Blackstar Debut 50R 1 x 12 inch 50-watt Combo Amp - Black Reviews
Blackstar’s Debut 50R is a 1 x 12-inch combo that harkens back to the early pre-modeling days of solid-state amplification, boasting a digital-free design and no-nonsense control scheme for instant plug-and-play functionality. The Debut 50R’s 12-inch custom-designed Blackstar speaker, all-analog design, and built-in 2-mode reverb produce shimmering full-range clean tones. However, a swift swap into the MOSFET-enabled overdrive channel unlocks raw, rich, and saturated dirty tones to rival even the most renowned tube amplifiers. What’s more, the Debut 50R comes equipped with a host of utility features, including a line-in for jamming along to practice tracks, a speaker-emulated line-out for silent recording/practice, and power scaling down to five watts to reduce your volume to conversation levels without comprising on your tone. It all adds up to a superior sonic tool that’s all but guaranteed to raise the level of your practice, performance, or recording game!
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$13 Earn $13.00 back in Bonus Bucks† on this purchase when you use your Sweetwater Credit Card without financing. Select your offer in checkout. Terms
As low as $11/month
with 24 month financing*
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Highest Rated Reviews
Awesome amp!
I finally got it...and I love it! To be honest, I think it's just as good, perhaps better, than my Champ 40. The drive channel is much easier to dial in and I really like the ISF control- it just sound superior to me on both the clean channel and drive channel. Also, I love having the ability to adjust the mids as well as the treble and bass. My Champ only has treble and bass. Like their slogan says, it plays the sound in my head.
Thank you Gregg Block for making all my purchases quick and easy!
IT WORTH IT!
Don't listen what people say, you can get different colors without pedals. Even, pedals works well on this amp -This should be promoted as true pedal platform!. I've been trying tube amps -VOX, Fender-, transistor amps -Orange Crush, Fender Champion, Boss Katana- and more lately, and I can swear this is the best option, not just for the price, THE SOUND DEFINITELY. Personally, the best amp I have found so far, I cannot use a tube amp at home because of the noise limitation but I think this amp will cover all my needs, I'm so picky whenever I have to choose my sound color -I play Blues, Rock, Jazz, Metal, Pop and Latin Music. I was afraid when I ordered this amp due to the comments on the internet, but, it worth it! I've been playing guitar for 15 years, I've been growing up as guitarist from the cheap options to the decent and to the best ones lately, I own a Fender Player Plus and my next step will be an American one. I wanted to mention this because I think is important, I'm not any random guy that just wanted to talk great about this amp. Hope you guys enjoy it!
blackstar 50r debut
been playing for 55 years had every amp available from fender dual showman to blackstar stjames , this little amp beggars belief, if you cant play you might struggle if you can and use your tone controls and volume controls you will be very happy and never get a bad back. hendrix would sound the same more or less through any amp , remember that and develope technique and dont fall for a bunch of myths
No nonsense amp
This is exactly what I've been looking for, an amp with no modeling, no computer software, firmware. And it has 50 watts and an effects loop!it's the perfect Grab and go amp.I love the reverb the hall is what I use alot I love The ISF control some pedals sound good on the American side and some sound good on the British side it's a win win.the overdrive channel goes from transparent to all out attack.the speaker sounds pretty good it seam to work well with the clean and dirty channel I will get the footswitch but for now, I've been using my Boss F.5.S.L latching footswitch and it only switches the clean dirty channel it works great. I'm really liking this amp .Blackstar hit a home run with this amp it will work great as a backup for a tube amp.get one you won't regret it
Putting the squeeze on Orange!
Over the past few years Orange has been producing some killer solid state amps. I can say this because I own an Orange Super Crush 100 head (it's AWESOME!!!), and have also had an Orange Crush 35RT (it was alright). Orange has been able to make an amp that challenged people sit up and re-think what a solid state amp could be. Blackstar took this challenge and knocked it out of the park.
I own a Blackstar HT Club 40 (MKI) and it has been a beast! It sounds awesome and I absolutely love it...BUT. I use it mostly for practice in my garage and it always seemed like overkill to have a 40 watt tube amp for that purpose. I've always loved the Blackstar sound but haven't been all that happy with their solid state stuff. I've got an ID Core 20 which was ok, but it never quite scratched the itch of a plug and go amp with the sound I liked. The new Debut 50 does all that in a BIG way. This little package is absolutely killer! It is SUPER LOUD and sounds great.
