Checking out the Blackstar HT5 Combo

[saintofbladez]

Is the head version of this loud enough for small gigs?

[cromaticas]

@saintofbladez doubt it..

[squiggy110]

blackstar ht-5 combo or marshall class 5-01 combo?i play mostly grunge punk kinda thing though a les paul junior and boss ds-1 im torn between the two..any suggestions?

[prabowoputra]

Hi rob, between this and the cube 80 x, which one do you think is a better purchase and why?

[teezer123]

@prabowoputra what sounds better to you ? do you gig ? which is more versatile for your needs ? which do you think is nicer to look at ? what is your gut instinct ?...rob doesnt answer these questions anymore :L

[buckachiddy]

I bought a HT-5 yesterday for home use - it's without doubt. in my opinion, the best combo I've ever had and that would extend to the MESA/Boogie Rectoverb combo which this amp does an incredible impression of for 1/5th of the price. You can't judge an amplifier's sound from a camcorder video, so check one out yourselves before giving an opinion.

[steamyafrican1988]

Is it loud enough for a jam with a drummer/ bass player?

[smagmauder]

Seems Kenny Rogers found a new job, good for him.

[21zband]

this dude is a mix of randy rhoads, yngwie malmsteen, micheal batio, slash, jimmy page and jimi hendrix.

[Nickelbroken]

Nickelback shirt?  Fuck yeah...

[mjr2470]

a friend of mine is a drummer for a well established local oldies band here in america and I went to one of their rehersals with my beloved 81 ibanez artist in hand that I customized a bit with dimarzio sd pickups. The 60 year old guitarist, who was playing a 50 year old gibson, after playing the double cut away artist did not want to give it back. I do have a strat usa hss, but that artist is my go- to guitar. plays like buter and tons of tone. Im really wanting a prs, I dig the middi weep!!

[jobjob76]

Vigiers are dreamy!

[morroogtull]

Maybe the title "local shreder visiting our instrument shop" would be more telling?!!!

[oobinkey]

what pedal do you have hooked up to the amp?

[kieranm310]

@oobinkey Looks like a Boss RV-5 Reverb but I could be wrong

[MeanGreenMovies]

if fender bought gibson then those astronomical prices should drop! im not a buisnessman and know nothing about any of that, im just assuming that would happen! GO FENDER....... AND CHAPMAN GUITARS! ML1 is just amazing for the price

[Nickofaballooni]

@MeanGreenMovies ....Try Tokai les pauls they are awesome.

[Wolfareon]

I'm glad to have sold my blackstar.

[hirocaster]

@Wolfareon why? what amp do u have now?

[Wolfareon]

@hirocaster Because after all I didn't like it. the sound wasn't that good, the amp has only 5 watts and compared to those watts it makes a lot of noise, but still not enough sometimes.. Now I got a Marshall Valvestate 8080, the sound I like more, it goes louder, it has more fonctions and effects. Blackstar hasn't even got a reeverb.

[hirocaster]

@Wolfareon I'm considering HT-5 but i don't care for the low watt, cause i'll use for recording...i'm hearing different opinions and since i can't test it for mysel...i just get more confused lol

I'll buy 3 different little amps, one vox, one fender and one more modern sound...but i don't know yet.

[Wolfareon]

@hirocaster Can't you test it in the shop before buying? Well I wouldn't dare to discourage the Blackstar. It is good stuff after all. But it just wasn't the thing I needed, because I don't now much of amps. So I'd say it's an excellent amp, especially when you know about amps and hear the many different types of sounds.

[Nickofaballooni]

@hirocaster ...if you want more wattage check out the HT 20.

[jhnavyblue]

I just ordered the stack today, can't wait!

p.s nice nickelback shirt....homo

[JackGuitarGuy]

@ShortScopeBoy Wooahhh, dont slag off Gibson. The Guitars are amazing. Ricockulously amazing. Yes they may be shit businessmen, but they make guitars that sing. Ever wondered why a ton of amazing artists use them, BECAUSE THEY ARE GOOD.

[glitterboygary]

@ShortScopeBoy

kiss my piss shit sucker, i bet you're fat

[glitterboygary]

OMG this is embarrassing.

