Much more complex situation that I’m considering. I would just be going DI to the amp. This is for a jazz combo situation, no board or sound guy. It’s to get a more granular eq than my amp provides, plus the notch filter for situations where I get feedback on a specific note (big hollow-body guitar).
Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. So you’re not plugging the DI box into a pa? Why not just buy an EQ pedal? The Baggs DI has a very nice setup because it includes the preamp and EQ, but it’s far more expensive than most EQ pedals.
However, I think it’s going to affect your sound. Since you’re changing the first preamp the guitar hits, it’s almost inevitable. You can probably adjust it so it will sound close to your current setup, but there’s probably going to be some difference. I used to play an archtop through a fuzz pedal into a 100W combo, so I know what you’re dealing with, somewhat.The flexible EQ on the Ampeg came in handy, but any attempt to fix feedback with the EQ was going to change the sound some.
Why not try one of the newer feedback suppressors? They should be able to find/squash the frequency more precisely than an EQ would, these days.
I’ve now had the new amp for about a week and I love it! It sounds so full and luscious compared to the little Yamaha amp. The clean channel sounds so good with my Tele. The “gain” channel sounds great with the Tele, the Hondo (humbuckers) and the Harmony Rocket (gold-foils).
This is only my second tube amp and only one with a master volume. My Fender had a preamp volume and power amp volume and you could turn up the preamp volume to overdrive the power amp. The master volume does not behave this way - it simply raises and lowers the volume and the tonal qualities stay the same (at least from what I could tell). I thought that I would only be able to play this new amp at higher volumes, but that is not true. It sounds great at low volumes as well (I live in a small house and play from the basement so I never have to get really quiet). Now that I know I can play this new amp at lower volumes, I’m thinking I’ll sell the Yamaha and pickup a couple pedals or a multi-effect unit. The built-in digital reverb sounds pretty good so I really only need an overdrive (this is a fairly low-gain amp) and a tremelo.
I’m very happy with this purchase. My wife is not. “All you are doing is playing guitar!” 
I need some advice. When my new Blackstar Artist 15 amp arrived, it had what I would consider a cosmetic issue. I contacted Sweetwater and they said “we’ll get you a replacement when we have one back in stock”. During the interim, I’ve played my original quite a bit for about four weeks. New one showed up yesterday. I’m doing some a/b’ing of them tonight and the first one sounds quite a bit better: Louder, lusher and less “tight”. Will the new one break in and sound the way the first one does? I’m thinking it’s probably speaker break-in but I have no experience with a new amp.
What say ye? Will the new one break in and sound as good as the original? I wish I could hold onto both long enough to find out but I think Sweetwater will start getting a bit impatient.
There is such a thing as speaker break-in but don’t know if it would apply to this particular amp. How many hours have you played it?
Also, I don’t think it would affect volume. “Lush” and “tight” are pretty subjective terms and I don’t know what your definitions are.
What is the cosmetic issue?
I would guess the first amp has been on over an hour a day - 30’ish hours.
Yeah, it’s very hard to describe audio in written terms, particularly for a person like me that is a complete non-expert. I’ll play them again tomorrow and try to come up with something more definitive but I’m not sure that’s possible for me. I will say that the “newer” one still sounds great. Just not quite as great.
The cosmetic issue- Take a look at this image:
To the left of where the power cable plugs in there is a wood block. On the right where the footswitch plugs in is a similar woodblock. I don’t know that they do anything. On the first amp, both of them were broken off. They are only affixed by a bit of glue and one staple along one side. I wouldn’t have cared but I thought this indicated the box might’ve been dropped and I might experience other issues down the road (cracked solders for example).
I agree that there is such a thing as speaker break in. It’s said to be due, at least in part, to the loosening up of the moving mechanical suspension of the driver.
The rub, though, is that there may be other reasons why your original amp sounds better than the replacement: the electrical components - pretty much all of them - are typically built to perform within a fairly wide range of tolerances and their values can vary considerably within that range. Multiply this effect by the dozens of components in your amp, and it all but guarantees that no two examples of any model are going to sound exactly alike.
So if I had an amp that I loved the sound of, I’d be wary of replacing it over a minor cosmetic issue. There’s no guarantee that you’ll ever like the new amp as much.
Of course, YMMV.
How’s the reverb sound on the Blackstar?
I play with just a little reverb to get a fuller sound. It’s nice when the amp has a good reverb effect. Otherwise I drag out a pedal.
Although it doesn’t matter much what the wood pieces look like, I can see why it might indicate some mishandling. But if you think it sounds better, you could hold onto it until it’s closer to the end of the warranty period. You have a one-year warranty, and if you register with the company they extend it to three years for free.
