I like the idea for this series, but I think a lot of players need an episode 0: what is an amplifier? what is a valve? what is a transistor? what is signal level? what is power? what are voltage/current/impedance? etc.
I actually agree on that. I think an important part of myth-busting and de-mystifying is knowledge! If more players would understand how amplification works, I think the world would be a better place. I think if everybody would understand basic concepts of amplification, all the cliches and myths would bust themselves just like ... fog :o)
As someone who primarily plays acoustic guitar this was an incredibly interesting video for me. I like electric guitars and I have a basic knowledge of amps but they are just not something I use very often. Great to get some background and understanding of tech behind all this stuff.
I'd happily watch Ian simply tell us what he thinks is important about guitar tone for an hour or three. What a wealth of knowledge wrapped up in passion and enthusiasm!
Thumbs up for Ian, for being a straight talking, no BS Manc - I miss those afternoons spent in the A1 'dungeons' in the 80s. A second thumb for the TVP amp. I bought one a few years back, and while I'm not completely a Digi-amp convert, I reckon it's the best of the bunch.
Ian was very honest on the digital front. He didn't make any excuses about digital aiming for the lower price points... I think if they built some more amps on the high end around the digital format, opinions would change quite a bit... That being said, of course I want a Valve amp lol.
Isn't that kind of what the boss waza amp is? I don't know if people are going for it or not, but I've yet to see one on a stage. I think if you're going to 'go digital' then you're talking Helix/Kemper et al and not 'traditional' type combo amps
@@grumpyrocker i don't disagree, but as someone who enjoys high quality sound but isn't playing gigs all the time either, I wouldn't care, and I'm guessing there's more than just me out there in that category....
@@gastonmacmillan4849 The Kemper has fooled Chappers on more than one occasion too. Case and Point, plus, as more product like that gets created across different amp manufacturers, the overall price to create/purchase a decent digital amp should come down a bit, it's like anything else electronic... 4k tv's were $2,000 for a 40 inch 3 yrs ago, now you can get one for around $500...
What a thoroughly brilliant and knowledgeable man. Clearly knows his stuff, and that's Blackstar stuff sounds so good across the board. Probably why the Fly is the best sounding battery amp on the planet too!
Love this series! I have an old Peavey Bandit 65, a Vox Valvetronix VT 120+ and a Blackstar Artist 30. I love hearing the method behind the madness. Great work!
Have not enjoyed amp talk in a while but I enjoyed this. This gentleman is being truthful about it, recognizing that things other than tubes aren’t bad at all, and other tech being used properly can be brilliant. That handwired is often indiscernible. I have always had amps of both types, and if it (the amp) is just good and not extraordinary the musician is responsible for creating something great, and they really can. All you need is one that allows you to bring your musical vision, and believing you can’t with any of the different types will keep you from doing it. Great discussion!
Lee, this is SUCH a good idea for a video series! Since we musicians started buying online, a lot of us put more stock in "specs" and have a lot of preconceived notions on how a given amp "should" or "will" sound....IMHO, I think we all need to use our ears more than our eyes!!
Great discussion, and better still, at last a very rare reference to George Lynch on Andertons TV. Surely it’s time for a sounds like Lynch Mob/Dokken/KXM episode...
This was the most interesting Anderton's video I've seen in a long time, and I've watch a lot of them. Ian is a cool dude and Lee seems like he knew just enough to ask the right questions the right way. Good stuff.
I actually have one of the old Music Mans. I think the transistor pre amp actually makes it sound so good. It has really crisp top end and sounds like a really good and powerful blackface fender.
I have Blackstar Id core as a home amp and I absolutely love it. These Blackstar guys are truly great lads, looking forward to see what they will invent in the future.
Actually a really definable difference between digital and valve - valve is a richer and deeper sound, TVP more brittle and thin. Wow! Thank you for explaining this all, really helpful and answered all my questions about this area. 👏👍
What a fantastic idea and subject for a series of videos. This is why Anderson’s remain at the top of the UK retailers and UA-cam channels; Fresh content tackling subjects we want to know about. I especially enjoyed the section around demystify the SS diodes in front of the valves in the pre amp section and this still being classed as all valve and also being akin to using a pedal in front of your amp. I feel this puts the subject to bed and does away with the cork sniffing. I’m really looking forward to the next video. Inner guitar geek has now been fed 😂
I really enjoyed this. I've got a computer engineering background and a book I found fascinating was the Guitar Amp Handbook. It takes you through the history of amp design and how different circuits were evolved. Please keep the good stuff coming.
