The tiny
The tiny-yet-menacing follow-up
to Blackheart Engineering's Little Giant 5, the BH1H "Killer Ant" ($139.99
estimated street price) is the first truly attainable, boutique-quality,
fractional tube amp. Boasting Class A, single-ended circuitry, this lil' bugger
delivers the tasty, touch-responsive tube tone of a classic monster, but growls
at volumes more suitable for apartment dwellers and home studio recording.
Fiendishly designed on a
beer-stained cocktail napkin, prototyped, then "brought to life and mercilessly
experimented on" in a one-car garage down in the Lone Star State, the Killer Ant
is engineered to the same exacting standards as the Little Giant 5. And like its
big bro, this new tone-drone features completely overbuilt component specs, from
one-watt resistors in the signal path to a double-sided PCB with two-ounce
traces.
The Killer Ant embraces a fully
classic, all-tube circuit; but, instead of a high power tube output section, it
sports a clever, all-tube power block pumping out a mere fraction of one watt.
The result is a Bic-flickin' arena rock tone at a bedroom level, so no more
pissed off neighbors, bitchy wives or girlfriends, or cryin' babies that have
just been scared awake by your beast.
Designed to mate with the
Killer Ant (it's not really as disgusting as that sounds), Blackheart's new
slightly-larger-than-palm-sized BH110 "Killer Cab" ($139.99 street price)
features a single 10-inch Eminence driver co-designed by Pyotr Belov that is
perfectly paired to pull huge body out of the amplifier. Four-, eight- and
16-ohm extension speaker jacks further allow guitarists to hook the Ant into
virtually any cab they like, including a 4X12.
Although the cabinet is
"itsy-bitsy," it's built to take a good beating with 15-ply (18mm), void-free
wood expertly covered in durable black tolex. Final touches include distinctive
white piping accents, salt and pepper cloth-covered front baffle, and the
rakish, tattoo-like charm of the Blackheart Engineering logo.
"We originally tried to design
something so small you'd lose it and have to buy another one," says Blackheart
marketing sleaze Kevin Van Pamel. "In the process, we realized this thing sounds
fantastic. Go figure."
