I waited about a month after I got this amp from zZounds before I wrote this review. I have traditionally been a Fender and Peavey amp guy. I have owned Hot Rod Deville's Classic 30's and Valve Kings. Was looking for a small amp primarily for practice yet something that had enough umph to do practice sessions and small gigs. I was very interested in the .5 watt setting for bedroom practice. I play primarily country, classic rock and blues, cleans on any amp are the most important thing to me and the ability to take pedals well is a very close second. This amp excels at both, the .5 watt setting is amazing for at home/ bedroom practice, you don't seem to loose any of the rich tone and detail coming out of the amp. The sound is exactly what I hoped it would be. I have a G&L Tele, a G&L Strat and a LP, I want to hear the sparkle out of my tele and the growl out of the LP and you do. The amp really does deliver in the differences in sound that each guitar provides. The cleans are really good and the crunch channel is pretty good as well. I use pedals for my overdrive, primarily a BOSS Blues Driver and it works fantastic with this amp. The one thing I would recommend that you put in front of this amp and every other amp is the MXR 11 band EQ pedal. The MXR gives every amp I have owned just that little extra boost of clarity and this Blackstar is no different, turn that pedal on and that little extra just sounds amazing. My pedal board is pretty simple the Blues Driver, the EQ, a chorus,… read more a Trem and a delay pedal, I keep it simple.For me and my uses the feature set on the Blackstar was the most comprehensive, I haven't tried the DI features yet I have been mic'ing the cabinet for recording and it records very well. I have the head paired with the Blackstar 112 cabinet and the combo sounds fantastic. The size is much small than I thought it was going to be, sitting next to my Peavey Bandit 112 the Blackstar is slightly taller by about 2 inches but also about 2 inches narrower. So transporting will be very easy even in a small vehicle. Construction seems to be on par with the Fender's and Peavey's I have owned, the tolex is done well, the front face is cool as sh#t looking, overall a nice looking rig that will be my main practice and small gig amp for years to come I hope.

Musical Background:
Been playing for 35 years, primary instrument is drums, play some guitar and a little bit of keys. Cover bands locally

Musical Style:
Rock, Country and Blues read less