Blackstar Debut 15E (Worth What Little It Costs?)

The Blackstar Debut 15E is Blackstar's entry level guitar practice amp, aimed mainly for beginners I'd say, although others might use it as well of course. It's a very cheap little combo, but does it do the business, ie. does it sound good? Let's find out.
Enjoy!
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[@MrPolevaulter]

Check out this amp and the competition side by side: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqWciqSMm9mNarcsi=UPGiyQ_tXkxn4dCA

[@Da_Publick]

These amps, both the Debut 10e and 15e, are just great at what they really are. What they are is 'Hotel California,' Carry On Wayward Son,' maybe 'Cat Scratch Fever.' But they're being marketed as being capable of handling Metal.

[@KozmykJ]

A couple of years back I picked up a used Blackstar 1-H (no reverb). Small valve combo 1Watt with a 7" speaker. ITS LOUD !! Loud enough to annoy the neighbours anyway ... 🔊 The ISF works fine on this one. I mostly used as the Dry in a Wet/Dry combination: the Wet amp being a Fender Bassbreaker 15 (usually attenuated).

[@RickMichaelis63]

Thanks for the review Elmo as usual you know, we appreciate your honesty Cheers 🍻 🙏✌️❤️

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks Rick!

[@Bowietrope]

I own two Flys, and personally I think they sound great for what they are. When I started playing I had things like the Boss Mascot and Marshall Micro I believe? These little Blackstars are way better and I would have loved one as a young guy starting out, but that's decades ago. I find if I run a treble booster or nice overdrive through this little amp sounds great, and that delay I think is so cool.......especially after playing through transistor boom boxes back in the day...lol

[@leothelio]

Try the Debut 50. I just bought one, and comparing with other amps, for tone, price and features, I found it to be great.

[@leothelio]

By the way, Thomann doesn't seem to have this amp, but I bought it in my local shop in Germany. Amazon has it.

[@vexxy2464]

I think its pretty good for people like me who're beginner level at guitar (i've only been playing for a couple months) who dont want to drop big dollar on a nice big amp, but still get some of the fun features like isf, od and gain ect. got mine a few weeks ago and im loving it

[@mattsikes919]

I liked it. Not the best but I have two blackstar amps and having the ISF feature, to me, is worth it. The more I use the ISF the more I like it because it does offer a lot of variation in tone, but is also excellent for really subtle minor tweaks. What I've found is I dial in a good tone and start making small moves on the ISF. It starts as a good tone but then you can subtly tweak it to great tone. Great video Elmo!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@fastacesus8499]

Having the boss SD1 was a good idea. They are cheap and easily available. Just the sort of pedal a beginner will have in their collection.

[@Laionel76]

I enjoy it, plug and play and no distraction from practice. I play mostly dry. I got a b-stock at the same price as the 10 version. I suspect the 10 would have me enough for my purpose.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cool bananas :)

[@sboistan]

Thanks! With my Blackstar 10E, I keep the ISF around 10-11 am on the dial. anything past noon is just too squishy sounding for me

[@rsmallfield]

I find it best towards the left on my HT-1, but I’m not sure Elmo tried it all the way to the left for comparison.

[@canadianintheukbrian]

Elmo I been following you for a good few years now I love your honesty your not doing these reviews for kickbacks , small amps the big problem is the speaker , in my humble opinion the best small amp for home use, practice and travel is the BOSS Katana Mini, I would say to anyone save your money , get a Katana Mini,

[@MrPolevaulter]

The Katana is really good. I personally prefer the Spark Mini, although it's a bit different.

[@justmehere6094]

@@MrPolevaulter I'm with Elmo, if money/price isn't an issue, I prefer the Spark Mini. But, for that $100 price point, yes, Katana Mini is the choice..

[@ebatgmail]

I would like to see a db metering especially in all these "practise/bedroom amps" reviews. 🙂

[@francescofusca4466]

Good idea

[@user-ir5gk7yn6d]

Thanks for the review. A lot of the negative comments here are obviously people who expect everything to sound perfect right out of the box without ever turning a knob. The same people think that MP3s on their phones sound great. lol..

[@tOxIc_TrEaSuRe]

great review style ---- subscribed

[@MrPolevaulter]

Much appreciated!

[@millight1]

Hi, great review as always, I doubt you take requests BUT would love a review on the Cort CM15r at approx €100 it falls into the amps you've been testing 😊 Cheers

[@frasermckenzie937]

Have you tried the Cort as I have been looking at one recently and am not sure if it's worth the money or not!

[@sirbaronvoncount4147]

I have a black star fly and I think it sounds great

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cool!

[@SlavJerry]

love your honest reviews mate. I have question, would it be possible for you to review squier contemporary stratocaster hh fr please? it's ok if you can't though

[@MrPolevaulter]

Possibly. I'll take a look. No promises though.

[@francescofusca4466]

I have echo 15 lt. Fantastic pratice amp.

[@nicolassavvidis9712]

When you have the time and money i would love to see you react to the debut 50r and have your honest opinion!!!

[@rodbelding9523]

I kind of wasn't feeling that amp until the overdrive pedal. It actually sounds pretty usable with an overdrive pedal.