When comparing the Debut 50R to the Orange Crush 35RT, I can say that to me, the Debut 50R sounds better. While similar in size, the Orange came with a 10 inch speaker and sounded "boxy" to my ears. That's why I moved on from it. The 12 inch speaker in the Debut 50R seems to let it "breath" a bit more and gives it a fuller sound than what the Orange had. Speaker size DOES MATTER. LOL. And perhaps what I love most about this amp is that it is 100% plug and go-no USB, no computer patches, no fancy modeling junk. It's you, your guitar (your pedals, if you want them in the chain), and the amp. This amp is simplicity...GREAT SOUNDING, easy to use simplicity. I highly recommend it!
A powerhouse at a nice size!
First of all, the amp arrived by late morning of day two after placing the order, super fast delivery! Many thanks to Chris Shura for getting this out to me so quickly, this guy always stays on top of things; wish all businesses were as reliable as Sweetwater and Chris!
The amp itself is a definite 5 stars! Not too large, not too small. Weighs about 20 pounds I'd say, so easy lugging.In the pics I have it next to a Fender Champion 20 just to give you an idea of the size difference.
50 watts? Put it this way, after I set mine up and plugged the guitar in, hitting a few power chords almost knocked me off the chair... 50 watts never sounded so good!
The clean channel is nice and clean, I found it really bright with a strat style Squier Classic Vibe 60.
The overdrive channel made a guitarist like me sound good! One thing, I found the tone to be darker than expected, but in a good way.
Plenty of knobs and assorted buttons to help you really dial in YOUR sound!
Prior to buying the Debut 50, I bought the black n biscuit color incidentaly, I did check out other makes and models in roughly the same ballpark power and options wise (I tend to be a Fender fan, but I checked out Marshall, Orange and Fender of course) but just liked what I was seeing and hearing about Blackstar amps in general.Took the leap and am glad I did! Very impressed with this amp!
Very satisfied
Does everything promised and a litte more.
Great sound without pedals.
Great sound with pedals
50w is loud and clear
5w is outta sight on a late night.!!
FX loop works great
Larger than expected yet lighter than expected.
It checked off all the boxes.
I give it a 10/10,
2 thumbs up
And a circle snap for good measure.
Grab one ASAP.!
Thank you to the sales team. Always pleasant.
Always profesional.
Cheers from Vegas
Great Amp at the Price
I bought this as a grab and go amp. I like a simple platform, especially on the clean channel where I live. Plenty of sound shaping available for those who like to play around. I have HT5 that I keep in my home studio. The Debut has the same control layout but it's solid state. The sound isn't quite there but it's close, hopefully as the speaker breaks in it will get a little warmer sounding. Definitely easy on your wallet as it is on you back, and no tubes to change.
Really Really Good!
I've been putting this amp through it's paces since yesterday when it was delivered. First impressions -- it's very loud for such a small, light package -- I love that. The tone controls do what they should do, the reverbs are useful. The drive channel is a nope for me -- but the clean channel is great and with my usual pedals for drive I'm super happy with this amp! I also have the Blackstar Studio 10 6L6 for practice and rehearsals (love it) but this amp will probably become my grab-and-go amp for most of my playing situations because of the form factor, weight, volume capability, and that new amp smell. Good on you Blackstar! Another great addition to your line!
Don't believe the hype
I have owned and used a Blackstar Debut 50R for 3 months and must admit I am disappointed. It's not that the Debut 50R is a bad amp, it's just that it's nothing special and, in my opinion, certainly not worthy of rave reviews. As another reviewer pointed out, the tone controls are not at all interactive. They simply adjust the volume of a narrow range of frequencies, and because the basic sound is thin and one-dimensional, all the tone controls do is make those specific frequencies less objectionable. In the meantime, the Debut 50R also has a midrange resonant frequency that you can only reduce, not dial out. Any notes within this frequency range ring out a lot louder and longer than other notes. I could correct for this with an equalizer pedal, but this shouldn't be necessary. Finally, think twice about upgrading to a different speaker. The stock speaker is 4 ohms, which is not common. You could use an 8 ohm speaker without damaging the amp, but then you'd sacrifice volume. More to the point, the stock speaker fits into a cutout at the bottom of the amp enclosure. (See accompanying photo.) You would have to re-size the cutout if your replacement speaker is too large to fit. Bottom line: If you happen to play through a Debut 50R and like the way it sounds then none of my criticisms matter. I simply suggest you take glowing reviews with a grain and salt and try before you buy
It's okay
I purchased this for a friend whom I was teaching guitar. I am using a a BlackStar StJames and when I play through the Debut 50r, it just doesn't sound good, it has a very tin like sound, imagine the speaker being wrapped in tin foil, the tone controls (on the amp) act more like volume controls and don't do much past the 12 o' clock position. I don't expect it to sound like the StJames but I feel like, for a solid state amp with no real effects, the sound quality should be better.
