Right now I have three amps "in the rotation": An early 70s/late 60s silverface Fender Twin Reverb, an Epiphone Valve Jr. and the Blackheart Little Giant. I reach for the little giant about 80% of the time. It's solidly in the mix for the time being, but I'd replace it with a Little Giant with an effects loop if such a thing existed.

Sound
Very nice recording amp. I generally just run this in the 5 watt mode and leave all four knobs at noon. Using the right pedals, it's not too hard to make this thing sound like a Marshall 18 watt or a Fender tweed deluxe. Very smooth and responsive amp even at low volumes. That being said, I rely quality effects for most of the eq'ing here. Just using the Little Giant on it's own, I've only been able to dial in two sounds I've fallen in love with: A sparkly clean sound with a strat and some bluesy overdrive using a les paul. Those are pretty much the easiest sounds for me to dial in on any amp tho. If you are looking for warm, tube amp that lets you color it's sound very easily, I can think of no other low wattage amp that can beat this. If you are looking for something that brings it's own distinct voice to the table, you are better off looking at a Vox AC4 or a Fender Blues Jr.

Features
The three band eq, for me, just gets in the way most of the time. Would rather it be more like my Epiphone Valve Jr. and just have a volume knob. That being said, the pentode/triode switch… read more is pretty nice to have around. An effects loop would really put this above and beyond everything else in it's class.

Ease of Use
In 3 watt mode, crank the volume to 4 o'clock, bump the mids to 3 o'clock, cut the bass to 9 o'clock, leave the treble at noon, plug in a Les Paul and you've got a nice, warm overdrive. Raise the bass to noon, cut the treble to 11, plug in a strat and you have a nice, smooth strat overdrive that will clean up with the guitar's volume. That's the litmus test for me. No finding the happy medium between gain and volume. No byzantine trickery with eq knobs that work in reverse. It's about as straightforward as it an amp can get.

Quality
The amp and cab are built like tanks. Very nicely but together from a durability aspect. There are some fit and finish issues with the little giant.A 6 inch black nylon thread poking out of the stitching on white piping around the face of the amp is pretty hard to miss.... In my mind fit and finish and reliability are two different animals. I'd rather rate them separately. If I have to lump them together, reliability trumps fit and finish, hence the 9 rating. Fit and finish on it's own is about a 4 or 5. Despite the manufacturers claims, this is not a boutique amp.

Value
Hard to beat the bang for your buck with this.

Manufacturer Support
Haven't dealt with them.

The Wow Factor
Since it seems like every manufacturer has gotten into the low wattage amp market this year, it's easy to overlook the little giant. Is it as sexy as the Marshall Class5? No. It's it more versatile amp? Yes. Will it retain it's value like the Marshall? Ummm...probably not. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice looking product and it sounds great, but the sex appeal of most of these products are either based on how hard something is to obtain (see the Analogman King of Tone) or what this sticker on the headstock says (see the Gibson Flying V). This is a newish line that's mass produced by Crate. Not exactly a pedigree that screams out "sexy".

Musical Background:
Hobbyist

Musical Style:
Alt-Opera read less