• Absolute Perfection

  
  As reviewed by Blaine on 5/11/2010

  This is the most amazing amp I have found. After looking at everything out there and reading a review of the Artisan 15 watt - I decided to plug into one. I was floored at the sounds that come out of this amp. It looks simplistic just 2 channels each having a volume and tone with hi and low input. The key is each channel has a different preamp tube set. There's also a 5 or 15 watt toggle for control and this is the loudest 5 & 15 watt amp you'll ever find. Its a true hand wired Class A - and that's where it really shines. The quality and build are perfection - the sound is heaven. This Blackstar is a tone machine - I plug an AquaPuss and Fulltone Mofset in front and the sound is warm, ariticulate and the sweetest controlled distortion on the planet. It sounds great with my Strats - but plugging in a vintage tele makes for the perfect match. It's hard to descibe the tone frome a tele and this amp - its as sweet as it gets. This is the only amp I will ever need. The Artisan is a little piece of heaven in a deep burgundy tolex. All I can I say is sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!

  7 of 7 people found this review helpful.
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• Great Amp!!

  
  As reviewed by LM on 4/1/2010

  I have been playing this amp for over 9 months and it is great. It is plenty loud to keep up with the band but at the same time can generate warm tones at lower volumes. Two months ago while soloing over the band, I was struck with the thought that after 40+ years of playing, I am finally really happy with my tone. The tone I get from this amp with my Twang-king equipped Tele is focused, deep, and chimey. And it gets praise from other musicians and sound guys who like where it sits in the overall mix. Jumpering the channels and then adjusting the balance between the two channels is a good way to get some pre-amp hair on your sound. The 5 to 15 watt switch provides the class A champ-like response from the amp and then the 3 dimensional swirl of a push-pull power section. The tubes have been great. I swapped out the EH power tubes for JJ's just because of my preference for JJ's. But the other tubes have been strong and maintenance free. This is a great amp and has been flying under the radar with regard to those who know about it or who have played. The best of both worlds, early hand-wired Marshalls grind and Vox chime. Love it.

  6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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• Absolutely fantastic

  
  As reviewed by Michael Teak on 4/25/2009

  This is truly one of the best amps I've ever played. I stumbled upon it in a store after being rather disappointed in the Egnater Tourmaster and Rebel (not bad amps, but all three of the Tourmasters seemed to have issues and the Rebel sounded quite good, but not inspiring). I was trying a variety of amps in the store and gave the Blackstar Artisan 15 and 30 a shot. I was blown away. As soon as I began playing I knew this was the thick, round, chimey, tube tone I'd been looking for. Not much in the way of features, but two channels of pure tone that sounded and felt lightyears beyond the other amps I had tried. I ended up going home with the Artisan 15, as it had plenty of power, but could distort at a lower volume. While there aren't many "features", you are able to dial in a wide range of tones. I wish you could footswitch between the two channels- well, you can but you have to buy an A/B switch which I haven't bothered to do yet. And you can jumper the two channels together too. In short, I'm absolutely happy with the amp. I know I sound like I work for them, but I'd never heard of them before I saw this series in GC. I've been playing for 17 years and I love the sound and feel of my PRS Custom through this amp. Definitely check it out- and their distortion pedals too. The HT-Dist is amazing with this.

  15 of 16 people found this review helpful.
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