Blackstar Artisan 15 Combo

THIS IS A BREAD AND BUTTER AMP THAT SOUNDS FANTASTIC. 2 CHANNELS, VOLUME AND TONE FOR EACH CHANNEL AND THAT IS IT! NO EFFECTS LOOP AND NO ACCESS TO CHANNEL SWITCHING BUT NOT REALLY AN ISSUE FOR ME SINCE I REALLY DON'T USE THEM. HAS 5 WATT OR 15 WATT MODE AND IS PLENTY POWERFUL DESPITE THE WATTAGE. DESIGNED IN THE UK BUT MADE IN KOREA. BUILD QUALITY IS SURPRISINGLY FLAWLESS.

CHANNEL ONE SOUND VOXISH AND CHANNEL 2 SOUNDS MARSHALLESQUE. BOTH CHANNELS SOUND AND BREAK UP BEAUTIFULLY. YOU CAN BLEND BOTH CHANNELS AND BY USING A Y CABLE OR A PATCH CABLE AND CAN CREATE AN GORGEOUS ORGANIC VOX-MARSHALL HYBRID TONE. THE TONE IS VERY UNIQUE AND VIBRANT. IT SOUNDS ESPECIALLY GOOD WHEN PLAYED WITH SINGLE COILS OR P90'S. THE OVERDRIVE IS ESPECIALLY SWEET SINCE IT IS ALL DONE WITH THE VOLUME. THE 5 WATT MODE IS ESPECIALLY USEFUL FOR HOME USE TO GET AWESOME TONES WITHOUT THE OVER THE TOP VOLUME LEVELS. THE LOWS ARE DEEP AND CHUNKY AND THE HIGHS ARE SWEET NOT HARSH OR STERILE.

VERY WELL BUILT AND VERY RELIABLE. HAVEN'T HAD A PROBLEM.

HAVEN'T HAD TO CALL THEM.

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 10 YEARS. I HAVE A CARVIN LEGACY COMBO WHICH SOUNDS LIKE CRAP COMPARED TO THE BLACKSTAR. MY MAIN AXE IS AN ESP VINTAGE PLUS STRAT AND FENDER AMERICAN DELUXE TELE. I ALSO HAVE AN IBANEZ ANDY TIMMONS SIGNATURE GUITAR WHICH IS AMAZING. THIS COMPANY IS BUILDING SOME BEAUTIFUL AND GREAT SOUNDING AMPLIFIERS. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN SOUND WHICH I JUST LOVE. I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED SO MANY COMPLIMENTS ON MY TONE. THAT IS A TRUE GAUGE OF HOW GOOD THIS AMP SOUNDS.

I bought the amp in UK as shop demo. I got my amp with full warantty, mint! I paid 600 pound (1000 usd) for it. Artisan 15 costs about 800 pound new in UK.

I dont know why it is so expensive in USA guys... You should know that similar handwired MIA amp costs 1500-2000 pounds in UK (for example - Bad Cat Cub II R costs 2000 pounds, 3300 usd !!!). So this amp is quite cheap here (handwired, celestion heritage speaker, tube rectifier...).

The amp has two channels - they seems to be quite similar when the volume is down, but when you turn up the volume each channels begin to live its own live. EF86 side has much more gain, very AC15ish tone. ECC83 (12ax7) channel sounds like a mixture between Vox and Marshall. It has more presence compare to EF86 channel, but less gain. The sound starts to break up at 9 oclock with vintage singlecoils (Telecaster with Nocaster pickups), co it goes to overdrive very guickly! I didnt try it with buckers, but it will be worse I guess! So dont buy this amp for clean headroom!

The amp is super loud for 15w amp. I had AC15CC1X and artisan seems to be louder - this suprise me because vox had alnico blues speaker (alnico blue has 100db ef., G12M Heritage has 95db ef.). It is loud enough to keep with drummer, but forget about clean sound... this amp wanna be dirty!

...and it is vintage amp - dont forget to use your Tone and Volume pots on guitar! This amp is not a modern **** that give you all the things except one - pure tube sound! I dont need reverb, efect loop and all these stupid things, but controls for tone can be better - so I give it 8.

The amp is super bright and it cuts very well throw the mix. I tried to compare it with my other amp, which is similar - Vox AC30H2L (two channels - ECC83 TB, the second AC15 like with EF86).The Artisan's clean sound is quite similar to Vox, but has more chime, brightness, you can listen to each tone, you hear each string. Sometimes it is great, but sometimes you ask yourself why the amp sounds to sterile and to bright... vox definitely has more character, sweeter sound. It is impossible to say which one of these amps is better. I love the vox for its sweet tone, but the tone of artisan is more precise. Vox is keeper for me, Artisan is great amp for me, but I can live without it (but I still keep it).

