Off Topic Blackstar Amps

[TonyEVH5150]

I'm currently selling my 50 watt Peavey amp - way too much power for my current playing gig (my bonus room). I've been reading up on smaller/lower wattage amps, and came across this one:

Blackstar HT Series HT-5H and HT-110 Guitar Mini Half Stack and more Guitar Amplifiers at GuitarCenter.com.

Anybody have any experince with these amps, or the Blackstar amp line? With the features it has, it sounds like it might be the one I'm looking for, but I wanted to poll the group.

 

[Jason2112]

From GC's page:

In making the Blackstar HT-5H ideally suited to home and studio use, the aim was to develop a tube amp that sounded full in tone even at the lowest volume level.

That's the challenge that very few companies have been able to get right. I've never heard of Blackstar before, so I can't comment on how good it sounds or how it would meet your expectations. My skepticism is on its ability to sound good at a low volume at that price point.

Bad Cat makes a few low-wattage amps that sound amazing. The Lil' 15 is a (loud) 15w amp that sounds huge at any volume level, but they also have a 7.5w amp called the Alley Cat that, from what I've heard, is very impressive. Thing is, Bad Cat amps are at the other end of the price spectrum....

 

[luv]

From GC's page:

In making the Blackstar HT-5H ideally suited to home and studio use, the aim was to develop a tube amp that sounded full in tone even at the lowest volume level.

Seems like an entirely impossible task to achieve. Clearly, amps sound better and fuller at even slightly higher volume levels. I have a Super Champ xd...which sounds really good a low volumes, but I wouldn't say "full" at low volumes....it sounds much better when it's able to breath.

I too have been looking at different low wattage amp heads. That Black Star has a great feature set, as does the Egnator Rebel (slightly different price points), but I've not heard either. The Orange Tiny Terror looks interesting too, but limited features there. I'd love to be able to sit down an a/b all of these little heads.

Curious about the blackstar....at that price, almost worth a gamble.

 

[DJ.]

Here is an example of the Blackstar:

YouTube - jhmusicman's Channel

For the video of Ceremony that was my Silhouette Special running into a 5 watt Blackstar head, with a Blackstar HT Boost pedal...its was micd and then mixed with the backing track with a little delay....the album version i used my Supersport with a 6 watt cornford...anyway...hope this is enough info to keep you guys going...i will be at this years bash...and i wont get locked out...and dont be cheeky about my car..its collectable haha!!!...Take care guys..and again thanks for the warm welcome..jamie

 

[TonyEVH5150]

Luv, that's what I was thinking. It's at the price point of the Blackheart amps (the other amp I was interested in), but it has more features (channel switching, effects loop). Plus the "ISP" control sounds like the texture knob that my Peavey has.

I was looking that the Egnator Rebel, but it's not at my price point, at least not yet.

Blackstar also has a 5w combo amp (basically the same features as the half stack, but in a all in one box), but it's the same price at the half stack. I'm more tempted by the half stack, because I could put a Hot Plate in there, and crank the amp up, but have lower volume out of the speaker.

 

[spkirby]

Hi Tony,

I recently picked up a HT-5 Head and play it through a Celestion G12H loaded 1x12 cabinet. It sounds really really good especially for the price! The clean channel has good headroom and while not fendery shimmery it does the job, and can be pushed into a lovely crunchy sound. The gain channel is a monster and has a lot of tone options on tap from great bluesy crunches to full blown shred if required. It also amazed me how loud 5w are...no way will I be turning this up all the way at home!

These Blackstars punch way beyond their price band...I still prefer my Cornford Hurricane tonewise and responsewise but then it is 6x the price so it should win the contest....but the Blackstar does not disappoint in any way.

The only thing I'd like in the head is a reverb but I have a digital delay so its not a big issue...

 

[blackmore]

when i had a marshall tsl601 i tried the ht5 combo and it blew it away at house levels it was just heaven in a box,iam going to get one soon

 

[beej]

I've heard decent things about the Blackstars. Saw a good high gain video on Youtube a while back, though I think the guy was slaving it into another amp.

