I remember playing on Blackstar amp 10-15yrs ago and was not impressed and never bothered with that company ever again, but hearing you play that HT, I thought it sounded miles better than the DR! \m/
I’m a huge fan of both amps, although I have owned multiple blackstar amps and one Mesa boogie amp. I can tell you first hand…. Often times blackstars have so much gain out of the box, you do not need any kind of boost pedals in front of the amp. I did love the sound of both amps, I would gravitate towards the blackstar just because it’s more affordable with more head room of gain, from my own experience. Always enjoy hearing your demos.
There's definitely a lot of Gain in both amps. I'm not Boosting to Add Gain to either amp, though. I typically wouldn't bring the gain further than noon on most amps. I'm boosting to tame some of the low end (especially on the Dual Rectifier) and get some early saturation in the gain. The Blackstar's gain can come across as bland, boosting made it a bit more musical (at least in the moment). Cheers -Ryan
@@Crypticmaskguitar I’ll usually run my gain around 1-2 o clock. I must say I completely agree with you on one other thing. Some blackstar amps I feel are better for the studio, but harder to use as a live setup. Due to the scooped dark sound, you have to really tweak the ISF and mid controls to get it to punch through. But as always, I love your demos the most along with Sonic Drive Studios. I wish you guys would make some shoot outs together or collab. I would love to see that. You both know how to demo amps, you don’t make them all sound the same, you both articulate the high gain channels of amps very well.
Blackstar held it's own honestly... I've been a Mesa fan boy for a long time but there's a lot of sizzle in the Recto I'd normal cut out that's not in the HT.
I own the original Blackstar HT stage 100 and a Mesa Boogie Road King. Both amps are awesome. They are their own beasts in many ways. Of Course the Mesa Boogie is known for high gain. But the Blackstar does not lack at all in that department. Plus it was not mentioned here if this Mesa Boogie Rectifier has 6L6 tube's or EL34 tube's. Which also makes a difference. The 6L6 are known for more higher output and the EL34's are all around more versatile and still get that great high gain. But both are great amps and neither lack in any department. With recording or when playing live.
They both sound amazing i like both. Damn this is a surprisingly hard choice i think the mesa just barely edges it out but is is a 500-1000 price difference. Damn the mesa sounds mean
I am a proud owner of a blackstar 50w mkii and one thing that nobody ever talks about is build quality. I owned several mesa boogie amps and they were all built like a tank. I would not take the blackstar gigging they are cheaply made everything is plastic they would fall apart
The DR had a bit more sizzle overall and while some love that, others don't. It can be tamed but that's part of its sound. The Blackstar sounded better than I thought it would and a bit less harsh-sounding. Overall, imho they both sounded good but if budget is a big issue, the Blackstar is significantly more affordable. Personally, I prefer the Badlander to the DR
Wow, normally I would gravitate towards the Recto. But the Blackstar sounded way better to me in this comparison.
Those two sounds in a mix together would be really good. Awesome riffs!
I remember playing on Blackstar amp 10-15yrs ago and was not impressed and never bothered with that company ever again, but hearing you play that HT, I thought it sounded miles better than the DR! \m/
I’m a huge fan of both amps, although I have owned multiple blackstar amps and one Mesa boogie amp. I can tell you first hand…. Often times blackstars have so much gain out of the box, you do not need any kind of boost pedals in front of the amp. I did love the sound of both amps, I would gravitate towards the blackstar just because it’s more affordable with more head room of gain, from my own experience. Always enjoy hearing your demos.
There's definitely a lot of Gain in both amps. I'm not Boosting to Add Gain to either amp, though. I typically wouldn't bring the gain further than noon on most amps. I'm boosting to tame some of the low end (especially on the Dual Rectifier) and get some early saturation in the gain. The Blackstar's gain can come across as bland, boosting made it a bit more musical (at least in the moment). Cheers -Ryan
@@Crypticmaskguitar I’ll usually run my gain around 1-2 o clock. I must say I completely agree with you on one other thing. Some blackstar amps I feel are better for the studio, but harder to use as a live setup. Due to the scooped dark sound, you have to really tweak the ISF and mid controls to get it to punch through. But as always, I love your demos the most along with Sonic Drive Studios. I wish you guys would make some shoot outs together or collab. I would love to see that. You both know how to demo amps, you don’t make them all sound the same, you both articulate the high gain channels of amps very well.
Blackstar held it's own honestly... I've been a Mesa fan boy for a long time but there's a lot of sizzle in the Recto I'd normal cut out that's not in the HT.
Blackstar sounded great, but that Rectifier is better in every way to my ears.
Very nice man
I own the original Blackstar HT stage 100 and a Mesa Boogie Road King. Both amps are awesome. They are their own beasts in many ways. Of Course the Mesa Boogie is known for high gain. But the Blackstar does not lack at all in that department. Plus it was not mentioned here if this Mesa Boogie Rectifier has 6L6 tube's or EL34 tube's. Which also makes a difference. The 6L6 are known for more higher output and the EL34's are all around more versatile and still get that great high gain. But both are great amps and neither lack in any department. With recording or when playing live.
6L6. I also have a Road King 1 which (as you know) has both, great blend. Cheers -Ryan
For sure. It is a great amp. I do not know why Mesa Boogie stopped making it.
They both sound amazing i like both. Damn this is a surprisingly hard choice i think the mesa just barely edges it out but is is a 500-1000 price difference. Damn the mesa sounds mean
The dual rec has that sizzle
That Blackstar sounds pretty killer.
Mesa is very nice I love it❤ from china
The recto wins!
The sounds of these 2 are very similar! almost indistinguishable 🤔
I am a proud owner of a blackstar 50w mkii and one thing that nobody ever talks about is build quality. I owned several mesa boogie amps and they were all built like a tank. I would not take the blackstar gigging they are cheaply made everything is plastic they would fall apart
Mesa all the way for me!
Mesa won !
The blackstar didnt sound bad. But did it did not makes me want one neither. Nothing spécial imo. When you hear the DR you know its a DR
The DR had a bit more sizzle overall and while some love that, others don't. It can be tamed but that's part of its sound. The Blackstar sounded better than I thought it would and a bit less harsh-sounding. Overall, imho they both sounded good but if budget is a big issue, the Blackstar is significantly more affordable. Personally, I prefer the Badlander to the DR