Everyone from jazz box architects to 8-string sweepers will find a lot to love in the Blackstar St. James 50-watt Tube Head. As Blackstar's lightest and most innovative head available, the St. James is tailor-made for studio and stage musicians seeking an all-in-one amp to handle everything from DI recording to live performance and beyond. St. James heads 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, 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 50-watt Tube Head.
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 6L6-equipped model brings additional heat to handle today's most aggressive genres while staying sonically balanced.
Cab sim and power reduction switch lets you leave the extra gear at home
Rather than force you to spend potentially thousands more on an accompanying cab and an attenuator, Blackstar loaded their St. James heads 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 50-watt Tube Head Features:
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2-channel all-tube head constructed from lightweight candlenut plywood for easy transportation
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Go from chimey cleans to gain-drenched grind in the same head
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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
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USB with cabinet simulation lets you record directly to a computer
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Power reduction switch with 50-watt, 2-watt, and Sag operation for stage- and bedroom-appropriate volume levels
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Channel select and voicing switches on the front with an external footswitch input around back (footswitch included)
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6L6 model delivers additional gain for today's metal-leaning genres