new blackstar mini stack/combo fao mike/lamp

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 4:36 pm

OK, so I actually got to do a side by side comparison between this and a tiny terror. The ht5 was running into 1 of the 1x10 cabinets and the TT was running into a mesa 1x12. I was using the MIM jaguar.

TT - A little fuller sound for sure but alot, if not all of this was the larger (and better) 1x12 v30 cabinet. The cabinet was 50% deeper and about 4" taller/wider than the blackstar cabinet. Playing through this made me miss my TT alot. They are not versatile amps unless you want to be doing alot of knob turning and shit, but damned if they don;t sound amazing with a guitar just plugged in.

HT5. Not quite as full, but I do attribute that alot to the cabinets they were running through. Way more versatile. The EQ and 2 channels give you more felxibility for live stuff for sure. I always prefer the sound of good natural distortion over a pedal when available and witht he TT, I end up using pedals (which is a shame as it is the TT's overdrive that sounds amazing). But I hated always adjusting the damned amp so I would always play it on a fairly clean setting and push it with pedals for live shows. The ht-5 is another story. Although it could use a little more headroom on the clean channel, I think if I had it running through a 2x12 cabinet or the like it would gain that. But, I loved the overdrive tone of it and being able to switch back and forth is awesome. Aslo with the 3 band EQ and the IFS (or whatever it is called) knob, it is a little friendlier to different pedals/guitars.

If I only wanted the straight ahead rock tone and was not worried about versatility, etc.... I would go fir the TT. But, if I wanter a versatile, inexpensive (the whole mini stack costs $50 less than a TT head over here) small wattage combo that I could gig with, record with, and play at bedroom volumes while sounding and feeling great I would go fot the ht5.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 4:39 pm

Thanks for the comparison mickie.

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 4:44 pm

Thanks Mike. It was a blast, and it was the first time I really got to play out the MIM jaguar...What a great feeling guitar, and it sounded great through both amps. I think the MIM one is alot better than the MIJ one personally and I am going to dump the mIJ one off probably. That and the fact I got the MIM one so cheap is awesomez.... I never got along as well with the other shortscales I have had in the past...

Post by **Mike** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 4:46 pm

haha.. well that makes me feel even better about getting my MIM now. I love it.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:59 pm

Thanks for the write up Mickie - has kind of cemented my wish to get one!

Post by **dots** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 8:12 pm

mickie, do you has salt booster (or any boost/light overdrive) pedal? i'd try putting one in front of the TT set for EPIC MASSIVE GAIN and the pedal to low volume. that way, the pedal engages and gives you a great clean tone, and you have the natural, tube overdrive from the amp when the pedal is off. i've done this to great effect on my pro jr. just a though if you're looking to get another TT but want to artificially squeeze a little more versatility from it.

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 8:18 pm

I have the plane tx from Aen... This would work to a degree as ong as you don't want spanky fender cleans...

But the ht-5 does it pretty well anyways. Also, I will probably use a clean boost with it as well live.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:29 pm

Well it was only a matter of time...
Was off sick today, which is always a bad day for my wallet.
Piled into town at about 4pm and picked up an HT-5 head.
It's great, as previously described.
Will take some photos at some point.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:40 pm

Mike JEALOUS

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:23 pm

Mike wrote:Mike JEALOUS

What's wrong with the Tiny Terror?

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:39 pm

Mike wrote:Mike JEALOUS

Rob JEALOUS

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:58 pm

the_dude wrote:
Mike wrote:Mike JEALOUS
What's wrong with the Tiny Terror?

cleans
fizziness
versatility

it's lovely but it has it's flaws. i want one of these blackstars too.

Â£500 bursary isn't going anywhere, i don't get the second payment til august though. it will be done this summer.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:02 pm

Reece wrote:
the_dude wrote:
Mike wrote:Mike JEALOUS
What's wrong with the Tiny Terror?
cleans
fizziness
versatility

it's lovely but it has it's flaws. i want one of these blackstars too.

Â£500 bursary isn't going anywhere, i don't get the second payment til august though. it will be done this summer.

Aye. Well every amp has it's flaws, I would love to own one, but I'm in the market for a big amp so I guess it's not worth the extra moneys for something smaller.
What all's wrong with the cleans Reece? And versatility for that matter?

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:12 pm

the cleans are actually alright but it depends alot on the guitar. they don't quite "sparkle", i know what i mean in my head but i can't quite express it.

versatility. it has three knobs, one of which is tone, which is actually more like a treble knob. if you don't like the sound you're getting from it there's not much you can do.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:21 pm

Reece wrote:the cleans are actually alright but it depends alot on the guitar. they don't quite "sparkle", i know what i mean in my head but i can't quite express it.

versatility. it has three knobs, one of which is tone, which is actually more like a treble knob. if you don't like the sound you're getting from it there's not much you can do.

Ah, I thought you meant by versatility that you could only get one tone out of it.
With the right cabinet are they giggable?

Post by **Mike** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:22 am

The TT is giggable up the wazoo if you don't want crystal cleans. Anything from gritty cleans to crunch and beyond is loud as hell.

The Blackstar is a very nice sounding amp, I'm still not sure I'll buy one but I was really impressed by the one I played.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:40 am

the_dude wrote:With the right cabinet are they giggable?

If you're not concerned about sparkling cleans, then you can totally gig with a TT.
If you're playing gigs mic'd up, then you have no issues at all.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:12 am

lamp wrote:Was off sick today, which is always a bad day for my wallet.
Piled into town at about 4pm and picked up an HT-5 head.

Well enough to go to the guitar shop, well enough to go to work, young man. Plus I would have thought the risk of running into your boss in there was pretty high. Or do they have a dispensing chemist in Manson's now?

Post by **Mike** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:18 am

Tim, he's being made redundant/relocated to Poland next year. I think Thom can do what the fuck he likes, it's not likely to get much worse for him.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:33 am

Eh? Did I somehow miss this? I knew times were tight, redundancies were mooted, and Tom had had to let some of his team go, but I didn't realise it was a definite thing. Sorry Tom.