Blackstar HT-1R 1w 1x8" Tube Guitar Amp with Reverb

Pleased with amp, overdrive channel superb and quite loud for house use. Clean channel average, but better with some gain added which can then be controlled with the guitar volume. Headphone socket works very well.

A high quality low volume basic amp.(hate the words practice and bedroom when talking about guitar amps)

bought this amp after reading hundreds of positive reviews.it didn't disappoint! perfect for home practice with an authentic warm valve amp tone. very simple to use and easy to get great sounds without much fuss. really impressed with the build quality,very solid feel and put together with quality components.a cracking little amp for a very reasonable price,what more could you want?

Love this amp. For a small amp this really doesn't sound all that boxy. I thought long and hard about buying this product as I was not totally sure whether 1 watt was going to be enough, it actually was.

The clean channel could probably do with a bit more headroom as it is fairly quiet. But who is buying a Blackstar amp for cleans?? Certainly not me!

The overdrive channel is great. You can really mess about with the gain and ISF (basically an EQ) to get a wealth of different sounds from really heavy rock through to classic rock.

This amp is worth every penny and it's actually one of the soundest purchases I've ever made.

Superb product, great tone, perfect for home practice and although I'm not there yet, I could imagine the set up for recording will be excellent. The service from Andertons was fast and efficient, product was well-packaged and even between the Xmas and New Year period communication was very good.

Great quality and features. All you need in a practice amp

For those of you considering this as a first amp I would encourage you to stretch to get a valve amp if you can.

The clean channel gives a huge range of tones with gain and volume turned up and controlling with guitar volume. It is loud but sound great through headphones.

Top service from Andertons

This is a amazing little amp,So I bought this to keep over at my girlfriends house so as not to bug her with earth moving volumes whist still sounding somewhat good!!! In seconds of pulling it out of the box i had some great heavy tones from it. It is what it is, small, quiet, very well built and worth every penny.

This was a fantastic purchase for someone like me who was looking to buy their first valve driven amplifier, but needed to keep the wattage (and physical dimensions) low.

For people moving up from 10-15watt practice amps, one watt may sound a little feeble, but it really isn't. The amplifier certainly has the capability to fill a room much larger than a bedroom and can cope with 'jamming' sessions very easily. The lower wattage is actually beneficial as you can play with a much larger dynamic range than would be possible with a larger amp in a straitjacket.

The extra cost of the HT-1R over the HT-1 is certainly justified as the reverb is a joy to have and does a lovely effect of soothing the changes between notes, especially through stereo headphones where the effect is amplified.

This amplifier seems to be able to handle any style of music with ease, is very well built and was certainly a purchase that I can't see myself ever regetting.

Sick of trying to get subtle effects out of a multi-effects unit (seems to do either Pink Floyd or 80's metal) I decided to try to go back to basics and just get an amp which could do mild distortion with a hint of reverb and this appears to be an absolutely perfect fit for that.

It has three knobs (plus volume) and you seem to be able to dial in any reasonable tone you want. Great for practice and recording and, as always, Andertons were a joy to deal with.

This is a very simple to use amp. I have to say my only concern was the 8 inch speaker but the guys at blackstar have done a great job. The sound is truly amazing on both clean & O/D channels. It also sounds great through headphones.For this price you cannot go wrong. Ideal for home/studio use.

There is one word that sums this amp up, Awesome.

I have played many of the highest quality boutique amps on the market. And for the price of this amp you would call me crazy to compare them. But i can.

After opening the box i had in front of me what looked like a "no thrills" approach to amp making. The black grille cloth, the black vinyl and the black control panel with the most unenthusiastic knobs i have ever seen on an amp.

After plugging it in however, my impression was blown out of the water, like a fish on a bad day.

Starting on the clean channel i cranked it, the chimes could be compared to a modern day Vox AC head. Then, when introducing the gain knob to number 10, it already began to come alive in front of me, giving me a "Plexi" tone that you would find in a Marshall/Hiwatt. That was with the ISF control at 10.

