Blackstar HT-5H

**fbecir** · 10-20-2009, 01:36 AM

Hello

It's a bit early for Christmas, but I finally bought a Blackstar HT-5H last Friday.
The videos of Jamie Humphries broke all my good resolutions

. Especially this one :
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWnQfvvNdLI"]YouTube - Ernie Ball-Musicman Guitarist Jamie Humphries Ceremony[/ame]

The HT-5H is really nice. I plug it in a cab with 2x12" Celestion Vintage 30 (from 1986 !) and the sound is really great. The tones of my 3 Balls really shine with it and you can really hear the characteristic of each guitar.
The HT-5H is really a loud amp : with the 2x12" cab, I am sure that I can rehearse with my band or gig. The only limitation can be the clean channel where perhaps you lack some headroom (if you push the volume too hard, the sound is not clean anymore but starts to be crunchy).
Such a volume is really surprising for a 5 W amp.

My only fear was the lack of Reverb. But in fact, the sound is so good that you don't need to add reverb. It's always a good test : if an amp needs to have some reverb in order to sound good, it means that the sound is not rich enough.
Thus with the HT5, I plug directly in the amp and life is good

**Hakan** · 10-20-2009, 02:16 AM

Congrats! Good choice...

**PaoloGilberto** · 10-20-2009, 02:45 AM

Congrats

does it have enough gain for tones like Petrucci , Metallica, etc?

thanks a lot.

paul

**fbecir** · 10-20-2009, 03:36 AM

Originally Posted by PaoloGilberto

does it have enough gain for tones like Petrucci , Metallica, etc?

A lot of gain !!!
At 5, you are already in Heavy Metal territory (Iron Maiden). At 6, you can play some Dream Theater ... Of course, it depends on your guitar's pickups.
A lot of gain, a lot of sustain ... you cannot ask for more

**Phrat** · 10-20-2009, 04:17 AM

Not quite enough gain for me for Dream Theater solo tones but my HT5 works a treat on the clean channel with a Boss Metal Zone, really does sound fantastic. Love that little stack!

**PaoloGilberto** · 10-20-2009, 05:05 AM

Originally Posted by fbecir

A lot of gain !!!
At 5, you are already in Heavy Metal territory (Iron Maiden). At 6, you can play some Dream Theater ... Of course, it depends on your guitar's pickups.
A lot of gain, a lot of sustain ... you cannot ask for more

I have JP 6 with D sonic bridge pickup

Phrat , so you say a distortion pedal will goo along nice with this head...
I have a Rocktron Metal Planet, but I can buy a different one, just wanted to know if gain is enough and if not if a pedal is a good idea with this head

**Phrat** · 10-20-2009, 06:14 AM

Totally

The overdrive channel gives you the perfect british rock sound (rolling down the vol on my axis in the middle position gets the sweetest sound ever) but just not enough for me for the metal sound and the Boss Metal Zone seemed to do the trick. The clean channel takes the effect really well so would expect over heavy distortion pedals would be fine.

**fbecir** · 10-20-2009, 06:32 AM

With my SUB, my Morse or my homemade guitar (equipped with a DiMarzio Tone Zone) really, I don't need a distortion pedal. I play songs like Stream of Consciousness, Endless Sacrifice or Constant Motion and the gain I have with the amp is really sufficient. Of course Petrucci adds a lot of effects thus you don't have the same sound (nor the same fingers

, in fact it's the most important part !). Petrucci uses a high-gain amp but his sound is really precise, thus I don't think his gain is on 10.
After that, it depends really on your taste. For instance, most of the distortion pedals give you more or less the same sound independently of the guitar you are using. If you really like the sound of the pedal, it's great otherwise it's really boring. The HT5 gives you some nice options for sculpting your sound. But of course the Clean Channel is also very good for using your beloved pedals.

**Raven3d** · 10-20-2009, 12:02 PM

I have an ht5 i use at rehearsals, it just about keeps up with everything on 10, stunning amp though.
I think a series 1 100 watt head will be a purchase on my next visit to the uk.

**ScoobySteve** · 10-20-2009, 12:20 PM

I remember when Jamie first posted that video.

Great stuff!

**browndog** · 10-20-2009, 01:01 PM

Nice amp, I think I want one.

**ScoobySteve** · 10-21-2009, 03:09 AM

I remember Jamie stating that he's using a speaker coffin, kinda like an isolation cabinet, with his HT-5 head. Is the cabby mic'd up?

I wonder how he's recording his sound.

**ReB87** · 10-21-2009, 08:08 AM

François, I've been looking at this amp a lot lately (also seen the Jamie Humphries vid's

), but I cant find the info that I need so I was wondering if you could provide me with an answer.

I'm a huge fan of Eric Johnson and I love his tone (both clean and distortion). Is it possible to use this amp as a basis to re-create that amazing tone, or isn't this amp build for that kind of tone? (the violin, sing tone)?

**fbecir** · 10-21-2009, 08:30 AM

Originally Posted by ReB87

François, I've been looking at this amp a lot lately (also seen the Jamie Humphries vid's

), but I cant find the info that I need so I was wondering if you could provide me with an answer.

I'm a huge fan of Eric Johnson and I love his tone (both clean and distortion). Is it possible to use this amp as a basis to re-create that amazing tone, or isn't this amp build for that kind of tone? (the violin, sing tone)?

Jamie's videos are really nice. This guy can really play !
For Eric Johnson tone, it's hard to say because Eric uses quite a lot effects and he is a Strat Player.
With my ASS P90 or with my Morse, I can have a nice violin sound using the neck pickup (a P90 for the ASS or a humbucker for the Morse) with a lot of sustain. At home, I play mainly straight to the amp. I still have to try the HT5 with effects. There is a serial loop on the HT5 so it's perfect if I want to put a delay and a chorus.
The HT5 is a versatile amp, I believe you can find more or less the sound you want (perhaps if you play extreme music like Black Metal, it will not be good enough, but you are Dutch not Norwegian, so normally you don't play Black Metal

).
Try to find a shop where you can try the HT5. The ratio quality / price is really good.

**ReB87** · 10-21-2009, 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by fbecir

Jamie's videos are really nice. This guy can really play !
For Eric Johnson tone, it's hard to say because Eric uses quite a lot effects and he is a Strat Player.
With my ASS P90 or with my Morse, I can have a nice violin sound using the neck pickup (a P90 for the ASS or a humbucker for the Morse) with a lot of sustain. At home, I play mainly straight to the amp. I still have to try the HT5 with effects. There is a serial loop on the HT5 so it's perfect if I want to put a delay and a chorus.
The HT5 is a versatile amp, I believe you can find more or less the sound you want (perhaps if you play extreme music like Black Metal, it will not be good enough, but you are Dutch not Norwegian, so normally you don't play Black Metal

).
Try to find a shop where you can try the HT5. The ratio quality / price is really good.

Thanks for the reply!

I'm gonna try the combo version soon, but I was kinda hoping you tried hooking some effects up.

Haha, no, no black metal for me!