How great to hear an amp designer speak so honestly about sounds etc...(And in a Northern Accent...which always helps...sorry Lee!) Ive been a Blackstar..HT and ID user for quite some time..and frankly wouldnt care if it was powered by combustible cat farts so long as it felt great to play...and sounded amazing both live and practice/rehearsal situations! Looking forward to the rest of this series!!..Ian...you made my day...regards to all at Blackstar for great amps and superb customer service! (From a Northerner!)
Thank you for doing this series! That was really interesting and some good points made. Got to say, the reason why many guitarists favour genuine vintage amps is likely they heard someone play that amp in their younger days and liked it and the simplicity of the design 'back in the day' like Ian says.
Blackstar is one of the most under rated Amp companies around right now. Their amps are incredible! I own an HT Venue 40 Mk II and it is amazing. Online review upcoming of it, but it does everything amps two and three times the price do with brilliance. I also have the little HT-1R which is an awesome little home practice amp. Blackstar needs a lot more love, folks! They ROCK!!!
I have 3 Blackstar amps... HT-1 Metal, HT-5 Metal, and a HT-Stage 100. I like them all, but that HT-5 with a V30 is simply an amazing sound. My most used amp is an old Marshall Valvestate 265 with the ext. cab. Been using that for 20+ years.
Great video and a great topic. Looking through my amps I realise that I have almost all of the possible configurations you can get, but the bottom line is, I own each different amp for the tones and then the purpose. I have turned over many amps due to buying them the other way around and then being so disappointed by the tones, and that includes some all valve amps. I have a hand-wired all valve amp from 1965 which is so very mellow (completely broken in after 50+ years) but it is the amp I use the least because it is too loud, and that is where newer amps, and especially the good analogue solid state and power switching hybrid valves come into their own nowadays. We are spoilt for choice these days and everything is so affordable compared to what it was 20-30 years ago.
Absolutely brilliant Love the fact that Ian referred to other manufacturers as examples of design with no self edifying crap. Why have I not stumbled across this before. My HUGE question I've had for ages is how much more SPL does a valve amp push out as opposed to SS with the speakers/cab being a constant ~ answer ~ 2.5 times roughly with reference to watts..... would love to see that table, but the overall rule of thumb will do for now I'm going to hunt down Ian just to send him an email to say thankyouthankyouthankyou. I see the other parts of this series in the listing to the side -> they are next!
What a great video for many different reasons!!! I like the fact that you did it in cooperation with Blackstar and not with Marshall and/or Fender. Ian is a very cool dude with loads of experience as it seems. I really liked that moment at the end where Lee grabbed the Radio Engineering Books, just priceless! Can't wait to see what comes next! I really think that the guitar scene and market needs more myth-busting and de-mystifying like that, because I think lots of guitar players make decisions based on tradition and dangerous half knowledge. Stuff like "It has to be all valve or it sucks". Greets and Thumbs up!!!!!
Relatively unbiased from the Blackstar guys. Thumbs up for that. It would be interesting having a boutique builder like the guys from Hamstead or Friedman or Suhr having a discussion with the Blackstar guys about these topics, because opinions do vary between builders. As a side not I bought a ID:60TVP and I didn't bond with it. The distortion channels were basically useless with the hyper aggressive noise gate. The crunch was convincing though as were the cleans. It is a very useable amp ignoring those modes. Also please stop using MDF for cabs, it's unreal how heavy and bulky it is.
Wow! The Captain delivers! Over the weekend I was thinking I would like to know the difference in sound between a solid state, hybrid, nu-tube and valve tube amp. I heard that if you are in a band and the other guy has a valve amp, you couldn't get away with having solid state. It's Monday and I find this series with Blackstar (I currently use ID Core and BEAM at home)
Top quality content, this is an excellent format for addressing the complex factors behind myths that musicians roll out far too flippantly! Can't wait for more, I shall be linking this to other guitarists when they ask me about valve vs. hybrid etc in future.
Brilliant! One of your best. And to tackle it over a series of videos is an acknowledgement of the scope of this topic. I am yet to play a Blackstar. I know the history and have watched from afar. My Fender Machete needs a low wattage little brother. I am now convinced that a Blackstar might just be the solution. I can't wait for the next video Lee. Thanks again
Excellent subject and show! I can not wait for the next episode. All I know is my HT5r is by far my favorite amp. I have had a lot of good amps over almost 30 years and they all did at least one thing good. My HT5 can do it all and takes pedals awesome.
