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Sounds good to me. The one thing I think you missed (and so did everyone else, the marketing team had a massive fail) is the ISF. It’s not “British to American”, that’s BS. It’s a big sweep of the mid notch and also where the bass/mid/treble knobs actually do their thing.
You’re supposed to dial the ISF first to where you think the mids sound the best, then use the rest of the EQ. But they didn’t explain that at all, so it’s not exactly our fault… 🤘
Sounds a little like a Metal Zone mid knob (in theory)
Is this ISF crap a patented "pot" instead of a fixed resistor for the tone stack slope resistor? In other words, is the ISF a variable tone slope? This is a simple mod EVERY amp can have without much effort 😂😂
That's how blackstar advertises it... but I agree.
Still sucks
You know some of those clips didn’t sound that bad to me. I doubt I’d buy it but maybe 2nd hand down the road.
Thanks for the demo man. I have a couple of these amps and it aint no lie that the series one had its troubles. Its essentially due to the complex design and how the gain stages are routed & dependent to the Multiple Op amp ICs in the pre and power board. But good news for the owners that it can be easily modded to another level. For starters just change the TL073 ICS to the highest end JRC or OPA,s that you could find. Huge difference immediately. Another thing is that these amps use to ship stock with TAD El34-Bs which are a bit darker than your regular El34s. Use tungsols or JJS after rebias. I feel bad for blackstar tho because their service is one of the best, the support team, their tech and also the built quality of the amps all is remarkable. But every design has its short comings and i hope they thrive with time.
Hi. What will change isc replacement? Is it easy procedure?
Amps like this do better when you utilize the gain knob on your overdrive, or use a full distortion like the old OCD or RAT, or maybe an MT-2, ML-2, or HM-2, maybe a Precision Drive, as a boost with the gain set somewhere other than 0 unless you're using one of those Boss examples. This amp is already voiced pretty tight, so turning up the gain on your overdrive. I mean, the JCM 800 has a similar issue, and it's been used in that way with distortion being chained into the thing with the gain already cranked for decades at this point. There are still bands today using that amp, so the Blackstar doing what it does with the morph knob like on a Valvestate, makes it a very viable, versatile choice for death metal, black metal, blackened thrash, blackened/HM-2/Swollen Pickle hardcore, and death thrash IMO. Everything from Knocked Loose to Dimmu Borgir to Bodysnatcher to Crowbar to an old Nordic Death Metal cover band could use this amp's tone if done right. I mean, one of the guys from Dimmu Borgir was an official Blackstar endorsement artist until just recently.
I have that excact same model Series One. I love it!, but he is right about the treble/presence issue. If you roll the DPR down to 60W that helps a lot.
I have had this same amp for a long time. It’s a great sounding amp. It can get much heavier than you’re setting it. I run mine almost exclusively on the Super Crunch, and use mostly SD AHB1 Blackouts, EMG 81’s, SD Invaders, and Gibson ‘57s.
Try these settings…
ISF - Noon
Bass - Max
Mid - 9 o’clock
Treb - 11 o’clock
And you really need to get your Presence and Resonance adjusted to your cab & room. I run the Blackstar S1 Pro 412 with the Blackstar custom-voiced V30’s. I set both Pres & Res between 1 & 2 o’ clock.
Also, mine is running a set of EL34B (bass) tubes.
That said, I also have an old Marshall 100w head, and a new Mesa Badlander 100, and the Mesa is obviously much heavier, but the BS and the Marshall are very close in sound, which makes since, being that the same guy designed both of those amps. 😂
This thing sounds sick
I'm not much of a fan of Blackstar, but this is the favorite of the newer amps of El Hefe from NOFX, and I am a long time fan of NOFX.
nice logic there😂
I didnt think it sounded horrible. Not my favorite but definitely useable. Yeah i wouldnt go out of my way to play or purchase this amp myself but if i was forced to use it on a backline, i might struggle to get my preferred tone but i would be able to get it to a point i could play comfortably.
