The Grandmeister sounds warmer, the Black Spirit is more "in the face" (although it might be interesting to "darken" its sound with some EQ work).. Both sound great. Excellent playing, of course (nice funk chops).
I tested both today. I actually went to the store with the attitude to buy the Black Spirit. But, when he tested, he didn't feel as good as he had listened to online. In some settings with the neck pickups, the BS has muted low tones, who knows why. In comparison, I got a big smile while playing at the GM. He felt a lot better. But the sound of both is good. But I'm going to prefer the GM. 🤘
I agree with all the others here who think the Black Spirit sounds way better, but the Grandmeister definitely sounds more traditionally what we expect to hear from guitar amps, it's more fizzy, less focused and less refined.
Thank you for the side by side. I've been looking at the Black Spirit for a couple of months now and it seals the deal for me. I love the sound and advantages of it over the GM by for. Thanks again!
Clean and crunch I like the Black Spirit more. Lead channel was quite a difference, but liked the Grandmeister much more. Ultra also the Grandmeister slightly ahead. Would be a difficult decision. Maybe take both. For home use the Spirit might be the better choice. The only thing I am totally sure of is Jay Leonards skill. Always a pleasure listening to him. 👍
Nice 1:1 comparison and both a very cool amps. BUT, I was always kinda wondering why H+K isn't adding a additional Compressor on both. Not only for clean sounds, also when playing with reduced volume i.e. at home etc. for having a little bit more sustain.
Been playing tube amps since the 80s. The tube amp sounded way better. People who don’t play with bands wouldn’t know the difference I’m thinking. I also don’t need 40 watts. Been rocking my new super Sonic 22 and it’s got plenty of power for me, with a loud band.
I had a Grandmeister 40 and couldn't dial out that mid scoop it seems to have on every channel. I had to run an EQ in the loop to boost the mids to where it didn't sound so scooped. The Black Spirit seems to have more upper mids. I'm gonna have to check it out in person. ;-)
coming to us Live .....ok so your a time lord, killer player and yo yo master WTF :D Killer tones in that lil combo and so loud even without the extension cab
This is the review I've been waiting for. Thank you soooo much!!! Naturally I shouldn't be surprised by how different they sound, but I am because I expected so much more from the Black Spirit. Not that it sounds bad or anything....It really doesn't. Sounds great and bypasses a lot of solid states on the market. HOWEVER, stacked next to that Grandmeister it's no contest. Maybe the lead channel on the Black Spirit sounds better at this volume cuz those tubes aren't being pushed. That being said, the Grandmeister really REALLY shines in this video. Seriously. If anything, this video would be great for marketing that Grandmeister :P Excellent playing and excellent review bud. I think I made my decision. #tubes
The Black Spirit sounds good... but the Grandmeister is far more better... the sound is much more organic... round and not square... warmer... more punchy...
I'm very ambiguous here. The clean and crunch channels of the Grandmeister have a lot more body and warmth, they sound much better, at least to my ears. But we have a completely different picture on the lead channel, here the Black Spirit sounds fuller and more rounded. So the crucial point would be: can these acoustic differences be levelled out by the EQ? If so, I would prefer the Black Spirit for two reasons: 1.) portability - it's a featherweight amplifier, though the Grandmaster is also one of the lightest all-tube amps. 2.) reliability - I've read several comments about technical problems with the Grandmeister - ok, the Black Spirit may also have some issues over time, who knows. But it will never have you facing tube failures.
I always use a Boss EQ-200 with my GDM40, of course I don’t need the pedal, but the extra EQ just gives me the sound I need, plus it doubles as a boost pedal.😁
The Black Spirit is awesome on its own but side-by-side, the tube tone just has so much more girth. Chicks dig that, or so they say on exit interviews🤪 I was set to buy a black spirit but left wanting the grandmeister.
Tube will always be the tubes sound.... They're not cheap to maintain as some have a lot of tubes. Never compare because they will always sound different even tube to tube amp comparisons. Just enjoy the amp you identify with. All about the playing in the end
Need the grandmeister so bad but can't find one in my country. The BS tone have kinda sharp on treble and I don't like that Btw ur playing at 6:00 is killer bro
grandmeister is better...its a tube amp...........the black spirt is a great amp as well and has its place but a valve is a valve (tube).............ps....guitar is just slightly out of tune.............good demo though............
I don't this is a valid comparison because having the knobs in the same place doesn't bring the best sound each amp can give. For example with a bit more mids the BS could shine and so on.
Funny that you mentioned this because I didn't put the knobs in the same place; I EQ'd them individually to get them to put them in a good spot. The actual travel of the knobs are very different and so is the voicing, so I did the best to get them where they work well to compare against each other. Individually, the Grandmeister has a very mid-focused sound to it where the Black Spirit's strengths are it's tight low end and expanded upper end. Thanks for writing.
@@JayLeonardJ Forgive me then. I thought you said that you put the knobs the same way. My mistake! I'm really split between the two amps and since they are not sold in my country I rely on watching tons of videos :D.
