Blackstar Debut 50R Black

Yes a great amp from Blackstar good sounds on it's own but will excel with a few FX pedals.
If your fed up lugging heavy amps about as I am this could be for you. It has great tones and is well up to smaller gigs and of course can be miced up if needed. I believe this amp is designed as a first amp for beginner/intermediate players etc however it is in my opinion suitable for all especially if like me you are on a budget. I can't comment on reliability yet but hopefully that should be good. It appears to be well made and both colours look great I may have to have both!! Well done Blackstar its just what I was looking for.

I did need some cheap amp with 12 inch speaker. Mostly for clean tones. And I needed it to be lightweight, as it supposed to be one that will travel with me during many amp comparing week. (Yes, I know it sounds weird, but that was the reason). (Also - I am old, so I managed to collect few amps already, somehow I have the means to compare the sounds and behaviour).

The good things:
- price
- 12 inch speaker (not be best, but big enough to reproduce low end)
- two channels
- effects loop
- power attenuator switch 5W/50W
- clean channels stays clean
- overdrive channel goes to some mega-overdriven sounds
- this combo is small and very lightweight
- built-in reverb

The bad things:
- tone controls (if not that this amp could rock)
- overdriven channel gives good distortion, but rather weak crunch tones
- 5W/50W - works great on paper, but to have some acceptable tone you have to play at least at 75% volume in 5W - which is rather loud (louder than 5W from transistor amp)

Overal impression
I am satisfied with this amp and I can imagine it as very good entry-level choice for any guitarist. If you are young, need amp for practicing - it is way better choice (12 inch speaker, effects loop, 5W/50W switch, reverb) over "top" amps with 5 or 8 inch speakers.
It is not very bright on clean channel, but sounds very nicely and "jazzy" with clean humbucker on neck. On clean Strat I was missing the top "sparkle". Also because of how the whole tone stack is tuned it is rather impossible to adjust mids properly (read: the way I am used to set them).
This amp handles very well all kind of effects in front of it, which is also (not that obvious) a nice feature.

Final words
It is probably the most affordable amp with two channels (switchable by footswitch), 12 inch speaker, effects loop and reverb, loud enough to be used in rehersal room with real drummer. And it is small and lightweight enough to be carried with.
Much better choice for a start amp than many other (sometimes more expensive combos) with smaller speakers, without effects loop and without switchable channels.
And it has that 5W/50W switch, so you CAN actually use it at home for practicing. If not the weirdly tuned tone stack (the bass/mid/treble frequencies).

PS
One guy told me he did switch the speaker for some Celestion and the amp "started to live". As I believe it is possible, it is not my own opinion, and - as good speaker (Celestion) is around 150 Euro or more - that makes more expensive amps "affordable".

I needed an amp for home recording & gigs so when i seen the 50R, it suited me perfectly. The ability to change from 5W-50W is very handy for practicing at home when neighbors are "Not Music Lovers".

It's very versatile, travel friendly and easy to understand for someone without much amp knowledge, which i was. The ISF knob allowed me to get all those classic tones from the 60s which i loved along with letting me to find my own tone. Having an in-amp Overdrive got me into experimenting which i think is a great adventure for any artist.

Though i would personally lean towards a Room or Spring reverbs, the in-amp Plate & Hall give such a nice space around your playing and even adding a little bit goes a long way.

There's so many features on this amp that i still have to experiment with. The Clean Bright mode isn't something I've found myself using though i can see where it could be useful. As my first out and out amp, i don't think i could've chosen a better product for me.
Overall very very solid.