Blackstar ID:260 TVP 2x60-watt 2x12" Stereo Combo Amp Reviews

The people at Marshall should listen to the 4 former employees at Blackstar! I have put Marshall in the vast abyss of amps that couldn’t satisfy the sounds that I have been listening for over these past three decades for sound and found it in the Blackstar 260 top. Thanks boy’s my room if full of Blackstar gear making each day something new ! It took fifty two years but thank GOD Blackstar made it happen..Way to Go Brit boys

I have heard good things about blackstar equipment and I have been tone hunting and also wanting to try a 2x12 cab. The price was right so I figured I'd try it. I gotta be honest so far this is the best tone I've gotten out of any amp.

I have 3 tube amps, 1 evh, 1 blackstar, and 1 hughes and kettner. I like those amps, but maybe I'm just bad at dialing them in. Right now I'm using the 260 on the 6l6 TVP setting, delay, reverb, and gain all the way up. It sounds amazing. I like that on both you can use headphones and run mp3s through it to play to a backtrack.

Just in case anyone else is wondering this, because I had to figure it out. To use headphones and not have the volume come out of the speakers, put master volume at 0 and then control the volume dial for headphone volume.

Anyway, so far so good here, really liking it and I honestly think it's a really good price for what you get.

This is the 1st non tube amp that made me forget that it is tubeless. Loads of bang for the buck. The only downside is that it doesn't have a compressor in the effects. Not a problem though. Added a boss compressor and voila, it is complete. This one is a keeper. I can't believe they are so cheap. I imagine the price will go up as they become collectors amps. Finally an amp that really can cover all genres of music.

30 years experience in playing guitar
This new blackstar amp is so amazing you will for get it solid state amp but man it sounds like several different tube amps all rolled into one
This amp has amazing tube like response
And the best part is the amazing 3d sounding
Stereo effect cool sounding and i have heard in a long time. I have been playing some rockabilly setzer stufff and ventures stuff and some
van Halen too to wow does it sound cool i played my a gretsch with tv jones pickups in it sounds awesome also played a couple other guitars in this amp all sound awsome
Hallmark guitar ,fender tele , strat, and a Ernie Ball guitar too.
Get one you will not regrett it this amp can do it all....... and again the stereo effect sounds so 3d like 5 stars i give it......

This is exactly what I was looking for in an amp, it does everything I need and more! Where to start... let's see, it has an incredible amount of versatility. The variety of channels and the ability to deeply sculpt each channel really makes this an all around Amp for many different genres and playing styles. Further more the tube emulation technology in this thing is simply amazing to me, technology sure has come along way to be able to put out sounds that are almost right on par with some great tube amps. Their TVP grants the ability to select different sounding power tubes that are emulated and that further enhances the players ability to travel a massive variety of tones to adapt to any genre or playing style. I am completely blown away by the insanely vast range of tones in this thing! This amp is a real winner in my book, very well built and designed, Blackstar you guys made a real Jewel here!

The pre-amp and power amp section are very well designed to emulate a tube amp and is wonderful at doing such. The response and feel is unlike any other solid state amp I've ever played. I am still mind boggled that they can gets those sounds out of a solid state amp! Love the resonance and presence controls, the ISF is a really cool feature in the EQ section also. The TVP section is really awesome, love having the option to change output tones. I was looking for a great amp that has a large range of tones and great distortion and does a good job of imitating a valve amp and this amp excels at all of those categories.

Oh yes, also this amp IS pretty loud in my opinion, and it sounds awesome and full cranked up! But as loud as it gets it also gets really quiet for those late night practices. Again love that it can be a crisp bright amp sounds or a woody damp sound or a warm fluid sound, all sound great cranked up or on soft low volumes.

The only issue I have is that it only takes my pedalboard really well on the clean channels, and wow does it take it well! While I know all pedals and amps don't mesh it seems that is deffinatly the case when I use the Crunch settings and OD settings with my pedalboard. Although my effects pedals still work with the OD 1 & 2.