Blackstar are just dark sounding amps I had an HT 60 and no matter what preamp I put in front it was just dark and that also included using a Tele, Strat, and Humbuckers. Stephen Egerton of Descendents uses Blackstar
You need to try the Series One 100 104. This has 6 channels Bright Clean, Warm Clean, Crunch, Super Crunch, Overdrive 1 and Overdrive 2. That amp does everything. The 104 is the amp that they do with a 6L6 and a EL34 option.
Six channels?!? 😆😆🤔 Thats a bit excessive...But I like it
@@datass666 blackstar describes it as 4 channels - clean, crunch, od1, and od2 - the clean and crunch just have two modes each. it has two eq sections.
Rivera Clubster Royale Recording Top. I got a head for a steal and the clean and gain channel are both insane!! You will not regret experiencing the clean. Also, the Rivera is an amp that is very reactive to tubes so the type actually makes an audible difference on both channels. Love your videos, just a down to earth dude giving his opinion.
It sounds quite good for crunch. I think that Blackstar always aim towards thick and quite dark distortion; in the opposite of Marshall's that pierce your ears. It needs relativelly bright speakers to 'shine' in my opinion. I think their distortion channel should have a bit more gain and more agressive high pass filtering to remove some of the whoofy bass/low mids.
You're so right! Before the Josh Scott made a big deal about the Digitech Bad Monkey Overdrive, I used one 2-3 years ago with a Blackstar HT20RH Mk II head into Vintage 30-equipped 1x12 (Peavey) and 2x12 (Harley Benton) cabs, and I loved it. With pedal Gain at 30% and Level at 80%, and ISF at 10 o'clock, the OD2 Voice on the Blackstar could hold its own (amp Gain at 60% to maintain note definition) in metal territory for small stages (I usually ran DI Out to PA). When playing live, it's a good idea to use less gain to keep any amp from getting buzzy.
Sounds good on my phone...That guitar looks sweet. Especially with those reflections hitting it.
It’s got kinda a narrow midrange , funnily in my phone it’s pretty nice but on my jbl speakers , which are scooped a bit, it sounding totally lacking
@@heythere6983 ah that makes sense
I have a few blackstars. I don’t really look at them to do what marshalls or other high gain amps do.
For me I set the gain fairly low on the first gain channel. I think it does lower gain pretty good and you can get a rounded punchy cleanish almost angus youngy tone well with them . I’m not fully rythm and I’m not a solo lead guy, I’m more of single notes riffs/arpeggios and chords all together and what I like about the Blackstars is that it’s not super hairy but feels present and single note definition is firmer . It helps with clarity for more articulate stuff.
I have a big marshall and bogner and Iv played mesas, on paper I want the distortion but in practicality I find it’s just that, distortion and it smears too much of what I’m doing sometimes. But if I lower the gain on those amps the compression isn’t really great and it’s kinda limp .
However on the blackstar it’s easier to get what I’m looking for.
That being said Iv been meaning to buy an attenuator and see how much compression I can get out of maxing the master on my marshall.
Iv maxed out my 45 watt bogner, it doesn’t really quite give me the vibe I want . I honesty haven’t really found an amp that suits my style best .
I might just be one of those guys that needs multiple amps to accentuate what I’m going for. I like I can go from a chimney high gain tone to growly distortion with how hard o strum, it’s does that better to me than the other amps Iv played . Other amps just are always highly saturated, it’s a bit annoying sometimes
Yeah, i think blackstars are supposed to be kind of marshall-ish but without the signature fizz of marshalls. So it's not great for saturated metal tones but it's good for mid gain stuff that needs clarity.
Yeah. In comparison they seem a little smaller sounding but I’m a bit of a riffer and when I also listen to great songs and riffs that are upfront , it’s usually fairly clean sounding and clear .
So I think blackstars suit a playing style . This is partially why I keep thinking of plexis bc of feel a bit part of their tone was the cleannes of the sound .
I like crunchy stuff a lot but the reality is some sounds are best dedicated for some playing .
