Blackheart Releases The BH100H "Hothead" Guitar Amp

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The new BH100H "Hothead" ($649.99 U.S. street price, shipping in May) from Blackheart Engineering takes the basic plug-and-play attitude of a world-class, 100-watt workhorse head, then shoves in enough jaw-dropping features to make it the most flexible amp in its class, not to mention several classes up.

Two power modes (Class AB and Class A) divisible by pentode (full power) and triode (half power) operation put four unique, classic and powerful voices right at your fingertips and you won't need a PhD to get amazing tone, whether it's searing rock-your-face-off-at-full-volume riff work or plucky, responsive Class A blues when you're feeling all deep 'n' stuff.

Two simple switches — Class and Power (which are what everyone wants, really) — open up an endless world of tonal possibilities:

• Class AB/Pentode: 100W of flesh searing power
• Class AB/Triode: 50W, tighter headroom, crisper gain, still hurts
• Class A/Pentode: 60W, lots of headroom before overdrive, nice and plucky
• Class A/Triode: 30W, less headroom, more responsive to your attack

Hothead has two channels (Loud and, ahem, F'n Loud), each selectable by a mini toggle on the faceplate or remotely via the included footswitch, and each voiced through its own dedicated EQ section. No more switching from one sound to the same sound in the middle of your jam. Dial in two distinct voices and rock on.

The Loud channel (aka "One") is voiced to range from crisp cleans to classic rock and heavy blues tones. Its controls include drive, level, treble, middle and bass. The F'n Loud channel (aka "Two") is voiced to capture classic crunch to sweet overdriven lead tones, all shapeable via pots for gain, level, treble, middle and bass.

Both channels share a tube driven effects loop that can be run in series or parallel modes (selectable by mini toggle on the amp's rear panel) and then hard bypassed, doubling as a footswitch-activated boost. Send and return controls act as expected.

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When the effects loop is on, the blue LED on the footswitch lights up. When using the effects loop as a boost, use the hard bypass selection. Then, when you turn the effects loop on (the blue LED lights), decrease your send and/or return level to create a non-boosted level. Admit it... that's cool!

Other Hothead amenities include: a solid state rectifier; DC powered filaments (preamp) for solid, quiet operation; 16-gauge, 1.5mm rugged chassis construction with folded and welded corners; one 16-ohm, two eight-ohm and two four-ohm output jacks, plus a 1/4-inch line out; and a rugged cabinet constructed of durable 15-ply, 18mm, void-free plywood.

Naturally, the rock-it scientists at Blackheart Engineering wouldn't create this monstrosity without giving it something to play with; hence the company is also introducing its BH412 Slant (SL) and Straight (ST) cabinets (each $449.99 U.S. street price, also shipping in May). Loaded with four 12-inch Blackheart by Eminence BH1216B Speakers, British-voiced and specifically designed for closed back cabinets, both the BH412SL and BH412ST feature that rugged "we're in this for the long haul" build quality that makes every Blackheart piece of gear a lifelong commitment to sounding your best, being your best, and pissing off your neighbors until they finally call the cops.

Instead of focusing on how inexpensively products can be made (which is like trying to see how ugly a date you can get), Blackheart sends these out your way with metal handles that'll hold their own for years and heavy-duty, removable metal casters that'll roll while you rock longer than most bands will stay together. These are sexy little boxes that feature meticulous tolex work wrapped around 15-ply, 18mm, void-free wood cabs, classically joined and glued.

With power handlings rated at 300 watts, both cabs have an input impedance of 16 ohms and sport parallel 1/4-inch input jacks to daisy chain multiple speaker cabinets from a single source.

For more information, visit their web site at www.blackhearteng.com.