WILL IT CHUG? - Blackstar HT1

[@blakecurtis7809]

Blackstar makes some cool gear. Quick story: my old band pitched in to buy guitarist a Blackstar tube head. Snuck it into jam room. When he showed up he had no idea it was there. Then he went to plug in, saw it and said" what the hell is that thing". Told him we got it for him. He was basically speechless and tearing up. As I recorded him on my phone he said "ok you can stop filming me now. Dude still has the amp and loves it.

[@russelllucas1043]

Great story !

[@blakecurtis7809]

@@russelllucas1043 Thanks man. It was a great day. To add: our other guitarist had recently picked up as new EVH 5150 3 from Fender. And first guitarist was not exactly jealous, just bummed that he was still stuck with his crappy solid state amp. I have a KZbin link to the video if you want to see a death metal guy cry.

[@russelllucas1043]

@@blakecurtis7809 Please share the link Blake. I'd love to see that !!

[@blakecurtis7809]

@@russelllucas1043 Here you go man! He still has it kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXaVdWxnbsypedU

[@justayoutubecommentator3059]

Blake Curtis that’s so sweet! he’s incredibly lucky to have you as friends

[@StormdriverOne]

I have the first gen HT-1. Maybe it's just my EMGs but it sounds like mine has more gain than the MkII. These amps were never really praised for their 2nd channel which is why I found it to be an odd choice for Will It Chug. These amps are all about channel 1. Crank the volume, max the gain, hit it with an overdrive and / or your pedals of choice and just listen to the thing. It's an unbelievably great sounding amp. Congrats to whoever receives this!

[@JenMajuraOfficial]

Chug away!!! 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼 my stalking starts to suck ... I’m getting slower... maybe it’s time I should start playing blues now... The US-UK-EQ is cool

[@ravenblackfeather4028]

Jen Majura bring on some new songs for Evanescence. Make it heavy chugging....lol

[@markyboyire]

German eq wud be cool and heavier than both , typical brits playing them selves down playing the Americans up and ignoring the Germans

[@Dastardly_X]

NOOOOO blues ‼️ Come on Jen 😎

[@Matkinson91]

"it has less chug, maybe because of brexit" 😂😂

[@Arthemesia]

You would think that would give em more chug since they finally are able to be free again :p then again maybe oppressing the UK makes it more brutal

[@Kalsten]

@@Arthemesia Lol. More "free" to sink their country. Good for them?

[@Arthemesia]

@@Kalsten man id hate to actually be as blind as you :p so how does the U.S. thrive by being a free country? U.K. isn't allowed to be their own country anymore? Tell me how its sinking by being independent

[@ickebins6948]

@@Arthemesia Just wait for a year or so... See how they "thrive" with no real industry left... Back on topic: Nice amp maybe a bit pricy for the power, but good non the less

[@jameseberhard7457]

@@ickebins6948 well seeing as we're the second largest contributor to the EU, I'd argue we're propping them up, sounds to me like you should stop putting the country down that built half this wold and worry about your own.

[@SpaceCowboy57]

I really like the ISF knob on my HT5 just because you can dial a solid tone via the 3 band, then get an entirely different tone just by sweeping the ISF. It's a cool way to record and layer two different guitar tracks on the same piece of gear.

[@PearHellforge]

"the british side has less chug, i would say. maybe its because of brexit, i have no idea..."

[@MartyDadRiffs]

I LOL'd at my work desk like an idiot when he said that.

[@carpenter.recordings]

🤣😂🤣

[@scriptosaurusrex]

A lot less everything after brexit. Chug, food, money, etc.

[@kevinsingh811]

+Matt Hellforge thanks for the annotation 🤔

[@instrumentalist28]

Funny is that he explained the isf knob all wrong.....the far right bright side is British and the far left muddy side is American

[@Jopeymessmusic]

I wasn't expecting that kind of response with the addition of the tubescreamer, the tone was improved by miles.

[@LaDeCR]

I gather this Blackstar amp is designed for guitarists to have lots of room to play with the colour of the sound, to then carry over to a Blackstar big rig

[@Mattseak]

This amp is just screaming for a tubescreamer.

[@Mezurashii5]

Or an eq at least. I don't know every amp that omits the EQ section desperately needs one more than most.

[@catatafish6251]

Exactly.

[@absolutmauser]

I run a TS808 into my HT5 and it gives it the extra chug it needs 😁

[@sagenering]

Soooo, it's tubescreaming?

[@jordanmayer5932]

Toss a palisades on it by earthquaker and an mesa boogie eq and your looking at some extreme levels of gain

[@The_Mimewar]

This is the best guitar series on KZbin.

