Why do people HATE Blackstar Amps? 

"If we all liked the same amplifier it would be pretty boring" The entire "modern metal" scene, playing a 5150 boosted with a Tube Screamer into a Mesa cab with V30s: "And I took that personally"

Blackstar Amps are LEGENDS for me. A couple of months after me&my wife escaped from Ukraine, leaving all our staff there, i emailed Blackstar Amps and asked them to let me pay monthly for the amp cuz we had nothing but 1 guitar, and with that amp i could at least start busking. And you know what? They just sent me the amp FOR FREE wishing all the best. Now, thanks to them, im able to make content again and i hope that i can appreciate them enough

Blackstar Amps are fantastic. I own 3 of them, and they all have excellent cleans, overdrives and distortions.

Who hates Blackstar? That's crazy. I'll take any you don't want. Great amps.

I used to work as a sound engineer. Most guitarists don't know what they are talking about when it comes to the technical workings of their gear. It's nice to see one that actually takes the time to understand these things, big props.

HOT TAKE: Blackstar doesn't release schematics and uses a lot of SMD components... So they're basically unrepairable and will likely only last the length of the warranty period. Check with Lyle at Psionic Audio or Brad at Brad's Guitar Garage and you'll learn a thing or two. I had a JJN-20R combo and I never jived with it. OD ch. was unusable / noisy and the clean ch. was sterile. ISF, voicing buttons, USB audio, emulated output are all marketing gimmicks. If it works for you and that's the sound you're looking for... Fantastic! They're just not my cup of tea.

People don't listen with their ears. They are too bothered about peer pressure and tend to repeat the same soundbites, as they don't have enough confidence in their own judgement to give their honest opinion, so the soundbites becomes the safer option. I'm a Blackstar endorsee and their equipment is excellent. I've caught many people out with blindfold tests before. Not only do they make quality equipment, they are an excellent company to work with. The quality of high gain amplifiers in 2021 is exceptional, it's almost impossible to not get a decent tone out of modern hi gain amplifiers. I'd question someone's abilities if they can only feel comfortable playing through a £3000 boutique amp. Equipment snobbery should be well and truly out of the window by now, even plugins sound killer in 2021. Excellent channel by the way mate. Carlo 👍🏼

You didn't have to play Thin Lizzy. But you did. And we thank you for it.

I bought HT-5R in 2010 and would buy HT-5R mkii now in a heartbeat. Perfect practice amp with a potential for small gig scenario and recording. Wonderful tone versatility and the mkii version is even better with the attenuator. It's been a huge part of my guitar journey.

didn't even know people hated Blackstar lmao. Played so many shows with my HT 40, currently recording with it, has never let me down. Sounds great, doesn't break the bank, and is great for gigging with.

My favourite misconception is how nearly every guitarist thinks the sound is made exclusively by the valves, when 99% of amps use the same preamp valve and the same 3 power amp valves.

I had a Blackstar HT Club 40 for years and loved it. Of all the amps I owned, it was only beaten out in tone versatility by my Mesa JP2C. It could do every tone under the sun, all in the same little combo. I replaced the stock speaker with a Vint 30 and that made a really good amp into a great amp. I only gave it up to make space for my Synergy gear. I'd buy another one in a minute.

Great video. I love that you mentioned the solid-state circuit in front of the pre-amp of the JCM 900. A dude in my local scene once scoffed at someone's JCM 900 at a gig because of this exact reason before putting a TS9 in front of his JCM 800. I told him "dude, you basically did the exact same thing" and he just about popped a blood vessel trying to tell me I was wrong.

I don't hate them, I absolutely love Blackstar, and I don't give a single f*ck what people think about them. If they sound good, it's because they are good. Period

Anyone taking tonal advice from Fluff is at very real risk of sounding like him

I never knew Blackstar were hated. Is this what you call "RU-vid drama" ?

Bro, I like the way you broke that down and I would have to agree. People should be more worried about how the amp sounds and not what parts are in it!

