Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black

Comments about Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I bought this amp because a video on YouTube, HT-5 Metal. I have been playing for over 20 years and this things sounds great for the price. I though 5 watts was not enough power, but this bad boy is louder than you would think.

It has great sound quality, tone and gain. I play a lot of metal on a seven string and found that it can be a bit heavy on the bottom end. I recommend keeping the bass low, like under 9 o'clock or so.

Otherwise, if you your are looking for a small amp to practice with or record at home on a low budget, this should do the trick.

Comments about Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I've been playing the HT-5H for about 10 months now through a Marshall 1960A for practice/jamming at home. It has no problems driving the 4x12, but does seem to have a little too much bass on this setup. It has good breakup with the volume cranked past noon. I haven't noticed much difference with the ISF control, and I wish the EQ controls were for both channels. Having an effects loop is definitely a bonus.

Overall I've been happy with this little guy. For the price it's very hard to beat.

This is a 5 watt head, not a 100 watt barn burner. If you buy this expecting a 5 watt unit, you will likely be pleasantly surprised.

Comments about Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I've tested this amp with a modified Fender FatStrat (HSS) and a MusicMan Axis with a Carvin Legacy 4x12" (V30, closed back) and a Mesa Boogie 2x12" (V30, closed back). I'm pretty impressed but I think that the amp is too much on the "bright" side. It lacks depth (Bass, low mids). The clean is great, the overdrive is really great and pretty versatile. It sounds better with the 2x12" Mesa Boogie (less highs and more Oomph/bass). For the price/quality ratio and the portability I would recommend it, but try other small heads before buying. Just in case...

Comments about Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I have been playing guitar for over 58 years and have had 23 different amps and this one was not worth the effort.
Tried this amp on 3 different cabinets with different speaker combinations and could not get a real good sound out of it. It sounded artificial. Could have bad tubes .sent it back. I have a 3-5 watt Blackheart amp that covers this amp up at half the price.
Seems to be built solid
For the way It sounded it was a bad value

Comments about Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

Overall, I am very impressed with Blackstar so far. This amp has exceeded my expectations. I have had a lot of amps, from Fenders to Mesa Dual Recs, and this amp sounds great. As others have said, the clean channel is a little flat, but can be fixed very easily with a little EQ and reverb in the effects loop. Currently I am runnig a 2x12 GT celestions at 16 ohms. I was also surprised at how much volume you can get out of the clean channel. No, it is not be enough to get sparkling cleans with a full band, but this only a 5 watt head. I run a tubscreamer on the clean channel with a Telecaster and the thing rips VERY nicely. Sounds like a tube amp should. Where this thing shines is on the distortion channel. Tone is a personal thing, but this amp for me, sounds really impressive. I cant say that this amp sounds exactly like my old Dual Rectifier, but it surely reminds me of it. Smooth, clear, thick, high gain distortions are very possible. The ISF knob definetely makes a variety of tones possible. With dual humbuckers and a Les Paul, I can get a great brown sound. Also, SLO100, and British Rock are pretty much dead on too. The best part is, the amp doesnt sound fake. It has a true tube gritty but smooth and clear distortion. The distortion channel has a considerable amount of headroom too. Very useable. Remember, this is a cheap 5 watt head, so expectations have to be realistic, but this is the best amp for the money I have played for my likes in a LONG time. I was hesitant about Blackstar at first, but I am a true fan now and think my next amp will be the 100 6L6. Well done Blackstar.
For the money this amp has a lot of nice features. Pretty basic 3 band EQ with the ISF shaping knob. Nice that is is footswitchable 2 channel and an effects loop with switchable level. This amp comes stock with good tubes, NOT CHINESE! Who else does that for this kind of scratch? Based on what else is out there at this pricepoint, it deserves a 9 for features...
Seems to be great. Havent had it for that long but nothing cheap feeling about it at all. I can say that the 12AX7 was blown out of the box. Box had never been opened. I replaced it with a new JJ that I had and no problems since. As a side note, I emailed Blackstar about it, and they responded from across the pond in about 15 minutes. They said they had a small batch of "dodgey" tubes from the manufacturer. I am assuming that was one of mine. No worries. Very friendly guy.
I dont think you can do musch better for the money considering it is tube power and preamp.

Comments about Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

There's a lot of amps out there but few that sound like a 100 watt marshall without the overwhelming volume level. If you add an effects loop and an emulated recording output there's even less competition. I've played through marshalls for the last decade or so and I've never found an amp that comes close to the low end growl and the gain structure as this little 5 watter. That's why I say this is the best buy in it's price range and maybe even twice it's cost.It seems to be holding a strong resale value as well. Get one.......

Comments about Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

Tried all the little ones and this one blows them all away! Preamp and sonic maximizer in the effects loop with a delay, and omygod. Really shines with a 412 cab. I love it. Highly recommend. And it comes with a footswitch. WOW!

Comments about Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I love this amp! It is perfect for what I wanted and that was a low watt tube amp that sounded huge when cranked and this thing does. It's pretty loud so don't let 5 watts fool you. It's got a really nice clean channel and a wicked dirty channel. You can shape your sound so its' versatile. I play it through an Orange cab with a celestion vintage 30 and it's pure heaven. And to top it all off it has an effects loop! And it has nice looks, and it's lightweight. I honestly can't find one thing wrong with it...I just may buy another one cuz it's such an awesome dealio

Comments about Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

Although, I am not really fond of the clean channel, the overdrive channel makes up for it.The overdrive channel does anything from light breakup to metal. It's almost impossible to dial in a bad tone. Sounds good at lower volumes as well.FX loop is a plus!I run this head through a 12" Celestion Greenback speaker and play Gibson guitars equipped with p90s.

Comments about Blackstar HT Series HT-5H 5W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I bought this a couple of weeks ago looking for a tube head that would sound good at lower volumes. My previous practice amp was a Roland Cube 40x, and I also have a Peavey 5150 I half-stack. Right now I have it running through the 5150 4x12 cabinet, and it sounds GREAT. Huge improvement in tone over the Roland, and sounds much better at lower volume than the 120w 5150, which is too much of a beast for practice!! You can coax a wide variety of sounds from this amp, and the clean channel is very nice with chimey clears. The overdrive channel is pretty versatile, but is a little lacking in gain. For serious metal, shred, or thrash sounds you will want to run a distortion pedal through the clean channel (OD channel breaks up badly when used with distortion fx). A reverb pedal is a must, and a graphic EQ doesn't hurt, either.The only thing that I really miss on this little unit is a footswitch for the effects loop, as well as the channel. Other than that, it's a very solid amp for solo practice.