Gearank Recommendation
The Blackstar HT-1R MkII appeared on our recommended list for Guitar Practice Amps Under $500 for 1 edition from March 2022 until August 2022 when it was out-ranked by other amps.
Overview
The Blackstar HT-1R MkII is a 1-Watt tube amp, which lets you crank the amp to get great tube tones at lower volume levels.
The amp section houses a 12AX7 preamp tube, and a 12AU7 poweramp tube, driving its clean and OD channels.
It is housed in a combo amp with an 8″ speaker that gives it a bit more low-end for a low-watt amp.
Having been made by Blackstar, it comes with the company’s ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) knob, which lets you tweak the voicing from American to British style amp tones.
To expand your tone tweaking options, Blackstar equipped this amp with a Voicing button, that lets you switch between vintage and modern voicing for the clean and OD channels.
Other practice friendly features include having built-in digital reverb, Aux input, headphones out, and USB direct recording.
Specifications
- Power: 1W
- Speaker: 1 x 8″
- Preamp Tube: 1 x 12AX7
- PowerampTube: 1 x 12AU7
- Effects: Reverb
- Controls: Gain, Volume, ISF, Reverb, OD, Voice
- Input/Output: 1 x 1/4″ (Instrument), 1 x 1/8″ (Mp3/AuxIn), 1 x 1/4″ (4-16 ohms), 1 x 1/8″ (Headphones/Emulated out), USB
- Extras: USB Direct Recording
- Weight: 12.34 lbs.
Demo
About Blackstar
Founded by former Marshall employees, Blackstar has grown to be a reputable amp manufacturer with its own identity. These days, it is able to go toe to toe with the biggest brands in the industry, thanks to the innovations they introduced into their designs. Their most popular innovation is called ISF or Infinite Shape Feature, a single knob that lets you shift the voicing of your amp from American to British amp flavor, and covering everything in between. Blackstar is well received for their amps’ high gain tone, which works well with modern rock and metal styles. Richie Sambora, Neil Schon, Jon Gomm, Sammy Haggar and Ozzy Osbourne are just a few of the many popular artists that use their amps.