Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

REVEALED: Blackstar amplification - The Real Truth

“It's an amp for when you feel the need to give the FOH sound engineer a nervous breakdown”: My pick of the best new guitar gear launched this week – and the new drops you might have missed

New releases from Marshall, Harley Benton, Gibson and more…

Guitar World

“The speaker is the secret weapon. It just has this size and weight to the sound that you don’t expect. That’s the magic”: Blackstar shrinks Doug Aldrich’s fire-breathing tube head into a compact 5-watt combo for the stage, studio and home

Meet the DA5 Ruby, the house-trained version of Aldrich's 100-watter, with the same super-hot tone

MusicRadar

“Isolate or remove instruments from any song… Remove the guitar and step into the player’s shoes”: With AI stem separation, component-level modelling, and access to 200,000+ neural captures, Blackstar says the Beam Mini “redefines” the desktop amp

Introduced at NAMM 2026, the Beam Mini ups the ante for the digital practice amp, giving players access to AI-driven practice tools, Tone3000 NAM captures and top-class modelled sounds

MusicRadar

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

“Its solid quality, punchy tone and surprising amount of headroom might make it a secret weapon for rehearsals, or even gigs”: Blackstar Debut Bass 25 review

Blackstar's Debut range, now available in bass flavour - does it hit the spot?

MusicRadar

“The most immersive, intuitive headphone amp on the market today”: Blackstar Amplification unveils the BEAM SOLO – has the Fender Mustang Micro Plus found a rival?

The BEAM SOLO is a $129 all-in-one solution for silent practice, equipped with meticulously engineered digital models of Blackstar amps, with editing via the app and “pro-level” tone

MusicRadar

“Transforms your audio from phone-quality to studio-ready instantly. Just plug in and create, anywhere, anytime”: Blackstar’s audio interface range just got a lot more portable with the pocket-sized Polar Go

Turn the park into your studio with a super-compact interface that can fit into the palm of your hand, and yet is packed with features – including a built-in ProCapture stereo mic system

MusicRadar

“This is the most natural-sounding modelling amp on the market today”: Blackstar launches next-gen ID-X combos – complete with 6 amp voices, more than 35 effects, CabRig IR tech and an OLED display

Can Blackstar's feature-packed 50W and 100W combos make themselves heard above the competition? There are a lot of features here

MusicRadar

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

“A truly modern take on the high-powered super amp, full of clever design decisions and boasting features which open it up to all sorts of uses”: Blackstar St James 100 212

A 100-watt, 2x12, four-channel 'super amp' that weighs the same as a Deluxe Reverb?

MusicRadar

“I’ve received several offers to create a signature amp. Yet I never fully committed. I wasn’t 100% sure – until now”: Blackstar collaborates with Dead Daisies guitarist Doug Aldrich for the DA100, a fire-breathing amp with a nifty secret weapon

A 100-watt head, the DA100 packs some serious heat, but also boasts the sort of practical applications that typically feature on the wishlists of 21st century players

Guitar World

“This poses a risk of serious electric shock”: Blackstar Amplification issues urgent product safety recall for Debut 100R combos

If you own the British amp brand's new Debut 100R 1x12 and 2x12 combos, check your serial number now to see if yours is affected

MusicRadar

“These amplifiers set a new standard in high-performance amplification”: Blackstar unveils the St James 100, its state-of-the-art flagship tube amp and “world’s lightest” in its class – featuring switchable power tubes, CabRig tech and more

Can't decide between EL34s and 6L6s? Blackstar allows you to choose between them or use them together in this four-channel beast, now available as a 100W head or 2x12 combo

MusicRadar

“The ultimate weapon for metal guitarists who demand the ultimate amplifier”: Blackstar unveils the Series One MK II, a four-channel 100W fire-breathing tube amp with “world-class” tone

After more than 30 updates to the circuit and channel voicings, Blackstar's flagship high-gain amp is here, and it's equipped with power scaling, MIDI connectivity, effects loop, and more zero "unwanted fizz"

MusicRadar

“We’re taking guitar amps to where they should be in the 21st century”: Inside the incredible rise of Blackstar Amplification, from vintage-inspired beginnings to cutting-edge digital tech and the world's lightest tube amp

Blackstar's Chief Engineer Paul Stevens and Head of Products Alex Gee pull back the curtain on what keeps the British amp company at the sharp end of amplifier innovation

Guitar World

“Whatever your ability, don’t settle for less than a professional sound”: Blackstar adds a 30-watt combo to its practice amp range as the Debut 30E makes its… debut – and it has onboard tape emulation too

These handsome 1x10 combos are straightforward, no-fuss practice platforms with two footswitchable channels and a speaker emulated output for silent practice and recording

MusicRadar

Get all your
news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One news app.

Guitar World

“When you want the sound and versatility of a big amp but don’t want to deal with more volume than you need”: Blackstar HT Series MK III HT-1R, HT-5R and HT-20RH review

New look, same great tone? The third generation of Blackstar’s compact tube amp series is more than just a makeover – please welcome CabRig speaker emulation to the party

Guitar World

“Elevating its feature set for professional recording and production situations”: Blackstar’s Polar 4 pitches for the pro player by supersizing the guitar-focused audio interface

The amp firm’s latest guitarist-centric interface offers a wealth of connectivity while continuing to wage war on digital clipping

MusicRadar

“The ideal tool for guitarists seeking simplicity, power, and tone in an analogue package”: Blackstar unveils the Debut 100R, high-headroom 100W combos with two channels, reverb, and a MOSFET-driven preamp to replicate tube amp tone

Blackstar expands affordable Debut series with the 100R offered in 1x12 and 2x12 configurations, with a choice of cream or black vinyl coverings, switchable power from 100W to 5W

MusicRadar

“A dynamic playing experience that effortlessly transitions between glassy clean tones and crunchy overdrives”: Blackstar channels the spirit and tones of vintage US amps for the TV-10 A tube combo

The TV-10 A is one classy Class A 10W tube amp, with a 12" Celestion driver, a 6L6 in the power amp, and an effects loop, digital reverb and emulated line out

Get all your
news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One news app.

MusicRadar

Blackstar just added a very useful feature with an update of its ID: Core 10 V4 practice amp

MusicRadar

Blackstar promises “a new level of sound quality, features, and performance” from updated HT MKIII series tube amps – now with CabRig IR tech as standard

Blackstar's versatile amp series just got more versatile with the CabRig making its heads and combos a viable recording tool, with size and power options for the stage, studio or home

MusicRadar

Blackstar teams up with Bonamassa-approved blues phenom Toby Lee to give the St James head and cab a stunning vintage makeover

The Toby Lee St. James TL50 6L6 sports an eye-catching red Tolex covering with cream piping, and a wheat basketweave grille cloth

People

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Organisations

Blackstar Amplification

21 stories

Dio

13 stories

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Topics

Places

Fourteen days free

Download the app

One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.