Blackstar Amplification

Est. 2004 Website ↗

About

Blackstar Amplification is a British amp maker founded by a team of ex-Marshall engineers, known for its proprietary ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) voicing control and for rapidly becoming one of the UK's most successful modern amplifier brands.

History

Blackstar was founded in 2004 in Northampton, England, by a group of former Marshall Amplification engineers and designers who set out to build a new generation of tube amps informed by decades of combined experience in British amp design. The company's HT ("Hand-wired Tube" heritage) series, launched in 2007, introduced the ISF control, a single knob that continuously blends between classic British and American tonal voicings — a feature that became a Blackstar signature. Blackstar broadened its range through the 2010s with the affordable ID:Core digital modeling combos, the ultra-portable battery-powered Fly series, and higher-end boutique tube amps under the Artisan and St. James lines. The company has received multiple Queen's Awards for Enterprise for its export growth and is now one of the largest independent amplifier manufacturers to emerge in the UK since Marshall itself.