Blackstars HT20H vs HT-5RH?

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Marshall SL12301
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Blackstars HT20H vs HT-5RH?

Post by Marshall SL12301 » Sun Aug 26, 2012 2:56 am

Having a hard time deciding between these two heads? My initial plan of snagging the i watt JMP micro head fell through so
I need a at home tube amp and both of these have very similar if not identical features and i have heard both sound great on clips? so i guess what i really need to know is which sounds better(less fizzy,more of a real tube tone) or maybe sounds more like a all tube marshall even though that is asking a lot! :lol:
I will be using two 1x12 celestion(hellatones) G12H loaded cabs with the head
R.I.P Mark Abrahamian, You will be remembered!

singtall
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Re: Blackstars HT20H vs HT-5RH?

Post by singtall » Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:22 pm

i have the HT-5 head and i find it sounds like a versatile high gain Marshall. they use the same circuit for most of their line and i hear it all sounds pretty much the same.

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Lefty Lou
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Re: Blackstars HT20H vs HT-5RH?

Post by Lefty Lou » Fri Sep 21, 2012 7:54 pm

I wouldn't go for the HT-5 so as to save time and money for when you'd be bringing the amp back to the store in order to trade up to a HT-20 model. I'm a member of Lick Library, and there have been several discussions on this subject. I own a Marshall 2061X 20 watt hand wired head with the matching Marshall 2061CX (2 X 12) slant front w/Marshall 70th Anniversary 30 watt speakers. Even though the amp only has volume and tone for the Bright and Bass channels, this amps gets the classic Marshall tones at much lower than earsplitting levels. The bias method for the 20 watt Marshall is cathode bias, as is the Blackstar HT-20 which I believe to be part of that "magic" tone. Ceriatone sells the 20 watt Marshall amp kit for head or combo. I jumper my channels and typically utilize a Boss/Keeley Blues Driver BD-2 pedal. I get great tones even at low levels, so whether you're interested in Marshall, Ceriatone, or Blackstar amps the cathode bias method is the way to go if you want those Marshall driven tones at less than earsplitting levels.

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