Blackstar Unity Bass 500W 2x10" Combo

I purchased this bass amp for shows and rehearsals. First off, the onboard distortion was exactly what I was looking for. Easily controlled, and clean sounding. Doesnt get in your way. I didnt use the other effects much though, as my bands sound didnt need the verb, chorus or octave. But even the compression/tube emulation sounded great. It is plenty loud to jam with a band, or on about any stage size. Would buy again.

Didn’t know what to expect from the unity 2x10/500w going in, because I only knew about Blackstar’s guitar products. While I had only heard great things, I could not find much about their bass amps. Low and behold, the Unity delivered. It provides a tight, well rounded sound that should cover you in any situation, from practice to gigs. I used a fender geddy lee jazz with stock p/u’s. The amp offers 3 tube simulation settings, and all 3 has distinct differences. I prefer the 6505 setting. I was impressed how much room you have on your eq and drive knobs. You def will have to tweak to your personal preference. I was also impressed with how much lowend the eminence 10’s put out. Blackstar offers a powered 15 you can pair with the 2x10, and i was afraid i might need ... MoreDidn’t know what to expect from the unity 2x10/500w going in, because I only knew about Blackstar’s guitar products. While I had only heard great things, I could not find much about their bass amps. Low and behold, the Unity delivered. It provides a tight, well rounded sound that should cover you in any situation, from practice to gigs. I used a fender geddy lee jazz with stock p/u’s. The amp offers 3 tube simulation settings, and all 3 has distinct differences. I prefer the 6505 setting. I was impressed how much room you have on your eq and drive knobs. You def will have to tweak to your personal preference. I was also impressed with how much lowend the eminence 10’s put out. Blackstar offers a powered 15 you can pair with the 2x10, and i was afraid i might need it. I do not, but its a nice touch that blackstar made it powered and put a dedicated out for it.The connectivity is great, with DI and even a USB jack for recording. The amp has built in chorus, fuzz and overdrive. The volume controls are on the back, which makes it a bit of a pain to adjust on the fly, but the chorus is rich and not overpowering once you get it dialed in.The fuzz/od/distortion is underwhelming, and I found myself not using it. You can barely make it out even when cranked. My only other SMALL nitpick is it could of used casters, but the Amp is not overly heavy, and the carrying strap is solid.Overall though, Im impressed with the package Blackstar put into this combo. Looking forward to putting it through its paces in live situations! Def recommend!

Awesome Amp

This is an awesome amp. have had Fender and Peavy bass amps my current before buying this a Fender. This Blackstar amp has the power to punch it out with the specially designed Eminence speaker pure clarity. or use it in the studio with the option of connecting 250 more watts through another unity active speaker which connects to the back of this amplifier. the range of tones you can achieve is great plus added chorus or compression. the build Quality is great also. the nice thing is the portability of the amp slightly heavier than competitive ones but manageable. over all I would recommend getting this amp if you want great sound, don't hesitate get it.versatility and portability. would highly recommend.

Does exactly what you'd expect

The amount of tones and sounds you can get from this amp is great for many different genres and players. The day I got it, I plugged in and the 120 watts sounded great in my home. I plugged my phone into the MP3 jack to play along with a track and jammed for a bit, no issues there. So far I have played 3 live gigs (rock music) with it and it has performed great. I keep the gain knob at around 2 O'clock, EQ set to my liking with my bass guitar, master volume at 12 o'clock and it has plenty of power to go around. I haven't tried either line out since I use a SM57 in front of the amp to the mixer. Unlike the 250 and 500 watt versions, the 120 does not have the drive sections like it says in the description. It does have the voicing switch with classic, modern and ... MoreThe amount of tones and sounds you can get from this amp is great for many different genres and players. The day I got it, I plugged in and the 120 watts sounded great in my home. I plugged my phone into the MP3 jack to play along with a track and jammed for a bit, no issues there. So far I have played 3 live gigs (rock music) with it and it has performed great. I keep the gain knob at around 2 O'clock, EQ set to my liking with my bass guitar, master volume at 12 o'clock and it has plenty of power to go around. I haven't tried either line out since I use a SM57 in front of the amp to the mixer. Unlike the 250 and 500 watt versions, the 120 does not have the drive sections like it says in the description. It does have the voicing switch with classic, modern and overdrive. It's hard to pick which I like better between classic and modern for me but I've used classic mostly. Overdrive adds a little bit of fuzz to the sound but not much. The chorus is a nice touch, not very noticeable while playing with a band but sounds good if you're playing a bass solo or by yourself at home. Compressor does what compressors are designed to do. I keep mine on but can't remember what I keep the knob setting at right now. It's just a great versatile amp. Small and portable enough to lug around between gigs but with a big sound.

Great tone, definitely not 500 watts loud.

Love this amps tone and design. Amazing. It's really nice. My problem lies with the power. For a 500 watt it's really quiet. Maybe it's my drummer. We play heavy metal and he just bashes that kit. Gets really loud. This amp doesn't cut it. Really unfortunate as I loved the price and sound. You'd think for a 500 watt this thing would cave in your room but nope. Played for a few hours and did a lot of tweaking of the voicing and all the cool options. Just can't get it to go loud.

I think its great

Overall:I find this combo amp to be perfect. The built in effects are fine, have had zero issue with them, the octave effect is meh, but the chorus is decent, and the fuzz has some real growl to it, I got the control pedal for ease of use. Dominates the practice space if I turn up, I also use the powered 15" extension cab, which if you got the cash I recommend highly. good amp, worth the money

I wanted a gigging amp

I wanted a gigging amp that would allow me to explore different sounds, give easy home recording options and give me a taste of using effects, without a bank breaking price tag. This fitted my needs perfectly. At 500watts it is capable of covering any venue I currently play at. The EQ is great and the response control gives a taste of tube amp character. Looks great, only real criticism I have is the controls for effects levels being on the back can be awkward to get to. The effects are usable though obviously limited by basic controls. For the money I don't think I could have done better to cover my needs!

Little belter

The Blackstar Unity 30 is such a versatile amp. The different voicing, eq, compression, overdrive, and chorus offer lots of tonal control. Add to this the direct out for hooking up to an active cab or pa for live performance or recording, and one amp is all you need. Plus it’s light and portable. What’s not to like? Love it!

Love these amps

We already have the Unity 250 at the studio, the 500 is the same, just meatier, as you'd expect. You can get loads of different sounds out of these, I don't particularly rate the onboard effects, but hey ho, nothing is perfect.

This thing thumps

This thing keeps its clarity at low volumes which is great to practice with at home, but is plenty loud to be heard in the mix while playing with others. The DI out means you have the option of using it at large shows as well as smaller venues. The cab extension option is another great feature which would really push this thing in to monstrous bass territory. The onboard effects are pretty sweet and straight forward to use, though I would say the included foot pedal isn't always the most cooperative to use. I wouldn't let that give you pause though this amp is the business and I will sing blackstar's praises loudly.