Blackstar St. James Vertical 212 Tube Cabinet - Fawn

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. They made this happen by using the full signal path of the amp (including power valves) to drive into a genuine reactive load, which is then passed through a proprietary state-of-the-art DSP section to provide almost limitless variations of cabinet/speaker/ microphone/room emulations.

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.

Front Panel Functionality

The front panel has a variety of functions at your disposal. With INPUT, when no jack is supplied to the amplifier, it will automatically be switched to a safe low power consumption, silent mode. VOLUME I controls the volume of Channel I and depending on the direction turned the preamplifier will overdrive slightly. When at lower tones, it will sound brighter. The CH. II Select switch selects between the two preamp channels as well as adjusts the response of the valve/tube power amp. GAIN II controls the gain of Channel II and the amount of overdrive or distortion. BOOST / VOICE switch selects between the two voices of Channel II. Other features on the front panel are VolumeI II, Bass, Middle, Treble, Reverb, 50W, SAG, 2W, MASTER, STBY switch, and POWER switch/

Rear Panel Summary 

Mains Input: Unusually for valve/tube amplifiers, the St. James products are designed with a ‘universal input power supply’. This means that the mains input range is rated at 100Vac to 240Vac and capable of operating at 50Hz and 60Hz.

Speaker Outputs: Unlike many other valve/tube amps, these have clever sensing and switching which means that they can be used without being connected to a speaker load. If the speaker lead is disconnected at the amplifier end, then it will automatically switch it to a safe, low power consumption mode.

CAB Rig emulated output: This output is for using an industry-standard 3 pin XLR cable for connection to a recording device, stage box or mixing desk. This provides a low noise, low impedance, and quality connection for recording or live use. 

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

Construction

PCBs

All PCBs used in the St. James amplifiers are double-sided plated-through type. These give increased mechanical strength as well as allow the PCB designer better options during layout to achieve the best possible signal integrity and sonic performance.

Valves, valve bases, biasing

All valves are specially tested and graded. In the combined decades of experience of the engineers at Blackstar we have seen all the ways valves can fail and have implemented special tests to remove as many offending valves during the selection process as possible. All amplifiers are very specifically biased to ensure the perfect balance of great tone, reliability and valve longevity.

Chassis

For mechanical strength all the chassis’ are fabricated from 1.2mm coated steel plate and also incorporate

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 speaker cabinet and microphone simulation will allow any player to achieve unparalleled quality in their live sound and recorded music