I can't say enough about how great a sales rep Nate Burkhardt is! He really took the time to listen to my needs as a player and help me decide which amp was best for me. I was torn between a few different amps in this realm, peavey bandit, boss nextone, Marshall mg, Randall rg, and a couple others. I am so glad I decided on this one, it fits me and my needs as a player perfectly. Nate really took the time to listen to me needs and then offer his insight on each item and how it would suit me, great recommendation on the Blackstar 260 TVP couldn't be happier with it!! When they say the sweetwater difference... well I always say it's not talking trash if you can back it up and they back it up to the max! They really mean the sweetwater difference! Thanks Nate, Sweetwater, and Blackstar for the awesome new gear year for me!!

Super sound quality has the tube feel and sound very versatile I dont use the the effects but there there if you need them I normally set it up as a fender style amp super clean and use my Eleven rack to do everything else controlled with a midi foot board. super amp setup for any style gig. for the money its hard to beat plenty of power with plenty of options to go out to house only draw back is it doesnt have app for ios you have to have a pc or mac to use software.

I had a modeling amp that was a 2X12 rated 100W. It had this nasty habit of totally crapping out when I played it too loud. The volume would cut out. The patch changed itself. It would sometimes "reboot" in the middle of a song. Made me a little gun-shy about getting another modeling amp. But this amp is not like any other modeling amp I ever had (had 3). It behaves in every way like a tube amp (I've owned a Fender Princeton and a Fender Twin Reverb). It is LOUD! The "presence" is way more "there". It's really put the fun back in my playing. The tone shaping capability of this amp is almost endless. I play some lead and my leads will never be drowned out with this amp. It has a noise gate feature, which is really handy when my guitar dangles from my neck while I play keyboard. Blackstar has created a masterpiece. Gets my highest recommendation.

Took my rep at Sweet waters advice and bought this rig at first I was not really impressed but as I figured out how to make it sound like I wanted and figured out all that it can do I fell in love especially with the TVP the only negative is it would be nice to have IOS control. Great Amp load enough to gig with.

I have been a diehard tube amp user for years but lately my MESA has been getting way too heavy to pack around to gigs. I started shopping and found the Blackstar ID260. I ordered it without trying it out first and it is awesome! Still not light but manageable. Hard to believe it is solid state. The sounds available are incredible. It really nails the sound of various tube amps. Very happy with this amp.

The amp sounds awesome. Everything from great clean tones to old school rock tones to over the edge overdrive tones. The best amp I have owned. Drove down to Fort Wayne to buy amp and check out the Sweetwater Facility. Great staff / musicians. Very happy with the Blackstar!!!

This loves to be in big room cranked up it is loud and has a full tone from the low end to the high end also the mids are right on. I'm. Very happy what this amp can do for the test I was using the 6L6 setting at times I was getting that Van Halen tone! This amp just cuts threw really well also with a band it will kick butt for sure. I love Blackstar I still want there tube amp as well. I say get this amp you be. Very happy with it.

This Amplifier Changed My Life!!!!!!
This is by far the most awesome amplifier I ever had bar none it is the most fun to play

I started with one of the first processors the ART SGE, iv got the experience to say that, without a doubt this is the best guitar amplifier ever. Any type of music, Country to Sci-Fi. Phenomenal piece of equipment. Of course I removed the nameplate and it looks completely generic. They dont know whats making those sounds.

Were to start there is so much going on with this amp Looks Great for one thing this is heavy picking it up! Now lets talk about the tone! First of I'm a Valve lover for one I have all ways love the sound from a valve amp my valve that I like was EL34 never really liked 6L6 I have to say I fall in love 6L6 this amp has a very nice tone that gets in your face! EL34 does that too! The settings were great as well. This is a amp that I keep for a very long time. I do want a valve head some day it will a Blackstar for sure! Now i said what I wanted to about the amp let say Sweetwater did a great job getting my stuff and it was so much fun talking to them and everything!

Blackstar got it right it's attack sensitive & gig versatile. Effects are excellent. Add a Behringer midi controller & it's a dream real time volume control & real time effects control. Love the voicing & tube options. I'm a Marshall fan & it's not my Marshall but it's very close & U don't have to crank it to get that sound. For smaller gigs that's important.