Overdrive sound is more marshally compared to Vox. But it has it's own charakter - it sound like a mixture of AC30 Top Boost with Marshall Bluesbreaker (ECC83 side), it is more articulate than Vox and Marshall, more modern (?), it is more brutal compared to Vox, less sweet, EF86 has its own character - it is quite similar to AC15, but has more gain... it has less gain compared to Matchless EF86 thing.

I also tried to change tubes in this amp cause I usually use old tubes in my amps... RCA 12ax7 black long plate in preamp section and PI, Tungsram, Sylvania and RCA black plates, Siemens and others oldies for power amp section (EL84).

Artisan has Sovtek (EHX) EL84 in poweramp, EHX EF86 in preamp, Sovtek 12ax7 in preamp and PI, EHX rectifier tube. It was good with these tubes but I tried to make it better with some old glass... But it sounds horrible after the change! This is really the first amp that doesnt like my old tubes. The sound was super bright and absolutely unuseful. So I put Russian glass back, tried new Tungsols 12ax7 in V1 and PI. At the end I kept TungSol at PI, all other tubes was origin. It has more character then with Sovtek in PI, but still wasnt horrible bright. I hate new tubes, I hate Sovtek tubes and all these ****ty muddy sounding tubes without character. But this amp loves them (?). Now the sound is great, even compare to AC30H2L with old glass (this AC30 sounds like **** with new Sovteks).

I would compare this amp to Vox AC15H1TV, Bad Cat Cub II... Each of them has its personality... each of them can do something better compare to others... If I could have only one amp I would go with AC15H1TV. But because I have AC30 I dont need two Vox amps with the same sound, so the Blackstar Artisan is my way to go (or maybe the Bad Cat Cub II, if it wouldnt cost 2000 pounds).

I have the amp for 3 months so no issues yet... But it is built like a tank so it should last! Ive never seen better built amp before. Forget about your Mesa, Fender, Vox...

You should compare it to Bad Cat, Matchless, Dr. Z, Victoria...

Ive never use it so I dont know... But I heard some good end stories and blackstar guys seems to be really helpful, so I give it 10.

I really like this amp...and everybody who loves british A class vox style and old marshall (lead and bass, 1974x) style amps will love it too!

All fender guys forget about these amp. This amp is not a sweet Fender amp for country and blues... this is superbright thing, which give you superb articulatin and let you be heard, give you overdrive, which havent been discovered at fender factory yet. This is old british crunch beast for great price!

I don't actually own one of these but I am lucky to have a friend who has two. When my Fender Blues Deluxe went mad he kindly lent me one as I foolishly have no back up. Very simple set up with two channels that you can patch together to create a lovely blended sound.

This amp gives a lovely pure sound with a huge amount of headroom for its diminutive wattage. I gigged this running at 5 watts rather than 15 which allowed the amp to break into a beautifully articulated overdrive that allows every nuance of your playing shine through. This can be very unforgiving as it will highlight any sloppy playing but it does make you focus on your technique and will help you improve your chops! The personality of your guitar really comes through too. My American Series Tele and Strat sounded exactly as they should and the big surprise was my Ibanez AS103 NT Custom, a relatively cheap guitar which sounded awsome through the Blackstar with a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 as a booster.

Built like a tank and beautifully crafted and should see you through a lifetime of gigs if looked after. The friend who lent me this raves about the reliability of these.

Not had to deal with Blackstar as I don't have one......yet! Again my pal tells me that the guys there are passionate about what they do and are incredibly helpful.

I've been playing for around 23 years now although I had a hiatus of 5 or 6 years. I now gig very regularly with a great bunch of guys where we have a blast. I normally use a Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue which is a lovely amp itself and capable of some very fine tones but played next to the Blackstar......well lets just say that the A15 sounds incredible and like the review below, I would recommend anyone to try one out but be prepared to spend some dosh!

the artisan 15 is a 1x12 combo, with essentially 2 channels, these are not switchable (unless you include an a/b switch) but they rather give the user two different pre amp valve stages with correspondingly different characteristics, its really really well put together, looks good and classy. the amp is switchable between 5 and 15 watts, and has only volume and tone controls, keeping the circuitry to a minimum and the signal path un-cluttered and strong.the inclusion of two different pre amp options makes this amp a well featured option in the 15 watt combp category.., and as we all know, with a quality valve amp, you can coax a wide range of sounds out using your guitars tone and volume controls...so...

