New Stage 60 Owner

[KKND]

Hey there people....well the wait is finally over. After waiting for 6 months (almost) my stage 60 is finally here.
Well, not quite what i expected, and i am a bit disappointed, actually rather frustrated but not fully...
I was given an HT-5 to play with until the 60 arrives, i had a problem with the HT-5, it had no master volume, so in order to get a right
amount of distortion it was at unbearable volumes...so i knew the venue had a master volume and i wanted the 60 because of the 3 channels
versatility and i was hoping it would give me a nice creamy smooth slash /santana kinda tone all the way to Metallica's screaming leads and rythem tones

Well.....the leads are never smooth, the amp sounds soo harsh and dry. the hi gain distortion is too "loose" not tight enough and the cleans are muddy, not sparkly or chinmey as i expected and the problem is i heard all those nice tones on most of the youtibe vdieos of the stage 60 and audio clips in these forums. Thats why i said "a bit "disappointed because i know the amp has potential,i have seen it, heard it and i am sure of it. Now, mind you i usa to have a boss GT-10 connected to 5" studio monitors and i use to get nice tones, but i truly believed that i have to switch to real tube amps with dedicated pedals because i am convinced that will give me the tones i seek....hope wasnt a mistake!

So what am i doing wrong....guitars? i use LTD deluxe with EMGs for metallica stuff and epiphone slash signature for cleans, rock and blues
is it tubes, speakers or simply i should give time for the speakers to loosen/open up? shall i change tubes? i blindly belive that the ht stage 60 is capable of producing what tones i am seeking i just dont know how...maybe i need more effects to shape up the tones, EQ, compressor, delay chorus? that what i use to do with gt-10 tones...arsenal of efx!

For alll of you ht stage 60 users out there....HELP ME!

Thanks

[Sjoerd]

When my speakers weren't broken in yet, the amp was a bit harsh sounding to my ears.. Maybe that's it

[trinity]

the OD2 tone on my stage 60 was really harsh until I swapped out the V2 ecc83 with a gold GT12ax7r
I also use a compressor on the front end and it smooths out the clean channel a LOT

it took a couple of days to get the eq right for my playing
and 6 weeks or so to break in the speakers

I was disappointed when I first got it too

.....now I love it

[Superchampable]

If I remember correct your that guy that wanted to buy the 60 to play in your bedroom right? Your amp is never going to sound like a tube amp at that volume.. but it dosnt sound bad though. I really dont think their is a tube amp out there that works as a bedroom amp. For bedroom I mean tv vol. Your not getting all the tube distortion possible and speaker distortion that sounds great might I add.

But I will agree about the amp, my 40 sounds dry like you have said and it lacks warmth when compared to other amps. This is probably from the lack of tubes and the added op amps or diodes for distortion thats in these amps make it sound dry to my ears. I built a birtch ply combo and that gave the tone a sweeter, poppyish, less dark sound and was a great improvement but I am uncerten if I will keep my club 40.. maybe a series one some day if it gets a price drop.

Once the speaker breaks in it will sound so much better but if you are playing at bedroom levels its going to take awhile to get there. From what I hear a eq will help out alot but im happy with out one.
Hope you can figure it out man.

[KKND]

Well thanks for the positive replies guys.I'm glad j want the only one, my compressor is on the way, I'm currently cranking up the amp since I have the liberty to do so for coupled of days, and looks like I'm going to replace the V2 tube.I'll keep you posted guys.thanks
P.s. any suggestion for a good delay pedal?

[Guest]

Yesterday my new Blackstar HT-60 Soloist (112 combo) arrived. I have to say, my first hand experience is similar to the Op’s; the overdrive channel was harsh and dry, the clean channel was uninspiring, and I really struggled with dialing in a good tone. I thought the UK side of the ISF was too dark and loose - not what I was hoping for.

In defense of the amp; I played it less than 1 hour, I was jumping between guitars so consistency was part of the problem, and I had high expectations so I'm being very critical. The tone stack is different to me; I need to get used to it. And, as some of you have already said, there's probably some speaker break-in that needs to happen. Another thing, the amp sounds very different up close than it does from 8-10 feet away. Of course all amps sound a little different when you step away, but this was a very big difference IMO. I'll give it more time and trial.