Just like a maple neck giving your guitar a brighter sound, or the top of an electric guitar having any effect (not that that debate has to start up again), I haven’t seen convincing proof of speaker break-in. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, just haven’t seen it. IMO.
I bought a Martin guitar years ago. Religiously placed it on a stand in front of my stereo speaker in the futile hope that, as was said at the time, this would give it a more played in sound. Never happened. :smack:
Agreed. There is no doubt that a Vox sounds different from a Fender which sounds different from a Marshall. Different components as you say. So by the same token one Blackstar might sound different than another. Not by as much, but still different.
To wguy123: What’s that you say about Blackface discontinuing the Artist series? On Sweetwater right now, for the 2x12 30w, they say they should be getting more in. And I don’t see anything online about this. Can you elaborate?
To add about break in, changes in structure? Perhaps. This affecting the sound? That’s the proof I haven’t seen. I’d love to see the best arguments out there if anyone cares to suggest their most convincing.
I have very limited experience with amps and effects. I played through a Fender Super Twin for 20+ years and the only effects I had were two dirt pedals (Rat and an Ibanez distortion). Next, I bought the little Yamaha THR10 which can make some nice sounds but now sounds so tiny compared to the new Blackstar which sounds so huge in comparison. From what I can tell, the built-in reverb sounds pretty great. I usually leave it at about 10:00 (30%) except when I’m playing a surf tune and I crank it.
I don’t yet have any pedals. I think an overdrive, tremelo and delay are coming at some point.
Thanks for the 3-year tip. I’ll be doing that either way I go.
I saw them on Sweetwater with that big discount and started watching a lot of videos on them. And then I saw this video:
I think it was from that video that I thought they were being discontinued. Maybe not?
I’m going to continue messing with the two and try to decide over the weekend. I don’t have an a/b switcher so it’s a lot of manual unplug/plug in going on. Also, there is a large variation on slight changes of some of the knobs that it could just be that they are slightly different and twiddling the knobs slightly can get the sounds the same. These amps are quite loud so very slight variations on the master volume can make large volume changes if you have the channel 1 or 2 volumes pegged.
I’ve found that I prefer to set the overall tone of the amp while I have my Tele tone knob at halfway. Then, I can brighten and darken the amp sounds in a more pleasing manner than if I set the amp tone with the tone knob at 100%. I saw that tip in one of the hundreds of guitar videos I’ve watched.
The guys who make the speakers say it does, although it may be more applicable to audio systems than musical instrument amps.
Well, yeah, but those are just words on a page. It doesn’t prove anything or offer any evidence of anything. That’s what I haven’t seen.
Update time:
I have to admit (again) that sometimes I’m a real idiot. I had the original amp setting nearly under my desk. My desk is just a flat top with legs going down. The new amp was sitting next to it, but completely open to the room. I decided to swap their positions and all of a sudden, the new one became louder and better. DOH! :smack:
After I realized that I was getting natural reverb and amplification from the sound coming out from under the desk, I moved them both out and they then became much more similar. At this point, they are close enough that I will be sending the one back that might’ve been dropped. And, I’ll keep the new one partially under the desk 
To those that replied: Sorry for wasting your time. I did at least learn about the extended warranty which I’ll be signing up for.
A little low-end guitar porn:
The 12" speaker is on the left of those cabs. The original amp was even more left than in that picture, so under the desk.
Is that a Squire Tele? How do you like it?
Hehehee, that’s not low-end. I’ve played many a show with more underwhelming gear. That G&L is straight up nice!
So, what’s the story behind the V? It looks like it used to have a Floyd Rose or Khaler trem installed, and then was converted to the stop tailpiece.
It is a Squier - the Classic Vibe. I bought that new in 2015 and have enjoyed it muchly. When I first got it, I thought the neck was “noodly”. However, that is when I really started replaying and I have since developed a much softer fretting hand approach: I’ve learned you don’t need a death grip to do barre chords. So the softer approach has helped, plus, I think the neck has stabilized and is stiffer. My basement is near constant 50% humidity year round which helps.
That bass was a Craigslist find and it has been a lot of fun.
That is a Hondo V that I bought when I was 18 ('88) for $80 (I probably overpaid then but I was 18, had long hair and it spoke to me). And the guy that owned it previously had chopped the hole for a Floyd Rose (it came with the solid tailpiece). That is the guitar I played through the 180W Super Twin for 20 years.
The Harmony Rocket was a freebie. It really needs some electrical work. Plus, it is starting to implode on itself and it isn’t an adjustable neck so I think it will need some neck shimming. Maybe I can shave down the tailpiece? Those goldfoils scream!
Wow, I’m actually more jealous that it’s a Hondo V.
Or, you could just leave it like it is and play slide on it. Those pickups are perfect for it. Just a thought.