[@TheEldenwhite]

That new Solar is absolutely beautiful.

[@nikolayew]

My little brother: „Is it a girl or a boy?“ Me: „He is a guy, he just has long hair“ Him: „..Pirates do also have long hairs..“ Here you have it. Ola must be a Pirate.

[@johnytipu4514]

More like a Viking :))) he is swedish too :))))

[@guitaristssuck8979]

He didn't see the beard...

[@demondarcy3911]

ah yes, the three genders

[@nikolayew]

@@guitaristssuck8979 yes, most probably, we were watching it on my phone.

[@nikolayew]

@@demondarcy3911 male/female/pirate

[@smoreshaunted]

TS9 user here. My all time favorite boost, and I've tried them all! Amp sounds killer with it

[@johnhurt8748]

I'm so proud of you for having the amp plugged in on the first try!

[@KaoswareMetal]

I used to have the HT-5 and yeah… it does chugg. This one looks pretty cool !

[@ibanezleftyclub]

That’s why a TS hasn’t left my board in 20 years.

[@kingofdragontown9680]

I use mine all level, mid drive and like 3 o clock on the tone. I use mine for solos and it cuts better with more treble.

[@thesteelstrummer2307]

I use one for my clean tone.

[@snakepitsam]

I wish Blackstar revised the HT1 Metal

[@kyrorocks]

Best looking finish on a Solar Sofar, really tasty. Looks classy.

[@IvanAmentisBratoev]

I can't understand amps with a one-knob EQ.

[@joeconti3599]

I know in the orange amps with one knob....to the left is more mids to the right is more treble and bass...not sure on this one tho

[@Tibbon]

There's some great no-EQ knob amps; like an old tweed Fender Champ too (can be heard on countless albums). Sometimes the amp just gets it right. One of my bigger amps (Soniccord) also have no tone knobs; just a high boost switch.

[@tecnogadget2]

Orange dark, th30 and many others

[@dalepak1955]

I have a old Yamaha budokan amp that the eq dials don’t work. It’s pretty much the same, but it has knobs. Would the knobs make you feel better?

[@nathantompsett6985]

@@joeconti3599 it's basically the same... i think it's based on their ISF function, one side is "American" aka scooped mids, boost the bass and the "British" where the mids are boosted, but you lose some low-ned and sparkle

[@sherlockhonks2514]

Not tight enough and needs more gain. Tube screamer helped though.

[@AnyDrug]

Hell yeah, needs way more gain..! ...and a 5 band EQ

[@safetytfh]

@@AnyDrug lol imagine that though, pre & power amp gain control, 5 band eq, but 1 watt

[@penttikoivuniemi2146]

@@safetytfh I'd buy that in a heartbeat.

[@orbit6663]

Ola needed to crank the volume past 12 o'clock. Then the amp really opens up and gives a great chug. There is definitely more than enough gain on this given that the volume is cranked

[@Easy_Skanking]

"It just need that push over the edge" It needs to go to 11.

[@nickabu4722]

I used to have an HT-5 head for some time and for me it was always like there's a limit with the distortion that you just can't go further at certain point anymore, plus that lack of midrange was pretty annoying when it came to recording and context of the whole mix. Great amp for practicing, gives that idea of very high quality amps, but sometimes it was just to close to emulation for me though.

[@ericellis2729]

I have a Blackstar Fly3 and always boost it with a Boss SD-1 for quiet at home jam sessions. It gets the job done when I don't need mountains of volume with a tube head. And much like this mini amp - when boosted - it will most definitely chug.

[@niclastname]

This is EXACTLY the problem I'm always worried about/facing with cheap practice amps. For some reason they always go "well we can just ditch the EQ section and do a single 'tone' or 'EQ' knob", and there's almost always too much bass for someone like me that likes to play a lot of tight chunky metal. Especially if you tune down to C or B. They always get flabby or way too bassy. There needs to be more travel/practice amps aimed at (heavy chuggy) metal players. A lot of these amp companies seem to think "metal" doesn't get heavier or tighter than AC/DC or Black Sabbath lol.

[@madmod]

If you use pedals already, easy to pickup an eq pedal but i agree, the amp should just use a proper 3 band eq.

[@richwoodcutterbro8581]

That’s funny, my mate who had an HT5 head on the mini stack from black star said exactly the same comment “it sounds like someone put a blanket over it”

[@OnAir21]

Rich Woodcutterbro I had the same problem on my Blackstar. I fixed it by yanking the Sovtek 12AX7WA preamp tube out and replacing it with a Sovtek 12AX7WC. I tried a bunch of tubes, and the WC was the clear winner (for me).

