Blackstar Amps

lincolnblue

I plan this year to change my amplifier. I have a Laney Cub 10, which is brilliant considering the price I paid (£159 new in 2009). I'm the kind of player who wants a very clean amp and to get drive from pedals. 

I want to get something a bit bigger and have been drawn towards Blackstar - mainly the HT Club 40 & Artist 15. Aside from the 40W / 15W difference, how do they differ? Are they good for cleans? I'm not too keen on the Fender Blues Jr and can't go beyond a 1x12 for space reasons. 

DiscoStu

I have the HT Stage 60 and love the cleans on it. I needed cleans, a bit of dirt, and a Mesa type Hi Gain and it fits the bill for me.

lincolnblue

DiscoStu said:

I have the HT Stage 60 and love the cleans on it. I needed cleans, a bit of dirt, and a Mesa type Hi Gain and it fits the bill for me.

That'd be out of my price range. Will be looking at £500-600 max

Telejester

buy the  ht20 head and get a 1x12 cab, the speakers blackstar use are pretty much the worst available, Icbm will confirm this.

nick79

If you like how they sound then go for it, the other guitarist in my band use's the HT40 and it seems to cover all the bases. 

lincolnblue

ANy other suggestions for 1x12 amps with good cleans upto £500ish? Laney LC range?

cj73

If you're willing to go second hand hand then the answer is Fender HDR all the way.  I've got an HDRiii and it has a good clean, usable drive ( but not Marshally) and is pretty light. It replaced my HT40 which, on it's own covered enough bases but didn't like a lot of drive type pedals in front of it ( something to do with the clipping thingy in the pre-amp).  Also, the HT40 was way heavier to lift than the HDR.

Depends what you need it for I guess.  Home use without many pedals the HT40 is pretty decent and gives you lots of approximations.  Even live I had comments about how good it sounded with my epi LP.  ymmv 

darthed1981

Have you auditioned a Katana 50 or 100 combo?

Bit out of the blue, and I'm first to mention it!

But seriously, cheap, light, sounds great, will save you a fortune in pedals.

Legionreturns

Hughes&Kettner cleans are very very good. Great pedal platforms. 

Tubemeister 18 
https://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/hughes-kettner-tubemeister-18-twelve-combo?source=googleps&gclid=CjwKCAiA-KzSBRAnEiwAkmQ15w7QKMYLmnSS-vbcwhypsaEHMyF0JYUP9e9bzdlIye3WHoabzMZWXhoCzaoQAvD_BwE

Maynehead

I’m not a fan of blackstar amps personally. Our other guitarist used to have a Club 40 and I remember it didn’t take pedals too well.

rico

If its cleans you're after then a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe fits the bill easily.

Jonathangus

Legionreturns said:

Hughes&Kettner cleans are very very good. Great pedal platforms. 

Tubemeister 18 
https://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/hughes-kettner-tubemeister-18-twelve-combo?source=googleps&gclid=CjwKCAiA-KzSBRAnEiwAkmQ15w7QKMYLmnSS-vbcwhypsaEHMyF0JYUP9e9bzdlIye3WHoabzMZWXhoCzaoQAvD_BwE

There's a Tubemeister 18 head in the Classifieds at the mo.  That and a 1x12 would be well within your budget.

Fenderman53

If it's cleans (with pedals for o/d), you're after, you need to steer more in the Fender style direction. 'Blackstar' are nicely made but obviously have Marshall ancestry and therefore sounds. I had an Artisan 30 which has a 'British/American' tone control but try as I might couldn't get the 'sound in my head' out of it and went to Fender instead.

ICBM

Fenderman53 said:

If it's cleans (with pedals for o/d), you're after, you need to steer more in the Fender style direction. 'Blackstar' are nicely made but obviously have Marshall ancestry and therefore sounds. I had an Artisan 30 which has a 'British/American' tone control but try as I might couldn't get the 'sound in my head' out of it and went to Fender instead.

Not least because the control is backwards . Although the 'American' sound is much more Mesa than Fender anyway.

I actually don't hear them as very Marshally at all really, either - they're much darker and tighter, closer to the Mesa Dual Caliber series or a Laney AOR on the 'British' side. I really tried as well, but 'the sound in my head' is just not in them at all, even though I did use a Mesa Caliber for several years.

ecc83

"I had an Artisan 30 which has a 'British/American' tone control " Sorry Mr F but it doesn't!

Mention was made of the HT-20 and it is a nice amp (yes it IS IC! ) but might not be quite loud enough with the Rocket 50 but I bet it would 'do' most pub gigs with V30?

I think the HT-40 is about their best selling combo? The new Artists are based on it AFAIK and so you could play with 6L6 and the bias . Might handle KT88?

Dave.

ICBM

ecc83 said:

Mention was made of the HT-20 and it is a nice amp (yes it IS IC! ) but might not be quite loud enough with the Rocket 50 but I bet it would 'do' most pub gigs with V30?

Probably - although I would choose a G12H-30, G12H-75 Creamback or a Classic Lead 80 if you want to put a better speaker in it - something looser and less aggressively middy than a V30... or maybe even a G12T-75, although it's a bit less efficient.

Some time ago I tried a HT-40 through a cab with a Classic Lead in it while I was making sure the fault wasn't the speaker (it wasn't, it was a valve) and got *nearly* a sound I liked out of it .

nick79

They don't sound very Marshally to me either, and i've spent enough hours having to listen to it! lol

I agree with @icbm in that it kinda reminds me of a Mesa, but for me not enough of one to actually want one. Every Blackstar i have tried does seem t have a particular sound to it. Great if you like but not for me.

If i was looking for a combo for about £500 i would look at the Marshall DSL40C. The clean channel is actually pretty good.

cruxiform

ICBM said:

Some time ago I tried a HT-40 through a cab with a Classic Lead in it while I was making sure the fault wasn't the speaker (it wasn't, it was a valve) and got *nearly* a sound I liked out of it 

That’s almost an endorsement right there! I have the HT40 Vintage Pro with the V30 fitted and really like the tones from it. Best amp I’ve ever owned to be honest. I bought it from @jdbwales on here who gigged it as a head through a 2x12 fitted with Eminence Legend GB128s. He said it was a great sounding setup. I’m tempted to try that speaker to see if I can tell a difference. 

nick79

Actually i've just remembered i've got a HT5 here that i've replaced the stock speaker with a V30. I've also put an old Mullard 12ax7 in it and with those 2 changes it sounds pretty good now, or at least much better than before. 

darthed1981

While we have a thread running on Blackstar, do we have any update on their rumoured business woes?

I have a feeling their bread-and-butter turnover came a lot from selling piles of ID Cores and the Katana-buzz has not helped this (note - IMHO the Core 10 is by far the best < £100 amp)

photek

I used the HT60 and HT100 for years as pedal platforms, really good loud, reliable workhorse amps. They sound a bit flat on their own but that is a real bonus if you get your drive from pedals as the amps are not fussy at all about what you throw at them plus the onboard reverb is good enough to add a bit of depth. Used HT60 soloists crop up for about £300, bargain.