This video deserves more upvotes! Giving short answers to specific questions, combined with short but clear sound-demonstrations and the right amount of humor. Thanks alot, Sir!
The "top secret" part of the video in regards to the tone generator made me literally LOL. Just unboxed my HK Black Spirit 200 Combo and I absolutely LOVE it.
Ro Ho hey! Thank you for checking out my video and leaving a comment! Glad it made you laugh 😎 I’m really pleased that you love your Black Spirit 200 Combo. Make sure to upload some clips of yourself playing it! 🤘
Thanks for this video! I really liked it and found it very helpful. You've helped me decided on the Black Spirit and I've also subscribed to your channel because I like your content here so much.
Hey! Thank you so much for checking out my channel and I am very pleased that you found it helpful too! I do hope that you enjoy rocking out with the Black Spirit. Hopefully I will have some more content soon! Feel free to hit me up anytime! 😎
I am merely a midlife crisis hobbyist, and was admittedly taken in by the direct A-B between the BS200 & GM40; you are so right that nothing beats the tube (ok, valve) sound. That having been said, being stuck in my mancave and volume restricted by the wife, I sold the GM & later bought a BS200 floor: I can state without hesitation that it was one of the best gear decisions I have ever made. Over a year removed from the GM, the BS 200 sounds amazing- particularly the clean, and with some tweaking, you can get nearly any sound or tone you need for any genre. This video does an amazing job of going through all of it, and in a very fair and even handed way. Great work, sir; and amazing playing as well. God Bless
Hey Michael, I am so pleased that you found this video helpful. I am also very grateful by your kind words as well. I am very happy that you are playing guitar and have found a way to keep yourself and your wife happy with the BS200. Thank you for such positive feedback. I truly appreciate. Keep on rocking and feel free to hit me up anytime!
I actually prefer solid state sound over tube. Something about solid state distortion is that it's very dry and in-your-face sounding. Tubes just sound too "polished" to me. But then again, I play death metal.
High quality content. Well filmed and very pro- surprised you don’t have more subs. I had a GMDeluxe 40 and loved it, was planning on getting another, but now I’m considering this- at the price point the Spirit is coming in at, I’m having a hard time deciding if it’s worth it to pay more for the tubes 😬
Larry Williams thank you for your comment sir! I’m expanding my RU-vid profile, but I am very happy that you have found this video informative 😊 the GM40 is my favourite amp. However, if you fancy something different but still has that H&K sound/ tone, then this could be the amp for you. Best thing to do is to see if you can try one at your local music store 😊 thank you once again!
Awesome video 👍 proud owner of a Grandmeister 40 but me tubes just went out on me. Tried the BS200 in the store and just loved it… especially the sagging control to tighten up the metal gains. Tried a bunch of lunchbox amps: 6505 MH, PRS MT15, evhIII stealth, black star silverline… always came back to the BS200. Hard to beat and diverse. Put me order in 👍 oh and maybe I’ll get some new tubes for my GM40 sometime this century 😂
Hey! Thanks for the comment. I do love my GM40 too. That’ll defo have a special place within me. All those other amps are cool too btw. Glad you got the BS200 and that you’re happy with it. Keep on rocking! 😎
Finally a very good video with FAQ and mostly with your sincere answers.The only thing you can do now is to make a comparison with the GM40.I'm sure that everyone is trying to choose between those 2(including me,i play metal by the way).The problem is that no one in my town has them,so a video would be great..!!!
Great run through and Q & A! I think the Black Spirit sounds brilliant. Do you know where the onboard effects sit in the signal chain in relation to the Fx loop? For example if I stuck a ditto looper in the loop would it be the last thing in the chain after the onboard reverb / delay? Also that Strandberg looks and sounds awesome!
