Blackstar

www.blackstaramps.co.uk

Blackstar Amplification is a UK-based manufacturer of guitar amplifiers and effects, largely made up of ex-Marshall employees. Their products include the hand-wired, boutique "Artisan" series, the Series One series, and a range of pedals and amplifiers in the HT line. In 2009 they began operations in the United States.

The Artisan series, designed in the UK, is hand-wired in Korea, with point-to-point tagboard construction. The dual channel amplifier is designed for boutique tone, utilizing pre-amp valves (most specifically the EF86 pentode) associated with smaller Vox amps. The range includes 15, 30, and 100-watt models in both head and combo form; the 15 and 30-watt combos were called "substantial amps that provide substantial tones" in Vintage Guitar.

Launched in 2010 at the Winter NAMM, Blackstar introduced a new line of HT amplifiers. This line is essentially the same at the HT-5 series, but with more power. The models contain a 20, 40, 60, and 100 watt amplifiers. All models except the 100W are available in combo form. The 100W is head only, and the 20W comes in either head or combo. The HT Venue series also contains three different cabinet sizes: 1x12, 2x12, and 4x12. All speakers in the HT Venue are Celestion.

Blackstar's HT pedals are a line of five different pedals, all boost, overdrive, or distortion units. All the pedals are valve powered and incorporate the ISF feature. Like the HT-5, the pedals have an emulated speaker output, allowing for direct recording.[6] As of March 2010, Blackstar had introduced a new line of HT pedals, which feature three effects: Reverb, Delay, and Modulation. These pedals are, like the other HT line, all powered by a valve.