Reviewed in Guitarist 446 Subscribe for more from Guitarist: goo.gl/2PRXE Buy Guitarist magazine in print and digital forms: www.myfavourite... Visit our website: www.guitarist.c... Facebook: / guitaristmagazine Twitter: / guitarist_mag
My summary. Clean and crunch - Gold : 6L6; silver: KT88; bronze: EL34 - in fact, don't buy the EL34 if you want good clean and crunch. High gain overdrive : a three way tie, all great just depends on which overdrive character fits your needs best. I have the 6L6 myself and love it, one further point is that plugging my Celestion Vintage 30 cab in (instead of the built-in Seventy 80) opens up a whole new spectrum of all great tones to add to the integral ones.
New to the yube amp game and this comment thread is very educational. Would you mind explaining if what you're saying about the speaker cabinet is different than just swapping speakers within the combo cabinet? Also why do many people suggest swapping the speaker? Thanks
I absolutely love my 6L6. It sounds great at low volume, has a high-quality effects loop, takes pedals excellently. By far the best amp I’ve seen in the price range.
I own the KT88 10th anniversary edition (same exact amp as the one here) and it's truly incredible. I keep thinking I need a fender amp for low gain stuff but man the KT88 can really do it all. Blackstar is criminally underrated. I highly suggest you buy any of these amps, they are legit. The only upgrade they might need is a speaker upgrade but even then... That can be said for a ton of amps way above this price point
I have the Studio 10 KT88 and I replaced the speak after a while with a Celestion G12-35XC (it's wonderful). When it's time to replace the power tube try a Gold Lion, sounds just a little bit better than the TAD, and hopefully is sturdier. EDIT: currently trying different pre-amp tubes.
I went to guitar center and played the kt88 tonight and was freaking blown away. If I could I would buy it right now. One of the best sounding amps for the money right now.
I liked the 6L6 before I even heard it ! It was my favourite sonically , closely followed by the KT88 . Note to amp manufacturers : Too many black amps !
@@profile_01 Well yeah, it's not that I don't understand the concept. It's just boring. Your average punter isn't going to be distracted by your gear anyway lol.
I have a feeling that these amps might become bestsellers. They are small and decently priced and even feature FX loops. Seems like they would be perfect for small stereo and wet/dry (or even wet/dry/wet) setups.
@Dimitris Aivaliotis Wet = adding effects i.e. reverb, delay and such. Dry = just the amp with no effects, pedals, or anything. I believe that is the intended meaning.
That is THE PERFECT amp review video. Here it sounds like 6l6 is a win. First of all, small (especially single ended) amps generally have narrower frequency range, and 6l6 with its extended lows and highs really complements and makes tone bit more balanced. Also for same reason I personally think this type of amp is better suited to single coils. While KT88 also have more range, it's not that musical and sound a bit flat until pushed hard, so it kinda ruins the whole point of this amp. While I do love el34's (especially in double valved, 50W designs) here it sounds TOO middy-muddy, unless you really want that woolly British heavy crunch sounding like it was recorded in 80s.
I changed my mind after listening a few more times. I like them all. Add a switch for all three tube possibilities on the same amp! Lol! The Kt88 makes a small amp sound huge!
@@davidcudlip6587 yeah I know. I was thinking the tubes were interchangeable for different tones but I realize they're different circuits altogether. Thanks!
Just bought an EL34 one. At bedroom practice levels (volume at 9'o clock at most), the gain setting seems not to change much the overdrive levels, or at least not perceptibly. Amazing tones though, looking forward to using this in studio to test its real capability.
Yeah, on the Anniversary Edition amp-which I think is identical-it wasn't even labeled as gain, it's labeled volume. It seems to just make things louder, without adding overdrive. I tried cranking the master and leaving the volume low, but cranking the volume and leaving the master low produced a fuller tone for me. It really doesn't produce much distortion...even the boosted channel is relatively light unless you have some high output pickups.
I like the beef and the chiminess, resonance around 5k of the 6L6 ---when Clean, El34 was best at overdrive, Kt88 was best at high gain but sucky when clean.
