Blackstar Sonnet 60

[Stillgrinning]

Hi Everyone, I find that I need a new Acoustic Amp, does anyone know anything about the Blackstar Sonnet 60. It is in my price range and has what is needed.
The only reviews that I can find are from Blackstar star and dealers.

Help please

[rmp]

Not what you want to hear or was asking for but for the asking price new, I'm not sure Blackstar is my 1st choice. Don't get me wrong, they have decent products, but in my experience, in the USA anyway, customer support for their products is very hard to come by and replacement parts are crazy expensive.

I paid 80 bucks for a power supply for one of their DUAL HT Overdrive pedals...
and it took quite a while to get it..

[Goat Mick]

Personally I would choose a Fishman Loudbox Mini over the Blackstar product. Same overall power, proven track record and actually a bit cheaper than the Blackstar.

[Kule Borgadi]

I have been using the Sonnet 60 for a few weeks now for outdoor patio type solo gigs. I owned a loudBox mini for a few years and loved it, but I was attracted to a few features on the Sonnet that the current mini didn’t have. First, I like the brilliance and high pass controls on the Blackstar. Second, I like that it is ported. The low end is super clear and when I bring up the volume the sound feels to me like the amp is “breathing it out” rather than driving it out if that makes sense? It also has a tilt feature and it can be mounted on a standard speaker stand if you buy the pole adapter for the amp. I live in the US and I think the adapter was like $11 or something. There are a number of other features the Sonnet has that are different from the Loudbox Mini, but the ones I listed are the ones that personally matter to me.

I play a Cole Clark Angel 2 through it and it’s been a really great match so far. My vocals through the amp are adequate. I would never use this amp as my only source of vocal amplification in a busy bar/late night environment, but for the type of gig I listed above, it’s been plenty. With that said, I have no experience with customer service, and I can’t speak to the durability of the amp, as I’ve only owned it a few weeks. Good luck!

[mrduke2]

Sorry to revive an ancient thread, but right now these are running for quite a bit less than the Loudbox Mini (about $300 US, or $400 for the 120 watt version). I imagine it was hard for Blackstar to go head-to-head with such a popular amp. Pity, because the Sonnets seem like nice amps.

[david57strat]

Originally Posted by mrduke2

Sorry to revive an ancient thread, but right now these are for quite a bit less than the Loudbox Mini (about $300 US, or $400 for the 120 watt version). I imagine it was hard for Blackstar to go head-to-head with such a popular amp. Pity, because the Sonnets seem like nice amps.

I've been playing through a Roland AC-60 forever, but have been wanting to pick up a pair of Sonnet 60s - or possibly the 120s, to run a full (compact) stereo setup.

Sweetwater have them on sale (Actually, I think there's been an across the board price drop on these), on both, the 60 and the 120).

You can pick up the Sonnet 60 for $300.00, and the 120, for $400.

Looks like Sweetwater's sale will be ending on the 30th of September.

I'm a huge Jon Gomm fan, and loved the way he incorporated a pair of Sonnet 60s into this video he did for Passionflower.

https://youtu.be/OK9gyprlvv8

For those of you who didn't know, he also helped design the Sonnet series, after being unimpressed with many acoustic amps that he had used previously. I think the end result is worth the purchase.

I was also favorably impressed with Jon Gomm's thorough demo and discussion on the Sonnet Series. I'd like to give it a try.

https://youtu.be/o3bxcK-jTLk

I haven't seen a feature set that can be matched, anywhere close to this price, or in this size of amp, by any other acoustic amp manufacturer.

Here's a review of the Sonnet 60, from American Songwriter.

Here's one of the 60, from Guiitar.com

..and a review on Acoustic Review (UK), on the Sonnet 120

Here's a YouTube video review on the Sonnet 60

[mrduke2]

I recently had a K & K pickup installed in my guitar. When I picked it up on Saturday, I asked to plug it into a Sonnet 60 that they had on hand. I was shocked that the output was so low: I literally cranked both the gain and the volume to the maximum setting, and it was just barely louder than my guitar. I realize that a DI or a pre-amp may help with passive pickups, but I should have been able to get more volume out of the thing: clearly it was engineered for active pickups. I then plugged it into a Loudbox Mini and...plenty of volume with headroom to spare. I'm glad I was able to compare these two.
Michael

[david57strat]

Originally Posted by mrduke2

I recently had a K & K pickup installed in my guitar. When I picked it up on Saturday, I asked to plug it into a Sonnet 60 that they had on hand. I was shocked that the output was so low: I literally cranked both the gain and the volume to the maximum setting, and it was just barely louder than my guitar. I realize that a DI or a pre-amp may help with passive pickups, but I should have been able to get more volume out of the thing: clearly it was engineered for active pickups. I then plugged it into a Loudbox Mini and...plenty of volume with headroom to spare. I'm glad I was able to compare these two.
Michael

Out of curiosity, which K&K passive system did you have installed and on which guitar? I've been intrigued by their offerings (but looking at their active systems), and have considered going with a K&K, for a future guitar purchase (I'm looking at picking up a Cordoba C12 cedar top Classical, but probably not until next year); but I've only ever once purchased a passive pickup (If you can call it that. It was a Dean Markley Pro Mag, a temporary whole-mount pickup, which was pretty awful. I bought this about 1983, and had only been playing the guitar for about two years, at the time. When I married, in the Spring of 1984, I was a 20-year-old kid, and I didn't have much of a budget to work with; so my guitar gear selections were extremely limited.

