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SubDecay Blackstar
List: $266
The SubDecay brand name should be familiar among boutique pedal enthusiasts; this is the very group of effects pedal fanatics that gave us the wonderful Liquid Sunshine. Upon tinkering with the aforementioned pedal & plugging it in with other drive type sources, the Blackstar was conceived to reflect the manufacturer’s dedicated interest in distortion.
The Blackstar is rather slim in built (trimmed width compared to the average BOSS unit), what overpowers it visually is the quartet of knobs on board for drive, volume & tone controls. The pedal works on a cascading gain concept hence the twin drive controls but the lower drive knob has a particular inclination to the bass frequency. The purpose here is to give the player a pre-gain bass tweaking, effectively, the contouring of the guitar’s tone takes place before the signals are distorted. This allows for definition & clarity to cut through because if you are familiar with post-gain frequency tweaking in majority of other distortion pedals, any enhancements of the bass, induces ill-definition instead.
In use, the Blackstar is a distortion pedal, intense drive-type output is available but the offering is far from ‘metal’ grade. As a stand-alone unit, it gives the guitar a very transparent tone in addition to the distortion on offer. Tweak both drive controls to suit the level of induced harmonics you wish to acquire in addition to making your overall tone suits the amp you are using. Interestingly, the dual drive module featured here allows for quite an expansive array of voicing, from polite, jazzy, polished midrange to fat, fuzz-like bottom end.
The fun doesn’t end there; couple the Blackstar with another drive-type pedal to boost proceedings & you’ll hear what this pedal can really do. In conjunction with an already driven amp, the Blackstar is a very capable booster, offering more drive than the average Tubescreamer, with a healthy dose of clarity to boot.
Last say
The Blackstar is a boutique pedigree, do understand its asking price. Players in search of a distortion pedal with enough distortion/ EQ depth to sculpt the guitar/ amp’s tonal character, should check the pedal out.
Rating: 8.5/10
Likes:
• Tone
• Runs well on battery
• True bypass
Dislikes:
• Battery access (requires complete base plate removal)
• Price
• Adaptor access side location
Worthy contenders
• BOSS Turbo Distortion (DS2)
• Digitech Hot Rod
• MXR Double Shot Distortion (M151)
• Visual sound Jekyll & Hyde
*PS: Thank you Tymusiccenter for the review invitation 8)
