Blackstar’s St James 100: Best of Both Worlds
New Blackstar St James 100 head and combo with flexible power and features
4,7 / 5,0 | 
Blackstar has revealed the new St James 100 amp range, which combines EL34 and 6L6 power amp tubes into a lightweight head or combo format. These amps are feature-packed and ready to rock, so let’s take a look at what is on offer.
St James 100
The Blackstar St James 100 range combines dual EL34 and 6L6 power output tubes to create a hybrid tube amp. When both pairs are combined, the amp can run at 100 watts, or users can switch between the two sets and run at 50 watts instead. Both the St James 100-watt head and combo use three ECC83 preamp tubes.
Controls
Each model has Bass, Middle, and Treble control for the EQ section, plus Presence and Reverb knobs. Then, the Volume and Gain knobs control the output.
Pair this with a variable output power reduction that can reduce the volume to 5% and maintain the tone of a cranked amp (according to Blackstar). These seem more flexible than many larger wattage amplifiers, at least on paper.
They also feature a built-in reactive load and use Blackstar’s CabRig IR-based technology, so they should work well in various situations, including stage and studio.
Four Channels
These models offer a Clean channel, a Crunch channel, a Boost switch (10db of clean boost), OD1 and OD2 voicings, and a Tight switch.
The OD1 channel combines cascaded valve overdrive circuits with a classic British-style passive tone stack. The valve power amp is tuned for a tight, linear response, delivering classic overdriven tones.
The OD2 channel then offers a contemporary, high-gain sound with plenty of low-end “chug.” It achieves this by revoicing the valve preamp for increased saturation and reconfiguring the power amp for open-loop operation.
Light Weight
As large output tube amps typically equal heavy transformers and lots of additional weight, Blackstar is keen to point out that this new amp range is, in fact, far lighter than the standard head or combo formats for similar wattage guitar amplifiers.
Blackstar quotes up to 53% lighter in the promotional material, which is achieved using various lightweight materials and speakers. These include Candlenut plywood, which is light yet robust, and the Celestion Zephyr lightweight speakers in the 2×12 combo.
The head weighs 10kg, and the combo is 19.52 kg.
MIDI and more
The back panel also has a few handy extras, including MIDI and the patent-applied-for Cut switch with three positions that adjust the high-end frequencies. This is used to change between what Blackstar describes as aggressive clarity and warm, vintage tones.
They support USB audio out, a balanced XLR out, and headphones out, and offer a series/parallel effects loop with a level switch.
MSRP – TBC
Verdict
I still prefer the feel and volume of a real tube amp working hard, but many smaller venues and recording studios aren’t so pleased with them.
The marketplace for guitar amps is already quite saturated, so with amp modeling and FRFR setups offering a wide variety of virtual rigs, Blackstar has its work cut out.
Are 100-watt amps what players are looking for in 2024?
With all these extras, the lighter weights and the ability to dial down the power, possibly. Blackstar might have given us the best of both worlds with these new amps.
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