In This video, I look at the new Blackstar St. James 50 Watt valve amp.
Blackstar is lording this as the lightest 50-watt valve amp in the world, but does the weight compromise the sound, Quality and features?
Full disclosure Blackstar has loaned the amp for the review, and are taking it back after I finish. This review reflects my honest opinion of the amp.

Here's what Blackstar say about the St. James
When it comes to tone and that all-important ‘feel’ factor, great valve amps rightfully remain the ‘gold standard’. The trouble is that great ones capable of delivering 50 Watts or more are all back-breakingly heavy. Until now… enter St. James Series – the lightest 50 Watt valve guitar amps on earth.
Hundreds of hours of critical listening against the most revered amplifier references mean St. James raises the sonic benchmark again. In addition to the obvious tonal differences between EL34 and 6L6 power valves, both of the St. James designs are honed to their own particular use case. The St. James EL34 is the amp for Classic tones combining world-class British Crunch and jaw-dropping, very US-sounding Cleans. The 6L6 version has the same clean headroom, but this is coupled with Blackstar’s highest gain Overdrive circuit to date.
St. James amps are packed with cutting-edge features to deliver class-leading recording performance. From 50W, 2W and SAG switchable power modes, to an inbuilt reactive load that routes the post-power valve output signal to the amp’s three direct recording outputs (XLR, Stereo Line-Out and USB) for truly authentic ‘amp-in-a-room’ feel. This is then passed through our state-of-the-art and fully customisable Cab Rig™️ DSP speaker simulator.
The Studio Rats are core band members Paul Drew on guitar/production/mixing, drummer James Ivey and Dan Hawkins on bass. They collaborate with singers and musicians to produce radio-ready songs.

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