The Blackstar Studio 10 Combo 

I have the 10th anniversary KT88. Great for hard rock crunch to metal but the best thing about it is the singing lead tone. I haven't heard this kind of lead tone in most other amps. It's just beautiful. It's the only one out of the 3 that has the ISF knob. I found that I could get a sweet warm jazz tone with it all the way to the British side. Incredibly versatile amp with just one tone knob.

A really interesting piece of gear. This is exactly the kind of review that's so helpful. Short, sweet, to the point and with useful comparisons to other amps. I will definitely be on the lookout for one of these if it pops up on the used market.

Thank you! I'm a former intermediate skill player trying to get back to that level and beyond. This is helpful! I got this amp and it's great for home practice, especially how good it sounds at low volume like you explained.

I have this amp and love it...changed the speaker to Celestion V Type and it is amazing now. Tried all three versions and sent the other two back after playing this one.

Another great video and review. you do a really good job of pro's and con's. And man, your skill! Been following you for some time now and you really are kicking it! Very nicely done! Regards..

I own a HT-5R MKII which has both both worlds (Fender and Marshall) with a footswitch as a voice selection. I am so happy with the amp since you can also power down to 0.5 watt for bedroom and crank it up at low volumes.

Good Demo man thank you.

i like how the amp in the background matches the guitar on the wall, makes me wish my amps matched my guitars

I like the 6l6 version. Was down to that and Blues Jr, finally went with the Jr.

Helpful, thanks!

Spring reverb on tiny amps is incredibly subtle. I have the Ibanez Tubescreamer amp that looks like an old TV. The reverb on that is nice but subtle. Keep in mind its an Accutronics spring reverb tank. I would say that the digital reverb on this amp sounds clearer and more prominent. Now neither will get you to Dick Dale or Duane Eddy territory but it does add a nice feel to the sound.

Phil, you are right on point with this amazing map. I was fortunate to find a used KT88 version which once again is a bit different on the controls (no tone, just ISF) and has the overdrive of the Series-1 heads.. this thing goes from crystal clean KT88 goodness to screaming distortion tones in a heartbeat and the KT88 provides a BIG FAT sounds like no other tube can. Perhaps a little sterile in uber-clean, but that is a good thing sometimes.. I also wanted to like it as a pedal platform but the gain structure and adjustments I prefer to set it and play.. really amazing.. one thing I do is to set the ISF in the middle and run gain at about 3 and ad a clean boost to throw some grit into it.. I can run from a Malcom Young tone and add the boost to get Angus.. fantastic and responsive amp.. one note is that I ran it into a Marshall 4x12 and it sounded dull.. I prefer the open back sound and may opt for an additional open back cab.. Love your reviews Phil.. they really give us insight..

Such an underrated amp. 6L6 still my go to practice amp in my room

Yeah, I tried out some black star amps last time I was amp shopping. Really like them, but I decided to go with a used Traynor V80 2×12 Similar price, great mids and powerfull lows.

I got the 6L6. Reminds me of a red velvet cake. Mmm, it's a delicious amp, always hungry after. Takes pedals great with the clean!

I recently ordered the 6L6 Studio from Sweetwater and I’m impressed. I think that I want the EL34 Studio to round things out. As a guy who just noodles around, I don’t see me needing anything other than these amps. I’m going to see if I can trade my two Roland blues cube, hot & stage amps. The 6L6 is far more reactive and fun to play.

Great tones, small package, I love modern technology.

Not too long ago I got my first blackstar which was the ht100 and I love it

Great overview! Don't get me started on all the Fender amps with distortion that no one wants. The Bassbreaker and the Supersonic are fantastic - but the Blues Junior and Hot Rod Deluxe both feature distortion that most people dislike. You CAN crank up a Blues Junior and get a little gain, but crank a Hot Rod Deluxe and the windows will break. Blues Junior is great for clean. I like the sound of the Studio 10 - I'm anxious to play one.

i like the sound of this little amp and the price is pretty good i also like the spark amp too which i ordered and can’t wait to get mine

Nice to see you showing some love to Blackstar, Mr McKnight. Seems there's too many snobs out there that want to hate them for no logical reason. I have 4 Blackstars and haters don't know what they're missing.

Great quick review. If you could, how about a review of the Monoprice Stage Right 15 watt tube amp. 2 EL84 & 3 12AX7 tubes. Spring Reverb, effects loop with a 12" Celestion Seventy 80 speaker. Amazing little Amp for $250 American.