[@ronniepratt2909]

Hi , Just wondering what would be your pick for an amp for a beginner to practice on at home?

[@elcompaqueso5214]

5:16 was that a little bit of hammer to fall by queen I heard? Nice playing.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Yes, thanks :)

[@jamdalf4343]

Is the Wah sound still there using the Emulated Output?

[@Strato13]

Man Elmo, you could probably make a shoe box with a car speaker sound awesome lol.. Hey, I have a Silverline Special 50W already, is it worth bothering with the new Debut 50R? i know it's more transistor/pedal friendly supposedly, but my Silverline sounds great and can't imagine there'd be much of a difference, or am I wrong?

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers! Probably not.

[@tueseptlikha7274]

Please give a opinion on 50 watt veron on it.. looking for a budget gigable amp..

[@justmehere6094]

Well, the did gey rid of the extreme boxiness that the Blackstar Fly has/had. Granted it is much smaller. It still has that cocked wah aspect to the tone, you mention, that is worse in the fly. But, at least with the fly you could throw it in a suitcase, for easy traveling. This is too big for that.

[@maximiliano_martinez]

I don’t like the buzzing when the gain and volume are high. It’s louder than the guitar sound itself.

[@SpectralUltra]

Sounds decent enough.

[@emilv376]

I have this amp and the only thing that bugs me is that there is no footswitch. For me personally I don't want tone on the highest, perhaps somewhere in between, else it's too sharp.I usually play metal but I want a decent clean tone to. Sometimes I use the delay. I have recently upgraded to a better amp, but I will keep this one in reserve. It's a great practise amp for very little money. It takes virtually no space. There's no reason to get rid of it even if I have a better amp.

[@titahibayflier3160]

Now if only some names sent you some amps to review... come on Dave Friedman, Jason Tong, Mike Soldano!!

[@MrPolevaulter]

:)

[@johnnorth9355]

Average amp made to sound better than it is by your excellent playing ?

[@MrPolevaulter]

:)

[@domestos72]

Should I buy that or the Vox pathfinder 10?

[@ryanmrcs215]

The Vox Pathfinder 10 has a brilliant clean channel. Very Vox-like chime and compression. The overdrive side is practically useless.

[@domestos72]

@@ryanmrcs215 Thank you, I bought it and I'm happy

[@urmiyanTargaryen2179]

This vs the fly 3 for a John Mayer like tone?

[@MrPolevaulter]

Don't know. But the Fly is better in general imo.

[@urmiyanTargaryen2179]

@@MrPolevaulter Thanks a lot, man... appreciate it!

[@user-ir5gk7yn6d]

I got mine for $49.99 U.S. i run it into a larger cab. Awesome.

[@Uncle_Gray]

Indeed On 9.40 min I jumped 😮 I thought what's that Cuz Elmo didn't use a wah pedal 😂

[@MrPolevaulter]

:D

[@norseman61]

It’s good for what it is… which is a lousy sounding amp. Everything sounded muffled & mushy. I bet it would sound decent through headphones, though. The speakers on these little buggers are just too limiting to get a decent sound. Thanks for the thorough demo!

[@rsmallfield]

It looked like the ISF was towards the right, which, in my opinion, is the worst end of the spectrum for that control. It would be worth playing around with one - I bet you could find a more agreeable setting.

[@Fawkes1978]

This is effectively two Flies in a slightly larger box and marginally better than two bees in a jam jar!

[@MrPolevaulter]

:D

[@aharkness5657]

But is it better than two Fireflies?

[@Juno58]

@@aharkness5657 looks better in any case 😁

[@mousoomi]

Debut 15e or the fly3?

[@jamdalf4343]

I think the Debut 15e is Stereo and the Fly 3 is Mono. I'd go Stereo myself! If you like Stereo maybe even checkout the Blackstar ID:Core V4 Stereo 10 10-watt 2 x 3-inch Digital Combo Amplifier. These low priced Amps sound a lot better through Headphones or amplified (from the Headphones Jack) through like a Home Stereo or Powered Speakers!

[@alanledesma7719]

Has anyone told you that you look like Thom Yorke?

[@jollyca]

I have a Blackstar Fly3 (yes, the little one) and to my inexperienced ears, it sounded... great (and it has a delay volume, too). Then I bought a Blackstar HT-5C (5-watt tube combo) and was utterly disappointed - clean sounds were ok-ish, dirty - not so much, and I ended up selling it for half a price (I was probably under-using it too). Anyways, both amps have an ISF feature and it sounds... different. On the HT-5 the ISF knob was turning the sound from "good" to "sh!t". Not sure who would've used that sound, but turned all the way to... (I think it was) right was like putting the amp under a blanket. On the Fly3 the ISF is usable, then again it's a 3-inch speaker, so maybe it's not noticeable how bad it is.

[@rsmallfield]

I don’t know why the HT-5 has been so hyped. I don’t think it compares to a Marshall DSL and I’ve had both. The cleans are thin and unsatisfying. The dirty channel I think is quite good, but I wouldn’t recommend an HT-5 to anyone if they mostly play clean. For a rocker who always plays dirty, I think the dirty channel works pretty well at home volume levels. I actually prefer the HT-1 for home use, though, as the clean sound at edge of breakup is really good on that model and it’s achieved at bedroom levels. It’s my bedroom amp and is great for that.

