Blackstar Amplification Club

[Daniel Piper]

I've had my Bass FLY 3 Stereo Pack for about a year now. Makes for excellent computer speakers. Play along with You Tube videos too.
View attachment 3154935

Those things look crazy useful!

 

[Linnin]

Those things look crazy useful!

That they are

 

[hvy1]

Yeah thats pretty normal. In general these combos hiss less than others because of the lack of a tweeter.

Here she is. Haven’t taken the “packaging” off yet as I’m still kinda iffy on the hissing. Really like it other than that though

 

[Daniel Piper]

Here she is. Haven’t taken the “packaging” off yet as I’m still kinda iffy on the hissing. Really like it other than that though

The hissing is quite perplexing to me. Where are you setting the treble knob?

Are you using an active bass? Would love to get to the bottom of it for ya!

 

[Linnin]

The hissing is quite perplexing to me.

Me too. I've not heard one dram of hiss in any of the videos I've viewed, nor anyone complain of hiss. Most peculiar.

 

[hvy1]

The bass is active(ray 34). I’ll try to put up a vid tomorrow

 

[hvy1]

That’s not what a

Me too. I've not heard one dram of hiss in any of the videos I've viewed, nor anyone complain of hiss. Most peculiar.

THATS NOT WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR!!!!

 

[Linnin]

THATS NOT WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR!!!!

^^^ ^^^ of course not. What's your gain structure? The first thing these new Unity Blackstars do is convert your analog signal to digital. If you're running too hot of an input coupled to a high gain setting could very easily accentuate hiss and cause other problems.

 

[hvy1]

The bass is active(ray 34). I’ll try to put up a vid tomorrow

^^^ ^^^ of course not. What's your gain structure? The first thing these new Unity Blackstars do is convert your analog signal to digital. If you're running too hot of an input coupled to a high gain setting could very easily accentuate hiss and cause other problems.

Im trying to upload a vid(not great)but we’re having a power outage and the 4g is shite. Ill try and take a better one tomorrow nite.

 

[hvy1]

View attachment 3163481

Im trying to upload a vid(not great)but we’re having a power outage and the 4g is poopiee. Ill try and take a better one tomorrow nite.

LOL THAT “pic” was my video

 

[hvy1]

I can’t Talkbass tonite! That was not the pic I was referring to lol. The one with my hand on the amp was the one.

 

[hvy1]

Also, nice autocorrect with the “poopiee”

 

[Daniel Piper]

Ha ha. Those ray basses are BRIGHT sounding.

If you reduce the treble on the amp does it reduce the hiss?

 

[Daniel Piper]

My U500 is still slaying for me after a few months use!

Fantastic tone, great versatility and usable, practical effects.

 

[PSPookie]

Got my u250 about a week ago and I'm absolutely in love with it. Posted a review over in The Combo Club. I suppose I could have been more expansive in my praise, goodness knows it's deserved, but 600+ words seemed like enough of a long read for TB.

 

[Riversman]

I was not sure where to go with this question and I know I might receive bias opinions from either the Blackstar or Rumble clubs.
I am getting my first Bass guitar in next week or so. I am doing research on amps. I am very torn between Unity and Rumble amps. It seems I find more reviews and videos on Rumble then the Unity.
Has anyone tried them both?
What does the Unity provide that the Rumble doesn’t?
I current sound interests are alternative and classic rock. My favorite band is R.E.M. Also been listening to rythem and blues lately also.

 

[NecroticImbecil]

I wanted a convenient "bedroom" practice amp, the Core Beam works with guitar and bass and as a stereo bluetooth speaker. It's not loud but sounds good, effects are cool. Can be used as a USB recording interface. Happy so far. Just wish it had a handle and a built in tuner. Proaudiostar has the best price I found.

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[Daniel Piper]

I was not sure where to go with this question and I know I might receive bias opinions from either the Blackstar or Rumble clubs.
I am getting my first Bass guitar in next week or so. I am doing research on amps. I am very torn between Unity and Rumble amps. It seems I find more reviews and videos on Rumble then the Unity.
Has anyone tried them both?
What does the Unity provide that the Rumble doesn’t?
I current sound interests are alternative and classic rock. My favorite band is R.E.M. Also been listening to rythem and blues lately also.

