Musikmesse 08: Blackstar announces new Artisan amps heads

Artisan 15H and 30H are head versions of the acclaimed Artisan combos

The MusicRadar Team, Mon 10 Mar 2008, 12:41 pm UTC

The Artisan 30H on display at Frankfurt Musikmesse

British amp manufacturer Blackstar will release head versions of its Artisan A15 and A30 combos at Musikmesse ‘08 in Frankfurt.

The 15 and 30W Artisan 15H and 30H feature the same handwired construction of their boutique combo equivalents, but in a head format, and Blackstar is serving up a 2x12 speaker cab to accompany them. There’s already a 100W head in the company’s handwired Artisan range (along with a 4x12 cab), so the 15H and 30H are aimed at players after something with a little less power.

The Artisan 15H and 30H heads aim for “the ultimate in low power valve amplifier flexibility”, and have two channels; one based on an EF86 Pentode and the other an ECC83 Triode. Power is supplied by either two or four EL84 valves (on the 15H and 30H respectively), and is switchable on both amps to a lower wattage if needed.

The speaker cab is largely based on the speaker section of the A30 combo, featuring two Celestion Vintage 30 speakers and rated at 120W.

Pricing and availability have yet to be announced; more information on the Blackstar website.

By Chris Wickett