Guitar Player magazine is known worldwide as a trusted source of info on anything guitar related. So, when we learned they were going to review a big chunk of the Blackheart line, we were psyched. Well, the review is stellar and the BH15H Handsome Devil even garnered the Editors' Pick award. You can view a high-res version of the review here: BH Review - Guitar Player.pdf. Or, better yet, get to a newstand and grab the April 2010 issue of Guitar Player. It has Joe Perry on the front...oh yeah, there's a pic over there....it looks like that.Below is the article in it's entirety, if you are not into clicking on things.
You guys remember the Rusty Wright Band, right? Here's the original story if you want to catch up. In short, The Rusty Wright band is a killer blues band out of Flint, Michigan. They play everywhere and have recently started using their Blackheart Amps for rehearsal and studio work.
I love the smell of a fresh review in the morning. And this one is killer. It’s from a notable member of our Test Animal group, Doron Zor.
It covers the Little Giant Combo (BH5-112) from the musician’s perspective. Check out Doron’s site…one track will clue you in that he knows his stuff. His ability to blend into virtually any style says something about the versatility of this little combo. Without further ado…the writings of Doron Zor (the first bit reads like a haiku…awesome!):
The Little Giant.
By Doron Zor
One
channel with a five-watt/three-watt selector.
Three-band
EQ which allows easy manipulation of frequency.
The
difference between the five and the three-watt feature makes all the difference
in the world when you step into a studio situation.
Many players will agree with me on this. Who wouldn’t want to play an amp at bedroom volume and yet still get the same huge sound that you get when the amp is cranked? I had the pleasure of working with this amp in the studio the very same day I received it. I found that even at low volume i still had tons of “punch” to my sound. I used a Sennheiser e906 and Shure SM57. Very common and simple microphones.
Breakup Point
Due to the fact that the Little Giant is a Class-A amp. You can count on it to respond to your attack. If you use humbuckers, most likely it will breakup faster than a guitar with single pickup configuration.
Sounds and Options
This amp has got to be the easiest plug-and-play amps I have ever used. Whether you play jazz, rock, funk, blues, smooth jazz or whatever you can come up with. You can just tweak the onboard EQ to suit your sound. Before I had the Little Giant I used pedals to get certain sounds. Now I find, I just need to move some buttons around and I can achieve a great tone.
Studio Situation
Recently I was hired for a smooth jazz project. The producer is a huge Lee Ritenour fan. You know…that big semi-hollow body sound with a slight overdrive. I had all my pedals ready to produce any sound that was required for the job, but never had a chance to use them. While firing the amp up and coming up with ideas for a solo. The producer turned to me and said, “That’s it! That’s the sound i am looking for”. Using an AKG 414 as the main mic, the amp delivered an amazing amount of response and feel.
Sounds
During the course of my first two weeks with the Little Giant, I wanted to put the amp to the test. Throwing all kinds of pedals in front of it and stacking different layers. Just wanted to see when the amp will choke up. I laid a drum track, recorded a rock bass riff and pushed the amp with a BB preamp by Xotic pedals. When I stepped on the pedal using the 5-watt position, I noticed the amp still had some air. By adding a compressor to the chain, I was hit with the richest rock tone I heard in the longest time.
Thinking
to myself…how to flip the mood and go for the extreme opposite??? BB King-style
blues sound should do it, trusting the BB Preamp to deliver due to its name (Blues
Breaker). Mind you, I had to change from the 5 to the 3-watt stage. The 3-watt
on half volume is warmer than the 5-watt at the same volume stage. Rolling the
gain down from the BB with a slight treble tweak really did sound very similar
to the tone of the blues king himself.
Thank
you for reading,
Doron
Zor
Every year, Seattle's Capitol Hi
ll neighborhood holds a block party. You might be thinking of families cooking out in the front yard, maybe a bouncy house or something...you are wrong. The Capitol Hill Block party is two solid days of boozing, sweating and listening to some of the best indie acts out there. As a sponsor, Blackheart decided to set up a booth and let the average Joe rip away. We brought the whole Blackheart family of amps, including the new BH100H Hothead and matching cab. Each day, we gave away a Killer Ant stack (BH1H and BH110). In order to enter, you had to play through the Killer Ant. We got tons of great photos and some video.
Check out Blackheart product manager, Zane, as he lures in the crowd with devilish feats of guitaritude.
There are more Blackheart demos coming to events near you. We will keep you updated...hey, maybe you can win something.
Another email from one of Blackheart's "Test Animals" out in the field:
Hi
Pyotr,
I'm
sure you've heard plenty of stories with the same result, but the three of us
were blown away at the gain and tone of my Fender TC-90 through the Giant.
Attached is the song I recorded that day, "Screaming."
