Blackstar HT-5th
Has anyone got one of these? I tried one in the shop the other day and loved it, but wondered what a long term user thought (after all, it's a pretty big investment). Also, does anyone have any suggestions as to similar low-wattage valve amps, as expensive as the HT-5th (£429) or less (preferably less
)
Thanks, Sam
it's not all-valve
you have a lot of options at £400- also, does it need to be low wattage? In my experience, for home use (assuming home use doesn't mean "whisper volume so as not to wake a sleeping baby"), higher wattage valve amps often sound better at home volumes than lower wattage amps, certainly if you're looking at more modern, mainly-preamp-distortion tones (which i'm guessing you are if you're looking at the blackstar).
Options? I need it to be fairly portable while still having great tone, hence the low wattage thing, just because it's easier to look that way than to find weights and dimensions. Have you played it? I think it's awesome, but that said I have very little experience in decent amps. I was disappointed by the standard ht-5 though.
nope never tried it, just pointing that out as i want you to go in with your eyes open. only blackstar i have tried was the artisan 15, which is all-tube, and ironically i wasn't too fussed
if you're trying to keep the weight down (and don't mind making two trips), one of those lunchbox-type heads combined with a 1x12 cab might be the best way to do that.
Yeah, I considered the Orange Tiny Terror, but not sure about the lack of controls... Have you ever tried one?
yeah, i wasn't super-fussed on the one i tried. it wasn't terrible or anything, but was a bit of a one-trick pony. There are loads of options now in that style of amp, though- egnater (haven't tried them), orange now has the dual terror, dark terror, jim root terror and the new or15 (haven't tried any of those, just the tiny terror), hughes and kettner has a few, mesa, vox, traynor, probably a bunch more that I've forgotten.
Actually now that I list them it appears that I've tried very few of them.
I'd have a long, hard look at the Jet City JCA2212 combo - two channels, does high gain very well and it's pretty light. While it's a 20W amp, they do sound great at low volumes (and they're very controllable). I have the head version, and I can quite easily get great tones out of it at bedroom volume through a 2x12". Not only that, but I can easily play gigs with it too
EDIT: Forgot the link:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/jet_city_am...itar_combo.htm
£250...bargain!
Originally Posted by nocaster
It all depends. What do you want from it? If you want a solid core tone to shape with pedals, an eq, fx loop and channel switching is not important (okay, maybe the fx loop will be... it's the only thing I miss :-( ). In this case, there are a whole bunch of 5 watt heads. I have the Mooer Little Monster, which sounds incredible (the online videos don't do it justice at all), and is immensely versatile because it offers a good solid core tone. However, if you're looking at the HT5, you probably want 2 channels and an fx loop. Somewhere in between is the Tubemeister. I'd recommend the 18 watt version for that money though, as you can switch it to 5 or even 1 watt (or 0 for silent practise with headphones). If I had the money, I'd get one of those. It shares an eq, but does offer a gain boost.
If crunch is important, Marshall Class 5 is beautiful. Just don't expect any cleans from humbuckers at all :P again, it can be very versatile in a dirty way, but you need to know what you're doing. All valve amps respond lots to touch. Lots of people change one type of humbucker for a similar voiced upgrade, and wonder why the change is subtle, yet by changing to a different brand of string, it's like a new guitar.
Finally, I thought the HT5 was all valve? Yeah, it has a solid state rectifier, but there are very few amps nowadays that use a valve one.
Check out the tubemeister 18 combo ;-)
Also, THIS. These amps are bloody awesome, especially for that money. You could also try for a used Fender princeton or DRRI. If you were feeling particularly good, the hughes and kettner statesman is a fave of mine, though I couldn't afford it at the time :-(
I'd have a long, hard look at the Jet City JCA2212 combo - two channels, does high gain very well and it's pretty light. While it's a 20W amp, they do sound great at low volumes (and they're very controllable). I have the head version, and I can quite easily get great tones out of it at bedroom volume through a 2x12". Not only that, but I can easily play gigs with it too
EDIT: Forgot the link:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/jet_city_am...itar_combo.htm
£250...bargain!
All you need is this
http://forum.musicradar.com/showthre...il-7-15w-Combo
Reply With Quote
