blackstar ht5-c combo, ht5-h head & ht5-s mini stack£249, £219 ...

BLACKSTAR HT5-C COMBO, HT5-H HEAD & HT5-S MINI STACK £249, £219 & £349
guitar ampS
Photography by Dave Caudrey
108 Guitarist November 2008
GIT309.rev_blackstar 108
8/10/08 3:28:35 pm

BLACKSTAR HT5-C COMBO, HT5-H HEAD & HT5-S MINI STACK £249, £219 & £349
guitar ampS
Blackstar HT5-C combo,
HT5-H head & HT5-S ministack
£249, £219 & £349
Blackstar’s new amp provides stellar tone at prices low enough
to reverse the credit crunch. Do we like it by Nick Guppy
What we
want to know
1
2
3
Can you use the HT5 live
Yes, for small gigs, or if you
have a PA you can mic it up
or use its emulated output
and you should be fine.
What is a throughplated
PCB
Through-plating involves
putting solder pads on both
sides of a PCB and joining
them with a tiny metal tube,
so when a component is
soldered, the solder flows
from one side of the board
to the other under capillary
action, holding everything
firmly in place. Throughplated
PCBs are expensive
and it’s unusual to see one
in an amp at this price.
Who is this amp for
Anyone who wants great
tone at a low price. Ideal for
beginners through to
professionals and great for
practice and recording.
From its new Northampton
base, Blackstar continues to
impress us with its range as
each new model comes into
production – and it isn’t just the
relatively expensive hand-wired
products that we’re excited by. It
may not be the first time that a
company has taken a stompbox
and turned it into a fully-fledged
amp, but when that company is
Blackstar you can expect the
result to be special and not just
another run-of-the-mill formula
design. So here’s the latest amp
from Blackstar, which we’re
tipping to be the runaway success
of 2009. Please allow us to
introduce the new HT5.
Based on Blackstar’s best-selling
valve-powered HT pedal range,
the HT5 is a straightforward twochannel
design with a shared EQ
and a push-pull power stage
based, rather unusually, on a
single 12BH7 valve. Normally one
output valve means single-ended
pure class A, however, the 12BH7
is a twin triode with two separate
amplification stages in one
envelope, very similar to the
ECC82 or 12AU7 with slightly
more power on tap. These two
amplification stages make it
possible to use the more efficient
push-pull configuration that 90
per cent of all valve amps use.
While the 12BH7 may not be as
well known to guitar players as
the more common 12AX7 twin
triode, it was used on earlier
incarnations of the venerable
Ampeg SVT and is quite popular
among homebrew hi-fi
enthusiasts. Players of a certain
age might also remember a TV
repairman replacing a 12BH7 in
their parent’s valve-powered TV
when thumping the cabinet top no
longer restored a steady picture.
The HT5 is available in three
formats: a 1 x 10 semi open-backed
combo and a very portable ministack
called the HT5-S,
comprising a head and two 1 x 10
closed back cabinets. The head is
available on its own as the HT5-H.
All the woodwork is very neatly
done and covered in tough black
vinyl to a good standard. The
overall look of head, combo and
speakers is typical Blackstar –
classic styling done well – which
means that despite the reduced
proportions of these products
everything has a tough,
purposeful appearance that
would look equally at home in a
professional environment as it
would in a student’s bedsit.
This is carried over to the
internals, with a robust open tray
chassis supporting the HT5’s
electronics. These are carried on
two printed circuit boards: one
large one containing almost all the
HT5’s circuitry and a smaller one
for the rear panel components. It’s
worth pointing out here that both
PCBs are through-plated and
supported on metal stand-offs,
which adds considerably to their
long-term reliability and
resistance to heat and flexing. The
12AX7 preamplifier valve is
mounted directly to the board,
however, the 12BH7 output valve
is chassis-mounted to improve
reliability even further. This is a
very impressive standard of build
quality that wouldn’t be out of
place on an amp costing five times
the HT5’s price tag and it’s typical
of the attention to detail we’ve
seen on other Blackstar products,
which leaves some other
manufacturers looking distinctly
lacklustre in comparison.
