You can fiddle with pedals and pickups all day long, but you'll never get around how crucial your amp is in defining your tone. Knowing what you're getting on the tail end of your tone chain is critical to knowing what guitar and effects are right for a given situation. With Blackstar's programmable ID:Series amps, the company uses DSP technology to give as much tone-shaping control to the player as possible through well-designed controls, a super-wide range of tones, and computer interactivity. Obviously, DSP is not a new approach for achieving a more manageable, versatile amp. But with the ID series, of which our 60-watt, ID:60TVP 1X12 combo is a member, Blackstar prioritized tube-like dynamics, versatility, and ease-of-use in modern recording situations. The result is an amp that gives you a lot of control over the sound that hits the rehearsal room, your audience, and your recording interface. But what's best is that, first and foremost, it's a pretty great-sounding amp across a very wide range of styles.
The Whole Enchilada
An amp is an animal of many parts. Functions like equalization are common to almost every amp. But effects, tubes, speaker types, and cabinet size vary from amp to amp. Like most good DSP-based amps these days, the Blackstar ID:60 enables a player to explore most of these variables in a single unit with varying degrees of realism. But rather than try to emulate specific amp types perfectly, Blackstar bucks DSP and modeling trends by letting players tailor their own sounds from more open-ended sounds, based on Blackstar voices. You may not be able to dial up a Marshall Plexi or Vox AC30 by name, but you can get in the ballpark and shape the tone to suit your needs—arguably a much more creative proposition.
Big Enough to Be a Bully
The ID:60TVP might be slightly larger than some DSP amp combos (it's also more powerful than average), but it's not considerably heavier, which is nice given how well it works as a gigging amp. It sports a solid, mostly closed-back cabinet with a classy, straightforward look—no chrome or blinding lights here—and a well-thought-out control set.
Knobs are smooth and wobble-free and control increments are clearly labeled. Multi-colored indicator lights for effect settings are just bright enough to be obvious but not distracting or glaring, and the built-in tuner is a handy way to free up a spot on your pedalboard. Ins and outs include a standard guitar input, an mp3/line input, an emulated output, a MIDI footswitching jack, and a USB connector..
Beastly Out of the Box
A key point of the ID:Series is that the amp's voices are built around those in Blackstar's tube amps, including its HT series. So unlike some DSP situations you don't just begin with an amplified clean signal and throw a bunch of effects at it until it sounds better. Instead, the ID:Series contains six preamp voices—clean warm, clean bright, crunch, super crunch, OD1, and OD2. With gain and volume controls and a 3-band EQ section, each voice can be shaped from a pure-as-snow and dynamic clean chime to biting, boosted metal leads or chugging, thumping saturated rhythm work. The overdrive is fantastic, and the range of the gain control when using the overdriven voices goes from just a little dirty to all-out ripped.
Also, there's very little overlap among voices. The clean sounds, even with full gain, are very different from the crunch voice with light overdrive. Full-gain crunch is not as beefy as the overdrive channels at their most tame. The differences add up to versatility, copious tone options, and very real playing dynamics.
Much of this versatility is enabled by Blackstar's ISF control, which is situated right alongside the EQ. ISF, or Infinite Shape Feature, shapes the response of the whole tone control network—moving between standard American and British voices in shades from extreme through just about every spot in between. So you can, for instance, dial up a mostly American tone, darken it up with just a spot of Brit, and use the fully interactive EQ to dial in tones in specific ways that suit a stage or recording mix.
Much More Than Modeling
The ID:60's voices and the ISF create an enormous tone field, but Blackstar's True Valve Power, or TVP, really helps shape the feel of the amp. The feature emulates six tube types, each with their own tonal characteristics and EQ responses. You get to explore how a tube reacts to drive and playing style in terms of sag and breakup, its frequency response, its acoustic output, and even how it interacts with the speaker. TVP's success in capturing those differences is a huge part of what makes this Blackstar so effective, and you can truly feel changes in punch, body, and volume from picking attack. And because the EQ and ISF controls remain interactive, each TVP setting—KT88, 6L6, KT66, EL34, 6V6, and EL84—is more than just a patch, it really creates an environment within which a player can use EQ/ISF to find almost any combination of voice, tone, and tube response without a room full of amps, boxes of tubes, and a fire extinguisher.
