Blackstar LT Dual Review

photek

I have gigged mine a few times now so thought I would post a quick review.

Good points:

- Easy to dial in some very good classic rock tones on Channel 1

- Channel 2 has its own volume and gain control so can have that set up for a lead and gain boost.

- Tone control and ISF are good enough to cover most bases and the bass is nice and tight particularly with the ISF up a bit for a slight mid boost without sounding thin like some of the tubescreamer pedals I have.

- Very sturdy build plus you can unscrew the base, flip it over and velcro that side so it sticks very well to a pedalboard.

Not so good:

- Channel 2 is a little bit darker and a lot more compressed than channel 1 so as I was using it as a lead tone it was a bit frustrating losing some cut. A separate tone control for channel 2 would massively increase the versatility.

- The footswitches are a little tricky. Close together and I think sometimes they dont operate 100%. It is the first time since I got one of the POS Bogner pedals that I have ended up with a clean amp by mistake.

- Lower gain sounds are not where the pedal sits best. By this I mean it doesn't do a great slight break up sound very well. Anything from early Black Crowes onwards is good though.

Edit: Thinking about it the switching would work better for me if the left foot switch was pedal on / off and the right toggled between channel 1 and Channel 2.

Conclusion:

My go-to pedal is a @handsomerik Carl Martin Plexitone style pedal (that I prefer to the original as it has a bit more mids and is a bit less fizzy) I left this at home on purpose so I was forced to use the LT. It did a sterling job, the tone hounds out front (my dad and a couple of guitarist mates) were complementary of the sound, one mentioned he would prefer a slightly brighter lead sound so I ended up using a Spark boost after the LT with a bit of a volume and treble boost.

Overall it is a great pedal, for the money you can't really go wrong. Buy one!

Gear used: Fender Bassman Reissue set clean, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe also set clean, Blackstar HT50 set clean. PRS DGT, Greco Les Paul.

ThePrettyDamned

Cool man! Sounds pretty great, though lack of tone on the second channel is a bit of a bummer.  

guitarfishbay

Thanks for the review.

Sounds like it is (unsurprisingly) voiced the same way as the HT Dual.  

They have their voicings backwards IMO.  I find the first channel on the HT Dual has the better tone for soloing and the second channel to have the better tone for riffing.  Unfortunately the first channel has less gain which depending on the guitar you're using and style you're aiming for might not be enough.

Try using it the opposite way around (ch2 as rhythm) and see if it works for you that way.

photek

guitarfishbay said:

Try using it the opposite way around (ch2 as rhythm) and see if it works for you that way.

I did try that at rehearsal but didn't at a gig so will give that a crack.

I was a big fan of the HT Dual but only with a different valve in it, I think it was an ECC82 that brought it to life but will need to check. Too big and silly power supply killed it for me in the end though.

DrBob

I'm still really pleased with my LT-Drive, actually prefer it to the Providence Sonic Drive I had before. I'm finding that, into a TC Spark Booster generally gets me through 90% of what I need

xSkarloey

Thanks for that. No excuses for me now: I have to get myself to a music shop to try this and the Drive.

photek

@guitarfishbay I tried using the pedal the other way round last night. Channel 2 for crunch and channel 1 for lead and at home volumes so far impressions are very good indeed! The crunch is fatter and the lead tones less compressed. Also channel 1 is quieter than channel 2 so might be a double win. Have a wisdom

guitarfishbay

Cool glad you're enjoying it!

ThePrettyDamned

How much gain does channel 1 have? Is it 'liquid lead' levels?

photek

@ThePrettyDamned not quite liquid leads unless the amp is already pushed a fair bit. Enough gain for most though but it is a drier type gain rather than mega saturated / compressed.