You are a rare breed of youtuber: you are a meal youtuber. You create the type of content that's perfect to eat a meal to

PSA....Please note that tube amps can in some instances store lethal amounts of voltage in them well after being unplugged so always be careful handling the bare chassis and parts unless you know what your are doing.

12AX7 preamps, and a rock solid state power output is a match made in heaven!

ah yes Blackstar is like what Nickelback is to rock music, they receive hate just by doing what everyone else does 😂

You're one of those RU-vidrs who I always watch and enjoy whether I'm personally interested in the topic or not. Keep up the great content mate, I'll be here feeding the algorithm for ya

I'm with you. Call it what you like. It's an amp. If you're going to be a snob, make sure your entire chain is tube (good luck with that!). People arguing about terminology have lost the plot.

I have a little Blackstar ID core stereo 40 and I absolutely love that amp! It sounds amazing! It has 6 amp settings from clean warm to super heavy OD. It also has a tone control that sounds good in every position. But the best thing is the effects! They are absolutely killer! There are tons on them, they are easy to use, easy to access, easy to modify and blend and they sound excellent. The stereo effect really punctuates everything with it absolutely filling the entire room with the sound of my guitar! It sounds like you’re wrapped in guitar goodness with it coming from everywhere. Yeah, I absolutely love my Blackstar.

I have a Blackstar HT100 and it absolutely sounds amazing! Had it re-tubed with all Tung Sol EL34s and I’ve had several friends that own Mesa Boogie heads that have been super impressed with the low end and mid range cut. It’s an absolute beast!

Best 12 min ever. Hope that busts the myths for the cork sniffers. “if it sounds good, it is good” EVH🤘🏻

I've been gigging with a Blackstar HT30 for several years and love it. Blackstar was originally pitched to me as being built by the former disgruntled employees of Marshall, whether thats true or not I honestly don't know but I love the amp and the sound regardless. I actually just purchased the new 100w Blackstar Silverline and absolutely love that thing!

David Bowie recorded his last album with Blackstar amps and called the album Blackstar. I like the one I played.

With the HT series, the hate is built right into the name.

I've always thought they sound great, but they were initially a boutique brand as I remember it, *but once it found it's way into MF, AMS catalogs etc., the hate was born lol.* I'm deep into a solid-state design that I am confident will do what amps claimed for 40 years, and produce a true valve sound through and through, but without the cost. *One critical factor is the heart of the clipping stage being a classic fuzz without diodes, and I'm confident I've achieved this.* Step 2 of the clipping stage is bringing in the raunch, sleaze and grit people use pedals for, *and I am already well underway into that as well.* It's relative to the op-amps and FET's in the Blackstar. This is also a mere fraction of the design scheme, and some other critical details I will leave out of my boasting lol. Must we never forget, BB King played a Lab Series all solid state amp, and there have also been some all solid-state legends like some of the older Randalls. Somewhere I have a Randall schematic and the amount of transistors and mosfets in it is insane. Huge circuit, and there must be 40 of them in it with zero op amps. At the end of the day, engineers just never bother to do it, but it can be done and mine won't be the only one. *I need to be able to hit clustered, bassy arpeggios and have great note separation and detail, and did enough work in college on the degree as well as DIY for the last 20 years to know exactly how.*

I have no issue with Blackstar amps. They just don’t work for the sound and style I aim for when attempting to compose music. You definitely make it sound rather good in your video so I may have to re-evaluate them in the future!

The term "hybrid" really came into play with bass amps in the 90's; almost specifically tube preamp/solid-state power amp. "All-tube" to me means tube preamp and tube power amp.

When I was on a market for my first tube combo amp, I found that I like blackstar the most watching RU-vid videos (there are no many of them btw). I was surprised to see negative comments. And I went to guitar center. Tried it live, the same result. I loved it, sound was much better for me than other amps in the same price range etc. plus it was possible to play not that t loud which was important for me too. When I then researched why people blame them, I found the same reason. And I was laughing, because who cares. If I don’t need to have an additional solid state distortion in front of it and I like the sound, why is this bad? So I bought it. And I’m happy with it for years. Btw, another issue was quality control, and I partially agree on that. As the first one I bought started glitching pretty soon (probably dead tubes). But, in general if you like the sound, no reason to think about circuit.

i think its because they are a relatively new and non-boutique amps and not considered to be among the prestigious expensive brands which rustles the jimmies of blooz dads and other gear obsessed people so its just a nocebo rather than being actually bad.

