Blackstar HT1R Series Guitar Combo Amplifier with Reverb

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List Price: $379.99
Sale Price: $319.99
Today's Bonus: 16% Off

• 1 Watt, all-tube, 1 x 8-Inch Combo amp with Reverb
• Tube Complement: 1 x ECC83 (12AX7), 1 x ECC82 (12AU7) Power Tube
• Volume, Gain, and ISF Tone control; Overdrive switch
• Emulated Speaker/Headphone Output; 8 Ohm speaker output
• MP3/Line input

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While I don't own this amp, I did have the opportunity to put my friend's amp through its paces yesterday, and I thought I'd share a few thoughts as no one else has written a review of this fantastic little practice amp. This is a 1 watt tube combo amp with an 8-inch speaker. The first thing you should know is that a 1 watt tube amp is suited for practice and small-time jam sessions only, though I suppose if you threw a mic in front of it you could play a small gig. The second thing you should know is that, for the money, this is probably the best sounding practice amp on the market. Seriously. You can dial in a surprising range of tones through this amp; the clean channel can be very clean if you keep the gain low, but the audible volume will also be pretty low. But lets be honest, you don't buy a 1-watt tube amp for the clean tones. If you dial up the gain on the clean channel you get a very crunchy tone that's perfect for classic rock. Switch over to the drive channel and keep the gain low and you're still in classic rock territory. Start cranking the gain and you can get some pretty hard rock tones; not ultra high gain, but enough to get some good chug out of your palm muting. The most unique aspect of this amp is the ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) knob. This knob replaces the standard tone control, and rather than simply adding or taking away bass or treble tones, rather it "shapes" the qualities of the tones between an "American" sound and a "British" sound. Essentially, the American sound involves a more pronounced bass and low-mid response, with very smooth highs. The British sound has a little less bass and a more pronounced midrange and cutting highs. What's so unique about these blackstar amps is that you can mix the two different sound types to find the middle ground that sounds best to you. In addition to the control for the two channels, this amp also has an output for direct recording, and an input for your ipod or cd player, both of which are features you rarely find in an all-tube amp at this price-point.

To conclude, I plan to buy one of these amp as soon as I have the finances to do so; there's no replacement for pure tube tone, and while modelling technology is steadily improving, it's nice to see such a great sounding all-tube amp for such an affordable price.

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If you must know, this is the best 1 watt tube amp on the market as of 2011. It's transparant, chimey, glassy and very responsive to your touch.

I know what you're thinking!!! 1 watt!!!? is it loud enough? honestly!!? not really loud enough to practice with a heavy handed drummer, but will do fine with low key jam sessions and chill metal riffage! did I just say chill metal riffage?!

Former marshall amp designers quit the pigeon holed and profit minded marshall company to produce the amps that they've really wanted to create.

This is one of their babies. Most tube amps in this price category sound harsh, hard and buzzy, but this guy sounds warm, tight, focused and reproduces the tones of the individual guitar faithfully. I'm getting distinct sounds out of every guitar that I own.

It gets that cranked to "11" tone that we all love. Since this is only a one watt amp, our ears will thank us for not assaulting them with ludicrous S.P.Ls.

If you wish to play gig with this amp, you can mic it and/or plug into the emulated speaker out. The sound guy and the audience will thank you for it.

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I listened to this side-by-side to a Marshall 1 watt 50th anniversary edition costing over 3 times as much and the Blackstar sounded noticeably better. If you practice and want that 100 watt killer crunch sound, this little beauty is just the ticket. My practice room is 12X12 and it will get quite loud, I still can't believe a 1 watt tube amp puts out this much quality sound. Don't worry about it being assembled in Vietnam, this Blackwell is total quality in every way.

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It arrived with no issues and I use this amp every day. it does need to warm up or at least mine does...If I plug and play immediately the sound tends to crack and fade until it warms up but I am used to it so this doesn't bother me at all. The amp is actually quite loud for being a 1 watt amp. I was initially worried that 1 watt would be too quiet. I play and practice for myself so I don't need a loud amp but even when I feel like rocking out and turning the gain up high and the distortion on it's plenty loud maybe I could annoy the neighbor if I open my door...it's a very nice looking amp as well...if I want a bigger one I will buy another black star also the reverb is nice...I like a touch of reverb when I play I am not hard core into reverb but a little touch of reverb is good

This is a sweet little amp that packs a punch in my practice room.I wouldn't gig with it unless the drummer played cardboard boxes but great for home!