I've spent quite a lot of time educating myself on the subject of amps over the past few years, so admittedly much of this information is not new to me. I am happy you put this video out though because it boils down some of the important information (such as class D not standing for digital) for other people who may be less inclined to research topics of this nature. I would like to address the hybrid amp thing though. I bought a Blackstar HT20 prior to having researched amplifier topology. Admittedly, I bought the amp believing it to be an all-valve amp. While I appreciate the fact that many of the great sounds we associate with valve amps over the years have been helped along with pedals and that the clipping in the HT series is being produced by the valves (basically using the solid state components to "goose" the valves), I did feel a bit misled by the marketing. It is my understanding that with a solid state component that resembles a pedal built into the amps gain stage as with the HT series, as soon as you add a pedal in front of the amp, it is more like you are stacking pedals. It's essentially like having a pedal in your chain that you can't remove, so you are never getting the interaction between the first pedal you add and the valves directly. What I've not been able to find solid information on is whether the clean channel of the HT series also has solid state components in the path or whether that is all valve. I seem to remember reading a post where it was claimed that there are solid state components in or immediately prior to the power amp section too (but that was a while ago and my memory is hazy).
Another great video from Andertons. Thinking outside of the box for ideas to research that musicians of all standards want to know or were afraid to ask - nice on guys👍
I'm going from being a beginner to an intermediate guitar player and I'm looking to step up my amp. This video has really helped me understand the different amps
Great video series...hope you get into the differences of 6L6, EL34, etc tubes in terms of what application they were originally intended for AND who or what musical genre they may or may not benefit the most.
Absolutely brilliant! So interesting. Thanks Ian a The Captain. Looking at Ian’s books reminded me of my Dad’s technical books that we still have to this day. He was a Radio Technician & worked at Bletchley Park during WW11. Anyway thanks again guys & will look forward to the next part.
This is fantastic Lee. Great to hear from an actual amp designer, rather than some half knowledge voodoo artist on the Internet, who doesn't have any background in the engineering required to build these things. Honestly, there is so much rubbish written and spoken about music technology that this is very refreshing.
Being a bit ancient, I remember a cover feature in an early 1970s edition of International Musician magazine, where they revealed this new "microprocessor" thingy. They warned us not to scoff, and that they would one day be all around us, even in musical equipment. I think they were right!
Great idea for a series of videos, Lee. Love your products Ian !! I have a Blackstar HT5 RH head and cab that sounds fabulous to me. Every time I play through the amp I really enjoy it, that's all that matters, I think.
Absolutely Brilliant!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please ask Ian about transformers/transformer saturation, what compromises are made when using smaller, cheaper transformers with more modern designs, and briefly elaborate on the resonance that occurs between well matched output transformers and speaker motors.
Great video!!!!!!! You have cleared up A TON of misconceptions here. Ive been playing for many years and just cleared up a lot of this stuff for myself within a year or so. Interesting, and great education for guitarists. ...By the way, I'm a fan of Blackstar. Recently, I talked our vocalist into buying a Blackstar tube amp...then the music store recommended the exact same thing. I was tired of being the only guitar and wanted a thicker band sound. Thanks : )
Great series, can't wait for the rest, Well done Captain & Blackstar. I have a HT-40 & love it, i don't care what the haters say, the way i have it set up in my rig, sounds great.
I'm interested in the history of the early valve amplifiers, especially given how vintage gear and valves are idolized by guitarists - there were some interesting points in the video about handwiring making everything simpler by necessity: do you think we were somehow just "lucky" with the way that valves behave when overdriven, or was there some sort of co-evolution between amp design and guitar design? Were the first valve amps literally the simplest design which would work at all or were there already attempts to do things in a certain way for the sake of the sound and not just to squeeze out a decent amount of volume? Or is it the case that 90% of amps in those days would be considered terrible by modern standards, and we've forgotten them while remembering the big names which became big because they happened to get it right?