Seems like an entirely impossible task to achieve. Clearly, amps sound better and fuller at even slightly higher volume levels.

There are lots of amps that sound great at lower volumes, really depends on the design. Some master volumes (typically the post phase-inverter approach) work really well. You can crank up the preamp and PI, but you still don't get to load up the output tubes. For that you need attenuation or power scaling.

Slaving is another great approach, amp -> load -> amp #2. Check out the Metroamp forums for some of the bedroom volume tones guys are getting out of their Plexis. Lots of ways to get good tone at low volumes.

I've got two amps that sound phenomenal at bedroom volume. My Guytron has an extra ouput stage, internally it's loaded and then slaved. Sounds very rich at all volumes. I've also got one of the little Suhr Badgers- great implementation of power scaling, it sounds very rich even at whisper volumes.

But of course ... the budget is the big issue. Hard to do it all on a tight budget. Tony- what about using a decent pedal in front of a lower wattage amp?

 

[ScoobySteve]

when i had a marshall tsl601 i tried the ht5 combo and it blew it away at house levels it was just heaven in a box,iam going to get one soon

A 5w combo with a 10" celestion with tube driven cleans and distortion? With an effects loop? This thing looks like a promising ultimate home practice machine!

 

[ShaneV]

I've heard nothing but great things about Blackstar, and I'm really excited about their new Series One stuff that's set to come out soon. If they are as cool as they seem, I will probably be picking one up as my new main amp.

The HT5 is so popular that no one can really keep it in stock, so if you want one you better act quick! (A batch just came in at most of the big stores, probably won't last long)

 

[ScoobySteve]

That HT-5C head is something that I'm definitely looking into.......

 

[TonyEVH5150]

I've heard decent things about the Blackstars. Saw a good high gain video on Youtube a while back, though I think the guy was slaving it into another amp.


There are lots of amps that sound great at lower volumes, really depends on the design. Some master volumes (typically the post phase-inverter approach) work really well. You can crank up the preamp and PI, but you still don't get to load up the output tubes. For that you need attenuation or power scaling.

Slaving is another great approach, amp -> load -> amp #2. Check out the Metroamp forums for some of the bedroom volume tones guys are getting out of their Plexis. Lots of ways to get good tone at low volumes.

I've got two amps that sound phenomenal at bedroom volume. My Guytron has an extra ouput stage, internally it's loaded and then slaved. Sounds very rich at all volumes. I've also got one of the little Suhr Badgers- great implementation of power scaling, it sounds very rich even at whisper volumes.

But of course ... the budget is the big issue. Hard to do it all on a tight budget. Tony- what about using a decent pedal in front of a lower wattage amp?

Budget isn't entirely the issue. I've just realized that I'm pretty much a hobbyist guitar player, and that I probably won't play anywhere outside of my own house. I don't need a high wattage amp or a huge rig. Heck out of the five pedals I own, I only use 2 (tuner and wah). My 15" x 30" pedalboard has a ridiculous amount of space for rent.

I guess I'm looking for an amp that performs well, is less than 30 watts, and isn't going to break the bank. If I can get great tone out of a 5 watter that costs $400, then I'm set. My 50 watt Peavey was that much, and it was way too much amp for my needs. I barely turned the volume up past 3 on it.

 

[Phrat]

Hey, I picked up the HT5 stack a couple of weeks ago and it is a very nice amp. Great simple tube sound and it looks really cool.

Here he is with his new friend

I have been getting some great tones from this amp even at low volumes, but there is some serious volume available if you crank it up. I have been playing all my guitars through PODS for the last 5 years and i really wanted to get an amp that I could use at home (i dont gig) that was tube powered and had a great sound. Guitarist magazine raved about this so i went and tried it at PMT in Brum (just the HT5 head through Blackstar Artisan 4x12) and loved it. I loved it even more at the price! They got one in for me the next day.

