Blackstar Elite 700

[Wombat]

Anyone got any experience of one of these?

I've always liked the sound of their guitar amps and so would be interested if anyone has used/heard the bass amp!

[David B]

Broadly speaking, there don’t appear to be many Blackstar bass amp reviews. I have seen a few online but they have tended to be retailer demonstrations rather than impartial reviews. On paper this head looks good and the price is tempting but no-one seems to be talking about them (and equally, no-one is out there pointing out any flaws or failings). Perhaps I have been looking in the wrong places.

[Stofferson]

I used the Unity Combo with the extension cab at a gig a while back, did a good job, can't really say much more than that, Sorry!

 

[Wombat]

Thanks. That's where I'm coming from. The cabs are light, the head will run at 2ohms you get a gig bag. Great brand. What is not to like!

But no one seems to be using them?

[Stofferson]

Just now, Wombat said:

But no one seems to be using them?

Just my wild guess, potentially so much at that same price point which bassists already know, TE, TC, Warwick, GK, MB, Ashdown. etc. Tough Market to crack if it's your first foray into bass amps.

 

 

 

[bumnote]

Ive got one its great. Theres a unity combo in a rehearsal room that ive used and I was impressed with that and I needed a head so I compared it to the Fender Rumble and I much preferred the blackstar. Get some nice tones. No blasted mute switch which is a pain but otherwise ok. Sounds nice and full.

 

[Lozz196]

I’ve not used a Blackstar bass amp but have heard other bassists use them. They sponsored a gig and provided full backline for guitar & bass. Strangely given that they’re primarily a guitar amp company I wasn’t that impressed with the guitar sounds (from guys who usually use Marshall’s) but the bassists all sounded really good. The gear provided was a combo and extension speaker so think it was the Unity.

[BassAdder60]

Previously as a guitarist I tried the all valve ( hybrid ?? ) valve heads and there was something lacking compared to a Marshall DSL 100 head. 
 I wasn’t tempted by the bass amps but did consider them before getting Ashdown 

They do tend to have many choices in their range but as someone said breaking into a crowded bass market is really tough 

[Wombat]

1 hour ago, bumnote said:

Ive got one its great. Theres a unity combo in a rehearsal room that ive used and I was impressed with that and I needed a head so I compared it to the Fender Rumble and I much preferred the blackstar. Get some nice tones. No blasted mute switch which is a pain but otherwise ok. Sounds nice and full.

 

Thank, yes you have to get the ‘add on’ footswitch to get the mute button. I think it  would wind me up if I didn’t get it!

[TheGreek]

The CEO of Blackstar is Paul Stevens who was the CEO at Trace Elliot. He left for Blackstar as he felt that the US owned TE company were not committed to enhancing the TE brand. When I spoke to him he was adamant that Blackstar would be building amps for Bass Players.

Maybe this is their first model into the fray.

[Russ]

Their amps are good. Very good, in fact. But the only way to break into that market is to land some high-profile endorsers.

To get that, they'll need something a bit more substantial than some combos and a Class D head - they need big, solid, tour-ready gear that plays on the same level as their guitar stuff. Or at least one big, traditional "halo" bass amp. 

Trace and Ashdown's reputations were built on the SM and Bass Magnifier series, but that hasn't stopped them selling a load of Elves and Rootmasters. 

[Lozz196]

Good point Russ, they’re heading in the right direction by sponsoring gigs etc but yes, some proper tour gear would help them big time. 

[bumnote]

2 hours ago, Russ said:

T

To get that, they'll need something a bit more substantial than some combos and a Class D head - they need big, solid, tour-ready gear that plays on the same level as their guitar stuff. Or at least one big, traditional "halo" bass amp. 

 

Im not sure if it is a class d head. I dont recall seing anything in the blurb. I could  easily be wrong

 

[Merton]

17 hours ago, bumnote said:

Im not sure if it is a class d head. I dont recall seing anything in the blurb. I could  easily be wrong

 

They are class D, most definitely

[Russ]

20 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Good point Russ, they’re heading in the right direction by sponsoring gigs etc but yes, some proper tour gear would help them big time. 

Yep. They need gear that will survive being repeatedly manhandled and thrown into the back of trucks. A big, powerful Class A or valve head that's either rackmountable or that comes in a strong wooden case, would be a great halo product.

Class D heads, particularly more recently, sound great and offer a lot of bang for the buck (my go-to head is a Mesa Subway WD-800), but they're light, relatively fragile and not necessarily built to be thrown around by roadies. 

Blackstar - if you're reading this, I'm happy to throw my hat in the ring as an endorser...

[ped]

I’ve got the U500 2x10 combo. I’ve only used it once or twice in the studio. It seemed excellent to me with some very useful tone shaping via the different voicings (which alter the range and centres of the EQ) and mixed with the different power section emulations I was able to set it up to sound great with the basses I was using at the time (the Ken Smith now owned by Scott Devine and a P bass I still have, which are at opposite ends of the tonal spectrum)

One thing I was especially pleased with was the compressor which seemed to work very well, allowing a ‘bass straight into amp’ job when necessary. 

