Members docjeffrey Posted June 24, 2008 Members Share Posted June 24, 2008 Both have gotten excellent reviews. They are hand wired EL84-based amps with EF86 channels and a second ECC83-based channel [Top Boost, in the case of the Vox]. Both run at reduced power. The Vox is all Class A design, while the Blackstar can be run in either Class A or AB. They are the same price. The Blackstar is made in Korea while the Vox hails from China. The Blackstar has a Celestion Greenback [Chinese] and the Vox has a Celestion Blue [England]. Everything else, right down to the Birch ply cabs, appears equal. So, anyone play a Blackstar yet? I'm sitting in a room filled with 15--20 watt amps, but I can always make room for one more. But the Blackstar seems like it's about $400 over what I'd be willing to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members samuraiBSD Posted June 24, 2008 Members Share Posted June 24, 2008 I'm a HUGE fan of the AC15, that's a great amp. I've never tried a Blackstar, though...is there somewhere you can actually play through them both side by side? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted June 24, 2008 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2008 I'm a HUGE fan of the AC15, that's a great amp. I've never tried a Blackstar, though...is there somewhere you can actually play through them both side by side? Good question. Guitar Center has both in their online catalog, but I haven't seen one in person yet. I have the Vox. It's a great sounding amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mercer Posted June 24, 2008 Members Share Posted June 24, 2008 Well, I love the cheaper $600 AC15, so I think the hand-wired version would probably kick ass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian May Posted August 15, 2008 Members Share Posted August 15, 2008 Blackstar now have some official vid demos on youtube! http://www.youtube.com/user/Blackstaramps I want the Artisan 30!!!! Still at the moment it is a distant dream. Shame there's no reverb or FX loops. But what fabulous tone and top drawer build!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members googoomuck Posted August 15, 2008 Members Share Posted August 15, 2008 I tried an Artisan the other day. i was really into the idea of them, but having finally played through one I really wasn't as impressed as I hoped I'd be. Don't get me wrong, they're great amps, but nowhere near as amazing tone-wise as a lot of the reviews I've read. They sound like a very good Marshall to me - which is no bad thing, of course. And I'd assume that the build quality is slightly better than that found in the AC15. I dunno though, it just never quite grabbed me as much as I thought it would. If you've tried the AC15 and liked it, I'd go with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D Carroll Posted August 15, 2008 Members Share Posted August 15, 2008 Vox is a classy, clean look and tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strtdv Posted August 15, 2008 Members Share Posted August 15, 2008 I've only heard good things about both, but the blue would sway me towards the Vox. At that price, the Blackstar should have a Blue or at least a Heritage Greenback.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dallasexplosion Posted September 5, 2008 Members Share Posted September 5, 2008 i bought the VOX ac15h1TV in March and sold it a week ago. It onces blowed during a show (one EL84 went South) and it was noisy as hell (rattling/microphonic tubes/60's hum). But mostly it was sounding awful with most of my guitars (try a casino in it and you'll know what i mean). Sounded great with Fender guitars though. i'm now about to buy an Artisan 15. I'm borowing one this w-e to try it at band practise.it sounds wonderfull alone but i'm afraid that amp is really on the bright side 'cause i played both channel with the tone on zero only hopping i could get turn it down even more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members adamwestlake Posted January 14, 2011 Members Share Posted January 14, 2011 i have the artisan 15 and love it. the only downside is there isn't a bunch of clean headroom. but enough to compete with a pretty heavy handed drummer. It takes pedals great and really has a unique tone. Think marshall blended with a little of the reedy old tweed amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 14, 2011 Members Share Posted January 14, 2011 This thread is a blast from the past. I've had my AC15H1TV for almost two years and I know Doc J got his a few months before I did. I never compared the Blackstar to the Vox as I've never seen the H1TV at Guitar Center (where I played the Blackstar) and I've never seen the Blackstar at Sweetwater (which is the first place I played the H1TV). My impression is that I could probably live with either of them, but between the speaker and the amp design, I preferred the Vox by a long shot. The Blackstar sounded very decent and fairly Voxy, but as soon as I plugged into the EF86 channel of the Vox, I knew I had to get one. The Vox, with single coils, has a fair bit of headroom. By dialing in a fairly bright tone, plugging into one of the low inputs, turning the volume up higher than you want and rolling the volume back a bit on the guitar, it stays pretty clean up to a pretty loud volume. The H1TV never ceases to amaze me at how many great tones it has in it. Traditional clean Vox tones. Slightly dirty Vox tones. Cranked Vox tones with full bodied and with the bass rolled off. Smooth jazz tones. Unless you do something silly with the EQ, it's hard to get a bad tone out of one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members buchanan-d Posted January 14, 2011 Members Share Posted January 14, 2011 We have both at the store I work at. I like the Vox better, the clean is more clean , if you know what I mean. We sell the Vox at three to one over the Blackstar too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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