Played one in my local music shop. It was the best amp I've ever played on then and since. I didn't even know there was any hate for blackstar.

I have an ID Core Stereo 100. I love this amp. For the price, you can't beat it.

Blackstar is the Nickelback of amps. People hate it because everyone else hates it, but they are not quite sure why they hate it.

I hate that the same people who refuse to have solid state components in their tube amps and yell at other people for having them are also paying ridiculous prices for vintage Tubescreamers.

I really like my tiny Blackstar stereo 40 that I bought used a few years ago, It has a pair if 6.5 in siereo internal speakers and with the in built effects I can get a variet of goor guitar tones with my extreme mod Strat. with it's custom stars and planets space theme paint on the body and head stock and the custom hand made stainless steel pick guard loaded with 3 quad rail/coil humbuckers wired like a classic 50's Les Paul with P/P pots for coil split ..all the pots are 500k ohm audio taper with the bridge pot also a P/P to activate the bridge and neck p/ups together regardless of the 5-way switch position. giving me virtually unlimited tone variations and add that to those in the amp as well I won 't even ty to count how many tones I could get. I can also hook the amp up to my surround sound system for even mor of everything, tones, deep and full with the powered subwoofer and the rest of the surround speakers, I will also add a pair of switched 1/4" extension speaker output jacks recessed into the bottom of the amp to power a pair of 4X12' tower speaker cabs. whemn stood together side by side and the amp laid face down on top of the cabswith the amp contrils facing forward I essentially a 'Full Stack" Imagine what that might sound like.. Wanna Play???

I have a Black Star HT5R 1x12 that I use at home for practice and I really think it’s a good sounding amp, I bought it mainly because it has a headphone Jack and I live in an apartment. I’ve had it about three years now and I’ve been able to dial in some pretty good tones with it and have had no trouble at all with it.

I feel the same way about EMG's. For YEARS people used them. They're on countless albums and I've even read major artists say in interviews not to try and record without them. Ever since fishmans came on the scene people have bashed EMG's. I use both. They both have their place in a mix. I see pickups the same way and artist sees a paint brush. It's just a tool. I don't get the hate. For anything. If a guy is shredding it should be celebrated

The solid-state vs tube argument is getting antiquated. I’m hearing solid-state Amps over the past decade that sound as good as a tube-amp. They’ve come a long way. Your blackstar sounds great.

Overall, I like Blackstar amps. I’ve had an HT-5 since about 2008 I think. It’s a fantastic practice amp. The Artisan series are some of the best sounding amps I’ve ever played. If money wasn’t a problem, I’d buy and Artisan 30 in a heartbeat. I worked in a guitar shop for just over a decade, I used to sell HT-40s for fun. They’re the perfect amp for the gigging guitarist.

Repping Thin Lizzy @ 3:45 I love it

Keep up the good work.. as you said sound is all subjective.. ive gotten crap for using a quilter ever since i got it... i sold my tube amp a month after becuz i found it had turned into something that sat there to look cool instead of being used and ive always felt that amps deserve to be played by those who enjoy them... if you dig blackstar then your opinion is vaild.. thats why music is such an awesome form of artistic expression... as artists we get to choose our tools and use them in a manner we see fit... key board blues lawyers seem to forget that hours spent playing usually with friends are a far better way to pass the time them simply criticizing others and brands... thats why teens with trash equipment in a garage always have more fun then a rich guy playing all top of the line alone in his home studio lol... and if i had to choose ill always choose hand me downs or what i can afford and playing with and in front of others to a hoard of expensive nonsense i could brag about :) keep up the good work buddy

Dude, you have a new sub! And thank you for explaining all of this about amps!! I’ve played through the Blackstar Club HT 40 a few times and was really impressed. I believe that some people develop a cognitive bias based on what others (like RU-vidrs) say, which drives their opinion.

