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Blackstar HT-5 Amplifier Head Review

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Blackstar HT-5 Amplifier Head Review

This review was submitted by Guitar Jar contributor: Paul

I got this amp as it was the most versatile 5 watt amp about. I play 80’s hair-metal & rock, and it kicks arse. This amp provides TV volume playing with an excellent sound.

…I brought a parametric EQ pedal and run this in the loop…wow! The amp becomes an absolute animal…

Blackstar HT-5 Head & Cabinets

Features:

The amp sounds better with an EQ pedal, which is detailed below. 5 watts tube head, fx loop, clean and dirty channel, ISF control which is UK-US sounds. EQ is good and crosses a big range of sounds. The amp has loads of gain on tap for Metallica type stuff.

For more specifications about the Blackstar HT-5 head, please visit the Blackstar website.

Ease of use:

Very easy to use and easy to get a good sound from.

Sound Quality:

The sound is good, I loved it for about 8 months even though it can be slightly dark; a lack of presence is how I’d explain it.

I brought a parametric EQ pedal from eBay made by Artec and run this in the loop…wow! The amp becomes an absolute animal. Huge presence and cut, massive bass thud increase and singing highs – felt like I’d taken a blanket of the speakers. If you buy the HT-5 head, get this pedal. You will not be disappointed!

Set it as it says in the user manual for a woody UK voice and turn level up to near max and turn frequency to suit guitar sound (about 7-8 for me).

I use it for UK sounds of the 80’s like Van Halen, Europe, Guns and Roses and it’s great. Very Marshally sounding. I’m not a fan of the US amp sounds, and never liked Mesa boogie sounds either. I wouldn’t use without the EQ anymore, it makes the amp amazing.

Reliability:

No issues and I’ve had it for 1 ½ years now.

Overall Rating:

It’s an excellent amp for the price, a million times better with the para EQ in the loop and for £35 it’s a no brainer. I would buy again.

The only other amp I’ve heard similar is an Orange Rockerverb 50 watt combo.

I’ve never tried it with the 10″ speaker cabs as I had a Marshall TSL212c cabinet which has a Celestion Vintage 30 and a Heritage speaker.

Perfect for home use and ****** loud – a lot louder with EQ also.

The only issue is if using the dirty channel with delay and you switch to the clean channel, there’s a big sound jump for a split second as the delay seems to get stuck on the dirty channel. It’s also the same with other effects.

I don’t play live so it doesn’t matter to me and I very rarely use the clean channel.

This review was submitted by Guitar Jar contributor: Paul

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