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I bought a Blackstar HT Metal 5 as a birthday present for myself a couple of weeks ago.
I tried out a Blackstar Studio 20, an HT-5R, and an HT Metal 1, as the local store didn't have the HT Metal 5 in stock.
The Studio 20 was too loud for my intended use (noodling at home), and I didn't feel that the overdrive channel on the HT-5R had enough gain. I plugged into the HT Metal 1, switched to the overdrive channel, and found that the I got the same amount of drive with the gain at 11 o' clock on the HT Metal 1 as I did with the gain maxed out on the HT-5R. However, the HT Metal 1 didn't have an effects loop or a footswitch, so I went home and ordered the HT Metal 5 online. It was delivered a couple of days later.
First impressions:
1) This amp is LOUD for being just 5 watts! My kids started complaining before my wife did
2) The "clean" channel starts breaking up with the volume knob at around 9 o'clock, and gets to the AC/DC "Highway to Hell" sound when maxed out... "crystal cleans (what the Blackstar webpage says)" my ass!!!
3) The distortion channel is very good. The overall "amount" of drive is about the same from about 12 o'clock on the gain knob and up, but the quality of the sound becomes more finely saturated, if you know what I mean.
With regard to 1) above, I tried playing through headphones (Audio Technica Pro 5) but of course the sound quality suffered. So I will just have to noodle while the kids are in school, at the in laws', or whatever.
With regard to 2), I first played my SL-1 through it, with a HotRails in the neck, the stock pickup in the middle, and a Duncan Custom in the bridge. The clean channel did sound a LOT better and had more headroom when I played my daughter's Stratocaster (with stock single coils) through the amp.
Although it depends on how tolerant your family/housemates/neighbors are with respect to the beautiful sounds of intense guitar playing, I would not recommend this amp for bedroom use if you want to crank it. If you have a Man Cave, that may be a different story. At the same time, it's probably not loud enough to be heard over a drummer, so I don't think that I can recommend it as a rehearsal amp either, unless you plug the "Emulated Speaker" output into a PA.
Also, please keep in mind that I am NOT a tone snob, and haven't owned a tube amp since the Mesa Boogie .50 Caliber that I bought back in 1990 then gave to my brother in law in 2000.
Here's a pic, just in case anyone wants to see what a little combo amp looks like:
I tried out a Blackstar Studio 20, an HT-5R, and an HT Metal 1, as the local store didn't have the HT Metal 5 in stock.
The Studio 20 was too loud for my intended use (noodling at home), and I didn't feel that the overdrive channel on the HT-5R had enough gain. I plugged into the HT Metal 1, switched to the overdrive channel, and found that the I got the same amount of drive with the gain at 11 o' clock on the HT Metal 1 as I did with the gain maxed out on the HT-5R. However, the HT Metal 1 didn't have an effects loop or a footswitch, so I went home and ordered the HT Metal 5 online. It was delivered a couple of days later.
First impressions:
1) This amp is LOUD for being just 5 watts! My kids started complaining before my wife did
2) The "clean" channel starts breaking up with the volume knob at around 9 o'clock, and gets to the AC/DC "Highway to Hell" sound when maxed out... "crystal cleans (what the Blackstar webpage says)" my ass!!!
3) The distortion channel is very good. The overall "amount" of drive is about the same from about 12 o'clock on the gain knob and up, but the quality of the sound becomes more finely saturated, if you know what I mean.
With regard to 1) above, I tried playing through headphones (Audio Technica Pro 5) but of course the sound quality suffered. So I will just have to noodle while the kids are in school, at the in laws', or whatever.
With regard to 2), I first played my SL-1 through it, with a HotRails in the neck, the stock pickup in the middle, and a Duncan Custom in the bridge. The clean channel did sound a LOT better and had more headroom when I played my daughter's Stratocaster (with stock single coils) through the amp.
Although it depends on how tolerant your family/housemates/neighbors are with respect to the beautiful sounds of intense guitar playing, I would not recommend this amp for bedroom use if you want to crank it. If you have a Man Cave, that may be a different story. At the same time, it's probably not loud enough to be heard over a drummer, so I don't think that I can recommend it as a rehearsal amp either, unless you plug the "Emulated Speaker" output into a PA.
Also, please keep in mind that I am NOT a tone snob, and haven't owned a tube amp since the Mesa Boogie .50 Caliber that I bought back in 1990 then gave to my brother in law in 2000.
Here's a pic, just in case anyone wants to see what a little combo amp looks like:
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