Blackstar ht club 40 - anybody tried them?

notanon

What are these amps like? Would it mix well with a zoom G5 pedal?

I would like versatility of tones for example Gilmour, Bb king, Straycats, . .  . type sounds.

What are they like for lower volume situations, is there a katana like reduced power system in then?

Of to YouTube now but tfb reviews are more trustworthy ;-)

Thanks folks 

firepaulmusic

Get a Fender Deluxe Reverb...HT Club 40 rates in my top two worst ever amps

ICBM

Typical Blackstar - dark stiff-sounding cleans, and very dark, tight and compressed overdrive with a lot of gain. They work fine at lower volumes, the controls have a good range and they don't need any power reduction gadgetry. They really need a change of speaker to get the best out of them - the stock one exaggerates the flat middy tone and stiff dynamics.

I don't think it will really give you what you're looking for even with a better speaker though - they don't do open sparkly cleans or light-break-up tones well at all - much better for modern clean and high-gain rock distortion.

If you want a valve amp in that size/power/cost range, a Fender Hotrod Deluxe would be a better choice I think.

p90fool

The latest Hotrod Deluxe IV is an awesome sounding amp, but you'll need drive pedals, the drive channel is still so ghastly it's actually bizarre. 

notanon

Feedback appreciated folks

kennedydream1980

The best bargain in the Blackstar line of amps second hand is the series one stuff. The S1-45 combo can be picked up ridiculously cheap (£300-£400) and the heads come in around the same price. They are in a different league to the HT line of amps.

ICBM

p90fool said:

The latest Hotrod Deluxe IV is an awesome sounding amp, but you'll need drive pedals, the drive channel is still so ghastly it's actually bizarre. 

Strange that they've ruined it - it's fine on the Mk I and II...

nick79

I would completely agree with ICBM, i've spent a considerable amount of time listening to one and it's definitely got that Black Star sound to it. I guess if you like it then its all good but i found it quite tiring to listen to (but the way it was dialed in could have had something to do with it...)
For what it's worth i found the Marshall dsl40c sounded quite good and  did the edge of break up thing a lot better (but could still do with a speaker upgrade) plus it has the switchable power option - But it still sounded better at 40w even at low volume. 

cj73

I had a club 40 for a couple of years when I made my mid-life crisis guitar revival. it was my first valve amp and it seemed to tick a lot of boxes.  It had useable clean and offered a variety of heavier gain tones.  I liked it well enough and gigged it a few times but I changed to a hot rod Deluxe III.   Reasons: The Bstar is heavy, noticeably heavier than the HRD.  It couldn't do convincing mid to low gain drive well.  The cleans were no where near as good as the HRD.  The Bstar seemed very picky with pedals, drives especially.  The HRD reverb also knocks spots off the BStars digital one

You'll see a lot of people talk about the twitchy volume controls and the drive sounds on the HRD but TBH I can play plugged in with the little un asleep in the next room and it stills sounds decent.  The drive is what it is, it's not Marshally, mesa-y or Voxy but it is usable, especially for more rootsy type stuff. 

EDIT: TLDR version

If you want a valve amp with a broad selection of ok sounds go Club40

If you want a good sounding clean and will get your drives from pedals then go HRD

JayGee

kennedydream1980 said:

The best bargain in the Blackstar line of amps second hand is the series one stuff. The S1-45 combo can be picked up ridiculously cheap (£300-£400) and the heads come in around the same price. They are in a different league to the HT line of amps.

Have a wisdom for that. There’s a perception that the S1s are out and out Metal amps but the Clean and Crunch channels on the “104” series amps are bloody brilliant, and make them versatile way beyond what the endorsee roster might lead you to expect...

jpfamps

I had to use one at a gig where back line was provided.

I wanted that unusual sound, clean with some reverb.

It was truely shocking.

Incidentally the output transformer in this "40W" amp is smaller than the OT in a 15W Tiny Terror.

fastonebaz

I bought one 2nd hand on a whim.  Couldn't get a decent tone out of it.  Sold it soon after.  Really heavy too.

notanon

Thanks again everybody. How about the Zoom G5 with the hotrod deluxe? If not G5 then has anybody tried the generic multi effects?

p90fool

notanon said:

Thanks again everybody. How about the Zoom G5 with the hotrod deluxe? If not G5 then has anybody tried the generic multi effects?

I use a G3 with mine, but only for chorus and delay, and the tuner, getting my drives from various analogue pedals. 

I don't see why it wouldn't work for everything though, I can get decent sounds out of every pedal I plug into it pretty much instantly. 

menamestom

Not the same, but I used a G3 into a Princeton Reverb and it worked great, and knowing the Hot Rod the G5 would work well into it.

The HT club 40 I tried sounded stiff and had no dynamics.  In contrast the Hot Rod is a pleasant sounding amp, the clean channels don’t have massive headroom for the wattage but you can really dig in and have very nice bloom and breakup when required.