I think there's a mixture of these factors. For the most part, many of the amplifiers of the day were very simple designs. This is in one part due to the expense of the parts and the size of the parts. Vacuum tubes are very large, heavy, and even at the time, expensive. Another thing I thing I think that factors in is the way music has developed around the sound of a vacuum tube. At the time, they were the best technology we had. At first amplifiers didn't really distinguish between Guitar/Bass/vocal/general purpose. You see that in the speakers of the day as well. Guitar speakers were really just any old loudspeaker. One of the best known and revered guitar amps - the bassman - was initially conceived of as a Bass amplifier, but it used what we would now call Guitar speakers. Anyway, the point is that these are the sounds we have come to expect from electric guitar and the ways we use it in music. I'm pretty convinced that had they had reasonable access to it at the time, they would have used Transistors. At the time transistor based designs were very early in their development while vacuum tube was a mature technology. From a modern engineering perspective, vacuum tubes are terrible. They distort early, take a lot of power, and are very inefficient. Transistors are very cheap, very efficient, and very accurate. They're also small enough to create very complex designs in a fraction of the space as even a simple vacuum tube design. But in the guitar world, our ears don't like "accurate". Just about every piece of equipment we use would be considered "bad" from a modern engineering perspective. From the amps, to the pickups, to the speakers we use.
Anderton's always gives me the right vids at the right time. I am in search for "the amp", so to speak. I play a baritone and a regular six string, as well as a bass guitar. So, I am searching for an amp that will do justice and be able to translate well into recording. I have been buying cheap amps for years, and I am ready to save some dough and get a real one. I will have questions after I've listened to this set of videos.
Great video. I'm a big fan of Blackstar and Ian's no nonsense approach was great here. How about an update of the series one range eh? Dangerously underrated amps. My 45 is absolutely brilliant but any integrated solo volume boost would be amazing.
in the end if you like the tone you are getting ( valve or solide state ) go for what works for you . ex. dimebag darrell randall amps ,Allan Holdsworth, Ty Tabor, Doyle Bramhall, Richie Kotzen, yamaha dg amps .
Great to see an interview with Ian. He is the Paul Reed Smith of the Amp world. Will we get a HT5 Head with an attenuator/1W stepdown for us apartment players in Jan 2019? I hope so!
I like the idea for this series, but I think a lot of players need an episode 0: what is an amplifier? what is a valve? what is a transistor? what is signal level? what is power? what are voltage/current/impedance? etc.
Fraser McFadyen this is a 4 part series... we’ll get to that stuff!
I actually agree on that. I think an important part of myth-busting and de-mystifying is knowledge! If more players would understand how amplification works, I think the world would be a better place. I think if everybody would understand basic concepts of amplification, all the cliches and myths would bust themselves just like ... fog :o)
Lots of material on YT explaining those terms...
patience
Search for Uncle Doug on youtube, thank me later
As someone who primarily plays acoustic guitar this was an incredibly interesting video for me. I like electric guitars and I have a basic knowledge of amps but they are just not something I use very often. Great to get some background and understanding of tech behind all this stuff.
Ian here, great to hear the positive feedback on the video. The other episodes are with our Head Engineer. Will be interesting.
I noticed you also have the Blackstar ID Core BEAM Bluetooth Combo which I will be checking out as I believe that works with acoustic guitars too?
I'd happily watch Ian simply tell us what he thinks is important about guitar tone for an hour or three. What a wealth of knowledge wrapped up in passion and enthusiasm!
Lee, what a great video, Ian is a really good engineer and very interesting thanks for doing this
Anderton's TV going from strength to strength... I'm so pleased.
Thumbs up for Ian, for being a straight talking, no BS Manc - I miss those afternoons spent in the A1 'dungeons' in the 80s. A second thumb for the TVP amp. I bought one a few years back, and while I'm not completely a Digi-amp convert, I reckon it's the best of the bunch.
Ian was very honest on the digital front. He didn't make any excuses about digital aiming for the lower price points... I think if they built some more amps on the high end around the digital format, opinions would change quite a bit... That being said, of course I want a Valve amp lol.
Isn't that kind of what the boss waza amp is? I don't know if people are going for it or not, but I've yet to see one on a stage. I think if you're going to 'go digital' then you're talking Helix/Kemper et al and not 'traditional' type combo amps
@@grumpyrocker i don't disagree, but as someone who enjoys high quality sound but isn't playing gigs all the time either, I wouldn't care, and I'm guessing there's more than just me out there in that category....
Things like Kemper Amps, digital, very expensive.
@@gastonmacmillan4849 The Kemper has fooled Chappers on more than one occasion too. Case and Point, plus, as more product like that gets created across different amp manufacturers, the overall price to create/purchase a decent digital amp should come down a bit, it's like anything else electronic... 4k tv's were $2,000 for a 40 inch 3 yrs ago, now you can get one for around $500...
