Blackstar HT-1R 1x8" 1 Watt Tube Combo with Reverb (Black) Reviews

4.8/5.0 based on 8 customer reviews

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Customer Reviews

Jim K.
from Central coast, California
March 4, 2013Music Background:
Hobbyist, 18 yrs playing

Best practice amp ever

Blackstar's motto "the sound in your head" really says it all. I have yet to find a bad tone out of this amp with any of my six guitars! Single-coil, humbuckers, piezo equipped- it doesn't matter, this amp sounds great at reasonable, home-practice volumes. I'm playing/practicing more than ever before, and it's because of this amp. I have a couple Crate all-tube amps, a Fender Tweed Blues Deluxe and a MesaBoogie Mark IV- all great amps but I've got to rattle the windows in the house for 'em to sound right... This amp does it at "conversational" volumes.
And, Bob Furlong at Sweetwater has been great! Thanks, Bob, and thanks, Sweetwater- you now have ALL my business!
Jim k

Chip
from Mountain Home, Arkansas
December 2, 2012Music Background:
lifetime player

HT-1R is unreal

Bottom line is that this amp has no competition and I can see why they are often back-ordered. I am normally a Fender guy and like my blues slightly dirty with a bit of reverb and this baby smokes as a practice and recording amp. It is basically a high quality boutique amp which does it all from clean to high gain. Finally after numerous tries I have my ultimate home amp. I really am blown away. Also, I must say that dealing with Patrick and Seetwater was a pleasure. Buy this amp and you will never give it up.

Wes Keown
from Chicago IL.
October 31, 2011Music Background:
Recording, Pro Musisian

great little amp

This is the thrid amp I have bought in the last 9 months and is now the only one I use. Its great for practice, recording and I mic it up and use it for band practice. The direct out into my recording mixer sounds great. Can't wait too try out a larger Blackstar I've used Mashalls all my life, now I think I'm hooked on Blackstar

Tom
from Austin, TX
September 13, 2011Music Background:
music anarchist.

Great amp

This is a great amp. Not a great "gig at a club" amp but a great practice and recording amp. If you play in a 3 piece combo that is quiet (jazz/blues - drummer w/brushes or rods) the clean channel does the perfect amount of breakup when cranked. Or if you need just a little more, plug it in to a 1x12 speaker cab and enjoy low volume power-tube goodness. It records fantastically either with a mic or the speaker sim. Simplicity is it's greatest strength and the ISF gives you lots of variation. Expect your modeler to start collecting dust. The digital reverb is nice too. This is probably the most enjoyable, practical, musical anything I've bought in a long time. I have several other tube amps, some vintage, but this one is the first to blend modern and traditional sounds and really get it right. As always, actual mileage may vary but I am very pleased and impressed.

Doug H.
from Quincy, IL
April 28, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist, Student

Don't let the 1w fool you!

This amp is very impressive for its size! It is very ideal for practicing in small spaces where a larger valve amplifier may not be suitable. Also, it is very compact and portable. There are many demo videos available on the Internet that demonstrate this amp quite well. This amp has a far better sound quality than a couple of the higher wattage solid-state amps that I have owned. It still sounds great with the volume cranked!

curt santner
from Sheridan, WY
March 8, 2013Music Background:
Hobbyist

This is a great little amp

I wanted a simple, uncomplicated, portable amp for home practice and this Blackstar fit the bill perfectly. The clean channel is excellent and when you want to add some growl, just crank up the gain and its there!
I looked at alot of small amps but I did not want a modeling type. I just wanted simplicity with great tone and this amp has it!

McConnelicious
from Mass
January 14, 2012Music Background:
25 years playing and recording

Most fun I've had in years

I've had this amp for about three months now, and have experimented with it a ton. Here are some observations:

+ Gets a great range of high gain hard rock and metal tones, but it also does the in-between semi-distorted classic rock type of tones real well.

+ I wouldn't buy this for clean. The clean is nice, but not very loud.

+ It's surprisingly loud. Loud enough to get sweet singing feedback. Loud enough to feel it and get into it. Certainly loud enough to mic up and get a killer tone. But not loud enough to jam with a drummer.

+ The digital reverb sounds nice. Just one sound, designed to emulate tank verb, but it's musical, clean and pretty wet if you want it to be.

+ Pretty quiet. I mean, when you have it flat out maxed, there's some hiss, but nothing out of the ordinary for tube amps.

+ Sounds great recorded. That's where I am enjoying the heck out of this. I like to record and experiment with placement. So the fact that this little guy is so small and light, you can stick it in a weird spot in your house, or in a stairwell, and experiment with acoustic reactions.

+ The emulated headphone/line sounds really legit. Very usable.

+ The one-knob EQ control (or infinite shape thingee) works well. There are a ton of tones you can get, just by spinning that knob around. It feels basically like a mid shape control.

+ One channel, not footswitchable

+ Has worked flawlessly for me with no issues. Seems sturdy enough and well built. Looks like quality.

+ It's small and light. Like a lunchbox.

Overall, I love this little amp and have been having a ton of fun with it, just messing around and recording at home. Really happy with the tones that it produces.

John Hamrin
from Cape Cod, MA
November 21, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist, 36 years of playing

So Cute and it will rip your face off!

When the family is in bed and you need your nightly dose of tone where do you turn? To Blackstar. It's so tiny and cute it gets made fun of at my house, until I turn it on. It can get louder than you would expect through a 1x12 or the 4x8 blackstar cab. Lots of versatility and plenty of gain on tap. But my favorite thing about this amp is that I can plug it in and place it on my coffee table and get sweet tones at a very low volume. Very simple, very cool. Makes a great stocking stuffer (ok maybe not that small)