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Blackstar HT5RH MKII 5-watt Tube Head with Reverb

5-watt, 2-channel All-tube Guitar Amp Head with Infinite Shape Feature, 2 Voice Switches, Power Reduction Circuit, Effects Loop, Emulated Output, USB Output, and Reverb - Black
$519.99

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Blackstar HT5RH MKII 5-watt Tube Head with Reverb
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5 Watts of Scorching Tube Tone

The HT-5RH has always been a top seller for Blackstar. At five watts, it’s the quintessential low-watt practice amp. And the MkII version ups the ante with revoiced channels and a plethora of player-friendly features borrowed from its higher-watt brethren. The HT-5RH MkII’s upgraded clean channel epitomizes the modern boutique tone, while its drive channel serves up a muscular array of distorted textures. And thanks to Blackstar’s patented Infinite Shape Feature, you can dial in everything from inspiring British edge-of-breakup grit to tight and punchy American high gain. You also get an onboard reverb, speaker-emulated output, USB output, effects loop, and more. The HT-5RH MkII is an excellent all-rounder for your practice space or studio — it delivers premium tube tone no matter what situation you use it in.

Revoiced channels for top-tier tone

When Blackstar hit the drawing board for their HT-5RH MkII, not only did they reference their own amps’ popular tones, but they also wanted to match or beat the tones of electric guitar amplifiers costing up to five times more. Take it from the guitarists at Sweetwater: They nailed it. The clean channel has a clarity and note definition that is rare on amps in the MkII’s price range — especially at five watts. Move over to the gain channel, and you’ll take note of how great the sound is throughout the whole range of overdrive. The original HT-5RH was an incredibly popular amp. With the MkII, Blackstar beats it.

Patented Infinite Shape Feature

The Blackstar HT-5RH MkII is packed with a massive variety of tube tone, by virtue of Blackstar’s Infinite Shape Feature (ISF). This exclusive feature shifts the EQ curves of the amplifier’s Bass, Middle, and Treble controls. When turned fully counterclockwise, you’ll lend an American characteristic to your voice with a tight bottom end and aggressive middle. Turned all the way to the right, you’ll enjoy more of a British vibe. Beyond that, four different operating modes can be accessed via a pair of Voice switches, unleashing both vintage and modern voicings for each channel.

Loaded with player-friendly additions

The tone of the HT-5RH MkII is well worth the price of admission. But Blackstar knows what players want. And they loaded this already great-sounding all-tube head with enough features to ensure that it quickly becomes your go-to amp. The revoiced reverb offers more depth and detail than ever before. Nailing cranked tones at appropriate volume levels is easy thanks to the onboard power reduction circuit. Beyond that, the emulated line-out and USB audio output will make you your sound engineer’s best friend.

Blackstar HT-5RH MkII 5-watt Tube Head Features:

  • 5-watt all-tube guitar amp head
  • 2 footswitchable channels with voicing switches deliver tonal flexibility
  • Coax sparkling highs and lucid lows from the boutique-style clean channel
  • Overdrive channel supplies enough gain for blues, classic rock, hard rock, and metal
  • Infinite Shape Feature (ISF) dials in everything from American to British high-gain tones
  • Power reduction circuit takes your wattage down to a bedroom-friendly 2 watts
  • Speaker-emulated output with 1 x 12 and 4 x 12 options for recording or running straight to a PA
  • Digital reverb adds dimension to your playing without washing it out
  • Effects loop with Loop Level switch makes integrating your pedalboard and other effects easy
  • USB audio output makes recording easy
  • MP3/Line In for jamming along to your favorite music
  • 2-way footswitch included

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Tech Specs

  • Type: Tube
  • Number of Channels: 2
  • Total Power: 5W (0.5W setting)
  • Preamp Tubes: 1 x 12AX7
  • Power Tubes: 1 x 12BH7
  • Reverb: Yes
  • EQ: 3-band EQ, ISF control
  • Inputs: 1 x 1/4" (instrument), 1 x 1/8" (mp3/line)
  • Outputs: 1 x 1/4" (16 ohms), 2 x 1/4" (1 x 8 ohm/2 x 16 ohm), 1 x XLR (DI out)
  • Headphones: 1 x 1/4" (headphones/line out)
  • Effects Loop: Yes
  • USB: 1 x Type B
  • Footswitch I/O: 1 x 1/4" (channel, voice)
  • Footswitch Included: Yes, 2-button Footswitch
  • Bias Type: Cathode Biased
  • Construction Material: Birch Plywood
  • Power Source: Standard IEC AC cable
  • Height: 8.66"
  • Width: 15.59"
  • Depth: 8.54"
  • Weight: 14.99 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: HT5RHMKII

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Money well spent!

