BLACKSTAR

TOTAL GUITAR DECEMBER 2020
94
F
or a compact MIDI
controller, the Blackstar
is hard to beat at this price
point. It’s a fl exible and
well-thought out piece
of kit that even has decent
software - normally where
equipment manufacturers trip
up. It’s built like a tank, and ships
with Ableton Live 10 Lite, since
it’s an Ableton-approved device.
After some fi ddling with the
editor, getting it to control Ableton
is straightforward. Moreover,
for heavy pedal users, the
footswitch MIDI controller is
a natural fi t. Perhaps an engineer
or producer would fi nd it less
intuitive, but for a guitarist it
makes sense. Of course, it can
be used as a general-purpose
controller to manage any
MIDI-enabled devices or
even amps, live or at home.
Though its capabilities as a live
looper controller are touted by
Blackstar, it’s not an area we can
comment on. Ableton tends to fi ll
the DAW niche for us rather than
as a live scratch-pad. Once we’ve
got a track down, we bounce out
a backing track version as a WAV
rather than leaving things too
much to chance.
One of the Live Logic’s less
obvious features is the ability to
accept two expression pedal
inputs. This allows for continuous
control over midi parameters.
It requires a little bit of setting
up to get the real value from,
but having real-time control
over a VST parameter at your
feet is defi nitely underrated.
All in all, there are no
downsides other than the
number of footswitches,
should you need more.
It’s aff ordable, robust and
- for something this powerful
- surprisingly straightforward.
Alex Lynham
BLACKSTAR LIVE LOGIC
The logical choice for er, Ableton
POWER: 9VDC
SWITCHES: 6,
assignable to
momentary or latching
INPUTS: Midi in/out,
EXPRESSION 1/2,
Mode, USB
AT A GLANCE
AFFORDABLE, ROBUST AND
STRAIGHTFORWARD...
TH
E G
AS
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T
A
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£129
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
USABILITY
SOUND QUALITY
TGR339.gear_quick.indd 94 05/11/2020 14:56