I HAVE 2 VINTAGE LAB L-5'S THAT I USE IN STEREO. I BOUGHT A BLACKSTAR 260 TVP A SHORT WHILE AGO LOCALLY BUT ON MONDAY 8-3-2015 WILL BE ORDERING ANOTHER 260 FROM SWEETWATER TO GO WITH THE GUITAR I JUST ORDERED. THIS AMP OUT DOES EVERY AMP I'VE OWNED SEARCHING FOR THE SOUND I WANTED. I'VE TRIED AMPEG, SUN, MARSHALL, CARVIN, A REISSUE SUPER REVERB, FENDER HOT ROD DELUX AND OTHERS. THIS IS THE MOST VERSITILE AMP ON THE MARKET. MARSHALL MANAGEMENT MADE A MISTAKE NOT LISTENING TO THESE GUYS. THEY NAILED IT. CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR THESE THINS IN STEREO.

Absolutely Love the Amp. Perfect for my performance every week. Thank you guys at Sweetwater , Jonathan was there every step of the way in getting me not only what I want but what I need.

Love the features and settings. I can hook this baby up to my computer and listen to it through headphones just using the usb. Great features and the sound is killer. Putting pedals in the FX loop made this amp even better. Great amp great sounds from clean to dirty metal.

ID 260 TVP ; This is beyond any doubt , the best amp I've ever owned . Ive had mainly Marshall amps over the years and I progressed through stompbox territory , multi effects , Boss , Pod etc etc . I played a festival gig recently and as soon as Id finished I ordered one of these . I played it for 15 minutes and was literally blown away by the warmth and power of the unit . One of the great tell tale signs of a " nearly " good amp , is that the clean is ok , the high gain is saturated and ok , but the crunch is at best unimpressive . This amp will deliver everything you need and everything in between . The warm crunch sounds are just vintage tube and the on board effects are as good as an array of the best stomps . This is a SERIOUSLY good amp . I now wont go past Blackstar . To me , they are what Marshall should have aspired to be a decade ago , and by the way , This is is also a loud beast of a combo if you crank it . I wont look back . Thank you Blackstar , I love you !

I had serious doubts about this amp but after spending just 3 days with it, I'm absolutley blown away! In my opinion, it sounds, feels, and reacts just like a tube amp and I've owned many tube amps in the past. I will give another review later on the reliability. It's as loud as any tube amp I've ever heard. There is a bit of floor noise on the clean channels but my Hot Rod Deluxe and most other tube amps I've ever owned have that floor noise too. I think that comes with just about any amp out there. It's definitley one of the best amps I've ever owned. Effects and features are pretty good. I sent back a Peavey 6505+ 112 and a Marshall DSL40c before I got this one. Those amps are not near as good as this one but that's just me. To each there own. Blackstar took a familiar sound with them when they left Marshall to start there own company. I've always been a Marshall fan, but I think it may be time to move on to better technology from Blackstar. I love this amp! Special thanks to Matt Masek, He is the best in the business!

I used a Line 6 Vetta II for years and loved it but I felt a need to simplify and this amp fit the bill perfectly. I love how easy it is to use and how good it sounds.

This Blackstar ID:260TVP 2x12" 2x60-Watt Programmable Stereo Combo is unbelievably AMAZING for not being a tube amp. Just so many twist & bend of options on getting some real nice sounds. This projects lots of sound and pretty on the clean. The DIRTY w/ that crunch, od1, &od2 is just on par. Seriously stoked on this purchase! Sweetwater had fast shipping & sells an excellent product and sweetwaters customer service so far has been 2nd to none.

I love this amp. Its a great practice Amp with killer tone and built in effects.I have been using it to practice with my band-Its a lot easier to carry around then my half stack. The guys I play with are blown away by the sound of this little powerhouse. I would recommend this Amp to anyone looking for an affordable amp with great distortion and built in effects. The delay is great.

I bought the 260 in January of 2016. Since then I had only gigged it a few times; I have tube amps that I really like that I would use instead. I would mic them through the PA.
Recently, for whatever reason, I have used the Blackstar ID260 to gig with and that is where it really shines.

