“The ID:Core V4 combos are obviously ideal first amps”: Blackstar’s cream-of-the-crop ID:Core practice amp has just been given a fitting finish update
The Double Cream edition of Blackstar's hugely popular combo is ideal for those looking for a fresh aesthetic
If you love your guitar amps like your cakes – that’s with double cream – then today is your lucky day: Blackstar has introduced a Double Cream finish to its ID:Core V4 digital amp family.
The cream-colored variant of Blackstar's best-selling 10-watt amp boasts a fresh new colorway, which is “designed to look great in any practice environment”.
The British gear firm unveiled the latest generation of its highly popular practice amp – described by Guitar World as “ideal first amps” – during NAMM 2024, and this version packs all its beloved features. Those include a super wide stereo image via two three-inch speakers and power reduction down to 1W for low-volume but high-definition practices.
It also offers a TRRS 3.5mm input/output for connecting to mobile devices for live streaming riffs in crisp quality.
Blackstar’s signature ISF feature, which lets players find their preferred sweet spot between British and American tone voicings, is here, and is further bolstered the firm's CabRig Lite IR-based speaker simulation.
The amp has six different voices hidden beneath its creamy exterior – a collection that's made up of two different flavors of overdrive, crunch, and clean, respectively.
Tone tweaking comes via controls for Gain, Volume, and EQ and is further augmented by built-in effects. Choose from delay, reverb, an envelope filter, and modulations consisting of phaser, flanger, and tremolo.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Tapping into the free Architect sister software, which is available for Windows and Mac, allows even more opportunity for tone fiddling and fine-tuning for patches. These can be backed up and synced to the amp via the app.
Finally, its four-channel USB-C audio assists users with low-latency recording and re-amping, essentially turning the combo amp into an audio interface.
However, it isn’t quite as intuitive in Blackstar’s new Polar 2 interface, which it says was forged via human-centric design to fix all your audio interface woes.
The ID:Core 10 V4 Double Cream is available today and costs $159.99.
Jump on over to Blackstar to learn more.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
“This amp easily turned in a convincing Van Halen ‘brown’ sound, a feat many would assume out of range for an affordable solid-state combo”: Laney LFSUPER60-112 Combo review
“I wanted a portable amp that I could use backstage before a show to warm up with. I like to plug my PRS right into it – there are no pedals required”: Orianthi and Orange team up to create the 20RT, a portable, versatile amp with high gain tones aplenty