Why do people HATE Blackstar Amps?
Are they valve amps? Solid state? Hybrid? Does it matter?
Many questions surround Blackstar Amps but the main one I try and answer in this video is “why do people hate them?”
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#people #HATE #Blackstar #Amps
Originally posted by UC9BJuXT406zELAfmEd7zh5w at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzGh1oBAIGg
I used to have mostly Marshall, only small ones as I live in a small flat. But I had to let some things go and basically I bought a pre owned guitar, but had no amp. The same pawn shop had this little Blackstar ID core 10 in limited edition red and black. It was on display in the shop window for about £50. I asked to see it and plug my new guitar into it to make sure it all works etc. It'd been in the window a while and the staff had lost the plug/adapter. I instantly knew I probably had one at home but made out like it was all a bit of an inconvenience having to buy the proper adapter and not knowing if it even works. In the end they said I could have it for £20. So I took it. Got home and found a plug, and it's ended up being one of my favourite little amps I've had. The only thing is there's not a wide range of eq tone setting, it basically has one EQ knob similar to what is on a guitar. Every setting and preset seems to be a bit warmer than I like. But I have a pedal to sort this out now. Other amps I've had aren't really practical in a tight 1 bed flat with neighbours up down left and right. I've always had to turn the volume up past a comfortable level before the amp started to sound good, especially when using OD and distortion presets but this blackstar can be played quietly and still has a decent tone. I also like the USB feature. You connect to a laptop or pc and the blackstar software let's you tweak the effects, and settings a lot more than you can on the amp itself. You can fine tune loads of presets on the computer then easily save them to the preset knob on the amp. I only really use 2 of the main presets which are clean bright and od1
I don't hate black star!
Great if you buy used and want to keep it, and it won't need repaired, but if you plan to sell them, be prepared to throw money away, and parts for repairs are scarce according to @PsionicAudio
Great explanations, and very clear and simple format. Thank you!
I have a 3 channel HT60 and I love it……
there is no sound in the rectifier only sag
27kg is my warmup cattlebell
I was hoping this video would shed some lights on how people were saying that blackstar has low repairability and that their boards are hard to deal with. I've seen reddit comments from amp techs that they wouldn't touch a blackstar amp
Man, what string gauge where you using here? That 3 semitone bending was insane
Because they generally suck & aren't reliable
Horrid. ????
Been rocking an original HT5 head at home for 20 years. I've not met an amp I cant dial in a tone I can work with, but then again I'm not an Eric Johnson cork-sniffing tonesex-pest. Sounds good to me!
I have a Blackstar Artist 15, and I love it! Great pedal platform, plenty of balls!
I don't get the premise at all. I own one now (HT-5R combo) and have played many. For their price points, they have all been good and a couple were spectacular. For a low wattage, very real combo for guitar, the HT-5R is amazing. Ideally, you swap out the one 12ax7 for a 5751 so it takes pedals better. You can also swap speakers for various tonal variations, but it sounds bigger than any other small-box I've tried. They also make (or made) a 20-watt combo that used 2-EL34's in the power section that was one of the best sounding combos I've played period. I've also never heard Blackstar catching anything remotely resembling universal heat for anything, so again, I don't understand the premise.
I veered from Blackstar for a couple of years. I was an idiot. Ended up paying twice what I did for my original Club 40. Never again! I bought a Boss Amp and the most horrible amp I've ever heard, an EVH. I wasted two thousand dollars on amps that weren't even close to my Blackstar. Never again.
Ask Thomas Blug what he thinks of Blackstar.
I was recording a guitarist when I was in uni and I did a blind test. I had him on a DI in the control room and switched back and forth between two amps (he didn't know what amps were set up). There was a blackstar tube amp (can't remember the model) and a Marshall (also can't remember the model) and in the blind test he favoured the blackstar. He was shocked but said the recording tone was "more beefy". Both heads were plugged into the same model of speaker cab and both had an SM57 and a U87. Moral of the story I guess is that sometimes a blind test can either confirm your feelings or shock you. The best amp is the one that sounds best to you.
