HT60 Died...... :(

[DrKarnivore]

My HT60 has done about 10 band practices and 2 gigs, but Sunday morning decided just to make a loud humming sound when switched on. Checking the back revealed one of the EL34`s not glowing as normal.

Just trying to arrange a fix with the retailer (which is a pain as I bought over the internet) as Blackstar won`t honour the warranty if I take it to a normal amp tech for a couple of new tubes and a re-bias. I think thats a bit silly in itself as it`s like having to return your car to the manufacturer when the brake pads are worn out.

Anyone else had a power tube blow so quickly??

[dangerbro]

I have had some strange humming sounds and the amp seems noisy in general. At the last gig I played, it seemed to start popping and crackling after about the 3rd song until we'd finished.
I think I might just revalve it. I know I should send it back but I don't want the same valves putting back in because I don't really trust them.
I revalved my marshall TSL when I got it and gigged with it for 8 years without any problems. I'm wondering if i've done the right thing changing amps now!

[DrKarnivore]

I do think Blackstars 'return it to us for new tubes' policy is very naive. Apparently theres no plans for authorising any 3rd party amp techs either.

[DrKarnivore]

Having had a bit of email ping pong with Blackstar and the retailer, it would seem as I`m out of my 90 day warranty that I can`t return the amp for free for a simple retube and bias check. Fair enough paying for that, but the man problem is, is that for something that generally takes 30 mins or so, the amp has to be packed/shipped etc back to Blackstar! Is this practical? What if I don`t have the packaging, what if I`m in Australia or the US or another part of the world?!?

Also, what if the tube blowing so quickly is a side effect of another defect of the amp?

Oh well, anyway, I`ll probably have to get the amp re-tubed and bias`ed by a local tech, but then I`m going to sell it on as I can`t be messing with this everytime a power tube blows.

Cheers Blackstar!

[dangerbro]

I think most people will decide to void the warranty and re tube their amps themselves. I have no problem with the tone of the amp but the excessive hum makes me question the quality of the valves. It sounds like they are quite fragile, especially if you're gigging reguarly.

I had a HT 40 first to test at a gig as i have a good relationship with my local music store. As soon as we'd finished the first song, everyone looked around and said "what the hell is that buzzing" which turned out to be my amp. I took it back the next day and they checked it out, found a fault with a valve, fixed it, but i didn't think it was any quiter. They questioned my settings but I only have the gain at 12 o'clock at the most, So... they phoned blackstarand put me on to talk, and they basically said it's a very very high gain amp, much more so than the TSL60 I was using before, (which I don't think is true from hearing them both), and ended the conversation by saying "what do you expect from such a low price amp".

Writing this makes me wonder why on earth I decided to go for a HT 60 after these problems, but i'm going to persevere

[gt_jumper]

after talking to many of these cases I think that the tubes are shit. Everyone i have spoke to has reported better sound and great reliability after new tubes. i have had mine for close to a year now, still going hard.

[DrKarnivore]

Appreciate that mate, it's the biasing that's the sh1t. How do blackstar deal with that overseas?

[dangerbro]

Well i think i'll change the tubes then. I changed them straight away in my marshall because i was experimenting with the sound. I have never had any problems in the last 7/8 years. ( We only gig 2 or 3 times a month)

[jshaffer23]

I think keeping all the schematics and biasing info a secret on these amps is absolutely STUPID!!!! The tubes that come in these amps are junk, not so much the power tubes, but the pre tubes. I never had an issue with my power tubes but I changed ALL of the preamp tubes as soon as I pulled it out of the box. And guess what, I havent had a SINGLE problem with it. Blackstar should up the price of the amp by $20, put in good quality tubes and people wouldnt be complaining about all these problems. Thats my take on things, hopefully they do something soon

[DrKarnivore]

Just a quick note to say Blackstar are now addressing my issue, had a call from one of their sales managers here in the UK who has arranged for the amp to be picked up from a local dealer, returned to them, fixed and then returned to me.

So I have to say, that`s pretty decent service really.

I say 'fixed' above as my problem may not be the power tubes, I was just going off the fact that one wasn`t glowing as bright as the other. Could be a symptom of something else wrong with the amp.

God knows how you guys overseas would manage this though, I`m lucky to live in the UK where the Blackstar techs are........