Some rhythms sounds best crunchy and washy or some choruses and some stuff just sounds better cleaner .
There is no one best amp for everything
I think that it’s your opinion and that’s important, I have the 4ch 6l6 variant and it is great in some ways and limited in others, it does everything up to hi gain really well but when you start to try to go into higher gain territory it becomes incredibly finicky to dial the tone in, I think different speaker choices may be the trick on this amp but I haven’t had a chance to trial my theory 👍 thanks for all the awesome videos bro!
I agree that speaker choice makes a big difference with Blackstar amps. I've owned two of the HT Mk II series amps--the EL34-based 40W 1x12 combo and the EL84-based 20W head. Both the combo and Blackstar-branded 1x12 and 2x12 cabs marketed for those amps ship with the Celestion Seventy-80 speaker, which is adequate at best. However, after playing my 20W head through closed-back 1x12 and 2x12 Vintage 30 cabs, I realized the potential of the HT Mk II series as good "all 'rounder" amps for blues, rock, pop, and even country. I was playing in a power pop cover band at the time playing everything from Michael Jackson and Maroon 5 to Alice in Chains and Halestorm. The amps hold their own and the F-style voice on the Clean channel won me over because my Marshall DSL20 didn't get clean enough for me. I'd say Blackstars have their place as good general-purpose guitar amps but probably not great for anyone single style of music.
The secret to getting good tones out of Blackstars is mastering the ISF. It is marketed as "American to British", that is a gross simplification. It is a mid sweep. What I do is I put all the knobs at noon, get my tones the way I usually set them up (mid-heavy with a good amount of treble bite), and make small adjustments with the ISF depending on what tone Im going after. For Marshally tones, the ISF ends up on 1 o'clock, for more scooped tones itll go to ten or eleven o-clock. I think what most people miss is when you master the ISF and get a good grasp on what it does, it almost becomes like a poor-mans Mesa Mark amp. If you find any of these amps for a good deal used, grab it. They are still good amps, just misunderstood.
Leslie West loved these...as do I!
I am happy to see a honest review. Most TH-camrs videos are about pie and Ice cream gear. hehehe
6:18 EXACTLY the song I need for demos hahaha! Liking the sound of it, wanted one for a while but I somehow managed to find a great deal on a JCM900, so I'm sorted for amps that are way too massive for my bedroom XD
I have two of the S1-50 heads. Blackstar does not do themselves any favors with their marketing; "Infinite Shape Feature" & "Dynamic Power Reduction"? Seems like those are catchphrases to make a young guitarist go "Mommy, buy me this!!!"
The ISF has been scoped on a few websites to see what it does. It's on the current Tone Stack Calculator and yes, it's basically a mid-sweep. From what I've read, the DPR is essentially a take on London Power's power scaling circuit with "a little more going on". But having played these amps for years in live situations, they're much better built than the more popular HT series, meaning no failure (knock on wood) and the distortion is punchy and not buzzy. It's a darker voicing, so if you're looking for Marshall brightness, it's not here. Which for me, makes the presence more useful as on Marshalls I keep the presence on zero.
Having said all that, the 50 and the 100 are more rock amps. Need to look to the 104 and the 200 for metal.
Also I don't think the stock V30s are the best choice for this amp. I've got G12Ts in my 2x12 and Creambacks in my 4x12. Much better suited in my opinion.
The Series One are definitely misunderstood amps, which keep the prices low. Bought both of mine new with full warranty for less than a grand each.
I've been around people who play Blackstar but definitely never have known much of anything about these amps either.
I'm pretty impressed with the sounds you're getting out of this amp. I don't use a lot of gain either. Maybe my tone is most like Eddie's tone on the Balance album. Like "Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do" type of tone.
The isf scoops the sound and adds bottom or makes the sound more Midrangey and forward
Can´t help - I like it!
I watched an interview, Blackstar engineer going for that fizz less sound. Fizz less tone is good in band mix with clean airy vocal , but u need to make sure there is less harsh high mid spike to begin with , after that rebalance the tone to make bright , smoother but fizz less.
