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Blackstar St. James 50-watt 1x12 inch Tube Combo Amp with EL34 Tubes Demo

50-watt, 2-channel, 1 x 12" Tube Combo Amplifier with EL34 Power Tubes, Cab Rig Output, and Power Reduction Switch
6 Write review Item ID: SJEL34Cd1

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Blackstar St. James 50-watt 1x12 inch Tube Combo Amp with EL34 Tubes
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One Holy Combo Amp to Serve Them All

Everyone from jazz box architects to 8-string sweepers will find a lot to love in the Blackstar St. James 1 x 12-inch 50-watt Tube Combo Amp. As Blackstar's lightest and most innovative tube combo amp available, the St. James is tailor-made for studio and stage musicians seeking an all-in-one solution for everything from DI recording to live performance and beyond. St. James combo amps are constructed from candlenut plywood, reducing the weight significantly while maintaining the look and feel of a boutique amplifier. Its two channels are perfect for guitarists seeking crystal cleans and overdriven tones, relying on a single Celestion G12Z-70 "Zephyr" speaker to deliver this amp's sweet sounds. Swapping between the two channels is a breeze as well, with onboard toggles and an included external footswitch to meet your switching preferences. Best of all, the St. James comes stock with onboard cabinet simulation and power reduction — adding features like this to your rig often comes with a substantial price tag, but that's not the case here! Incredible sound for any situation is yours for the taking with Blackstar's St. James 1 x 12-inch 50-watt Tube Combo Amp.

Related Videos: St. James 50-watt 1x12 inch Tube Combo Amp with EL34 Tubes

Two channels of wide-ranging tone

When Blackstar set out to make the St. James series their most versatile and portable amps to date, they didn't cut any corners with regard to delectable tone. Two channels take you from glassy cleans to vintage crunch and even gut-punching grind, with channel and voicing selector switches around the front for easy toggling and a footswitch input around the back to swap channels with the included external pedal. The EL84-equipped model is fantastic for low- to medium-gain settings, with a vintage-tinged voice that sounds great in classic rock and heavy metal settings.

Highly demanded extra features built right in

Rather than force you to spend potentially thousands more on additional cabs and an attenuator, Blackstar loaded their St. James combo amps with top-notch cabinet simulation and power reduction. Dubbed their Cab Rig Output, the St. James' cab sim technology arms you with three different cab sim options and your choice of balanced XLR or line out/phones output to run your tone straight to an interface or mixer as well as USB for running to a computer — no cab required! Sweetwater guitarists always appreciate built-in power reduction, with options for 50-watt, 2-watt, and Sag (softer, more vintage sound) operation delivering plenty of volume for the stage while keeping the roommates happy at home.

Blackstar St. James 1 x 12-inch 50-watt Tube Combo Amp Features:

  • 2-channel all-tube combo amp constructed from lightweight candlenut plywood for easy transportation
  • Go from chime to gain-drenched grind in the same amp
  • Exclusive Celestion G12Z-70 "Zephyr" speaker delivers full-spectrum sonic options
  • Built-in Cab Rig Output with cabinet simulation runs studio-quality sound to a PA or mixer via balanced XLR or line out/phones outputs
  • USB with cabinet simulation lets you record directly to a computer
  • Power reduction switch with 50-watt, 2-watt, and Sag operation for stage- and bedroom-appropriate volume levels
  • Channel select and voicing switches on the front with an external footswitch input around back (footswitch included)
  • EL34 model delivers vintage-leaning voicing that's great for rock and heavy metal

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At Sweetwater, we're so picky that what we call a "demo" is actually better than what most music retailers sell as "new" gear! Our gear hasn't endured hundreds of people a week plunking away at all the keyboards, fumbling through Stairway to Heaven on every guitar or playing with every fader and knob on a mixer or control surface.

What demo means to us is that we've had it out of the box, or maybe it was in a customer's hands for a few days and isn't "factory fresh" as a result. Every demo item we sell has Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ warranty, and has been tested and verified up to "new" specs by our factory-authorized technicians to make sure it's in perfect working order before we ship it to you.

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Additional Media

Guitar Amp Buying Guide
Blackstar St. James Series | The Lightest 50-watt Tube Amps in the World

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Tech Specs

  • Type: Tube
  • Number of Channels: 2
  • Total Power: 50W (2W/sag settings)
  • Speaker Size: 1 x 12" Celestion G12Z-70 "Zephyr"
  • Preamp Tubes: 2 x ECC83
  • Power Tubes: 2 x EL34
  • Reverb: Yes
  • Amp Modeling: 3 x Cab Sims
  • EQ: 3-band EQ
  • Inputs: 1 x 1/4"
  • Outputs: 1 x 1/4" (16 ohm internal), 2 x 1/4" (8/16 ohms), 1 x 1/4" (cab rig out/phones), 1 x XLR (cab rig out)
  • Effects Loop: Yes
  • USB: 1 x Type B
  • Footswitch I/O: 1 x 1/4" (channel, boost)
  • Footswitch Included: Yes, 2-button footswitch
  • Computer Connectivity: USB
  • Bias Type: Adjustable Fixed
  • Construction Material: Candlenut Plywood with Fawn Tolex
  • Power Source: Standard IEC AC cable
  • Height: 18.18"
  • Width: 21.06"
  • Depth: 10.19"
  • Weight: 28.3 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: STJ50EL34C

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Customer Reviews

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My First "Modern" Tube Amp . . . It's Awesome

My first ever amp was a used Deluxe Reverb, 40 years ago . . . weighed a ton and couldn't turn the volume past 2 without my ears bleeding. In other words, I didn't know enough to appreciate what I had. I sold it to get a smaller, more portable amp that I could drive harder (but it was a POS). Over the years I bought a VOX hybrid tube/digital 2x12 combo (decent but heavy again), and an inexpensive Fender 100w 2x12 solid state amp (loud, simple, heavy, serviceable). Never felt like I had the tone that I most desired . . . not surprising, since my amps and speakers weren't all that. Just couldn't justify the expense and the tonnage of loading out one of the "classic" tube amplifiers for my uses at home, rehearsals, and my regular Sunday gig.

