What's up with Blockhead? No one like them?

[IPlayHamers]

I read about so many other plexi inspired amps, but Blockhead seems to be out of the loop. Are they hard to come by? Do they just suck? Anyone compared them with the other plexi clones out there?

Inquiring minds wanna know.

[Tag]

Originally posted by IPlayHamers
I read about so many other plexi inspired amps, but Blockhead seems to be out of the loop. Are they hard to come by? Do they just suck? Anyone compared them with the other plexi clones out there?

Inquiring minds wanna know.

I think they are great. IMO, those and the Bruno Pony are the best sounding older Marshall style amps on the market.

[pirateflynn]

I asked this same question awhile back when I was considering a Blockhead First Born 18......... I barely even got a response. From what I gather, there are so many 18 watt amps that nobody is interested in the Blockhead anymore. Well, I could not pass up an insanely good deal so I bit and I'm very glad I did. It's a great sounding amp for mid volume playing.

Not to veer too far off the subject but Germino makes great amps, has an excellent price point and very personal customer service. I wonder if Blockhead was/ is missing one or more of these qualities?

[tmac]

I have a Block 45 head and love it. I got a good deal on it used. I haven't compared it side by side with an original, or say a Germino but I love it none the less. Great build quality. Their customer service sucks though/ They would not answer repeated email and didn't even have a phone number listed on their website until recently. Also, they use the old style Bulgin power cords for true authenticity but they are hard to find if you need a replacement or a spare.

I have modded mine a bit. I changed the 2nd stage coupling cap from a .02 to a .002 uf to tame the boomy bass and added a switch to bring in/out a .68 uf cap accross the 2nd stage Rk (this gives a plexi style mid boost) I also took off the bight cap on the bright channel volume control. And finally, I was off work today with a sore throat/cold and got bored, so I added a PPIMV that I've been thinking about doing for a while. Works wonderfully and is very transparent.




[/IMG]

[m1911]

A few years ago I made a several inquiries to them by e-mail and phone....not ONE response!
Guess how many Blockheads I bought or will EVER buy?
There are a lot of geat choices out there....who needs that...
Some of these guys just don't get it

[davebc]

It's funny because Greg Germino's name is becoming a household word in the Marshall arena because he is building innovative,great sounding amps,at a better price point,and offering hands on customer service. It's kind of tough to justify the extra grand in some cases for the Blockhead over one of Greg's amps.

[tedwoods]

I was gasing bad for a Custom 50...e-mailed repeatedly,no response whatsoever.
Their dealers weren't much help either...
Finally,I gave up!

Ted

[martie6621]

I was really into getting one of their amps a year or so back and was totally ignored when I e-mailed and called them (more than once). This coupled with their dealers "you are not worthy" demeanor when I called them, said to me to pass on the Blockhead brand. Too many other choices and nice builders to invest in a company that ignores you BEFORE you buy. Can't imangine they would be any better after the sale!

my .02

[tonedaddy]

Based on my experience in the last few weeks, maybe they're trying to do better.

I've got a 63 Splitfront which has been a great amp. Bought used probably 4 years ago, and never had contact with Blockhead until 2 weeks ago. Sent them an email inquring about a cab, got an email response in a couple of days, answering every question, including their willingness to do a non-standard cab configuration.

They exceeded my expectations for response and willingness to work with me.

[Tag]

Originally posted by splatt
i know that mr. germino makes great amps;
can you explain to me, though, why you view them as being "innovative"?
that piques my interest.
thanks.
dt / spltrcl

Wondering the same thing. Cloning old Marshalls is innovative?

Originally posted by Tag
Wondering the same thing. Cloning old Marshalls is innovative?

Blockhead is the clone co. The ones you think are great, remember? Like Bruno clones Dumble stuff? Like that? Right, not innovative at all.

Germino isn't cloning, IMO.

[Tag]

Originally posted by carlygtr56
Blockhead is the clone co. The ones you think are great, remember? Like Bruno clones Dumble stuff? Like that? Right, not innovative at all.

Germino isn't cloning, IMO.

Bruno's Super 100 is the Dumble ODS clone. Thats common knowledge right? I agree, no innovation in that at all. Just like Germino and Blockhead.

[Tag]

Originally posted by splatt
okay.
actually, it was me (& not tag) who posted the question about using the word "innovative" in relation to greg's amps;
i wasn't being disingenuous, at all:
i really want to know why.
dt / spltrcl

That was my thought as well. Innovative?? I can see Maven Peal looked at like that.

Originally posted by Tag
Bruno's Super 100 is the Dumble ODS clone. Thats common knowledge right? I agree, no innovation in that at all. Just like Germino and Blockhead.

Blockhead is on record and their claim to fame was CLONING exactly different era Marshalls down to the last detail. Marshalls THEY thought were holy grail models.

Germino's are Marshall-esk...not dead nuts clones by a long shot.
Greg makes amps like a good Italian chef makes sauce. Takes a little here, a little there, based on extensive knowledge on what made great old Marshalls great. That's not cloning.

[tmac]

A follow-up: Seems that customer service issues at Blockhead may be resolved - I just called Blockhead and had a very pleasant conversation with Ozzie (he answered the phone). I can tell he takes great pride and cares about making a really great amp.

And they have replacement power cords available for $20 (which seems very reasonable to me).

Who knows, maybe they had email, web site, or even personal issues when I tried to contact them before.