Blackstar HT-1R Guitar Combo Amplifier (1 Watt, 1x8")

No longer available at zZounds
Travel across the Atlantic for British and American tone with the incredibly studio-friendly 1-watt Blackstar HT-1R combo amp.

The Blackstar HT-1R Guitar Combo Amp is the perfect studio and practice amp. It packs all the great tone and innovative features of the award-winning HT-5 valve amp into a 1 Watt format. The patent-applied-for ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) circuit gives you infinite adjustment over the characteristics of the tone control network and takes you from the USA to the UK and anywhere in between. Add a fully specified speaker emulated output, MP3/ Line Input, plus an 8 ohm speaker output and you have everything you need for recording or practicing.

Blackstar HT-1R Guitar Combo Amp Features

- 1 x ECC83 and 1 x ECC82 tubes
- Unique push-pull power amp design
- Based on award winning HT-5
- Two channels
- 8 inch speaker
- Patent-Applied-For Infinite Shape Feature (ISF)
- Perfect for studio or practice
- Speaker emulated output
- Stereo MP3 / Line input
- External speaker output
- Built in reverb with level control

- Innovative 1 Watt valve combo
- 1xECC83 and 1xECC82
- Unique push-pull power amp design
- Based on award winning HT-5
- Two channels
- 8" speaker
- Patented Infinite Shape Feature (ISF)
- Perfect for studio or practice
- Speaker emulated output
- Stereo MP3 / Line input
- External speaker output
- Stereo Reverb

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 631-390-8737
Email: enquiries@blackstaramps.com
Web: https://blackstaramps.com/support/

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (7 ratings)
Submitted May 23, 2011 by a customer from above2.com

"Superior Tube Amp for Pros and People Who Want to Get Better"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
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This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
Great great amp, if you want to get better, this is for you. If you are already a pro, this is for you. Just starting out? Maybe, but it will not give you the instant tone gratification of a modeling amp and let you go from jazz to country to insane metal by pressing a button. It will amplify your personal tone and skill. If you are just starting out, just be patient as it will not gloss over unclean playing as a lot of amps will.

Sound
This is basically a great sounding tube amp in a small size. Tube amps sound best cranked up. However, cranked up amps are not always the best for practicing and recording. And when I say practicing, I do not mean rehearsing. This amp can get loud (to give you great tube tone) but not terribly loud because it is only 1 watt with an 8 inch speaker. You can get fantastic cleans, crunch classic rock and some good metal tones as well. The "ISF" is very cool and you can change the overall character of the amp from a Fender-esque clean sound to a Vox chime to a roaring woody Marshall-esque sound. The reverb on the amp is digital and stereo. In reality, it sounds great and is very usable. It feels and sounds like a quality analog reverb. If you are looking for touch responsiveness, tube breakup (all levels), etc. this is a great amp and is very small and portable. Takes pedals well, but I have enjoyed using it without pedals for the most part. It is a high resolution amp, so if you play well, it sounds great. read more If you make mistakes, it will draw attention to them unlike some other amps. Punchiness, touch, all the tube hallmarks are here. My new favorite amp, sound-wise, for recording and practice. While it may seem like a beginner's amp in terms of size, it is not really made for beginners. It is a pro-level amp and does not disappoint. Also, this amp really brings out the good and bad in different guitars, pickups and even cables. Some amps make your gear sound generic, but this thing really lets you hear the differences, no matter how subtle, with your gear. For example, I have a Gretsch where the 2nd selector position (neck and bridge both on) pickup setting sounded the same, or mostly the same, to the neck pickup on its own, through my other gear (Vox amp, Digitech modeler, etc.). With the HT-1, you can hear the differences, as if someone took the pillow off my guitar in that instance, for example. Emulated output/headphones is stereo and sounds truly great.

Features
I only give it a 9 for "features" because it could be slightly better if it had an effects loop perhaps. But when using an amp this small, you probably would not want to connect a bunch of other gear in your signal chain and for recording, you can do your time based effects on the computer (delay, etc.). Otherwise, you defeat the simple portability of the HT-1. Having said that, it does come with stereo headphone/emulated output (the reverb effect is stereo) and also stereo input for MP3/other sound sources (to play along with for example). The headphone and line-in ports are both full-size 1/4" jacks, so you may need different cables or adapters depending on your existing gear.

Ease of Use
Easy to use, but please take your time to dial in settings you like. Subtle changes to pre-gain and post-gain and ISF can give you a lot of different sounds. Same with reverb. Behind the simple knobs lies some delicious tone.

Quality
Heavy for its size and very well built. The speaker, though small, is designed to take loud volume without farting out. High quality pro gear. I do not think replacing the speaker or the tubes is necessary whatsoever. Give the amp a few hours for the speaker to break in a bit. And make sure you use a really good cable. Believe it or not, different cables can improve your sounds because guitars send out tiny signals over the cable and that tiny signal is prone to changing over the length of the cable. Better cables will give you better resolution, high frequency, and sustain.

Value
I think it is a 10 for "value", but I give a 9 because it actually is expensive for a small amp. However, it is fantastic, so you get what you pay for in that regard. A 1 watt boutique tube amp? This is the real deal.

Manufacturer Support
Haven't had to ask for support yet - but I think Korg USA is the support department for the USA.

The Wow Factor
I like the Blackstar asthetic, grill cloth and marketing. Look online for some of their videos. For example, if you like metal, look for Andy James playing the HT-1 using emulated output. Amazing. While it can do hard rock and classic rock, it has a great round and smooth blues tone too, and I personally mainly use mine on the clean setting with a bit of preamp tube breakup crunch.

Musical Background:
musician

Musical Style:
blues, classic rock, tamer metal
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