Andrew Mckechnie thank you for your kind words! Much appreciated! I believe the effects sit last. So whatever you add it’ll be after the FX. My favourite amp is the GM40 and I put all my additional effects in the FX loop. Works perfectly fine for me. And yes, the Strandberg is a beauty! Thank you again and feel free to drop me a message anytime! 😎
James Somogyi they sure do know how to make amps! Thank you for stopping by and checking out my video and leaving a comment! Glad you’re part of the H&K family! 😎
@@HnKRys Thank you very much I've become obbssed with them ever since I first laid eyes on them. Everyday I'm finding tiny nuances and making great hot tones. I was afraid of the crunch and lead channels for a while but have become much better at making patches these things really shine. Quick question though would it be worth getting a 40 or the black sprite I'm just curious I always like to be sure about a purchase and they all sound amazing any opinions would be greatful
James Somogyi I’m glad that you feel so passionate about the amp. It’s a great feeling! That’s why I love these amps too. So much attention to detail. Personally, my favourite amp is the GM40 Deluxe. Absolutely love that amp. It just slightly differs from the GM36. But if you’re happy with the GM36 then stick with that. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (as they say 😉). It all really depends on what you want. Maybe you want a different amp to the GM36 next? So maybe a Black Spirit 200? But for me, my ultimate amp is the GM40. I can achieve all the tones that I want from it. It’s a beast!
I have the FSM 432 MK III footswicth from my Triamp MKIII amphead of course. Am shelving my Triamp for reason that I couldn't help to damage any valves its equipped as, yes, the world is getting short in supply for the item, most probably until the war is over..!! In replacement is a new Black Spirit solid state where I do not have to worry about vales supply no more. But what I wonder is will the FSM 432 MK III footswitch will works with the new Black Star??
Alec Peterson thank you so much man. I will have a few more vids coming out. Will try to get in on it more. Thanks for checking it out and for commenting 😊😎
olofsundfeldt ahhhh good question sir. My opinion is purely based on my personal preference. What I say is how I feel and I do not want to sway your decision. I have, and always will be, a fan of valve amps. So in MY personal opinion I prefer the GM40 over the Black Spirit 200. However, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and if you have a chance then please go ahead and try both amps. I will always love the GM40 as it just does what I want it to do. 😎 however I have had a lot of fun with the BS200 and have achieved some great tones!
Thanks for this video it helped me a lot. Although I probably won’t be getting this anytime soon because I’m still young but I will continue dreaming about this amp until I can get it!😁😁😁
Zacawie thank you for your comment and I am very pleased that it has helped you. Who knows, you may find this amp going for a deal? Or maybe you’d like to look at other Hughes & Kettner Amps? The GM36 and GM40 are great! Hope you’re well 😎
Ryszard Gabrielczyk Haha thanks, I am quite intimidated by tube amps because of the shock risk and I don’t live anywhere near amp techs who can help me but I’m open to new things! Hope you doing well too
Zacawie in all the years I have played tube amps I have never experienced shock risk. You’ll be just fine. The standard of amp quality these days are very high so there is no risk in that at all. Check out some other videos of the H&K amps. Maybe you’ll find something that you’ll like 😎
Thanks for checking out the video. Great question! I haven’t tried it out unfortunately so I can’t give you a concrete answer. In theory, you should be able to do that. However, I can’t give a 100% answer as I haven’t tried it. Sorry!
I dont understand how in 2019, you still need an external OD to tighten up the distortion. Why these HK amps dont come with a Tube Screamer style boost built in to it.....I'll never know. They have a level boost but it barely does anything. More aggressive distortion and a tighter boost is what these amps need I'll tell ua! Especially the GM40 because tubes own SS
Unleash The Fury I had this same question a few years ago and it did make me wonder. 🤔 I have experimented with a few overdrive pedals with and without the boost. I have had some great tones. You’ll need to experiment yourself with what works for you. There are lots of ways to get that dream tone. If the boost isn’t too great for you, then put a TS808 in front or some other overdrive pedal. For me, I like to keep things simple and at times just plug straight into the amp. Depends on the gig really. I hope you enjoyed the video and if you have anything else to ask then feel free to leave a comment. 😊
Hey, what would you recommend, BS200 or Switchblade 100 Head? I can get a SWBL 100 head for like 500 Euros... I need an amp mostly for heavy metal (heavy, power, neoclassical)...
