BRAND NEW Blackstar HT Series MKIII HT5 - Watch Before Buying Boss Katana!

[@MrAusmo]

Just bought it. Perfect for condo dwellers like me who need to operate at more modest volume levels. I also like the idea of having something different so I do not end up sounding like everyone else.

[@mathzur5150iii]

Real sound man. Nothing can equal tube amp.

[@JakeLeighGuitar]

Can't beat it! Totally agree :)

[@steveweilhart2359]

watched danish Pete plugin to the 20 watt head on Anderton's review of these new amps (the other day) and wow it sounded awesome it blew him away also I think he was thinking it sounds better than my Victory (sig) amp the Deputy - has more gain on tap and does the dirty clean thing really good very easy to get the Hendrix thing with these amps very versatile amps and fairly affordable also! nice demo

[@grahammckerrell5215]

Definitely more gain than my mk2, even after my greenback upgrade - I can only get rock tones from od2 with the gain dimed, doesn’t even come close to metal. I use as a pedal platform so would have to do a side by side to compare the cleans since I wasn’t sold on the mk3 clean voicings. They’re certainly great little amps tho!

[@finishin.my.coffee8780]

Wow, this new series sounds really good! At one point, I had the original 10" HT5 combo from around 2009, then 3 years later I bought the 12" combo. For whatever reason, the 12" combo sounded a little muddy unless you used a higher output humbucker like a JB, as opposed to something like a PAF. Now I'm reconsidering my original plan to buy a gen 3 Katana.

[@gwhiz3708]

I still own an original ht-5 combo. I put a 10” Celestion Greenback and JJ tubes in it and it sounds awesome. I have it setup in my living room and just played through it this afternoon. It’s still one of my favorite amps.

[@finishin.my.coffee8780]

@@gwhiz3708 That sounds awesome. I wish I'd kept at least one of the two I owned. The stock 10" speaker in the original didn't sound bad. I can imagine what the Greenback sounds like. I have a 12" Greenback laying around, which I might use if I buy one of the new HT5 combos. The stock 12" Blackbird in the HT5 I bought in 2012 sounded great when I played my ESP Eclipse through it. That guitar had the JB/59 set in it. It was a great home rig for Iron Maiden, Kiss, Thin Lizzy, Metallica, and Aerosmith tones.

[@BrandonEht]

You should make a video comparing some different boosts with this amp. It sounds pretty good, but the low end is kinda flubby and it would just sound so much tighter with a pedal in front.

[@stevetanner9409]

I had a Katana for two hours. I took it back and got the HT5 MKII . I liked the idea of the Katana, the actual reality was underwhelming. I've never had a Blackstar that I didn't like

[@Chip_57]

Sounds great JLG.

[@JakeLeighGuitar]

Thank you! 🤘😊

[@KillaFXZ]

Sounds great, I prefer the USA sound, to me its just sounds less mufflled I actually had an Blackstar HT5 version 1 head I just traded in. I wonder how it would sound with a DV-77,V30, V-type or Reaper HP speaker in it?

[@JakeLeighGuitar]

It's definitely a clearer sound isn't it? Really great for heavy rhythm stuff. Yeah, I'd like to try some different speakers too, or maybe into another cab :)

[@KillaFXZ]

@@JakeLeighGuitar SWEET!

[@bryanmartinez7849]

I’m a bit confused, when it says “Cab Rig” is it just going strait to the daw but when it doesn’t have it you’re recording it through the microphone? Please id really like to know thanks

[@davidwoods358]

Nice sounding amp. Hopefully loading the software is easier then on the katana. Mine has sat in the corner unused since new (years ago.) The Boss Tone Studio is just way too much to deal with.

[@frankstetka7206]

Been liking these, but I am definitely a closed back fan for high gain, seems goofy to get a 5 watt head though and so being that it is really flexible and I am not a nu metal player at all, this amp sounds damn near perfect for me in my bedroom 🤣

[@Michel-r6m]

At €699 there are serious alternatives (combo as combo with seperate fx). At this price I'd go stand alone amp, no modelling just amp with fx loop. A DSL-5 does €359 at the moment and leaves €240 for a pedal or two or a multi like ME-80/ Pod Express.

[@ryanstark2350]

The problem with the price is that Blackstar amps break. Appalling reliability for the price. I bought an HT5 MKII and it broke in next to no time.

[@thenovicenoisemaker]

Nice!!

[@JakeLeighGuitar]

Thanks! 😊

[@jessetate9701]

Yea this will be way better than the boss

[@douglascrawford4791]

I'm waiting on an MK2 to be delivered.What are your thoughts

[@taxationistheft2.0]

Mk3 announcement tomorrow

[@BryanBrett-q4d]

Must be my phone...it sounds awful thin to me. Need to try in person.

[@diemkt]

I'm going to assume that these amps sound better than the Mk. Is (not a far stretch). I worked in a music store for 3 years and the Mk I HT 5s outsold any other amp we stocked, I also played one for about 8 years and absolutely loved it.

[@GiacomoVaccari]

Yeah it sounds way better in the room

[@peterhall4852]

They are too expensive,Jake. The market is really competitive in small valve amps.

[@JakeLeighGuitar]

They are expensive, you're right. I didn't actually know the price in advance of the release, so I wasn't able to speak about it. I don't know how well I managed to capture the sound, but I do have to say in the room, I was blown away with it. I genuinely think it sounds great and I preferred it over any other amp of that size that I've tried. I also think that at this point, everything is so expensive and costs more than I want to pay. I wouldn't be disappointed with this amp if I had paid full price for it, but I didn't, so I can't honestly say 100%

[@peterhall4852]

​@JakeLeighGuitar The 5w are 690 euros (in the Netherlands) You can buy an awful lot of amp for that price.

[@mivani84]

The di sound is a bit meh

[@andrewdavies2109]

I think that's putting it kindly. I didn't like it at all.

[@southpawlibranine3511]

Sounds crap

[@yaniv-nos-tubes]

another crappy sounding amp from a crappy company, in the second hand market you won't be able to give it away for free like all blackstar products no integrity

[@ryanstark2350]

I had an HT5 MKII. The distortion channel was crap but the clean channel was very good. Better than any other small amp I tried that needed to be very low volume. As for you other points, this is where I totally agree. Their products are garbage reliability. My amp broke with hardly any use.