The HT5’s features are also
pretty generous in the value for
money stakes, with two footswitchable
channels sharing
a three-band EQ and an extra
control called Infinite Shape
Feature or ISF for short. This
It’s the fact you can get that ‘everything
on 11’ effect at benign sound pressure
levels that’s most surprising
November 2008 Guitarist 109
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BLACKSTAR HT5-C COMBO, HT5-H HEAD & HT5-S MINI STACK £249, £219 & £349
guitar ampS
The Rivals
Orange’s Tiny Terror head
(£349) is powered by a pair of
EL84s so it has a few more
watts to play with, but for
practice or recording that’s of
little consequence. Laney’s
VC15 1 x 10 combo (£319) is a
great little amp that’s already
got a cult following of its own.
Again, a pair of EL84s make this
more of a small gig amp. The
Z-Vex Nano head (£325)
pushes out around half-a-watt
from a single ECC83 valve and is
the closest to the HT5, but is
only available in a tiny case and
needs a separate power supply.
clever control started off life as a
temporary tool to help Blackstar’s
designers zero in on a particular
tone and response, but it turned
out to be so popular that it has
ended up as a permanent feature
on the amplifier.
“The ISF (Infinite Shape
Feature) came about because we
were looking for a way to voice
test-bed amplifiers for artists,”
explains Blackstar’s technical
director Bruce Keir. “We needed
a way to continuously vary the
tone beyond what was available
from existing amplifiers. This
would enable the player to create
their signature sound, before we
‘locked it off’ in their preferred
setting. The method we came up
with gave the ability to not only
get the standard reference tones,
but also the ‘in-between’ never
before attainable voicing
possibilities as well. It worked so
effectively and so simply that we
decided to make it a feature
available for all guitarists to use.”
The HT5 also includes a choice
of eight- and 16-ohm loudspeaker
outlets, enabling hook-up to a
wide range of external speaker
cabinets. There’s a series FX loop
with two preset levels to suit
stompbox type pedals and
semi-pro rack units. In addition,
on the front panel there’s a
headphone socket which also
doubles as a speaker-emulated
line out, with two different EQ
settings that can mimic 1 x 12 and
4 x 12 cabinets.
Sounds
As the HT5 is intended for
practice and recording, it’s
important that hiss and hum
levels are as low as possible, and
we’re pleased to report that on
both samples unwanted electrical
noise is practically non-existent.
The HT5’s clean channel delivers
sumptuous crystalline jangle at
lower volume, with plenty of
range from the bass, mid and
treble controls to cater for singlecoils
and humbuckers. The ISF
works best with lower settings of
the mid control, adding a subtle
but noticeable change to the HT5’s
response and doing exactly what
Blackstar says – changing the
amp’s basic tonal centre from the
UK to the USA, going from a sweet
and woody mid-range to a tighter
bass and more aggressive mid
emphasis. There isn’t a huge
amount of headroom available –
that’s hardly surprising given the
five-watt output stage – however,
with the clean volume control set
to slightly less than halfway, the
HT5 delivers a highly addictive
chime effect, where the 12BH7 is
just starting to clip. Turning up
adds progressively more
distortion until at full volume you
will have a pretty respectable
crunch from single-coil pickups
and more with humbuckers.
The HT5’s lead channel builds
on this promising start with a
The ISF control on the front panel changes the basic tonal centre of the amp from the UK to the USA
110 Guitarist November 2008
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BLACKSTAR HT5-C COMBO, HT5-H HEAD & HT5-S MINI STACK £249, £219 & £349
guitar ampS
And you even get an effects loop – send and return jacks are on the rear panel
The combo delivers killer rock tones; it’s
also perfect for cabaret/jazz stuff
nicely judged gain range that
provides everything from mildly
overdriven to screaming classic
rock ballad stuff, but it’s the fact
that you can get that huge
‘everything on 11’ effect at
relatively benign sound pressure
levels that’s most surprising. This
is the trick that the HT5 pulls off
best of all: it doesn’t sound like an
overdriven small amp, rather, at
full power with everything flat
out, it sounds like a big 100-watt
amp in total meltdown yet at a
volume that won’t curdle your
brain cells.
