Blackstar ID Core new amps - updated now with NAD celebrations!

dhaywood67

Sounds like the only answer is to go and try them. Which will mean inflicting my awful playing on some unsuspecting members of the public!

Grumpyrocker

I've just tried something interesting with my ID Core 20. I wondered whether the amp would work well as a FRFR speaker for other modellers.

So I connected my Zoom G3 into the Blackstar's MP3 input, dialled in a nice chunky metal tone with a big stereo delay and...

...it sounded bloody fantastic through the little Blackstar, with wonderful stereo separation on the delay. So the ID Core is even more useful, I must try my POD HD through it too. 

Danny1969

I had the ID Core 40 in the studio on Wed night. We had it hooked up to a Macbook Pro running the Blackstar software and we were loading up the presets from the Blackstar forum .... some of em are really good

We also connected an MP3 player and played along to backing tracks ... only issue here was there didn't seem to be a separate volume control for the line in ? 

Other than that with it's full range speakers and neutral stereo amp it sounded great

I'm really impressed with it, for the price it's a steal 

monquixote

Can you get a good Blackface clean out of it?

Grumpyrocker

Danny1969 said:

We also connected an MP3 player and played along to backing tracks ... only issue here was there didn't seem to be a separate volume control for the line in ? 

True. You have to set the volume on the input device. So always make sure you zero anything before plugging it in.

DartmoorHedgehog

monquixote said:

Can you get a good Blackface clean out of it?

Mine does quite a nice Fendery style clean, but I don't play a real one so can't vouch for the accuracy.

ThePrettyDamned

So how are folks finding recording? Levels, latency and tone? Wondering if a fix has appeared... And any demos covering... Er... Heavy as balls and tight as a gnats bottom?

ICBM

Grumpyrocker said:

G3 is also only 16-bit

The G3 is 24-bit A/D conversion and 32-bit processing according to the spec.

Grumpyrocker said:

I've just tried something interesting with my ID Core 20. I wondered whether the amp would work well as a FRFR speaker for other modellers.

So I connected my Zoom G3 into the Blackstar's MP3 input, dialled in a nice chunky metal tone with a big stereo delay and...

...it sounded bloody fantastic through the little Blackstar, with wonderful stereo separation on the delay. So the ID Core is even more useful, I must try my POD HD through it too. 

That sounds like a *very* good idea...

Grumpyrocker

ICBM said:

Grumpyrocker said:

G3 is also only 16-bit

The G3 is 24-bit A/D conversion and 32-bit processing according to the spec.

Yes. That's it's internal specs for normal use. The AD conversion from the guitar input to outputs.  

The USB out when used as an audio interface is 16-bit. And that's what I was refering to as the context was USB audio interfaces.

ICBM

Grumpyrocker said:

ICBM said:

Grumpyrocker said:

G3 is also only 16-bit

The G3 is 24-bit A/D conversion and 32-bit processing according to the spec.

Yes. That's it's internal specs for normal use. The AD conversion from the guitar input to outputs.  

The USB out when used as an audio interface is 16-bit. And that's what I was refering to as the context was USB audio interfaces.

Ah, OK. I wonder why they do that?

Anyway, what interested me was the idea of using the ID as a FRFR system for the G3, which means that if you're not using a patch with speaker emulation on the G3, then presumably you get full-range amplification… which is ideal for what I want to do with acoustic-like electric sounds. And if so, whether the biggest one is loud enough for a small gig - given that the volume level may bear no relation to what 40W normally sounds like for electric guitar.

DartmoorHedgehog

ICBM said:

whether the biggest one is loud enough for a small gig - given that the volume level may bear no relation to what 40W normally sounds like for electric guitar.

My 10W one is actually surprisingly loud, but the size of the speakers means it sounds rubbish if you turn it up.  I want it for quiet practice and headphones, so it's fine for my purposes.  The 10W has 3" speakers, but the others have bigger ones - 5" in the 20 and 6.5" in the 40 I think - so they may be able to cope with more volume without becoming nasty.

On a similar matter, I'm quite tempted to see how possible it would be to put some better speakers in mine (probably wait until it's not quite so new though).  Looks like there's room for a pair of 6x3" or so speakers and some quite good ones are available that sort of size for car radios.  Don't think I want to void my warranty quite so soon though!

Grumpyrocker

I've just tried my Core 20 as an acoustic amp. With my Yamaha electro-acoustic the clean-bright channel on the amp sounds lovely, especially adding some chorus and delay from the amp.

markj

Bought a id20 yesterday at the northwest guitar show for a great price. It's superb. I have high quality valve amps but for a fab practise amp nothing comes anywhere near it for the price. It sounds as good as all the YouTube reviews.

Chuffola

After the honeymoon period... Still sounding good?

Curious, could do with a small one for trips / holidays etc

DartmoorHedgehog

Chuffola said:

After the honeymoon period... Still sounding good?

Curious, could do with a small one for trips / holidays etc

Well I'm very happy with my Core 10.  For my purposes it's ideal, but if you want to play it anything louder than "TV volume" I'd recommend going for a 20 to get the bigger speakers (that's pretty much the only difference between the models).  The 3" speakers in the 10 do sound quite harsh if you turn the volume up.  But at low volume and through headphones the 10 is excellent - just what I need.  As I mentioned before, one slight niggle is the fact that although there are six user patch memories, it's one per preamp model, so you can't store multiple patches based on the same model, which is a shame but not a deal-breaker for me.

Grumpyrocker

Yep still very happy with mine. My "proper" amps keep looking at me and making me feel guilty.

Chuffola

Excellent. On the list.

Chuffola

...and now purchased!

Quick 15 minutes blast. Seems great for a practice amp that won't annoy the neighbours, although I bought the 20w version and it can get pretty loud.

I tried out the ID30 and 15 and while both were brilliant sounding amps (when the true valve power button was pressed - why is this even an option??), seemed much too loud for my circumstances.

I missed my little THR, but this ID Core 20 will do the job nicely.

Good recommendations, chaps. 

Chuffola

Oh, and the stereo field is immense!

Chuffola

And two days later, after the initial fun, it's gone back.

Stereo field was superb but too much and no option to turn off. And I didn't really like the amp models - very compressed or something. Anyway, not for me and not as nice as the THR, but great value for money and obviously many love it.

The search continues...