Nice earring trev.

Nice teeth Trev

ha ha chappers is a baldy in denial, check out the gay boy head wear

You don't sell everything do you trev. NO GIBSON

[godlikecharacta]

My blackstar ht-5 combo was defective!!!! (it sounds supper muffled) :( I'm returning it and getting the head and an orange cab

[V3xify]

@floppledong Yep!!

[Dinkyuser]

What do you rate this amp Chappers?

[dreamawaythemiles]

1 minute of crap before the actual playing starts - you guys love yourselves!

[klummster88]

Can this amp handle a bit of metal? Even if it is achieved through pedals? Because I'm looking at a low output practice amp for soloing...but it would be nice if it could handle a bit of chugga chugga as well.

[punkmusicmetal]

@klummster88 lol, yesh. It does. Boost pedal for more gain. You will lose bass response, but thats with any boost. But you can mess around with the pedal and amp to achieve a happy mediumj.

[eatthemoon13]

@klummster88 NO PEDALS NEEDED.. You can even get death metal out of this head with a just a boost.

[19army56]

As a consumer I found Gibson excellent to deal with. As for the Blackstar HT-5 it is one wicked amp. Replaced the factory 40 watt 10 inch Celestion speakers with 10 inch Geenbacks and I haven't played my Marshall JCM 800 2204 since. I also replaced the pre-amp tube with an old Bugera 12AX7 I had laying around and that proved to be a fantastic move with no need for any pedals of any kind. Adding a BBE Sonic Maximizer in the effects loop is the iceing on the cake. WOW!

[DogZero64]

Why is it guys who work in music shop are always dicks.

Also the geezer playing guitar YOUR BALD the headsware is fooling no-one.

[juanypei]

@DogZero64 i know some really big assholes in music shops, but there are some great dudes as well. there are more pricks out there then there are people you want to be around though. maybe they're bitter because their music career didn't go as planned...

anyway, chappers has hair. look for vids w/o the headband.

[GoDoFTHUNDER95]

Heyy man i got my guitar from this place lol the little guy sold me my esp ltd kh 202 :D

[tohtorigyro]

the way i see gibson is that it's just floating on the prestige that they've got, nothing else. they're most modern models are boring. they are rediculously over-priced for the specs of their models, as you can get an even better guitar for a fraction of a price of a gibson. they're models are out dated... the only good gibsons i can think of is a nicely worn and old les paul custom. or an explorer.

[IpodCY]

evrytime i watched this i couldnt get why they didnt sell Gibsons(i thought they were Andertons(FALE)) so yea xD

anw Mr. Chappers i need som advice

im thinking of getting an HT-5 n a couple pedals(distortion) is the HT5 good?(planning on Ht-Dist n Vox Satchurater) i currently hav a Line6 Spider III 75w so yea.....i got it when i started so dont hate me!

[najtrows]

i'll have to try a blackstar ht-5 soon! i must get a good tubeamp for home service!

[michaelgroenewald7]

do u like this or the class 5 better?

[liamzuid]

reverb is already built in the store where you tried it XD

[IpodCY]

i think ill save up for an HT5 =D(Only 399 Euros!!) i think these amps could've been MUCH more expensive than they are but im glad the guys there are cool enough to have REASONABLE prices(Im looking at you Gibson)

[EricAntonik]

Nice review. I got turned onto Blackstar not to long ago, very impressive, and Porcupine Tree uses them, so... yeah... sold.

Nickleback shirt... FAIL...hahahahah.

[SamXmasl]

Is the HT-5 Combo only 5 watts? is it loud enough for band practices with a drummer as well as bedroom practice?

[D35J4RD1N5]

Christ, those two are a british guitar store abbot and costello

[hurricane555]

no Gibson ,good for you hahaha

Gibson sucks, now you hear it from a pro

[mean0machine0]

Gibson dont suck

its just an opinion

[DannyB819]

I hope he's wearing that Nickleback t-shirt ironically.

[fretboarder]

to anyone thinking of buying this amp dont...its utter shit it either sounds too bright or too bassy with nothing inbetween..

