hello,
does this amplifier contain a Class D amplifier?
ID:100TVP Guitar Amplifier - Blackstar Amplification
does this amplifier contain a Class D amplifier?
ID:100TVP Guitar Amplifier - Blackstar Amplification
one thing is for sure it isnt a valve amp and nor does it contain ANY valves. perhaps you have made the all too common mistake of thinking that anything that has digital inputs or may be a digital amp, is class D? if so then please forget that. CLASS D has nothing to do with being digital. given its only 100W there is a good chance its class AB, but it could just as easily be class D; not a chance its Class A
Looks like it may be DSP
I looked, and read, and looked agaain.... and it sure is ambiguous! They also talk about MIDI control, DSP based eq, etc.....
I'm thinking they are using tube emulation in DSP and are not actually using any valves/tubes at all.
That "spec sheet" is a masterful example of obfuscation. How trustworthy. Makes me want to run right out and buy one.
So as for class D, or A or A/B or valves... we're not likely to find out from their marketing materials, and maybe that's how they want it. Tube/valve "emulation" is not exactly a new feature in the DSP world.
I looked, and read, and looked agaain.... and it sure is ambiguous! They also talk about MIDI control, DSP based eq, etc.....
I'm thinking they are using tube emulation in DSP and are not actually using any valves/tubes at all.
That "spec sheet" is a masterful example of obfuscation. How trustworthy. Makes me want to run right out and buy one.
So as for class D, or A or A/B or valves... we're not likely to find out from their marketing materials, and maybe that's how they want it. Tube/valve "emulation" is not exactly a new feature in the DSP world.
Don't think so. This is a "sound like a tube" amp. One of the "features" I see is:
This is even "better"
I'd be very surprised if it has a pair of each of those tubes, or ANY tube at all in it. "True Valve Power" is just the name, not a description, just like "Vine Ripe" tomatoes that aren't actually ripened on the vine.
I'd guess it's a solid state class AB power amplifier, though it could indeed be a Class D (solid-state, of course) output. The preamp section has all the solid-state distortion simulation circuitry or more likely DSP emulation/simulation of such tube output circuits. With its 128 presets and the ability to select between them with the MIDI input it's without a doubt got a microcontroller.
I suspect it's all DSP chips and a couple of LM3886's.
I dunno, those LM3886's might cost too much for an item like this!
Those 100 watts they advertise are probably like the PMPO watts the old school sleaze-bags used to advertise for consumer audio gear, like the "500 Megawatt" boomboxes or the 12,000 watt car amplifiers of yore.
This is probably made in China for under $20.00 for the whole setup.
The chances that this will actually sound or perform anything like a tube amp?
My guess is that it isn't gonna be so good.
But I do admire their obfuscation, gotta learn how to write better materials for my own stuff!
sorry guys but i would mention that i have nothing to do with Blackstar...however, Jim Marshall is down in writing as saying that the engineer at blackstar is the best engineer that he ever had at marshall. (Blackstar grew when some of the Marshall engineering team left to pursue their ideas of quality sound)
Im not slating Marshall but from experience i know what they mean......ive worked in lots of big rich companys where the MD had made his money, and now just chunters the company along and stifles any new innovation because the poor chap is burnt out from the work that he did making the company what it is.
Im not slating Marshall but from experience i know what they mean......ive worked in lots of big rich companys where the MD had made his money, and now just chunters the company along and stifles any new innovation because the poor chap is burnt out from the work that he did making the company what it is.
Maybe it should be pointed out that talking about sound quality, or fidelity, in connection with guitar amps is rather an oxymoron. You'll have to know that what made all the big names in that industry famous and made the electric guitar sound what it is today, was the combination of poorly designed noisy amplifiers with lacking power supplies driven constantly to clipping through the cheapest drivers the designer could find.
There's nothing wrong with that. It is after all what has made the electric guitar sound that we know and love, for better and worse.
There's nothing wrong with that. It is after all what has made the electric guitar sound that we know and love, for better and worse.
yes, there is definitely a certain type of distress that results in the saturated sound that can be so wonderful; some of this comes from cheaply made amps that just didnt cope and the artists embraced that, but there are also amps from designers of the likes of Dumble that turn out very high quality amps that happen to also have some tricks to make them misbehave in a very particular way.
but lets get this straight, this amp isnt of that ilk and i dont care what Mr Marshall said, any company that produces a product and a product page like this is not where you should be spending your money.
but lets get this straight, this amp isnt of that ilk and i dont care what Mr Marshall said, any company that produces a product and a product page like this is not where you should be spending your money.