Both guitar tracks are TC-90 through the Little Giant Combo, one is just
guitar and amplifier, one I used a Boss DS2 for a slightly different distorted
sound.
Here is another track, "Cheated." We just finished a small whirlwind of shows (playing locally at least 2-3 times a month since January) and we'll be working out a playlist and deciding what to record for our first real release.
Feel free to send these tracks around to anybody who might possibly want to (or need to) hear them.
Thanks again for your feedback and help!
Enjoy!
Here's some background info on Ian's band, DeVille:
DeVille started with a visit to Craigslist. Guitarist Ian Graham wanted to play in a band again after a financially driven music hiatus (the Little Giant was his rescue). When he found GiGi Gordon looking for someone to play guitar and sing with, he took a chance. What came of their first meeting, originally meant to be a lesson/jam session, was the framework for two songs.
After a few weeks of writing, Ian and GiGi decided to take their songs and build a band around them. Another visit to Craigslist brought Trevor Thrift, a powerhouse drummer with a background in jazz and metal; further searching brought in Patrick "Patches" Mitchell, a punk/pop enthusiast, on bass.
The combination of Ian's blues and punk inspired guitar work, Trevor's hard-hitting drums, Pat's driving, melodic bass-playing and GiGi's soulful, personal vocals creates a powerpop sound that's simultaneously accessible and unique.
DeVille has been building its fanbase around the DC area and networking nationwide as they write and perform. They've recently released their debut single, "Screaming," and an EP is soon to follow.
Here's a video of DeVille playing "Cheated" live at the Rock n' Roll Hotel:
We recently
received an email from Cherry Blossom Melodies, a pop-punk group out of
Norwich, UK. By the way, they are looking for a drummer…Anyway, their bassist,
Robb just got his hands on a Blackheart Little Giant head (BH5H). Here’s what
he had to say:
Hey!
Says on your website to send in stories and picture.
Right. Here’s the story…BLACKHEARTS RULE! (Not bad. eh? I’m thinking It’s a
number one best seller)
I played my first show with my new little giant yesterday!
Man, what an amp! It really did me proud and suits the tone my bands is going
for - www.myspace.com/cherryblossommelodies
Here's a bit of background on the group, courtesy of bassist, Robb:
Okay a bit of info on the band and myself.. well where
to start? The band's been going since late '07, and I joined in October '08. We've
play a few tours up and down the UK and are hoping to hit Europe in late
summer. We've play a handful of big shows support artists such as Kris Roe from
the Ataris, and Mike TV - new up and coming UK pop band. but most of the shows
our of our own back with a fairly good turn out! We racked up a few
endorsments since we've been going, a few local music
shops and JPS strings. We have received to label offers from indie labels
within England but have declined both as neither suited what we're looking for
in that sort of commitment.
As for myself, I've been playing guitar for 5 years and will be studing
creative music at univestity in september. i've played in a handful of
different bands over the years ranging from deathmetal to jazz, although cherry
blossom melodies. my current project looks the most hopeful.
Thats about it really, not much else to it!
Robb
Here's a slice of video that Robb was nice enough to share:
We sure did enjoy that. Thanks for your support, Robb. Keep the stories coming!
We recently received an email from one of our best supporters, the Rusty Wright Band out of Flint, Michigan. They recently purchased two “Little Giant” stacks (BH5H head & BH112 cabinet) and found out that Blackheart amps can go from “practice amp” to “recording rig” in no time at all.
Here’s what they had to say:
Just had to touch base and tell
you how much we love, love LOVE the “Little Giants” my husband and I bought
recently. I ordered a pair of them thinking they'd be cool to keep at
home so we wouldn't have to unload our heavy road racks for band rehearsals. I
enjoy mine so much I insisted on using it at our next show. The audio tech
mic'd it up and it sounded fabulous. Rusty likes his so much he re-cut
the main guitar track on one of the songs from our upcoming CD - replacing a
track he originally recorded using his Vox AC30.
Also, last week when Rusty went
down to do a guitar session for another artist he took his Little Giant with
him, along with some of his other "high end" amps. They set the
Little Giant at 3 watts, put some nice mics on it and dialed it to 10 and it
sounded big as a house. Al [Hurschman] was so impressed with the tone they used
the Little Giant for the entire session.
We're both a couple of gear hounds and as far as we're concerned, these Little
Giants were the best purchase of the year! Congrats on coming up with
such a great product in such a small package!
I've attached an MP3 (Lost Souls.mp3) of the song recorded with the Blackheart. Hope you
enjoy it. It’s called Lost Souls.
All the best from the cold Midwest,
Laurie LaCross-Wright (& Rusty Wright)
Rusty Wright Band
Flint, Michigan
www.rustywrightband.com
www.youtube.com/rustywrightband
Please check out the tune and hear for yourself why Blackheart amps are being used more and more every day by both touring and recording artists.
