# Torn between a Killer Ant and a Little Giant



## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

I had some time to kill yesterday afternoon, so I stopped in at my local music store and spent an hour or so playing various budget amps.

I was looking for an all tube practise amp for home. There were several options available, and I was impressed that the prices were as good as I've seen online. Normally, I'd expect to see a big mark-up in a brick and mortar store.

Amps I tried:

Blackheart Little Giant 3/5 watt Head
Blackheart Killer Ant 1 watt Head
(both of those into the Blackheart 110 cab; I know there's a 112 as well, but they didn't have one in the store)
Crate V18 112
Crate V18 212
Crate V33 212
Crave V50 112
Traynor YCV40WR
Traynor YCV50 Blue
Traynor YCS50 112

The Crates were all nice and easy to control when played clean. The construction definitely has a "cheap" feel to it, but the sound was fine. The problem I had with all of the Crates was when I tried to crank up the Gain, the Master Volume become way too "touchy", jumping between no sound at all and WAY TOO LOUD in a fraction of a millimeter. Keep in mind I'm looking for a home practise amp, so volume control is important to me. If you don't mind playing loud, these are all great deals right now, with prices ranging from 220 to about 279 for the whole series.

The Traynors were all amazing, and sounded very nice even at low volume. It was hard to get an over-the-top high gain distortion sound out of the YCV series - I could only get into that territory with the YCS amp - but the clean tones were excellent, very deep and full and round, and they all sounded great at low volume too. The YCS50 was definitely my favourite of the bunch, with a huge range of sounds available; incredible tweaking controls that changed the whole character of the amp every time I flipped a switch. Unfortunately the price tags on all of the Traynors were higher than I was hoping to pay, starting around $500 for a used 50 Blue, and working up through 799, 899 and even 999 territory (999 was for the YCS90 212). Awesome amps, but too pricey for my current purpose. 

The Little Giant had a really nice tone to it. Nothing crazy high gain, but nice and round and thick, if I wanted to dial that in. The only problem I had with the Little Giant was that it was actually TOO LOUD to get a good overdrive sound at bedroom volume. I liked the flexibility of the 3 watt / 5 watt switch and how it changed the character of the amp, plus the full tone stack was nice - lots of room for tweaking. I missed having a master volume, though. It was easy to get a nice clean or bluesy sound out of it, but to get into classic rock overdrive, I had to crank it way too loud to play at home.

The Killer Ant, on the other hand, was just about the right volume, maybe even a bit quieter than I needed. There's a nice range of sounds in that amp as well, even though there's only a single control on it - volume.

I was definitely missing the reverb on the Blackhearts - I guess I'd need to plug that in via pedal. There's no effects loop in these, so it means running time and modulation effects before the gain stage. I didn't try that in the store, but I've watched some youtube videos that suggest, at least on a cleaner tone, that these sound just fine.

The only thing holding me back from buying the Killer Ant is that it's pretty much completely useless as anything BUT a practise amp. I think the Little Giant could hold its own in a small-scale jam. There's no way the Ant would get up over any other noise. I bet the conversation noise at a typical party would drown it out.

Then again, I found the Little Giant to be too loud for practise. Maybe an attentuator would work to tame it. I saw one for $60 from BITMO, but then $60 on top of this amp's price is quite a big chunk of the purchase price of the amp - something like 33% extra to make the amp suitable for home practise.

I wonder if maybe a less efficient speaker might do the trick.

Still pondering what to do...


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I'd take the Traynors over the others. I love my YCV50 and YCV20.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Get 'em both. Leave the Ant in the bedroom and use the li'l giant to jam around.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

get both... I like that advice... I would especially for the $$$. I've used my Little Giant at rehersals with a double kick acoustic kit in a small room maybe 15x15... it was actually too loud full throttle on the 3 watt setting so I ran it at about seven on the dial.

If it's a practice amp you want then the killer ant is well... killer. 
I like the Blackheart stuff the design and build is awsome for the $$$ and the tones are undeniable.
I'm seriously taking a look at the 100 watt head.

Get one now while Pyotr is still initialing them for QC.

here's a LG gut shot...


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

tech 21 trademark 30 might be worth looking into?

all tube and quiet home practise dont really go together too well


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Budda said:


> tech 21 trademark 30 might be worth looking into?
> 
> all tube and quiet home practise dont really go together too well


Actually, I've got a couple of modellers already, so I wasn't looking for anything more in that department.

I was hoping to find something that plays and "feels" more like a real amp, instead.

The Ant is an interesting design - three stages of 12ax7 (V1A, V1B and V2A)for the preamp and then the last one (V2B) is wired up as the power amp. That makes the ouput wattage very low (something like 1/4 watt), but otherwise it's a rather traditional tube amp (aside from the solid state rectifier). It has a fair bit in common with the AX84 do-it-yourself stuff, but it ends up being cheaper (mass production, I guess) and there's no assembly required.