I am sorry Saturnus but i have to disagree with you, the "poor quality that made good sound" that you speak of is of course incorrect, as i believe you in fact know only too well.........thats THE way to do it with valves.............you cannot get away with that with class D amplifiers......with class D you need a good stiff power rail......otherwise you dont get nice sounding guitar.
anyway i was asking if this Blackstar product contained a class D amplifier?
anyway i was asking if this Blackstar product contained a class D amplifier?
Jim Marshall Interview
...near the bottom of this article you can hear Jim Marshall (MD of marshall amplification) saying that the guy who is now at Blackstar is the best enginneer that Jim Marshall ever had.
.....i wouldnt put it past Jim Marshall to have started Blackstar himself....as a secret way of bringing in new products without using the "Marshall brand name"...because as we ALL know and acknowledge, Marshall is THE name in guitar amplification........whether best or not as another thing, ...its THE name....its the name that stars like behind them on the stage.
heres the link again just in case above breaks...
http://www.premierguitar.com/archive/interviews/jim_marshall.htm
...near the bottom of this article you can hear Jim Marshall (MD of marshall amplification) saying that the guy who is now at Blackstar is the best enginneer that Jim Marshall ever had.
.....i wouldnt put it past Jim Marshall to have started Blackstar himself....as a secret way of bringing in new products without using the "Marshall brand name"...because as we ALL know and acknowledge, Marshall is THE name in guitar amplification........whether best or not as another thing, ...its THE name....its the name that stars like behind them on the stage.
heres the link again just in case above breaks...
http://www.premierguitar.com/archive/interviews/jim_marshall.htm
Love this one:
" ...
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Can I get a schematic for my Blackstar amp?
Answer:
For safety legislation reasons, we only provide schematics to authorised Blackstar Service Centres and technicians
...."
There are no safety laws that prevent a manufacturer from providing a schematic.
And then:
" ...
If you need further advice then please contact your local distributor so your amp can be serviced by one of their authorised technicians. Contact details for all Blackstar distributors can be found here.
..."
[where the phrase "can be found here" is a weblink].
Weblink:
http://www.blackstaramps.co.uk/"/dealers/distributors.php/"
I'll save you some time.
Page reads:
Ooops ... page not found!
Anyway, they do make valve amps, and when they do ... they clearly state which vacuum tube it uses.
I don't think the amp under consideration has been anywhere near a vacuum tube. It's only been announced for a week, but other online reviewers seen to confirm it's an all-transistor design with digital signal processing to model various effects, including a vacuum tube modelling effect.
" ...
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Can I get a schematic for my Blackstar amp?
Answer:
For safety legislation reasons, we only provide schematics to authorised Blackstar Service Centres and technicians
...."
There are no safety laws that prevent a manufacturer from providing a schematic.
And then:
" ...
If you need further advice then please contact your local distributor so your amp can be serviced by one of their authorised technicians. Contact details for all Blackstar distributors can be found here.
..."
[where the phrase "can be found here" is a weblink].
Weblink:
http://www.blackstaramps.co.uk/"/dealers/distributors.php/"
I'll save you some time.
Page reads:
Ooops ... page not found!
Anyway, they do make valve amps, and when they do ... they clearly state which vacuum tube it uses.
I don't think the amp under consideration has been anywhere near a vacuum tube. It's only been announced for a week, but other online reviewers seen to confirm it's an all-transistor design with digital signal processing to model various effects, including a vacuum tube modelling effect.
Last edited:
Hi,
There is no reason to suspect that the power amplifier section is class D.
It might be. It might be a chip amp. It might be discrete class aB. It
might be fairly unusual depending how the "tube emulation" is done.
rgds, sreten.
One suspects if the technical details were known, the
veracity of the claims might well be very suspect.
You might. But I am a guitar player and I have no problem with how the guitar sound came to be like it is. You should just realize that what made it happen in the first place was amateur engineers botching something together that would play loud. It has nothing to do with good sound quality.
Hi,
More to the point simply putting in more gain than a anyone at
the time thought was needed and letting a certain "Jimi" loose
with it. Jim Marshall was in a way lucky, right place, right time.
rgds, sreten.
Definitely not Class A. Only the smallest guitar amplifiers (such as the Fender Champ) are Class A, and they use tubes. Almost all tube-era audio amplifiers smaller than 5 watts or so used a single Class A output tube.
This amplifier is certainly either Class AB or Class D, bu there's not enough info to tell which.
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