Blackstar's new Polar 2 is a USB recording interface designed for guitarists

Blackstar consistently impresses us with its willingness to diversify outside of traditional guitar amp expectations – recent years have seen plugins and fully-featured amp pedals entering the roster. Now it wants to change the USB audio interface game for guitarists, and we're all ears.

"Polar will never digitally clip, it reacts like a guitar amp, has high headroom FET inputs, and comes with a complete software bundle," says Blackstar. Bring it on, we say!

Ok, spoiler alert – we've already tested it for our Blackstar Polar 2 review and we are really impressed with its ability to bring amp-like qualities to the USB interface experience. Because we've all had those 'why does my guitar sound like a chainsaw going through a beehive?' moments when recording our guitar into a DAW.

Polar 2's FET (Field Effect Transistor) instrument inputs help to deliver the high headroom needed for electric guitar signals, with low noise. Blackstar's Enhance switch for the Polar 2 instrument input aims to go a step further for guitar players – it engages a circuit that's designed to mimic the input stage and character of a valve amp.

In his review for MusicRadar, my colleague Matt McKraken felt it was a subtle but effective tool resulting in a "definite increase in the fullness and ‘bloom’ of the signal".

In addition, players get all the bundled software they'll need to record with the company's St James amp modeller plugin , Ableton Live Lite, Melodyne Essentials, and Relab lx480 Essentials reverb plugin. The addition St James plugin alone makes this a compelling deal for players who want to get into recording at $199/£179.

Find out more in our Blackstar Polar 2 review , Reverb and Sweetwater .