Blackstar St. James 50-Watt EL34 Tube Amp Head

Blackstar wanted to produce a range of heads and combos, that were the lightest available while still retaining the essential element found in traditional valve / tube amps. Lightweight amps with no trade-off in performance and tone are something guitarists have been requesting for ages making it the forefront during the design process of the new ST. James valve amps. Thus making them the lightest valve amps in the world.

Next, Blackstar wanted to be able to include everything within one box, to enable the output of authentic 'miked cabinet-of-a-hard-driven-valve-am-in-a-room ' sounds whether to be direct to stage box or recording device.

The St. James Series In Detail

The St. James heads and combos are highly versatile amplifiers suited to a wide range of playing styles and situations.

Channel I, all models

The valve/tube gain structure and voicing of this channel have been inspired by classic American amplifiers of the mid-’60s (Fender ‘black-face’). It is very clean and bright but with a solid low-end and controlled mids. Also, on this channel, the valve/tube power stage is set to be tight and relatively clean, and linear across the frequency range. This is one of the most popular choices for a ‘pedal platform’ as it provides a solid clean foundation to apply effects to.

Channel II for EL34 model

The EL34 models use a ‘classic’ valve/tube preamp topology for Channel II which is based on a much loved British ‘class A’ amplifier of the early ’60s (Vox AC-30 Top Boost). This is a low to medium gain preamp that can be used clean, warm, or mildly overdriven. Again, this is a very popular choice for a ‘pedal platform’ as well as for a great responsive crunch tone. When this channel is selected the valve/tube power stage is set as ‘open-loop’. This has a looser feel with a resonant bottom end and lively highs. The foot-switchable BOOST setting pushes the valve preamp harder with a +10dB clean boost, to take it from ‘chimey’ to ‘creamy’ and beyond.

Reliability

As with all Blackstar products the St. James amplifiers are designed for maximum reliability. All the amplifiers are thoroughly endurance tested on automatic test equipment to replicate many hours of real-life use in a few days of laboratory testing.

Cab Rig

CAB RIG is Blackstar’s next-generation DSP speaker simulator and begets a fundamental shift in the accessibility of professional recording and performing. CAB RIG awards budding musicians the ability to access previously unattainable technology, that has long been reserved for professional sound engineers and producers. Leading-edge advancements in the speaker cabinet and microphone simulation will allow any player to achieve unparalleled quality in their live sound and recorded music.