What I liked about the amp...
- the bright / dark reverb button works well, sounds as it should
- the voicing switch on the boost setting was pleasing - adds a nice dose of mids
- loads of gain on tap - there's a transition point on the gain knob at about 1 o'clock were it really gets thick

You know... my other amp is a Splawn Street Rod 112 combo (sitting right next to this new amp). When I was done with the Blackstar, I plugged into the Splawn for a moment and just listened. Then I took a look at look at the differences in the switches, knobs, chasis materials, etc... of the two amps. And I was thinking, maybe I simply got I paid for... the Blackstar is a relatively inexpensive tube amp.

I'm just babbling... the jury is still out on this one.

[Superchampable]

Exactly dude, its inexpensive and you get what you pay for. Its worth every penny and it sounds better than what the price tag is IMO. Its a mid price amp and I cant think of a better new amp at that price.

[KKND]

Time shall prove....hopefully in some time the amp will sound better.and yes its a great deal for the money.thanks guys keep suggestion pouring in.

[jshaffer23]

Yesterday my new Blackstar HT-60 Soloist (112 combo) arrived. I have to say, my first hand experience is similar to the Op’s; the overdrive channel was harsh and dry, the clean channel was uninspiring, and I really struggled with dialing in a good tone. I thought the UK side of the ISF was too dark and loose - not what I was hoping for.

In defense of the amp; I played it less than 1 hour, I was jumping between guitars so consistency was part of the problem, and I had high expectations so I'm being very critical. The tone stack is different to me; I need to get used to it. And, as some of you have already said, there's probably some speaker break-in that needs to happen. Another thing, the amp sounds very different up close than it does from 8-10 feet away. Of course all amps sound a little different when you step away, but this was a very big difference IMO. I'll give it more time and trial.

What I liked about the amp...
- the bright / dark reverb button works well, sounds as it should
- the voicing switch on the boost setting was pleasing - adds a nice dose of mids
- loads of gain on tap - there's a transition point on the gain knob at about 1 o'clock were it really gets thick

You know... my other amp is a Splawn Street Rod 112 combo (sitting right next to this new amp). When I was done with the Blackstar, I plugged into the Splawn for a moment and just listened. Then I took a look at look at the differences in the switches, knobs, chasis materials, etc... of the two amps. And I was thinking, maybe I simply got I paid for... the Blackstar is a relatively inexpensive tube amp.

I'm just babbling... the jury is still out on this one.

Your comparing apples to oranges with the Blackstar and Splawn. The Splawn cost nearly $1900 and is US made, the Blackstar is under $800. I had some MAJOR gas for a Splawn but couldnt justify spending the money. So I went with the Stage 60. First off, the 70-80 speakers SUCK bigtime and if your looking for a big tight bass sound those speakers arent gonna provide that! I put a set of Celestion K-100s in mine and it made a HUGE difference in how tight the amp is. Another thing to help the tone is to get the master volume up around 12 o clock and then back off the channel volumes until you are happy with it. That gets the power tubes cooking more and it sounds alot better. I have tried it both ways, master up channel vol down, channel vol up/ master down. It sounds best with the master up. Also, the preamp tubes in it pretty much suck. Swap those out for some JJ's or Tung-Sols and you will be happier. They had to cut cost somewhere to make the amp affordable and the speakers and tubes are what they skimped on I hope it works out for you!

[KKND]

alright sir, i will take your advice about the preamp tubes, but how would i know that 70-80 sucks (with all due respect ) if the speakers are suppose to take some time to break-in/loosen up! moreover, i always sought Metallica/megadeath and Slash kinda tone, don't these artists have vintage 30s in their rigs, and the k-100 is aimed at modern dropped tunning metal rather than the 80's thrash metal.
and one gentleman suggested that i swap the v2 with a different type of tube rather than different brand, what say you?
Thanks jshaffer, btw your video on you-tube what made me go ahead and place an order on the stage 60, so thanks.