What's the final word on the Blackstar ht5?

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manyaxes

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I know it has already been discussed, but those threads were probably made in the honeymoon phases. I've been looking for reviews but they seem to vary from extreme to extreme. Some people say it sounds like a solid state distortion pedal into a gorilla amp, while others compare it to a vintage cranked Marshall at bedroom levels.

What do you think? Can it get the Mashall roarz and the Mesa/Peavey brootalz?

Is the combo (and its cone) decent sounding?
 
I had the HT5 head so I'll weigh in. It sounds real good through a good cab. Good Marshall like tone. I ran some good quality rack delays and reverb in the loop and it sounded great. Although it sounds good it didn't quite feel like a tube amp to me. It didn't have the response of a tube amp or the same feel when you roll the volume back on your guitar. It also lacked low end. The reason I sold mine was It as not loud enough to gig with, I had a true tube practice amp and I had other amps that i would rather play (Splawn and Mesa's) I used it for a few rehearsals through a 2x12 and it was just not loud enough. I wish it were because its light as a feather. All in all for a bedroom amp it's pretty cool.
 
I have had one for about a year now. Sounds like a cranked Marshall to me on the gain channel. No problems with low end for me so I think that your cabinet and speaker choice will be the deterimining factor there. I mainly use mine with a Celestion CL80 or an Emi Super V. I am not a big fan of the clean channel.
 
looved mine, specially the gain. Sounded better then most amps I have had. I only sold it to make way for the 20, but they took to long in releasing. Perfect to get a great sound at lower volumes. Not to great when you really need power to keep up with a loud band unmiced.
 
I had one but sold it

Though it was a good tube amp for low volumes, I think it was way overhyped. It got some good tones, but nothing to be orgasming about like a lot of people do about it. The clean channel was pretty unusable, at it broke up at pretty much... any volume, so don't expect much from that.

Saying it sounds like a cranked vintage Marshall at low volumes is a stretch IMO. And it definitely does not sound like a distortion box into a Gorilla.

It's a good amp if you for looking for a decent tone at low volume, but don't expect it to be like some of the best high gain amps in the market.
 
here was a demo clip I did when I first got mine, just for kicks. so you can perhaps hear what it sounds like micd up and in context.

 
great little amp and don't forget how $$$$ cheap they are :thumbsup:
 
I love mine...does it sound and feel like a Jose modded marshall? no....is it 5 watts of bedroom joy that gets close to a hot rodded marshall at low volumes and relatively cheap priced? yes....i run my blackstar ht-5 into a genz benz gflex 2x12. TC G Major in the loop. I boost it sometimes with a BBE Green Screamer and it's very nice to me.
i'm know that different speakers/cabs/gutiars/pickups etc...all make a huge difference in the sound. But everyone's ears are different also...and some people I know can't dial in an amp to save their life lol.
My playing sucks...but at least I like the sound of the amp lol.
 
I may pick one of these up for around the house. Does it *feel* like a tube amp?
 
Went back to try one out yesterday (my second time I was test driving one). This time I played it with the 1x12 Blackstar, with a 4x12 Blackstar and also into a 4x12 Engl.

I agree with both here:

BoneSaw":3ij40jpy said:
It sounds real good through a good cab. Good Marshall like tone. Although it sounds good it didn't quite feel like a tube amp to me.
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Khoi":3ij40jpy said:
Though it was a good tube amp for low volumes, I think it was way overhyped. It got some good tones, but nothing to be orgasming about like a lot of people do about it.

Saying it sounds like a cranked vintage Marshall at low volumes is a stretch IMO.

It's a good amp if you for looking for a decent tone at low volume, but don't expect it to be like some of the best high gain amps in the market.
Click to expand...

With all the hype regarding Blackstar, I think was expecting too much. It's not a bad amp but not what I need these days. I was thinking waiting for the 20 watts version to arrive at that store... But instead, I ordered a 6505... :D
 
psychodave":v033e05l said:
I like mine. I tend to use it when I play and surf the net :lol: :LOL: I would rather beat on a $250 amp than my CCV ;)
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Big +1.
For me, I get the urge to play at midnight a lot. Plus we have a new baby arriving soon. So I can get a nice saturated modern high gain tone at whisper volumes. Hell, I can play the thing through a 4x12 while the wife watches TV on the other side of the room.
 
yeah, I think the best thing about it is the price... for ~$250, you really can't go wrong
 
I had one and thought it was pretty good. The matching 112 cabs sucked though. I ran it through the low input of my 2204 into a 412 and really could manage a cranked Marshall tone at low volumes. But I could get the same tones running a Blackstar HT Dual pedal through my 2204 so I returned the HT5.
 
I think the HT-5 is one of the best amp purchases I've ever made.

Great bang for the buck. Does convincing marshall sounds at low volume. Mine gets more use than my Mark IV, just because it's so much more convenient for home use. Cabinet/speaker makes a big difference. The Blackstar stuff for the HT-5 head is not that great. I play mine through a Mesa 2x12 (V30's) with good results.

Great Amp
 
for what it is...the HT-5 is awesome! especially if you like high gain modern stuff.
cleans are ok, but thats not what you buy this thing for.

wish i could say the same about the HT-20...i sold my HT-5 to upgrade as the main selling point was 20W with 2 EL34s.
but it still sounds like a HT-5 (ie a very good pedal distortion type sound) but a tad warmer...none of that EL34 goodness when cranked!

modern high gain is defnitely its forte.

i still want try out the artisan 15/30
 
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