Blackheart Little Giant 5W Tube Amp

[ron florentine]

Has anyone tried this amphead....for the price tag it seems to be a another option to the valve junior ....there is already a hand wired Mod Kit from Mojo Mods to drop right into this thing.........anyone actually hear one or compare it to the VJ.




Ron Florentine
Soundswest Studio

[6strings]

+1

I need to know.

This is probably the only real demo I could find online so far...

******//www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pB5hV21Y00

[Pasta4lnch]

+2 anyone try any kool mods?

[ron florentine]

My god that video is so lame and hyped ........I think these guys are going to miss their target audience for this amp......this video is geared towards 12-15 year old boys........that target audience wants all the bells and whistles....every FX under sun and every amp model available to mankind for under $200..........these amps seem to apeal to people that understand a bit about real amp design and have minimum circuitry and a pure effecient class a audio path will lead you a beutiful tone.....the amp looks promising and would love to hear from people that actually heard one.



Ron Florentine
Soundswest Studio

[phantom309]

I've had the combo for a couple weeks now. Given the amount of hype surrounding it I was a little disappointed at first - boxy low end, overdrive has this fizzy harshness to it, clean tone utterly lacking in sweetness. I guess I expected it to sound more like a Vox. I swapped the original speaker out for a Celestion Greenback and replaced the preamp tube. Much better. Running it through an external cabinet was better still - that stock cab is really well built but doesn't give much depth to the sound. So at heart it's as good as the cab you're running.

It has lots of gain and is pretty damn loud even at 3w. It doesn't seem to compress at high volumes like the other amps of this type I've had. I think I'll spring for one of those Mojo kits with the tube rectifier - that'll probably help.

So basically get the head and run it through a good cab and you'll have a pretty good little rig. Well worth the money, but you won't be selling your Dr. Z.

[ron florentine]

Originally Posted by phantom309

I've had the combo for a couple weeks now. Given the amount of hype surrounding it I was a little disappointed at first - boxy low end, overdrive has this fizzy harshness to it, clean tone utterly lacking in sweetness. I guess I expected it to sound more like a Vox. I swapped the original speaker out for a Celestion Greenback and replaced the preamp tube. Much better. Running it through an external cabinet was better still - that stock cab is really well built but doesn't give much depth to the sound. So at heart it's as good as the cab you're running.

It has lots of gain and is pretty damn loud even at 3w. It doesn't seem to compress at high volumes like the other amps of this type I've had. I think I'll spring for one of those Mojo kits with the tube rectifier - that'll probably help.

So basically get the head and run it through a good cab and you'll have a pretty good little rig. Well worth the money, but you won't be selling your Dr. Z.

Thanks for the great review Phantom.........let us all know how the Mojo Mod turns out and the cost of it........some before and after clips would be mighty cool!




Ron Florentine
Soundswest Studio

[Atomic_Punk]

I had a combo and a couple heads to play with.
The combo got some circuit mods and replaced the transformers and added a choke. It improved dramatically.
The heads got a different set of transformers. I increased the output to 13 watts. The amps have two 6v6 tubes in parallel (single ended output)
Both 5 watt and 13 watt are working well. The 13 is probably enough to do most small gigs and can keep up with a drummer.
These mods will be available from Mercury Magnetics.
The little giant mod and the Mean 13 mod for little giant both went to NAMM


Atomic_Punk
I am a victim of the science age
******//amp-exchange.com

[skillzburn]

I've had the head for about two weeks and after having changed the pre tube to a mullard reissue there was a vast improvement over stock. I've run it through my 1960 and an old traynor 1x12 half back and both sound pretty damn good. In fact for the money there haven't been very many things I've purchased new and been so pleased with. Seriously, for $150 new it's a steal and it sounds sick with a tube screamer in front. eq is hilarious and I don't really understand why they had to put the name crate on the front (if they hadn't I would've payed more) but over all a great deal on a very usable amp.
M

[skillzburn]

Guitars I've used on it; SG standard with duncan invader in the bridge, 59' in the neck, great bridge sound very cutting with the gain up and in the middle pickup position an incredible blues tone, neck is ok but I couldn't get away from that middle position. Highway 1 tele with broadcaster in the bridge, stock in the neck, this was my favorite any pickup any gain setting, all sound badass. Dean ML non dimebag, has a very Billy Gibbons vibe when you kill the highs and crank the mids. Great toy great price.

