Just Got a Blackstar HT-40

[J.LaGrassa]

Glad I gave this amp another shot really starting to dig this amp, I bought it this past Sunday and got to use it with my band and no problem at all cutting through a band mix. When I initially got it the speaker was a bit stiff sounding and a tad harsh with my Les Paul but after cranking it for 3 days the Celestion 70/80 is starting to come to life the low end is starting to get much bolder and the top end is not so harsh I just back off a bit on the tone knob of my LP and get a very musical tone happening.

I'm going to play this amp stock for a while and right now I like it stock I know the 70/80 speaker is probably not every ones choice for a speaker but it actually does sound good to my ears, I like the voicing switch out on the OD channel it still has plenty of gain if needed and its very dynamic I think the amp cleans up incredibly well.

Well all I can say is the amp rocks I have a gig this Friday and Saturday night so it will be a good test for it i will get to try out the emulated output as well and see how it sounds through the P.A. i also like the digital reverb sounds convining to my ears!

Will report back later!

[JakeM]

glad to see another ht 40 user!!! i love mine. i'm thinking of swapping tubes soon and upgrading my speaker but i'm not sure what to.

jake

[J.LaGrassa]

Right now I am actually liking the amp stock, I usually replace tubes and speaker with my amps but so far I dont see a need just yet!

[moodus2006]

Welcome the Blackstar! I have a ht-60 and love it! I was a/b ing the Blackstar to my Super Reverb yesterday with petals and clean. I love the Super but the HT just does it all well. (also 4x10 compared to 2x12 ...I like the fullnes/bottom end of the 12's). Let me know what y'all swap for tubes or speakers. I am willing to experiment/ curious to know what others are trying.

[J.LaGrassa]

Well I had my first gig with the amp last night and I felt very comfortable using it we had to keep our volume under control so I could not really push the amp but that did not effect the tone or dynamics of the amp I love the master volume on this amp.

The amp had no problem cutting through a band mix both channels sound great, for cleans I used the Blackstar Boutique mode it was set around 12:00 for a little bit of dirt and on the OD channel I use it with the voice switch out and the gain set to around 2:00 I got a real nice crunch tone and was still enough for a good solo tone as well. The only pedals I use now is a Boss DD-3 delay and a Barber Launch Pad for a solo boost I place these in the fx loop which worked nicely.

I will get to use it again tonight hopefully I can push the amp a little more plus I will get to try out the Emulated line out into the PA so far I think this amp is great for doing gigs the 40 watts are perfect for my needs.

[J.LaGrassa]

2nd gig went great as well the amp performed flawlessly, a big plus for me is the emulated line out sounds great into the P.A. it is just as good as the Palmer PDI-09 I have used.

[J.LaGrassa]

Well I put my HT-40 to a good test the other night I played in a 300+ room and the amp sounded so good on stage only had the master about 10-11:00 and it was plenty loud on stage, I used the line out to the board to help fill the room.

My amp is still totally stock I like every thing about the amp the TAD EL34 power tubes the Sovtek 12AX7WA and the Celestion 70/80 they all work great in this amp. It feels so good not to be going nuts changing every little thing, I have even stopped using drive pedals i plug straight in and just use delay and a clean boost in the fx loop.

This is an amazing amp for the money I'm glad I bought it!

[erikm5150]

just curious, what clean boost are you using in the loop?
does the fx loop work well with pedals?

[J.LaGrassa]

Originally Posted by erikm5150

just curious, what clean boost are you using in the loop?
does the fx loop work well with pedals?

I am using the Boss GE-7 EQ as a clean boost I run it flat and just use the volume slider to adjust the amount of boost, the only other pedal I am using is a Boss DD-3 delay these both work great in the loop.

You have a push button option on the amp to use +4db for rack fx and -10db for pedals, the fx loop is very nice no volume loss or tone issues. I wanted the Boss pedals for there silent switching rather than going with True bypass pedals to avoid any popping issues they can cause.