Blackheart's Pyotr Belov gave us a sneak peak at Blackheart Engineering's BH100H, and at Musikmesse, Blackheart released more information. With more power many times over than the first Blackheart releases, the Hothead brings 100-watts of tube power for when you really need to blow the roof off a venue.

Blackheart says to expect the Hothead to ship in May with a street price of an amazingly affordable $649.99. Don't let the price tag fool you; the Blackheart amplifiers sound like they should cost a lot more, and once people start catching on, supply and demand principles suggest that these amps won't sell for this price forever.

The two power modes [Class AB and Class A] are divisible into pentode [full power] and triode [half power] modes allow for four distinct voices from this amp. The controls, as per Blackheart's usual, are simple and straightforward. Blackheart prides itself on great tone that's easy to achieve whereas amps with rows of knobs and buttons can take hours before you find the right tone.

It's pretty simple:

• 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

The BH100H has two channels -- appropriately named "Loud" and "F'n Loud" -- that are switchable via either a mini toggle on the amp or through the included footswitch. Each channel features its own dedicated EQ section. The Loud channel delivers crispy cleans and crunchy classic rock and blues tones. It's like a delicious candy bar. The F'n Loud channel picks up where the Loud channel leaves off and continues on to some sweet, driving lead tones -- like maybe a king sized candy bar.

Both channels share a tube driven effects loop that operates in series or parallel [just toggle the amp's rear a little bit] and when hard bypassed, double as a footswitch-activated boost. LED light indicate whether the loop is working as a normal effects loop or as a boost.

Also featured on the Hothead are some nice goodies like a solid state rectifier, DC powered filaments, rugged chassis construction, and outputs for different impedances. Blackheart has also engineered the BH412 Slant and Straight cabinets [$449.99 apiece] for use with the BH100H Hothead. They're loaded with four 12" Blackheart by Eminence speakers that are British-voiced so you know they're good.