@@MartinCliffe its abstolutely the same thing! i just went to their site and compared. they didnt even bother changing the manual for both! www.blackstaramps.com/pdf/handbooks/artist-10ae-handbook.pdf www.blackstaramps.com/pdf/handbooks/studio-10-6l6-handbook.pdf Give it a look
KT88 sounded best to me. NOT what I expected at all. I usually prefer EL34's - but always class AB. This is a class A single ended amp so that is probably somethin to do with the difference
They all have great OD sounds but the 6L6 clean is too thin, almost solid state sounding and the KT88 is too fat on cleans....so, I bought the EL34 model and swapped the speaker for a Celestion V Type. It is the best of my 7 amps from Fender to Marshall it does it all. Check out the Dawsons vid with Quail on the EL 34 model.
I'm starting to notice a pattern that mid heavy el34s get no love clean but then come alive with overdrive/distortion. Whereas the scooped 6l6s sound nice at low volume but really weak and thin when overdriven. So, really depends if you're going to have to drive your amp or not. The kt88 was interesting in that it seemed more flat to me clean and then the mids/low-mids were more prominent when driven.
I would agree completely. I thought about the 6L6 but then after seeing this I realized that overall the EL34 sounds better overall, even though the clean tone leaves a bit to be desired.
This amp is well priced and looks great however, I have outgrown it quickly. Compared to a Princeton (yes, more expensive) you just can't get the clean tones to sound warm. That's what I am looking for is a small home friendly amp with great clean tone.
Sounds great, Got the HT Stage 100 myself, love it. Anyone think to compliment the guitarist on his skills? Freaking awesome dude. I think all version have merits, but personally think they came into their own when piling on the gain. MY HT Stage has the Infinite Shape Feature thing going on so I can dial an any mix of the 6L6 or EL34, which is a nice to have.
I wonder if it’d be possible to do the Egnater Tweaker trick and release a version where you could swap the tubes, or modules, and have the three amps in one
seems an interesting concept. I see blackstar on the front and have to assume, even the simplest looking little amp would have diodes, opamps and digital shenanigans going on?
i dont know...i pick the first one I hope I don't change my mind after I buy it... 6L6 if i m wrong I think I just need to play more anyways.....we all do..
I need an amp to play with a band in a practise space. I’m torn as to whether to buy one of these and get less variety but likely higher quality tone than a Silverline. I’m sure my Tele would love the 6L6 model.
Nice amps indeed! As you need to cranck out some extra bucks compared to the Anniversary ed....do they come with speaker upgrades like the Ht Mk II series? Maybe the next step along the marketing alley..
Basically rebadged Anniversary Edition combos in new colours, but that's fine as the Anniversary Edition amps were great except for the crappy speaker. Put a Greenback in one of these and it'll be a killer small gig / studio amp.
Just a question...maybe it's because I'm old ... Does anyone buy amp combos & guitars nowadays that they actually tried out in person & liked enough to buy in the first place , before they buy them ? I watch a lot of guitar channels and enjoy them and always read the comments , so it's just something I have become aware of in recent years globally ... Aftermarket sales of speakers , pickups , wiring kits etc must be at an all time high ! 😊
@@shaunw9270 I actually did try out the Blackstar Anniversary combos (at Dawsons in Liverpool) last summer before buying them. I thought they sounded great, otherwise I wouldn't have gone any further, but I could tell they were being held back by the speakers in them. While I think you're probably right that upgrades are selling better than ever because people are more aware of the benefits simple mods can make, I've been modding and upgrading guitars for over 15 years and amps for probably the last 10. It's an easy way to make something good into something great for a lot less money than often buying something that's "there" already IMO.
I have the anniversary edition. Love it. Initially thought the 6l6 sounded better, but if you listen a few times you change your mind... el34 doesn't get as harsh. Not a lot of headroom, but I use line6 l3t, so I can mic it.
Can you help me a bit? What exactly does gain mean? Basically, if you put more gain on, the guitar gets louder. Is that all? For example, Vox ac15 has no gain control, still, it works fine. Thanx for your answer(s) in advance! :)
Kinda late but gain drives the tubes more and gives it more saturation. It’s the sound you tend to hear on rock guitars, as you turn it up it makes the guitar sound more grindy and is what causes distortion . More harmonics come out, that’s what the distortion is. Less gain makes your guitar sound clean like an acoustic .