The ISF control has to be the most exciting...THING on an amp, period. Starting one end you get the mids and lows of the expensive, top range american machines and when you crank it to 10 you find yourself sipping tea once again listening to the british sound of the seventies/eighties.

The overdrive channel is astounding, for those people that like to raise their fists to the metal gods you can indeed give it to them. At one point i believed i was playing a Mesa and then a JCM 800 all in my bedroom.

The emulated line out is amazing, especially if you are fond of home recording, like myself. It gives a massive sound, as if you had the loudest 4x12 cab wired up for recording, which in a shared house would be unacceptable. Not to mention the range of sounds you can get with that ISF control. Its all the amps you would want for your first EP recorded in your house.

Now, for just under £200. You do get what you pay for. If you like messing with every aspect of the sound (Highs, mids, lows) then the Class 5 may be for you. But for that £200 you get allot of bang for your buck with sounds that will make you squeal with joy as it comes to life in your bedroom.

To finish, you would be stupid not to buy this amp. Go buy it now and regret nothing, i assure you.

Awesome little practice amp. Tested against Vox AC4 which is also amazing but needed cranking right up before it starts to sound sweet - no good for late night practicing while the kids are sleeping.

No such problems with the HT-1, from absolutely clean to absolute filth at any volume. Surprisingly big sound when you need it too. Look and feel is pretty sexy, just like all Blackstar range and the build quality is very impressive. Make sure you buy the one with reverb - crazy not to for the small increase in price. Highly recommended.

Great amp well worth the money

What a great sounding amp. Needed to free up some space to replaced my Fender G-DEC30 with this amp.

Very happy with the sound and volume it produces.

When it comes to gear I like mine well built, easy to use and great sounding. No frills, no gimmicks! The Blackstar HT-1R ticks all these boxes, offering up an incredibly well built amp that exudes quality and an understated beauty.

There is something incredibly satisfying about plugging a Strat into this little 1W amp, flicking to the neck pick-up and dialling in a clean tone with a dollop of reverb. Makes you want to slide and bend notes for hours!

If you want to spend your practice time actually playing your guitar rather than fighting through a myriad of useless on-board effects and models then this is the amp for you. Join the small valve amp revolution!

it says on the box the "sound in your head" and it is very close,I've had a lot of amps over the years for home use and have always had to use fx to get the sound I wanted,that Brit rock tone,this provides that and more,and in a compact low volume package as well,brilliant

I've been searching for a proper rock tone at low volume without using effects for 10 years,well this amp delivers,highly recommended

The amp is fantastic, ideal for home and studio use, connect it to a 2x12 cab and you`ve got yourself a valve head.

Nice, very nice. Doesn't like FX much but straight up it's a peach. My fingers are still sore from overplay and I think Albert Collins spirit lives in the little Black Box.

The driven clean channel is simply the best I have found out of the box, ever.

Wow unbelievable tone from such a small amp, light enough to carry around or take anywhere this is this best sounding practice/studio amp I’ve heard. Clean sound is very good and breaks up a little when pushed, the overdrive channel is also great the ISF control making it very versatile for rock heavy and even metal, the reverb is great too. It’s surprisingly loud for just one watt, sounds almost as loud as my VOX VT15 watt modelling amp. I have to plug the headphones in to keep the peace at home. If you want a great valve tone amp for home practice or recording you can't go wrong with this little amp.

For recording and playing/jamming at home or friend's homes, this amp absolutely nails it. Finally Blactstar has solved the problem of getting a big amp vibe without having to annoy the neighbours, the whole street even.

I have used this amp, mostly the clean channel as it crunches beautifully, with a variety of Gibsons and Fenders and it has always been possible to find the sound I was looking for. The amp settings can be very different for different pickups, P90s, PAFs, Fender noisless, but with a bit of tweaking of the Shape control I have been able to find a sweet spot.

