NAD, man. NAD.

[tiger roach]

I needed something for the Houston outpost apartment. Something tubey that can get juicy at low volumes.

Just warmed up a new Blackstar HT-1R Mk II. 1 watt. 1x8” so it’s small and light. So far the sound and playability are making me really happy. My ‘05 American Standard Tele has a magical neck pickup, and this amp really captures the metallic, spacey sound it offers. It gives me that forgiving, bouncy tube sound that makes me want to dig in and wail.

It has two channels for crunch and “clean.” “Clean” is in quotes because obviously a 1-watter doesn’t have the headroom for big, sparkling cleans. Which works well for me, and the “clean” sounds available here are really impressive.

Which brings us to the one negative I have found - there is a big volume difference between the two channels. So going from clean to crunch or back again requires a Master adjustment, and maybe tone as well. So although the channels are footswitchable, there is really no point in buying the footswitch because you can’t just switch and go.

More later

https://blackstaramps.com/ht-1r-mkii/?product_id=873#gallery-5

 

[dodgechargerfan]

HNAD!

 

[xStonr]

I owned one at one time. Cool little amp.

 

[Bob411]

HNAD

 

[Denverdave]

Congrats!

 

[Chad]

Right on.

 

[Mark Wein]

Sweet!

 

[shoeless]

HNAD, handle with care!

 

[xStonr]

hnad.

 

[Chicken Man]

Thinking of picking one of these up from a consignment place. Still like it? Is it smaller than a practice amp?

 

[Guitar Heel]

Blackstars are great amps, I have two.

 

[tiger roach]

Still loving this little amp. It can get pretty loud actually, but if you keep the master under careful control you can get some great tones at low, apartment-friendly volumes.

The tone control takes some getting used to. Rather than bass-treble, it adjusts the entire tone stack from a "british" sound at one extreme to an "american" sound at the other. And, you get a two-position switch that kinda does the same thing. So basically, you set the selector at one or the other and use the knob to work the in-between tones. It sounds wonky but the bottom line is you get a lot of usable tones in there. I zeroed in on "my" sound quickly without having to fuss much.

Is it smaller than a practice amp?

It's just exactly the size of a practice amp. Imagine an 8" speaker, with just enough cabinet to make it fit.