- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,154
- 256,502
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The Combo Club
- Thread starter ChefKen
- Start date
What??? Tomorrow perhaps? At least by the weekend, right? Okay, at least by Thanksgiving. I’m mean, come on! Alright, and I mean it, this is my final offer: at least by 2020!
Well I bought my combo - TC Electronics BG250-208 over 2 months ago. Still have not played it. Tonight is the night though. For funzies, I will be setting it on top of a Seismic Audio 4x6 cabinet for a complete roar of 205w!! Small club tonight, so I am thinking I should be fine. Have not played a gig without my trusty DNA stack in a very long time.
- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,154
- 256,502
- Disclosures
- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
My first and only amp: Fender M-80, purchased new around 1989. I love the sound and the features. And it can get LOUD if it wants!
Interesting. Never heard of these; looked it up and saw the specs. Other than the 65 lbs weight, pretty cool.
Hence the casters.Interesting. Never heard of these; looked it up and saw the specs. Other than the 65 lbs weight, pretty cool.
They went on before I even took it out of the store.
- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,154
- 256,502
- Disclosures
- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
Excellent idea! I need to remember that.Hence the casters.
Very cool, Monet! Looks like a simpler cross between my 39 lb. Bassman 150 1x12 and my 63 lb. Bassman 250 1x15, which came with casters. Their covers have been gathering dust the last few years since getting the Rumble 500 and Bassman 500 w/115 Neo. But, I just this morning installed the 150 in the sanctuary of the church for my regular ongoing gig. Whew! Hope I don't have to move it for at least a few more years.
.
Hence the casters.
Blackstar Unity 60 update
Since some of you were curious about the tone and voicings of the Unity 60, here are some of my impressions after having spent a bit of time with it.
The combo has three voicings: Classic, Modern and Overdrive. For someone used to the Rumble series, the names seem a little odd. You’d expect the Classic voicing to be fairly vintagey, and the Modern to be more hi-fi with more pronounced mids and treble, but in fact, it’s almost the opposite. The Classic voicing is actually fairly mid-heavy, The Modern has a more vintage vibe with almost no mids, you can get a fair approximation of it in Classic mode with the mids turned all the way down. I found the Modern most attractive, the Classic voicing sounded a little harsh to me, although that can be tamed with judicious use of the EQ controls. Overdrive is of a fairly soft and genteel variety, even with the gain boosted. I usually prefer my tone clean anyway.
The built-in effects, chorus and compression, are of limited practical use, as they’re not controllable, they’re either on or off. The compression especially suffers because of this, as it adds a noticeable bump in volume and a fair bit of noise into the bargain, neither of which can be dialed out.
Speaking of noise, the treble control also has this problem - boost it even slightly, and the amp starts to hiss audibly. The rest of the EQ section works well enough, though I’d have preferred separate low and high mid controls, rather than modifying the mid control with a sweep knob.
What surprised me was what happened when I switched from my P with half-rounds to my Classic Sabre with rounds. The amp brings out the character of different basses very clearly indeed - it produced a very clear and distinctive Musicman tone, more so than my Rumbles. However, it allows much less variation. On a Rumble, I can make my Sabre sound like anything from a StingRay to a P using EQ, not so with the Unity - The P stays a P and the Musicman stays a Musicman whatever I do. I suppose this makes the Unity less versatile, though it’s not really that important in a practice amp. But it might keep me from getting one of the larger ones for gigging.
My final verdict is that the Unity 60 is a solid combo, but with some quirks that mar its performance somewhat. Some of its features are rather superfluous on a combo of this size, and it’s not as user-friendly as it might have been. Still, it is a decent first effort for Blackstar, it does do what it says on the tin. But when all is said and done, I think I liked my old Rumble 40 better.
Since some of you were curious about the tone and voicings of the Unity 60, here are some of my impressions after having spent a bit of time with it.
The combo has three voicings: Classic, Modern and Overdrive. For someone used to the Rumble series, the names seem a little odd. You’d expect the Classic voicing to be fairly vintagey, and the Modern to be more hi-fi with more pronounced mids and treble, but in fact, it’s almost the opposite. The Classic voicing is actually fairly mid-heavy, The Modern has a more vintage vibe with almost no mids, you can get a fair approximation of it in Classic mode with the mids turned all the way down. I found the Modern most attractive, the Classic voicing sounded a little harsh to me, although that can be tamed with judicious use of the EQ controls. Overdrive is of a fairly soft and genteel variety, even with the gain boosted. I usually prefer my tone clean anyway.
The built-in effects, chorus and compression, are of limited practical use, as they’re not controllable, they’re either on or off. The compression especially suffers because of this, as it adds a noticeable bump in volume and a fair bit of noise into the bargain, neither of which can be dialed out.
Speaking of noise, the treble control also has this problem - boost it even slightly, and the amp starts to hiss audibly. The rest of the EQ section works well enough, though I’d have preferred separate low and high mid controls, rather than modifying the mid control with a sweep knob.
What surprised me was what happened when I switched from my P with half-rounds to my Classic Sabre with rounds. The amp brings out the character of different basses very clearly indeed - it produced a very clear and distinctive Musicman tone, more so than my Rumbles. However, it allows much less variation. On a Rumble, I can make my Sabre sound like anything from a StingRay to a P using EQ, not so with the Unity - The P stays a P and the Musicman stays a Musicman whatever I do. I suppose this makes the Unity less versatile, though it’s not really that important in a practice amp. But it might keep me from getting one of the larger ones for gigging.
My final verdict is that the Unity 60 is a solid combo, but with some quirks that mar its performance somewhat. Some of its features are rather superfluous on a combo of this size, and it’s not as user-friendly as it might have been. Still, it is a decent first effort for Blackstar, it does do what it says on the tin. But when all is said and done, I think I liked my old Rumble 40 better.
Nice thorough review. It will most likely deter some from searching. Most of the demo videos I've seen don't answer any questions I have.
Good luck tonight, Buddy! Let us know how she does for ya. I’ll bet you never thought you’d use those sixes for a gig. Very cool!
MB, so glad you posted here. Without looking, I’m gonna day you’re new around these parts. I try and remember each club member but can’t place yours. You are more than welcome to join our little group if you don’t already belong. Let me know and I’ll get you a number so you can officially be awesome.
BTW, I remember reading here on TB about your amp. If I recall, it’s a brute with a ton of volume to boot.
Nah, thus is a cap from I side ‘Monet’s amp. No wonder it has real firepower!
Hey, someone stole your VOX because the door right in the middle is open!
Jakob, thank you for your usual detailed review. Very thoughtful. Don’t give up on it being your ears may find something you like about it with maybe a certain bass.
You said what I tend to think about these one-button effects options. As you said, it comes on and there’s no way to make even slight adjustments. I rarely use the Rumble 100’s three buttons because of that very thing. Gimme something to work with and I’ll dial it in. That being said, I am curious about the Superbeetle’s fuzz button. It’ll probably be a “meh.”
Jakob, if you’re me (and God forbid you’re anything even close), you’ll use it for a bit, move it to the corner, and sell it to explore for the next option to please your ears. It’s a never ending quest. Be strong.
Thanks again!
