Possibly buying a Blackstar HT5 Head, issues/advice needed..

bloodandtears

It's not the reverb model... do they have issues?? what should I look out for when I test it??

tone1

If it's for home make sure you try a HT1R head before buying the HT5.
Ive had Two Rock Jet 22, Carr Mercury, Cornford Carrera, Carr Skylark, Blackstar Artisan 15 and for less than £100 it's amazing.
I run it through a Tone Tubby 1x12 and it's just great

Danny1969

Assuming it works and your not going to take it apart then there's little you can tell by looking at it externally .... other than physical damage to the wooden cab.

Having owned 2 of these for the last 4 or 5 years and gigged and modded mine I can tell you they are well made and very reliable ... mine have done literally hundreds of gigs and are just chucked in the van with no case. Both badges have broke off but other than that the amps have been fine. When you consider I'm driving the amp quite hard at every gig it is impressive.

The internal PCB is good quality and it doesn't look a difficult amp to fix if it does go wrong, the schematic is easily available and the opamp's and supporting circuitry are common parts.

There's an issue with the loops on mine where changing channels with a delay in the loop causes the delay repeat to be very loud at that instant.

They sound much better if you boost the signal between the send and return loop ....  it makes a huge difference, I won't use mine without doing that ...it gives the amp a whole new character

@ecc83 and @ICBM know just about everything technical about these amps, my 2 pence is from a gigging perspective

bloodandtears

Primarily its for home but I prefer the idea of two channels..

ICBM

Danny1969 said:

@ecc83 and @ICBM know just about everything technical about these amps, my 2 pence is from a gigging perspective

Dave/ecc83 does! My knowledge is from a bit of reverse-engineering really...

There *is* a known fault with some of these - arcing around the phase inverter transistors. This is rare, but serious and will usually need a replacement PCB from Blackstar - they are willing to supply them. I can't remember for sure when the board was changed to the upgraded version with slots to prevent this happening, but Dave will know.

darthed1981

bloodandtears said:

Primarily its for home but I prefer the idea of two channels..

The HT1R is two channel isn't it?

steer

I have this exact amp. There is really nothing much I can say. I have had no trouble with it at all, its great. 

tone1

darthed1981 said:

bloodandtears said:

Primarily its for home but I prefer the idea of two channels..

The HT1R is two channel isn't it?

Yes it's got and overdrive select push button but not footswitchable..

ICBM

darthed1981 said:

The HT1R is two channel isn't it?

No, it's a single channel amp with an overdrive mode. You can actually get a nicer overdrive - if you don't want very much gain - from the normal mode with the gain up full.

I think I like it best out of the HT series, in fact.

Funkfingers

I have a HT-5H and matching cab. It sounded better after I re-valved it. It sounded best of all with a NOS Mullard ECC83.

Arktik83

It's well documented that HT5's aren't actually 5 watts more like 8 - 10 watts I heard?  They are, in my experience, Loud.  Even when on 1.  Not massively ear splitting volumes but maybe a little too loud for a small flat.

With that said the only known fault I had with one was the foot-switch sometimes wouldn't activate the overdrive channel but I'm sure this was just a loose connection somewhere rather than an actual factory flaw.

bloodandtears

tone1 said:

darthed1981 said:

bloodandtears said:

Primarily its for home but I prefer the idea of two channels..

The HT1R is two channel isn't it?

Yes it's got and overdrive select push button but not footswitchable..

I meant fx loop AND 2nd channel... oops..

I had a tiny terror which was great but got sick of tap dancing and pedals.. it wasnt for me having been a line 6 guy practically all my playing life.. I fancy trying the HT5 in a 4CM setup..

crunchman

I sold mine when I got a VHT Special 6 head, which I much prefer.  Single channel so I use a pedal for drive, but I definitely prefer the sound.  Might be worth checking out as well.

tone1

bloodandtears said:

tone1 said:

darthed1981 said:

bloodandtears said:

Primarily its for home but I prefer the idea of two channels..

The HT1R is two channel isn't it?

Yes it's got and overdrive select push button but not footswitchable..

I meant fx loop AND 2nd channel... oops..

I had a tiny terror which was great but got sick of tap dancing and pedals.. it wasnt for me having been a line 6 guy practically all my playing life.. I fancy trying the HT5 in a 4CM setup..

No Fx loop in the HT1R  head 

darthed1981

ICBM said:

darthed1981 said:

The HT1R is two channel isn't it?

No, it's a single channel amp with an overdrive mode. You can actually get a nicer overdrive - if you don't want very much gain - from the normal mode with the gain up full.

I think I like it best out of the HT series, in fact.

How does it take pedals then?  I kinda GAS one a bit, there was one in the classifieds for £90 and id have snapped it up if nearby!

bloodandtears

tone1 said:

bloodandtears said:

tone1 said:

darthed1981 said:

bloodandtears said:

Primarily its for home but I prefer the idea of two channels..

The HT1R is two channel isn't it?

Yes it's got and overdrive select push button but not footswitchable..

I meant fx loop AND 2nd channel... oops..

I had a tiny terror which was great but got sick of tap dancing and pedals.. it wasnt for me having been a line 6 guy practically all my playing life.. I fancy trying the HT5 in a 4CM setup..

No Fx loop in the HT1R  head 

Hence my interest in the HT5 instead I guess...

Telejester

I have a ht5r head in the bedroom and it's great, use with a tubescreamer type pedal and it's rocking

bloodandtears

Telejester said:

I have a ht5r head in the bedroom and it's great, use with a tubescreamer type pedal and it's rocking

 @Telejester ; Given the options on the ISF control... and 2nd channel.. what do you find the TS pedal adds??

Telejester

bloodandtears said:

Telejester said:

I have a ht5r head in the bedroom and it's great, use with a tubescreamer type pedal and it's rocking

 @Telejester ; Given the options on the ISF control... and 2nd channel.. what do you find the TS pedal adds??

My tubescreamer type pedal is a maxon od808, I set it drive 0% and level 100% so its used as clean boost which   tightens  everything  up  and adds top end presence to the sound. 

ecc83

" I can't remember for sure when the board was changed to the upgraded version with slots to prevent this happening, but Dave will know. " Well IC, been out of things for some time now...I CAN say that I am sure Blackstar will be as fair as possible with any customer's problem.

The tracking around the MOSFETs did not come about in my first time with the company. AFAIK any HT-5 that comes in for any repair gets the slots cut with a Dremel tool.

The FX loop problem was a pure mistake. I did the mod to a few and it is quite complex and time consuming, not something a tech could do profitably unless he charged an extortionate rate!

In any case, a Mk1 has to be getting on for 9 years old now? Anyone buying one should really budget for a complete check over at Northampton. The Mk ll should be all ok. The pre amp valve will probably last forever  (but DON'T fit other than an ECC83 equivalent!) The 12BH7s seemed to live long as well  but naturally get a much harder life. The fact that the circuit has been 'hacked' by at least 2 others means the 12BH7 could get short supply, bound to get expensive! Might be an idea to get one in now!

If you have  DMMeter , 2 mini croc leads and a steady hand I or ICBM can tell you how to bias one.

Dave.

bloodandtears

ecc83 said:

The FX loop problem was a pure mistake. I did the mod to a few and it is quite complex and time consuming, not something a tech could do profitably unless he charged an extortionate rate!

Please expand?


Also you refer to the MkII, is this the Reverb model?