Both the Rumble and Unity amps are awesome.

Both are ‘expandable’, both sound great.

Unity has some effects and preamp/power amp modelling.

The rumble has great Fender tone. And is lighter.

 

[Daniel Piper]

Blackstar Unity u250 Review



There is so much to talk about with this amp that I don't even know where to start, so I'll just dive in.



Signal Chain: Peavey Millennium 5 (passive) → Blackstar Unity u250 (Voice – Classic, Gain – 12:00, Drive – 9:00, Low – 12:30, Mid – 1:00, Mid Frequency – 9:00, High – 12:00, Compression – 9:00, Master – 12:00)



Band and music: 3-piece playing classic rock and blues (mainly)



Fit, finish, and form factor:

This is a lovely looking amp; I really like the grille cloth and the simple star logo. I can't find the smallest flaw in the construction. I guess it's due to a well-placed handle, but this amp feels lighter than the published 42lbs (19.2 kg). I'm a squishy 6'0” and 170 lbs and I had no trouble with a one-hand carry.



Features:

I'm just going to list these from left to right on the top of the amp first then the back panel.



Top: -10dB input pad, Voice Select (Classic, Modern, Flat), Drive Channel (OD, Distortion, Fuzz), 3-Band EQ with parametric Mids, Effect (Off, Chorus. Octave), Response (Linear, 6L6, 6550), Compression



Rear: Footswitch, MP3 Line In, USB Line Out, Headphones, Line Out Level, E.M. Out/D.I., XLR Line Out, Ground Lift, Effects Sends, Effects Return, Chorus Level, Octave Blend, Cabinet Link



The 2-button foot switch, which is included, toggles the Drive channel on or off to your weapon of choice with button A and the selected effect on or off with button B.



Sound:

The head portion of this amp is pretty unique; it's definitely unlike anything I've used before. There are a plethora of tonal options. Flat voicing with Linear response sounds like a good SS head (Markbass LMII comes to mind) while the Classic voicing with either the 6L6 or 6550 response sounds at least as “tubey” as my Ampeg V4B or Peavey VB-2.



The variety of tonal options come through very clearly at low volume and through headphones. In a band setting, I have really only tried 4 options (knobs as above, plus: 6L6 without compression (with and without OD), and 6550 with compression (with and without OD)) and all sounded great in their own way. Of course, these specific sounds were why I bought the amp; everything else is gravy to me. In a 3-hour session I had no real desire to branch out … just kept playing with a big grin on my face



Low end: It's not the absolute deepest box I've used before; that honor goes to the Genz-Benz Uber 212. However, it shares the thunderous low end presence of one of my other favorite cabs: the venerable Aguilar DB115.



Mids: lots of character. The parametric mids allow you to dial in or out plenty of grunt, growl or honk



Highs: Unsurprisingly, given the lack of a tweeter, it lacks the high end sparkle of some other amps.



Overall impression:

I'm in love. Plenty of volume to keep up with a loud drummer. In the tube emulation modes, this amp has a bounce and grunt to its sound that makes my pants tight, but it can also do crisp and clean. I'm not much of a knob twiddler so I haven't yet explored the full range of the EQ section. It is worth noting that the Voicing switch alters the frequency response of the EQ section. See post #2701 in this thread for details.



I've paid quite a bit more, on the used market no less, for separates that couldn't cop the variety of high-quality tones that the u250 delivers. I am simply blown away by this very capable combo and I was able to get an open box unit for less than $500.



Hope you enjoyed my review. Pics are in post #2658 of this thread.
Oh, and feel free to ask any questions I didn't address.

My experience mirrors yours almost exactly.

The low end in my u500 sounds better than my old GK neos, and the high end is very present, but doesn’t sparkle right up on top (fine by me)

Beautiful construction.

The only thing missing for me is...


...the extension cab.

I need to pick one up!

 

[Daniel Piper]

I’ve been through a number of rigs over the years, but none have sounded better to me than my Blackstar setup.