Solid state amps are the secret to a great late 80s/90s extreme metal tone Everyone from Death to pantera and Acid Bath and Crowbar used solid state amps

I just stumbled on to this video and watched it because I own a Series One 104 & 200. A lot of the info was great, but I sold off every other amp I owned because I favoured the Blackstars over everything else. It’s all subjective in the end and the sound I’m after my Blackstars have always delivered.

How people can’t be fine with an amp that just works is mind blowing

As an American and New Yorker, we go by the word tubes. In a Honda Accord car engines, it contains 4 or 6 valves. So I think a lot of Americans mistakenly think it's related to solid state. I own Blackstar Fly 3 watt portable amp for traveling. However I love mid-delay sound. I also own Boss Kitana mini 7 watt portable amp. Both are good. I have a Marshall full stack but it's too heavy and have to take it outside on the lawn to play. It's too loud and it reverberates too loud against the wall. It's tube. Tube takes longer to warm up. My Favorite amp is the Acoustic lead series G120DSP amp. I love the Beatles Abbey Road George Harrison and Eric Clapton lead guitar sounds which I cam dial up almost instantly on it. On the Marshall I have to use a Keeley Abbey Chamber Verb pedal to get that Beatles and Clapton sound. Before I bought the Acoustic I think that the Blackstar takes tweaking on the knows to get the settings you want. Blackstar along with Boss the settings seem more complex. My guess is guitarists who complain about it are playing more than one genre. If you have to spend 10 seconds between the songs to adjust the settings it might be too much time. That's my comparison on it while I was buying my Acoustic amp. It's like seeing the girl and falling in love in first sight. You're going to be a little frustrated if you first blindly adjust it, strum a chord or pick a note and realize that's not quite the sound you want. The Acoustic lead series amp is like I can fall out of bed, plug in turn it on, touch one know, strum and that's the sound I want.

I got an HT1R and an HT5210 as I have my higher watt levels covered. They sound IMHO great with their tube aided technology, have nice features like the ISF (and quality speakers in the HT5210 !) , and a good sounding output to feed a DAW in the absence of an IR-cabsim. The HT5210 is, at it's 5W!!!, able to gig at club level. Good package overall. What I noted is that the gain level no big room for light crunch tones at the edge of break up, which the higher wattage amps may do better. But, come on, different horses for different courses. Blackstar is budget friendly, well made, others are as well. Make your choice with your ears, enjoy a good price point amp for an ok modern day life span, and Rock! Great balanced opinion vid, KDH.

5 watt Blackstar fullstack is probably the best sounding amp i have played. Its magnificent for home playing or home recording.

I own a Marshall DSL40, but absolutely love my Blackstar HT-5, I play a american fender strat with Seymore Duncan Cool rails in the bridge and neck position, it's a realy good sounding amp. And their amps are much better priced, compaired to marshall, I am a marshal tube amp fan too, but this little amp, is just amazing, if you think it sucks, either your guitar, has got bad pickups, or you don't know what good tone is supposed to sound like.

Great video, thanks :) Something that you don't mention is even & odd order harmonics. When I undertook a sound engineering diploma we learned that complete solid state amps had a lot more odd order harmonics than even ones & this was why some people don't like solid state amps. Personally I love the sound of both but there is a subtle difference.

Blackstar is the Schecter of guitars, affordable quality without caveats.

Very well said KDH. VERY few amplifiers are really ALL tube amps. And as soon as you put solid state pedals in front of your preamp or in your fx loop - you are officially NOT all tube. I have seen someone say that Blackstar may be difficult to service. But I do not currently own a Blackstar amp so I really don't know. From someone who has owned many Marshall amps and used them not only for guitar but also for bass and have received a lot of great compliments on the tone, with all that power I'm thinking that the Series 1 200 just might make a killer bass head as well.

that's the thinnest Lizzy ever recorded.

