Blackstar Studio 10 6L6, EL34 & KT88 Combos Demo
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- Опубликовано: 2 май 2019
- Reviewed in Guitarist 446
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The 6L6 sounds gorgeous with the single coils. 🤤
I have one. It’s a great little amp.
What a fantastic demo/comparison of these 3 amps. This is exactly the kind of side by side that I was looking for. Thanks?
Love this demo, dude! Awesome playing and tone. I like how you played the same riff throughout; it offered a better comparison between amps.
Great sounding amp, love combos.
My summary.
Clean and crunch - Gold : 6L6; silver: KT88; bronze: EL34 - in fact, don't buy the EL34 if you want good clean and crunch.
High gain overdrive : a three way tie, all great just depends on which overdrive character fits your needs best.
I have the 6L6 myself and love it, one further point is that plugging my Celestion Vintage 30 cab in (instead of the built-in Seventy 80) opens up a whole new spectrum of all great tones to add to the integral ones.
New to the yube amp game and this comment thread is very educational.
Would you mind explaining if what you're saying about the speaker cabinet is different than just swapping speakers within the combo cabinet? Also why do many people suggest swapping the speaker? Thanks
I went to guitar center and played the kt88 tonight and was freaking blown away. If I could I would buy it right now. One of the best sounding amps for the money right now.
First to say how awesome these little amps are.
really digging this line by Blackstar.
I absolutely love my 6L6. It sounds great at low volume, has a high-quality effects loop, takes pedals excellently. By far the best amp I’ve seen in the price range.
I couldn’t agree more. I listened to them both in the guitar shop and the 6L6 was way better to my ears.
How is your 6L6 holding up?
@@dicecreamman1739 still loving it!
Is the volume capable of gigging?
@@LovinMusic1965 Most definitely!
Digging the green one. Is there a standout best for you?
I own the KT88 10th anniversary edition (same exact amp as the one here) and it's truly incredible. I keep thinking I need a fender amp for low gain stuff but man the KT88 can really do it all. Blackstar is criminally underrated. I highly suggest you buy any of these amps, they are legit. The only upgrade they might need is a speaker upgrade but even then... That can be said for a ton of amps way above this price point
I have the Studio 10 KT88 and I replaced the speak after a while with a Celestion G12-35XC (it's wonderful). When it's time to replace the power tube try a Gold Lion, sounds just a little bit better than the TAD, and hopefully is sturdier.
EDIT: currently trying different pre-amp tubes.
@@GeneOh Gold Lion and creamback in it. Smoking good!!
Nice amps indeed! As you need to cranck out some extra bucks compared to the Anniversary ed....do they come with speaker upgrades like the Ht Mk II series? Maybe the next step along the marketing alley..
I need an amp to play with a band in a practise space. I’m torn as to whether to buy one of these and get less variety but likely higher quality tone than a Silverline. I’m sure my Tele would love the 6L6 model.
Just bought an EL34 one. At bedroom practice levels (volume at 9'o clock at most), the gain setting seems not to change much the overdrive levels, or at least not perceptibly. Amazing tones though, looking forward to using this in studio to test its real capability.
Yeah, on the Anniversary Edition amp-which I think is identical-it wasn't even labeled as gain, it's labeled volume. It seems to just make things louder, without adding overdrive. I tried cranking the master and leaving the volume low, but cranking the volume and leaving the master low produced a fuller tone for me. It really doesn't produce much distortion...even the boosted channel is relatively light unless you have some high output pickups.
I like them all!
seems an interesting concept. I see blackstar on the front and have to assume, even the simplest looking little amp would have diodes, opamps and digital shenanigans going on?
The 6L6 reminded me of the Beatles. The EL34 was more midrangey sounding. The KT88 was tighter and more metal sounding.
I liked the 6L6 before I even heard it ! It was my favourite sonically , closely followed by the KT88 . Note to amp manufacturers : Too many black amps !
especially when we're talking grab-n-go amps.. one can afford to be a little 'extra' on the move.
@@MistaF Precisely !
Black amps are meant to disappear on stage
@@profile_01 Well yeah, it's not that I don't understand the concept. It's just boring. Your average punter isn't going to be distracted by your gear anyway lol.
@@shaunw9270 The average punter did well to get to show on time and everything
Great demo, the KT88 does it for me...a speaker swap would very likely have to happen.
I have the EL34 and it's impossible for me to have a crunch sound on the clean channel. How do you get a crunch sound? Did you use a pedal?
the kt88 sounds very much like the outlaws, which i think was peaveys? amazing tones from all 3!!! :)
I wonder if it’d be possible to do the Egnater Tweaker trick and release a version where you could swap the tubes, or modules, and have the three amps in one
I have a feeling that these amps might become bestsellers.
