BH15-112 Handsome Devil Combo Guitar Amplifier User’s Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction...........................................................................3 BH15-112 Special Features..............................................4 The Front Panel.....................................................................5 The Rear Panel......................................................................6 Important Information About Tubes and Tube Products.............8 System Block Diagram.........................................................
Introduction Congratulations! You have just purchased what we believe to be one of the most significant objects that you’ll acquire in your lifetime—a tube amp. If that’s not enough, you’ve gone and gotten yourself a Blackheart Engineering tube amp. So let’s take a big picture view of this for a second: You’re a guitar player who could have bought anything to bring your mind-bending chops to life, to unleash upon the masses the wrath of your otherworldly, mad riffin’ skills.
BH15-112 Special Features: • Push-Pull Class A circuit • All tube signal path • Two 12AX7/ECC83 dual-triode preamp tubes and two EL84/6BQ5 pentode output tubes • Pentode (15W RMS) Triode (7W RMS) switch • DC filament power supply for preamp tubes • 3-band EQ, Level (Master Volume) Control and Presence Control • 16-gauge (1.5 mm) thick, folded and spot welded steel chassis • Double-sided custom color PCB with 2 oz.
The Front Panel DRIVE LEVEL TREBLE MIDDLE BASS PRESENCE 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 15 WATTS ON 15 7 WATTS OFF 8 9 10 O ME D L 0 DS E VI H AN INPUT BH15-112 1 2 3 4 5 1. INPUT: Use this jack to connect your guitar to the amplifier using a high-quality shielded instrument cable. 2. DRIVE: Use this to adjust the amp gain of the amplifier. 3. LEVEL: Use this to adjust the output volume of the amplifier. 4.
The Rear Panel 9 The rear panel is located inside the open back of the cabinet, towards the top. It has connections for the AC power cord, the builtin speaker, and external speaker cabinets. WARNING! Never turn on the amplifier without a load, the built-in speaker or external speakers connected to the amplifier. 9. AC Power Input with Mains Fuse: The amplifier is equipped with a detachable power cord that plugs into this IEC Mains socket.
Typical connections to external speaker cabinets Note: Where the built-in speaker is not shown below, it is not connected. 16Ω Built-in Speaker 16Ω 16Ω Built-in speaker with a 16 ohm external cab. Total Load = 8 ohm. Use both 8 ohm outputs. 16Ω External Cabinet 8Ω One 8 ohm cabinet. Total Load = 8 ohm Use an 8 ohm output jack. 4Ω External Cabinet One 4 ohm cabinet. Total Load = 4 ohm Use a 4 ohm output jack. 16Ω External Cabinets Two 16 ohm cabinets.
Important Information about Tubes and Tube Products: The Nature Of Tubes — Why (And When) To Replace Them: Tubes are made up of a number of fragile mechanical components that are vacuum-sealed in a glass envelope or bubble. The tube’s longevity is based on a number of factors which include how hard and often the amplifier is played, vibration from the speakers, road travel, repeated set up and tear down, etc. Any time you notice a change in your amplifier’s performance, check the tubes first.
Important Information About Tubes and Tube Products (continued): The Importance Of Proper Biasing: For the best performance and longest tube life, proper biasing is imperative. Bias is the negative voltage which is applied to the power tube’s control grid to set the level of idle current. We cannot over emphasize the difference in warmth of tone and dynamic response that come with proper biasing. If the bias is set too high (over biased), the sound from the amp will be distorted at all levels.
Important Information About Tubes and Tube Products (continued): Survival Tips For Tube Amplifiers: To prolong tube life, observe these tips and recommendations: • Match the impedance of your speaker cabinet(s) to your amplifier. Improper impedance matching will contribute to early tube degradation and may cause premature tube failure. • Make sure the speaker(s) are properly connected prior to turning on the amplifier.
System Block Diagram INPUT DRIVE TREBLE MIDDLE BASS LEVEL SPEAKER OUTPUTS PRESENCE PENTODE–TRIODE 15 WATT–7 WATT SWITCH 16 OHM 8 OHM B+ 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM EMINENCE BUILT-IN SPEAKER 16 OHM 12 INCH Declaration Of Conformity Manufacturer: LOUD Technologies Inc. 16220 Wood-Red Rd.
BH15-112 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Output Power Rating Pentode: 15 W rms @ 12.3% THD, 16 ohm load. Triode: 7 W rms @ 9% THD, 16 ohm load Signal-to-Noise Ratio 63 dB, Typical Input Impedance 1 Meg Ohm EQ Treble: 14 dB range @ 10 kHz Middle: 6 dB range @ 1 kHz Bass: 10 dB range @ 100 Hz Presence: 10.2 dB range @ 100 Hz 28 dB range @ 20 kHz Preamp Tubes 2 x 12AX7/ECC83 Power Tubes 2 x EL84/6BQ5 Rectifier Solid State Speaker Outputs 1 x 16 ohms.