I don´t understand why you all hate so relentlessly on Blackstar. Especially the Series One Series, was KILLER.
Sad the stopped producing it. I NEVER judge an amp by how it sounds in the room, but by how it sounds miced up.
For me as a producer, that´s all that counts.
The Series One does have a similar that nasty midrange "kchhhrrrr", that is so needed when you want a transparent high gain mix.
That´s why I will sell my JVM again, because Marshall sound awesome saturated standalone, but completely loose contour when going through a mixing (including tape sat and the entire additioning saturation process until mastering).
I love that amp.
Sounds awesome.
It's taste and preference. Not hard to understand at all . Every amp company has their fans and their detractors. Lots of people hate on Marshall Mesa etc as well .
The Balck star sound is not for everyone just like the Marshall sound is not for everyone.
Simply not like Blackstar or preferring something else isn't hate . The words hate hater or hating have lost all their meaning and make people roll their eyes because they have been overused and thrown about with wild abandon..
If someone says to me your just hating I immediately stop taking anything they say seriously after that
Wasn't a huge fan of this amp.. I also tend to like the 5150/6505 tone like you do. This thing sounded more like a Marshall on roids.
But when pushed with the OD (like the old JCM800/900 were), I kind of liked the messy brutality of it. Some of those harsher frequencies might punch through a mix well.
I know you don't do full mix clips, but this versus a 6505 or Dual Rec would have been a cool comparison
Marshall on roids is what it is imho.
It's basically uses the old JMP 2203 circuit with additional gain stages and a mid-sweep knob. Everything you see on the Blackstar Series One is straight off copied from Lee Jackson modified JMP amps. Since it's based on the old JMP instead of JCM it sounds brighter than the JCM800 and JCM800 based amps. JMP and JCM800 derived circuits are good for 80s high gain tones but they fall flat on their face when it comes to modern high gain tones.
Marshall on steroids is exactly what I told my friend when I first tested the amp few years ago lol
Never had the pleasure of using one but have heard good things.
Which Peavey amp is that behind you, underneath the Mesa Rectifier? It looks familiar, but I just can't place it.
Interestingly sounded better on other amp demo videos you apparently like! Lots of unpopular but great sounding demos in youtube.
I just like the Blackstar's tone.
This would be a great punk/pop punk amp
Someone make a clip with Kyles favorite amp compared to this so we can hear it side by side so we can easily compare both ends of the tonal spectrum.
He mad
Everything on this channel sounds the same.
@@cmurduh1 as much as I love the channel I would agree to a certain extent.
@@cmurduh1 same cab, same speaker, a lot of similarity in the sound... But that s how u can know how an amp sounds
I agree with the notion that the amps should be compared to say 5150 as a point of reference, through the same rig obviously
I made the mistake years ago of trying this amp …… I compared it to 6505 and jvm
There is a version with more gain I believe so I picked the wrong one
The Ht100 MKii is pretty cool especially od2 voice switch on
Obviously the St james also which doesn’t have the isf is good
The Amprd 2 doesn’t have the Isf and it’s killer
To me this sounds a lot like a JCM800 -- another really good amp that doesn't have a whole lot of gain, but sounds fantastic on mid gain tones, and also really nice and punchy with a boost.
Add a boost or eq in the effects loop. Or slave into another amp.
See if that makes it better?
My favorite band used to use this amp (Skeletonwitch) lol it’s up there on my dream amps but tbh the more I hear it even though people hate I’m loving the tones on a JCM900
I guarantee your favorite band is using a lot in post recording to beef up the sound on top of whatever effects are used by the guitarist. EQ alone will totally change the sound.
The Blackstar Series one 100 6L6 has higher levels of gain. Especially when used with the OD 1 and OD 2 channels. Sold it, but there are times where I miss it.
I feel like the st james is the best amo they have nobody seems to like the other blackstar amps its hard to tell theough the video i think room mics capture a more real sound imo like a more live sound but i might be crazy 🤣
Duck xlean tones
Keep killing it bro
I always liked these amps better recorded than in the room...
