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ejendres
Published on 10/27/11 at 14:15
This is a 100watt all tube amp. It has 3 channels, clean, OD1, and OD2. OD1 and OD2 both have vintage/modern switches as well as sharing Blackstar's proprietary ISF control.
The clean channel has a bass, treble, and volume controls. ODs 1 and 2 share treble, mids, and bass control as well as the ISF control. They have individual gains and volume.
The amp has a master reverb, resonance, presence, and volume.
The footswitch changes between the 3 channels and turns the reverb on and off.
UTILIZATION
Its really easy to get a great sound out of this amp. Never needed to use the manual.
SOUNDS
This amp has a surprisingly excellent clean channel. The lack of a mid control doesn't limit the tone at all. Its nice and spanky.
The OD channels sound awesome. The modern mode tends to be bright and a little fizzy, it also has an absurd amount of gain, even on OD1. However the vintage mode is warmer, with less fizz, and less gain. Its pretty much the only mode I used it in.
The OD channels have a really aggressive sound. Sounds perfect for heavier styles, and OD1 can cop a convincing Marshall tone with the right settings. The aggressive sound is both a blessing and a curse as it wears on you after a while... the only way I can explain it is ear fatigue. However in a band mix this isn't a issue.
The shared eq and ISP on the OD channels really limit the sonic diversity. OD1 ends up sounding basically like OD2 with less gain.
The OD channel tone reminds me of an angry dual rectifier, its more aggressive with a tighter low end, but a similar low mid voicing. Its awesome. I much preferred my HT100 to my old Recto.
OVERALL OPINION
This amp is awesome, although sonically limited. With a few tweaks by Blackstar this amp could be epic.
However, at the price, I can't really complain. Its an awesome value. Great clean tone, killer aggressive high gain tone, and a sweet crunch. I highly recommend it.
The clean channel has a bass, treble, and volume controls. ODs 1 and 2 share treble, mids, and bass control as well as the ISF control. They have individual gains and volume.
The amp has a master reverb, resonance, presence, and volume.
The footswitch changes between the 3 channels and turns the reverb on and off.
UTILIZATION
Its really easy to get a great sound out of this amp. Never needed to use the manual.
SOUNDS
This amp has a surprisingly excellent clean channel. The lack of a mid control doesn't limit the tone at all. Its nice and spanky.
The OD channels sound awesome. The modern mode tends to be bright and a little fizzy, it also has an absurd amount of gain, even on OD1. However the vintage mode is warmer, with less fizz, and less gain. Its pretty much the only mode I used it in.
The OD channels have a really aggressive sound. Sounds perfect for heavier styles, and OD1 can cop a convincing Marshall tone with the right settings. The aggressive sound is both a blessing and a curse as it wears on you after a while... the only way I can explain it is ear fatigue. However in a band mix this isn't a issue.
The shared eq and ISP on the OD channels really limit the sonic diversity. OD1 ends up sounding basically like OD2 with less gain.
The OD channel tone reminds me of an angry dual rectifier, its more aggressive with a tighter low end, but a similar low mid voicing. Its awesome. I much preferred my HT100 to my old Recto.
OVERALL OPINION
This amp is awesome, although sonically limited. With a few tweaks by Blackstar this amp could be epic.
However, at the price, I can't really complain. Its an awesome value. Great clean tone, killer aggressive high gain tone, and a sweet crunch. I highly recommend it.