Blackstar studio 10 KT88, ....... any users on here?

EvanEvanNorth

I am considering treating myself to a small all valve combo and am looking at the Blackstar Studio 10 KT88.
I am currently using a Blackstar ID15TVP  and love it esp on its KT88 power amp model (with TVP engaged ).
Does anyone on this forum use the Studio 10 ( with or without the KT88 ) and what do they think of it re its sound, reliability and how much background hiss/hum does it produce?

impmann

Absolutely wonderful amps. 

I have an EL34 model. It genuinely sounds incredible.

The 6L6 one is a bit more Fender-y - like a non-shit sounding Blues Junior.

The KT88 one is a little bastard of an amp. The clean sound is ok, but breaks up nicely as the gain goes up. Press the drive button and turn the ISF to the right and it’s proper hairy. Great high gain punk and modern metal sounds.

Background hum - yes there is some because it’s single ended. But imho it’s not an issue. Rock n Roll has background noise. 

Put it another way, literally every single guitarist who has played through my amp has bought one. 

Try them! 

ecc83

impmann said:

Absolutely wonderful amps. 

I have an EL34 model. It genuinely sounds incredible.

The 6L6 one is a bit more Fender-y - like a non-shit sounding Blues Junior.

The KT88 one is a little bastard of an amp. The clean sound is ok, but breaks up nicely as the gain goes up. Press the drive button and turn the ISF to the right and it’s proper hairy. Great high gain punk and modern metal sounds.

Background hum - yes there is some because it’s single ended. But imho it’s not an issue. Rock n Roll has background noise. 

Put it another way, literally every single guitarist who has played through my amp has bought one. 

Try them! 

Hmm? (no pun intended!) That is interesting and tells me a certain person was NOT involved in the design because he would not have stood for a hummy amp with his name involved with it!

It IS more difficult to reduce hum in an SE amp but it IS possible. Pye electronics produces the Mozart hi fi amp with a single EL34 rated at 10W and that would have had a decent signal to noise ratio.  And it would have been used on speakers with a much better LF response than most git speakers.

There are certain hum "bucking" tricks you can employ to keep SE hum low. Might be a market there for some modders! The studio peeps ain't gonna like them!

Dave.

impmann

Tbh, Dave, I’ve recorded with mine and not had any issues. A good friend down south bought one for his Studio...

Its no noisier than any other SE classic valve amp. 

ecc83

impmann said:

Tbh, Dave, I’ve recorded with mine and not had any issues. A good friend down south bought one for his Studio...

Its no noisier than any other SE classic valve amp. 

That's not bloody good enough! Bruce would be spitting feathers if he had an amp with audible hum! He designed the ultra quiet HT-5 and went for a P-P op stage partly because of the ripple rejection. He has also said he will never design an amp again with AC heating of the pre amp section.

I know IC and some others of you don't mind a bit of "R&R" noise but I DO! If only because my hearing is 20dB down at 2kHz and then falls off a cliff BUT! At 50 to 500Hz I can hear as well as a 25yr old!

If you CAN make something better...DO IT!

Dave.

impmann

Thing is Dave, the Mk1 HT5 sounds and importantly *feels* very different to play to anything Single Ended. SE designs have their own sound. IMHO, these sound a lot better than those earlier designs but hey, try one for yourself.

The noise is negligible. I think more is being made of this than is necessary.

Perhaps this highlights the *need* to listen for yourself to an amp rather than rely on internet wisdom and/or demos.

ecc83

impmann said:

Thing is Dave, the Mk1 HT5 sounds and importantly *feels* very different to play to anything Single Ended. SE designs have their own sound. IMHO, these sound a lot better than those earlier designs but hey, try one for yourself.

The noise is negligible. I think more is being made of this than is necessary.

Perhaps this highlights the *need* to listen for yourself to an amp rather than rely on internet wisdom and/or demos.

Yes, well, one man's "bit of hum" is another's black dog! My HT-20 head had an inherent (traff coupled) hum. Drove me mad but did not bother son....HAD to mod it!

But then I found a review of the SE 6L6 version that said "very low electronic noise"! As you say, I shall have to get Mk1 lug next to one.

Dave.

HAL9000

I’ve got the 6L6 version. Weighs next to nothing, has a decent amount of low-end ‘thump’, and nice sparkly highs. A little less in the mids which is what I’d expect from a 6L6 power stage. Easily loud enough for rehearsals and jam nights. I haven’t tried yet but believe it would also handle small gigs just so long as you don’t need too much clean headroom. There is some background hum when turned up but not enough, IMHO, to get bothered about. Everythimg feels solid, and looks to be well put together. There is also a footswitch supplied for the ‘boost’ channel. The only extra I had to shell out for was a decent cover (fifty notes from Roqsolid).

This is my first Blackstar amp and I’m very happy with it. Would definitely consider another Blackstar for any future amp needs (or wants).

ecc83

"There is some background hum when turned up" Now that is odd because with a SE design it is the output stage that causes the hum and if that is made quiet the rest of the amp should hum no worse than any other well designed one. Maybe not in HT-5 territory but as good as an HT-40 say. 

Might nip into PMT tom' and see if I can harken unto one!

Dave.

HAL9000

^ Ah, maybe because I pretty much exclusively use single coil pickups I'm just amplifying the 50 cycle hum from the guitar.

HAL9000

Right, had a go with an Esquire this morning. With both the gain and master dimed there is a little (and I do mean a little) background) hiss but it’s negligible. However, with the ‘drive’ button pushed in it does become rather more obvious. The marketing guff claims that the ‘drive’ circuitry, at least on the 6L6 version, is inspired by Blackstar’s HT-Drive pedal.

ecc83

HAL9000 said:

Right, had a go with an Esquire this morning. With both the gain and master dimed there is a little (and I do mean a little) background) hiss but it’s negligible. However, with the ‘drive’ button pushed in it does become rather more obvious. The marketing guff claims that the ‘drive’ circuitry, at least on the 6L6 version is inspired by Blackstar’s HT-Drive pedal.

Yes, well all the "HT" range of amps use a valve as an overdrive device (pushed hard by an IC) and that technique began with the HT pedals. The various amps in the range, including the Series Ones use much the same circuit but cap and R values are changed to get the desired 'voicing'.

Any  'Drive/boost' circuit is going to be noisier than the clean path...Physiks!

Dave.