Blackstar HT MK3 amp line...

[CBHScott]

The Blackstar HTs are not that bad, but all of those SMDs on the boards give me the shivers…then again, surprisingly, recent Orange amps have SMDs going on as well, yet I hear nothing about any rampant reliability issues, so

 

[Iron1]

I used to be a big Blackstar fan. Was in the FB groups, all that. One thing I saw over and over and over that turned me off for good was an amp owner stating something along the lines of:

"Was jamming, everything sounded great, then the amp cut out and won't make any sound now... contacted Blackstar and never heard back."

I've literally seen some version of this statement well over a 100 times in the last decade. No exaggeration.

When I had an issue with one, I reached out to their customer service contact, posted on the company forums, and in the FB group. That was about 8 years ago and I'm still waiting for a reply.

Did I get a cool tone, yes. Do I support companies who can't be bothered to stand behind their product? No.

Not to mention, I've never seen such a high percentage of diehard loyal buyers have issues with any single amp brand. In the end, there's too many solid options to put my money and my performance in the hands of a company with that sort of track record.

 

[Devin]

Doesn't he complain about servicing every amp though?

Yeah that Psionic dude is such a chode lol

 

[Iron1]

Just opened FB and the Blackstar group was in my stream. Very first post:

"My HT5 started sounding weird and with less power this week and last night just went out all together..."

 

[la szum]

Blackstar is not really Blackstar, though. Blackstar is Roland/Korg. All service and
global distribution is handled by Roland/Korg.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Blackstar is not really Blackstar, though. Blackstar is Roland/Korg. All service and
global distribution is handled by Roland/Korg.

??
Blackstar is its own thing. Roland owns Boss and a few others. Korg owns Vox and others.

 

[FuzzyAce]

@la szum
Never mind. I misread. Korg is a distributor for Blackstar. I guess Roland handles other parts of the world too?

 

[RaceU4her]

Isn’t blackstar a few marshall techs that branched off?

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Yeah, Artisan series was/is all handwired. Super simple/traditional circuit.

The Series One line is really good, too. Outside of that? Next!

The artisan amps are fantastic sounding things. I'd happily gig one tbh.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Isn’t blackstar a few marshall techs that branched off?

Yeah considering the amps in the Marshall catalogue at that time does that make the Blackstar guys partially responsible for the TSL?

 

[GTR37]

Yeah considering the amps in the Marshall catalogue at that time does that make the Blackstar guys partially responsible for the TSL?

The JMP one pre and 50/50 mono block and JFX I think were there creations

 

[Fungi]

I have a BS Studio 10 6L6 single ended amp I bought used that sounds great. Maybe it will crap out and be "unfixable" but it has never needed any service or repair unlike my hand-wired AB763 (also sounds lovely, but just a bit persnickety)

 

[timbuck3]

Blackstar HT-20RH MK III review: the gigging amp staple becomes a versatile recording tool

The Blackstar HT-20RH MK III is a modern overhaul to the flagship tube head and comes with some impressive updates to its direct capabilities

guitar.com

 

[Life Eats Life]

I have a BS Studio 10 6L6 single ended amp I bought used that sounds great. Maybe it will crap out and be "unfixable" but it has never needed any service or repair unlike my hand-wired AB763 (also sounds lovely, but just a bit persnickety)

Those are great amps man.