Really am loving it so i highly recommend one to you

and so do musicradar.com based on their review

 

[ShaneV]

This thread got me browsing Youtube and I stumbled onto this dude demoing An HT5 with a SUB. This is not the best HT5 video I found, but the better ones didn't have EBs so I don't want to post them here. Pretty impressive gain tones for a small combo like that though.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou4KTcdsuJc&feature=related]YouTube - Blackstar HT5 Demo[/ame]

EDIT: He also has a silo special towards the end. That'll teach me to post before finishing a video

 

[Spudmurphy]

Ok when you ask for opinions it's often awkward to speak against it when there are forum members who own one.
So this is just my opinion - I tried one for about 15 mins at the Music Live show at Birmingham last year and I was disappointed.
Why? - I just felt that it was too much of a one trick pony - it sustained and distorted very nicely but there again so does my £20 smokey amp through a speaker cab. It just didn't deliver on the cleans. (That has already been stated above).
From an amp I expect it to do 2 things - give me great cleans and give me a great overdriven sound at low and high volumes. My F50 does it, and at $399 for a blackstar amp, would I be right in saying that for another $300 you could get a second hand F50 or similar in the US?

I don't know what you are looking for. I have also tried an Orange Tiny Terror -my mate has one, and it delivers better cleans.

An amp building mate of mine rates this (Blackstar)amp - but he is into a Billy Gibbons on steroids + viagra sound!

Try before you buy. Caveat Emptor.

 

[colinboy]

Blackstar is a company set up by engineers who previously work for marshall amplification in the uk but decided to leave and set up there own company.
Ive never heard the amps in person but i didnt hear the pedels that they make which have real valves in them and sound fantastic!

 

[Tomcat84]

I've ordered an HT-5 combo through guitar center online, it should be getting here tomorrow.

Signature Morse will be coming in about 1 week I hope

 

[Jason2112]

Interesting... so I watched some of the demo clips on Youtube and noticed a few things about this amp:

- the US <> UK switch is a cool feature that has a noticeable difference in tone
- speaker emulation for direct recording

However, the cleans just didn't seem to have warmth and depth - especially for an amp that has a dedicated clean channel. Also the gain sounded a little too compressed at higher levels. At less than $400 I guess it's a good compromise, and I suppose you could use an EQ to round out the tone (even better, push it with a Boss DS-1). I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade by any means, if this amp rocks your socks than get one and wail on it.

Spud mentioned the Orange Tiny Terror, and based on what I saw on Youtube, that amp seems to have the sound qualities that the Blackstar is missing (to my ears anyway), at the expense of only having 1 channel, fewer controls, and fewer options. As they say, YMMV, but anyone looking at a low-wattage amp should at least take a look at the Orange Tiny Terror. Sounds about as good as the Bad Cat amps I previously mentioned (same basic class A 'Vox' design).

Edit: Just read that Orange is making a Dual Terror - 2 channels, 7.5w/15w - I may have to get one

 

[spkirby]

Tony, I think based on everyones opinions you'll just have to track one down and try it out...lets face it youtube and online demos are not going to do any amp justice and in real life the amps will sound always different based on your gear, playing and preferred settings. (I.e. a Peavey JSX amp wont make you sound like Satriani!!!)

Lets face it the Blackstar is feature rich at a very low price, it will not beat Bad Cats, Mesa Boogies or Cornfords in a straight fight so theres no point even bringing those up. The Orange TT sounds good too but has less features and costs more so figure out what you are looking for.

Also speaker cabinets will make a hell of a difference...my Celestion G12H solid pine cabinet will also sound better than the stock blackstar 10" cabs.

In summary the Blackstar works for me - with my setup - for what I need it for...a decent and flexible practice amp with good tones at low volume...

 

[TonyEVH5150]

i've wondered about that too. a few years ago, I tried out a EpiphoneValve Jr 5 watt amp. Played through the 8" speaker cab, it didn't take much for it to break up. The sales guy plugged it intoa 4x12, and it opened up quite nicely.

Any recommendations of some good 1x12 or 2x12 extension cabs that would make a Blackstar 5 watt open up?

Edit . . . thought about this one.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Blackheart-BH112-1x12-Guitar-Speaker-Cabinet-600557-i1374788.gc

Again trying for great tone and keeping it slightly on budget . . .