I subsequently used it on an old Yamaha FG-160 that I got very cheap, the year I got married.

The guitar, the pick-up and my now ex-wife (as of 2007) are long gone (Not gone, as in deceased. She moved on, and it was a peaceful parting).

I haven't played through a passive system since about 1989, and have always favored active systems - probably since I've never previously owned a nice preamp to plug into, and I usually just settled for whatever pickup system happened to be installed in the guitar, at the time. That has changed, since about 2009, when I picked up a pair of Presonus Studio Channels, that I dedicated for use with my acoustic/electric guitars, in a stereo rig. These days, I'd be more inclined to buy an acoustic instrument with no electronics, then (later) carefully choose the pickup to suit the need for that instrument and the way I planned on playing it.

I can now see where, if you already have a decent preamp in which to plug your guitar, active electronics are likely not necessary and probably a redundant purchase for the instrument. I've always like having the extra gain available, right on the instrument's electronics, though - for better or worse - at least for live work.

For me, it's possible that pickup purchases may go the way of passive systems for future acoustic guitar purchases, if I decide it's worth hauling rack equipment out to venues, once again (have been using dedicated pedalboards, rather than any rack gear, these days - but have D.I.'s, etc.). Haven't played a live gig in over ten years, so that hasn't' been much of an issue, lately. But, I intend to play live again, sooner than later, so I'll have to cross that bridge, at some point.

Had an L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic D.I. some years back, but sold it when I picked up the Presonus units. I'm kind of sorry I did that. That was a very capable active D.I. If I go passive, I'll want to pick up something to recover the loss of the gain that I'm used to having available to me, before that signal ever hits a DI or an amp. Might end up being another Para Acoustic, but there seems to be an almost staggering range of options available, these days, for plugged-in acoustic players. I may have to explore what floor-based boxes will do the trick.

Kind of surprising to hear that the Sonnet 60 didn't give you any usable gain, with your K&K system, when you gave it a test run. It's hard to imagine an acoustic guitar amp designed strictly for active acoustic guitar electronics, but not outside of the realm of possibility, though.

I haven't yet owned one of the Sonnets, but intend to own a pair of the 60s, to run a full stereo, pedal-driven rig, this year. So, I can't speak, from experience, to what setting may have yielded more output out of your guitar; but it sounds like you already made the necessary adjustments to the amp to get what you could out of it. I was thinking you may have activated a pad setting, with a button, but I don't think there's a pad option available on the 60, for instances where the guitar's pickups are just way too hot and need to be attenuated. Had that been the case, it could have easily padded your signal by 10 to 15 db. That would have severely hampered any kind of output you could expect from a passive acoustic guitar pickup. But, that not being the case leaves it a mystery, in my mind.

That's kind of saddening to hear.

Thanks for posting this.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by david57strat

But, that not being the case leaves it a mystery, in my mind. That's kind of saddening to hear.
Thanks for posting this.

Besides the fact that amp could have been defective, there could have been another simple explanation, if the bass/mids were turned hard left a lot of power could have been lost , same with the phase button, and even more importantly, the master high pass filter could have been turned hard right killing a ton of signal.

[david57strat]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Besides the fact that amp could have been defective, there could have been another simple explanation, if the bass/mids were turned hard left a lot of power could have been lost , same with the phase button, and even more importantly, the master high pass filter could have been turned hard right killing a ton of signal.

Points, all well-made. Thanks for sharing them!

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by david57strat

Points, all well-made. Thanks for sharing them!

I see Sweetwater is out of stock on the 120, I was going to order one to see how good they are! And poster Kule Borgadi in one of the earlier posts said that he prefers his Sonnet 60 over the loudbox mini that he owned, so that pretty much tells me something was amiss about the Sonnet 60's lack of volume!

[mrduke2]

Hi David. The pickup I installed was the K & K Pure Mini. A number of people on this forum recommend them for their warmth and lack of coloration, so they convinced me.
In terms of the amp, I adjusted the EQ settings to try to increase the output. (They started at 12 o'clock). The Sonnet 60 doesn't have a pad, but in any case I messed with the phase switch and just about anything else on the amp to increase the volume. For what it's worth, the salesperson--who seemed pretty knowledgeable about acoustic amplification--didn't seem to think that the amp was defective. Just goes to show how useful it is to try out equipment in person whenever possible.
Michael