[D35J4RD1N5]

Jeez, you're posting this on every HT-5 vid aren't you? How about, Let people make up their own minds about tone. Tonality will always be a subjective thing, everyone has different opinions on the best tone and what tone sounds "right", such as, a friend of mine hates distortion, while I find the sound of stacked fuzz pedals to be doomfully lovely. It's all a matter of opinion.

[fretboarder]

@D35J4RD1N5 ive posted it on the vids ive watched plus there are people out there who are torn with amps like this and a few others, just getting more opinons out there for people to read..if no one likes me saying i thought it was crud doesnt need to reply do they..

[brimill1980]

this reminds me of my local music shop the banter is flowing :]

[BlackMonkey24]

dont know to get this or the tiny terror

[guitargodslash89]

@coopdawg68 That's what I want to know. After I found out about the Blackstar, the extra features won me over.

[stuhudson1980]

richardispeachy why dont you like Gibsons? Just currious.

[murfdog19]

Because he can't afford one.

[TheLetheProject]

I can't speak for him, but personally I don't like Gibsons because the necks are too thick for my taster. They feel like logs in my hand.

[rockingrugger]

Blackstar

[blackstarht5]

ROCK ON MATE !

[burnsometrashcans]

THE CHAPPUHS

[richardispeachy]

'Do you sell Gibson?'

'No.'

'Good!'

Agreed :D

[t0v3]

Blackstar ht5 every time. It's more versatile, has a better high gain tone and looks sexy as hell. I have the ministack and it pwns

[nikolajhansen15]

@t0v3

im about to buy it, and i was wondering wether it is good for classic rock like ac/dc, van halen and such stuff? (:

[burgerfattis]

@nikolajhansen15 it's great for anything really.. i have even played a gig with it :P but what really matters is your pedals.. but there is an extremely high gain channel on this one (compared to other amps), and if you use that it's basically good for anything, but you wont be able to play like metal or anything, but on the gain channel it's great for ac/dc and stuff.. you would have to have a pedal set for playing van halen and stuff like that though...

[fender51503]

Man,thats got a great sound at only 5 watts!

[BreakBeatBen]

Trevor Durrant Guitars are now on Twitter - follow them on @tdguitars

[fenders]

with mike portnoy on guitar! :P

[darralwilson]

Gibson are now very tight on giving dealerships, people who don't get one, get bitter.

[darralwilson]

Nice playing tho!

[ArpeggiateTHIS]

I would LOVE to work in your shop.

Great demo, great song choices and great guitar choice.

[patches91]

rob freakin chappers!

[Fiarzen]

at the beginning you can see a LP custom behind him on his left (camera right)

[bojjob77]

its a stagg copy

[ProgressiveGuitarist]

Fuck yeah, Yngiwe Malmsteen - I'll See The Light Tonight! :D

5/5 just for that lick!

[perdikkos]

i was just gonna ask what's that song called! Thanks!

[j37h307]

gibson does suck. Well I shouldn't say SUCK. But your paying for the name. That is all. Thier not terrible guitars though.

[Fiarzen]

well, no other guitar brand that i know has yet replicated the awesomeness of a gibson SG.

apart from maybe tokai XD

[Esuohretep]

with the likes of an lp or sg special or studio, true. An epiphone elitist can probably own both. the higher end gibson are pretty nice though

[TMSierra]

WHAT you dont like gibson???!!!!!

[RNRDOLL]

Gibson as a company itself severely sucks...they rape the fuck out their customers with those prices. The guitars are my favorite, but I'd never buy another again..I'm making my own.

[goodguitaristatmetal]

@RNRDOLL Fight Da Powa!

[cast390]

@RNRDOLL Even tho gibson does make fine instruments,you are correct about the prices.With the amount of compitition out there.Its just a matter of time before gibson goes under.

[TheChandoodle]

sounds a bit crumbling less than clean distortion

[MihailTronix]

Should I buy this or the Marshall Class 5? I'm looking for Guns n' Roses, Rage Against The Machine sounds... But also some good vintage tube sounds...

[EuropeFactor]

I have the same dilemma....

[66Titan66]

The class 5 is a one trick pony aapparently. Good at what it does but no versatility at all. Get the HT-5.

