First video I've seen showcase the clean sound so much. That's how it should be. Some guys play country or jazz or folk. Not everyone is shredder. Good job
@@LeighFugeGuitar Leigh, you just helped sell this amp. You answered my questions, especially the speaker in this amp; few Tubers ever address this which is rather like using internet audio as a cover to hide their true tonal characters.to sell it.
Fantastic review of an amazing value for money amp. Seems as though it will do bedroom to headroom no problem. Sounds brilliant, more than adequate gigging amp. Boss Katana is hugely popular and I’ve had one before but I found it’s very fiddly to use. Thank you Stu
Great detailed in-depth honest review! I ordered this yesterday after watching half of your video. Just finished watching whole review and am even more happy I ordered this ! Sounds like a great amp and easy to get great tones from. Blackstar makes great amps I have a couple of ht 1 for practice and those are great
Great playing, cool amp. My first amp was a Crate XT30RC, which probably cost more accounting for inflation and could not have sounded half this good. I upgraded to Crate V18 tube amp before buying my first “big boy” amp, a Peavey Windsor 100w head and 4x12 cab. A lot of the newer “cheap” stuff is fantastic - my current rig is just a pedalboard and a Line 6 Catalyst 60, with my high-gain tones coming from a Westminster Effects 2716 distortion pedal. It honestly sounds better than the Peavey half-stack and even a Marshall DSL40C I used to have. My bedroom amp is just a Fender Mustang LT25 and a footswitch - sounds amazing as well. The Debut 50R might be worth looking into as something to run in stereo with the Cat 60. Had not heard of your channel, great demo, serious chops. Liked and sub’d 👍
@LeighFugeGuitar Hi everyone. Can somebody please help me? Which is a good footswitch to go with this amp? - I want to switch between clean & dirty, & have the 2nd switch controlling the reverb on & off. With led's preferably. Appreciate advice, thanks.
Hello Leigh it James , you do it excellent Job on Demo on Debut 50 and I am going out and buying it and I bought Debut 15 watts last year, because you did great Demo on Amp, I will be honest with you , this amp Rock, Black star amps are awesome, I hope you do more demos on Debut 50 amp with Your Les Paul, please it would be awesome and do some 70s 80s Hard Rock or Classic, you inspire me play more and practice and thank you Leigh for awesome video and demo. 👍 Thumbs up for your Video😊.
I switched from a 100 watt marshall head with 4x12 cab in the late 70's to a deluxe reverb and that amp was a great pedal platform. I used the reverb channel for a clean boost with the switch. Took the tank out and used a rack mount unit for verb and delay. A big box Rat pedal for a bit of OD or just a bit of crunch more than I could get from a fender. Worked quite well if I don't say so myself. Played every thing from old classic country to blues, to hard rock and metal up thru the 90's. No speed metal though but it probably could chug but I'm not into speed metal and shredding.
I was in between Blackstar ID core v4 40 and Blackstar 50r however you definitely changed my mind, ı watched your video that you experienced id core v4 40 and ı impressed but on this video you really enjoyed when you were jamming so ı would buy 50r thank you for that
I think this amp would make a great pedal platform for sure. Kind of crazy.. My pedals cost WAY more than the amp, BUT it sounds really good and would allow the pedals to shine.
This preamp design is something Blackstar have used in several places, and I always liked its character. I am fairly sure it is in the same family of design as the Fly and the LT dual drive. This amp seems to record really well actually. If you are doing home recording, this sounds like a tone that would sit in a mix well without a lot of knob turning, which would be good for those without a lot of mixing skill.
Yeah it's a great way to get a good, organic overdrive without using tubes. The LT Dual Drive is great, I have that pedal and love it! It's such an underrated overdrive I think!!
That’s a really good idea! Especially if you just want two good sounding clean amps to run an entire pedal rig through. I wouldn’t be surprised if people use it for that purpose!