The speaker emulated direct out, which can also be used with cans at 2 am, is very faithful to the sound the amp is producing. If you use the right cable you can record with exactly the reverb sound you have been playing with, in stereo. Opinions may vary as to whether this is a good way to record but you can do it with or wothout the reverb.

This amplifier is simply great! The tubes give it really nice distortion, the ISF feature is brilliant for messing around with different sounds and the reverb is a great bonus. The emulated output is perfect for late night practice and its size is perfect for me, I took it up to university a week later with my guitar and it was easy to carry onto the train. Don't worry about the 1 Watt rating, its plenty loud if you want to practice, if you want it louder, just use the speaker out and hook it up to something bigger!

I was looking for a great valve tone, but valve amps were generally too loud for a home practice and too expensive. Then I have found the blackstar HT1. It's got all I needed. Gorgious clean tone, warm crunch and a punchy higain lead (enough to play shred and metal). I love it! Live, I play with a line6 vetta combo, but guess what: I get such a better tone with my blackstar that I've deceided to sell the vetta to get an HT 40! I play with a Lag "the beast" for rock stuffs and with a Dean RC7 for shred and metal, and both in different ways sound trully great in the HT 1. You can really ear the difference between both guitars (active vs passive pickups), witch is not the case with emulation. I recommand this amp to everyone who is looking for a versatile valve amp for home or studio use. Definitly check it out!

this does not sound like a small amp!! whether clean/driven or saturated OD, the addition of reverb makes this 1watt amp the single most important piece of home practice/home recording guitar amplification i have ever purchased.

the OD options offer vastly less fluffiness than the HT5 although lacks an FX loop - but then how much tech can you squeeze into a small amp.

the HT1 is LOUD! i defy anyone to not love it within 20 seconds of playing - it oozes character and will make you want to play more - just try it, you'll know what i mean.

the proof definitely lays within this 'blackstar' pudding!!!

great little amp, superb for home recording/practising. great sound and really impressed on how good it sounds threw headphones. 4 stars!

This little fellow really is a fantastic amp. I have been searching for a decent valve amp that can be used in an apartment for a while, and finally I have found it. The fact they use an ECC82 tube really puts the volume on a different level than 4/5 watt valve practice amps like the Marshall Class or Vox AC4TV, and this amp produces that valve sound at surprisingly low levels. The overdirve channel gives a huge gain boost and allows you to get a heavily overdriven tone. The addition of reverb, line in and emulated output are the icing on the cake to make this the best practice amp I have ever come across. Be aware that it is not suitable for rehearsal/live playing though, it would never keep up with a drum kit.

I bought this having already owned a HT-5 for some time and been impressed with it's perfomance. I wanted something really small and portable that i could just plug in anywhere for a bit of practice etc and I liked the idea of a dinky valve amp. Well dinky it is, but it sounds great for the money (although a bit lacking in body unsurprisingly bearing in mind the size of the cabinet). I've not tried it attached to an external speaker, because that would sort of defeat the object of portability. The headphones/emulated output works really well too, as does the the reverb. All in all, you cant go wrong, buy one and be amazed.

Playing a guitar live or in rehearsal shows your guitar and rig at its best - full volume and moving air. The holy grail of guitar amps though is to reproduce that "everything on 11" feeling when practising at home at a volume that doesn't infuriate the family or neighbours.

Well now you can.

The Blackstar HT-1R is a ONE-watt valve amp which goes from absolutely clean to full overdrive/distortion giving usable and believable tones at even the lowest volume. The Infinite Shape Feature moves from classic 80s Brit rock to modern American and combines with a very good reverb to gives a huge spectrum of usable tones. Add in a headphone out socket (which doubles as direct to tape/desk output) and an mp3 input and you have the perfect home practice machine.

I've used it mic'd with great results and you would not believe how it can drive an external cab (4x10 in my case) via the speaker output.

I've been looking for this amp for years and am so glad that I've finally found it....

