Blackstar IDX floor modellers

[Sascha Franck]

What information would it need to display, other than patch number?

Well, the display is quite small. Might turn invisible under bright stage lights.

Anyhow, I think this thing is decent, especially given the asking price, but I'd possibly still go for a Valeton GP-200 in this price bracket. The IDX tones all come across a tad too "generic" for my taste.

 

[Lysander]

Well, the display is quite small. Might turn invisible under bright stage lights.

Fair, but for reading patch numbers, or maybe using the tuner, you don't need a bigger screen. The thing has a fixed, limited signal chain with leds all over the place telling you exactly what's going on at any time.

The display is small but OLED, similar to what the HX One and Helix Stadium XL use.

Anyhow, I think this thing is decent, especially given the asking price, but I'd possibly still go for a Valeton GP-200 in this price bracket.

Interesting - i've had the Floor One on my shopping cart for a week now and itching to pull the trigger, precisely because it's not a "full" modeller like the Valetons/Hotones/Mooers of the world.

 

[Sascha Franck]

The display is small but OLED, similar to what the HX One and Helix Stadium XL use.

I could possibly live with that, but judging from whatever videos, the switch LEDs seem pretty darn small, too - whereas the Valeton switches have nice kinda bright and colored LED rings which should be visible under all conditions.
The thing I kinda like is the dedicated FX button row, but then, the GP-200 offers almost freely configurable switches, which is pretty stunning for such a low priced unit.

 

[timbuck3]

Yeah, but don't forget that TB has been 'almost' ready to release the AmpX for about 25 years at this point. His prototype is now old tech.

People would argue that the tech is actually not old but that the unit looks old like something from the 1990s
And that little flappy lift up with that little screen and the shiny material behind it just seems cheap

 

[nofocus]

Would that sound good in the "power amp in" of the boss katana ?

I like the simplicity of the device. I don't want to deal with a phone or a tablet or having to hook it up to a computer to have access to all the features. Everything is there on the device. I like the format.

 

[timbuck3]

Fair, but for reading patch numbers, or maybe using the tuner, you don't need a bigger screen. The thing has a fixed, limited signal chain with leds all over the place telling you exactly what's going on at any time.

The display is small but OLED, similar to what the HX One and Helix Stadium XL use.



Interesting - i've had the Floor One on my shopping cart for a week now and itching to pull the trigger, precisely because it's not a "full" modeller like the Valetons/Hotones/Mooers of the world.

On the floor1 no jack to hook up extension pedal though

 

[timbuck3]

Would that sound good in the "power amp in" of the boss katana ?

I like the simplicity of the device. I don't want to deal with a phone or a tablet or having to hook it up to a computer to have access to all the features. Everything is there on the device. I like the format.

It would work but only you can know if it will sound ok

 

[timbuck3]

Whomever uses this now hows the latency switching between patches? Any delay at all? Is there spillover?

 

[Cirrus]

Ok I picked up the Floor One this week because we had a radio show where they told me last minute I couldn't use my amp and I didn't have a modeller option. This was the cheapest solution that I could pick up same day,and had like an hour to play with it, dial in a tweedy clean tone, and then did a 25 minute set with it yesterday. So definitely not a comprehensive review, but...

It's alright. The metal case feels solid, nothing feels flimsy. The knobs are decent, the footswitches feel fine underfoot, and the little plastic round buttons have a satisfying positive click to them. There's nothing that screams cheap or unreliable.

Without referencing the manual, I could do everything I wanted - navigate the effects options, save presets etc. The screen's little but I think that's fine, it does the job. It does the decent thing of, when you've got a preset loaded and you turn a knob, the screen shows the knob's setting and where the preset's saved setting was, and it won't actually change the parameter until you roll the knob past the preset's saved position.

Sounds? Fine. I actually really like the limited number of amp models and the kinda... caricatured EL84, 34 and 6l6 voicings that can be applied to any of them. Made it easy to push things in the direction of my 5e3 clean-but-compressed tone, and the EQ controls are fairly powerful. Had a quick try with the various stomp-style effects and they're not at the line6 level of accuracy, but they work, and if you forget what they're trying to be and just scroll until you find one that works for you, they're perfectly decent.

The big Achille's heel? The tuner. It's absolutely rubbish, possibly the worst I've ever used. Say you know the low E is a bit flat. You pluck it, the screen says it's a B and it's sharp. You pluck it again, it guesses a flat G. Pluck it a few more times and it cottons on that you're trying to tune the low E, and then it tracks... very slowly... what you're doing. If you get the string in tune, and the Floor One notices for a few seconds, the screen turns white in confirmation what you've died of old age trying to establish: Yes, you are now in tune.

It was bad enough that I just didn't use the trem on my guitar during the 25 minute set, because I knew I'd only have enough time between songs to scare myself if I tried to use the tuner to check where I was.

 

[ian_dissonance]

The Beam solo tuner is the same. It takes 5-10 seconds of straight plucking on one string to get it to recognize a pitch.

 

[timbuck3]

 

[JJTheCityKids]

Well, I realised I was registered here so thought I would jump in :) I have a Floor 1, had it since release as Blackstar sent me it. I have a Series One 50w w 4x12 (that I no longer use live, much like I dont use my JCM 800 live either but kept them), and, the Amped2 with a Dept 10 Dual Distortion, which is my fly in rig. Love them all, and a lot of guys I know use the Amped2 (Sold my Blug Amp 1 to change to it). I do have to say, I have no need for an expression pedal, which is why I got the Floor 1. BUT, I got it as a recording interface for the studio, and, think its pretty damn fine for that. Small screen isnt an issue, as, I use the architect software to dial in the tones I want. The series one, sounds like my series one, and, quite taken by the marshall and soldano options as well. I am way more an analogue guy than all the digital stuff, but, I get why people do, but, I have tried a bunch of stuff, but, maybe being a Blackstar artist for years, I figured out how to get "my" tone, and some options, so using it makes sense. Totally get why some wouldnt like it, and, many just are very brand loyal. I do find the different views well interesting :)