Blackheart (like Epi Junior) With Bitmo mods-Samples Posted

[armanbohn]

I just did the Bitmo Triple Bypass mod on my Blackheart 5w amp.

I tested each of the three positions and recorded them all in 3 watt and 5 watt mode through an isolation cabinet.

I made a very short movie about making the mods.

You can watch and listen here:

http://armanbohn.com/blog/?p=79

[Smitty]

been wanting to hear this amp, thanks! nice work on the mods as well.

any chance you can post up here when you get the Toy Piano VSTi done?

[armanbohn]

Yes - I'll be posting here when I get Toy Piano done.

Thanks for taking a listen ... what did you think of the sounds?

I have a lot more experimenting to do with it, but I'm liking it even more with the mods.

[Smitty]

definitely opened up the amp's stock sound a lot.

i like 1st and 3rd position on 5 watts the most. the 3-watt setting sounds a little 'blanketed' to me?

[armanbohn]

yeah - It wasn't a really fair test.

I should have compensated with a little more gain on the amp when I switched from 5 watts down to 3 watts.

Instead, I just added more mic pre to level the volume.

The middle pos. is suppose to be close to the amp stock.

[bluesman]

is the Blackheart amp supposed to be more desirable than the Valve Jr. or just another flavor of the same type amp? (I don't mean that to sound as derogatory as it looks) How would you describe its sound before you modded it? Why did you do the mod? I have a Valve Jr. & thought about modding it until I played it & found out that I really like its sound as is. I will listen to your samples tomorrow when I am @ home.

Thanks!

[armanbohn]

Well- The Blackheart has a tone stack (bass, mid, treb) and the epi just has a volume knob. ( I know the Epi combo has tone controls).

I don't have an Epi - so I can't compare them. I did the mod so I could get more voicings out of the amp. When you flick the switch - the tone changes quite a bit. It has three pos. and the amp can run in 3 watt or 5 watt mode so there are 6 variations of basic tones to play with.

Pretty cool for a little amp that's less than 200 bucks!

I have sounds posted before and after the mods so you can hear what it sounds like and decide for yourself.

Build quality is good too.

[bluesman]

Thats what I wanted to know....plus one more question. Now that you have done the mod & heard the results, do you think it was worth the time & expence & would you do it again?

Thanks!

[armanbohn]

I like the sound of the stock amp. I also like the bitmo mods.

I would take the Bitmo mods over the stock amp. There are more options for tone.

The mods were around 40 bucks. I could get a really bad distortion pedal or do the mods - which sound better than pedals (to me).

I've built my fair share of stuff and some parts of the mod were kind of tricky. There are some small areas to solder. It is doable for a first time DIY'er though.

I don't like drilling and I had to puch a hole in the chasis for the switch.

It's done and they sound good.

[okgb]

thanks for taking the time to do the mods & post that ,
i think the epi by itself needs a little help and everything
could use a p/t switch .

regards Greg