i am a professional session player,i currently play with amy macdonald and ive been using two artisan 15s together for some time now..where applicable, on smaller stages, one combo is totally loud enough to annoy my sound engineer, and on bigger stages (including the big festivals) the two amps give a bigger spread and more bass extension..the artisan 15s give you a wonderful distortion, full of immediacy and tone, even at low levels.. if your after clean headroom, you should look at the artisan 30, which has more power and features, and is also a cracking product.. channel 1 is more vintagey and less gain, 2 is all the dirt you need to rock out..i have recieved so many compliments about the guitar sound from these amps, and they sound great with all manner of guitars, teles sound spiky and bluesy..and les pauls and 335s scream with sustain and bite...lovely...

totally reliable, superb build quality, no problems whatsoever

im lucky enough to have an endorsement deal with the company, and i must say that even in the world of endorsements.. blackstar are really really helpful and supportive, i recently called them at short notice to see if i could get an amp for a show in chicago as my hired ac30 was awful, and there was an amp there the very next day,right on time..same again in LA two days later.. thats what you need from an endorsement..and believe me, its not always the case with some companies.. the guys at blackstar are really friendly and very comitted to making quality amps that players use and enjoy, and thats why im sure they go out of their way provide excellent customer support..

ive been playing guitar for 26 years, professionally for 16 years, ive played with loads of people, and been on loads of tours and albums...in doing so, i think ive tried out most of the amps available to guitarists over the years...and i have no hesitation in recommending blackstar products to anyone, and im excited to see what they'll come up with next...

I bought this amp early 2008, i wanted a low powered tube amp that would sound good at low volume levels for home use plus i play about 4 gigs a week when i need power stage saturation so i thought the 15 watt and low power switch would do just the job

I play around 150-200 gigs a year and i own amps made by Fender, marshall, orange and boogie, i was soooo dissapointed with this amp, for the price i thought it would be leagues above an orange tiny terror but i was wrong, it just sounds like ****, i knew the guys who designed this had made some pretty good marshall amps but i prefer some of my fender solid state amps to this, i've never been so let down with a product, i thought i could trust reviews but they've messed up on this one, sent it back 2 days later, turns out the dealer had 4 come back for the same reason

I WOULD NEVER BUY ANOTHER BLACKSTAR PRODUCT AGAIN, so much better sounding gear out there for less money

I wont take up space about the basic features which you can get from them. The emphasis is on simplicity and quality not bells and whistles. I did sort of wish this amp had spring reverb or blasphemous as it might be, an effects loop. However, since the amp is obviously meant to crank to full power and blast, neither would work well into a heavily distorting power stage so I understand why they skipped it. Regardless there are an amazing number of gorgeous deeply vintage tones lurking inside thanks to all the combinations of blending channels by jumping inputs and switching between 15w and 5w. Ok, for low volume guys like me, a post phase inverter master volume would have been a plus though trust me I'm doing just find without one. I admit I am curious what the famed Celestion Blue might sound like but the made England greenback 25 is a very good choice for this amp and really compliments or perhaps accounts for the exceptionally organic wooden sort of midrange that I am loving. My guess is the amp will sound fantastic with any good speaker. I really wish they would use cream chicken head type knobs instead however. Besides looking much more boutique and appropriate for the personality of this amp, they are practical as you can see your settings easily from many feet away. I also would prefer a more vintage grill cloth on this amp as the black with giant logo I think is uncongruent with the dripping vintage nature of this amps tone. Lastly, this amp is pretty heavy and I think it should have come with wheels, preferably detachable for those who like the sound of an amp coupled the the floor.