I owned a Blackstar for a month, one of the chunky club ones and I couldn't dial in a tone I liked to save my life. It sounded alright, but wasn't my tone. Found a Silvertone tube amp recently and I couldn't be happier. Get your tone and don't worry about branding.

I love my Blackstar Club 40 MKII. Super versitile and sounds great.

Was tempted to get one back when Gus G played them and I was impressionable.

Because they're built like disposable toys (micro components vs standard or higher spec components) and they have a lot of fan boys who can't stop praising them

As you said, if it's giving you a sound that you like, then there is nothing wrong with it! But, I would say the difference between things like rectification and effect loops is that they are not directly affecting the gain/clipping/distortion being developed in the preamp, whereas solid state boost or clipping circuitry in the preamp path is. So, I would still say that to truly be called "all tube", all the preamp gain has to be generated by tubes. In the case of the Silver Jubilee, I think that solid state clipping is only in the path when using the rhythm clip option on the clean channel. I can understand why people would prefer to not have a solid state gain stage that can't be switched out of the circuit, because it means you are always stuck with it being there. Which could also possibly cause it to not stack with some pedals as well as a pure tube preamp too. But again, if it sounds good, it is good!

I was corrupted by Hughes & Kettner when I was younger. It’s not my fault.

Blackstar is one of those pieces of equipment that of usually either/or. Either you hate 'em or you love 'em. I don't care how something is built, as long as it's built well and I like how it sounds.

I love Blackstar is plan to pickup a silverline amp in the future

I've got a Ht5r as my home amp and it an awesome wee thing, it certainly does everything I require of it. For context I also have an Marshall origin 20, a VS100 and a Fender SS 22

I have an old Blackstar HT-5R. Head and cab. I’ve never had a problem with it. It sounds good. Not as good as my Mesa, but it still sounds good.

It really doesn't matter what name is written on your gear, how (in-)expensive it is, or what's working inside of it, as long as it sounds/works the way you like it! Simple as that!

Bit of Lizzie will always improve the sound of any amp

Have quite a few amps, Marshalls, fenders, Mesa boogies, voxs... Recently bought 1watt blackstar valve amp 'in baby blue ' The quality of finish was second to none, fantastic wee practice amp for the house. Thinking of buying a 5 watt.... Great amps

I own a blackstar, and it's one of the most versatile amp heads I've got.

KDH is back in town

Honestly wasn't aware that people did hate Blackstar amps. I love my little HT1R

The main thing I look for in an amp is reliability. I don’t really care about gear that much, I’m more of a “tone in the fingers” person, but the way black star amps are built it’s likely I’ll have to repair and or replace it, a headache and an expense I don’t want. I’d rather buy an all tube/valve Marshall or Fender which is not only more versatile, but potentially lifetime lasting or at least can go more than 20 years without needing maintenance beyond merely replacing tubes when needed.

Having just taken delivery of a Blackstar amp this week, the title of the video caught my attention. All I can say is that I can dial in some sweet tones without a lot of effort and it doesn't sound canned or contrived. It might not be your jam, but it works for me. YMMV

There are plenty of "all tube" amps, with tubes in both preamp and power sections, that incorporate clipping diodes to shape the sound.

I have own a blackstar amps since 2011. I love them! I don't use them much anymore because I don't have the space to play an amp out loud.

A more fitting question would be: why ALL hate Line 6 Amps!!

Very polite and very critical.

I remember not too long ago a certain shifty RU-vidr with his own brand of questionable guitars claimed that you were a mediocre guitar player. I'd say you're a fine player and you/your band writes damn catchy music.

They all sound great and hearing changes from day to day

I’ll just say the admin of the Blackstar Facebook group is fab ! I asked this question there a couple of days ago and she explained it and even explained boogie does a similar thing?

