Members NappyDugOut Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 I'm gonna buy one.....which? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theAntihero Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 Ive owned the Valve Jr,i own the Blackheart and have played around with the 600. The blackheart is far and away the best followed by the champ and the Valve JR is a distant 3rd. The valve jr was a great idea and would be an interesting modding platform if it wasnt for the Blackheart. The Blackheart already has all the mods i wanted to add for $20 more. The Champ 600 has some cool clean sounds but it frankly sounds like ass when pushed to distortion, 6" speakers rarely get good gain sounds anyway. I know you can hook up an extention cab but ive never tried it, that might make it sound better, but i like the clean tones i get out of the Blackheart better anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NappyDugOut Posted March 16, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 Ive owned the Valve Jr,i own the Blackheart and have played around with the 600. The blackheart is far and away the best followed by the champ and the Valve JR is a distant 3rd.The valve jr was a great idea and would be an interesting modding platform if it wasnt for the Blackheart. The Blackheart already has all the mods i wanted to add for $20 more.The Champ 600 has some cool clean sounds but it frankly sounds like ass when pushed to distortion, 6" speakers rarely get good gain sounds anyway. I know you can hook up an extention cab but ive never tried it, that might make it sound better, but i like the clean tones i get out of the Blackheart better anyway. Thanx...........I'm leaning towards the Blackheart:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 Here's how I rate the little 5-watters that I own. Crate V8/V58BlackheartEpiphone Valve Jr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArrMatey Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 blackheart ftw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Razsan Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 Interesting Youtube comparison...At the minimum, the term "far and away better" doesn't seem to be supported by the video. roIqsFF3MZI Ive owned the Valve Jr,i own the Blackheart and have played around with the 600. The blackheart is far and away the best followed by the champ and the Valve JR is a distant 3rd.The valve jr was a great idea and would be an interesting modding platform if it wasnt for the Blackheart. The Blackheart already has all the mods i wanted to add for $20 more.The Champ 600 has some cool clean sounds but it frankly sounds like ass when pushed to distortion, 6" speakers rarely get good gain sounds anyway. I know you can hook up an extention cab but ive never tried it, that might make it sound better, but i like the clean tones i get out of the Blackheart better anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mobyd Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 The Champ 600 has some cool clean sounds but it frankly sounds like ass when pushed to distortion, 6" speakers rarely get good gain sounds anyway. I know you can hook up an extention cab but ive never tried it, that might make it sound better, but i like the clean tones i get out of the Blackheart better anyway. Can you hook up the blackheart combo to an external cab? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members morglan Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 Interesting comparison. I bought a Blackheart over the Epi based on everything I've read online. I'm very pleased with it, but I wonder if there is much of a difference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldskool Texas Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 I sold my Champion 600 the day my Blackheart arrived, and I've never played a VJ that I liked. The BH's 12" speaker makes a HUGE difference, and EQ controls really come in handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cliff Fiscal Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 Ive owned the Valve Jr,i own the Blackheart and have played around with the 600. The blackheart is far and away the best followed by the champ and the Valve JR is a distant 3rd. The valve jr was a great idea and would be an interesting modding platform if it wasnt for the Blackheart. The Blackheart already has all the mods i wanted to add for $20 more. The Champ 600 has some cool clean sounds but it frankly sounds like ass when pushed to distortion, 6" speakers rarely get good gain sounds anyway. I know you can hook up an extention cab but ive never tried it, that might make it sound better, but i like the clean tones i get out of the Blackheart better anyway. Spot on. They all sound good in their own ways. The blackheart is kind of Vox-ish, the VJ is marshall-y, the Gibson GA-5 is Tweed-ish and the C600 is well....fender-y. I would say the C600 is the cheapest toy-like of the group. The blackheart is suprisingly robust. Depends what you're looking for? I like my Blackheart Little Giant for clean to slight breakup stuff.....after that it just starts to get fizzy.....the BH won't really do BREWTAL....but either will the others. I've been reading the BH mod threads over at the sewatt forums....and I have a hammond OT on order. Supposedly to make the BH even better.....we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 Can you hook up the blackheart combo to an external cab? You can hook any amp chassis up to any speakers. Just make sure your impedance is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 That video seems to be made by a pro-Valve Jr person. My tone controls on mine definitely make a difference. Actually, I think both amps sound horrible in that video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoboPimp Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 champ 600 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catalinagooseV2 Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 I have a VJ head and the Blackheart head. They sound very similar to me. I use them with the same 1X12 cabinet with a Celestion V30. I put the same JJ tubes in both of them. The Blackheart has a brighter overall tone. I didn't find much use for the 3watt setting on the Blackheart. It sounds more like plugging into the low input jack on a two input amp. I like the 5watt setting much better. The Blackheart is built much better than the VJ. Overall, I think I would choose the Blackheart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 I have a VJ head and the Blackheart head. They sound very similar to me. I use them with the same 1X12 cabinet with a Celestion V30. I put the same JJ tubes in both of them. The Blackheart has a brighter overall tone. I didn't find much use for the 3watt setting on the Blackheart. It sounds more like plugging into the low input jack on a two input amp. I like the 5watt setting much better. The Blackheart is built much better than the VJ. Overall, I think I would choose the Blackheart.I like the 3 watt setting far better. It is less raspy. Still not as smooth as the Crates though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NappyDugOut Posted March 16, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 I ordered the BH head last night.........Thanx guys................I already own the Dr.Z Mini Z, so why the BlackHeart?................Gas:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NixerX Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 BLACKHEART!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cliff Fiscal Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 For $150 you can't go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members golias Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 I must be the only person in the world who kinda likes the sound of the un-modded Valve Jr. I had a 3rd Gen one (the one with all the problems fixed), and I thought it sounded GREAT right out of the box. I returned it, because while it was plenty loud enough for playing by myself, it couldn't keep up with the drums and the bass amp in my garage band. I'm playing through a Peavey Classic 50 now (while waiting for my SoCal 50 to get back from the shop), but I've got my eyes on that 15W BlackHeart Handsome Devil. I might sell one (or both) of my 50W heads and snap up the BlackHeart instead. A 15W head sounds just about perfect for driving my stack in most settings where my band will ever be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theAntihero Posted March 16, 2008 Members Share Posted March 16, 2008 Interesting Youtube comparison...At the minimum, the term "far and away better" doesn't seem to be supported by the video. I cant watch the video because im on really slow dial up at the moment, but frankly real world anything trumps YouTube video played thru crap laptop/computer speakers. As some one who has actually played all the above and has owned 2 of them i can say that the Blackheart is way better than the Valve jr which sounded shrill and loose at nearly all volumes I've been reading the BH mod threads over at the sewatt forums....and I have a hammond OT on order. Supposedly to make the BH even better.....we'll see. Please write a review when you get it, im interested in the results. The blackheart is kind of Vox-ish, the VJ is marshall-y, the Gibson GA-5 is Tweed-ish and the C600 is well....fender-y. I would say the C600 is the cheapest toy-like of the group. The blackheart is suprisingly robust. I agree about the robust-ness, i was suprised how much tighter the Blackheart was. IMHO the Blackheart sounds like a cross between the vox and marshall tones though and the valve jr sounds like a shriller looser version of the Blackheart. I havent played the Gibson though......... and now i want too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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