I’d love to get one of these amps because I bet I can get a really nice power tube over driven saturation without blowing out my eardrums

I don’t think there is a better small amp that this. I have the HT5R and it’s phenomenal and the gem is the quality of aux in and headphone use. I only wish I could use the iSF and EQ section on the clean channel. I also have the 1w head which is my travel amp with headphones snd an HT 20 Studio for getting loud with more headroom. They’re so versatile every home needs one.

Found my 6L6 to match Pearl (surf pearl tele) and they sound friggin amazing together. Considering doing the Jensen speaker swap eventually.

I agree with Super Jigawatt. Please review the 6L6 version.

Thanks, Phil. This might have sold me.

Thanks for exposing one of THE BEST ‘under the radar’ amps out there! Jk…..but-what we need to do is push Blackstar to make matching 1X12 extension cabs. That would take my Studio10 KT88 to another level!

I’ve been waiting for this video for so long!!! Was waiting for it to drop to see if I should pick one up. Couldn’t wait any longer and went smaller with a tone king gremlin. 😏

I got one of these the other day. i replaced the speaker with a Celestion 70th Anniversay. The amp was amazing with the stock speaker, but now even more so.

I have a Blackstar Fly 3..and that amp kicks serious ass !! 😎🎸

I just bought one it will be delivered Thursday :)

Loved this! Any chance of doing a vid on the KT 88 model?

Blacks tar is an awesome amp

A very Marshall like tone. Impressive plus. Perfect choice! The reverb on the amp is also used by Marshall from what I heard. The big surprise is comes from Accutronics :-) Smart move by them to make such a great product and keep guitar reverb of any kind in the family. Thanx for the demo.

That's a cool amp. The Blackstar Studio 10 6L6 version looks very similar to my Supro Blues King 12 class A 12AX7/6L6 that I really like.

Cool Amp.

thank you for the video review! i guess the speaker is okay? i've heard mixed reviews regarding the speaker over the years...

Sounds stellar here! I remember in a prior live show you mentioned you preferred full size 30-50 watt tube amps over smaller 1-10 watt ones, even for home use. I was planning on getting a Marshall DSL 40 for home use, would this be just as good or better for indoor home use?

Phil I love all the types of content you provide. And every once in a while I forget your a sneaky good guitar player, which means you have really good ears. Thanks man.

Phil, you should check out the Orange Rocker 15 Terror. It's 50 bucks more than this Blackstar and you have to have a cab to plug it into but I think you'd love it. It can be set from 0.5 to 15 watts, twin EL84's, 3 12AX7s, and a 12AT7, tube buffered effects loop. It's extremely versatile and based on what you liked about this Blackstar, I think you'd love it. It has two channels but you can get a huge range of sounds with just the dirty channel. I just set mine to a medium amount of gain, turn down the guitar volume for cleans, or hit it with a boost for higher gain. It's extremely responsive and dynamic.

I have the Studio 10 6L6 version, love the sound.

Have you ever reviewed the Monoprice 15w amp?? If not, I'd like your take on it!

I've owned a Blackstar Club 40 mkII amp. I think these amps do quite well for amps in their price range. Really enjoyed mine. The character of the amp is good, but to be honest, missing something. Still can't go wrong for the price vs what you get. Great beginner amp and even for someone who's been playing for years and wants something for home practice. I don't think you can go wrong. Blackstar took a bad rap, I think perhaps due to the history of its engineers leaving Marshall and forming their own company and then their units being built in China. I did notice a few quirks and missing some sizzle and bottom end oomph. Even with all the shaping features. I don't think any beginner would recognize it. Blackstar amps are a great value and I suspect will get even better with time.

Awesome review! I have often wondered how that amp sounded and never got to try one out myself. This is similar to why I really love my Fender Bassbreaker 007 - tons of tone at low volume. Makes a perfect studio amp, and it's about $150 less than this guy. I know the 007 doesn't have built-in reverb of any kind, but do you really need that in a studio amp? When recording my cabinet, I add reverb as channel insert effect or send it to a bus w/ reverb anyway.

I have a KT88 version of this amp, and it is a beast, absolutely amazing sounding. Marshall Origin has never been played since

It sounds like the windsor. And I chose the windsor studio over a marshall haze

Footswitch boost like the windsor studio

Ive got the british racing green KT88 version of this. Dont know why, but it was going for $400 new. I couldnt pass it up at that price. I like it a lot.

