Blackstar Polar 2 Audio Interface Designed for Guitarist 2 in 2 out Inc: St James Software Suite & Ableton Live Lite & More

I have a small home recording studio and predominantly write and record guitar driven music, my usual audio interface that I use is an MOTU M4 which is great and does a fantastic job, however, when I saw that Blackstar had brought out an audio interface specifically for guitarists, this caught my eye. After doing some research and reading reviews I went ahead and purchased it. After unboxing the first thing that struck me is the build quality, this is a well built bit of kit, the case is metal with metal knobs that feel satisfying and smooth whilst turning them. The switches are also metal. After downloading the relevant software and drivers it was very easy to set up and my DAW (Reaper) recognised it straight away. I use Windows 11. Another plus is that there is both an input meter and out put meter, some interfaces only have an LED that lights up when clipping. Now for the 'special sauce', the enhance function, esentially what this is does when activated by the switch, is to behave as though you are plugged into an amp, it lets you drive the guitar by vilocity, the harder you play, the more drive and distortion you get, so in other words you can play as hard as you like and you will not clip while recording. It also subtly improves the tone, making the guitar sound fuller and richer but this is very subtle. Obviously you will still need to play through your favourite amp sim plugin. I have not used this interface with a mic or line instrument yet but the reviews I have read have said that the pre-amps are excellent and with a mic the enhance mode gives it a pleasing 'airy' quality. My only slight negative is with the audio out, to me it apears to add slightly more bass or at least compared to my MOTU M4 but maybe its just me as I haven't noticed anyone else mentioning this and I haven't tested the EQ curve. In summary this interface represents excellent value for money, the build quality, functionality and sound is superb and you will not be disapointed, oh and of course you get the superb St James amp suit vst free !

Great interface for guitarists. Easy to use and works brilliantly!

Just by looking at the packaging you get the impression that this is a premium product, and it definitely does not disappoint. The looks are very simple but very professional. As soon as you get it out of it's packaging you can tell that this is really well made and has a solid look and feel to it. Although this says this is an audio interface for guitarists, with 2 input channels, there is nothing stopping you from connecting two other instruments to it besides a guitar and a MIC (which is what I am using it for). If you are a beginner and are wondering exactly what an audio interface does, then put simply, an audio interface is a bit of equipment that allows you to connect musical instruments, or other audio equipment, to a computer by converting analogue signals to digital signals (ADC) that your computer can understand, and it also converts the signals back from digital to analogue signals (DAC). The output can be recorded or played back through speakers or even headphones that you connect to the 2 output channels on this product. When I link up my guitar and microphone to my PC through this, I always sing along whilst playing the guitar. I record the output so that I can get feedback from more experienced musicians in order that I can improve both my singing and also improve my guitar skills. Remember, although this equipment can record top quality audio thanks to the quality of it's ADC and DAC preamps, you have to have top quality speakers and a top quality amp to get a true representation of what you really sound like. With the hardware, you are also entitled to download a copy of the Ableton Live Lite software in order that you can use it with this audio interface. Obviously the Lite version means that it doesn't have all the functionality available that you get with the full version of the software, but in all honesty, if you are a beginner like me, then you don't really need it anyway. The Lite version is very powerful in it's own right and there is so much you can do with it, that for a while, I thought I was using the full version. You can quite easily produce records with just this Lite version so it's definitely worth getting. One limitation I am aware of with the Lite version is that it is limited to a total of 8 tracks. You can have all 8 as audio tracks, or 4 audio and 4 midi so it is still very versatile. What's great about this Blackstar Polar 2 is that it doesn't digitally clip the input signal so you can use it just like you would a normal amp. Simply brilliant!

This is a terrific interface for guitarists wanting a terrific low latency signal into their DAW. The Blackstar amp modeling software is also seriously top shelf and you’ll be able to find sounds that will meet your highest expectations. Terrific product that was a breeze to set up.

Doesnt let you use the device without an account wtf..

Excellent audio interface. Works perfectly.