Dynamic Power Reduction
i feel the same way back in 2014ish i wanted to get one but i played a few tube ones and didnt like the sound not enough gain and tweaking to my liking.
i wanna say i thought blackstar was made but people that used to work for Marshall or maybe that was a rumor i heard?
The comments section here is so informative. Thank you, everyone.
Is something wrong with this amp? I almost bought this head and if that's it, I am happy I didn't.
I was thinking, what if you lowered the power knob so you could use the volume knob on the crunch channel as a 2nd gain knob for extra saturation? I don't know if it's that kind of amp, but it's worth a shot, cuz it's surprising that Blackstar wouldn't have much gain on tap
They have a lot of gain. It a lot of where we get top end crunch and distortion thst we enjoy is in a high end ther blackstars don’t really have. They aren’t super hairy on the top , so it doesn’t feel as distorted as other amps .
That being said I do think once fairly loud the crunch and distortion can be satisfying bc it feels more controlled and polished then a marshall .
It’s just a totally different thing
@@heythere6983 so is using the power knob as a master volume and using the channel's volume knob and another gain the way to get more?
@Giancarlo Martinez The few blackstars I have don’t have that dial , I would assume it could help. But yeah I just think what you get with a blackstar is a tighter gain , it’s not super loose or hairy so it may not be satisfying for some people .
I play it and enjoy the tightness for stylistic preferences . I would not get it if you want a looser feeling distortion or hairier like a 5150/marshall/bogner/Mesa /prs.
It always sounds more polished , so that’s a voicing your have to enjoy . It makes my marshall and bogner sound kinda sloppy in comparison . But it isn’t as wide or lush sounding . It’s clear and tight , the harmonics are not impressive like other amps. When the Overall volume is up, it has a controlled gritty bite , it clips bit harder and crisper once it’s loud. It can be very satisfying but it’s always fairly focused sounding and more narrow . The harmonics are kinda warm, narrow and soft but amp can get chimey depending on your setting .
you should try LEad Rythem and the next challenge middle! Middle rythem with lead, and leading rmiddle channel with harmonics above the 12th fret respectevly inverded reversed for order but the middle channel up to 12th fret and above respectivly!
My opinion - its a working horse for a cover band without a processor
Sounds good to me.
I never liked blackstars... for the price also there are a lot more options out there that sound a lot better! But to each their own as they say! :D Great video btw mate!
I wonder how the EP Booster would work with that amp? Not a terrible amp. It has its place somewhere I'm sure.
I save money by buying whatever gear is being imitated used instead of wasting it on new models from imitators.
Plexi/JCM800/Mesa Dual Rec/Mesa Mark/Peavey 5150/Fender Twin. Those six amps all used and in good condition will give you most tones.
And you're pretty much set with the real thing.
But another great video appreciate you and your thoughts on gear
This is a great review. I will say that this particular Series One amp is basically their “crunch” amp. All the other Series One amps that you even mentioned have two more OD channels for that extra gain. I use to own the Series One 104 EL34 head, which pretty much the amp in the review but with the OD channels. It gets you more gain for sure. OD1 seems to be the best. But, probably just ok to most people in the world of 5150s and Rectifiers.
I like the OD1 channel on my 104 EL34. The OD2 channel can be a bit much 🤣
Sounds like it would work nice with Stoner/doom.
Diaper poop reduction? Wish i had that when my kids were babies 🤣
This isn't a modern high gain amp even though it looks like one. It's more of a hot rod 70s or 80s Marshall with a few modern features (ISF, Power reduction, recording out, MIDI, etc...)
It does a good classic hard rock or crunch, and will do sludgier metal easily but it doesn't slice or chug like a "real" high gain amp. As you've shown it takes boosting to get there. It's good distortion with loads of midrange and nice harmonics - just not very modern.
The warm clean channel (plexi) on this is also great in my opinion.
This was my first "good" amp, and I still have it - so I feel very attached to it. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't find a few better things since.