Here's the thing with the ID series (TVP) - regardless of the model of ID TVP amp, all of them have an emulated output that is in stereo.
The emulated output sounds great through the PA, and with the super wide stereo setting in the "Insider" software it can sound huge!

The great thing with this amp that I finally figured out is that you have complete control over your sound at the gig. There is a Gain, a Volume, and a Master Volume.(as far as volume controls go).

Here's what you do:
:
1 - Instead of putting a mic in front of this amp, get a "1/4" insert cable and run it from the emulated output into a two channel direct box, and then into a stereo channel on the PA.
2 - Turn the Master volume on the amp all the way down.
3 - Use the gain and volume controls to get your patch levels set through the PA. The volume control controls the signal from the emulated output.
4 - THEN, once you have your sound good through the mains, use the Master volume on the amp to control the volume of the amp speakers.

This way you can dial in your tone to perfect levels.

This amp sounds freakin great through the PA! Clean settings with delay and modulation in stereo are just awesome!

Now the down-side: The Insider editing software is both very helpful for editing and settings, but also glitchy in that when saving patches, your delay repeat settings can get set to maximum, just because.
The work-around is to edit and create patches in the Insider software, and then do the actual saving function with the FS10 footswitch. It's a small annoyance but not enough reason to not buy the amp.
I knocked off 1/2 a rating point for that.

The ID260 is not light. The other models are.

The ID30 and the ID60 both would be great grab-n-go gigging amps though the control features on the 30 are slightly more limited.

Regardless, Blackstar did a good one with these amps!

Give 'em a serious look & listen!

Iv'e been playing thru this amp for about 3 weeks and I'm truly amazed. The sounds and tonal quality is miles above and beyond of what I was expecting. The tones that can be created (recreated) is nearly limitless and surprisingly accurate with the TVP and ISF. Volume? Yes! Loud and Clear. Definitely stage worthy for nearly any venue. I want to thank David at Sweetwater for helping me with my new rig. Totally impressed!

Needed something small to have for a standby amp in case we had a failure (which has never happened) for our bigger rigs at a show. Really like the Blackstar line and opted for the ID:260. Like the fact that is has onboard effects and that we can just plug right in without having to set up a bunch of pedals or outboard gear to keep playing a show. The only thing I am not to keen of is how you select the specific effects. You turn the dial and if you can't remember which effect is on what number, you kinda have to listen to what comes out. I saw some reviews that this amp isn't very loud....I beg to differ, can be used as a practice amp or crank it up and it will put out enough to hurt your ears!

This amp is the best sounding modeling you can get without going broke. The sound is very present & punchy with a lot of harmonic detail. A wide range of tones are available and are quite satisfying. The sound dispersion is quite wide with the stereo sound. Blackstar is really on to something here. My wishlist for V2.0 would be an LCD patch display and a wider variety of effects.

When I took this out of the box and plugged right in I was not dazzled but i found that after spending a little time and going through all the options it has all the tools to get you the tones you want. I have a boogie which I love to death but wanted a nice solid state amp as well. Took my pedals great. I'm happy with my purchase!

I've been using a Mesa-Boogie Mark III head and 4x12 cab for years. I purchased the Blackstar amp to achieve good distortion at low volumes. This amp exceeded my expectations ! It has tons of volume and sounds awesome at low volume too. The six channels combined with the tube emulator has really given me the tone diversity that I normally can only get in the studio. I purchased the FS-10 footswitch also and there is a longer gap when switching presets than I'm used to, not sure if it's the amp or footswitch yet.

A great sounding and versatile amp at a bargain price. Buy one before Blackstar and Sweewater figure out they're undercharging! Just kidding guys!
If you're on a budget you cannot go wrong with this amp. It has great tone in clean, crunch and overdrive settings. There are a dozen presets (literally) that sound great- seriously! - usually presets are less than impressive,but not on this beauty. The tube emulator is awesome. The reverb and on-board effects (flanger and delay) are very good. I have been in love since the first time I plugged into this one.
So....why only 4.5 stars with such a glowing review? Two things. First, as another reviewer pointed out, this amp is not as loud as a comparable tube amp. I had a 50W Marshall combo,and that was definitely louder. I didn't buy this amp for it's volume, so to me this isn't an issue, but still Blackstar does make that claim. Second, when it comes to authentic classic rock crunch,there's no beating a Marshall tube amp. But! A 2x12 Marshall combo will set you back nearly four times as much and you won't get the versatility that you have in the Blackstar.
Bottom line: You absolutely cannot go wrong with this one. Great amp at an excellent price.