[Wes Kuhnley]

Seems to me that modifications that replace the circuit board cost more than they are worth. They don't change the topology at all, and on the VJR mods, you loose the nice and quiet DC heaters. Better to spend that $50 on tubes or a new output transformer.
The Blackheart joins the VJR, and new Fender Champ 600 and Gibson GA-5 amps that seem almost purpose built to be modified. This is a good time to learn how to use a soldering iron!

[Atomic_Punk]

Here is a short demo of the blackheart modded .
More to follow
both Blackheart mods leave the pcb in the amp.
******//www.mercurymagnetics.com/page...Blackheart.mp3

[Wes Kuhnley]

The biggest problem with the Mercury Magnetics kits is the price. I can modifiy a VJR or Blackheart to sound much better than the MM kit, for less than the kit costs. Those kits are basically meant to sell you iron you don't need, and don't address the real tone suckers in the amp. Not bashing MM iron, in fact, it's very nice iron. Most of it is unecessary though.

[Atomic_Punk]

Originally Posted by Wes Kuhnley

The biggest problem with the Mercury Magnetics kits is the price. I can modifiy a VJR or Blackheart to sound much better than the MM kit, for less than the kit costs. Those kits are basically meant to sell you iron you don't need, and don't address the real tone suckers in the amp. Not bashing MM iron, in fact, it's very nice iron. Most of it is unecessary though.

Hmm maybe so.You ought to do so and post the plans. for the 13 watt version that is.

[Wes Kuhnley]

I'm in the process of doing so. My website will be up by the end of the spring with all kinds of DIY info regarding these amps. In the meantime, check out www.sewatt.com ...these guys are budget minded and make great sounding amps.

[Atomic_Punk]

Should be nice to see another 13 watt redesign of the blackheart
I cant find such at sewatt please post link to dual 6v6 modded blackheart.

[skillzburn]

I do not want to pay for MM's tranny kit, does anyone know a comparable replacement for both transformers?

[Wes Kuhnley]

Hammond makes a few suitable replacements, but I usually use Musical Power Supply transformers. Sound every bit as good as Hammond, and a cheaper to boot. If you want to spend more money, try Heyboar.

There really isn't any need to change the power transformer, that's just pissing money away.

[skillzburn]

do you know a model that is a direct fit?

[skillzburn]

I'm a little confused with the frequency response of some of these trannys. Some guys are telling me that the hammond 125 ese and dse will plug up fine and benefit the tone of the amp but their frequency response is 100-15k. I know that covers guitars fundamentals but would there be any negative to the hammond trannys that are full human spectrum? these models being HX-1640SEA 1250 primary impedence, HX-1627SEA 2500 pi, HX-1630SEA 3500 pi, HX-1628SEA 5000 pi. all rated at 30 audio watts

[Wes Kuhnley]

You may need to drill some additional holes for the transformer to fit, and I'd go with the MPS iron. Cheaper, better bang-for-the-buck, sounds just as good as the Hammond.

[FFTT]

When you consider the cost of the upgrade parts and the cost of labor, if you don't have the skills to do it yourself, you're better off buying something like the new Gries 5
or the new Gries Minnow Head.

The Valve Jr. was cool for about a week, but then it went back in the box as an interesting novelty.

I'm sure the Blackheart has potential, but I'd rather put my money into something
better.

