Jesstaa

Hey all,

I just watched this video:

And when I heard the crunch channel with all the British dialled in (Like 4:38), I started GASing for it so hard, it's a nice amp, only non Marshall I've ever really considered, but anyway, I was wondering, anybody who has one or has played one, what have your experiences been, what are your favourite features of the amp, and what are some tips regarding it.

But most importantly, is it available in Australia? If so, how much, and if not, any ideas when it'll be available? Cheers.

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American Viking

I haven't seen many around. Quite frankly I wasn't really impressed with any sounds coming out of that thing sounded pretty generic. Seemed to have the same downfalls as the TSL just a little less muddy.

I've seen that guy demo an Engl that I thought sounded better than the Blackstar. I'm sure they're both decent amps but probably at ultra-boutique prices.

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ANY recommended idle current is a guideline and in no way a necessary requirement. There is no skeleton key for any tube amp.

ToneZone100

It sounded OK but it was a kinda pointless demo as it was being played so quietly, the sound of his guitar acoustically almost drowned out the amp????
Bearing in mind it is a £2k amp it would want to sound pretty amazing and SERIOUSLY better than a Marshall, which to my ear it didn't. Sure it's gonna sound better than your AVT (no offence) but I'd think carefully before blowing that kinda cash as there are A LOT of boutique amps cheaper. I'd love a VHT Pitbull or an Orange Rockerverb, have you heard either of them?

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Marshall DSL100 & 1960a 4x12
Gibson SG Special-PRS SE 24 Paul Allender-Charvel model2-Charvel model3-Ibanez Iceman

BOZ

I have the series one 100 head and its a very good amp..boutique prices??

I paid £850.00 new.



I just sold a Splawn Quickrod which are £1800.00 new in the uk and a Dual rec which are getting towards £2000.00 new and the Blackstar is as good as both of them IMHO.

It has good useable features that people seem to overlook.

Dave666

I think the Blackstar Artisan series are way better than the series one...
But are they better than Marshall?
I'm planning to try that 5W tube combo...
So if I can compare the Blackstar HT5 next to the Marshall Class 5 that would be cool...

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gibsons: Explorer 90 1988 - V Faded - LP Studio 1994
other: BC Rich Ironbird - Squier Tele Custom
amps: VintageModern 2466 - JCM800 2210 - Laney CUB10
cabinets: JCM900 1960A - Peavey XXX - Orange PPC412

Plays:

MajorNut1967

I don't know much about the amp but it sounds nice to me, sounds like it has a KT88 power section. Now my friend Ken seems to think that KT88's sound harsh, did this amp sound harsh to any of you guys? And can some give a positive on the power section KT88's or EL34 or KT77 or KT90?

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MJN1967 aka BA (Bad Attitude)

Gtrman58

Man I was just at their website. Pretty awesome looking stuff and alot of people endorsing them. Says they are designed and engineered in England but stopped short of saying they are actually made there. Anybody know where they are put together?

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2009 JCM 2000 Dsl 100
JCM 900 LEAD 1960A
MLB MC412A
1951 Fender Deluxe
2006 Hot Rod Deluxe
1995 Blues Junior
1995 Blues Deville
Vox Path Finder
1982 Legend A 30

1980 Gibson Herritage Cherry Sunburst L.P. Standard
1980 Explorer White with gold HW
2000 52 Telecaster USA RI
1983 57 Strat LH USA RI
2003 57 Strat USA RI
1960 Silvertone Danelectro
1994 Fender P-bass 68 RI
Acoustic guitars....not enough space to list !!!!!

MartyStrat54

Well I did try out the 5 watt head and it is a smoker. Very simple, just uses two valves, a 12AX7 and a 12BH7A. Played it into a single 12 closed back cab with a Eminence Wizard. The Wizard is a very high efficiency speaker (103dB at 1 watt). You could get close to 109dB with this package. Cranked full blast it has wonderful harmonics. I never used an amp that had a 12BH7A for a power tube.

I think Blackstar is putting out some decent stuff.

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MARTY

MARTIMUS MAXIMUS ONLINE TUBES AND OTHER STUFFHyperlink

2009 Gibson Explorer-Hell Raising Machine
1989 Fender Strat Plus USA
2008 Fender Tele USA

1983 JCM 2204. WILDER modified with two preamps. A 1959 and a hot rod 2204, foot switchable.
1978 JMP MKII Master Volume 2203. S. Miller FX loop and tune up by JON WILDER.

OzStrat

I just bought the S1 45 combo from the Guitar Shop in Paddington, Brisbane.
I have a JCM800 and access to Mesa Mk 3, Mesa Lonestar, Ratajczyk etc, but took in my vintage 67' Twin Reverb for a side by side comparison. My beloved Twin was completely trounced.
This amp has me totally mesmerized. It is a tone monstor of epic proportions and a huge bang for your buck. I'm stuck in a phase of shock & awe, it really is that good!

watchtheskies

tried a series one 200 today as it happens
was passing a large music shop on my way to somewhere else, decided to stop and have a look around,
was intrigued to try the Blackstar 200 as it's a kind of direct competitor to my JVM410H with the multi channels and midi switching and all

gotta say I was mightily impressed,
I played a Les Paul standard + Blackstar - through an Orange 2x12 and it sounded great, couldn't fault it, and as much as I love my JVM I have to say I might just like it a little more (don't shoot me!!!), it sounded very natural and unprocessed,

me likey a lot, might just get one

watchtheskies

they generally go for around £1250 with delivery, so pretty decent value all things considered

equilibrium78

At my job we had the people from Black Star amps come by from England and demo there amps. The story is that 2 amp techs left Marshall pissed and got together to make the Black Star amps. The circuit in the amps are like a Marshall. They are a pricey for what they are worth. So overall if you like Black Star amps buy a Marshall.. If you like Marshall buy a Marshall.

watchtheskies

did they tell you that the circuit is just like a Marshall?
not what they say on their site
http://www.blackstaramps.co.uk/backg...yourmaker.html

equilibrium78

One of the guys did tell me that it is very close to a Marshall circuit. He could not tell me what series it is close to. There's a few things that they couldn't tell me with the amp itself. Really i don't care about the amps. There were a few things i saw on the amp were can be a problem in the future with the user of these amps.

watchtheskies

what did you see that you thought could be a problem in the future?
and did they really say that there were things that they wanted to keep secret?

all sounds a bit unlikely to me without specifics,

I played one, didn't sound like a Marshall to me, sounded more like a Burman high gain amp from the 80s,
and I thought the build quality and construction was superb

Landshark

On this page Blackstar Amplification - Series One 200 it says they use four KT88 power valves for the ouput section.hno:

On the front page of their website it says everything is manufactured in Korea. Their philosophy is that if you have the right communication and management and oversight, something made in the far east can be just as high quality as something made in the West.

Just a few thoughts of my own on what I heard from the video. It sounded very cool, nice tones and all, but it didn't make me want to get one. The tones didn't make me want to try one out, and didn't really remind me of a Marshall at all (which may be somewhat what they are going for) but more like a dual rec sound.

The other thing I want to point out... why is it so pricey if it's made in Korea? My brand spanking new Vox was made in China and was $600.00 USD, and they're an England based company. What about these amps makes them so pricey?

For the price, and with the use of the full potential of four KT88 power tubes, this amp should have me GASing to the moon... and it doesn't. I commend their designers for stepping out of their comfort zones to follow their dreams, but I just don't see myself using their amps.

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