What is it?
The 100-watt tube amplifier – visual shorthand for the raw power of a loud electric guitar, and the decades of musical history therein. However, if you’ve tried to wrestle one down a narrow flight of venue stairs and cram it into the car, you probably wouldn’t blame those of us who switch to lighter, more compact solutions.
A few years ago, though, Blackstar Amplification saw an opportunity for change, with some modern thinking. The St James range broke cover in 2022, with an eye-catching strapline – “the lightest 50-watt valve guitar amps on Earth”.
Key to this was using switched-mode power units, eschewing heavy iron-block transformers. Strong, light candlenut plywood for the shells helped too, as did the Celestion Zephyr speakers, a weight-relieved design created specifically for the St. James. The result? A powerful 1x12 valve combo weighing 12.8kg - quite an achievement.
The idea clearly has some legs, as 2025 has seen the range expand. And now, the big guns have come out – here’s the St. James 100, available as a head or a 2x12 combo.
Specs
- Price: $2,499/£1,899/€2,499
- Type: All-valve combo
- Origin: China
- Valves: 2x 6L6 and 2x EL34 power valves, 3x ECC83 preamp valves
- Output: 100 watts RMS
- Dimensions: 681 (w) x 528 (h) x 259mm (d)
- Weight: 19.5kg/43lbs
- Cabinet: Lightweight candlenut plywood w/ black Tolex covering
- Speakers: 2x 12" 70-watt Celestion G12Z-70 Zephyr
- Channels: 4
- Controls: (Front panel) Mains on/off switch, Standby/Silent switch, half/full-power switch, Power, Master, dual rows for Reverb, Presence, Treble, Middle and Bass, ch4 Volume, ch4 Tight switch, ch4 Gain, ch3 Volume, ch3 Gain, ch2 Volume, ch2 Boost, ch2 Gain, ch1 Bright, ch1 Volume, Input. (Rear panel): Solo level control, -10dB/+4dB effects loop level switch, Series/Parallel effects loop control, 3-way CabRig IR selector switch, 3-way Cut switch
- Connectivity: USB for Architect software, MIDI In/Thru, 2-way 1/4" footswitch input, 6-way XLR footswitch input, effects loop Send/Return, 1/4" CabRig line/headphone output, XLR CabRig balanced output, speaker outputs for 1x8 ohm or 2x16 ohm, speaker output for 1x16 ohm, mains input
- Footswitch: 6-button FS-23 floorboard included, switches for Clean, Crunch/Boost, OD1, OD2/Tight, Solo, Reverb
- Range options: The St. James 100 head is $1,899/£1,699 and its accompanying 4x12 cab $1,199/£899. In the St. James 50 range, EL34 and 6L6 heads are both $1,349.99/£899, 1x12 combos are $1,449.99/£999 and 2x12 combos are $1,649.99/£1,199. The St. James 2x12 vertical cab is $829.99/£499.
- Contact: Blackstar Amplification
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★½
The St James 100 head weighs in at a mere 10.1kg, a remarkable figure given we’re used to similarly powerful heads being at least twice that. It remains compact too, and would fit on most vertical 2x12 cabs – ideal for packing a huge punch into a narrow slot on stage.
As for the 212 we have here – well, there’s only so far you can shrink a 100-watt amp with two speakers onboard so, naturally, it’s big. But its weight figure of 19.5kg puts it on an equal footing with a single-speaker, 22-watt Deluxe Reverb.
Despite the surprising lack of mass, the build is pleasingly solid and the finishing excellent, everything one would hope for at the £1,899 list price. Aesthetics remain boutique-inspired (calling to mind Bad Cat and Matchless), but subtly mean and purposeful. No genteel fawn Tolex here – it’s black all the way – and the control panel has ballooned.
