Fuchs Blackjack 21 Head
Custom made Fuchs Blackjack 21 MKII Artist Edition Head in British Racing Green with Vox style grill cloth. BLACKJACK 21 MKII Artist Edition Blackjack-21™: 2 x 6V6 21-Watts Class AB 3 x 12AX7 Preamp tubes. Fuchs Black Jack 21 MK II Amp Head Custom Snakeskin - Used From Fuchs Blackjack-21 MKII models include two channels with gain boost and digital reverb Our product photos are the actual, specific serial number for sale!
The Fuchs Blackjack 21 was a 21W, four-knob Marshall/Trainwreck-inspired rock amp with two 12AX7s and two 6V6s in a fixed-bias push-pull design. The controls were simple: Gain, Low, Mid, High. There was no master volume control. It was available as a head (19'W x 8'H x 10.5'D; 12 lbs.) or various combos: 1x8, 2x8, 1x12. It was introduced in 2005. In 2011, the original Blackjack 21 was replaced by the Blackjack 21 Mk II, which is a much different amp.
Fuchs Blackjack 21 Head
Fuchs Blackjack 21 Mkii Head Review
I played an original four-knob Fuchs Blackjack 21 head in 2011. It did clean-to-mean with the guitar volume knob, it did fiery classic rock and hard rock tones, it had a bright, early metal-panel Marshall vibe -- I liked everything about it. Except, when I turned it up, as you must if you wish to rock, the low end got spongy/flubby/crumbly through a Dr. Z Z-Best 2x12 cabinet loaded with Eminence Red Fangs. I didn't get a chance to hear the Blackjack 21 with any other cabinets, but that Z-Best had a solid and almost too big low end when I played it with a Hughes & Kettner Puretone. I wish I could have tried other cabs, and rolled some tubes, but my suspicion was that this super-lightweight (12lbs!) head has transformers that aren't up to the task of rendering solid low end when the volume goes up. Sounds like the Fender Deluxe Reverb story all over again with higher gain. Was this an intentional design choice? Was there something wrong with the amp I played?
I don't think so. Notice how Sam Vilo plays with the amp's Bass knob around 09:00. With his Greenback-loaded Bogner 4x12, that's a more than just usable tone, but modern ears like a little more low-end punch. He mostly doesn't dig in on low-string riffage, or crush a low E chord and chug on it here.
I wanted to love the Blackjack 21 -- the power level is so well suited to the real world, and the tone was so close, except for this possible deal-breaker. When I played the even lighter (10lbs) Lucky 7, I didn't notice a similar crumbly bass, nor during my brief wide-eyed rip with a Train-45.
I imagine there's quite a few here who have or have had a 'practice tube amp' like this (not solid state) for various reasons or just plain enjoyment. And I've been thinking of going that route. I 've always been told that the harder you drive a tube amp, the better tone you get out. I checked out some Marshalls today, 15 and 5w, and I had no idea that 5w could be that loud! I did notice that they had lower headroom, which for me is not a deal breaker. Presently, I have 2 Mesa 50w combos and 1 Peavey 60w combo. I may or may not get rid of maybe one of these, but am interested in a good sounding high gain low output amp. If you could suggest 1 or 2, I'd appreciate it.