[@dbo4506]

Just got a ht20 studio last night and same thing. Sounds terrible. Gain on max plus TS plus a 10 band eq that pushes more mids and it starts to sound usable. Tbh I wouldn’t recommend.

[@CFChristian]

I could be mistaken, but I believe the "voice" switch has more to do with when it's on a clean setting.

[@donniedarkestra7771]

Love everything about that guitar

[@Lepp123]

Ask Fluff he's all into Blackstar

[@trollystudios243]

Fluff hates Blackstar amps

[@Joe-hm1zk]

@@trollystudios243 That's the joke

[@mattjmck86]

@@trollystudios243 r/whoooosh

[@trollystudios243]

Joe Kainrad I’m aware

[@HooksBill]

He pretends to hate them because he likes the attention. Deep down he likes them but be can't admit it now.

[@muckersTGN]

That Brexit line was just 👌

[@mundane_in_the_membrane]

I'd rather go with the Orange mini head.

[@troeteimarsch]

the isf actually shifts the response frequency of the mid band. its a stereo pot and caps at the beginning and the end of the tonestack so it doesn't alter in overall loudness. most amplifier designs are partially equal to each other in gainstaging terms but vary tonestack parameters

[@denisorourke4444]

Every time a new Will It Chug video comes out, I throw on my "Will It Chug" t-shirt, throw some popcorn in the microwave, and get ready for some awesome shit.

[@flekkzo]

Does the microwave chug?

[@denisorourke4444]

@@StuntcatTV Yes, I really do.

[@denisorourke4444]

@@flekkzo A microwave isn't a piece of guitar equipment. It's a cooking device... hence, me saying I throw popcorn in it. Google search it.

[@StuntcatTV]

@@denisorourke4444 Nooo, you don't. Your profile name is misleading.

[@denisorourke4444]

@@StuntcatTV Yessss, I *really* do!!!

[@ad1170]

I would recommend this the MK1 but also the blackstar HT-Metal version which they did. Bill kelliher IIRC used them albeit briefly. To compare chuggy ness.

[@Hulk-cs6wj]

That Solar-Model looks absolute amazing with that wooden finish...

[@GearGasms]

I had an HT5 and it definitely chugged! Did a video on it as proof!

[@stringlocker]

I don't even know why they made a HT1 head. All The extra Bass is designed for an 8-in speaker it works well with an 8 in speaker.

[@ssmetalrulz]

Actually sounds pretty good with the TS

[@ericfedorczak7351]

Ola, long time fan here. You’ve inspired my old metal playin ass to experiment more with shit so thanks for that. 👍🏻 I have the HT1R mk1 and a HT5H mk1 and the 5 watt head has a 3 band eq along with the isf which makes it even more versatile then the 1 watt. Demo the 5 watt and you’ll be able to dial in almost any to e you’d need.

[@Williamstanway]

That guitar is very tastefull , I love the brushed and blacked effect on the hardware .

[@clipsfromfilms]

I thought that Blackstar had discontinued this amp, because when I look for it new (as recommendation for my students) none of the music shops seem to have any for sale :( I actually have a couple of HT1's in my musicroom, where being able to easily dial in a good sound at low volume is a priority. The voicing switch on this updated version is a nice addition, but not really essentail over the mark 1 version of this amp as you could achieve a similar thing with a TS OD pedal or booster pedal. What I do wish these amps had though is an effects loop send and return like this amps larger siblings, as this would allow all kinds of stuff, like being able to use eq/delay/reverb/modulation effects after the amps distortion. It would be awesome if Blackstar would release a version of this amp with an effects loop, but apart from that this is a great amp for practice and home studio use (in my humble opinion). BTW, great playing and demonstration as always Ola.

[@waxyguitar]

Congratulations ola!!! ... 400k!!!! Suscriptors... ❤️

[@michaelhill7099]

Hi from Texas.WE share the same passion for metal & Pantera.I love the sound of a well tuned custom fixed aggressive HI gain & LOW end that cracks the cerebral cortex.The sound separates the novice from the pros. I play through a peavey EVH 5150,I got a sweet deal on it.Just 250.00.I put some JJ tubes in it .damn that amp is loud.I Can't turn it on one in my apt. the reason why i'm taking time to reach out to you is for you to take a look at the line 6 amplifi pedal and tell me if you would use it for live show.Please demo pedal board!You inspire me everyday and give me a reason to reach for perfect tone. I just now started to listen to all the bands you play in on spotify while i play Doom I love your riffs.It's awesome how your a world away and you can touch my soul from something you wrote form you heart a long time ago. Maybe i will never understand it ,but it keeps me going proud to have met you in music .Lv you

[@Greg-rd8qr]

That little F'r sounds awesome! Thanks Ola!

