HT5RS

Tell everyone about your background and why you chose Blackstar
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VonBlade
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 5:18 pm

Mon Apr 01, 2013 5:38 pm

Hi one and all.
This is going to sound slightly like an advertisement.

I had a H&K 15R for ages, but never liked the tone. It wasn't really the sound that I had loved and made me want to play guitar in the first place. So, as I'm only ever playing at home, I brought a GT8. This was closer and I strummed happily for a few years.

The itch for the sound in my head arrived and I kept looking at the Orange Tiny Terror. Such was my naivety I didn't even realise that low-watt tube amps existed, and the concept of some saturation without upsetting my neighbours was too much to resist. Eventually I realised that low-wattage tube amps are everywhere, and looked at the Tiny Terror (disappointing lack of reverb or channels), Marshall Haze (I have a GT so no need for effects) and Blackstar HT5. Luckily, considering I live in the middle of nowhere, my only local guitar shop happens to be an authorised Blackstar dealer.

All of which preamble leads me to this. I tried it the HT5RS and it was instantly the sound in my head of my blues heros. Winding the ISF round to the Marshall.. sorry 'British' .. side and the tone was perfect. The gain is gloriously responsive, even if the OD channel is WAY louder than the clean side.

Who would have thought that something, which on the surface sounds like marketing speak, is actually true? How on earth can Blackstar produce such an insanely well-built amplifier, rich in features, and two 12" speakers for under £400 notes? Why the Orange Tiny Terror with it's single function gets all the plaudits is utterly beyond me.

I love it. Thank you so much. It warms my cynical heart to know that a company can truly produce a product you can be proud of, with taglines that are the truth. Having spent many years reviewing PC components, a world based entirely around false claims and charging a lot for a little, you have restored my faith in humanity, and British design expertise.

I shall now fill up your 'help' section with some very neophyte questions...

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