They are small and decently priced and even feature FX loops. Seems like they would be perfect for small stereo and wet/dry (or even wet/dry/wet) setups.
My thoughts exactly. Wet/Dry with the 6L6 & EL34 would be my pick.
Sorry guys
What is the meaning of wet/dry?
I'm new student in the class 😂
@Dimitris Aivaliotis Wet = adding effects i.e. reverb, delay and such. Dry = just the amp with no effects, pedals, or anything. I believe that is the intended meaning.
i like them all but the 6l6 and kt88 are my favorites but i like the el34 also so yea i like them all. im gonna buy the ht 50 watt venue mk 2 head.
Played the green KT88 today. So tempted to go into debt for one...
Hope you got one by now..
What guitar are you using for the single coil demo? Looks amazing!
Great Demo ! what guitar are you using w/single coils ?
One of each please?!
I'm starting to notice a pattern that mid heavy el34s get no love clean but then come alive with overdrive/distortion. Whereas the scooped 6l6s sound nice at low volume but really weak and thin when overdriven. So, really depends if you're going to have to drive your amp or not. The kt88 was interesting in that it seemed more flat to me clean and then the mids/low-mids were more prominent when driven.
I would agree completely. I thought about the 6L6 but then after seeing this I realized that overall the EL34 sounds better overall, even though the clean tone leaves a bit to be desired.
El 34 tubes break up faster and are darker and more midrange focused .
Anyone know if the grill cloth can pop out? So I can put a custom one on
Nice demo and sound (s) are these available for separate valve types or are only made/sold for one type ? Cheers
That is THE PERFECT amp review video.
Here it sounds like 6l6 is a win. First of all, small (especially single ended) amps generally have narrower frequency range, and 6l6 with its extended lows and highs really complements and makes tone bit more balanced. Also for same reason I personally think this type of amp is better suited to single coils. While KT88 also have more range, it's not that musical and sound a bit flat until pushed hard, so it kinda ruins the whole point of this amp. While I do love el34's (especially in double valved, 50W designs) here it sounds TOO middy-muddy, unless you really want that woolly British heavy crunch sounding like it was recorded in 80s.
6L6 best one, sound amazing! lol i want it
I like the beef and the chiminess, resonance around 5k of the 6L6 ---when Clean, El34 was best at overdrive, Kt88 was best at high gain but sucky when clean.
The kt88 blows my mind.
Hi !
What's thé guitar you use for the 1st demo please ? 😁👍
I changed my mind after listening a few more times. I like them all. Add a switch for all three tube possibilities on the same amp! Lol! The Kt88 makes a small amp sound huge!
You have to have a really funky and expensive circuit to handle that
you can swap out the tubes, yo.
@@OEMPlus wait what? Are you saying the power tubes 6l6, el34, and kt88 are interchangeable? 🤔
@@CarlitoM77 They're 3 different amps.
@@davidcudlip6587 yeah I know. I was thinking the tubes were interchangeable for different tones but I realize they're different circuits altogether. Thanks!
I like the 6L6's with this guitar.
Can you help me a bit? What exactly does gain mean? Basically, if you put more gain on, the guitar gets louder. Is that all? For example, Vox ac15 has no gain control, still, it works fine. Thanx for your answer(s) in advance! :)
Kinda late but gain drives the tubes more and gives it more saturation.
It’s the sound you tend to hear on rock guitars, as you turn it up it makes the guitar sound more grindy and is what causes distortion .
More harmonics come out, that’s what the distortion is. Less gain makes your guitar sound clean like an acoustic .
@@heythere6983 Thanx!
A great and complete video. Don't like the 6L6s. Also, difficult to make a choice between the EL34s and KT88s. They have their own flavour!
Sounds great, Got the HT Stage 100 myself, love it. Anyone think to compliment the guitarist on his skills? Freaking awesome dude. I think all version have merits, but personally think they came into their own when piling on the gain. MY HT Stage has the Infinite Shape Feature thing going on so I can dial an any mix of the 6L6 or EL34, which is a nice to have.
Wow impressive
What's the first guitar? Knaggs? Sounds excellent.
G They’re both Knaggs - a Choptank for single coils and an SSC for the humbucker tones.
@@richardbarrettguitar1228 Dream guitars, thanks.
Markus Arike s
maaaaaan i want that 6l6
6L6 sounded the best. Close to my Blackstar Artist 15
Makes sense, as it's basically the Artist 10.
@@MartinCliffe its abstolutely the same thing! i just went to their site and compared. they didnt even bother changing the manual for both!
www.blackstaramps.com/pdf/handbooks/artist-10ae-handbook.pdf
www.blackstaramps.com/pdf/handbooks/studio-10-6l6-handbook.pdf
Give it a look
Is the kt88 just like the series one 10 ae?
