Unlike many valve pedals out there the Blackstar range run the valves at a full 300V giving true valve response and tone - the pedals all feature an ECC83. All the pedals are sturdy with tough metal casings and robust silent switches. All the pedals feature a very effective speaker simulated output for direct connection to a recording system or PA (except the Boost) and come with an 18V power supply.
These pedals come highly recommended by us and offer great tones whether into a mixer, a practice amp or a valve amp.
Take a look at the Blackstar Amps
UK next day delivery £2.50
A straightforward pedal that does exactly what you would expect. We have a serious amount of boost on tap here - have no doubt - if you kick this in for a solo you will get heard. The bass and treble controls give a good range of options and of course you get the warmth and response of a true valve stage. Has second output specifically for transistor amps and comes with power supply.
Classic valve sounds with a wide range of tones thanks to the ISF control and the 3 band EQ. The ISF control effectively alters the basic tone from a 'British' style amp to an 'American' style one (perhaps EL34 to 6L6) plus allowing all settings in between. This has plenty of distortion on offer but only up to heavy classic rock whilst nicely capturing lower gain sounds. As you would expect you can clean things up nicely from the volume control and there is plenty of touch sensitivity. Even in front of an old tranny amp this will make you sound huge! If you are going into a valve amp there is plenty of extra output available from the level control to drive your preamp hard.
HT DISTX £119
Essentially the same as the DIST but with more gain on tap - even at low gain this one is giving you distortion. Plenty of sustain and distortion available but maintaining clarity and giving you that big amp feel.
HT DRIVE £109
The HT Drive is a more vintage feeling pedal than the HT-DIST - a bit more ragged but still musical and clear through the whole gain range. A bit simpler than the other pedals we only have gain, level and tone to play with here but they still give you plenty of options with the tone control very useful for matching pickups. Think of this as more or a straightahead pedal and the others a closer to full blown preamps. There is as much gain as the HT-DIST but this isn't quite as smooth, perhaps more aggressive.
HT DUAL £159
Essentially two HT-DIST in one box - a shared set of tone controls and individual gains for each channel. Channel one has a clean/crunch switch allowing this channel to clean up quite a bit to nearly a clean boost if needed, channel two on the other hand takes things from a full crunch right up to singing fluid sustain. This pedal offers a great deal in a single box - couple with a clean amp and you now have three channels.
Check out the Blackstar Website
The full range of Blackstar effects are available from Jam Guitars.