Blackstar Artist 30 2x12" Valve Amp Combo in Black

Blackstar are always looking to improve their amp offerings. A few years ago, they launched their Artisan line of handwired amps which have been met with critical acclaim as some amazing clean and crunch amps. For those that wanted that sound but with more options, you now have the Artist line of amps from Blackstar! Versatile all-valve amps for the gigging guitarist.

Artist 30

The Blackstar Artist 30 is a bold-sounding 30-watt amplifier with enough power to fill a stage with beautiful valve tone! It's not unusably loud though, and can still be tamed for home use and rehearsals.

2-Channel Design

Unlike the single channel design used on the Artisan, the Artist has 2 channels. One extremely high headroom clean channel that only breaks up when you want it to, and a crunchy overdrive channel. Why no high-gain mode? Well, this amp was designed with the pedal user in mind so both channels are made to be platforms where you can load any type of pedal on top.

That second channel then becomes really handy if you get most of your overdrive from your pedalboard. Just use channel one as your rhythm option, and then kick in to a slightly dirtier channel 2 for a bigger sound when you need that sustain for single notes.

Tone Shaping

Blackstar specialises in amplifiers that capture both American and British tones. Their patented ISF feature is the main ingredient. This one knob lets you adjust the power amp so you can go from a more mid-range heavy and barky Brit tone, or a darker and warmer American tone instantly. Add in all the options you have on your pedalboard, and any tone is a possibility with this amp!

All The Tools You Need

We have all become so accustomed to having so many features on our amps that Blackstar couldn't just make their Artist model sound great — they also had to make it easy to use live. So along with its 2-channel design, the Artist also has built-in footswitchable reverb and a series effects loop. This gives you the option to set this up as a clean amp on its own, or with your own pedals and choose between those on the fly.

Valve Power

Blackstar are big fans of valve amps just like most guitarists. It is what gives the amp its character, its warmth and its desirable tone. So even though this amp is designed to be a canvas for your pedals to paint on, they still wanted it to sound great out of the box!

To make sure this is the case, the preamp is loaded with two ECC83 preamp valves as well as two 6L6 valves in the power amp section. These all help drive the built-in Celestion V-Type speakers perfectly for the tone you may have in your head.

Specifications

• 2 channels
• 2×12" Celestion V-Type speakers
• 2 x 6L6 power valves 
• 2 x ECC83 preamp valves
• Patented ISF knob
• Reverb
• Series effects loop
• Footswitchable channels and reverb
• Boutique styling