Usability
Usability rating: ★★★★☆
Continuously variable power reduction lets the amp run anywhere between full and 5 per cent power – great for apartment-dwellers
The 50-watt St James amps use stacked pots, two channels being independently controllable from just one set of knobs – here though, we have four channels, controlled by two rows of (nicely weighted) standard pots. Clean and Crunch share the lower row, OD1 and OD2 the upper.
There’s a lot else on board, a key feature being continuously variable power reduction that lets the amp run anywhere between full and 5 per cent power – great for apartment-dwellers, resentful when their monster amp can’t stretch its legs.
Alongside reverb, the footswitch provides a solo boost, with a rear-mounted mini-pot offering 2 to 6dB extra volume on any channel. Usefully, the intuitive, surprisingly compact six-button floorboard connects via standard XLR cable – easy to find a spare!
Architect – Blackstar’s deep-editing software – links via micro-USB on the rear panel. Compatibility with the brand’s proven CabRig IR software, plus an inbuilt reactive load for recording without speakers, means it’s (home) studio-friendly too. The modern power supply tech brings universal voltage compatibility, for international use.
Where the 50-watt St. James can be had with either 6L6 or EL34 valves, there’s a different approach here – a pair of each. These run together when the amp is at full power or, via the half-power options available on the front panel, one can choose a dual-6L6 or dual-EL34 power stage.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★☆
However it's run, the St James 100 is near silent - except a quiet, high-pitched electrical whirr that disappears once the amp warms up.
The first two channels alone contain all that many guitarists would need. Clean can provide sparkle and shimmer bathed in reverb, or crank the mids and volume for a Tele-friendly spank that country guitarists would enjoy - especially with 100 watts of headroom. There’s also plenty of low-end thump for modern rock and metal cleans, and our trusty Tube Screamer and Nobels ODR-1 both sound great into the front end too.
Crunch unlocks everything from pushed cleans to indie-rock jangle, a second tap on the footswitch activating a boost with quite an extra kick - Gibson-toting '70s rock fans will be at home here, even more so when in 50-watt EL34 mode.
OD1 is notably mid-forward, needing higher treble and presence settings for enough definition. However, its versatile gain range provides all sorts of fat modern rock tones, as well as soaring high-gain leads with that solo boost and some delay in the effects loop. A snappy Tele brings some welcome brightness back in, although OD1 also packs a sledgehammer punch when teamed with a Les Paul.
OD2 is higher-gain, noticeably more scooped, and comes alive when Tight mode is engaged. This sculpts the EQ artfully, eliminating flab in the low mids for a defined modern metal roar, clearly voiced with lower tunings in mind - enormous fun with our drop C-tuned Blackmachine B6. A similar facility for OD1 might've been an interesting addition.
Switching between full power and the two half-power modes yields subtle but interesting tonal differences on each channel. And that variable power scaling works a treat, taming the intense volume that can otherwise make a 100-watt amp impractical.
There’s certainly no shortage of excellent sounds here, although the shared EQs can be a head-scratcher.
There’s little issue between Clean and Crunch, whose voices lend themselves to similar settings, but the drastic difference between OD1 and OD2 makes it harder to dial in tones that sound like they’re part of the same amp.
Perhaps that's the idea – two very different high-gain voices, maximum versatility ≠ but it may compromise functionality for some.
Verdict
When all the many sonic possibilities are added together though, it is compelling to say the least – and that's before considering its lightweight cleverness, comprehensive feature set and the connectivity on board.
It is also clearly able to go head-to-head with similarly feature-packed amps, some costing hundreds more
For many, the St. James 100 will be an extravagance in terms of size, wattage and, at $2,499, perhaps in terms of price too.
However, it is also clearly able to go head-to-head with similarly feature-packed amps, some costing hundreds more – most of which would be worse for your back.
MusicRadar verdict: This is a truly modern take on the high-powered ‘super amp’, full of clever design decisions and boasting features that open it up to all sorts of uses, beyond what might be expected – and most importantly, it sounds fantastic for a multitude of musical styles.
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