I discovered Blackstar amps when I bought a used practice amp, the ID/Core 20, with a 2x5-inch speaker setup. It sounded surprisingly great with my Helix LT. So I beefed up, buying the ID/Core 150w 2x10 combo for playing out. Still couldn't commit to tubes.

When the St James amps were released, I was skeptical, but YouTube persuaded me. They sounded exactly like what I needed -- comparatively light weight, compatible with digital recording and direct-to-house operation, and real tube sound through a Celestion. I bought my EL34 1x12 combo sight unseen from Sweetwater (ordered it Sunday afternoon and it showed up on my door Tuesday morning, how great was that.) From the first moment it sounded beautiful. I attribute that to the Celestion speaker, as I'm still primarily running the Helix through it. Planning to find its authentic straight-in tones as I gain more experience with it. Great looks . . . plenty of power . . . sweet tones . . . no problems . . . and super Sweetwater support. I can recommend it.
by TC from Ohio on
Music background: Decades of weekend band gigs and teaching

Heavier than advertised but the sound is amazing

First, I love the amp! Incredible sound, chimey, clean (I don't even use the second channel although it is good as well). It *is* light, but not as light as advertised. When I purchased it I was swayed by the 24 pound weight listed here on Sweetwater. While waiting for it to arrive I checked out the Blackstar site and noticed that they have it listed at 12.8 kilograms (28.16 pounds) so I started to get nervous (I have a bad back). When it arrived I got it unboxed and it seemed even heavier so I weighed it... 33 pounds. Too heavy for me! I sent it back (no problemo!) and promptly ordered the Blackstar St James EL34 head. I am now using that with my super light MojoTone 1-12 cabinet (Neo Creamback speaker) and it sounds just as good. If you can handle 33 pounds (I used to lug around a 2-12 Mesa Boogie Maverick Dual Rectifier) then this is about as good as it gets. If you're old like me and can't handle the weight just get the head and a super light cabinet. You won't be disappointed.
by Jan Depner from Long Beach, MS on

Fantastic Amp

I've had a love hate relationship with tube amps for a number of years. Hate: the weight, replacing tubes, maintenance, price. Love: the sound..... cant beat the sound of a good tube amp. This one is no exception, other than the fact that it weighs virtually nothing. What a great sounding amp! I was mostly playing through a Quilter Aviator Cub, and wanted to add a great sounding, reliable, lightweight tube amp to the lineup. I didn't think such an amp existed, so I was looking into the usual suspects, Vox AC30, Fender Princeton, Marshall DSL etc. My sales engineer Jimmy Hart turned me onto the St James which for some reason had never come across my radar. Man am I glad he did. Its a winner in just about every category. it produces warm buttery cleans, and on the second channel it gets mean without sounding harsh or muddy. The power attenuator is a great feature too. this thing gets loud! tons of clean head room. all that plus a really great sounding onboard reverb, line out with cab simulator make this amp an absolute gem, especially at this price. Another thing I didn't see mentioned anywhere is that when turned on, the BLackstar logo illuminates, which just adds to the already cool look of this amp. Get one, you wont be disappointed!
by Mike Sapelli from West Suffield, CT on

Amazing Amp!

Tones are out of this world. Clean channel is smooth and well balanced and the gain channel is absolutely stunning.

You will be blown away with the weight, it's almost unbelievable. I have 15w amps that weigh more.

Reverb is good. This is the only aspect I am not in love with, it works flawlessly just don't expect it to be fender-esque.

EQ is responsive and useful. I have not tried any of the cab adjustments with the software but I bet it will be useful for recording purposes. The output options and effects loop are just piling on brownie points.

Looks great and feels well made, Blackstar has hit a home run with this one. Takes pedals like a champ too!
by Tyler on

Best amp for the features & price I’ve ever owned.

For reference I own a Morgan AC20Deluxe combo, a Friedman Small Box, Vintage AC15 from the early 60s, a Marshall SV20 JMP head, a Two Rock Bloomfield Drive and a Soldano SLO30. If I had to choose one amp for my band or at home practice it would be my Blackstar ST James EL34 combo.

It's loud enough to play with a drummer or quiet enough to get a killer sound while a baby is sleeping next to you. The features on the amp are incredible and downright perfect for my needs.

I love the ability to record silently with the built in cab sim (UA OX Box Quality sims). I have a blue alnico style setup and it just nails those early Vox sounds. It's also great for silent stages or stages with minimal amp volume. I can just send the cab sun output to the main board and use my amp as a low volume monitor.

How does the amp sound? Like a Mix between a Vox Top Boost amp and a Marshall JMP50. The bass can be tight or loose, the treble can cut, but for the most part is musical without the shrill that treble can get. The mids kick, if not a bit too dark on the lower registers.

I am stoked with this amp & for me it passes the most important test. It cuts like butter in a mix.
by Luke from Laguna Niguel, CA on
Music background: Guitarist
See also: Combo Amps, Blackstar, Blackstar Guitar Combo Amps
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