Their OD1 and OD2 channels on the 4 channel versions are "real" high gain. But I doubt I'm missing much from them. Super Crunch is their best drive sound to my ears.
Sounds ok
Alotta crunch up front on that amp.Not my cup of tea,but sounds good for what it is.👍
The intro clip sounded awesome to me 🤷♂
Sounds like a severely overloaded input, the low end sounds broken, kinda sucks tbh
@@JohnWiku oh noooooo, a not perfectly tight sterile toneeee
@@ehoc42 doesn't need to be, but that crap sounds like blocking distortion 🤣🤣🤣
the s100 el34 does not have the od1 / od2 channel which is blackstars high gain mode. get the 6l6 version with black knobs
The 104 comes as either 6l6 or EL34. The 6L6 has black knobs the EL34 has chrome knobs. Both are actual high gain amps. The EL34 version does have OD1/OD2 channels 👍
I used to have the 4 channel 6L6 version it was a pretty good amp. Still didn't like the ISF thing though.
kind of reminds me of a vht pitbull 45
To be honest I think there were points were it sounded really good. I can see a few situations where it would really shine. But based on the many of your videos I have watched I just don't think it has "that" sound that you personally enjoy.
The blackstar s100 el34 is not a high gain amp. If you want a high gain amp from blackstar go with the 6l6 version or the s200
Seriously always been interested in the series one 200w
I'm definitely no expert on the matter, but to me it feels like Blackstar's (don't mind me, grammar is hard) aim was / is to be "babies first tube amp" for lack of a better term... I've played through a handful of them, and, to me at least, all the controls in the tone stack are very linear and forgiving, almost like its trying to hold your hand while you wrap your head around tube amps and how they work, and the ISF feature is there for people who might not really know what the American / British sound is all about, or which one they prefer... I have an HT-1R and love it, loud enough to piss my daughter off, but not our neighbors😉 ...I just leave the ISF at about 1 o'clock and let it do its thing
Awesome amp
Do you still have this?
I've owned numerous Blackstar amps over the years. Including the Series One 100 and 200, and both of those were 4 channel that had OD1 and OD2. I had basically the same experience you had, but like an idiot, I kept thinking the next one would magically sound better than the last one. No luck. I even tried the new Amped 3 since that was supposed to have more gain than their other amps. My personal opinion is that ISF is the issue. Instead of voicing the amp to be great, they voice it to be generic and blah, then you get the annoying task of trying to make something of it with the ISF. I finally gave up. I think my latest experience with the Amped 3 finally convinced me to stop trying. How can Gus G get such a killer tone out of these amps? No clue. :)
His sig amp the blackfire 200 has a lot more gain and sounds a bit different
@@Chris.Bo88 Too bad there weren't enough of those amps produced, in my opinion. I might check the used market and see if any are out there. Thanks!
@@davedobson9801 yeah here is only one in Switzerland
@@Chris.Bo88 I have one in mint condition and let me tell you it sounds nothing like the standard 200 , it's my secret weapon I will never let it go \m/ !
sounded like gatecreeper drop c end cool
it would be a great blender amp if using 2 in the studio against a mt15 6l6
sorry but that sounds better than most ur rigs man
I have a blackstar ht 100 mk2 give me a headfirst or a marshall or a Friedman any day. For me that amp like all blackstar sounds like crap! I hate my blackstar ht 100 mk2 to get a good tone forget it. That Headfirst amp you did a while that amp sounds so good! That runt 50 you did sounded really good.
Fireball 25 🔥
Good amps. I just find their Gains too fizzy for my liking. Good Cleans but for me its a Meh Amp line. Ymmv.
Damn, the stock amount of gain on this is perf (for me). Price tag however, not willing to pay. Also, them transformers all being on the same side is A S S
I never got Blackstar amps either. Just sound like generic high gain to me. Hard to explain, but there's not much character.
Still super bummed that Gus G ditched a really great solid state hybrid amp (his T2 sig) to a meh sounding tube amp (Series one).