@@LeighFugeGuitar It would potentially be a legit awesome small gig rig IMO. Especially if using something like iOS BiasFX, a simple stereo out interface, and a MeloAudio midi commander. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I mean, what's not to love about that?
Thanks for the detailed review! This mosfet amp sounds really nice for the bargain price. When I started I bought a Roland Cube 100 solid state - remember the orange tolex? - which was not really cheap at that time, but portable and reasonably loud. It could hold up with a band. I've had dozen of 'boutique' amps like Rivera, Mesa, Redplate, Diezel etc. but sold my soul to the Orange Rockerverb. At home I rehearse on a Crush 20DLX, but it starts to make too much noises. It needs to be replaced by something like this Blackstar.
Thanks for checking the video out, glad to hear you enjoyed it. Yeah I agree 100%, the MOSFET circuit in this works wonders, especially considering the price range it sits in. I love the way it sounds. I haven't gig tested it, but I do think it could keep up with a drummer!
This is the best most thorough review of this amp that I have seen. Thank you. I ordered one. The only one that concerns me is that buzzing on high gain. I wish you would’ve talked about that more and how bad was it. I just got rid of my boss katana 100 because the buzzing was absolutely insane -even at medium gain settings. I couldn’t deal with it. It wasn’t until I got rid of it that I learned that you can use the software and install a noise gate. A lot of amps have that problem. However, I have several Blackstar ID core 40 amps -and you can have those things at maximum gain -maximum volume and overdrive two channel -and ZERO buzzing sound! ID core amps are amazing. I don’t know if they have some kind of a noise gate internal feature on those amps, but there is no buzzing at all. When I’m not playing I don’t wanna hear any noise. So I guess I will just have to buy a noise gate? How bad is the buzzing at maximum gain and maximum volume? Anyway, thanks again for an awesome thorough review and great guitar playing.
I've been using a Katana 100 MK II in a worship team environment that the church invested in. The clean is amazingly clean and on the 50W setting it's more than enough, but switching to any of the o.d. channels brings on a maddening amount of hum, even with guitar volumes all the way off. I too learned about the noise supressor that's incorporated into the Katana Library software and I see now that will be the only way I can use any of the other channel settings; I haven't had a chance yet to use the software, though I have it installed on my phone. I was originally gonna get a Katana of my own for bedroom practice, but now I'm considering the Blackstar instead to fill that role, and also for some outside gigging. If it just had a balanced XLR out for getting the signal to a board/PA it would truly be the ultimate small combo amp.
Ive got a Harley Benton Mosfet Lead amp ,65W but sounds 100W, ....if I was to buy another amp it would be this Blackstar! This is the best video of this thing!! Thanks!
I am looking at them , no matter what I get it’s gonna be a black star though, but I’m really digging what I see in here from this 50 R ! Watch a good video is really good words !
It's a great amp for the money, there are lots of great sounds in this thing. It also pairs well with pedals so if you're planning on buying various pedals, this amp works great
Hi, Leigh. Excellent video and explanations! I do really like Blackstar. I do have a Studio-HT 20 (all valves), an ID:Core 20 v3, a Fly 3 and even a tiny Amplug Fly. For practicing at home I cannot play very loud, and I use to play with the Fly and the Core. I really do like the sound of the Fly because it's all analog and I like how it get that crunch even in the clean channel when the volume is up with medium gain and you stroke hard with the pickup (I think is very responsive to the strokes with the pickup and the guitar volume), and I was thinking to get a Debut 15e or this new 50R (using at 5 watts), just for practicing not very loud and getting that same crunch. Could you give some advice?? Could the 15 sound better than the 50 at 5W? I am afraid that the 50R, because of its 12 inch speaker, even at 5W could be loud enoug to disturb the neighbors if I want a crunch sound in the clean channel. Thanks in advanced.
How's the sound through headphones? I'm thinking about replacing my old Laney HCM10 (absolutely terrible sound through headphones) and getting a decent bedroom/practice amp that I could sometimes use as a pedal platform and A/B it with my Orange Tiny Terror (a terrible pedal platform but amazing drive). So far I was leaning towards Katana 50 but this thing even has an effects loop.
