Blackstar has expanded its Debut series of guitar amplifiers with the 100R 1x12 and 2x12 combos, doubling the wattage and presenting players with 100-watts of juice, two footswitchable channels, two footswitchable reverbs, and if you are looking for a pedalboard platform on a budget then these might might well be in the conversation.
Like the 50-watt Debut 50R combos, Blackstar gives you the choice of cream and black vinyl finishes, with cream models featuring an oxblood grille cloth, ‘biscuit’ basketweave on the black models. The design is once more all-analogue, with a MOSFET-driven preamp designed to replicate the tone and feel of a tube amp.
The two channels are voiced after classic Blackstar designs, with the clean channel taken from the HT20-R MKIII and the overdrive channel based on the MusicRadar-approved St James 6L6.
The big difference here is all that extra headroom that 100-watts gives you. And if you’re looking for a bigger sound, the 100R 212’s pair of 12” drivers would make a lot of sense – and potentially very good value at £349 street.
Either way, both models have a series effects loop, power scaling at the touch of a button that takes you from a full 100-watts down to a bedroom-friendly five, a speaker emulated line output that doubles as a headphones output for silent practice.
As with their smaller siblings in the series, the Debut 100R is designed to be player-friendly, a no fuss amp. That’s how Blackstar describes it, with no “bells and whistles” – but that speaks to how feature-packed today’s guitar amplifiers have become. These hardly want for features, and are well equipped for a variety of playing situations.
Blackstar says they are made for practice, recording, and live performance and describes them as “the ideal tool for guitarists seeking simplicity, power, and tone in an analogue package”. Just plug in your electric guitar and play is the message.
What else have we got here? There is a series effects loop. The tone stack features Blackstar’s patented ISF feature that allows you to dial in US and British-style EQ voicings and find your sweet spot in between.
A 3-band EQ serves both channels. As with the other models in the Debut series, the 50R and the 15E and 10E practice amps, we have cream chickenhead dials on the control panel.
The clean channel has a Bright switch for adding a little top-end shimmer. You can use the front-panel’s button or one of Blackstar’s footswitches (sold separately) to choose between plate and hall reverbs.
Around the back of the amp, alongside the footswitch inputs, headphone/line out, and effects loop, there is a mini-jack line in input that allows you to play external audio through the amp.
The 100R is available now, with the 1x12 priced at £299 street, the 2x12 at £349. For more details, see Blackstar Amplification.
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