“The ultimate playing experience for any guitarist wanting an easy-to-use amp”: Blackstar looks to raise the benchmark for practice amps with the new feature-packed Debut 30E
Delivering Blackstar’s typically versatile tonal features, the well-equipped combo offers players another affordable amp option for practice rooms and small gigs
(Image credit: Blackstar)
Blackstar has added to its Debut series of small-but-powerful combo amps with the Debut 30E.
When the Debut combos first arrived on the scene in 2020, they were considered some of the “best-looking beginner amps” on the market, offering low wattage and low price tags for those looking for a practice amp on a budget.
Since the launch, the range has grown considerably. The Debut 50R took the amp world by storm last year. Representing Blackstar's “most powerful entry-level amp”, it proved to be a viable partner for practices and small gigs, as well as a great pedal platform to boot.
The series has been crafted by the same R&D team behind Blackstar’s high-end valve amps, and they promise the dynamic response of valve amps, offering players “access to an infinite palette of tonal subtleties”.
The Debut 30E is the first 30-watt option in the series, adding more power to the template of the 10E and 15E models and adding footswitching options. Players, though, will need a two-button Blackstar footswitch – which is sold separately – to utilize those capabilities.
Like its siblings, it’s an all-analog solid-state amp, with “true Blackstar tones” delivered via Clean and Overdrive channels. The firm's patented ISF feature, which lets players dial in a custom blend between British and American amp tones, is a welcome addition, as is a built-in tape echo.
The same connectivity features found across the series are also present here. That includes a series effects loop, a speaker-emulated line out for silent practices and recording sessions, and stereo playback when playing through headphones.
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Atop the amp are dials for Gain, Volume, and a three-band EQ, while the delay's dial adjusts the time of its tail.
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(Image credit: Blackstar)
(Image credit: Blasckstar)
(Image credit: Blackstar)
Beneath its housing – choose from a cream covering with oxblood fret, or black and ‘biscuit’ basketweave – players will find a 1x10 custom-designed speaker. Blackstar says this can be used away from guitar playing, making it also a handy speaker for streaming music.
“The Debut 30E delivers the ultimate playing experience for any guitarist wanting an easy-to-use amp that delivers great tone,” Blackstar says. “Whatever your ability, these amps raise the benchmark for tone, features, and desirability.”
The release follows Blackstar’s launch of its Polar audio interface series, the first of its kind to be made “by guitarists, for guitarists”, and its pedalboard companion, the Debut 100R, said to be “virtually indistinguishable from valve amps”.
The Blackstar Debut 30E costs $209.99 and is available today.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
