Has Anyone Actually Repaired A Blackstar Ht Amplifier

Featuring a very cool stereo digital reverb, the amp uses a unmarried ECC83 tube to produce five watts of output power.

Sound recorded with a Gibson Les Paul

Back in the mid-2000s, Marshall R&D employees Ian Robinson and Bruce Keir founded Blackstar Distension as a vehicle for their own blueprint notions. Since then, the visitor has enjoyed an admirable run of success. Thanks to a line that ranges from the HT stompbox series to Artisan serial handwired amps and the thunderous Series I amps, Blackstar quickly found fans amongst everyday guitarists and marquee players like Ozzy Osbourne axeman Gus G., Neal Schon, and such Britpop and New Wave stalwarts as Repeat and the Bunnymen'south Will Sergeant, Sea Colour Scene, and Paul Weller sidekick Steve Craddock.

Though the company'southward highest-profile amps to appointment take primarily been mid- to high-power amps with a distinctly British flavor, Blackstar has more than recently ventured into small-amp territory to give low-watt-loving studio artists and bedroom players access to Blackstar tones. The HT-5R combo is among the newest of these smaller offerings. Featuring a very absurd stereo digital reverb, the amp uses a single ECC83 tube to produce v watts of output ability.

Meaty Only Capable
The HT-5R'southward main controls are mounted on the top panel. Its two channels, which are selectable via the footswitch or the overdrive switch on the control panel, give you the ability to conjure everything from snappy cleans to churning growls. The Clean channel has simply one Tone knob that gives y'all everything from mellow warm tones to a brighter sparkle when cranked in the clockwise direction.

The Overdrive channel has a Gain and Book knob. The latter acts as a principal book, adjusting the overall output of the amplifier. The Gain knob increases the crunch of the overdrive, which is capable of everything from near-breakdown to a wild, hairy distortion. The Overdrive channel has an expanded EQ with Bass, Center, and Treble knobs. There'due south also Blackstar's signature ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) control, which is likewise found on select HT pedals and on most Blackstar amps. ISF lets you blend characteristics typical of American and English amplifiers. A counterclockwise plow emphasizes American-flavored rock tones—bass-heavy with exaggerated mids. A clockwise turn summons a more Brit-hued jangle. The reverb, meanwhile, ranges from the subtlest color to dramatic washes.

The rear panel of the HT-5R is habitation to some unexpected surprises. Aside from an Effects Loop, Blackstar includes a Cabinet Select feature, which can toggle between the 12" Blackbird 50 speaker in the amp's open-back cabinet, or an emulattion of a 4x12 closed-dorsum cabinet. Engaging the 4x12 gives a tighter response to the output, which does sound remarkably close to the character of a larger cabinet, admitting on a much smaller scale.

You'll too notice a 1/iv" MP3/Line Input that allows you to claw up a portable audio device (CD player, iPod, etc.) to jam forth with. The Emulated Output & Headphone jack is another approving for sleeping room enthusiasts. This output will give you lot the sonic qualities of a guitar cabinet at noiseless levels—perfect for recording or practice without rousing the neighbors.

With its handsome black vinyl and chrome knobs, the Blackstar HT-5R will be comfortable at both black-necktie events and roadhouse saloons. Weighing in at 27 pounds and burnished with some hefty corner brackets, this little fauna looks and feels rugged. But the sturdiness is more than pare deep—the ECC83 and 12BH7 tubes, as well as the rear panel controls, are all well recessed and secure from jostling onstage or in transit. You go the feeling that a lot of experienced players had a paw in designing this amp.

Multiple Personalities
I gave the Blackstar HT-5R a conditioning with my Fender Stratocaster, and started out on the more aggressive end of the amp's tonal spectrum. After dialing upwards some medium-high proceeds, calculation a slight boost to the Treble and ISF controls, and engaging the 4x12 cabinet emulation, I was treated to a whiplash tone with a nasty bite that was more a little reminiscent of an early Marshall. The meaty tube crunch remained true and intact, even at lower volume levels, thanks in no pocket-size role to the push-pull design Blackstar implemented for the power section. And even the quietest levels, my Strat'due south unmarried-coils breathed with life I sometimes don't hear from much larger heads.

Turning off the 4x12 chiffonier emulation guided the tone into a rich and darker zone. A counterclockwise tweak of the ISF knob and drop in the proceeds yielded the smoky sounds of Americana and Chess-style electric blues. There's existent weight to the low end that doesn't suffer from the amp'due south small size, and the very responsive EQ knobs are more than capable of adding midrange heft and genuinely cut trebles when y'all demand them.

With a Les Paul in hand, the Overdrive aqueduct off, and the Volume knob cranked to maximum, the channel exhibited a sweet combination of intermission-up and bawl. The darker humbuckers sounded a chip loose and rubbery with the amp's Tone knob prepare lower, but college settings brought out the Gibson'due south capacity for beautiful and crisp harmonics.

The Blackstar'due south reverb is responsive and lends a lot of flexibility to this amp. Information technology has a wide arc and a basic character that is brighter than, say, a archetype Fender reverb. But it's not at all harsh or "digital." At the highest settings, there's a slightly ambitious slapback quality in the echo that may be besides much for anyone other than experimentalists or surf and psychobilly pickers. But in general, the reverb is perfectly suited to the entire range of the amp's voices.

The Verdict
The Blackstar HT-5R is a uniquely crafted amplifier that'south at home onstage, in studios of every blazon and—provided you don't work with an aspiring Led Zeppelin rhythm section—the practise space, likewise. With a responsive EQ, a wide range of clean-to-high-gain voices, and a booming reverb, this little black box is well suited for recording artists and bedchamber pickers who are looking for more than refinement and warmth than you get from a upkeep practice amp. At most $450, this picayune guy may exist more than the average picker tin justify for an amp that probably isn't powerful enough for many gigging situations. But for dwelling pickers who consider tone paramount, this trivial Blackstar does a lot for the price.

Purchase if...
you're looking for 18-carat valve tone in a small packet.
Skip if...
y'all demand super-abrupt cleans at college volume or the horsepower to gig with a rock philharmonic.
Rating...