I was looking for a low wattage head and wasn't quite sure if this would do the job. I am quite happy with it! I personally like the clean channel a lot more than I ever thought I would. The OD channels nail the tone I was hoping for, classic/ hard rock. Not sure how well it would do high gain but that's not my thing. I really don't use any OD or Distortion pedals with it. I think it is a winner!
Music background: Basement rocker.
Rated 5/5

Such A Versatile Amp

I've owned more amps than I can remember, and most of them I acquired because of a specific need. This one may be the last amp I ever buy, because it covers all of the bases. I no longer gig, and even when I did, a 100 watt Marshall head was so much overkill. 99% of us aren't playing stadiums, and that is a lot of amp for a small club. This guy is plenty loud enough to get over a drummer. If you have a family and can't play solos on 11 in your house any longer, the switch to cut the volume to .5 watts is such a great feature. The amp tonally still sounds great at such a low wattage. That too loud? Plug in headphones and get as deaf as you want. Headphone quality is pretty great (not Orange Micro Dark great, but pretty close, you can just about get there with some knob fiddling or some pedals). Effects loop, a line-in to jam with tracks. This amp does every single thing I need an amp to do. And it sounds really great! It takes pedals so well. I mostly run the amp on the clean channel and just feed my pedals into it. The effects loop gets me the tone I am looking for with my pedals. I have a great little reverb pedal that I picked up someplace, but I hardly use it any more because the reverb on this amp sounds better, in my opinion. I consider this a practical amp, because it does everything I need, and I can play it without shaking the glass out of my window frames. I've been using this guy for over a year now, and I haven't once ever regretted buying it. I sold almost all of my other amp heads, because I just don't need them any longer. If you are looking for a practical amp with a wide range of volume options, and some really nice add-ons, this guy might be for you.
Rated 5/5

Blackstar 5-Watt, perfect for my use

Thanks to Ryan Gregory at Sweetwater for helping me decide on which small tube amp to get. I have a number of amps, including an old Tweed Deluxe TV amp. I needed a low volume amp for practice, that included Reverb, a Headphone out jack and preferred a direct out to record also. Combined with the power reduction circuit that allows me to reduce the outage, this was the perfect amp for my purposes. The clean channel has enough headroom, even at 5-watts to get crystal clear tones. And being able to (using the Infinite Shape Feature) to go from essentially an over-driven American Fender sound to an over driven British sound makes this amp wildly versatile. I'm running it mainly through a 12" Celestion Vintage 30 single cab.
Music background: Been playing for many years, one time professional, now a recreational player.
Rated 5/5

USB Bridge!

Awesome tone. Very versatile. This actually works out to being a 4 channel amp with the voice selection in each channel. I have played several styles of music through this - blues, country, jazz, pop, punk, rock, hard rock, and just about all forms of heavy metal. This head sounds great right out of the box, and it's easy to find any tone with just a little knob twisting.

Choices for recording are as diverse as you would ever expect to find. You get an emulator for simulated cabinets out. The USB out is worth the price of admission alone considering what tube interfaces are running. XLR, 1/4", 1/8", and USB - is there another way to get your signal to the recorder?

Great cleans, and they crunch up nicely at about 12 o'clock. It's not super loud when totally clean, but plenty for recording at about 100 dB at the cone. The upper registry of the clean tone actually serves as a nice crunch channel with just a little dialing. The .5w function keeps things nice and quiet for your sleeping significant other; phones too -

Killer overdrive; absolutely searing when maxed out. Anything from 60's British to 20's Black, and very responsive; growly and dark as I want for a black metal project. A little splash of overdrive almost picks up right where the clean breakup leaves off.

I have tried it through several speaker configurations, and the HT5 is incredible - 1x10 & 2x10 from the Marshall MS series (glassy); Marshall 2x12 (perfect); 4x12 V30's in Engl and Mesa - 5w gets soaked out pretty fast here - just too much speaker for 5w to drive. The 80/20's seemed a little tinny, but I like a lower/hot mid tone. I'm settling on a Silverline 2x12 V30's, and I imagine that this will be where it sits for the duration.

Blackstar was listening, and it shows.
Music background: Songwriter, Producer, Instructor, Sessions player, Touring Artist
Rated 5/5

How does it cost this little?

This amp makes an incredible pedal platform. As a stand-alone amp, it is one of the better low-wattage, single-endes amps I've heard by far. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be this good. 5 watts can still be pretty loud with the right speaker and too, but if you love with other people or in an apt the 0.5 watt butting does make it instantly useable, a very nice feature. Effects loop, DI out, switchable channels each with their own switchable voicings, they packed a lot into this little amp, & honestly everything seems useable, even with sitting in between 2 high-end amps at the moment.
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