Bitmo is planning an effects loop mod, which sounds like a great idea. Jacking in an EQ and some delay/chorus/reverb in the right spot would help a lot with tone shaping etc. Boost/overdrive/distortion/wah/whatever apparently sound just fine out front, so no probs there. Apparently Bitmo is also working on a late-stage adjustable line out, as well, so the Killer Ant can be used as a pre-amp to feed the power stage of just about anything. Kewl.

The Little Giant is a bit different - it has only two gain stages in the preamp (V1A, V1B) and then uses a single EL84 in single-ended class A as a power amp. It sounds great to my ears, but it's rather loud for my purposes.


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

How much was the Killer Ant? Seems weird they didn't make it as a combo but I am curious to hear this thing.

TG


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

traynor_garnet said:


> How much was the Killer Ant? Seems weird they didn't make it as a combo but I am curious to hear this thing.
> 
> TG


About $140


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## gibson335 (Dec 7, 2007)

Dr.Z's Mini-Z head. Waited 11 Weeks for it, well worth the wait...A little pricey but TONE is not cheap. Good luck!


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Thanks, but $750 is a bit out of the question for me at the moment.

If I had that kind of money to spend, there are lots of options. The Traynor YCS50 was a nice one. It sounds great at low volume and can easily double as a gigging amp.

But that's about $500 more than I've got right now.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I realize my previous post wasn't very helpful. 

Used Traynors at reasonable prices aren't uncommon. My YCV20 was an L&M rental which they couldn't tell apart from a new one without checking the serial numbers. L&M also has frequent no interest payment schemes (like next month) which make gear purchases easier for working musicians. Another option may be trades, if you have trade fodder.

We tend to buy a lot of gear unnecessarily as we eventually get what we really want or need. It's a little trite to say we should just be patient and save until we can afford what we need, it's more satifying to keep buying/trading up so that we at least have _something_ to play.

Regarding not getting an over-the-top high gain sound from the YCV50. Though I rarely need that tone myself, I do get it by simply using pedals with or without the amp gain. New or second hand pedals that could do the job are as common as flies (Marshall Jackhammer, for example).

Good luck!

Peace, Mooh.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I'm with buying both. But if you can only get one, I'd say go for the Little Giant. At least it gives you some headroom if you are planning on playing it clean. You can always drive it with a pedal (the $40 Bad Monkey comes to mind) if you are unable to crank it for the OD sound. I've rehearsed with it in a full band situation and it worked fine for me, as long as you don't expect to play clean and loud. I'm also thinking of getting the Killer Ant. It can come in handy in smaller jams, you know those types when people come with acoustic guitars and you are able to get the overdriven tube sound at "unplugged" levels.  Hopefully it's arrived in here. I'll know in an hour when the store opens.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Mooh said:


> Used Traynors at reasonable prices aren't uncommon.


Oh yeah, I've been looking at the YCV20 for several months now. 

The best prices I've ever seen are about $350 for the black version, and $400for the red. Typically they're $50 - $100 more than that. Great deals, all of them. I've just never had all those funds together at the moment that a deal comes up. And when the deal is that good, you have to buy it right away or it's gone.

I've also been eager to try a YCV15 Blue, but those are exceedingly rare, and I've never a sale below $650 or so.

At the moment, the sub-$200 prices on the Ant and the Little Giant are driving me in that direction. At those prices, I can have something NOW, rather than waiting to get up around the magic $500 range, where all sorts of amps start to become available (Classic 30, or even a cheap Classic 50, vintage Traynors, YVC20, YCV40, etc.).

I've definitely thinking about the Bad Monkey too - I've never played one, but I've heard great things. Is it 808-based? Last time I needed a pedal like that, I borrowed the real deal TS from a friend. He didn't want to sell it. I don't blame him.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Well I went to Fleetsound and I ended up buying a Killer Ant. hahahaha Running it full out using a 1x12 Avatar cab with an Eminence GB128 in it and it's still loud. This thing has very little headroom to speak of. I might try using a 12au7 as the power tube to see if I get any clean headroom at all. Not that I need it for that. But all you need with this thing is a guitar and a cable and off you go.

I also saw some Crates in there too. I can't believe the Crate V18 with a single 12" is like 149.00. A Crate 2x12 cab for $119.00. They had the Killer Ant with the 1x10 cab for 269.00. I think those are insane prices. I'm skeptical of the Crates as I've seen a lot of people complaining about it breaking down. But with the 2x12 cab, what can go wrong with it? 

Greg, yeah the Bad Monkey is 808-based altho it has tone controls so it gives you an option to shape your sound accordingly. I should try it with the ant later. One thing is it's a $40 pedal plugged into < $200 amp. Can't imagine plugging a Klon or a Zendrive into it.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Wow, you don't mess around, do you...

So what do you think of the Ant?