Based on the AE combos from last year, I find the EL34 one sounds better with my single-coil guitars, while the 6L6 one sounds better with humbuckers. Just my personal preference though.
I feel like blackstar is getting left behind by other builders, Marshall is killing it with the new studio series that's actually made in the U.K.,Victory is knocking it out of the park with their line-up that's U.K. made as well and Friedman is growing every day and made in the U.S.A.. Blackstar isn't really releasing anything new and exciting IMO ( these amps look ok I guess) and they don't even have a flagship model that's made outside of the far east and I think that's hurting them cause out of all my amps my Marshall dsl40c is the only amp I own that is made in the far east (Vietnam) and I had to change a few things for it to sound decent. I had the blackstar ht40 for about a year and in that year I could never get a tone I was happy with so I ended up trading it for a Marshall 1960A cab (an older made in England) cause I couldn't give it away so I took what I could. Not to mention that every amp tech I talked to ( around 6 when I had my blackstar) talked about how poorly made the blackstar were. Change my mind.
Regretfully I agree with some of what you say. I've had an HT40 and it was fine, but wasn't really my thing. Also flippin' heavy. I sold that and got a Deluxe Reverb Custom '68 which I love deeply. I still have an HT5, which has always been a bit unreliable in spite of a few trips to amp techs. I does sound great though, so I use it at home. I'm interested in these little Blackstar Studio 10's though as I sometimes do gigs in very small venues where the Fender is a bit over the top.
I'm not blackstar fan at all, but in their defense: Friedman and Victory do not occupy comparable market space nor do they offer comparable products. And in the new Marshall studio case, please have a look at some gut shots. They might have a made in England badge but they're properly cheap amps. Everything is pcb mount and quick connect, and they don't even have real pots. I get what you mean about blackstar, they seem to do a 'thing' which to me is just generic guitar tones. But they don't really have a heritage the way someone like their parent company Marshall does, or a recogniseable sound, so you can hardly complain about it
@@kbkman7742 I don't think you understood my comment, blackstar doesn't have the comparable product line and that's EXACTLY what I mean! All they have is this cheaply made far eastern made amps that really doesn't sound that great. I mean are they marketing to the beginner/ intermediate player/bedroom player cause that's all I'm seeing in their line-up of amps. It doesn't have to be point to point hand wired to be badass cause the studio lineup is a badass lineup that in turn blackstar is missing. Actually your comment hammers home what I'm talking about. I'm not trying to complain about anything but I had one and it wasn't that great and none of the products they've released in the recent past moves the needle for me.
nice amps! I sure wish these demos wouldn't demonstrate the same stuff over and over. Get a player who can offer a greater variety. And PLEASE - I want to hear more variety of clean.
Andrew Konkey I’ve played it I also design ants for a living for radio technology. That amp is nothing but a circuit board with a bunch of knobs it’s not hand wired it’s not point to point and it doesn’t have any mojo trust me
I've used a valve amp power regulated down to 0.5 watts for 600-800 seater venue's many times. I guess it depends on how good the sound guy is and your monitor mix. Low stage volume makes everything sound much more professional.
@@utmotrix Do you use a PA? I understand that it's not a magic solution for you and your gigs but for many working guitarists (especially young players working in cities) portability is worth using a mic/line out. Many live situations require me to have a low stage volume anyway, especially in the theatre/show circuit.
I have the Artisan 10ae, same basic amp as the EL34 studio 10. It’s a pretty loud 10W. Totally fine for rehearsal or small clubs / pubs. Two of them wet/dry is killer.
That's pretty easy for any amp tech to rebias or mod your amp to be able to handle kt88/6l6/el34 without to have to buy an other amp... That's not really eco-friendly...
🤔 Eco friendly ? Lol they make them in China ,so I doubt if conservation will ever be a concern to Blackstar. I like some of their amps but I don't agree with the dodgy marketing of their company.