Bought this amp from Sweetwater based on great reviews and sample videos. A friend had a similar model that I tried and it sounded great.
Everything touted in the videos was true. The tube emulation and the ISF controls make the variations almost endless.
I have used this amp now on several gigs and the tones are excellent. It is easy to dial in just what your ear wants to hear at that moment.
With 128 presets (patches), just about any sound you want is there at the foot pedal. I can't stress enough how many different tones this thing contains. It is hard to believe I won't have to be changing and biasing tubes. The tube emulation is outstanding.
The INSIDER software is pretty amazing. I've played for years and I'm 'old school' and never figured I'd be hooking an amp to my computer to design tones with the patches.
The only reasons I didn't give it a "5" is because I was expecting a little more separation in the stereo sound with the effects and there are a couple of minor bugs in the software, but Blackstar was responsive when contacted and assured me updates would be released soon to address the problems.
The service I received from Sweetwater was exceptional and the communication was great!
I have no problem recommending this amp. If you plug into it and give it a try you'll be sold...

Got this a few weeks ago and have been playing with it quite a bit. You can get quite an arrangement of sounds out of this amp and I am happy with it's abilities so far. Solidly built. The pedal has a learning curve and would be a challenge on the fly. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 is that no matter what you do to try and produce a tube sound out of a solid state amp just doesn't sound like worn-in, warmed up, overdriven tubes. Very nice try though Blackstar. This was a very good purchase.

This would be a five-star review, except for one key claim. We'll get to that in a second.

First off, the amp's fantastic. Know that up front. it's very difficult to plug this amp in and not be able to find a killer tone that's right up your alley within five minutes. The six different amp voices, six different modeled tube selections, ISF control, Resonance and Presence controls, full EQ...this amp's got the flexibility to handle anything from single-coil SRV blues to classic rock to modern metal. Once you've gotten within range of your tone using the voicings, EQ, and Res/Pres, it's a pretty simple turn of the TVP knob to 'audition' different tubes for your needs, and you'll find one or two (or three!) that work very quickly. I was somewhat surprised how much I liked 'nontraditional' voice/tube pairings, too, so don't just pull up the tried-and-true combinations - explore a little!

The effects are very good and sound fantastic in stereo. They're quieter than most on-board effects, but I've seen several reviews that called them 'silent,' and they're not that. Obviously, your choices and controls aren't going to measure up to a giant pedalboard...but if your performance rig calls for a touch of delay, some chorus or a flanger, and good 'verb, there's more than enough options on board to handle your needs. I put a wah pedal in front of mine, set up a few clean, rhythm and lead presets, and was ready to go.

So what's the missing star for? Blackstar's 'Loud as Valve' claim. It's right there on the outside of the box in six-inch black letters, and...well, it's kinda not true. Don't get me wrong; the amp's plenty loud for most stage settings, and you'd probably run a mic to the soundboard if you've got a true club sound system available anyway, so the realities of modern performing kinda render 'Loud as Valve' pointless. But it's their claim, so I tested it out. I demo'ed the ID:260TVP up against a few of my 20-, 50- and 100-watt tube rigs, and even the lowest-wattage of them held serve over the ID:260. Had Blackstar not made a big deal of this, I probably would've let this fact slide and enjoyed one of my new favorite amps (because it is - this is a GREAT amp!) But I can't let a claim like that one go unchallenged, and unfortunately, the ID:260 didn't pass the test. Don't let that deter you from buying it; just know that, while it's got more than enough oomph to handle most performance settings, solid-state still has a ways to go to catch up to the glowing glass bottles.