Agreed I'm with you I want an Orange and a Victory both with a loop LOL
What a thoroughly brilliant and knowledgeable man. Clearly knows his stuff, and that's Blackstar stuff sounds so good across the board. Probably why the Fly is the best sounding battery amp on the planet too!
Love this series!
I have an old Peavey Bandit 65, a Vox Valvetronix VT 120+ and a Blackstar Artist 30. I love hearing the method behind the madness.
Great work!
Have not enjoyed amp talk in a while but I enjoyed this. This gentleman is being truthful about it, recognizing that things other than tubes aren’t bad at all, and other tech being used properly can be brilliant. That handwired is often indiscernible. I have always had amps of both types, and if it (the amp) is just good and not extraordinary the musician is responsible for creating something great, and they really can. All you need is one that allows you to bring your musical vision, and believing you can’t with any of the different types will keep you from doing it. Great discussion!
Lee, this is SUCH a good idea for a video series! Since we musicians started buying online, a lot of us put more stock in "specs" and have a lot of preconceived notions on how a given amp "should" or "will" sound....IMHO, I think we all need to use our ears more than our eyes!!
Love black star amp I've a cool little HT 5 head sounds awesome
That head paired with a 2x12” cab is absolutely stellar for home use. Love it.
Great discussion, and better still, at last a very rare reference to George Lynch on Andertons TV. Surely it’s time for a sounds like Lynch Mob/Dokken/KXM episode...
Edward Jons definitely. George Lynch doesn’t get enough credit. His Vibrato alone keeps me listening
Edward Jons George is still on fire. Really nice and funny chap too.
This was the most interesting Anderton's video I've seen in a long time, and I've watch a lot of them. Ian is a cool dude and Lee seems like he knew just enough to ask the right questions the right way. Good stuff.
Thanks for positive comments. More to come. Ian.
This video has been brilliant. I like seeing the windscreen wiped clean of all the BS and get right down to it.
Excellent subject for a series!
yeah they could do these for different brands so people could see who makes the best modelling etc.
I have never backed up a video to hear what was said and discussed so many times, ever. Thanks, brilliant.
More please!
This is fantastic. I'd listen to Ian chat for hours... A real wealth of knowledge
Half way through the video and already digging the series.
I actually have one of the old Music Mans. I think the transistor pre amp actually makes it sound so good. It has really crisp top end and sounds like a really good and powerful blackface fender.
Yeah they are awesome. I used to have an old one that sounded great. Like you said, very blackface. Very clean cleans
I have one too! I love mine.
Always wanted to try one. I have a Blug Amp1 that uses IC pre-amps and a subminiature valve to voice the class-D power section.
I have Blackstar Id core as a home amp and I absolutely love it. These Blackstar guys are truly great lads, looking forward to see what they will invent in the future.
Actually a really definable difference between digital and valve - valve is a richer and deeper sound, TVP more brittle and thin. Wow! Thank you for explaining this all, really helpful and answered all my questions about this area. 👏👍
What a fantastic idea and subject for a series of videos. This is why Anderson’s remain at the top of the UK retailers and UA-cam channels; Fresh content tackling subjects we want to know about. I especially enjoyed the section around demystify the SS diodes in front of the valves in the pre amp section and this still being classed as all valve and also being akin to using a pedal in front of your amp. I feel this puts the subject to bed and does away with the cork sniffing. I’m really looking forward to the next video. Inner guitar geek has now been fed 😂
I really enjoyed this. I've got a computer engineering background and a book I found fascinating was the Guitar Amp Handbook. It takes you through the history of amp design and how different circuits were evolved. Please keep the good stuff coming.
Looking forward to watching all of this series. Ian's straight-talking myth/bullshit bursting insight is a breath of fresh air.
Excellent vid and bright bloke from
Blackstar.
Ian is awesome. He's totally chomping at the bit, the passion! More please.
How great to hear an amp designer speak so honestly about sounds etc...(And in a Northern Accent...which always helps...sorry Lee!) Ive been a Blackstar..HT and ID user for quite some time..and frankly wouldnt care if it was powered by combustible cat farts so long as it felt great to play...and sounded amazing both live and practice/rehearsal situations! Looking forward to the rest of this series!!..Ian...you made my day...regards to all at Blackstar for great amps and superb customer service! (From a Northerner!)
What a phenomenal video! Very very useful and interesting
Great vid, and kudos to Blackstar for supporting this series.