Great video! Any thoughts on running a HX stomp (XL), or any modeller/multi FX unit, with this? Looking for a platform type amp for backup/bit of sound on stage and came across this. I see this doesn’t have an XLR out (and line out mute the speaker) so would probably go straight into the amp (without sims), and then run the chain with sims etc out to front of house.
Considering how affordable it is, it’s definitely worth trying out! Most Blackstar stockists should be carrying them by now so your local stores will most likely have one!
My first amp i got with my first guitar - a bass guitar, a Vox Venue 100. Today i picked up one of these Blackstar Debut 50R for a song to use with my Ibanez Gio GAX30. Great demo video thanks, you mention any 2 button/switch footswitch would either a Blackstar 16 or 17 be compatible please? Thanks again
The Ibanez GAX was one of my first guitars too. I think I had the GAX75, the one that had a drop D tuner switch. The FS16 foot switch should work. There might be sone info on their website or in the manual about the exact one that will work.
I recently bought a blackstar debut 50r and I'm really enjoying it; I just wished it was louder, so I want to connect an extention cab to it. Can anyone me how exactly I would go about achieving that? I think the speaker is 4 ohms and I can't seem to find a non bass cab with 4 ohms. Sorry, I'm new to all this speaker talk.
ISF control runs only on the dirty channel (od) in connection with the 3band EQ, while the Clean channel has only the volume pot and the switch (bright/normal), I'm wrong? What do you think about the normal wattage (50w), it's enough for playing with a full band (2 gt, 1 bs, 1dr, voice)? tnx
The EQ and ISF are shared by both channels, but the bright switch only works on the clean channel 😃 And yeah, it’s loud enough to play with a band. If you’re doing big gigs you can mic it up too!
Really curious about trying this - hoping a music store near me gets one in. I've found I prefer analog over digital drives, but I do feel, while tubes still generally sound better, solid state analog can get really close to tubes without having to worry about the extra maintenance issues associated with tubes. Orange seems to be the main player in analog solid state amps, so this larger Debut from Blackstar seems like they are looking to compete with Orange's larger Crush Pros. The biggest thing I feel this Blackstar Debut is missing in comparison is a jack between the speaker and power amp so it could double as a cabinet. I got a CR60 a couple months ago and plan to eventually get a speaker extension cable and a couple mini amps to run into the CR60's speaker. Though at less than half the price of the CR60, I'd imagine the Debut 50R would still appeal more to a lot of people, and those who really want the extra jack could probably add or have one added.
Yeah to me this is one of the closest solid state amps I've played that feels right. I like the sound and the feel and it's pretty responsive to volume changes and dynamics too which is nice. Tubes will always be better, even if you can't hear the difference, to the player theres a feel difference that I personally prefer and I'm sure you think the same way on that. But, I am glad that solid state amps are getting so good because it means new guitar players can get great tone easy, and those of us that prefer tubes can also have amps that feel right to use at home. You're right about the speaker jack, but I had a Tweed amp built recently that also didn't have speaker jack. I took it to my amp tech and he added one for £45 so it's a very cheap mod to add in if you want it done. You just need to cut the cables that connect the speaker to the circuit, and add a jack plug and socket in between, It's worth doing if you want the amp to have that feature.
@@LeighFugeGuitar I see amps sitting on a Bell curve. While it's possible to find a specific solid state amp that might sound better and have a more dynamic feel than a specific tube amp, on average I've definitely found tube amps usually sound better with more dynamic feel to them than solid state amps, which in turn generally sound better and have more dynamic feel than digital amps. I thought most of the "feel" was difference in gain when picking, but I used to have a Marshall Code 50 before my CR60, and there's definitely something more dynamic about the CR60 over the Code 50 than just the gain range though I can't quite describe it. I've noticed tube amps like the Marshall Origin and Fender Blues feel even more dynamic than the CR60, though I'm holding out for a Marshall mini Jubilee since that has been the best amp I've ever demoed so far. That's nice to know having a speaker jack mod done is so cheap! Maybe Blackstar is on to something NOT including the speaker jack - save a bit of money up front and charge less to increase sales, and let those who want the speaker jack either add it themselves, or for the less mechanically-savvy individuals like me, take it somewhere to have modded.
