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January 15, 2008

Blackheart amps

There are some relatively new amps on the market, called Blackheart Amps, and they are sure getting noticed. They look cool and they are inexpensive. That is good recipe.

The last ingredient is of course about the sound. How good do they sound? Well, I have not tried one myself yet, but I have heard some sound clips and I was not disappointed. However, you know how hard it is to judge an amp based on someone's mp3 files. You have to try an amp yourself, if you want to avoid surprises.

It also sounds very cool that these amps are designed by a Russian amp genius by the name Pyotr Belov, and he builds them in a garage. Information like that are also bound to make people interested!

Will this be the Epiphone Valve Jr killer? I guess we'll find out. The price point is similar. The Blackheart amps look way cooler though. They also have really cool names! How about Handsome Devil, Killer Ant, Little Giant?

The Handsome Devil is available as a head (BH15H, $299.99 street price) and as single 12-inch combo (BH15H-112, $399.99 street price). This is a 15-watt, Class A amplifier design.

The Killer Ant ($139.99 estimated street price) is a 1 watt tube amp, likely to be perfect for recording. It is a Class A, single-ended circuitry amp.

Probaly the most well known of the Blackheart amps is the Little Giant 5W, a single-ended, Class A amp powered by an EL84 and voiced through a 12AX7 preamp tube. The head version sells for around $150.

I am sure we'll see these amps more and more in music stores. They seem to me to be doing the right thing. Low-cost, awesome looks and good tone. Durability? Who knows, I guess time will tell.

I know for sure I wouldn't mind picking one of these up if it sounds really good. I mean they come in a price of a stomp box, for crying out loud! If they indeed sound as good as I hope, then getting one is a no-brainer.

These amps are available from Musician's Friend!

Little Giant

Little Giant Half Stack

Blackheart BH5H and BH112 Half Stack

Blackheart BH112 1X12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet Built around a 12" Blackheart by Eminence speaker in an 11-ply, classically joined, void-free plywood cabinet, the Blackheart BH112 1x12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet makes a perfect pairing for the Blackheart Little Giant 5, or use it to maximize the tone of any amp in your arsenal.

From its incredibly well-crafted construction to its surprisingly clean tolex work, this speaker cab is a great value in a portable, powerful, and boutique quality extension cabinet. The closed back tuned design and Blackheart by Eminence speaker are the fruit of extensive research involving Crate and Eminence and the result is a very tight and responsive cabinet. All of the 112's cabinet joinery is based on classic, proven design for tone and roadworthiness.

The 1x12 Blackheart cabinet only

Blackheart BH112 1x12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet Black

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Posted by Robert Renman on January 15, 2008

Comments on this blog entry

Rik said...

Regarding the built in a garage, I guess the garage is in China as per the backplate. Maybe designed in his garage.

Comment added on May 05, 2008

Robert said...

Hi ShredmastaZ, I have not yet tried one, but my local store is bringing one in soon. I'll try and make a video demo of it then.
Cheers.

Comment added on May 01, 2008

ShredmastaZ said...

Hey Robert. Long time reader here. Have you gotten around to trying the Blackheart yet? None of the stores around where I live seem to carry them, so I haven't gotten any oppurtunities to try them out. I'm absolutely intrigued, but the various youtube clips don't carry your mark of approval! Anyways, I've actually bought and/or avoided a lot of previous pieces of gear based on your advice, so if you have the time to try or buy one, could you post a review? Then again, it's only $300, so I guess buying one based only on hype isn't that big of a risk. Thanks for the great vids.