HT MKii and FS 14 footswitch problem FIXED

Discussion - HT Venue amplifiers. Inspiration from Studio to Stage.
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BstarRocks
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 4:31 pm

Mon Apr 29, 2019 12:18 am

Hi all

I am brand new here so please take it easy on me. I originally posted the I. The Amps section of the forum and didnt realize that this was an HT Specific area until just now. U am reposting it here in the hope that it helps. Sorry for the double forum-area post:

"I'm a new HT 60 1x12 MK II owner, with 1x12 ext. cab (swapped some tubes and both speakers but I'll save that for another post unless someone wants to enquire, then I'll be happy to answer) and this is my first post on the forum. I have looked for the content in this post on the forum but have found no real explanation for the problem I had.
If this has been covered in a place that I failed to find please take it easy on me I'm only trying to help. As such, I hope this will help some of you who have or are having the same frustrating problem that I had.

Got my new amp (traded in a Mesa TC50 for it - HT is nicer on many levels) and ordered the FS14 aftermarket 5 button footswitch. The footswitch arrived a couple of days after my amp so I had been using the stock 2 button switch
glitch-free for two days.

I plugged in the FS14 and to my horror all 6 LED channel/voice indicator lights started flashing and the amp suddenly made no sound. I quickly reached over and shut it off assuming that it was an indication of a serious problem.
Plugged in 2 button switch again, turned on the amp, perfect. Plugged FS14 back in - same result (yes I plugged the 2 button into the 2 button input and the FS 14 into the 5 button input on the rear panel).

I went back to my dealership, they had the same result. So they sent the amp back and ordered a new one.
Fast forward a week, new amp shows up, the exact same thing happens. Back to dealership, order new FS 14 to go with new amp, same result. Dealer contacted Blasckstar rep, no really encouraging news.

I started thinking that the MK ii's had a compatabilty issue with the FS14. This was troubling because I wanted the LED's and added versatility of the FS14 for live performances, and I had spent months auditioning new amps; I believed I had found a beautiful amp and dreaded the thought of starting the whole audition process again. Ugh!

The dealership quickly sent an email to Blackstar and after a few days received this nugget of information:

"When the FS 14 is plugged in the amp will initiate a formatting process on the
footswitch. When this occurs the amp will mute the speaker and all 6 front panel LED's will flash. This process may take 3-5min to complete, leave the amp on and FS14 plugged in during this process. You may have to re-boot (turn off and then on) the amp after this process is complete.

Problem solved! I have been playing for nearly 30 years and have owned many amps during this period. I have never seen any amp "format" it's own footswitch before. In the 6 weeks since it formatted the FS14 it has performed flawlessly.

Blackstar should simply put a printout in the box that the FS14 comes in, right on top of the pedal to explain this process and potentially alleviate return shipments, emails for support, and frustrated customers as, clearly, the dealers and reps are unaware of this process with the FS14 footswitch.

I apologize again if this was covered elsewhere. I'm simply trying to help out fellow musicians.

Now, all that said, Blackstar Rocks!!!!"

macca163
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2020 2:32 pm

Sat Mar 21, 2020 5:22 pm

This is similar to a funky problem I have. If I turn my Stage 60 212 MkII on the lights on the FS-14 flash quickly then the LED's above what I think was the last setting illuminate.
For the first time I change a setting I can use the CLEAN button to change the OD1 channel voicing. If I then select OD2 then the footswitch behaves as normal. I've seen this happening immediately after power on and also after 5mins. Anyone else experience similar?

emmausa0106
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2023 8:39 am

Wed Jul 12, 2023 5:17 am

Try resetting the HT MKII foot pedal by turning it off and then back on. If there are custom settings, consider resetting them to determine if something is wrong with the current configuration.

sev1sicks
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Nov 13, 2023 2:52 pm

Mon Nov 13, 2023 2:55 pm

Hey so I got a mkii 50watt and Im having the same issues with my fs14 pedal as well. This "process" that was stated above doesn't happen for me. I'm on my second fs14 pedal and the issue of not turning on is starting again. Really love the tone of this amp but I'm losing patience and might look elsewhere if I don't find a fix.

If anyones had any luck with any fixes for this issue please let me know!

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