This illusion works much better
with the mini stack set-up than
the single 1 x 10 equipped combo,
even so the HT5-C manages to
sidestep a lot of the boxiness that
afflicts many similar designs. The
custom 10-inch Celestion drivers
are rated at 40 watts, so the
speakers are never under any
stress, no matter how much tonal
mayhem you let loose. To top
things off, the headphone/
recording outlet does a very good
job of cramming all that tone into
headphones and needed very little
EQ to get a good balanced sound
through a desk.
Verdict
Beyond any doubt Blackstar’s HT5
is a superb amp for recording and
practice, and in addition to being
the perfect amp for any pro or
amateur studio, we think the stack
could be the Christmas present
every young guitar hero will be
clamouring for this year. Could
you use it live Well, in the new
live room at Cheltenham’s KOS
studios it certainly sounded
powerful enough to cope with a
small gig, although you would
need a little extra punch to get
full use from the clean channel.
However, hook the HT5 up to any
decent PA and you’ll have a great
tone that will sit well in any
environment and at any volume.
The combo is highly portable
and, as well as delivering killer
rock tones, it’s also perfect for
cabaret/jazz stuff where there is
never enough room for a big amp.
Just plug the recording output
into whatever PA is available and
there’s your sound. All this makes
the HT5 a great little amp, but the
best has been saved for last.
How much would you pay for
one of these little beauties
£500… £400 Unbelievably, the
combo version will retail at just
under £250 while the stack is
only another £100 on top of that
price, making the HT5 range
excellent value for money and
effectively annihilating all but
the most serious competition. We
reckon that the little HT5 is likely
to find a lot of dedicated fans and
we suggest you order yours now.
There might be quite a rush.
The Bottom Line
We like: Huge tone from that
tiny 12BH7 valve; price seems
too good to be true
We dislike: With a little more
headroom from that clean
channel it would be perfect
Guitarist says: Quite simply
the HT5 is a great amp that we
think is going to fly off shelves.
We can’t wait for a HT10 or
maybe even a HT20, with four
of those 12BH7 power valves,
sometime in the future
Blackstar HT5 combo
PRICE: £249
ORIGIN: Korea
TYPE: All valve, two-channel amp with
solid-state rectification
OUTPUT: 5 watts RMS
VALVES: 1 x ECC83/12AX7 preamp,
1 x 12BH7 power amp
DIMENSIONS: 430 (h) x 442 (w)
235mm (d)
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 11.5/25
CABINET: 15mm ply
LOUDSPEAKER: One custom design
Celestion G10 40-watt
CHANNELS: Two
CONTROLS: Clean channel volume,
overdrive gain and volume, bass, mid,
treble ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) control
FOOTSWITCH: Single-button footswitch
supplied, changes channels
ADDITIONAL FEATURES: Series effects
loop, speaker-emulated recording/
headphones line out
OPTIONS: None
RANGE OPTIONS: The HT5-H head is
available for £219, while the mini-stack
comprising head and two 1 x 10 Celestionloaded
cabinets is just £349
Blackstar Amplification
info@blackstaramps.com
www.blackstaramps.com
Test results
Build quality
Features
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
Blackstar HT5-S
Mini Stack
PRICE: £219 (head only) £349 (full stack)
ORIGIN: Korea
TYPE: All valve, two-channel amp with
solid-state rectification
OUTPUT: 5 watts RMS
VALVES: 1 x ECC83/12AX7 preamp,
1 x 12BH7 power amp
DIMENSIONS: Head: 185 (h) x 440 (w)
x 230mm (d). Cab: 423 (h) x 440 (w)
x 250mm (d)
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 7.5/16.5 (head)
11.5/25.4 (cabs)
CABINETS: 15mm ply, each loaded with
1 x custom-design Celestion G10 40-watt
CHANNELS: Two
CONTROLS: Clean channel volume,
overdrive gain and volume, bass, mid,
treble ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) control
FOOTSWITCH: Single-button footswitch
supplied, changes channels
ADDITIONAL FEATURES: Series effects
loop, speaker-emulated recording/
headphones line out
OPTIONS: None
RANGE OPTIONS: See HT5 combo
Test results
Build quality
Features
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
112 Guitarist November 2008
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