Hello Leigh , at the moment i have an current set up for my kichen ( practise room) . an elfring little 5 w amp ( dutch handmade tube amp ) and an blackstar fly 3 , both are great amps , but , i am thinking to sell both and go for this , i really like to use the silent practise mode with the mp3 player on my fly 3 , the walls of my house are thin and i don't want to disturb the neighbours to much so the elfring amp does not get used to often and at very low volume because even a 5 w tube amp is way to loud , i like the sound i am hearing but is this an good replacement for an "tubesnob " like me ? I also am looking at the session 22 w blues baby wich i think will soung good too , but is more expensive and less practical for me .
Hey, Is that Elfring that was part of Kool & Elfring amps? 5w tube can get pretty loud! This amp can be played at a lower volume but you still get the sound of a big speaker which the Fly 3 does not have. It’s a great amp!
@@LeighFugeGuitar yep , kool and elfring both have there own amp brand now , i guess they seperated somewhere around 2015 -2018 , i'll have to think about this , the fly 3 is a very handy little practise amp wich still sounds " real "to me , and the elfring amp does sound really well ( even on low volume ) .
I though so. Aryjan Kool is a good friend of mine. If you notice in the video I have a few of his amp heads on the side. I met him in 2018 just after he and Elfring separated!
I have WAY more expensive pedals as well, but not a huge board. I like to keep things simple. To me it makes a lot of sense to play pedals for various sounds through a good clean amp. Playing multiple amps was actually more necessary in earlier decades when there were few, if any, effects.
That's kinda how I run my setup for gigs too, most of my tone comes from my pedalboard so that I can either plug into a real amp or an amp sim pedal and get the same tones. This amp would be a great clean amp for gigs, I haven't tested it for gigs yet, but it could easily do it!
It actually sounds ok and I've seen a few other people feature it. To me the big selling point of the amp is how it sounds in the room so I decided to focus on that.
7:55 You say there's no gain, but the manual says "When the Clean Channel is selected, low settings (counter clockwise), will deliver a clean sound. As the Volume control is increased clockwise the sound will move from clean into break-up until, at its maximum position, a light crunch tone is achieved." My question is how true this is? The lack of a separate master volume is concerning -- is it possible to achieve a loud but truly clean tone?
Not so much the AUX in... but a common way to use something like that with an amp is to plug it into the FX Return. The FX Return is an insert point that sits AFTER the preamp of an amp, so by going Guitar > Helix/Ruby > FX Return, you use the pedal as a preamp and just run the power amp of the amp. That would work for you.
Am looking for a no frills cheap guitar amp for gigging... I already have a pedal board so need an amp that can take pedals well . Dont want to be breaking the bank . But had been looking at the fender champion 100 . Have tried a katana and hated it .. would this be a better option than the champion you think .? Great video... Good info..new subscriber right here ..
Hey, thanks so much for checking it out, glad you enjoyed the video I haven’t played a Champion 100 personally, but from what you’re saying the Debut 50 will be a good fit. The Katana is great but I find it prefers the built in effects over external pedals. The Debut 50 is great for pedals. It would be a great amp to take along to a gig or rehearsal!
It's a Line 6 Relay. The unit that plugs into the guitar is plugged into a dock when not in use for charging. The dock connects via the instrument cable.
Yeah as @calyptratus187 said, it’s the Line 6 wireless. The dock is on my desk plugged into my tuner. The cable goes from the output of the tuner to the amp 😃
Seen another demo of this and I was highly disappointed compared to my black star studio 10 6 L 6. But with the humbuckers and you're playing I could be convinced to picking one of these up if I ever started gigging in a band again. But I think I still like the 6L6 Studio 10 better.