Try the Laney Ironheart. It has a 6l6 and EL34 switch for tonal control. The atteunator is a god send for amps like this and the black star. Dialing a quarter of the watts to push the volume gives you a more resonant breakup for your distortion
To my understanding its not a tonal control. It is when you change tubes to adjust the bias. Don’t switch unless you changed tubes
Blackstar is my favorite amp. Riffing is one thing. And well they kick ass at. That. You just don't have chops. To go into the lead stuff. Your just a player that "needs" to hide behind gain.
Someone needs a hug
I think it sounds great. And clean, no fizz.
But if they are indeed close to non-serviceable then it's deal breaker.
@reav3rtm just take em to your local service center or a place like Gc or Sam Ash. They will find it for you. I worked for Ash for 8 years. That was part of my job. These are easily serviced. Plus the rarely need that.
@@MRDOZEDOFF420 Thanks. Anyway I'm not planning on buying any tube amp anymore myself. I will probably keep my Mesa Boogie Mark IV though. Digital/modeling is the way.
Just wanted to comment that this amp sounds great to my ears and would probably be excellent for death metal (which is more my taste than happy pussy trash metal 🙈) as it's dark sounding when boosted. I dig the tone for sure, with more brutal riffs it must be menacing.
@reav3rtm I've been solid state for a while . I have this in a combo. Death metal rules brother
The Series One 100 isn't exactly a high gain amp, if you want more gain then the Series One 104 is a better choice, but at the end of the day they use modified JMP 2203 circuits, so they don't fare well for modern high gain tones. The old JMP 2203 was not only brighter than the JCM800 but it also had less gain.
That ISF knob is just a mid-sweep knob. Again nothing new, Lee Jackson used to do that mid-sweep knob on JMP 2203 and JCM800 amps back in the 80s. Even the tube gain-stage layout you see on the Blackstar is straight off lifted from early Lee Jackson modified JMP 2203 amps. Try those amps with a WGS Invader or G12H75 Creamback, they nail those 80s Glam Metal tones.
Edit: By JMP I mean the JMP Mk 2.
@@Gearslayer92 The JMP Mk 1 was darker sounding than the JCM 800.
The JMP Mk 2 on the other hand was brighter than the JCM 800.
@@Gearslayer92 The JMP Mk 2 was Marshall's initial attempt to brighten up the JMP circuit.
They were not necessarily bad amps, it's just that were brighter than the JMP Mk 1 and JCM800.
It’s so weird…Every time I hear a Blackstar amp in passing, I always think they sound great (alone) but every time I play one or try to mix one live, I think they sound awful. The tight low end + thick low mid thing that these amps offer is pretty sonically pleasing to the ear however, they never seem to sound right in a mix. Anyone else get this vibe? 🤷♂️
You tried the wrong Amp. try the 4 Channel 6L6 Dude
rock on
I own the 200 watt series one , i agree with you that the gain isn't that great , the boost channel of my version as i understand it , is the high gain ch with a built in over drive , which is internal and fixed , you don't get to adjust it which is a downer , if you use an external OD on top your pushing 2 OD's in series and thus noise city. It definitely cames to life in your opening setup , that OD Boost is something like they should have used as an internal OD ! Overall i find it good sounding but tame and generic heavy metal sounds ,like an 800 boosted but without the killer mid top . The internal OD helps but doesn't turn it into a gain monster, also i find EMG active 81 works best , and you don't use an EMG loaded guitar much at all , , Do you have any videos with one , i don't know your take on them , they are a go to for most heavy tone thrashers .
thats exactly what it means. its a knob that rejects diaper poop
The 104 el34 or 6l6 versions sound way more metal than this one. The 6l6 version the most metal version. I have the 104 el34 version andI run mine boosted and through a Bogner ubercab.