[@WykydWaze]

I run a blackstar and an orange off an a/b/y with voodoo octave; a mid boost fuzz on the blackstar panned left to right with chorus, and a heavy distortion on the orange mono centered. It most closely matches the chug in my head...

[@StillLivinginthewoods]

When I owned an HT-5R I kept the ISF knob all the way to the American side at all times. I would call it the "mud knob" instead of ISF, because the more you turn it up to the British side the muddier it gets. I have owned several Marshalls and Oranges over the years, and none of them sounded anything like the muddy mess that is the British side of the ISF knob. I looks like they may have updated the pre-amp design though, because with my older HT-5R, overdrives had little effect, which was why I eventually sold it.

[@drdeath4870]

"Maybe because of brexit" Ola you're an absolute genius. I can't stop laughing especially because I'm living in the uk

[@martinversalusmartin8708]

Widerstandsspannungsteiler werden üblicherweise verwendet, um Referenzspannungen zu erzeugen oder die Größe einer Spannung zu verringern, damit sie gemessen werden kann, und können auch als Signaldämpfer bei niedrigen Frequenzen verwendet werden. Für Gleichstrom und relativ niedrige Frequenzen kann ein Spannungsteiler ausreichend genau sein, wenn er nur aus Widerständen besteht; Wenn eine Frequenzantwort über einen weiten Bereich erforderlich ist (wie in einer Oszilloskopsonde), kann ein Spannungsteiler kapazitive Elemente aufweisen, die hinzugefügt werden, um die Lastkapazität zu kompensieren. Bei der elektrischen Energieübertragung wird ein kapazitiver Spannungsteiler zur Messung von Hochspannung verwendet.

[@JPDraves]

I really like these mini amps, I want to start a whole collection lol

[@Mayathetherian733]

I have the combo version of this amp and, while it is not very versatile, it absolutely rips. I threw a Friedman Buxom Boost in front of it and, for the most part, it solves some of the problems of this amp and its lack of a true EQ. For a tiny tube amp that doesn't cost much, it definitely gets the job done, IMO.

[@fernandomoreno-castillo9707]

You know what definitely chuggs? My new Solar E1.6 that I just got in the mail!!!!! :)

[@ryanjackman3001]

If you push the volume over 12:30, the amp really opens up. I have a 1st gen HT1R combo, and you have to turn the gain and volume past 12 o clock to get good chug.

[@stevenmgyori3826]

"I had No Doubt!" Thanks for sharing brother! Be Well Ola!

[@mahmutyldz214]

Can someone tell me please what is the song at 06:55 ?

[@donnythei]

Holy shit what amp did you use on that chug sample

[@giuseppesaldana8817]

I was thinking the same... Sounded sick

[@Fogyt121]

sauce police

[@jameseberhard7457]

Very dimbag

[@theknifesedge57]

That sounds like his Satan if I had to guess, or maybe the dual rec

[@Fogyt121]

@@theknifesedge57 definitely leaning towards the randal satan

[@fauxltystower]

I love these things. There weren’t any of these in US outlets to try when I got my Randall RD1H, and I now have a used Peavey 6505MH that I had to swap the tubes around on. I like having these small heads that I drive my Egnater Armageddon 4x12 with in the apartment. ;-)

[@ancientalien815]

That natural finish is badass.

[@lancepage1914]

You got some laughs out of me. Thx again Ola, your content is great.

[@The_Bass_Stunters]

I’m telling you guys!! Buy a used Blackstar HT100 stage and a TS9 and you have a BEAST of metal amp! It’s an all tube amplifier and I have retubed it with all Tung Sol EL34B glass and it’s SLAYS!!!!!

[@XlouietheflyX]

It's probably intended to be put through a small 8" closed back cab like the one Orange makes

[@orejotus]

youre the master of the chug i buy some amps thanks to your reviews, keep it coming

[@tbrewska69]

bro, that guitar is flippin gorgeous!

[@mandolinka29]

that is the most beautiful guitar you've made so far

[@rmp5s]

Blackstar makes killer little amps. I had an HT5 back in the day that I regret selling.

[@mr.banana4893]

What f***ing riffing was that when he was testing it with the boost.🔥🔥💥💥💥💥💥🔥

[@slavetofireofficial3045]

Ur right,its got that American 6L6 vrs British EL34 goin on..at about 1 oclock it to me sounds awesome.