Keep On Tweaking On
Not surprisingly, the three master controls—volume, resonance and presence—are also very powerful tools. Using the preamp volume control you can get full-power sounds even at low master volume levels, without losing much in terms of TVP effectiveness or feel. And it makes the amp much more useful at basement band room levels or club stage volume. The presence and resonance controls deal with the bass and treble response of the power amp respectively. These master controls differ from the EQ in that they replicate amp behaviors like the way the speaker acts in the cabinet rather than shaping tone. Boosting resonance creates a distinct sense of speaker movement, while higher presence levels make the speaker feel livelier.
Modulation, delay, and reverb effects are controlled via two knobs—type and level—and a tap button. Modulation effects include phaser, flanger, chorus, and tremolo. The tap button controls the speed, while level deals with the depth. The effect knob itself changes the mix or feedback of the modulation effects. Delay types include linear, analogue, tape and multi, while level adjusts the delay level and the tap button is used to set the delay time. For reverb, players can choose from room, hall, spring, and plate, and the size of each environment is controlled through the segment parameter.
The ID:Series' effects are excellent, and can also be toggled via an optional FS10 foot controller. Playing with the reverb effect and the resonance control together creates exceptionally realistic sounds, but also illustrates how wonderfully interactive this amp's controls can be. The delay effects rival most pedals out there, and the tap function makes setting the time and speed of the effects a breeze. The FS10 also allows the user to access the 12 factory presets or go into navigation mode to bank up + down to 128 patches that live in the amp.
Plugged In and Movin'
The amp's USB capabilities and free GUI software enable you to take
advantage of the Blackstar's direct recording, training, deep editing,
and re-amping potential. The GUI software can be downloaded from
Blackstar for Windows and Mac. When I tested it on a 64-bit Windows 7
laptop, installation was a breeze and the proper drivers were downloaded
and installed automatically when the amp was connected. (If you don't
have Microsoft Silverlight installed, you'll be prompted to do so.)
The USB audio interface for recording allows you to take advantage of features like re-amping mode, and the GUI software is intuitive and fun. The Insider workspace is organized into sections that can be hidden or opened in a separate window, and the amplifier portion shows the face of your amp and, once synced, replicates any changes you make to the physical amplifier settings. It also works the other way around, and changes you make to the GUI amp face will be displayed in lights on the physical amp face. It's not only functional, but lends a sense of seamlessness and cohesion to the process of using the amp.
Ratings
Pros:
Great voices, plus ISF and TVP features offer outstanding sounds and a wide range of sound choices and control. USB audio and related features are fun, useful and valuable to have built into a gig-worthy combo amp.
Cons:
Foot controller optional. The lack of way to record through the GUI may be disappointing to those without recording software.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$599
Blackstar
blackstaramps.com
Likewise, the Effects Chain sections shows a stompbox for each effect, and changes to the knobs on these pedals are reflected on the GUI amp face and, where applicable, with lights on the physical amp face. One benefit is that a player can see effect parameters more clearly, which can be difficult when a pedal's entire range is condensed into a quarter-turn of a knob. The Audio section of the GUI is where players can import audio tracks and play along. Insider allows for looping and playback speed adjustment for phrase training or songwriting, and there's also a metronome. In a nod to low-tech lovers, audio tracks are stored in slots that look like cassette tapes and are played/controlled through a representation of an old, single-speaker, top-loading cassette player.
Creating and saving patches in the GUI is a simple process. Once a patch is saved, it can be shared via the Insider Online Community section. There are Blackstar patches there for download as well as user patches in every genre. You can play these patches while plugged into insider, or sync them to the amp with just a click. This is extremely useful because you can have an unlimited amount of patches in your library and load the amp with whichever ones you'll need for a particular gig. There's also a compare feature to evaluate new changes, and effects settings also can be saved in the library.
The Verdict
Few amps combine the flexibility of creating your own signature sounds and value as well as the ID:60. The TVP and ISF technologies together yield a multitude of possible combinations and sounds, especially with further EQ/effect adjustment. With a price of around $600, the ID:60 isn't exactly dirt cheap for a 60-watt 1x12. But it flat-out sounds great, and Blackstar really has it going on in terms of preamp voices. Plus it's plenty powerful for gigs and pumps out big sound at low volumes for quieter practicing without sacrificing tone. The USB audio, deep-editing, re-amping and session trainer features add value and make it a fine recording/practice tool for any level of musician. But the real surprise is just how much pure enjoyment is on tap for tone freaks.