People hate blackstar because of Fluff
Dumble amps have a solid state section in them too. I'm not surecwhere it sits in the chain, but it's in there.
I dont own an amp made by Blackstar, but i do have a single 12 inch open back cabinet made by them. Its built like a brick shithouse. Sounds fine with a Celestion Greenback in it, being driven by a Vox AC15 fitted with a Celestion Creamback.
Cheap printed circuit boards, ICs, overly complex and over priced garbage. Have fun with the repair cost when it fails just like a POS MESA.
I LOVE my studio 10! Sounds way better than Orange Rocker 15 and Blues Junior but cost $500.
I have two ID:260 TVR's. Legendary. Fully programmable. All program operations from a 128 slot 4 button pedal right there at your feet . Every song fully preprogrammed one after another. Ultra loud!! fill any room. And sound …. everything from hefty, full body, full throttle metal and rock to sparkly and jangly country and folk. I love em and wont give em up.
Blackstar are the only ones who can make a tube amp signs like a modelling amp with only one model.
The same reason some people hate PRS guitars.
I’m sure they’re well designed and built, but their gain tone is just…meh. There’s no character to it IMO. Just kind of bland. Not sure how else to describe it.
People hate Blackstar amps? Until I read this headline, I didn't know that people hate blackstar. And tobbe honest, i don't wanna know them. Free yourself from all yesterday's myths and fairy tales and enjoy life 😉
The pre and power amp are valve, therefore, tube amp and the solid-state prior to pre-amp is like having a boost buildt into the head …
there's one more thing to add there: snobbery from people who see Blackstar as "simply a Marshall offshoot"….
Personally, some of the best sounding amp setups I've heard have a solid state pre-amp/modeler and go straight into the power section.
That said, I don't like the Huges and Kettner Valve Meiser/Grand Meiser amps, they sound very processed in my ears.
People don't hate Blackstar.
Most Europeans call them tubes. Only Brits call them valves.
The sound I’m hearing is geared more towards Nu-metal. It doesn’t sound like the old school distortion. I like it.
… because their customer service for warranty is garbage.
But they sound wicked good
Do we?
Cheap low quality components ? They look cheap, cannot beat a Marshall VALVE amp, ( 3 ECC 83s and 2 EL 34s ) i gigged my marshalls for FIVE DECADES ! They had very occasional services / valve changes and never had one problem.
As soon as you use a effects pedal with any tube amp – You are now using a HYBRID ! omg! NO…
Nobody hates BlackStar amps. So sick of these (probably) Ai generated titles that are bound to grab attention. It's like saying: "Why do people HATE 50's Les Pauls?" It's cheap attention grabbing, insults the product and it's disappointing that KDH has stooped this low with a "Why does everyone HATE" type bollox title. Shame on you KDH! You're better than that! Or at least we thought you were….
I have blackstar fly 3, it sound pretty good for such tiny amp
Unfortunately, I must throw some shade on.the group hug.
Got a Fly about 3 years ago….extension cab, power supply, etc.
from Sweetwater. Liked it!.Used it hard! Stayed in my air conditioned office, sitting on a desk. Probably cycled off/on 50 to 75 times?.never gigged…
(Not the.only amp here…..)
On/off switch failure.
6 months or.less.out of warranty.
Blackstar Reponse: tough.break, cowboy.
They will look at it. I pay shipping. Minimum labor charge? $75.00
Parts and return shipping? Not included.
I could buy a brand new one for that!
My reponse: Craigslist whole set.
Tell everybody.
Sweetwater: sympathetic. We'll see what happens on my next (last?)dealings with them.
I don't know about "hate" but I bought one of their small combos (the ht5 I think). The sound was underwhelming and after a few years of very light use it just stopped working. I used the cabinet and speaker to build a better amp and haven't looked back.