[@gsas98]

Ola that Solar is sick bro. Been checkin your vids for quite sometime didn't realize I never subbed. Just took care of that..lol keep rockin bro.

[@mdrumt]

Tubescreamer and an eq pedal for ultimate setup!

[@Minotauro_di_Chieti]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOW....THAT SOLAR IS AWESOME!!!!

[@kennethmeldrum4401]

Excellent video Ola!! Thanks for the content

[@dreamTmiRRor]

I had HT-5 and now I have Studio HT-20. I use it live with a Maxon OD-808 in front, the sound is awesome. \m/ BS ftw!

[@brettfox7869]

Love that solar guitar. Once the taxes hit, I’m buying one! Can’t wait

[@drewgunner14]

That solar with a natural finish looks amazing

[@JEL5150]

0:14 the face I make when I click a new Ola video

[@penttikoivuniemi2146]

I've felt for a long time now (since 2012 to be exact, when I worked in a couple of music stores) that Blackstar products are aggravatingly close to being super amazing but somehow manage to screw it up just enough for it to be annoying. I especially find it to be the case with these tiny valve amps they put out, like if they just had better EQ options and adding more volume made it to break up just that tiny bit more they'd be more than awesome for playing and recording at home... But then you'd have to compensate for that by buying pedals and shit and it would all quickly add up to a lot of cash, and that would IMO make buying a tiny cheap amp a pointless endeavor. Might as well just go for a bigger one with better options. Or for a THR, since they are ridiculously cheap and sound hilariously good in a mix.

[@RenoNuski]

Tube Screamer engaged! Classic!

[@najtrows]

I think the bass is because they assume people will use a smaller cab for it and in a 10" you might want a bass boost. I have a OG HT-5 from when they came out and it's great cause it's got the real EQ and when putting a nice pedal into it, it comes alive!

[@jannevaatainen]

It's an excellent practice amp for home. Especially the combo is great for bedroom jamming. The EQ is lacking and it needs an OD pedal to really come to life though, so I assume that there may be better alternatives today though. Why they can't just make all amps with internal OD pedal circuit! Would be extremely handy with these kind of practise amps in particular. Less cables and clutter in my bedroom, the better.

[@mirovaltonen112]

Ouuu shiiiis, that guitar looks killer!!! Rock on!!

[@ErikEkholm]

ISF stands for International Space Force, btw. Patent pending.

[@Amy-eq9no]

Black star never fails to excite me

[@dkev0]

This is good thrash amp. Gotta have the tube screamer though. Good call.

[@tedats]

5:30 Sigh of relief. Thats better.

[@jacobbockover1628]

Usually american means fender. British would mean marshall vox. Fender is usually scooped and fender was focussed on clean sounds like surf music british amps were not as focused on headroom and had a much thicker mid focus

[@mikedervos5974]

Great the counter is back!!!

[@thedragonzord_]

The way he says dial makes me smile

[@FuturoAnacronico]

it sounds with so much gain because the low frecuencies use most of the amp effectiveness, even if you use a eq pedal, the low end will reduce the headroom and the response of the mid frecuencies, but som of the high will still be there, if you had more headroom or more power, then there would be enough power to brigh the mids up.

[@DH-dv7ry]

Congrats 400k Subs

[@patrickshannon9281]

It's ok but pails in comparison to my crate glx1200 along with my crate flexwave4X12 cab. It did beef it up some with the tube screamer.

[@thedanksavatron7782]

Ñisssssssssce 🎸 Tube screamer is the mayonnaise to every sandwich! A must have!

[@Hazardteam]

AS amplifier, it sounds unusually good.

[@socrateselguitarrista]

Damn dude!!! that guitar is gorgeous!!!

[@zzr7502]

Sounds pretty good with TS.

[@aiden_macleod]

It seems Ola no longer has the "clap."

[@j.w.5485]

I think you can get a shot for that and it will clear up. Seems like it's still there: 8:10

[@slingerofthe6190]

Aiden Macleod the Clap...

[@filipjelen8248]

M8 can you please try the dime distortion.?

[@guitarist1875]

Damn I was only looking into getting one of these this week, awesome demo Ola!

[@natethompson1257]

Not too bad for a small practice head, especially with an overdrive, but a traditional 3 band EQ (Bass, Mid, Treble) would really give it a better, more useable tone.

[@nodalisehill208]

Just noticed you have reached 400k subs. Nice one Dude!

[@juanmelgar152]

Wow, I love your guitar. AWESOME

[@alexalzouri1603]

Love that guitar

[@SAPlaysMetal]

Feels good to be a sponsor....finally :D

[@brunorolico]

This guitar is very beautiful 😱