Oh man I REALLY enjoyed this series of videos. I know it's not exactly among Andertons most popular videos, but I'm really glad you did it.
Thank you for doing this series! That was really interesting and some good points made. Got to say, the reason why many guitarists favour genuine vintage amps is likely they heard someone play that amp in their younger days and liked it and the simplicity of the design 'back in the day' like Ian says.
Blackstar is one of the most under rated Amp companies around right now. Their amps are incredible! I own an HT Venue 40 Mk II and it is amazing. Online review upcoming of it, but it does everything amps two and three times the price do with brilliance. I also have the little HT-1R which is an awesome little home practice amp.
Blackstar needs a lot more love, folks! They ROCK!!!
I have 3 Blackstar amps... HT-1 Metal, HT-5 Metal, and a HT-Stage 100. I like them all, but that HT-5 with a V30 is simply an amazing sound. My most used amp is an old Marshall Valvestate 265 with the ext. cab. Been using that for 20+ years.
This video is one of the best Andertons have ever done. Well done!
That was the best video Anderton’s has done yet. Loved it and can’t wait for the rest of the series. Great information and well explained.
Your videos have been going from strength to strength. I learned so much from this! Great stuff.
What a great subject to cover, this will appeal to new players and old (like me). cannot wait for more content like this! Well done Captain Lee!!
Great video and a great topic. Looking through my amps I realise that I have almost all of the possible configurations you can get, but the bottom line is, I own each different amp for the tones and then the purpose. I have turned over many amps due to buying them the other way around and then being so disappointed by the tones, and that includes some all valve amps. I have a hand-wired all valve amp from 1965 which is so very mellow (completely broken in after 50+ years) but it is the amp I use the least because it is too loud, and that is where newer amps, and especially the good analogue solid state and power switching hybrid valves come into their own nowadays. We are spoilt for choice these days and everything is so affordable compared to what it was 20-30 years ago.
Why would someone dislike this video? Full of very good info from a guy that knows his shit.
Absolutely brilliant
Love the fact that Ian referred to other manufacturers as examples of design with no self edifying crap.
Why have I not stumbled across this before.
My HUGE question I've had for ages is how much more SPL does a valve amp push out as opposed to SS with the speakers/cab being a constant ~ answer ~ 2.5 times roughly with reference to watts..... would love to see that table, but the overall rule of thumb will do for now
I'm going to hunt down Ian just to send him an email to say thankyouthankyouthankyou.
I see the other parts of this series in the listing to the side -> they are next!
What a great video for many different reasons!!! I like the fact that you did it in cooperation with Blackstar and not with Marshall and/or Fender. Ian is a very cool dude with loads of experience as it seems. I really liked that moment at the end where Lee grabbed the Radio Engineering Books, just priceless! Can't wait to see what comes next! I really think that the guitar scene and market needs more myth-busting and de-mystifying like that, because I think lots of guitar players make decisions based on tradition and dangerous half knowledge. Stuff like "It has to be all valve or it sucks". Greets and Thumbs up!!!!!
Relatively unbiased from the Blackstar guys. Thumbs up for that. It would be interesting having a boutique builder like the guys from Hamstead or Friedman or Suhr having a discussion with the Blackstar guys about these topics, because opinions do vary between builders.
As a side not I bought a ID:60TVP and I didn't bond with it. The distortion channels were basically useless with the hyper aggressive noise gate. The crunch was convincing though as were the cleans. It is a very useable amp ignoring those modes. Also please stop using MDF for cabs, it's unreal how heavy and bulky it is.
Wow! The Captain delivers! Over the weekend I was thinking I would like to know the difference in sound between a solid state, hybrid, nu-tube and valve tube amp. I heard that if you are in a band and the other guy has a valve amp, you couldn't get away with having solid state. It's Monday and I find this series with Blackstar (I currently use ID Core and BEAM at home)
Top quality content, this is an excellent format for addressing the complex factors behind myths that musicians roll out far too flippantly! Can't wait for more, I shall be linking this to other guitarists when they ask me about valve vs. hybrid etc in future.
This man's knowledge is what i need in life!
Terrific vid lads. This is the kinda content I tune in for!
my blackstar 1 watt mini stack is my favorite setup i've ever owned and amongst the top favorites i've ever played
Lee, I am very happy you do this. Even though I know a bit about amps, this is excellent service. Keep up the good work. Thanks!