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Electro-Harmonix Hell Melter Distortion Pedal
With its take on the cult-classic, chainsaw distortion pedal, the EHX Hell Melter takes distortion to its extremes. The Hell Melter features expanded controls and tonal capabilities, allowing the already in-your-face sound of the pedal to broaden by switching to more open clipping options and boosting the internal voltage for increased headroom, less compression, and more attack.
Originally designed as the ultimate in high-gain tone, this world-famous distortion circuit is known for the death metal sounds of Sweden’s Entombed and the shoegaze wash of My Bloody Valentine. It’s even found a home in the rig of David Gilmour!
The EHX Hell Melter’s expanded control set includes Gain and Level controls, and a powerful active EQ featuring with parametric mids for improved versatility. The Dry level control allows for blending your input signal for improved low-end when used with a bass or even blending in other distorted tones.
Boost Footswitch engages an input gain boost and volume boost which is internally adjustable. The Normal/Burn switch toggles between the classic chainsaw sound and the more open clipping option.
For the first time in the band’s history, the Dawes lineup for Oh Brother consisted of just Griffin and Taylor Goldsmith (left and right).
Goldsmith’s lyrics spoke to me the loudest, with lines like “Well, you can judge the whole world on the sparkle that you think it lacks / Yes, you can stare into the abyss, but it’s starin’ right back” (a casual Nietzsche paraphrase); and “Oh, the snowfall this time of year / It’s not what Birmingham is used to / I get the feeling that I brought it here / And now I’m taking it away.” The way his words painted a portrait of the sincere, sentimental man behind them, along with his cozy, unassuming guitar work and the band’s four-part harmonies, had me hooked.
Nothing Is Wrong and Stories Don’t End came next, and I happily gobbled up more folksy fodder in tracks like “If I Wanted,” “Most People,” and “From a Window Seat.” But 2015’s All Your Favorite Bands, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Folk Albumschart, didn’t land with me, and by the time 2016’s We’re All Gonna Die was released, it was clear that Goldsmith had shifted thematically in his writing. A friend drew a thoughtful Warren Zevon comparison to the single, “When the Tequila Runs Out”—a commentary on vapid, conceited, American-socialite party culture—but it still didn’t really do it for me. I fell off the Dawes train a bit, and became somewhat oblivious to their three full-lengths that followed.
Oh Brotheris Goldsmith’s latest addition to the Dawes songbook, and I’m grateful to say that it’s brought me back. After having done some catching up, I’d posit that it’s the second work in the third act, or fall season, of his songwriting—where 2022’s Misadventures of Doomscrollercracked open the door, Oh Brother swings it wide. And it doesn’t have much more than Dawes’ meat and potatoes, per se, in common with acts one or two. Some moodiness has stayed—as well as societal disgruntlement and the arrangement elements that first had me intoxicated. But then there’s the 7/4 section in the middle of “Front Row Seat”; the gently unwinding, quiet, intimate jazz-club feel of “Surprise!”; the experimentally percussive, soft-spoken “Enough Already”; and the unexpected, dare I say, Danny Elfman-esque harmonic twists and turns in the closing track, “Hilarity Ensues.”
The main engine behind Dawes, the Goldsmith brothers are both native “Angelinos,” having been born and raised in the L.A. area. Taylor is still proud to call the city his home.
Photo by Jon Chu
“I have this working hypothesis that who you are as a songwriter through the years is pretty close to who you are in a dinner conversation,” Goldsmith tells me in an interview, as I ask him about that thematic shift. “When I was 23, if I was invited to dinner with grownups [laughs], or just friends or whatever, and they say, ‘How you doin’, Taylor?’ I probably wouldn’t think twice to be like, ‘I’m not that good. There’s this girl, and … I don’t know where things are at—can I share this with you? Is that okay?’ I would just go in in a way that’s fairly indiscreet! And I’m grateful to that version of me, especially as a writer, because that’s what I wanted to hear, so that’s what I was making at the time.
