Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

Blackstar Introduces the St. James Amp Series

Blackstar Introduces the St. James Amp Series

A lightweight, portable amp series developed after months of forensic examination of vintage valve amps.


The St. James series offers amps in two formats: an EL34 design creating classic British rock tones and a 6L6 model with crystal clean tones and higher gain, both available as Celestion-equipped combo or amplifier head with matching vertical 212 cabinet. Designed to be simple to use but highly versatile, these amps offer an intuitive two-channel setup that delivers Blackstar’s best-ever clean and overdrive tones.

These amps are ideal for gigging players in search of a great-sounding valve amp at less than half the weight of traditional valve-driven amplifiers, as well as studio players looking for elite tone with the convenience of built-in tools used for recording applications. The models’ light weight is attributable to several factors in construction and design, namely the candlenut wood cabinet and custom Celestion Zephyr speaker, all without sacrificing the all-valve signal path creating the sound and feel of a traditional valve amplifier.

Blackstar St. James 50 Watt 6L6 Combo Amp

Features 

All four amp models feature two-channel 12AX7 preamp tube circuitry, along with three power switch options to fit the user’s need:
  • the 50W full power setting, offering the loudest clean headroom;
  • the SAG setting, proving the softer, vintage-feeling dynamic compression of a power supply ‘”sag,” most noticeable on the loud transients (attack) of the sweetest tube amps;
  • and a 2W low power setting for recording or smaller gigs, delivering a more overdriven power amp tone by controlling HT (high voltage) and bias in the power stage, delivering a more natural tone than the usual “power soak” load resistor method often used.

See How These Players Reacted to St. James | St. James | Blackstar

For more information, visit: www.blackstaramps.com. Blackstar will be exhibiting at Booth 5723 (Hall D) at The NAMM Show, June 3-5, 2022, in Anaheim, CA.

U.S. MAP pricing is as follows:

  • St James 50 Watt 6L6 Combo Amp: $1299.99
  • St James 50 Watt 6L6 Amp Head: $1199.99
  • St James 50 Watt EL34 Combo Amp: $1299.99
  • St James 50 Watt EL34 Amp Head: $1199.99
  • St James Vertical 212 Cabinet Black: $749.99
  • St James Vertical 212 Cabinet Fawn: $749.99


Another day, another pedal! Enter Stompboxtober Day 7 for your chance to win today’s pedal from Effects Bakery!

Read MoreShow less

A twist on the hard-to-find Ibanez MT10 that captures the low-gain responsiveness of the original and adds a dollop of more aggressive sounds too.

Excellent alternative to pricey, hard-to-find, vintage Mostortions. Flexible EQ. Great headroom. Silky low-gain sounds.

None.

$199

Wampler Mofetta
wamplerpedals.com

5
5
5
4.5

Wampler’s new Mofetta is a riff on Ibanez’s MT10 Mostortion, a long-ago discontinued pedal that’s now an in-demand cult classic. If you look at online listings for the MT10, you’ll see that asking prices have climbed up to $1k in extreme cases.

Read MoreShow less

Although inspired by the classic Fuzz Face, this stomp brings more to the hair-growth game with wide-ranging bias and low-cut controls.

One-ups the Fuzz Face in tonal versatility and pure, sustained filth, with the ability to preserve most of the natural sonic thumbprint of your guitar or take your tone to lower, delightfully nasty places.

Pushing the bias hard can create compromising note decay. Difficult to control at extreme settings.

$144

Catalinbread StarCrash
catalinbread.com

4
4
4
4


Read MoreShow less

Intrepid knob-tweakers can blend between ring mod and frequency shifting and shoot for the stars.

Unique, bold, and daring sounds great for guitarists and producers. For how complex it is, it’s easy to find your way around.

Players who don’t have the time to invest might find the scope of this pedal intimidating.

$349


Red Panda Radius

redpandalab.com

5
5
4
4


Read MoreShow less