Yes.
They all have great OD sounds but the 6L6 clean is too thin, almost solid state sounding and the KT88 is too fat on cleans....so, I bought the EL34 model and swapped the speaker for a Celestion V Type. It is the best of my 7 amps from Fender to Marshall it does it all. Check out the Dawsons vid with Quail on the EL 34 model.
Is the 6L6 one loud enough for small gigs??
That amp gets really loud. I would guess it would be loud enough.
Sounds really good - but hey almost anything sounds great in the hands of a great guitarist.
KT88 sounded best to me. NOT what I expected at all. I usually prefer EL34's - but always class AB. This is a class A single ended amp so that is probably somethin to do with the difference
Luverly can I have two
I need 6L6 on the clean channel and the KT-88 on the high gain. Make it so!
If you bought a 6l6 could you later change the tube to a el34 or vise versa?
schmoey45 nope. the only interchangable tubes are el34 and KT88s but always re bias your set up
I like the kt88 most...then 6l6 followed by el34
Same
6l6 w humbucks had the best lead tone imo, thick and syrupy
Looks like I need all three… 😮
KT88~6L6~EL34
Turn up the master so we can hear the power tube
EL34 for me.
I need to know what guitar that is!!! What is it?
It's a Knaggs Choptank.
@@guitarist sounds killer and now I have to look them up!!! :) Thank you!!!
yesyesyes is 6l6 good good
That's pretty easy for any amp tech to rebias or mod your amp to be able to handle kt88/6l6/el34 without to have to buy an other amp... That's not really eco-friendly...
🤔 Eco friendly ? Lol they make them in China ,so I doubt if conservation will ever be a concern to Blackstar. I like some of their amps but I don't agree with the dodgy marketing of their company.
@@shaunw9270 😂 yes I don't think as well they are concerned by that...
alex Aragorn eco friendly? You must me a left wing loon
Eco friendly lol.
i dont know...i pick the first one I hope I don't change my mind after I buy it... 6L6 if i m wrong I think I just need to play more anyways.....we all do..
For me the kt88 is the winner... Is in the middle of 6l6 and el34...
El34 best imo
It got that rock grit but lacks bottom and top
Basically rebadged Anniversary Edition combos in new colours, but that's fine as the Anniversary Edition amps were great except for the crappy speaker. Put a Greenback in one of these and it'll be a killer small gig / studio amp.
Exactly, the 70 80 is bad.
I have both the kt88 anniversary and the el34 anniversary, greenback in the el34, huuuge improvement
@@maartenbrain01 Creamback Neo works really well too, makes it nice and lightweight (I have that in my 6L6 anniversary)
@@MartinCliffe Creamback neo is a killer speaker!!
Just a question...maybe it's because I'm old ... Does anyone buy amp combos & guitars nowadays that they actually tried out in person & liked enough to buy in the first place , before they buy them ? I watch a lot of guitar channels and enjoy them and always read the comments , so it's just something I have become aware of in recent years globally ... Aftermarket sales of speakers , pickups , wiring kits etc must be at an all time high ! 😊
@@shaunw9270 I actually did try out the Blackstar Anniversary combos (at Dawsons in Liverpool) last summer before buying them. I thought they sounded great, otherwise I wouldn't have gone any further, but I could tell they were being held back by the speakers in them. While I think you're probably right that upgrades are selling better than ever because people are more aware of the benefits simple mods can make, I've been modding and upgrading guitars for over 15 years and amps for probably the last 10. It's an easy way to make something good into something great for a lot less money than often buying something that's "there" already IMO.
4:23 el34
Which tubes in amplifiers match what guitars?
Otherwise is it a given that they colour coded to type?
Based on the AE combos from last year, I find the EL34 one sounds better with my single-coil guitars, while the 6L6 one sounds better with humbuckers. Just my personal preference though.
I appear to be one of the few who likes the EL34 the best!
I have the anniversary edition. Love it. Initially thought the 6l6 sounded better, but if you listen a few times you change your mind... el34 doesn't get as harsh. Not a lot of headroom, but I use line6 l3t, so I can mic it.
Look out Fender!
Kt88s look great but 6l6's sound better
Why did you never turn up the master volume? The tube isn't ever driven hard, so we don't know if it breaks up well or if it craps out at volume...
Opry99er They do crap out with the volume past 12...the preamp is solid state voiced garbage. Decent for practice though
These are all tasty little morsels.
Follower of the Gristlemeister are ya?
7:57 kt88
The Master needs to be "Dimed-Out" in Clean Mode and then, work the Gain Up from Zero.