“But then as I got older, it became, ‘Oh, maybe that’s not an appropriate way to answer the question of how I’m doing.’ Or, ‘Maybe I’ve spent enough years thinking about me! What does it feel like to turn the lens around?’” he continues, naming Elvis Costello and Paul Simon as inspirations along the way through that self-evolution. “Also, trying to be mindful of—I had strengths then that I don’t have now, but I have strengths now that I didn’t have then. And now it’s time to celebrate those. Even in just a physical way, like hearing Frank Zappa talking about how his agility as a guitar player was waning as he got older. It’s like, that just means that you showcase different aspects of your skills.
“I am a changing person. It would be weird if I was still writing the same way I was when I was 23. There would probably be some weird implications there as to who I’d be becoming as a human [laughs].”
Taylor Goldsmith considers Oh Brother, the ninth full-length in Dawes’ catalog, to be the beginning of a new phase of Dawes, containing some of his most unfiltered, unedited songwriting.
Since its inception, the engine behind Dawes has been the brothers Goldsmith, with Taylor on guitar and vocals and Griffin on drums and sometimes vocal harmonies. But they’ve always had consistent backup. For the first several years, that was Wylie Gelber on bass and Tay Strathairn on keyboards. On We’re All Gonna Die, Lee Pardini replaced Strathairn and has been with the band since. Oh Brother, however, marks the departure of Gelber and Pardini.
“We were like, ‘Wow, this is an intense time; this is a vulnerable time,’” remarks Goldsmith, who says that their parting was supportive and loving, but still rocked him and Griffin. “You get a glimpse of your vulnerability in a way that you haven’t felt in a long time when things are just up and running. For a second there, we’re like, ‘We’re getting a little rattled—how do we survive this?’”
They decided to pair up with producer Mike Viola, a close family friend, who has also worked with Mandy Moore—Taylor’s spouse—along with Panic! At the Disco, Andrew Bird, and Jenny Lewis. “[We knew that] he understands all of the parameters of that raw state. And, you know, I always show Mike my songs, so he was aware of what we had cookin’,” says Goldsmith.
Griffin stayed behind the kit, but Taylor took over on bass and keys, the latter of which he has more experience with than he’s displayed on past releases. “We’ve made records where it’s very tempting to appeal to your strengths, where it’s like, ‘Oh, I know how to do this, I’m just gonna nail it,’” he says. “Then there’s records that we make where we really push ourselves into territories where we aren’t comfortable. That contributed to [Misadventures of Doomscroller] feeling like a living, breathing thing—very reactive, very urgent, very aware. We were paying very close attention. And I would say the same goes for this.”
That new terrain, says Goldsmith, “forced us to react to each other and react to the music in new ways, and all of a sudden, we’re exploring new corners of what we do. I’m really excited in that sense, because it’s like this is the first album of a new phase.”
“That forced us to react to each other and react to the music in new ways, and all of a sudden, we’re exploring new corners of what we do.”
In proper folk (or even folk-rock) tradition, the music of Dawes isn’t exactly riddled with guitar solos, but that’s not to say that Goldsmith doesn’t show off his chops when the timing is right. Just listen to the languid, fluent lick on “Surprise!”, the shamelessly prog-inspired riff in the bridge of “Front Row Seat,” and the tactful, articulate line that threads through “Enough Already.” Goldsmith has a strong, individual sense of phrasing, where his improvised melodies can be just as biting as his catalog’s occasional lyrical jabs at presumably toxic ex-girlfriends, and just as melancholy as his self-reflective metaphors, all the while without drawing too much attention to himself over the song.
Of course, most of our conversation revolves around songwriting, as that’s the craft that’s the truest and closest to his identity. “There’s an openness, a goofiness—I even struggle to say it now, but—an earnestness that goes along with who I am, not only as a writer but as a person,” Goldsmith elaborates. “And I think it’s important that those two things reflect one another. ’Cause when you meet someone and they don’t, I get a little bit weirded out, like, ‘What have I been listening to? Are you lying to me?’” he says with a smile.
Taylor Goldsmith's Gear
Pictured here performing live in 2014, Taylor Goldsmith has been the primary songwriter for all of Dawes' records, beginning with 2009’s North Hills.
