Blackstar CV30 vs Blackstar ST. James 100 Head

The Blackstar CV30 and the Blackstar ST. James 100 Head are both amplifiers sharing transparent, crunchy, dynamic. The Blackstar CV30 leans warm. The Blackstar ST. James 100 Head leans bright and saturated. Current prices: $1161.39 vs $1777.83.

Similarity
citedBlended from circuit-archetype lineage, dynamic feel, tone-signal overlap and tone-vector distance — the tone vector itself is derived from editorial description text, not a measured acoustic signal, so this reflects how similarly the catalog copy describes the two, not a lab measurement. Shown only within a gear class, and only where there's enough evidence to be meaningful.

77% — very similar

Shared genres
citedGenres both listings are associated with.
  • Classic Rock
  • Blues
  • Rock
  • Alternative Rock
Shared tone character
citedDerived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.
  • transparent
  • crunchy
  • dynamic
  • pristine
  • tight
  • glassy
Citation fame
citedCitation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.
0%
0%
Price

$1161.39via Reverb

$1777.83via Reverb

Description

The Blackstar CV30 is a 30-watt signature combo amplifier designed in collaboration with guitarist Carmen Vandenberg of Bones UK and Jeff Beck collaborator. It runs two ECC83 preamp tubes and two 6L6 power tubes, housed in a 1x12 cabinet loaded with a Celestion V-Type speaker. Two channels each carry two voices: the Clean channel switches between American and British voicings while the Overdrive channel offers Classic and Modern gain characters. Blackstar patented ISF tone control, digital reverb, and an effects loop complete the feature set. The 6L6 power section delivers American-style dynamics with British Class A-style chime and shimmer.

The Blackstar St. James 100 is a two-channel EL34-powered tube guitar amplifier head combining American-voiced clean tones with British-voiced overdrive, designed as a lightweight handcrafted valve head with features including a sag control, effects loop, and reverb. Channel 1 delivers big, open clean tone with clear black-panel-influenced headroom; Channel 2 produces British crunch that leans toward Vox chime and articulation rather than Marshall darkness, making it unsuitable for saturated high gain but excellent for chimey, cutting rock and blues. Reviewers describe the EL34 version as combining world-class British crunch with US-sounding clean tones in a design notably lighter than comparable valve heads.

Genres
citedGenres this gear is documented as being used in.
—
  • Jazz
  • Funk
Tonal lean
  • warm
  • bright
  • saturated
Good for
citedOccasions this gear suits — judged per model, or derived from its wattage, connectivity and category.
  • Live
  • Studio
  • Worship
  • Live
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Blackstar CV30 vs Blackstar ST. James 100 Head — Shared Character & Differences — NodeTone