I would probably give this amp a perfect score due to the fact that the preamp and effects sound excellent through the speakers. But one thing makes it imperfect. The inferior effects loop Return. Blackstar advertises this as a Stereo amplifier. Every other amp maker that does that includes a LR Return in the loop. Thay way we can maintain the stereo field in external effects. But Blackstar decided to be like Microsoft and Apple. Cripple the effects loop so that only their Super Wide Stereo effects would be used. Who wants to spend a lot of money on external gear just to watch an amp kill its sound?

Due to the fact this is a great amp that does what it should, it only appeals to those who are fine with Mono sound or using Blackstar effects only.

This amps Achilles heel is the four button footswitch and the software The id core software needs to come from the right website or source and has to signed into otherwise youll make changes that will be permanent in the amp and get a message that it is not connected despite the cord connection from the computer to amp. I know that might not make sense however, changes will be made to the amp hard to remove or undo. The first setting in the footswitch will taint the 4th channel setting. Be prepared to video tape any changes unless you have a memory the tendency is to set up all of your tweaks save them and forget so if you go to other channels and change settings ahhhhh video the same process. Press and save blinking lights while holding down the small buttons on the face of the amp work, but using the footswitch is a bit of learning curve, okay a lot. I had a semi clean setting limited by emg pickups and nailed Van Halens live sound with chorus and on the next channel Van Halens early sound to the t. However hooking up the amp to the id software changed the tonality of all channels! Something bled into the settings and Ive lost the tonality of the channels Ive spent months setting. So unless youre proficient with using the foot switch and the software which has a mind of its own, the mahe experience will be limited. Id add a effects pedal chain or an effects processor footswitch boards.
Otherwise, the amp sounds balanced with a great bottom end to and volume is plenty loud at 3. This far Ive spent much time at many attempts to catch and keep sound patches like Van Halens, Cathedral, only to have them modified by working the footswitch on other channels! This one took a long time to nail his live sound for this song. If youre playing and using this amp in a live situation consider while using the footswitch the foot is required to rest on the button to get into the wanted patch but youll have to switch to go up if the one desired is passed and that is not so bad but in the process you may experience is turning off or going to different effects you did not initially save into the patch. I had high hopes for this but the footswitch is not user friendly so be prepared to walk up and adjust settings on the face of the amp verses using the footswitch. Considering either selling this one and starting over with a Marshall adding a different companies effects processor. If I could clear the footswitch settings as there are many that would be nice then nothing else gets in the way of four basic settings.
The main thrust of the amp is having different tube circuitry to choose from, but the reality is some of the tube settings are quiet or don't act like they are reacting. If these are turned up and tweaked the channels maybe louder in comparison to the others you've saved. I'm frustrated with this thing instead of enjoying.

Overall a very good sounding amp but with some clear weaknesses in the User Interface and bugs in electronics. First, dashboard is inset and well under the lip of the case, so none of the top labels are visible from arms reach sitting in front of the amp. Additionally, the small type for the levels under the nobs are directly under the nobs and not visible. So, sitting in front of the amp, for most nobs, you can read none of the information. You have to bend over and look under the nobs and cabinet lip, kind of like working on the plumbing under your kitchen sink.

Next, noticed a bug in the reverb setting, when first turning the amp on and hitting the reverb button, the reverb does not come to level until you touch the level nob and then the reverb jumps in. What disturbs me about this, same bug I have seen on other cheap China made amps at the low price level. My bet, a bad common component, most China production is centralized town or factory, making for little difference in quality from high to low brands. On board tuner, as displayed thought the foot peddle gives periodic false string setting and can get so annoying I just default to the tuner app on my cell phone.

Big UI issue for me is when turning the amp off, all the settings default back to off. Then when moving to manual setting, foot peddle changes to patch from mode. But not back when mode is set: same when unit is turned off. So, lets toggle back through every time you move back and forth to manual.

Last, layering multiple sound effects introduce noise is some configurations. Overall, a good amp but the UI issues are annoying and easy fixes in design. So, calling BS on Blackstar’s marketing hype about their engineers. Lots of effects, but sometimes more is less. I noticed most people rate this amp 5 stars, probably says more about the state of amps in the modern world of China production and lack of quality options on the market. My first amp was a circa 1970 Fender Super Reverb. So, I come at this with an old world perspective.