Photo by Tim Bugbee/Tinnitus Photography
Guitars
- Fender Telecaster
- Gibson ES-345
- Radocaster (made by Wylie Gelber)
Amps
- ’64 Fender Deluxe
- Matchless Laurel Canyon
Effects
- 29 Pedals EUNA
- Jackson Audio Bloom
- Ibanez Tube Screamer with Keeley mod
- Vintage Boss Chorus
- Vintage Boss VB-2 Vibrato
- Strymon Flint
- Strymon El Capistan
Strings
- Ernie Ball .010s
In Goldsmith’s songwriting process, he explains that he’s learned to lean away from the inclination towards perfectionism. Paraphrasing something he heard Father John Misty share about Leonard Cohen, he says, “People think you’re cultivating these songs, or, ‘I wouldn’t deign to write something that’s beneath me,’ but the reality is, ‘I’m a rat, and I’ll take whatever I can possibly get, and then I’ll just try to get the best of it.’
“Ever since Misadventures of Doomscroller,” he adds, “I’ve enjoyed this quality of, rather than try to be a minimalist, I want to be a maximalist. I want to see how much a song can handle.” For the songs on Oh Brother, that meant that he decided to continue adding “more observations within the universe” of “Surprise!”, ultimately writing six verses. A similar approach to “King of the Never-Wills,” a ballad about a character suffering from alcoholism, resulted in four verses.
“The economy of songwriting that we’re all taught would buck that,” says Goldsmith. “It would insist that I only keep the very best and shed something that isn’t as good. But I’m not going to think economically. I’m not going to think, ‘Is this self-indulgent?’
Goldsmith’s songwriting has shifted thematically over the years, from more personal, introspective expression to more social commentary and, at times, even satire, in songs like We’re All Gonna Die’s “When the Tequila Runs Out.”
Photo by Mike White
“I don’t abide that term being applied to music. Because if there’s a concern about self-indulgence, then you’d have to dismiss all of jazz. All of it. You’d have to dismiss so many of my most favorite songs. Because in a weird way, I feel like that’s the whole point—self-indulgence. And then obviously relating to someone else, to another human being.” (He elaborates that, if Bob Dylan had trimmed back any of the verses on “Desolation Row,” it would have deprived him of the unique experience it creates for him when he listens to it.)
One of the joys of speaking with Goldsmith is just listening to his thought processes. When I ask him a question, he seems compelled to share every backstory to every detail that’s going through his head, in an effort to both do his insights justice and to generously provide me with the most complete answer. That makes him a bit verbose, but not in a bad way, because he never rambles. There is an endpoint to his thoughts. When he’s done, however, it takes me a second to realize that it’s then my turn to speak.
To his point on artistic self-indulgence, I offer that there’s no need for artists to feel “icky” about self-promotion—that to promote your art is to celebrate it, and to create a shared experience with your audience.
“I hear what you’re saying loud and clear; I couldn’t agree more,” Goldsmith replies. “But I also try to be mindful of this when I’m writing, like if I’m going to drag you through the mud of, ‘She left today, she’s not coming back, I’m a piece of shit, what’s wrong with me, the end’.... That might be relatable, that might evoke a response, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily helpful … other than dragging someone else through the shit with me.
“In a weird way, I feel like that’s the whole point—self-indulgence. And then obviously relating to someone else, to another human being.”
“So, if I’m going to share, I want there to be something to offer, something that feels like: ‘Here’s a path that’s helped me through this, or here’s an observation that has changed how I see this particular experience.’ It’s so hard to delineate between the two, but I feel like there is a difference.”
Naming the opening track “Mister Los Angeles,” “King of the Never-Wills,” and even the title track to his 2015 chart-topper, “All Your Favorite Bands,” he remarks, “I wouldn’t call these songs ‘cool.’ Like, when I hear what cool music is, I wouldn’t put those songs next to them [laughs]. But maybe this record was my strongest dose of just letting me be me, and recognizing what that essence is rather than trying to force out certain aspects of who I am, and force in certain aspects of what I’m not. I think a big part of writing these songs was just self-acceptance,” he concludes, laughing, “and just a whole lot of fishing.”
YouTube It
Led by Goldsmith, Dawes infuses more rock power into their folk sound live at the Los Angeles Ace Hotel in 2023.