qUICKBLAST amPlIFIEr

blackStar artISaN 100 & artISaN 412

BLACKSTAR ARTISAN 100 & ARTISAN 412

A MIGHTY 100-WATT HAND-WIRED HALF-STACK LEAVES DaViD greeVeS FEELING SHAKEN AND STIRRED
We reviewed Blackstars Artisan 15 and Artisan 30 combos back in issue 79 and were thoroughly impressed. The amps scored top marks across the board, combining intelligent design, impressive build quality and attractive pricing, not to mention a stonking selection of vintage-flavoured valve tones. All of which brings us to the Artisan 100 head, the daddy of the Artisan range. Like the combos, its entirely hand-wired and designed along traditional lines, but with some very interesting tone-shaping features thrown in. With 100-watts of valve power on-board, the Artisan 100 and Artisan 412 cab make a formidable pair. Lets find out how they stack up.

...

definition) and the four-position rotary voice control. The voice control is a deceptively powerful feature, in that it not only changes the way the preamp tone controls behave but also adjusts the amount of gain and damping in the power amp. In simple terms, damping refers to the way the amp controls the speaker, with a higher damping factor resulting in a tighter speaker response. The four voice positions are described in the manual as imitating an early-50s American amp, a late-50s American amp, an early-60s British 100-watt head and a late-60s British 100-watt head. Its an intriguing prospect and well see how it works in practice shortly.

n Voice and presence controls provide fantastic tone-shaping options

pRE & poWER AMp

Designed in the UK by a very experienced team of engineers, this Artisan amp is then built by hand under supervision in Korea, significantly lowering the retail price. As with the Artisan combos, the wiring inside the chassis looks absolutely immaculate. The Artisan 100 employs three ECC83 (aka 12AX7) valves in the preamp and a quartet of EL34 valves in the power amp. Unlike the valve-rectified combos, this 100-watt head uses a solid-state silicon-diode rectifier to cater for its much higher power demands. There are two channels, each with a volume control and high- and low-sensitivity inputs the high inputs have 6dB more gain, a significant lift in volume. You might use the low-sensitivity inputs when plugging in a highouput effects pedal, or simply when you want more clean headroom. Channel 1 is the normal channel, while channel 2 is the bright channel. The passive bass, middle and treble controls apply to both channels, as do the presence control (used to increase or decrease high-frequency cut and

CABINET & SpEAKERS

The cabinets of the Artisan 100 and 412 are as neatly put together as the amplifier itself. Constructed from finger-jointed birch ply, they are tidily covered and feel exceptionally solid, not to mention very heavy. The absence of any corner protectors is a little surprising, but perhaps Blackstars designers felt they would compromise the look of the head and cab. They are a handsome pair, it must be said, and the bold Blackstar logo, black grille and gold piping make

n The passive bass, mid and treble controls apply to both channels

n The Artisan 100 employs a quartet of EL34 power amp valves

weRe NoT juST deALINg wITh oNe SouNd heRe ThIS IS ALmoST fouR AmpS IN oNe

a strong visual statement on stage. The Artisan 412 cab has a closed back and is equipped with four 12-inch Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, almost the automatic choice for any 4x12 with serious rock aspirations. There are two jack inputs at the rear and a selector switch catering for stereo (2 x 120 watts, 8 ohms) or mono (240 watts, 4 or 16 ohms) operation.

SoUNDS
In valve terms, 100 watts is an awful lot of power, and this amp is primarily designed for big stages. Cranked up, the Artisan 100 is seriously loud and standing right next to the cab is not a comfortable experience. But once this initial impression of bone-shaking volume has subsided, were just as bowled over by the tone and definition on offer. Adjusting the voice control, it soon becomes apparent that were not just dealing with one sound here this is almost four amps in one. This

four-way switch has a big effect, but not in an artificial, heavy-handed way. The four settings are perfectly judged to give four attractive and really useful options, while the integrity of the guitars own voice is always preserved. In position one, the sound is bright and open, with a tight low end and a good deal of clean headroom. Position two is a bit fuller and sweeter in the mid-range and bottom end, but still with the same bright, open character. Switching to position three elicits a more marked change, introducing a more Marshall-like character, with much more meat in the bass and mids and a good deal more gain. Now the amp begins to crunch and overdrive much more readily, but its when you switch to position four that the Artisan 100 really lets rip. The tone is fat and thick, yet theres plenty of grit and aggression in the higher frequencies. You might think of this as the hard rock setting, where position three is more classic rock, and both sound superb. On top of these options, the tone and presence controls work in an unerringly appropriate and musical fashion, while plugging into channel 2 (the bright channel) lets you add a touch more gain and high-frequecy content to the sound. A built-in channel blending facility lets you use a jack lead to combine the two channels, while putting an AB switch and/or a boost/overdrive pedal in front of the Artisan Blackstars own HT-Dual pedal would be ideal will give you a good deal of flexibility on top of that unadulterated tone.

GBINfo
BLACKSTAR ARTISAN 100
PriCe: 1,099 buiLt iN: Korea tyPe: Valve amp head POWer: 100 watts VaLVeS: 4 x eL34, 3 x eCC83 FeatureS: 2 channels each with high & low inputs & volume control, global bass, middle, treble & presence controls & 4-position voice switch, 2 x speaker outputs (4, 8 or 16 ohms) DiMeNSiONS: 300(h) x 741(w) x 227(d) mm WeigHt: 23kg (50lbs)

ARTISAN 412
PriCe: 499 buiLt iN: Korea tyPe: Mono/stereo closed-back 4x12 cab POWer: 240 watts, 2 x 8 ohms (stereo), 4 or 16 ohms (mono) SPeaKerS: 4 x 12-inch Celestion Vintage 30 DiMeNSiONS: 837(h) x 755(w) x 356(d) mm WeigHt: 49kg (108lbs) CONtaCt: blackstar amplification Ltd PHONe: 01536 312620 Web: www. blackstaramps.com

GBopINIoN
BLACKSTAR ARTISAN 100 & ARTISAN 412 GOlD StarS

Offers a range of great valve tones excellent build quality attractive price

CoNCLUSIoN
Although features like master volume, channel-specific tone controls and channel switching might be absent, this is a really versatile amp. But its also a traditional, non-master volume 100-watt valve head at heart, with all the tonal integrity, not to mention raw power, that implies. This is another great amp from Blackstar, at a very attractive price, and it comes highly recommended. GB

black markS
None GBRATING

90

guitarbuyer july 2008

jul 2008 y

guitarbuyer

91