Blackstar Artisan 15 or Marshall Vintage Modern?

[RadioElectric]

I'm looking for an amp for home practise, band rehearsals and small gigs. I usually play with a sound on the border between clean and overdrive but I'd like to be able to get the amp into a rock overdrive and hopefully even approximate the Alice in Chains sound when the mood strikes me.

I'm interested in the Vintage Modern 2266C because it has a master volume control and it's a 2x12 but I find the idea (and smaller stature) of the Blackstar more appealing and I have an EHX English Muffin anyway which I reckon will give me the dirt I need.

My main question is whether the 15 watt, single-speakered Blackstar will have enough power for a gig. Also, my English Muffin sounds crap through my little 5 watt Epiphone Valve Junior but great through an old solid state Marshall 2x12 that I have. I'm guessing that this is because the speaker in the VJ is small but I'm concerned that a 1x12 still won't move enough air.

Any ideas or suggestions?

[guitargeek62]

Blackstar 15, rivera clubster 25-112 DOCE or Mesa 5:25 1x12

[riffpowers]

I wouldn't buy a blackstar personally, but I used to gig witha 15 watt matamp and it was loud enough.

[RadioElectric]

Originally Posted by riffpowers

I wouldn't buy a blackstar personally, but I used to gig witha 15 watt matamp and it was loud enough.

What have you got against the Blackstar?

Mesa 5:25 1x12

I'm not usually a fan of the typical "Mesa" sound, but they stock those in Sound Control so I'll give it a shot.

[guitargeek62]

give them a try, theyre not your typical mesa in that sense, not like a recto or a mark series but quite similar to a lone star special.

ps +1 on whats not to like on blackstars? is it because of where theyre made??? :|

[keithm]

Yea: why down on Blackstar? I have two HT-Duals and they are brill. Also briiliant for recording - www.myspace.com/keithmarriott

Not 15 watt is quite loud enough for gigging though, probably ok for bluesy stuff but would struggle against a loud drummer.

[riffpowers]

Nothing against them at all, I just meant theres a lot of choice out there !!

[march]

The Blackstar has more than enough power to tackle small to medium sized gigs. It's a very simple and efficient design that has a lot tone and volume. You could tackle small gigs at 2 watts it's that loud.

[GearAddict]

We've gigged with a band a couple of times where the lead guitarist uses a Blackstar Artisan 15 and it is plenty loud enough for medium gigs, I wouldn't worry about that. Sounded very nice.

If you are mainly in the bedroom, then I would say the Blackstar would be the better choice over the Marshall. I think you might struggle to get the Vintage Modern even ticking over at those levels.

Having said that, I would probably buy the Marshall...I just love the tone of them...

[Jamieh]

The Artisan 15 and the Vintage Modern are two COMPLETELY different amps!

You gotta go and try them. BOTH are awesome, seriously seriously good amps, but they are not the same type of thing at all. The Marshall is designed for rich vintage overdrives with total control from your guitar whilst the Blackstar is much cleaner with more headroom and a beautifully boutique sound.

As for volume, I gig with a Marshall 1974x which is 18w and it's fine, mic up if necessary. HOWEVER, if you went the other route and got a VM, get the 50w head and a the 425A cab the sound you get from that is massive and amazingly versatile... not for bedroom use though!!

As for your English Muffin... interesting that it sounds great though a solid state amp, I wonder if it is clashing with the natural tones of the Epi?

In my experience, if you buy the Artisan, also buy an HT Dual. That combination sounds awesome on pretty much every setting!! Seriously, it really does!! However, if you buy a VM, get a Tubescreamer!