Hey dude! Thanks for the comment. The Switchblade was the amp that made me fall in love with H&K amps. So for me that amp has a special place in my heart. So I would definitely say the Switchblade. But if you’re looking for something that’s lighter then the BS200. But for me the Switchblade is the one. Or the GM40 if you want something lighter that is valve. Hope that helps dude! 😎
Thanks for the comment! The effects and switching are digital, everything else is analog. So if you just play the channels without any FX you have a completely analog signal. Hope that helps?
@@HnKRys Thank you! Can you help with one other minor thing. Is there a way my generic midi floor controller that works excellent on the 200 that I can bring in the Tap Tempo feature to it? Has to be able to be done because just Midi joining them. Really need the Tap Tempo and was surprised not on the amp itself. Also when I turn the effects from one to another there is a loud pop or snap? Any firmware for that?
@@samiam9059 hey, I’m not 100% about that. I’ve only ever used the H&K midi footswitch. I’m sure there is a way of doing it with another midi floor unit, however I’m not the best person to ask. Maybe hit up H&K and ask them about it directly.
In theory yes. It has the built in RedBox and can sims inside of it. So in theory that can work. However, I haven’t tried this method yet. I think there is something in the manual about it which does explain it.
200 Watt SS is definitely not equivalent to a 40 Watt tube amp in this case. This thing has a class D power amp, those things are mad LOUD, they were used predominantly in concert speaker amplifiers in the past, cause they clipped in a really nasty way in guitar/bass applications. But modern ones have improved in signal fidelity and are making their way into guitar amps due to their insane power to size to volume efficiency.
wojtekgula tak, można z słuchawkami grać. I można zmieniać tom używając „master volume”. Też można zmieniać głośników jak się gra z słuchawkami. Jest „input” dla słuchawki na przodzie BS200. 😎
I have Coreblade head and a 2x12 switchblade, how do they compare to the Black Spirit sonically. My ears say that the Black Spirit sounds very similar to the Coreblade, do you think this is a good comparison?
torchlord Firstly, thank you for your comment. The Black Spirit is different to both amps, but if I had to say then I think it leans more to the Coreblade in terms of sound. I love my Coreblade. There’s nothing that beats playing a 100w head 😎
@@HnKRys Thanks for the response. I bought my Coreblade Used and I sometimes wonder what the original preamp tubes were in the amp. Do you have original preamp tubes in yours, and if not what are you using?
torchlord good hearing from you! Yes I still have the original preamp tubes. They are 2x 12AX7A’s and an ECC83. It is such a great amp and I enjoy playing it at loud volumes 😎
Unleash The Fury There is plenty of gain on the amp, but if you want to add a different type of gain then adding a little bit from your Overdrive pedal should do the job. Glad you like the vid! 😎
MetallicaFan0503 that may be true. But would you not want to spend a bit more money on better equipment and have more options of tone? 😉 thanks for the comment and checking out my vid!
MetallicaFan0503 Id rather pay a little more to get more. Katana is a great amp especially for an entry price but this can get you the tones you really want without spending 1500 to 2k. 1200 for a cab and a amp that can be essentially a Kemper “style” amp is amazing.
Damien Untel thank you for your comment and checking out the video. I hear what you are saying Damien, wattage is wattage. However, there is no myth here my friend. Having played and owning both amps I can assure you there is a difference. If you’re still not convinced then please find your local Hughes & Kettner dealer and compare the amps yourself. I’m sure you’ll have some fun cranking them up 😉
Peter Mcconnell well it does depend really. But this amp has plenty of volume. As I said in my previous comment, get to your local H&K dealer and try the amps out for yourself 😎