[@Arlowe253]

​@@rsmallfield it's funny you say that, because I personally think the clean channel is the only usable thing about the amp. Absolutely perfect for jazz until it starts to distort, then you can get a nasty punkish overdrive that fills a room. The dirty channel is whatever, trying too hard to sound like competitors.

[@daniellarson3068]

I suspect that one of these days he will review an acoustic guitar.

[@williamfowler8439]

My Telecaster sounds great through a Blackstar HT-5

[@jacobbockover1628]

Had a gorrilla a champ a ss ampeg they all were lame (champ was best of lame) i think a lot of new stuff is better

[@jaunianise4172]

Boxy sound !

[@HandWiredAmps]

I don't gamble, but I'd rather have 100 scratcher lottery tickets.

[@freehey629]

I just dont see the value in small practice amps anymore. I would much rather buy those cheaper multifx pedals like nux or mooer with headphone outs, and just connect them to affordable powered desktop speakers/monitor.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Fair enough.

[@williammolina9792]

Sounds way to dark and muddy..

[@Barbarapape]

Ohh dear, sounds like a blanket has been put in front of the speakers. Very lacking in clarity to my ears. Most cheap amps sound cheap, but there are a few exceptions. My advice is don't waste your money on these cheap amps, save up and buy a good amp even if it is a used one. A custom shop guitar through a cheap amp will sound cheap. The amp is the last link in the chain and can as this one proves make a good guitar sound bad.

[@ehsun_does_music]

i heard this amp in person.. it does not sound like this video! the recording is not great

[@Barbarapape]

If that's the case why did Elmo release the video without checking the sound quality. It made a good guitar sound terrible. From my experience cheap amps are best avoided.@@ehsun_does_music

[@spencerriggs6777]

​@@ehsun_does_musicexactly. The thinness in that amp is most definitely coming from that guitar and how it's recorded. Andertons review with real humbuckers is night and day difference

[@serpentsbane9166]

@@spencerriggs6777 That cream strat he uses for many demos does indeed have a single-coil sized humbucker in the bridge and neck. I think the problem might actually be the microphone he chose to record and where he set it up. Elmo probably wasn't sure where to mic the small speakers so just used a condenser mic a few inches away. Many say the speaker/cab are last in the chain but the microphone actually gets the final say in the recorded tone (unless you use a mic pre-amp as well)

[@MajorUpgrade]

Umm, I think that is pronounced... Blackstar "de but".

[@MrPolevaulter]

🤣

[@fullrom1179]

The problem is that you play "too good", so everything sound not so bad !!!!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks 😊

[@NeoFromMatrixReality]

Nothing beats Spark Mini :D

[@TomaszCzajka80]

It sounds bad to be brutally honest, even for the price... ;(

[@MrPolevaulter]

Fair enough.

[@cookiemonster2949]

Cheap amps all sounds the same to me. That fizzy sizzling top end ruins everything.

[@cleangoblin2021]

You nailed it😂 I only have 100 bucks, but nothing attracts me. Must be the physical limits of a small speaker Im having a headache once again shopping for an amp

[@user-ir5gk7yn6d]

Try tweaking your knobs a little bit at a time on your amps you'll be surprised at the sound you can get.

[@jasujokelainen5073]

​@@cleangoblin2021Try some headphone amps.

[@thestrongest3050]

Cheap amps, well people don't buy em to crank it all the way up but are targeted towards shy beginner guitarist who just wanna play in their own rooms

[@TurboHDT]

to be honest its sound shit, the gain channel sounds muffled to me 3" speaker are to small for a guitar amp and there's better out there its a low budget bedroom amp but even that is a stretch, the Blackstar Debut 50R is better it has older mosfet analog rather that digital has 12" speaker and its cheap takes pedal real well and is worth the money

[@vintagetone22]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@timothyjames4195]

THATS SEXIST!!!!! whats wrong with being sexy?

[@joosboer1030]

Maybe it’s a bit beneath you to waste your time on testing these cheap little garbage amps and low budget guitars. You would be more interested in testing out gig worthy amps and real performance guitars. Anyone can walk into a guitar store and chose a cheap practice rig.

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

You make a good point Joos.

[@dammitcarl1082]

He buys this stuff with his own money. The videos are for profit. It isn’t really sustainable to buy expensive performance guitars and gig worthy amps to make videos about.

[@MrPolevaulter]

@@dammitcarl1082 Spot on. Besides, if I can help out beginners, then good.

[@JavierMunoz-jl6ul]

​@@MrPolevaulter How good is the emulated line out? I want a amp to play with headphones and connect to PA

[@rgerwin.3378]

You look like Julian Assange.

[@maxwellbowden9961]

Cheap amp. Buzzy, yet muffled and poor sounding.

[@annunacky4463]

Nothing here to see folks, move along….ha ha.

[@johncollins5552]

its got two earphones used as speakers that why its sounding terrible😂 Truly crap chinese tubberware box.