After mucking around with several comparatively silly and pitiful sounding cheap tube combo amps, I was in the market for a truly pro-approved combo amp. I budgeted up to $2000.00 which still eliminated quite a bit of the boutique world. I was torn in several directions including my love for that dilapidated tone you get with low watt vintage tweed amps from the 50s for instance. But I was also craving that immensely present, modern 3D super tone like you hear from Dumble???s as well as the classic British invasion tones from the 60s too. I was a tough sell. I was actually about to pull the trigger on a Dr. Z Maz 18 but I was afraid that amp might not be too satisfying at very low volume and that it might be a bit too modern and tight for my taste. Then I remembered this amp and GC 5 minutes from my house had one in stock. I dragged it into the sound room with a new Fender american std strat, was instantly mesmerized and bought it on the spot. We were a match made in heaven. Please know I normally fret and ponder a cash outlay for gear like this for weeks or months before buying! I get that intimate purring low watt old school tone I had in my head to wailing plexi melt down 60???s phantasmagoria, to Vox like hammering clank and virtually everything in between. This amp somehow fills the room with huge omni-directional tone at even very low volumes. The tonality is so ripe, complex and vivid you can practically look at a note like it???s a sculpture hanging in the air. Btw I do put it on an amp stand because I don???t like the sound of combo amps directly on the floor. For super clean twangy fender clean country playing this amp might not be the ideal choice due to the pervasive purring warm undertones it tends to generate and its more 60???s brit-like character. Its a bit like a racehorse chomping at the bit to go towards distortion pretty quickly so it does not have a huge amount of squeaky clean headroom though be assured it's capabable of gorgeous chime tones. It goes into distortion gracefully and seductively. You start out very clean then it starts thickening up and generating gobs of gooey rich low order harmonics. From there you head into a glorious moaning wailing overload. With tone cranked up it can be bright and crunchy too but I???m using for dumble-ish woman-tone type sounds. The bottom end is huge and fat too. If you want it to sound like a small honky 10 inch speaker type amp for Chicago blues sort of tone, just put a good eq pedal in front and notch out around 125hz or so. Since I can???t usually crank it for distortion, I use a zvez box of rock which sounds fantastic with this amp. I also use an Ibanez pq401 in front but I wouldn???t be inclined to if I didn???t have one. Lastly I use a carbon comp delay set to quick slap with no repeats which gives me a good reverb substitute and really puts the finishing touch on the magnificent 3D tone of his amp.

As I explain below, the build quality is absolutely as good as it gets-rock solid and not one compromise from inside to out. No cheating with pots mounted to boards etc. I don't know how to rate this category if nothing has gone wrong with it.

I haven' tried to contact them yet so we'll see. Their choice to use GC and MF for sole distributer ship was probably a good business move but may interfere with the personal connection you otherwise expect with a boutique amp. GC may also cost them the interest of the boutique snob crowd who might be inclined to dismiss this abolute gem of an amp without even playing it.

I also played the VOX amps including the handwired 30 watt and the CC series both the celestion blues and warfdales. Those amps sounded pretty good but did not excite me nearly the way this one did. They didn???t sound nearly as vibrant, complex and vivid as this amp. And VOX made in China just really blew it for me as I have for good reason learn learned not to trust ANYTHING made in China. I like the fact that I have a unique amp like this because a heritage type amp like the VOX would psychologically constrain me into more limited genre???s.

Now I want to say something about the build quality???OH MY GOD! I pulled the chassis out and the workmanship is a work of art and should be in a museum. I have never seen such an immaculately built amp in my life and my background is in high end audio. And these guys are no dorky engineers either as you will find all engineer-scorned but vintage purist approved carbon comp resistors throughout except where they shouldn???t be used, and vintage film-foil type caps, no crappy metallized film types here! Every lead to turret is straight as an arrow. Ever wire laid to perfection without 1mm of unnecessary length. Each solder connection is a perfect little dome without one molecule of flux left behind. The chassis is heavy steel. They even lacquered each resistor and cap! I didn't try to dissect the circuit but noticed 47nf coupling caps at the phase inverter which probably accounts for the generous but carefully applied bottom end. Marshall would use 22nf for guitar and 100nf for bass for instance. This is truly 100% handwired unlike the VOX ???handwired??? where I noted their turrets are still mounted to a green pc board with traces connecting them.

The one bummer is you have to take out the entire chassis then take off a cage to get at them so forget swapping a tube on the fly at a gig. They smartly chose not to mount tubes under the circuit board which bakes it in heat so they face them sideways instead. And no paper thin peeling tolex either like I saw on TWO different VOX amps. This tolex is thick and lush and feels like padded leather. The cabinet is rock solid and gives a resounding sharp knock with the knuckle rap and surely contributes to its outstanding percussive-expressive tonal quality and room filling sound.

I am not even slightly bothered by this amp being assembled in Korea. I can???t imagine equivalent build quality from a bunch of soccer hooligans after few pints of Smithwicks. Korea doesn???t strike me as the cheapest place in the world for labor unless they pulled off the impossible in N. Korea so I think this amp is VERY fairly priced. I can???t speak for the rest of the line, but if you are in the market for this increasingly popular EL-84 duet platform PLEASE audition one of these amps at all volumes with a nice guitar. Well done gentlemen!

you can find these elsewhere...
(not too many, but that isn't important.)