Can I ask why
On this amp I think the 6L6 sound the best and the KT88 being a close second, the EL34 sounded like ass.
me say yesyesyes is yes yes yes
6L6 =/> KT88 > EL34. But you’d want all three
KT88 wins...imho.
Simulations. On a écouté mieux! !
? La "simulation" a un sens précis en terme d'amplification. Ce n'est pas le cas ici, pas cette technologie.
I feel like blackstar is getting left behind by other builders, Marshall is killing it with the new studio series that's actually made in the U.K.,Victory is knocking it out of the park with their line-up that's U.K. made as well and Friedman is growing every day and made in the U.S.A.. Blackstar isn't really releasing anything new and exciting IMO ( these amps look ok I guess) and they don't even have a flagship model that's made outside of the far east and I think that's hurting them cause out of all my amps my Marshall dsl40c is the only amp I own that is made in the far east (Vietnam) and I had to change a few things for it to sound decent. I had the blackstar ht40 for about a year and in that year I could never get a tone I was happy with so I ended up trading it for a Marshall 1960A cab (an older made in England) cause I couldn't give it away so I took what I could. Not to mention that every amp tech I talked to ( around 6 when I had my blackstar) talked about how poorly made the blackstar were. Change my mind.
Regretfully I agree with some of what you say. I've had an HT40 and it was fine, but wasn't really my thing. Also flippin' heavy. I sold that and got a Deluxe Reverb Custom '68 which I love deeply. I still have an HT5, which has always been a bit unreliable in spite of a few trips to amp techs. I does sound great though, so I use it at home.
I'm interested in these little Blackstar Studio 10's though as I sometimes do gigs in very small venues where the Fender is a bit over the top.
I'm not blackstar fan at all, but in their defense:
Friedman and Victory do not occupy comparable market space nor do they offer comparable products. And in the new Marshall studio case, please have a look at some gut shots. They might have a made in England badge but they're properly cheap amps. Everything is pcb mount and quick connect, and they don't even have real pots. I get what you mean about blackstar, they seem to do a 'thing' which to me is just generic guitar tones. But they don't really have a heritage the way someone like their parent company Marshall does, or a recogniseable sound, so you can hardly complain about it
@@kbkman7742 I don't think you understood my comment, blackstar doesn't have the comparable product line and that's EXACTLY what I mean! All they have is this cheaply made far eastern made amps that really doesn't sound that great. I mean are they marketing to the beginner/ intermediate player/bedroom player cause that's all I'm seeing in their line-up of amps. It doesn't have to be point to point hand wired to be badass cause the studio lineup is a badass lineup that in turn blackstar is missing. Actually your comment hammers home what I'm talking about. I'm not trying to complain about anything but I had one and it wasn't that great and none of the products they've released in the recent past moves the needle for me.
You guys know Marshall owes Blackstar....right....
Owns.....not owes
Do you know how to play anything clean everything is gaining some of us like clean duhhh
Meh not very dynamic. Its a good practice amp.
Play the kt88 version with an hss Strat, then make your assumption, man.
Andrew Konkey I’ve played it I also design ants for a living for radio technology. That amp is nothing but a circuit board with a bunch of knobs it’s not hand wired it’s not point to point and it doesn’t have any mojo trust me
creepyguy your user name says all we need to know about your expertise
@@davidmerlin3344 well stated my friend.
nice amps! I sure wish these demos wouldn't demonstrate the same stuff over and over. Get a player who can offer a greater variety. And PLEASE - I want to hear more variety of clean.
I'm so glad that Fender did not build these amps. They would have only made 100 worldwide and would charge us $4500.
4 minutes in on 6L6 and not one clean sound... Hmmm...30 seconds in on EL34 and dimes the gain.. Yawn... Outta here...
Don't get all excited folks. These are 10 watts. They will not get over a drummer.
I've used a valve amp power regulated down to 0.5 watts for 600-800 seater venue's many times. I guess it depends on how good the sound guy is and your monitor mix. Low stage volume makes everything sound much more professional.
I have the 6L6 and the EL34, totally love them both. I have no problem filling a small club or venue. Blackstar has 3 fantastic amps ... 😀😁
@@fundorgon I play bars all the time. We don't mike amps. A 10 watt would not keep up.
@@utmotrix Do you use a PA?
I understand that it's not a magic solution for you and your gigs but for many working guitarists (especially young players working in cities) portability is worth using a mic/line out. Many live situations require me to have a low stage volume anyway, especially in the theatre/show circuit.
I have the Artisan 10ae, same basic amp as the EL34 studio 10. It’s a pretty loud 10W. Totally fine for rehearsal or small clubs / pubs. Two of them wet/dry is killer.