Blackstar amps?

Updated
Blackstar amps?
I am considering getting a venue series 20ht head and was wondering what good or bad people have heard about it? I was going to get theEgnater rebel30 but heard demos of it at full gain and I was not impressed. Let me get some opinions on some blackies!
Murdoc

Doesn't anyone play Blackstar amps?

Bump

sirsloop

I doooooo!

Umm... I thought the egnater 20 sounded like SHIT. I've got a Ht5 is a real nice practice amp... great rock sounds, etc. It needs a pedal to really scream tho...either a distortion pedal on clean or an OD on dirty. Nice thing about using a distortion pedal on the clean side is the channel naturally breaks up at high volumes, so you get some of the tube nuances added to an (usually) lackluster sounding pedal tone. Cleans could use some help in the form of more headroom (like in a 20W version). Build quality on my Ht-5 is top notch...just all around nice amp.

.drool.
JbqhIfDSx_w

Murdoc

Cool man, I am def. getting the 20, are the tubes that these amps come with quality tubes? Or should I plan on swapping them right off the bat? If so what are some good ones?

sirsloop

I swapped out the tube on my HT5 with a gold tung-sol and didn't really notice a difference... so I'd say don't bother...

Murdoc

I swapped out the tube on my HT5 with a gold tung-sol and didn't really notice a difference... so I'd say don't bother...

Ok, thanks for the good info. I thought about that Marshall class5 , its 5 watts and made in England but for some reason I think I'll like the Blackstar better. These are designed in England but made in Korea correct?

sirsloop

I'm not sure where they are made. I bought my HT5 when they were first released... like bought the first one my local GC got in. Now that GC regularly stocks them and sales volume is way up... I don't know if they are made in the UK or overseas. Don't know if the build quality is the same or suffered from their new popularity.

Murdoc

I'm not sure where they are made. I bought my HT5 when they were first released... like bought the first one my local GC got in. Now that GC regularly stocks them and sales volume is way up... I don't know if they are made in the UK or overseas. Don't know if the build quality is the same or suffered from their new popularity.

I'll do more research. That Egnater rebel20 does sound like shit. I guess it's just not for metal. I think the tube mix knob for blending the 6v6's & the el84's is a good idea though.

Feraledge

Blackstar is too British sounding in the high gain IMO, for me at least. If you're going for more "modern" high gain, I'm not sure Egnater or Blackstar does it best, but neither is horrible.

Murdoc

Blackstar is too British sounding in the high gain IMO, for me at least. If you're going for more "modern" high gain, I'm not sure Egnater or Blackstar does it best, but neither is horrible.

This is good, I need opinions. I haven't bought the studio ht20 head yet.

sirsloop

Well, that's why they have the ISF feature on the amp. You get a pretty wide tonal range out of it. I think for high gain stuff the US side sounds a little tighter and cleaner, where as I prefer the UK side for cleans/rock as you get a lot more body.

I think if you are in the market, you should also check out the Krank Rev Jr, and the Orange Dark Terror. The newer Krank's are cool cause they have separate gain/volume knob. The older ones had one knob for both clean and dirty. Someone on the forum just got in a Dark Terror... don't remember much about it tho.

sirsloop

I also haven't heard anything about the Jet City JCA20H, but at the price that's worth a looksie...

Feraledge

Are you looking in a certain price range or just looking at what's out there?

The ISF feature didn't sell me at all. It made a difference, but I think the tone of the amp was based on an EL34/Marshall sense of high gain. I personally wasn't too impressed. I tried the HT and at least one other.

Just for reference. The major high gain heads that I've owned are Peavey XXX (hated it, never felt balanced), 6505+, Mesa Dual Rectifier, and I currently own an Engl Powerball. If I had really known how much a gain boost in front and an eq boost (I use a BBE sonic maximizer) in the loop can do for anything in the 5150 range, I probably could have saved a lot of time and money.
I'm actually buying another 5150II tomorrow. $650 with new tubes and a flight case. They're so damn cheap right now and easily modded. If price is the issue, you won't go wrong with a 5150/6505. They're time tested beasts and they can get LOUD.
If money isn't an issue, and you are looking for an "American" or "modern" high gain, then Engl or Soldano are my votes.

Murdoc

I want a low wattage head so thats why I'm looking at the ht20. I didn't want to get up past the $1000 range. The Dark Terror is a possibility too. So soldano and engl are out. They are all too much wattage anyway. I'm gonna look at Krank Jr.

load more replies (1 of 1)
Guitar God

I haven't played a Blackstar, but I've heard great things about 'em.

Post to Thread