This year I hope to find out a lot more about valve amp heads. I am doing this so I can hopefully get one for myself. I’m currently a solid state amplifier man. What better way to research the options than to write about 52 different amplifier manufacturers. I know they’re out there and the one that jumped at me to kickstart this new weekly series is the Blackstar HT Metal H1. Yeah, it’s \m/ and I want one.
The Blackstar HT Metal H1 is based on the Blackstar HT-1RH. You can see and hear that amp head in this awesome little video by Total Guitar Magazine. That amp sounds killer. The HT Metal H1 must sound better. So, what’s in it?
- 1 watt valve head
- 1 ECC83 valve and one ECC82 valve
- Two channels
- Patented Infinite Shape Feature (ISF)
- Speaker emulated output
- Stereo MP3/Line input
- External speaker output
- Stereo reverb
I love a good list.
The ISF is a feature Blackstar created that allows you to dial in between the British and American sound styles. There’s a great video description on YouTube by Blackstar. Not only can you see how it works, you can hear the changes the feature makes.
At 1 watt, this would make a perfect practice amp that didn’t suffer from poor quality sound at lower volumes. There is also a 1 watt combo version of this amp and there are a few decent videos out there showcasing the sound you get from that amplifier. Me, I’m searching for a dedicated head unit. This to me seems perfect.
If I end up with this amp this year, I’ll be very happy. Time will tell though. 51 weeks to go in this new series.
Disclaimer: I’ve not played through this head. I have not experienced the sound or tone of this head other than through video. That doesn’t matter. It looks awesome, it’s obviously played by winners and I want one.
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