I started with a 10-watt Guild that was completely clean but sounded awesome with a Boss ds-1. It's also known as the amp that John Couger played in the video for Pink Houses. I miss that amp, I moved away and left it behind and my brother sold it or threw it away, I never got the story, he's an asshole. My 50r arrived today. It's weird though, the middle eq only works when both the bass and treble are engaged, and the volume only works if the bass or treble is engaged. That threw me for a loop when I first plugged it in, that said, it's my new studio amp, lol. It sounds awesome.
That would work nicely for a great, lightweight stereo rig. One would be loud enough if you're just doing pub gigs with it, they're pretty loud, but I think running a pair in Stereo would be great fun!
It depends what you measure "better" against. Nothing really sounds better than anything else as a fact, it's more down to what you're looking for it to sound like. The Debut 50 is a great amp for bluesy/rock type tones, and it also takes pedals well. It doesn't do super high gain stuff but some of the HT and Club Series can do that.
I have two questions. 1st question : Which amp is more good for high gain tones such as metal, heavy metal or even death metal, the Blackstar Debut 50r or the Marshall MG50 GFX??? 2nd question : Can the Marshall MG50 GFX be use too for gigging or to perform in stages??? Please reply those questions........🙏.........|
For high-gain tones such as metal, heavy metal, or death metal, the Marshall MG50 GFX would likely be a better fit due to its dedicated high-gain channels and versatile digital effects. It provides the necessary power and tonal options that are often required for these genres. It's also well-suited for gigging, making it a good choice if you plan to perform on stage. It offers more than enough power for small to medium venues and has features that can enhance live performance. The Blackstar Debut 50R is good for practice and small gigs, but might need additional pedals or modifications for higher gain tones, but it still provides rich clean and overdrive channels.
@@americanstreamer1910 Thanks for the reply. It helped me a lot. I thought that you won't answer of this two big questions but you did. Thanks brother....
I haven’t tried the Catalyst personally. The Catalyst will definitely have more features, but it depends what you need. I think the Debut 50 sounds great and it’s a good solid platform for pedals
price, fx loop in 50 w version and more of a plug and play style then having to fiddle with boss tonestudio via laptop i guess, have a nice day, think im gonna order now
Good answer! I second that. The Katana is awesome, but this amp is perfect for people who just don’t want to spend time tweaking! Just plug it in and play!
I've never heard of those but I'd love to hear how one sounds in 2023 compared to the options out there now. My first amp was called a BB Blaster and it sucked!!
I think Blackstar need to reduce the size for this amp, or at least to offer and 8" or 10" smaller size.It's great amp but I sent it back beacuse I could not play it in my apartment despite the option for the power reduction to 5 Watts , which does not sound all that good in my opinion. I wish it would be the size of the Blackstar Debut 15E but with the features of the 50R. Instead of the 2x 3" Speaker of the Debut 15E just put a single bigger speaker.
There should be a volume control on it. If you turn that to the left that will make the sound go lower so it wouldn't have been a problem for your neighbours
Americans can't just swap out the speaker. Most of the speakers in the USA are 8 ohms. Then again, since E-commerce is alive and well, buying a 4 ohm replacement shouldn't be that much of an issue.
@@LeighFugeGuitar just wondering if you could help me choose between this and the katana. I think I really like this one. I don't want to mess around with 100s of options honestly. Just want to play! I'm very tempted to get the blackstar. Would you say I'd lose out on a lot if I go with this? (I don't have pedals and stuff yet, only been playing for a little while)
It depends what you really want from an amp. If you just want a good clean and drive tone, the Blackstar is perfect. If you NEED the extras like loads of effects, then you'd either need to start getting into pedals, or the Katana would suit better. Both amps are great, it's really just about what you think you'd need. I personally would pick the Blackstar, but both are awesome.