[Wes Kuhnley]

There's nothing better to learn how to DIY, than a $100 amplifier, who cares if you blow it up?

[el34burns]

Hello,
I'm new to this forum, and happy to be here.
I recently got a BH5112 combo. I wanted a low powered, lightweight (lighter than my Mesa) tube amp to take to jams and practice.
Something I could just plug into, crank, and control with the guitar.
I'm really happy with it. It won't replace my other amps, but, man for the price I think it is fantastic. I just crank it to 11, and get great cleans when rolling off the guitar volume; excellent pick response. The low end is quite sufficient. It has some hum, but not too bad. I changed the EL84 to a Mesa tube, gave it much better response and tone. It seems to like my strat the most so far. The middle pup sounds really good. I rarely used the middle pup before. Whatever that means.
It responds well to my clean boost. Now gassing for a good OD/fuzz pedal.
I took it to practice and it kept up very well, volume-wise, in a basement. But at a jam in a large venue, it ran out of headroom, although that was before I changed the power tube.
All in all, I give it a thumbsup.

[Pfhuck]

I got the Little Giant head recently as a gift (thanks honey!), and am enjoying this little fella a lot!

I've been searching for an all tube amplifier solution that is playable at home (apartment) without thoroughly irritating the neighbors, and this seems to fit the bill perfectly. The Blackheart sounds good at low volumes, and can get surprisingly loud!

How I've been using it:
Guitar
PSA-1
Blackheart
GK 212GS

Awesome!! Lots of variety of tones!! A steal at $150 IMO.

Now begins the search for some new guitar pedals.... FX and overdrive/distortion.

Any suggestions??

Please and thank you,
Pfhuck

[skillzburn]

Hey Wes, could you give me a model number on that mps tranny. Thanks dude. M

[Wes Kuhnley]

A Thermionic Webplace - Home

OT8SE

Not sure if he's got them up for sale yet, I've got the old OT12SE in a couple amps, and it sounds great. the 8SE is it's replacement, geared for the EL84 family of tubes. I'm going to try their 10SE for a 6L6 based amp soon, gotta get a few other projects finished up first...as always.

[skillzburn]

thanks man

[jauron]

Hello,

I'm a brand-new member, and new to tube guitar amps in-general. I recenly bought a BH Little Giant stack. I was looking for an improvement over the Vox AD30 VT modeling amp, which made all my guitars sound very similar. I only play at-home, so the 5w max seems to be perfect from a volume standpoint.

I'm pretty enamored with the sound of the Blackheart. I could not agree more with R-Flo's premise that it's being marketed to the wrong crowd. There is nothing dark, or fierce about this amp whatsoever. There is no need for the Harley-Davidson graphics, it's far more "tweed" in-nature. It can crunch, but that's clearly not where the bread is buttered with this amp. I was considering the Orange TT, but after hearing a Strat played through the BH, it was an easy decision. I was able to get the head and 2 cabs for $200 less than the TT head alone. If I add my effects (Zoom G1), it's still far less and sounds extremely full-bodied.

Being an audiophile, I happen to have some nice tubes that I would like to try to use in the BH. Do I need to remove the silver chasis from the enclosure after removing the rear screws? It doesn't seem like it wants to move, and I don't want to get too rough.

If someone could walk me through this, I'd be extremely grateful!

Thank you,
Jauron

[skillzburn]

Nah, I changed both the pre (nos mullard) and the output (svetlana) with relative ease. The only obstruction is the retainer clip on the output tube. It sounds quite good especially for a total expense below 250. I'm going to change the output transformer next, from what I gather this is the best upgrade you can make to a lower priced amp head.

check out this page

A Thermionic Webplace - SE OUTPUT XFMRS

if you really want to remove the chassis the bottom screws have to be removed.

[jauron]

So do I need to remove the chasis to change the tubes? Or do I just remove the cap over the 12AX7, and the retainer clip while the cover is on the unit?

Help?