The truth about 5 watt valve amps - Blackstar HT5R MK2

I’ve hankered after a Blackstar amp after recording a band whose guitarist used one. I finally bought one recently - The Blackstar HT 5R and wanted to ad my review of it to the many already out there. In the video I explain my reasons for buying a 5 watt valve amp, why I chose this one and what I think of it so far. I had intended to include a sound test in this video but as I explain - it will have to be a separate video which I’ll do ASAP.

Hope you find this of value. Feel free to like, comment and subscribe if so.

Cheers!

Dave

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Dave Menzies is a guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of Scottish band Glass.

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Disclaimer: I may earn a commission from some of the products I endorse on this channel if you purchase anything through the links posted in these videos. This will never cost you more, in fact I am sometimes able to pass on discounts during special promotions and launches.

[glenharland]

I have 2 of these in stereo. Couldn't be happier.

[shuaibird.official]

I bought the 5R MKII. It's pretty amazing at .5 watt setting, making it useful for practice.
The 5 watt is a bit more noisy than other valve amps I have though.
It also comes with a lot of features that are rarely found on valve amps, headphone silent output, usb direct recording, aux input, etc.
Overall, this is the best versatile budget valve amp I've owned so far.

[WayCoolStudios]

I have a Crate VC-508 valve amp. I have to agree, 5 watt through a 8 inch speaker is great to play at home or in the studio. The BlackStar looks like it had the good! May be my next amp! Thanks for the review, can’t wait for your next review.

[TurboMountTV]

So I like what I'm seeing / hearing, but am concerned about many reporting "noise", especially at 5 watts. Is that what can be expected? Is there anything that can be done to correct it (besides tone sucking NR)?

[LPGTR]

I just bought one last week, I love it and I use Les Paul and I play couple hours and I love ISF shape to British Side and I am very Impress the clean sounds and very warm to my ears and the Overdrive tones 1 and 2 are awesome and excellent for my liking. The stuff I play Kiss, Bad Company, ACDC, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and Ted Nugent, it works 60s 70s 80s 90, Music. You might want get a Overdrive pedal if want 90s Grunge Sound and give little more dirt on tone, I will probably will take to open mic night. Overall I give Amp 10 Stars 🌟 and I am very happy with the tones I get and I am very Inspired to play more and Very Happy with Black Star Products and I own Black Star Fly and Also ID Core 40 watts, I just feel I am getting the Tones I want hear and I play lot more and I feel magic that any Black Star products I plug into and next amp going to get and buy is HT Club 40 watts.

[longi]

I couldn't get on with the HT-5. I tried for about 8 years but no. I loved the HT-20, but I bought it to sell. I really like the TVP range of amps. I settled on the ID60 TVP. It complements my MJW Orion and Jet City JCA22.

[henryb]

Great introduction. Regarding the speaker out options: I notice the speaker connection has a jack plug and was wondering if it could also be used as a speaker cab. I have a boss Katana Head MKII and was thinking I could use the Blackstar as an occasional cab by simply connecting the speaker cable to the Katana, perhaps using an extended cable if needed. Do you think this would work?

[mickeybravo]

Picked this up after a few times demoing it in the guitar shop. Was looking for tube amp suitable for both home practice and small gig (typically I gig a few times a month as a guitarist with various church groups). This really does have a lot of features between the tone shaping, effects loop, speaker outputs, foot switch, so it can be used as a head, etc. and the power tube is a great one for the size. The different tone shaping options also give a lot of room for specific tone matching different pickups and musical genre.

Your review and a few others were what helped me seal this deal.

[pyroguitars]

This is really useful. Thanks.
I'll now go and check out your audio (through my wee phone speaker 😂)
I'm currently shopping around in the valve, practice, home recording corner of the Internet.

[Acex]

I just bought a HT 20. it's fantastic.

[andreaberteotti]

Ht5/20 questions blackstar:
I m Sorry DO I NEED A LOADBOX FOR LISTENING the sound' s amp THROUGH THE HEADPHONES IN A HEAD HT 5MKII?AND WHAT DOES IT CHANGE WITH NEW VERSION mkiii? I d like tò know if i can buy a head and listen without buying a CAPTOR for the load because i know tube amp broker themself .

[bruiserbrawler]

My question regarding the XLR out. Can I use the amp as a monitor while running direct into a board?

[roqueeeeeeeee]

Just came from my regular shop and tried both HT1 and HT5. The HT1 seemed very bland sound wise comparing with ht5 which is a beast. Great clean and overdriven tones and great speaker. I could lower the volume a lot and continue having that beautiful sound. But it's so damn heavy...

[davroshalfbeard]

Just got one today lol had to carry it 😅 from trongate to Central station

[cmmnsenserules]

I bought then returned this because it wss waaay noisy at 5w. Overly noisey. Sooo i boyght tbe v5 bugera. GREAT 18 months and burns out. Bought another V5 from a closeout sale fir dirt cheap. 2 yrs later, burned up.

[davidmajor]

What happened to the original Blackstar 5 watt head driven by a single 2 stage tube ??

[HappyChillmore]

hey man, do you know if the speaker cloth can come off and be replaced easily? thanks

[thecreativeguitarlounge]

I'll be doing the mic v emulated outs comparison soon everyone so look out for that 😀

[jacobsamano]

Anybody here know what could be the problem with my HT5R having volume dropout all of a sudden? Could it just be a tube needs replacing or something more serious?

[RobBob]

Oh a fellow Scot 😀.. hello all the way from Glasgow