Brilliant! One of your best. And to tackle it over a series of videos is an acknowledgement of the scope of this topic. I am yet to play a Blackstar. I know the history and have watched from afar. My Fender Machete needs a low wattage little brother. I am now convinced that a Blackstar might just be the solution. I can't wait for the next video Lee. Thanks again
Great video. Super informative and honest. I even appreciate him calling out “shitty” gear.
Excellent subject and show! I can not wait for the next episode.
All I know is my HT5r is by far my favorite amp.
I have had a lot of good amps over almost 30 years and they all did at least one thing good. My HT5 can do it all and takes pedals awesome.
I've spent quite a lot of time educating myself on the subject of amps over the past few years, so admittedly much of this information is not new to me. I am happy you put this video out though because it boils down some of the important information (such as class D not standing for digital) for other people who may be less inclined to research topics of this nature.
I would like to address the hybrid amp thing though. I bought a Blackstar HT20 prior to having researched amplifier topology. Admittedly, I bought the amp believing it to be an all-valve amp. While I appreciate the fact that many of the great sounds we associate with valve amps over the years have been helped along with pedals and that the clipping in the HT series is being produced by the valves (basically using the solid state components to "goose" the valves), I did feel a bit misled by the marketing.
It is my understanding that with a solid state component that resembles a pedal built into the amps gain stage as with the HT series, as soon as you add a pedal in front of the amp, it is more like you are stacking pedals. It's essentially like having a pedal in your chain that you can't remove, so you are never getting the interaction between the first pedal you add and the valves directly.
What I've not been able to find solid information on is whether the clean channel of the HT series also has solid state components in the path or whether that is all valve. I seem to remember reading a post where it was claimed that there are solid state components in or immediately prior to the power amp section too (but that was a while ago and my memory is hazy).
Another great video from Andertons. Thinking outside of the box for ideas to research that musicians of all standards want to know or were afraid to ask - nice on guys👍
I'm going from being a beginner to an intermediate guitar player and I'm looking to step up my amp. This video has really helped me understand the different amps
I think they both sound great good job Blackstar 🎸🎸🤘🏻🤘🏻🤙🏻
Great video series...hope you get into the differences of 6L6, EL34, etc tubes in terms of what application they were originally intended for AND who or what musical genre they may or may not benefit the most.
Great video, looking forward to the rest of the series. Nice job guys.
This is the kind of content I would love to see more of from the might Andertons great job Lee👍🏼
Absolutely brilliant! So interesting. Thanks Ian a The Captain. Looking at Ian’s books reminded me of my Dad’s technical books that we still have to this day. He was a Radio Technician & worked at Bletchley Park during WW11. Anyway thanks again guys & will look forward to the next part.
This is fantastic Lee. Great to hear from an actual amp designer, rather than some half knowledge voodoo artist on the Internet, who doesn't have any background in the engineering required to build these things. Honestly, there is so much rubbish written and spoken about music technology that this is very refreshing.
Very Informative, Can’t Wait For The Rest Of The Series 👍👍🎶🎶🎸
Great video. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
The Captain hits it out of the park for us. This is great information and cuts through so much bs. Thank you.
Hi Lee. Love it. Please keep the series up! Thank you
Being a bit ancient, I remember a cover feature in an early 1970s edition of International Musician magazine, where they revealed this new "microprocessor" thingy. They warned us not to scoff, and that they would one day be all around us, even in musical equipment. I think they were right!
After a dodgy patch this is more like Andertons should be. Informative and entertaining at the same time. Learned something!
This is fantastic, i'm looking forward to the future episodes.
This is absolutely phenomenal, guys. Big thumbs up 👍🏻
Great idea for a series of videos, Lee. Love your products Ian !! I have a Blackstar HT5 RH head and cab that sounds fabulous to me. Every time I play through the amp I really enjoy it, that's all that matters, I think.
Absolutely Brilliant!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please ask Ian about transformers/transformer saturation, what compromises are made when using smaller, cheaper transformers with more modern designs, and briefly elaborate on the resonance that occurs between well matched output transformers and speaker motors.
This is great! Can't wait for the next one!
Great video!!!!!!!
You have cleared up A TON of misconceptions here. Ive been playing for many years and just cleared up a lot of this stuff for myself within a year or so.
Interesting, and great education for guitarists.
...By the way, I'm a fan of Blackstar.
Recently, I talked our vocalist into buying a Blackstar tube amp...then the music store recommended the exact same thing.
I was tired of being the only guitar and wanted a thicker band sound.
