Valve guitar amplifiers are portable if you only need a few watts for home practice, however if you want an amp to take around the world and play on any size of stage, it needs to be bigger and that means heavier - often a lot heavier. We've grown used to this over the years, however, let's be honest, bulky 4x12 cabinets and 30kg-plus combos are only fun to use if someone else carries them around for you. Does it have to be that way today? Blackstar think not and they've just announced a new range claimed to be the world's lightest 50-watt all-valve amplifiers. Meet the St. James. Named for the district that's the heart of Northampton, Blackstar Amplification's home town, the St. James amps are available in two distinctly different flavours: a medium gain preamp with an EL34-based output stage that's inspired by classic British designs from the early 1960s, and a more contemporary high gain preamp combined with a 6L6 output stage.
The St. James's retro-modern cabinets have plenty of 'I want' appeal, with fawn vinyl and a dark speaker grille for the EL34 amp and black vinyl with a light grey grille for the 6L6 version. As we've come to expect from Blackstar, the standard of finish is very high, with cool piping details and an illuminated logo, which doubles as a 'power on' indicator. Underneath the vinyl you'll find candlenut plywood, which is lightweight and resonant, making it a great choice for guitar speaker enclosures.
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"You Can Imagine a Song in a Completely Different Genre" - The mysterious Lord Phobos, guitarist for TWRP, has covered everything from disco to Def Leppard in his collaborations with tongue-in-cheek duo Ninja Sex Party.
The mysterious Lord Phobos, guitarist for TWRP, has covered everything from disco to Def Leppard in his collaborations with tongue-in-cheek duo Ninja Sex Party. He explains what makes a great cover version - and reveals the one guitar and the one pedal he couldn't live without...
Some Things You Want to Tweak and Make Your Own- How the Foos' Chris Shiflett reworked two rock classics on his recent solo EP
Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett is also a solo artist in his own right, and his latest EP Starry Nights & Campfire includes Lights covers of two great old rock tracks - Thin Lizzy's Cowboy Song and the ballad Don't You Ever Leave Me by Hanoi Rocks, the Finnish band that did so much to inspire Guns N' Roses.
"It Gives Me Physical Satisfaction To Play Funk Riffs!" - Into the groove with Giacomo Turra, the Italian guitarist who made his name covering classics by Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars and more...
Into the groove with Giacomo Turra, the Italian guitarist who made his name covering classics by Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars and more... Born in Milan, his funk guitar sensibility can be traced back to the dance studio where his mother taught, and the tunes he heard blasting out of her boombox. "I like to experiment with a lot of genres, but the really interesting thing for me is I really grew up on funk, and a little bit of jazz and fusion music," he says.
- Try out these creative tips and make your cover versions stand out
Try out these creative tips and make your cover versions stand out
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Heavily requested on rock radio stations thanks to their unique twist on bluesy Americana, Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse are the kind of band that thrive in front of large crowds on hot summer days just as much as more intimate performances inside sweaty underground basements.
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The most powerful amp modeller for its size, bar none
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