Blackstar St. James EL34H Head - Fawn

BLACKSTAR St. James EL34H Head Fawn, tube electric guitar amplifier (50/5/2 watts), two channels (clean/drive), +10dB boost, digital reverb, inductive load allows to run the valves without a speaker connected and thru USB/XLR D.I./headphones (dedicated Cab Rig app), socket to control the channel and voice switching using an external switching device.

Available in two formats, a classic EL34 design and a higher gain 6L6 model, these amps are simple to use but highly versatile.

An inductive load is built into each St. James amp, this allows you to run the valves flat out without having a speaker connected. Normally you would have to pay over $1000 for an additional piece of equipment – St. James has it included.
Add in Cab Rig, next-generation DSP speaker simulator to capture incredible tones via USB / XLR D.I. out or headphones.

The Power Reduction switch allows you to select 50 Watts, 5 Watts or Sag (2 Watts) to easily get the perfect balance of power and response for any situation from studio to stage.

The valve/tube gain structure and voicing of Channel I has been inspired by classic American amplifiers of the mid ’60s (Fender "black-face"). It is very clean and bright but with a solid low-end and controlled mids. Also, on this channel the valve/tube power stage is set to be tight and relatively clean and linear across the frequency range.
This is one of the most popular choices for a ‘pedal platform’ as it provides a solid clean foundation to apply effects to.

Channel II is different depending on the specific model.
- The EL34 models use a ‘classic’ valve/tube preamp topology for Channel II which is based on a much loved British ‘class A’ amplifier of the early ’60s (Vox AC-30 Top Boost). This is a low to medium gain preamp that can be used clean, warm or mildly overdriven. Again, this is a very popular choice for a ‘pedal platform’ as well as for a great responsive crunch tone. When this channel is selected the valve/tube power stage is set as ‘open-loop’. This has a looser feel with a resonant bottom end and lively highs.
The footswitchable BOOST setting pushes the valve preamp harder with a +10dB clean boost, to take it from ‘chimey’ to ‘creamy’ and beyond.
- The 6L6 models use a ‘modern’ preamp gain structure for Channel II. This specific channel is a combination of Blackstar’s award-winning cascaded valve/tube overdrive circuits and a traditional ‘British style passive tone stack’ (EQ).
When CH. II is selected but VOICE is off, the valve/tube power amp is set to be tight and relatively linear. Switching to the alternative VOICE setting on the 6L6 model revoices the overdriven cascaded valve/tube preamp for more saturation, as well as reconfigures the power amp to be open loop, to provide that contemporary high-gain looser feel with plenty of resonant low end ‘chug’.

Cab Rig technology is next-generation DSP speaker simulator that reproduces the sound and feel of a mic’d up guitar cab in incredible detail. Cab Rig’s advanced algorithm can simulate a speaker cabinet and room with effectively zero latency, no phase mismatch and much more flexibility than an IR snapshot. Deep-dive using the accompanying software to capture the incredible tones via USB /
XLR out or headphones.

Pro connectivity
With more musicians recording at home St. James is perfect for the way we play today with USB audio connectivity for pro-recording and an XLR D.I. for professional live use, both using the built-in inductive load and Cab Rig speaker simulation.

The unique Celestion Zephyr lightweight ferrite speaker, candlenut plywood cabinet and universal power supply all go together to create 50 Watt valve amps that are less than half the weight of a traditional valve amp. The head weighs just 6kg, while the 1x12 combo
weighs only 11kg. These are the lightest 50 Watt valve amps in the world and deliver amazing tones without compromise.