I hear it’s almost impossible to get Blackstar to send you a schematic so you can at least service these amps. Never care for there tone either. It’s no Ultralead😅
You need a very certain certificate. I tried getting a schematic from them so that I could repair my s1 200 and they basically said "no lol" I ended up getting it repaired myself, but it would have been nice to have that schematic. I am selling it in hopes of buying a SLO clone
All you have to do is go to a certified tech of theirs
@@heythere6983 but that can cost a lot of money
I took mine when I first bought one and idk it cost the same per hour . I suppose if something goes terribly wrong then it’s an issue but the tech wasn’t more expensive than if he had worked on a marshall .
That being said I want to learn how to bias on my own, bc after having multiple amps I I really don’t want to pay for every little tonal change or tube replacement labor cost .
I setup my guitars now . I need to learn amp stuff
@@heythere6983 it really depends on what is needing to be done, I don't doubt that it will come back costing more or less than other products, but I am able to work on tube amps on my own and whatnot, you know?
This apple doesn't taste like a pear therefore its bad. This is a plexi style amp its not high gain. Put a metal zone through the effects loop on clean channel and its killer.
I agree with Kyle, I had a S1 200 and was underwhelmed with it. I like high gain amp's but 200 wasn't for me
Diaper Poop Rejection! I'm dead 🤣
I'm a fan of the Blackstar HT series sound but i really don't care for the higher end Blackstar amps . The series one Artisan and St James just dont do it for me at all . The Artisan 100 sounds pretty good but its far from my favorite 100 watt tone . I don't like the Artisan 15 or 30 at all . They sound brittle hollow and cheap .
The HT amps sound better in every way to me and i am not a high gain guy . I'm a classic rock classic metal and Grunge fan but i don't care for the lower gain more vintage inspired Blackstars.
We shouldnt have to a pay premium for a resonance and presence knob either
BlackStar what's good is the modeling, apart from that it's just okay, but for crunch settings not more. If you really want quality and to get products a bit above average from the United States, you have to turn to Japanese or European products. I haven't bought anything American for a very long time. In any case, I have reduced it to a minimum, we can't be at zero.
Blackstar isn't American? Also Mesa makes some of the best amps out there and they are American
@@IJIIKY9192 Blackstar is a UK company opened by 4 dudes who worked at Marshall for long time.
Just when i was thinking he needs to turn the bass way up he does a close up to show the bass was at 9 🤣 I'm not a fan. It almost has a solid state sound to it.
When my other band toured EU in 2014, we played with a band that was endorsed by Blackstar, with all Blackstar back lines. I shit you not, 10 minutes into their set they were trouble shooting the broken plastic input jack. 2 songs later another amp crapped out, and while trying to troubleshoot THAT amp, the one of the knobs came off in his hands.
I found out later they sold the amps after the show for heroin.
Lmao seems like maybe aren’t the best group of people to use an example
Dont give amps to crackheads 😂
@Em B
Lmao . Fair point
oooof. That thing is weak. I'll keep my Peavey Ultra thanks very much.
One of the least friendly brand for repair techs. Knowing that it doesn’t matter if their amps sound good or not, I skip that brand.
I’ve owned several Blackstar amps. Only one was exceptional and that was their solid state I.D. Core line. Those are awesome, but the tube amps, not so much.
I think that sounds awful, surprised by the comments but to each their own!
It sounded kind of anemic compared to the amps you usually demo. Like just thin and compressed.
I own a Blackstar distortion pedal that I actually like (even more than my JHS Angry Charlie), but I’ve never owned one of their amps. After this demo I’m in no rush.
Imagine spending an extra 500 bucks to have a worse amp than a 6505.
whats wrong with 5150?
Blackstars never sound bad to me, just okay, like they're usable but they never wow me. Between that and their reliability issues and cheap build quality I can't see myself getting one.
It's crazy that a DSL 100hr sounds WAY better to my ears (and for heavy music and rock) than almost every Blackstar amp I've seen. I guess i just don't care for the sound of them in general. The ppl that design most of their amps are good ppl and damn good at what they do, im just not a Blackstar fan...
Blackstar amps are not sought after. Generic
Horrible disposable amps.impossible to work on.