Guitar World Verdict
The main purpose of an FRFR cabinet is to amplify your digitally modeled sound as transparently as possible, and the Blackstar Artist FR Special does this in an easy-to-use, cost-effective, and well-built manner. There are no extraneous bells and whistles with this unit; instead, it simply provides exactly what most players are going to need.
Pros
- +
Easy to use.
- +
A full-sounding FRFR cabinet.
- +
A leg to tilt the cabinet and direct sound towards your ears.
Cons
- -
The high-end is a little smoother in some other FRFR cabs.
- -
The carrying handle feels a little cheap.
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What is it?
The world is not short of FRFR guitar cabinets, which, on the surface, is a little odd when we consider that they all claim to transparently amplify your amp modeler of choice. But, alas, it is not that simple. Being physical things, their construction inevitably has an effect on how they 'push air', making each of them sound a little bit different.
The first is the price. At $469, it’s cheaper than many other commonly used FRFR cabinets. Fender's offering, for example, comes in at $749 at the time of writing. The second is that the Blackstar Artist uses a whizzer cone to handle the higher frequencies instead of the usual compression driver that brands like IK Multimedia, Laney, and Fender use in their FRFRs.
When it comes to full-range devices, whizzer cones are generally considered to be the more budget-oriented option. But Blackstar states that the cab is designed specifically for the guitar, so perhaps this choice may be a sensible one that reflects the use case? Guitar tones live mostly in the mid-range after all. We will see when we dig into the sounds.
Similar to the Tone Master FR-12, Blackstar also keeps things simple and somewhat amp-like. Just one combo input, a direct out, and the familiar Bass, Mid, Treble controls, as well as a Presence control. These extra active EQ shaping options are certainly potentially useful when it comes to shaping your sound to a venue space and band mix.
Specs
- Launch price: $469/£339/€369
- Type: Powered FRFR speaker cabinet
- Origin: China
- Output: 100 watts RMS
- Speaker: 12" with whizzer cone
- Controls: Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence, Volume
- Connectivity: 1 x combo XLR in, 1 x balanced XLR out
- Weight: 29.7lbs/13.5kg
- Dimensions: 525 x 447 x 245 mm/20.6" x 17.5" x 9.6"
- Contact: Blackstar
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★☆½
Blackstar isn’t new to building guitar cabinets, so we are right to expect that experience to result in a robust and gig-worthy bit of gear. And indeed it does.
The MDF sides feel solid, as do the controls on the top panel, all turning with a reassuring resistance. It is finished with the same highly textured tolex as is on many of Blackstar's amps, which is a nice touch, although it is slightly marred by difficult-to-remove residue left by the Blackstar sticker.
At 13.5kg, it’s not the lightest FRFR cab on the market, perhaps due to the MDF construction rather than plywood, but it isn’t far off the norm. For example, the likes of the Tonex Cab and the aforementioned Fender are 12.7kg and 13.1kg,
For shifting that weight, there is a rubber carrying handle which, while sturdy enough, is a bit too thin to have a premium feel.
It’s always handy to have the ability to tilt these cabs back and direct the sound towards our ears. I have often found in other FRFR cabs that the pull-out legs that facilitate this scrape against the sides of their chassis, creating a concern that they will eventually mark the tolex after repeated use. And the textured tolex here is a nice example I'd hate to have seen damaged.
Blackstar cannily gets around this by recessing a single, sturdy metal leg into the back panel. Most FRFRs have two legs for this purpose, so you would be forgiven for envisioning Reliant Robin (a British three-wheeled car notorious for ending up on its side) levels of stability. Happily, there's no need to worry as the cab is completely stable when the leg is extended, and the leg also sports a considerate rubber tip to avoid damaging floors.
The solid black aesthetic means it’s low-key in looks, and I do appreciate the class that the brushed aluminium of the control panel lends to the speaker. I also like the fact that it is styled to look like one of Blackstar's actual amps, meaning it will appear at home on any stage.
Usability
Usability rating: ★★★★★
Simplicity is underrated. There is nothing fancy here, just an EQ section, which means that all I have to do to get up and running is plug in my modeler, in this case, a Line 6 Helix Floor.
There’s a handy LED on the top panel just below the power switch that tells me if the input signal is clipping, making the Blackstar Artist FR Special pretty much foolproof. The EQ controls are also situated on that top panel, just like they would be in a real amp. In other words, nice and easy to get to.