I’m looking at a used HT20 mk 11 , tried it out , sounded pretty good with the 4 voicing , pretty versatile I think , thanks Phil from Boston

I have the 6L6 version of this and it is absolutely great. (how do I change the comment font to blues serif).

With 3 choices. Wow. That seems way too cool. Thanks.

I bought the Blackstar Artist15 years ago over a Vox AC15 and a Blues Junior. I now have a Blues Jnr too, but if I could only keep one it'd be the Blackstar. I don't know of any other 15w amp in a large enclosure that sounds as good at 'house level' or is as versatile for any where near the price. Hugely underrated (although I've never heard a bad review).

I love these amps. I’m stoked you finally reviewed one. I think you get way more amp and options compared to the Blues Jr.. Rock on!

I'd like this as a head. I have no use for the speaker in this kind of amp.

Hmmm... cool man! I love my Blackstars! 😎🤘🎸🎛️

I have the kt88 model it has a boost I don't use unless im at really low volume is swapped the 70/80 out for a v30 and its my main house amp

Nice sound!

That's my favorite shirt Phil. Can you reissue?

For a bedroom tube amp, should I take this over HT5r combo?

I Love My Blackstar HT Stage 100. But it weighs a ton lol

12 makes it better

As nice as that amp sounds, I think the Supro Delta King 12 has an edge on it. The Supro is REALLY responsive!

Good stuff!

Hey Philip how's the sustain on that amp? I had one of the studio 10 6L6 version and it sounded amazing. But I found on these cheaper amps because they use cheaper output Transformers the sustain tends to die off quickly

Got a Blackstar HT5r MK1... Great great tone esp on humbuckers. Unfortunately the volume level has a life of its own goes up and down! Not sure it’s a tube as it does it in headphones. Help?

Wish I had seen this 14 months ago when I started playing. I have the Blues Jr. Nice review 👍

I like that amp. I would love to see a review on the 6l6 version and hear that distortion circuit.

Does this have more of a plexi tone or closer to a vox?

I have the 6L6 version. Definitely cops a Fender feel. It’s basically a clean low volume amp for me. The drive is too hair metal for my tastes. The headphone out sold me. Is it a Princeton killer? Definitely not lol. But I paid $400 used and got my money’s worth. $600 new is a bit steep IMO.

Biggest problem with most blackstars is the 70/80 speakers that come from amp. Have owned ht5 that I think sounds better than my marshalls

I was just looking into maybe a blue Jr or a bass breaker. I do play metal but not all metal all the time, I really want something fender like and small.

You can pry my blues jr tweed from my cold dead hands!

Phil, What’s a “Class A amp?” You mentioned that but didn’t describe it. Maybe I missed it? Thanks

I can buy TWO Monoprice/Stage Right 15 watt amps ($249.00) and pay tax for $100.00 less the price of the Studio 10... it sounds just as good if not better even in the 1 watt mode!!

BE Mini head?

this amp has auto bias?

This leads into something I’ve wanted to ask you to do for a while. When testing a new guitar or pickups, I have always preferred to use a tube amp to get a true sound from the instrument. When I watch videos of new guitars and pickups, I feel solid state or running it through a computer simulation does not capture the true sound. Example, I bought a squire starter kit for my son. He wasn’t interested and I actually liked the neck of the guitar so I played it a lot. The Fender amp sucked. But when I ran the guitar through my RockMan and into the amp it sounded like a $1000. setup. And that guitar through a tube amp was horrible. So, how about a video showing the difference between testing a new guitar or pickups on the amp you just used verses a Boss or the Spark. Or a good guitar verses a cheap one between this Blackstar and a Boss or Spark. Something of that nature.

Awe Phil; you're killing me! I just bought a blues JR. ($320 good deal?).

Just get the stage right tube amp for less than half the price. Same speaker, more tubes, 15 watt.

Them real nice cleans sound like a princeton.

I have been seeing things about Blackstar amps. Overheating (bad design) and not serviceable when and if they fail. True?

They are alright but not a 70s vox escort 50

The Ibanez TSA is also a worthy contester

$599 and add $150 for a V30. 70/80 are cheap imo

From Leo: Interesting little amp, but $600 for a two tube amp is kind of salty. I think I would miss a built in spring reverb too much.

Sounds great. I know I go against the grain here but I think the blues jr is the most overrated amp ever made.

This amp sounds great, even on my Smart Phone.

I’d rather something like this as a small head so I can mix and match different speakers w it

everything blackstar makes sucks....