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[RoelSmoel]

So, now my turn:

After the ESP-forum, Gitaarnet.nl and Gitaar.net..
I'm Roel, 15 years old, I live in the Netherlands.
I own a Blackstar HT5 head + a Blackstar HT110 1x10" cab (sounds great/awesome, call it like you want..), and a LTD EC-256 guitar + a Tanglewood TW28 with solid Cedar top (sounds also great).
I'm a big Foo Fighters and Metallica fan, and don't play in a band, I play about 2 years the guitar.

Now I'm waiting for the realease of the new HT-Venue series at my local Guitarshop (5 watt isn't enough power for in a band)

And..... when you have questions, be free to ask them (Pm or something)

And a warning, my English isn't always great, so, don't burn me into the ground when I make a mistake (or how do you Englishman call it?)


Cheers, and a lot of guitarfun, Roel.

[Ollie]

Hey, my name is Ollie, i'm 15 from Southampton, England.

I've been self taught since I was 12, and have played in a few bands. Currently I'm in a band, which is really just a jam session.
I currently do not own a Blackstar amp (I use a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 4x10) but I swear by my Ht-Dual & Ht-Distx.

I'm really into effects pedals (I'm on the BossArea forum - all though most of my boss pedals are off my board now) and love talking to other guitar geeks.

Anyway I'm on Facebook if anyone is interested...

- Ollie

[Ettery]

Hey, im Steve I'm 15 and from Buckingham (near Milton Keynes) in the UK,

[richard cranium]

Hi I'm Tim from Melbourne Australia, 47, played 30 of those. I dont have a Blackstar yet, but it wont be long. I have been drooling over the venue series, currently I'm a Marshall owner, but I will start another thread and get some advice from you guys
Marshall Haze 40
Epiphone Valve Jnr, modded w/ Jensen P12R 1X12 cab
Marshall AVT275(FOR SALE)
'95 Fender strat std.
Ibanez GART50TQRB
Double Eagle custom

[TEMPA]

Welcome aboard Tim, always nice to see another Oztraylian here. And a Melbournite like me to boot!

Best of luck with your Blackstar purchase, I am sure you won't regret it.

The only thing I regret about my HT-5S is that I don't get enough time to play with it!

Cheers,

Justin

[michnet76]

G'day all... yes another 'Oztraylian' here! My name's Carl and I hail from Berri in the Riverland area of South Australia (think where SA, NSW & VIC meet up on the Murray there).

I'm 33 and started playing drums at 12 and guitar a little bit after that, so nearly 20 years now, geez I feel like an old bugger after writing that. Also play the bass (mediocre though) and piano/keyboard.

I've joined the Blackstar ranks with the recent delivery of a HT-20H and 2 112HTV cabs yesterday thanks to the speedy service of Ollie at Drumpower there in Melbourne. I almost brought a Marshall Haze 15, being a Marshall devotee... was ready to part the cash at a local music shop here in the Riverland but went to plug in a guitar and have a play and it didn't even turn on! I had read of reliability issues with them but that one takes the cake.

Still formulating an opinion on the Blackstar, I'm still to find the settings I like. I guess I'm used to the Marshall tones I have been getting out of my old AVT100X a bit like an old pair of jeans or shoes analogy! Some people rubbish those valvestates but I love mine, I think it comes down to what your ear is used to and how well you tweak settings rather than just come along and turn everything to 12 and expect it to sound like God in soundwave form.

I have a largish gig coming up Saturday night so hopefully I'll find something I'm happy with by then! I do think the speakers are letting it down though. I might try a different speaker in in one of the cabs tonight to see how much difference it makes. I was listening to a speaker comparison on youtube last night and the seventy 80 does sound quite flat and lifeless, almost like a blanket's been thrown over it, compared to the some of the other 14 speakers they demo'd.. I like a scooped sound, I leave the scoop button depressed on my Marshall's indefinitely. So maybe something like a G12T-75 might be better - any other suggestions?

As for the twangsticks, current line up consists of (takes big breath) a Maton Mastersound 2000 DLX, Ibanez ART100, Raven West RG770DX, Custom homemade Strat, Crafter SA-BUB (modified with added lipstick humbucker with separate output), Acoustics: Cole Clark FL1AC, Ovation iDea, Ibanez EW2012 12 string and a cheapo Applause AE128 for around the campfire! And that's just the guitars. There's not much else to do out here in the country except ordering and playing guitars! LOL!! I need to sell some of them off though as I'm running out of space!

I play weekly in a church band setting, mainly contemporary rock type stuff and also head up a band which do concerts a couple times a year in local town halls for the youth like the one coming up this weekend... on the side I play blues/jazz type stuff with a few local guys and get small gigs here and there. Also like cranking it up and play metal with another group of young guys just for fun.

I'm also setting up a recording studio in the back room of the house, still learning the ropes with it all but getting there slowly, have most of the equipment now, just need to work on a soundproof space... my intention is to get more into writing music and recording it. I'm also working out a deal with a local video producer to create music and backing tracks for a documentary style series he's about to start on and he's also looking at adding television commercials to their services next year so might be some work there writing and recording for TV ads. I've also made the studio and my services available for local musicians and song writers to come in and record demos and what not... it's mainly just a hobby thing for now, no real intention to make any money or see any fame out of it.

Cheers
Carl

[richard cranium]

Justin and Carl, I think aus got lucky with the availability of the amps here. Drumpower was going to be my destination on the w/end to try these babies out. No shame in being a Marshall man Carl, I still am but that wont stop me getting a Blackstar. And whilst my Haze 40 will be the yardstick, I would expect the Blackstars to offer some distinctly different tonal possibilities i.e particularly on the gain & crunch settings.

[Guitar Goober]

Carl - that HT-20 head on 2 HTV112s looks awesome!

[michnet76]

I had a rehearsal tonight and was actually quite happy with it. It cut through the mix surprisingly well. I found that backing off the gain till about 9.30-10 oclock helped tighten it up a lot and actually increasing the mids responded well.... It was quite easy on the ears too, they're used to being assaulted by the harsh Marshall tones!

Yeah I'm digging the full stack thing!! LOL!! I think I'm going to intimidate our other guitarist on Saturday though when I set it up on the main stage in the town hall... tonight I just had it set up with a single cab which didn't look too out of place next to his 1x12 combo amp! LOL! I also had the volumes about half for master and preamp which held up fine with the rest of the band cranking.

It's still early days, give it a few months of playing and tweaking and I'm sure I'll come to think it's the best thing since sliced bread! 8)

[OzStrat]

Hi, Ron from Brisbane, Australia, an old fart at 57.

Suspended my guitar playing for 18 years as I moved up the frequency spectrum from sound to light. I have been an advertising photographer for 30 years.

About 15 years ago I realised I had a giant commercial space where I could play as loud as I wanted for as long as I wanted. The appropriate gear materialised. There is something special about being able to wail away at volume for hours on end without fear of molotov coctails coming through the windows, especially at 2:00am! Regular jams became the norm, but I was always too busy for a band.

More recently I have moved into semi retirement so I can focus more on music and a band. Better late than never! After numerous lineup changes we've finally got a cracking outfit together and we have just started gigging. After just one gig at the Kedron/Wavell they booked us through to the end of the year, including new year's eve. And we have gig offers coming from all directions (the Fox Hotel tomorrow night, then the Broadway etc). Our singer has proven to be the most amazing performer. He can't stop talking to the audience and we often have to start songs to shut him up! He has them in the palm of his hand until the last song. It's quite something to watch.

It's my first real band and man, I'm lovin it! And the sweet spot is my Blackstar S1-45, she sure loves to party!