No post EQ on the guitars in either clip.
Order of cabs is the same both times -
1. Blackstar Series One S1412B (V30s)
2. Marshall 1960B (G12T-75)
3. EVH 412 (G12-EVH)
Amp settings -
Lead channel (no boost)
Gain 7
Bass -2
Mids +1
Treble +1
Treble pot pulled out (shift EQ)
Dynamics 13:00
Tone +3
Lead volume 2
Watts Max
Guitar is a stock Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro (Burstbucker 3 bridge)
Mic is SM57 - placement was edge of dustcap on bottom left speaker on all cabs
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I do this for fun, I'm not a pro so these recordings are to the best of my ability at this time, and hopefully better than the Blackstar clips I did recently.
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My Review:
This is a very under-rated amp in my opinion. It is super tight and does not need a boost. The clean is very clean to loud volumes, and the two drive channels have more than enough gain on tap for chunky riffs. It doesn't have the crazy gain of some other industry standards, but by the time you get the gain to 7-8 on either channel with a humbucker it is enough for most high gain tones. The amp is very competitively priced in the UK (£657 new, cheap Ebay prices currently).
Some things learned from my experience with it (all IMO, YMMV)
- The character of the amp is dark, tight, with plenty of punchy bass. I have read some reports that it is a bright amp, it is noticeably darker than my Blackstar S104EL34. I can only guess that the IRT stock cab speakers are bright, I have no experience with them.
- Channel volumes are very smooth so it is easy to use in a home environment. Every other high power valve amp I've used has had a hair trigger MV, this one doesnt! This is a 120 watt valve head which can be run at home volumes, even with the watts control on full.
- EQ is active, and I've found that boosting/cutting drastically will have a noticeable effect on total volume. I don't find this hard to live with, just something to consider.
- Tone control needs to be run higher than you'd expect. I find the amp too dark on 0, it really clears up when you get to +2/+3. It is basically a presence control but things don't get 'fizzy' until around +4.
- Dynamics is basically a resonance control. There is a lot more bass from this head compared to my Blackstar S104EL34
- There is a shift EQ. Pull out the bass knob = deeper bass (I find it makes things too boomy). Pull out the middle knob = clears the midrange (I find it makes things lose too much punch). Pull out the treble knob = shifts treble down towards high mids, making the amp honk a bit more. I quite like this one and find it the only useable shift EQ knob.
- Loads of bass on the lead channel. The voicing is fairly dark on this channel and it has more mids and less treble than the rhythm channel. It is a more low mid focussed sound as opposed to the high mid bite of the EL34 Blackstar head.
- Rhythm channel is more 'classic' sounding, has less bass, more treble and less gain. I find the rhythm channel takes a boost better than the lead channel, but you don't really need to tighten either up anyway.
- Pre-boost seems like a linear boost and not a TS type boost. I don't like it on the gain channels with high gain but it works well as a clean volume boost on the clean channel should you need it. In fact the best use I have for it is to set it so when used my strat is about the same volume as my Les Paul...
- Onboard reverb is OK, not as nice as other onboard reverbs (HT series Blackstars have a nicer reverb) but it does the trick for the home.
- The playing response is good for its price bracket. It is more alive than the HT series Blackstars, but doesn't quite feel like my Series One, which feels really alive when I play it loud.
Foot switch - So you've probably read it has 2 switches for 3 channels. This is correct. It is easy to operate though. Button B when off means the rhythm channel, and when on (green LED lit) it is in clean mode. Button A means lead mode (red LED lit). Lead channel takes precedence, so no matter your setting for button B, if button A is on the lead channel will sound. You have to switch off the lead channel to access clean/rhythm. This means you can switch clean on/off while the lead channel is in use so that the next time you switch off the lead channel your selection will be there... a bit long winded but it works.
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Hope some will find this useful.
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