Blackstar amps.

[PelliX]

The St James looks interesting. Judging by the AC input range tolerance, they subbed the PT for an SMPS. With sufficient smoothing this can work, it's not an inherently bad idea per se. There is no OT, just a "reactive load" as they describe it. So that's ~50W of heat being dissipated in there, nice. The speaker output is presumably fed from the "DI" from the load and driven by solid state. Provided the solid state is nowhere neat saturation/clipping that will give you an accurate reproduction of your valve "output" stage, presumably.

Some of their old-fashioned valve heads sound great, never tried any of the newer types.

 

[Moony]

I personally don't like the St James as stated before. I think the HT series sounds better.

The St James have somewhat artificial mids to me and a weird low end that does not appear "natural" (for the lack of better words...). Somewhat like the "loudness" knob on a stereo.
Interestingly I've heard from other German guitarists who tried these amps that they had similar experience (they described it with their own words but in the end they all meant the same characteristics).
I also remember watching an Anderton's video (not about the St James) and when the intro-playing started I thought "hm I don't like that sound, sounds like a St James - but it isn't a video about St. James (according to the title)" and then saw that they indeed used that amp. Which was a bit of eye-opening for me.

As far as sales go, I have the impression that they don't sell that well - might also be because of the relatively high pricing.

Besides that I appreciate the effort Blackstar puts into developing new technologies and hopefully they can improve it further.

 

[aikiguy]

That's why the newer MKII series HT-5 amps have a "voice" switch on the overdrive channel where you can activate higher gain.

Nice! I wasn’t aware of that. We don’t really have a dealer around here anymore, but maybe I’ll try to find another one..

 

[Karl Brake]

The St James looks interesting. Judging by the AC input range tolerance, they subbed the PT for an SMPS. With sufficient smoothing this can work, it's not an inherently bad idea per se. There is no OT, just a "reactive load" as they describe it. So that's ~50W of heat being dissipated in there, nice. The speaker output is presumably fed from the "DI" from the load and driven by solid state. Provided the solid state is nowhere neat saturation/clipping that will give you an accurate reproduction of your valve "output" stage, presumably.

Some of their old-fashioned valve heads sound great, never tried any of the newer types.

Thanks for the specific tech info!

 

[slade]

Back in the beginning of this year I bought a used Blackstar S1 104 el34 head. It’s my go to everyday amp now. I do want to eventually buy the 6l6 version.

 

[unicorna]

Check this out it sounds and looks good here, they have a 50 and 100 watt version.

I have the 200 watt version and it is awesome through one or two of my 1960 cabs. Another backup for my "71 Major

 

[paul-e-mann]

I have the 200 watt version and it is awesome through one or two of my 1960 cabs. Another backup for my "71 Major

I just got a Tonex One, I'm shocked how good it sounds and how little and inexpensive it is. You would be able to capture an exact replica of your Major and carry it around in your pocket! So far at home it sounds spot on, later this month I'll be able to try it at band practice and see if it's really worthy of its praise.

 

[purpleplexi]

I had a series one when they first came out. Wasn't a cheap amp then. Never bonded with it. Don't really know why. Lost a lot of money when I finally traded it.
Went to try a guitar in a shop a while back and they plugged me into a St James. Didn't like it. Guess I'm not a Blackstar guy. They're just up the road too - nearer in fact than Marshall.

 

[Lily_Taeko74]

bought my Blackstar Artisan for a paltry $325 and honestly when the prices jump I'm glad I did get it. It does the tone of 2 amps, a Vox AC15 and a Marshall 1974X. With a simple 4 knobs and channel jumping, good tones can be had. I found myself working the knobs on my guitar to get more options. Simple yes but with say a nice OD pedal it can be a nice retro rock machine if you're looking for a an amp that does 60s and 70s rock