HT-5R too loud for bedroom use

[Jack Russell]

Hi everybody, i am new to Blackstar amps and this forum. I recently tried out a Blackstar HT-5R valve amp in one of the guitar shops in Denmark St. London and was very impressed with it, so much that i bought a secondhand model from Ebay just days later, again still impressed with it but when using the overdrive channel i find myself having the gain set to 2 and the volume set to just a shade past 0 seems a shame cos i am not really pushing the valves very much, I still get a decent sound but was wondering if there was anything that can be done to keep the overall volume down whilst still driving the amp a bit harder, the thing i do remember about the HT-5R in the shop was it had one more button than mine which reduced the output to 1/2 watt which i realise now would have been very usefull indeed. Never thought a 5 watt amp would be this loud. I did try replacing one of the valves with a JJ 5751 lower gain valve but did not notice much difference to be honest, would a speaker change make much difference...and if so which one ? would the Celestion 12" Vintage 30 be a good replacement if i were to change it out. thanks in anticipation.......

[Twang Banger]

Presuming you mean 5r and not the MKii, right?

Can someone explain the key differences in the HT 5r and the HT 5r MKii???

[Jack Russell]

yes its the HT-5R not the mkII version.....

[Wild_Rose]

I had the HT1R and it was too loud for bedroom! (the dirty channel only)

[Kilo_SSK]

Speaking of loudness for inside use, would it be appropriate for a basement that'd be more or less adapted for musical use? It's too much for a bedroom, but if I were to get one of these houses in Greece for the holidays and play the guitar there with my wife (she plays the drums), would the HT-5R be a good choice?

[Jack Russell]

Hi there, well for a basement it might be ok particulaly if you dont have kids sleeping in rooms next to you as i have, they are great sounding amps...