The whole thing is a manageable single person lift over short distances but not super light. Build quality seems great although the mini switches might be a worry for some. Speaking of which I completely forgot to try the drive/chorus/octaver effects

Saying that I don’t have a vast experience with amps but the last thing I used before this was a Mesa 400+ and it didn’t feel like a step backwards!

[bumnote]

18 hours ago, ped said:

I’Build quality seems great although the mini switches might be a worry for some.

 

Yes the mini swiches look a bit flimsy but the same type of switch is on the Mesa D800 and two PJB  amps I have had. Hopefully they should last.

 

[bumnote]

On 26/04/2021 at 15:49, Wombat said:

Thank, yes you have to get the ‘add on’ footswitch to get the mute button. I think it  would wind me up if I didn’t get it!

Mmm I hate clutter round my feet and the only thing it would give me is a mute switch and tuner.

[Wombat]

Just stick it in the mic stand feet. Or just by the cab. It's got flashy lights!

[Chienmortbb]

Has anyone more experience of this amp?

[Russ]

2 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Has anyone more experience of this amp?

I briefly owned a U700 head. I put my review of it in the reviews section. 

 

So, tl;dr version - it sounds great, it's versatile, but it's not a loud amp, and I worried about its durability and ease of use.

 

The amp emulations sound fantastic - the "vintage" mode sounds full SVT, and the "modern" mode is very SWR/Eden. But the full 700W output is only available at 2ohms, and 350W of Class D power isn't a lot. There's also some odd design choices - the little toggle switches on the front for the effects, etc feel flimsy, and the actual controls for the built-in effects are on the back! 

 

I was impressed enough with the tone to buy a U120 combo though - it sounds really good for a practice amp. It doesn't have all the tone shaping, effects, etc of the head, but it sounds good, the amp emulations sound just like the ones on its big brother, and it's more than powerful enough for home use. My only beef with it is the cloth grille - my cats have taken to using it as a scratching post and have absolutely shredded it. I wish every amp manufacturer offered a metal grille option. 😒

 

 

I have no idea how successful the Unity Bass range has been for Blackstar, and if they plan to continue with it. I really hope they do. The tone is excellent and they're very versatile, they just need to address the overall power output and the control layout in a "2.0" version. And offer steel grilles!  

 

As I was saying above, they also need to get some "name" players involved. I bet there's still a lot of people out there who don't even know that Blackstar make bass gear. 

Edited August 27 by Russ

[knicknack]

@Chienmortbb We have the combos where i teach and i find them really difficult to dial in for my students and myself. Almost feel like a modelling amp then going through a speaker cab. I did try the head out at the Cavern Club, and couldn't make it work for me either. Plugged my own head into the cabs and loved it so the speakers are decent!

 

Edit... thought i might also add that the blackstar gear we have has been horrifically unreliable. We usually have a few out of action at any given time. The guitar amps sound great but suffer the same issues...

Edited August 27 by knicknack

[Obrienp]

I have the U700; bought off this very forum with the optional multi button footswitch (with digital display). I think it is a great amp. The emulations seem very good and with 3 different preamp and 3 power amp options you get a lot of permutations. The compressor is one of the best single knob compressors I have come across. It’s not noisy either (unlike Flyrig 2 for instance). The chorus and drive effects are decent as well. There are three variations on drive: overdrive, drive and fuzz. The mids are sweepable too. Everything I will ever need in one amp, with a discreet foot switch (a bit smaller than a Flyrig 2), which even has a tuner (slow).

 

I have used it with an 8 ohm LFSys Monza (brilliant combination), 4 Ohm Barefaced Two10 and the both of them together running at 2.7 Ohm. The latter was loud and full. At 8 ohms and 4 ohms it is as loud as my Mark Bass LMIII with the aforementioned cabinets. Louder than I need for most of the gigs I do. It’s not as aggressive volume wise as some amps maybe but typical of all the class D amps I’ve used from Mark Bass, TCE, Orange, Peavey, etc. The only one that seems louder watt per watt that I have tried, is the Warwick Gnome I-Pro but I think that is more because of the baked in EQ at supposed equality (far from it in reality). 

I don’t know how robust it will prove over time but it seems to be holding up well at the moment. It feels reassuringly solid to me and the gig bag gives reasonable protection. The little 3 position dip switches don’t seem too flimsy and are the type that appear on quite a few amps but I mostly use the foot pedal for these settings anyway. 

[Russ]

I’d be interested in trying out the U500 combo with the powered extension cabinet - that seems to be the sort of thing Blackstar actually had in mind, in terms of a “modular” rig. I’d personally prefer to have the head put out its full wattage into 4ohms though.

[Obrienp]

13 hours ago, Russ said:

I’d be interested in trying out the U500 combo with the powered extension cabinet - that seems to be the sort of thing Blackstar actually had in mind, in terms of a “modular” rig. I’d personally prefer to have the head put out its full wattage into 4ohms though.

It’s the same story as the EDS Reidmar 700 WRT output. There aren’t that many amps that will handle a sub 4 ohm load, so I guess this appeals to those who need it. I like the flexibility of being able to put my 8 and 4 ohm cabinets together when I really need the extra grunt. 
 

As an aside, the U700 has a separate balanced out to run a powered cabinet. I think this must be aimed at their powered 15” extension cabinet but presumably would do equally well with any powered speaker: Headrush, active PA cabinet, active sub, etc.