Hello all

I have been trawling the globe to find a decent low wattage Valve AMP and eventually settled on the Blackstar HT1 (1 Watt) Combo with Reverb & HTV112 1x12 Cab, after taking some advice from a very nice lady on the staff in the Guildford shop. All I can say is the AMP is every bit as good as the demo on the YouTube clip, and some...

I am a reasonably talentless hack and play a bit of Blues. Even I can dial in some of the best blues tones I have ever experienced, ranging from clean and gentle finger style, all the way through to some hold o to your underpants SRV / Jimmy Hendrix RIP THE PAINT OFF THE WALLS stuff. The ISF thingy is absolute genius and even the reverb sounds great!! This AMP is SOOOOOoooooo sweet!!

I had some reservations about the Celestion Seventy 80 equipped CAB after reading some speaker reviews on the web, but the CAB seems to be a perfect match for the AMP, so I will not be upgrading

All in all I am very, very happy indeed, and that the staff at Andertons are great

Bucketloads of tone from a shoebox! - £200 of Blackstar brilliance. Okay so the speaker's not up to handling too much low-end, but for home use (and this is what it's for after all) it's more than you'll ever need. And don't forget you can run this through a bigger cab and (small) gig it too. Lovely cleans to metal mayhem - superb ground-breaking miniaturisation. Blackstar doin' it again!

Having already played a 200 watt series one head and HT-5 stack I was sure that the HT-1 with reverb wouldn't disappoint.

Build quality is exceptional. Thick black Vinyl, sturdy coener pieces and an idestructable (boutique style) leather handle.

Controls are gain, master volume, ISF and reverb. There's a channel changing switch to go from clean to the higher gain channel.

The clean sound crunches up beautifully and as it does, if you back off with your picking attack or roll the volume back on your guitar, the sound cleans up nicely. Not Fender clean, but still lovely and dynamic.

Switch over to the lead channel and max the gain. This even makes my playing sound fluid and easy on the ear.

The ISF control shifts the mid-range from an American, slightly blooming bottom end to a more British plexi type sparkle. Personally I leave it about 10 o'clock.

This amp lets your guitar sound like what it's supposed to be. Les Pauls sound fat and thick, whereas a Strat sounds just right. Neck pickup, push the clean channel and it's pure Hey Joe.

There's no 'eq' control but I don't think it really needs it and at only 1 watt, it's loud enough to annoy the wife but not the neighbours. If you want to use headphones thats' no problem either. Just plug into the emulated output. This even gives you stereo reverb.

You can also plug an MP3 or line in signal should you wish to jam along with your favourite tracks.

At just under 200 quid, it would be rude not to buy one.

Well done Blackstar

This is a great sounding little amp for home practice or recording. The tones are fantastic and the dynamics and 'feel' are far better than any modeller or solid state amp I have ever encountered. The emulated out is also a god send for late night practice.

There are however a number of reasons I have only awarded 3 stars:

1. Not sure Blackstar QC is up to much. I had 3 of these before I got one that was working perfectly and undamaged (Fortunately Andertons were very helpful in resolving this).

2. It is still really loud when cranked, far too loud for use in anything other than a detached house or sound proofed room. However at least you can turn it up to a level where you get some heat in the valves unlike a big head.

3. The internal speaker is disappointing and it also sounds a bit boxy. Obviously this is a given with an amp of this size, but in hindsight I would have got the head and a separate 1x12 cab and spent a bit extra.

Buy one and you won't be disapointed.

All the sounds and tone you could ever think of from a great valve package that won't have your neighbours banging doen the door.

Worth every penny.

Great little amp that really puts out a great tone for its size. This is the perfect amp for using in the house where you can really crank it up and keep the neighbours from complaining. The clean channel delivers a nice warm tone which develops into a crunch sound as you turn the gain up. Switching to the overdrive channel gives an impressively high gain distortion. I was a little sceptical of the ISF feature being the only tone control but it really does provide a wide range of sounds and completely changes the tone from one setting to the other. Overall im very happy with the purchase and would recommend it to any guitarist looking for that great valve amp tone at home for such an affordable price.