I have a Blackstar HT5 head that I run atop a Vintage 30 powered Laney sealed back 1x12 enclosure. It sounds like a mini JCM800. It's also loud enough that I gig with it at times, and I do upwards of 100 shows a year. The emulated line out that goes to the main mix sounds incredible. I have ZERO issues getting killer tone out of any Blackstar tube amp.

For what its worth, i bought the HT 20 mk2. I had purchased a new guitar, and while waiting for the store owner to write up bill of sale, my son plugged it into this amp. He played about 20 minutes, and fooled around with settings, sounds. From 30 foot away, this caught my attention and i really liked the way it sounded. Put it on layaway that day. I play for myself at home, and this amp for me is great. Love the distortion, clean, and the ISF switch really changes things. Like having 4 different amps. Ive had no problem at all with it. Buy what sounds good to you!

It's a taste thing for me. They sort of have that mid range flubby-ness that I don't like. I prefer a tight Mesa sound.

I thought dimebag settled the “SoLiD StAtE iS JuNk!” argument decades ago…

I bought a used HT5r mkii and really liked it but unfortunately it didn’t work after about 30 mins of playing, OD channel went limp/anemic and clean channel was basically inaudible. Quick search on the web told me this was common issue with these Amp and even found “fixes” which included modifying or adding a bigger heat sink or cutting some connection to stop heat transfer. Well yeah I returned it and now I’m very reluctant to buy a Blackstar. Also had a popping sound when switching channels but it wasn’t horrible as the internet made it out to be. It a shame cause the HT5r mkii has all the features I want, power attenuator, built in reverb, effects loop

reminds me a bit of Laney amps. i play a GH100R (yes i also have the stereotypical peavey 6505+ too) noone talks about Laneys, despite them being excellent and cheap.

I have an HT Club 40 MK.II combo -- it's a fine amplifier, I ultimately replaced the Celestion Seventy 80 speaker with a Hesu Demon. I think listening to your amp is a lot more important than worrying about any garbage about the circuit or whatever. I think more people should stop worrying about opinions others have just play what makes them happy.

I did a response video to this you might want to check out.

I bought a Blackstar and I love it. It serves its purpose and I didn't break the bank buying it. Granted mine is a smaller Stereo 20 V3. I bought this one because I am still learning how to play. So far I like it.

Anyone who has owned or used an HT-5 for more than a month knows how great they work for bedroom jamming and practicing with headphones. GREAT amp!

The best way to show these Haters for what they are, is to do a multi amp blind comparisons and have them list in your comments what each amp is. One RU-vidr did that comparing humbucker pickups in their brand guitar and people confused Fender, Gibson, PRS and Harley Benton. Rarely did anyone get more than 1 right (possibly just blind luck), and NOBODY got all 4 right. Its amusing when the one they Hate gets picked as their favorite. Ohhhhhh they Flip Out! Make all sorts of Wild Claims. Serves them right. And your right, IF there's any semiconductor anywhere in their signal or power chain their also running (by their own definition) a Hybrid setup, NOT pure Tube Only. Good Video, Thanks!

Damn it KDH, nothing makes me stop listening to the entire Darkness discography except your videos and you just HAD to upload when I’m doing just that.

I had an HT-5C for a couple of years and mostly loved it. It was the lifeless clean channel and the release of the Marshall Origin 20C that ultimately ended the love affair.

Solid state OD pedals placed in front of a "all valve amp" then becomes a combined hybrid circuitry. I have been telling other guitarists this for years who preached as having "pure valve tone." Each guitarist responds in defense as I if am being illogical and unreasonable. At last, there is another voice of reason!

Don't crap on Blackstar. I just got one delivered today and it sounds great. Just ask my neighbours.

For a small practice/first amp, they sound pretty amazing. The built in effects for bedroom rock n roll are quite impressive.

I don't know about their amps, but their tube pedals were a hidden gem. They weigh a metric ton but they sounded just as heavy!

Thanks for putting it out there; when people disc my JCM 900, I tell them, when you put a pedal in front of your Plexi or JCM 800, your doing the same thing. In case someone doesn't know, pedals are solid state for the most part, it's just a matter of which pedal sounds the best to you.