just got a blackstar id core 20 stereo amp

racefaceec90

and i have to say i bloomin loves it :-D 

 i needed to get some guitar stuff for my new gretsch electromatic G5422T that i bought last month and thought about looking for an affordable amp for it whilst in swindon.

was planning on going for another mustang 1 as i had a ver 1 model that i liked but there were none to be found in the shops unfortunately (i prefer to buy locally than online). 

well i saw the blackstar for sale at £129. i was interested in the core 10 stereo as i have been watching a few vids on them after hearing good things about them.

unfortunately they didn't have the 10 but they had the core 20.

i didn't play through the amp myself (self conscious about playing in front of people/also crap at the guitar) i asked if the shop assistant could demo it for us.

man the sound he was getting from the amp was fantastic (and he was only playing basic chords e.t.c to demo the different amp/effects settings. you can really hear the stereo effect of the different delay/reverbs

also when he cranked it up i couldn't believe how loud it was considering how small the amp is (as a certain online retailer was demonstrating with a pick over the footswitch jack socket it would move the pick by the air from the speakers).

well i had to buy it :-D

 i have been playing my new guitar through said amp for the past hour or so and am very happy with the sounds i am getting from them (and that's saying something as my playing is awful lol).

the only downside is that it doesn't come with a usb cable for the software that is included (can go deeper with effects settings and there is some software for recording i believe also).

anyhoo i will shut up now and play my guitar \o/ 

apologies i would take some pics of them but i have no camera unfortunately.

darthed1981

I have one of these - you just need a standard mini-usb cable, you might have one from an old phone or sat-nav, they were very common about 10 years ago for that kind of thing.

The software (with the hilarious name Insider, Its nice to use inside-her etc) is very good and easy to use.

Great, great little praccy amps, glad you are happy with your purchase.  I actually have two, a 10 and a 20, both are great fun to plug in and play.

ecc83

Bit surprised B's did not pack one if a new amp? If used stock the shop was a bit mean not including one! Bog S USB cables are SO cheap.

IIRC the 'mini' end is a bit thicker than phone plugs, sort of double 'Z' section. Rockbottom.It's a Gift shop cables are perfectly fine.

Note, you need Msoft Silverlight to go with Insider.

Dave.

darthed1981

ecc83 said:

Note, you need Msoft Silverlight to go with Insider.

Yeah, also dinner and a show if you want to go Insider... snigger...

ennspek

They are great little amps, enjoy it. Also don't worry about your playing, I can guarantee you're better than me!
The cable thing is annoying, my FX8 didn't come with one.

paddyb

Great little amp, I have one of these for practicing. Also doubles up for playing music from my tablet when we have a party!
I also went in to buy the 10 but the guy in the shop recommended the 20 so I tried both and the 20 sounded better so I got that

mbe

I use the 10 at home, it's plenty loud enough.

Sweet rock tones. I gather that the Blackstar design team used to work for Marshall but left because they felt they were in dead end jobs basically. 

ecc83

"The cable thing is annoying, my FX8 didn't come with one." Annoying indeed Ennspek. I think there 'Orta be a law'!

Even £2000+ TB interfaces are shipped without a cable and they are simply junk until you get one. The situation is akin to that which obtained with batteries many years ago. Little Johnny would open the prezzie of a model tank on Crimble day and find he could not use it until the day after boxing day at least because all the shops were shut.

It is rare these days to get a piece of gear that needs batteries not to have them included. Of course, the old Leclanche cells degraded fairly quickly and therefore could not be packed in kit that might be on a shelf for 2 yrs or more, but CABLES live forever!

Dave.

Flink_Poyd

It's a love hate relationship for me. Some days it sounds great, others it's like playing through a knitted sweater. Overall as a practice amp they're OK, mp3 input for playing along to backing tracks or as a speaker for music. 

DartmoorHedgehog

I'm a big fan of my ID10 as a practice amp.  It's small, convenient, sounds good at home practice volume and massively less expensive than alternatives like Yamaha THR.  Doesn't sound nice if turned up very loud because of the tiny speakers (the 20 is probably a bit better) but that's not what I need it for.

FWIW, I don't think mine came with a USB cable either, but I've got plenty of them anyway so it didn't bother me.

racefaceec90

i wish that the instructions would mention what cable you need to get for the amp. just bought the wrong one micro usb. i think it's a mini B usb connector i need?

at least i can exchange it tomorrow from the shop as i didn't have a clue which one i needed lol.

olafgarten

racefaceec90 said:

i wish that the instructions would mention what cable you need to get for the amp. just bought the wrong one micro usb. i think it's a mini B usb connector i need?

at least i can exchange it tomorrow from the shop as i didn't have a clue which one i needed lol.

Yeah it's a Mini USB cable, the same one they use for Playstation 3 controllers and old blackberry's

ecc83

I sympathise! I am always hunting up a 'mini/micro USB cable for my camera or some 'king thing!

There are at least 3 variants that I know of (even more reason to supply one B!) Hopefully USB 'C' will solve all this except for the dinkiest of things. AHA! I remember now. I was surprised and a bit disappointed that Blackstar did hot use the USB 'B' connector. They are after all THE standard for Audio Interfaces and that IS what the amps boil down to.

Dave.