Allen Blackheat BH5H PTP Kit

This is David Allen of Allen Amplification's, Point to Point upgrade kit for the 3/5 watt Blackheart Little Giant amp. The kit includes a drop-in eyelet board featuring (2) Belton molded type 9-pin sockets, F&T axial filter capacitors, 2W metal film plate load resistors and a heavier filtered DC heater supply for ultra quiet operation. David uses a different tone stack with a combination MIDDLE/RAW control for a much improved tonal variations and additional gain. The kit also uses a progressive power switch to give a middle standby position which is very useful. All new USA made 3/8" pots are included as well a Heyboer OT, Mallory M150 coupling capacitors, Cornell Dubiliar silver mica treble capacitor, Nichicon 100V rated axial cathode bypass capacitors, insulated Switchcraft metal jacks and a vintage style pilot light. The front panel layout is ON/STBY/OFF, 3/5W, BASS, Middle/Raw, Treble and Volume. The rear has 4,8 and 16 ohm speaker outs making it compatible with the full virtually and speaker cab. It is a single ended amp with an EL84 power tube and 12AX7 preamp tube. The complete kit essentially guts the existing Blackheart chassis and converts it to a very sweet PTP amp with high quality USA made components.

I actually purchased Davids prototype unit with a standard Blackheart 1x12" cab that was Eminence loaded. The standard speaker was updated with a British Weber 1265. This little amp is incredible with great cleans when the RAW control is OFF in both 3 and 5 watt modes. The amp has great clean headroom and sings with Strats, Teles and Hollowbodys. The RAW switch essentially removes the tone stack giving you great power tube saturation when in use. The amp provides superb bluesy tones and gets very Marshall sounding with the RAW wide open in both power modes. This is all accomplished at volumes that wont have the neighbor or the wife knocking on your door! It is the best sounding small amp I have ever owned, period!

It is an ALLEN with high quality components and one of the best guys in the business who responds timely to your issues in a very professional manner.

David responds to emails very timely and has a wealth of knowledge with tube amps.

I truly belive that every guitar player needs an ALLEN PTP Blackheart in their rig! It is small, great sounding and the PTP kit gives you a handwired high quality USA component amp for what I feel is a great value. Additionally, you have the flexability to use virtually any existing speaker setup which also lends to great tonal control for your rig and the tube set can even be replaced with high quality tubes for under $30!

Point-to-Point kit for the Blackheart Little Giant Head by David Allen. In addition to the high quality ptp board and components, it includes a Carling standby/power switch, new Switchcraft jacks for the input and outputs, a Heyboer output transformer, high quality replacement potentiometers, a vintage-style pilot light. My kit also included a 12-foot IEC power cord, JJ power tube and Tung-Sol 12AX7 preamp tube. These are all the components necessary to improve an already decent mass production amp.

After the installing the PTP kit, the amp is significantly improved. The tone is excellent. I am running the amp mainly through the Blackheart cabinet (modified with an open back) and Eminence Legend GB128 speaker. Although this is "only" a 3/5 watt amp, it is LOUD. For an apartment dweller, the raw circuit allows you to get power tube distortion even at low volumes. The amp's clean tones are beautiful and it has a good amount of clean headroom. The distortion is rich and smooth. I mainly use a Fender Showmaster (Seymour Duncan SSS setup) and it sounds fantastic with this amp. I use a Seymour Duncan twin-tube classic distortion in front of the amp for some of my work and this amp really takes it well.

I built and installed this kit and I believe the reliability will be top-notch. The original amp is very sturdily built. All of the components of this kit are of excellent quality and address all of the mass production shortcomings of the original (e.g., board-mounted pots, plastic input/output jacks, etc.) I'm sure the combination of the original amp and this kit will be very reliable. I've used it for ~75 hours thus far and have had no issues whatsover.

I had never undertaken a project like this prior to this experience. I was familiar with guitar electronics, but had never built a tube project. Ordering the kit was a breeze. The layout was clear, accurate and thorough. I had a few questions and David responded quickly. He was very helpful and supportive. I'm sure that he would promptly address any issue that might arise.

I've been playing guitar off-and-on for about 10 years. I have owned many guitars (Strats, Teles, Ibanez Artcores, Showmaster SSS) and amps (Princeton Chorus, Peavey Classic, Peavey Classic 20). If this amp were lost or stolen, I would replace it immediately with the same thing. I've found the tone I've been looking for this amp can be "tweaked" if those needs change. I looked at several other upgrade kits for this amp, but nothing touched this one. It produces the tone I want, improves the reliability of the amp and is reasonably priced. What else could you ask for?

This is a Point-to-Point kit that replaces the PC board that is in the Blackheart Little Giant Head. This is a single ended amp using an EL84 for output. The amp is made in China for Crate and a great value for a tube amp with a three band EQ. I bought this amp because I new David Allen was working point-to-point kit replacing the PC board construction with quality components. I enjoy tube electronics and tube tone. It also introduces dome quality upgrades and a couple of new features. One new feature is a new Carling switch that is a combination standby/power switch giving the amp a standby function. Also included are new Switchcraft jacks for input and output. An Allen specified Heyboer output transformer also comes in the package. I also took the opportunity to get PEC potentiometers, which are more expensive in comparison to other potentiometers available but worth the money, IMHO. This is still a single channel amp with a three band EQ but the components have been upgraded and you get to put it together and tweak as you like. This is a great platform for fun with tone at a great price.

The amp out of the box had some decent tones and was a versatile amp with the 3/5 watt switch. After the installation of the PTP components and output transformer the quality of sound improved. David Allen added his raw circuit to the tone stack in a clever way so that you can bypass the tone stack altogether getting power tube distortion at low volumes. I know this is a 5 watt amp but this thing can get load. I have tried the amp with a variety of Eminence and Celestion speakers. All with good results but I have settled on a Eminence Tonker for now. The amp has descent headroom and a Marshall like clean. Then you can turn up and get a rich distortion. Putting in the Allen upgrade produces more gain than the stock amp. Do not get me wrong this not high distortion or metal amp. I play guitars with traditional humbuckers and firebird style pick-ups. This is a vintage British vibe coming out of this 5 watt amp. The amp takes pedals well even with the tonestack by-passed which surprised me that you hit power amp distortion with pedal distortion or compression and shape your tone.

This amp should last a long time. The amp has quality components and modification can continue after finished. The chassis and cabinet are great. This is great package David put together on a descent platform put out by Crate. It will last a lifetime.

This is where David Allen always shine. He returns email to answer questions. This kit is supposed to be for experienced builders. I have built other kits and David always puts together a kit with a well designed circuit. a good layout drawing, and clear instructions. Allen Amps have a lot to offer guitar tone fanatics.

This is a killer project and the finished amp is very musical. I have encouraged David to design a kit using EL84???s. This PTP kit was worth the wait. This amp is just fun to play and to tweak. There I always some hype associated with some amp designers. David Allen keeps it real with clean design and quality components.

I am trying different some different capacitors, some at David???s suggestion on my quest for tone. If you come up with some cool modifications let me know.