My reason for submitting is that I "auditioned" the 15w + 30W at a local music shop.

I think they are just superb sounding amps.

Can't afford one....yet...

Sound? I dunno....Matchless overdrive, Voxy (sorts) sustain and dynamics of an old Marshall on "11?" But all achieved at low volumes.

Matches up with s/c + h/b, and is most responsive to how you play and set your guitar.

Wouldn't call them a clean amp .. although you can drive them as you wish.....

I'm told by a tech that they are very well put together: I haven't had the chance to look inside, but they are, apparently, very well made.

dunno about this side

I have a ton of stuff, from vintage Vox AC30 to BF + SF Fenders,
Marshall combo, Sound City ...plus a heap I made myself.

These amps are just stunning to hear....no pedal, just put a good guitar thru them and listen.

I tried the 15w + 30w combos with a Strat and Les Pauls, and both sounded just like your favourite heroes from the 60/70's ...Hendrix and more.

Most amps do one better than the other: single coil or HB ...etc...
and most do need one sort of pedal, but the Blackstars cover both brilliantly.

I rarely get excited over new amps, most are usually variations on familiar themes, but these are in a league of their own.
Probably a bit too expensive in OZ.

I built a clone Matchless a while ago, the Blackstar is in the same vibe with the capacity for stupendous tones at low volumes.

Go listen to one, or more. Maybe a reverb model would be good.

I bought this amp new in February 2008. It's part of a brand new range launched in late 2007 so was an early example. I have given it a 7 for features as it doesn't have many. (But that's why I bought it - less is more). It is a 15W Combo with 1 x 12" Celestion Greenback speaker. Has 2 channels switchable from 5W to 15W. There is no effects loop, no reverb and no channel switching facility apart from removing teh guitar lead and re-plugging it into the other channel input. Alternatively, the 2 channels can be linked with a short lead thereby getting the best blend of sounds from each. This is what i do and I find it excellent. One channel is EF86 powered and the other is ECC83.Class A 15W combo ??? Switch for 5W single-ended / 15W push-pull operation??? 2 x EL84 output valves ??? EF86 channel??? ECC83 channel ??? Hi and Lo inputs perfect for channel blending ??? Impedance selector ??? Vintage G12M Celestion speaker.

This amp has all the classic sounds you'd expect from a EL84-powered low wattage high quality boutique amp with a price that will blow you away. The configuration is very simple - only 4 rotary knobs - a volume and tone knob for each of the 2 channels. That's it. Cleans are bell-like with distortion starting to cut in around 11 o clock on the volume knob. I use it for classic rock and blues with perfect results. Personally I prefer the single ended 5W channel - great for playing at low volume at home but also plenty headroom there for band practice/rehearsals and switch to 15W channel for gigs. I have even played a gig with 5W and mic'd to PA. I use mine with a pedal board to get classic distortion sounds from a Fulltone OCD and a Blackstar HT-Dual 2 channel crunch/distortion. Thsi combination gives me all the crunch, overdrive and distortion I will ever need. I have also tried a Boss Metal Zone pedal with it and again it sounds awesome with very little noise. If you are in the market for a low watt, high quality and easy to carry combo you should not ignore this amp. It is awesome. I have had 8 amps in 10 years (spent far too much money) and I can honestly say this is the end of the road for me. It beats hands down all the Marshalls, Mesa/Boogies and Fenders I have had. I play a LP '58 VOS with BKP Mule pickups and it's heaven. They also do a bigger 30W Artisan combo with 2 x 12" speakers but it's VERY heavy. It also has a more sophisticated sound palette with more EQ controls. The only reason I didn't go for that was it's weight. The price of these things is amazing. All hand wired and manufactured in Korea to a very high standard but designed in UK. If this amp had a Californian boutique label on it I would imagine it being DOUBLE the price. It's better too IMHO!

Had the amp 7 weeks - no problems so far. Dealer was great so I would go straight back to them if I encountered any problems.

Haven't had to deal with them but I would imagine they'd be great if they put as much attention to customer support as they put into their amps and pedals. It is solid, beautifully engineered and built like a tank.

I've been playing 35 years and had countless amps, effects and guitars over this time. The Artisan 15 is the best amp I have ever owned and I would immediately replace it with another if it were lost or stolen.