[UltimateGuitarist17]

Same here, tell me what you think of either if you get it, Im leaning towards the ht-5, more versatile and the way the tubes work in the ht-5 makes the ht-5 sound less muddier meaning the tone has more clarity. But its a hard one to make!!!

[Whyrendog]

*Writes check...

"I'll take it!"

[eduva]

Is it made in UK?

[ruffles272]

jesus christ how loud did you have that thing?

[RevilationGuitar91]

Yngwie Malmsteen - I'll see the light tonight :)

[abergreg]

Lovely playing, really bad mic placement, the recorded sound sucked

[fretboarder]

mr chappers..why is it good for him if he doesnt deal gibsons ?

[RobChappers]

Because the company is notoriously difficult to deal with in the industry.

[fretboarder]

oh ok..so what do you think of the guitars?

another question mr chappers..have you tried the spider valve amps and what did you think of them..cheers.

[LateNightShredder]

and they are appearently terrible to their artists

[TheSugarFreedom]

@RobChappers Gibson sucks anyways... They are overpriced peices of cardboard.

[djekdlejae]

@TheSugarFreedom

They are definitely overpriced, and the quality has definitely diminished over the years. I have a mint condition 1967 SG, and it's one of the best guitars I've ever put my hands on. Nobody makes anything like they used to; that's for damn sure. I would never buy a new Gibson; it's vintage or bust.

[JKryanX]

@RobChappers yes they are. but they are the best guitars around imo

[rockingrugger]

@RobChappers Rob, would you ever record with this amp??

[teezer123]

@fretboarder they are overpriced !

[jcallseven]

what would this sound like with a good 4x12 ?

[Nick184]

fucking loud XD

[jamiepoultonadult]

Chappers king, what do you think of the vigier your playing ?

[christiancastro1971]

Unfortunately the Blackstar HT-5 is a hybrid amp.

[66Titan66]

ah no sorry, its all tube

[maxlamenace987654321]

all this gain cannot came from one single preamp tube.... so yeah, there's a tube, but there's also a lot of clipping. In this way, I agree that this a hybrid amp.

Still sounds killer though! Don't get me wrong! I have one!

[christiancastro1971]

I also have one.... great amp, but´s hybrid.

Some people do not understand that. But the Blackstar is a great amp = cost x benefit.

[kay7sniper]

hybrids are great man, ive got a marshall valvestate half stack. good amp.

[christiancastro1971]

I believe that... I never said that hybrid is bad. I have an amp Blackstar HT-5 head.

[kay7sniper]

yeah i realize that, im just saying a lot of tube snobs are like, "psh hybrids. id rather pay 2000 more dollars." you know? we aren't made of money

[jaymzguitar1]

At 2:49 on I see a gibson. It's black with gold pickups, Or atleast a fake gibson xD

Don't blame them if you can't afford nice quality RodChappers

[66Titan66]

what are you talking about? whats a RodChappers?

[jamiepoultonadult]

not a fake gibson, could be a epiphone or esp or many other brands use the les paul shape

[MrPookieNinja]

nah, its not.

its a stagg les paul copy.

i had to clean it loads cos i was working there at the time.

im the kid in the blue shirt that talks about Jack being in the toilet! :)

lol

[Nick184]

Yes! Everywhere i have seen the amp for sale it is advertised as 'all tube'!!!

[66Titan66]

Two tubes i think right?

[FullBlownRedneck]

The Rainbow colored PRS is the Al Di Meola Signature Series.

[shackleton1]

Is there a name for the rainbow paul reed smith? Shown at 1:46

[pianomanmty]

I want a vigier =)

[bignickm99]

Welcome to essex lolololol

[Badfish228]

He was wearing a Nickelback shirt.. he must be exterminated >_>

[MrGeetarDood]

1:35

[ReeceLiamAllsop]

Gibson and Marshall are like my worst enemy

i love the gibsons shape but not the sound or price tag

and marshalls are overpriced too

[V3ryM3tal]

I'm definitely interested to find out what the deal with the Gibson comment is.. I agree (for my own reasons) but just wondering what your opinion is too...

