre (linked below). Also used a Boss Blues Driver in the chain for some gain. This is one file with 3 clips, moved the mic around a little for each of the three, also tweaked the amp some. I think it's pretty awesome so far, should get to use it on a real session soon. https://rcpt.yousendit.com/668850767...3823c094fcfa7e