Thanks : )
Time to bust the myth of the stand-by switch!
nothing wrong with a stand-by switch to get rid of noise when talking
made to warm up tubes and not burn out circuitry in old amps
Loved the video, and Ian was a great co-presenter. Can't wait for more in this series
Great video! Looking forward to this series!
Love this concept, Captain Lee. Coincidentally Im about to switch from my Vox to my first Tube Blackstar! so this totally helped
Excellent video! I really enjoyed it! Please keep them coming! 👍
I got to play an Artisan two days ago. What a lovely amp. Great video series!
Great video. Very informative and a much need explanation of the mystery of guitar amps.
Very interesting - Look forward to part 2/3/4, etc.
Great series, can't wait for the rest,
Well done Captain & Blackstar.
I have a HT-40 & love it, i don't care what the haters say, the way i have it set up in my rig, sounds great.
Great video, really filling in some gaps in my knowledge, looking forward to the series!
I'm interested in the history of the early valve amplifiers, especially given how vintage gear and valves are idolized by guitarists - there were some interesting points in the video about handwiring making everything simpler by necessity: do you think we were somehow just "lucky" with the way that valves behave when overdriven, or was there some sort of co-evolution between amp design and guitar design? Were the first valve amps literally the simplest design which would work at all or were there already attempts to do things in a certain way for the sake of the sound and not just to squeeze out a decent amount of volume? Or is it the case that 90% of amps in those days would be considered terrible by modern standards, and we've forgotten them while remembering the big names which became big because they happened to get it right?
I think there's a mixture of these factors. For the most part, many of the amplifiers of the day were very simple designs. This is in one part due to the expense of the parts and the size of the parts. Vacuum tubes are very large, heavy, and even at the time, expensive.
Another thing I thing I think that factors in is the way music has developed around the sound of a vacuum tube. At the time, they were the best technology we had. At first amplifiers didn't really distinguish between Guitar/Bass/vocal/general purpose. You see that in the speakers of the day as well. Guitar speakers were really just any old loudspeaker. One of the best known and revered guitar amps - the bassman - was initially conceived of as a Bass amplifier, but it used what we would now call Guitar speakers. Anyway, the point is that these are the sounds we have come to expect from electric guitar and the ways we use it in music. I'm pretty convinced that had they had reasonable access to it at the time, they would have used Transistors. At the time transistor based designs were very early in their development while vacuum tube was a mature technology.
From a modern engineering perspective, vacuum tubes are terrible. They distort early, take a lot of power, and are very inefficient. Transistors are very cheap, very efficient, and very accurate. They're also small enough to create very complex designs in a fraction of the space as even a simple vacuum tube design. But in the guitar world, our ears don't like "accurate". Just about every piece of equipment we use would be considered "bad" from a modern engineering perspective. From the amps, to the pickups, to the speakers we use.
Anderton's always gives me the right vids at the right time. I am in search for "the amp", so to speak. I play a baritone and a regular six string, as well as a bass guitar. So, I am searching for an amp that will do justice and be able to translate well into recording. I have been buying cheap amps for years, and I am ready to save some dough and get a real one. I will have questions after I've listened to this set of videos.
Great video. I'm a big fan of Blackstar and Ian's no nonsense approach was great here. How about an update of the series one range eh? Dangerously underrated amps. My 45 is absolutely brilliant but any integrated solo volume boost would be amazing.
Loved this...cant wait for the next one...i feel the same way about all that “better ir worse” concept..
What a great video, superbly interesting!!! Loved it and learned a lot
phantastic first part, I'm looking forward to part 2
Great job. Can’t wait for the next episode
Great Show ! cant wait till the next one !!
in the end if you like the tone you are getting ( valve or solide state ) go for what works for you . ex. dimebag darrell randall amps ,Allan Holdsworth, Ty Tabor, Doyle Bramhall, Richie Kotzen, yamaha dg amps .
Great video, look forward to the other ones in the series.
This was awsome!! Thanks for this videos guys, keep it uppp!!! we wanna know more!! Cheers
Great to see an interview with Ian. He is the Paul Reed Smith of the Amp world. Will we get a HT5 Head with an attenuator/1W stepdown for us apartment players in Jan 2019? I hope so!
Ian does a great job explaining ! Great Video Guys.
Great video! Can't wait for the next one.
Awesome! Look forward to seeing more of these! 😀
This is great - looking forward to more!
Great video and an excellent idea for a series of videos. Interesting stuff in this. Look forward to the next one!