They also feature a nice notch in the centre position, helpfully removing any doubt when I am looking to set them flat.
Placed around the back is the aforementioned combo input, the IEC input, and an XLR direct out. The XLR out is a balanced output designed to send your modeler’s tone straight to a mixing desk, without being affected by Blackstar’s controls.
This is perfect if you are using a modeler, such as an amp pedal that often has just the one output. The separate DI out on the FRFR allows you to control your on-stage levels and tone, without ruining your sound engineer's day by changing what you are sending them mid-gig.
Another engineer-conscious touch is the ground lift that will help to get rid of any problematic ground hum.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★½
The tricky thing about assessing FRFR cabinets is defining what the transparent version of the modeling tone is. Whether you are listening through studio monitors, headphones, another FRFR cab, or a PA speaker, each device will slightly affect your tone.
So, how do we decide what is transparent? Well, for this review I use a tone we know inside and out, then compare it to my experiences with a host of other FRFR units. I’m using a Dumble tone on my Line 6 Helix Floor that I have done countless gigs with, a Tonex Cab, and a set of studio monitors for reference, as well as experience with the Laney LFR series, Line 6 Powercab CL, Fender Tone Master FRFR guitar cabs, and a host of P.A speakers.
The initial impression of the Blackstar is that it is a wonderfully full sound. The bass response is clear, without being muddy, and the mids are present without being boxy.
The high end will punch through nicely on stage, but it doesn’t quite have the smooth feel of something like the (more expensive) Tonex Cab, and it's a little more boxy compared to the (again, more expensive) Fender FR-12. The latter is also physically larger as a cabinet.
It’s important to note that I’m speaking relatively, as these are small differences that are most noticeable in a direct A/B test like I am doing here.
For tweaking that on-stage sound, the EQ provides more than enough to suit any stage, so we have plenty here to play with as we take the unit from venue to venue. The Bass, Mid, and Treble do exactly as you expect, with the Presence control editing the ‘airy’ high end.
Each of these controls does enough that we can dial ourselves out of a good tone, but I would rather too much than not have enough to tweak for a stage.
It's more than enough to go toe-to-toe with a drummer and get yourself heard on stage
Side note, Blackstar's manual defines exactly what the EQ does, which is something I wish more brands would do. Not that it makes any difference to what we hear, but information like this is only going to benefit the user by helping them recognise what it is they are hearing.
If you are interested, the Bass control is +/- 6 dB at 80Hz, Mid is +/- 9 dB at 850Hz, Treble is +/- 11 dB at 12 kHz, and the Presence works as a low-pass filter, completely open when the control is set to full.
While wattage rating is not a clear indication of loudness, especially with FRFRs, the Blackstar FR Artist Special's 100 watts is unsuprisingly not as loud as the 700W Tonex Cab or the 250W Laney LFR-110, but it's more than enough to go toe-to-toe with a drummer and get yourself heard on stage, therefore fulfilling its remit as a great monitoring tool.
Verdict
The Blackstar Artist FR series may not have the IR and Bluetooth capabilities of some other FRFR cabinets, but this helps keep the price down and makes it ideal for the player who is looking for a complication-free way to lend their modeler some on-stage volume.
This simplicity makes the Blackstar Artist FR Special a breeze to use
This simplicity makes the Blackstar Artist FR Special a breeze to use, and while I may find it a little brittle in the high end, this only becomes clearest in A/B testing with more expensive units rather than a real problem. What the cabinet offers is a great-sounding, cost-effective way of accurately amplifying your modeled tone, which is all that many guitar players need from their FRFR cabinet.
Guitar World verdict: The main purpose of an FRFR cabinet is to amplify your digitally modeled sound as transparently as possible, and the Blackstar Artist FR Special does this in an easy-to-use, cost-effective, and well-built manner. There are no extraneous bells and whistles with this unit; instead, it simply provides exactly what most players are going to need.
Test | Results | Score |
|---|---|---|
Build quality | It's a cabinet built as solidly as Blackstar do their real amps. The only drawback is a slightly cheap feeling handle. | ★★★★½ |
Usability | A suite of simple controls in an easy to get to place. It doesn't get any more straightforward than that. | ★★★★★ |
Sounds | A little brittle in the high end relatively speaking, but an excellent, full sounding cabinet. | ★★★★½ |
Overall | It does what it is meant to do - amplify a modeled tone in a great sounding, well built, easy to use fashion | ★★★★½ |
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