Tried any pedals yet?


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

Hey congrats on the killer ant... Great choice.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Greg Ellis said:


> Wow, you don't mess around, do you...
> 
> So what do you think of the Ant?
> 
> Tried any pedals yet?


I've been waiting for the KA to come out and when I got to Fleet they only had one head left. The rest of the heads they had were partnered with the 1x10 cab and you can only buy them together, at least that's what they told me. It's still a good deal at $269.00 for both the head and the cab.

What do I think of it? Bottom line for me, it's a great amp for practicing at home specially playing along to a recording as you don't have to blast it out. Like I said there's not much headroom so there's no clean playing. It actually sounds just like my Little Giant with a little less power. Both also can only be played clean up to 9:00. Altho the Little Giant is much louder of course. 

So far I find it gets a bit muddy at full volume and loses a bit of note articulation. It also doesn't clean up well when I use my guitar volume control but then thinking about it now, there's really no clean to speak of. I tried my MI Audio Blues Pro with it and lost a bit of the muddiness which I wasn't expecting at all. Same thing when I used my HBE Powerscreamer with it. The amp takes to pedals well.

One thing tho, this thing is still loud for my idea of bedroom use. But at least you can get the sound of a cranked tube amp without losing your hearing.

Hope that helps...

And thanks, KHINGPYNN.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Thanks! Great info. I noticed much the same when test-driving the Ant in the store, although it didn't seem terribly loud. Maybe the background noise level was high.

I'm starting to think that the Little Giant might be better for me. I'll play it clean for a while, then add some sort of attentuation device later on. I've been looking into DIY attenuators - they seem relatively straight forward for a low-wattage amp.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-etkv6XZw

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=USjODxzxPwA


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Very nice, thanks!

I definitely preferred the cleaner tones, when I was test driving the Little Giant in the store. Especially on the neck pickup, with the guitar volume dialed back a ways.

What did you think of the 5 watt mode?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

PM sent

Dave


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

I like both the 5 wat tand 3 watt mode but prefer the 3 watt mode so far...


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

In my Little Giant I put a 12ay7 in the preamp tube spot. It increased the clean headroom considerably and lowered the volume somewhat. It might be just the ticket for you. I also run a clean boost and/or a Reverend Drivetrain II (808 clone with eq -highly recommended) as a boost with grit to get a bluesy overdrive at wife pleasing volumes.

good luck


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Well, I solved my little conundrum yesterday.

I picked up a Little Giant head at The Arts Music in Newmarket.

Paul told me they were having trouble keeping them in stock - he guessed they had sold ten or more since I did the test drive just three weekends back.

I got it home and jacked in my super-duper 8" Marsland speaker. So far so good. Sounds great!

I haven't really had a chance to crank it up yet - the kids were in bed, so I was playing at about 1.5 or 2 on the volume. Sounds very sweet, though, and the amp really likes my H2O Chorus/Echo pedal.

I'm looking forward to a long and productive relationship with this neat little toy.


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## Roughshod (Sep 22, 2007)

Congrats on your Lil Giant! I don't mean to jack your thread either. Everytime I turn it on I'm amazed at the tones coming out of it for under $200. Mine was back ordered for a couple of months, I emailed Blackheart Engineering and was told to hang in there and was sent t-shirts for my wife and I and a bunch of stickers. 

Seems like great customer service so far, I hope that I won't have a problem with the amp but it's great to be able to get a reply within the day of inquiring.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

T-shirts?!

Wow, that is very classy.

Yeah, I'm very impressed with the amp. I find something new each time I play it.

I miss the reverb a little bit, so I need to chase something down to solve that.

And it's tough to open it up wide, having a family and all. I'll need to look into an attenuator.

The amp changes remarkably, and in interesting ways as I push the volume up. It's just a wee bit too loud for most hours of the day, in my circumstances. At half volume on the 5 watt mode, I get some really nice sounds. Well... nice to me. To my wife? Not so much :lol:


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Tried out LG with some BitMo mods on the weekend, the 3 selector switch and the attenuator.
Not sure on the details but I belive the 3 way bypasses the original signal chain. All 3 settings were different and very usable, makes the amp waaaay better!

Sorry head to a 1-12 in a black cab..no name but think it was a Vintage 30 in there.

Using the attenuator was pretty cool, it got silly with all the different tones you can pull off with the 4 voicings (one stock).

Check out the details of the kits here...good prices to!
http://bitmomusic.com/

Bev


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## Roughshod (Sep 22, 2007)

Yep, t-shirts! Excuse the mess...

http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo303/roughshod2008/blackeartshirt2.jpg


http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo303/roughshod2008/IMG_1245.jpg


I really like the 5 watt setting as well. Having a family myself I understand the volume issue too, this past weekend though...the volume on 8 had me channelling some Angus...

I've been thinking about flipping in some tubes just to see how that changes things.


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