[RobChappers]

I really cannot say here... sorry.

[GretschGod]

tbh, these reviews are unfair.. the monkey lord can make any amp or guitar sound good with his epic win-ness ;)

[Chulkov89]

What's wrong with Gibson?

:'(

My overpriced brand name guitar makes me feel very secure. ;)

[guitargod908]

all hail the monkey lord

[eugenbiscuitulhipiot]

I guess it's the recording, but it sounds really bad compared to the orange tiny terror/combo.

[Chipmonkcheeks53]

The guy with the red shirt looks a bit like Rolf Harris!

[TheRandomSandwich]

if Rolf liked listening to Def Leppard!

[menchacaTHEbeast]

wait why is it good to not sell gibsons

[XMitsuhideX]

nice, I've been waiting for a good demo of the HT-5. Thanks Chaps! :)

[ibanezbloke]

gWan -vigier blues guitar!

[JerkyChid]

I wish I could understand English-English, I need an English to American dictionary.

[JWArdoin]

You really like I'll see the light tonight, don't you? :P

Great playing.

[GuitarZephyr]

I wish the people at my guitar center were that awesome.....

[WinkyPWNs]

OMG you were in Colchester. Trev and the guys are a total scream! You still down this way?

[RobChappers]

No mate sorry I am back in Wiltshire now... I was there for the night. Yeah nice store and lovely guys ;-)

[aaaah909]

iv got a blackstar ht 5 head. they aint half bad

[m1ck57]

nice playing great sound

[hillysats]

Hah, I have the HT pedal linked to my blackheart.

The best of both worlds.

~ Andrew

[amarr1]

joining blackstar, eh?

[hobbesismycat]

Awesome! Seems like the Monkey Lord approves of the HT-5. Just ordered my HT-5 mini stack the other day!

[lauriemonk]

you should have played black star rather than I'll see the light tonight!

[RobChappers]

AHHHHHhhhhh you are right, should have thought of that ha ha

[lauriemonk]

that's the benefit of youtube hindsight! Great playing as usual!

[backingtracksuk]

whats the Malmsteen song?

[SaintJimmy36]

i'll see the light tonight

[backingtracksuk]

cheers

[Ironb3rry]

You sure like pinch harmonics, don't you Rob?

[birchalltheaxehero17]

I have the mini stack version of this amp. I don't really like the distortion on it, but I only really bought it for the clean tones though. Sounds pretty awesome with my Metal Muff.

[SparcoRX7]

You don't buy an HT5 for the clean tones man

[bryanarz]

it has good clean tones too :D

[birchalltheaxehero17]

Well I did.

[SparcoRX7]

I'm just saying there's better amps out there for cleans, I think the HT5 is geared more towards good distortion sounds.

[Spocksbrother]

hey chappers,

i was just wondering if you ever got an embarrassed when you were playing in music stores. this is because a lot of times when i go to guitarcenter or manny's i cant play my best because the salesmen are always staring me down and give me shitty gear to play with. do you have any advice for this and stage fright in general?

[RobChappers]

I play live a lot so I don't get nervous any more... but I used to. It just takes time and patience, also try thinking about what you will play before you go in ;-)

[kakashihatake1321]

i love TD is one of my fav shops love the tone of the amps

[lighteningboy]

Taking shots at Gibson, tisk tisk tisk....typical shredder behavior.

[JMcDonnell91]

Chappers do you know of any webshops or anything where I can buy a push-pull potentiometer? Im lookin to put a coil tap on my guitar.

[demonix888]

The tone from that amp isn't too bad at all - more metal than the chappers usually plays, although less of a boutique / bluesy feel to them that the Buddas had.

[the10kproject]

Love Trevor Durrant, it's where I first played PRS. :)

[Fiarzen]

but i see a gibson custom underneath those basses? maybe a copy

[glent07]

'you sell gibson guitars?'

'no, no'

'good for you mate'

Take it you dont like gibson lol

[JohnTheGodOfBiscuits]

Lots of natural reverb! I likes it!

[ZeFredster]

Vigier guitar, very nice =)

[backingtracksuk]

did I spot you using a BOSS RV5?