Blackstar HT-5HR vs Ibanez TSA15H

[Benjamin Hwang]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for an amp head as i have recently sold my old vox lil night train as i am looking for an upgrade. I have a 12 inch Vox G12m greenback cab and I would love some input on the Blackstar HT-5HR vs Ibanez TSA15H.

I am planning to use my Vox Tonelab ST multi FX pedal to get my tone, meaning that I would be running the amp clean and using my pedal to obtain my desired distortion. Both of these amps have FX loop send and receive ports. I have obtain my desired tone on the tonelab running through my computer monitor speakers and I wonder if i could do the same through amps as well.

I am kind of torn as to which amp might better suit my purpose. For now I am leaning towards the ibanez as it is a 15 watt amp that can be set to 5w and it has a fender-like clean sound (Which i suppose would be good for my pedal)
But then again if i am unable to obtain a good tone with my pedal, the default sound of the ibanez amp would not be something I really like. ( I play lots of Guns N Roses ) So Blackstar would be a better candidate if i were to remove my pedal from the consideration.

Any thoughts on this? Any suggestions would be really appreciated

Thank you for reading

 

[CyanideJunkie]

Why don't you bring your gear down and try it out with the amp just to be sure?

 

[subversion]

if you opt for the TSA15, you are actually investing in a head with a drive option but only utilizing its cleans...

 

[Benjamin Hwang]

I just went to Swee Lee just now to test the combo version out (Head was out of stock) It was really disappointing. I wasnt sure if it was at the 15w or 5w setting but it really didnt sound right to me. Perhaps the tubes werent warmed up or it is a faulty unit?

I didnt really test it out thoroughly as the staff at swee lee didnt allow me to turn up the volume and i was slightly pissed off.

Guess i have to make a trip to woodworkz to test the blackstar ht-5rh some day

 

[CyanideJunkie]

I just went to Swee Lee just now to test the combo version out (Head was out of stock) It was really disappointing. I wasnt sure if it was at the 15w or 5w setting but it really didnt sound right to me. Perhaps the tubes werent warmed up or it is a faulty unit?

I didnt really test it out thoroughly as the staff at swee lee didnt allow me to turn up the volume and i was slightly pissed off.

Guess i have to make a trip to woodworkz to test the blackstar ht-5rh some day

If by "didn't sound right" you mean harsh and buzzy, you were probably experiencing crossover distortion. Try setting the amp with the master volume all the way up and slowly bring the preamp gain up to get your desired volume. That way you can your signal clean (as far as the amp will allow anyway).

 

[Benjamin Hwang]

I didnt bring my pedal over as i just happened to pass by there while shopping for other stuff. I tested the amp clean and with its onboard tubescreamer drive. I was expecting a big and warm sound but what i really heard was a smallish and thin sound. Perhaps something wasnt right with the set up.

 

[Weiht]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for an amp head as i have recently sold my old vox lil night train as i am looking for an upgrade. I have a 12 inch Vox G12m greenback cab and I would love some input on the Blackstar HT-5HR vs Ibanez TSA15H.

I am planning to use my Vox Tonelab ST multi FX pedal to get my tone, meaning that I would be running the amp clean and using my pedal to obtain my desired distortion. Both of these amps have FX loop send and receive ports. I have obtain my desired tone on the tonelab running through my computer monitor speakers and I wonder if i could do the same through amps as well.

I am kind of torn as to which amp might better suit my purpose. For now I am leaning towards the ibanez as it is a 15 watt amp that can be set to 5w and it has a fender-like clean sound (Which i suppose would be good for my pedal)
But then again if i am unable to obtain a good tone with my pedal, the default sound of the ibanez amp would not be something I really like. ( I play lots of Guns N Roses ) So Blackstar would be a better candidate if i were to remove my pedal from the consideration.

Any thoughts on this? Any suggestions would be really appreciated

Thank you for reading

just bought a ht5 days ago and i'd say im v impressed with the dirty channel after tube change. It has alot of gain and can do v marshall like tones. The cleans can be slightly voxy, but lacking the chime of the alnico blues of course.

i owned some good collectible heads before and this little amp is quite something at bedroom level. You would still need to turn it up to the point the speakers open up.

just wondering why would u want ur overdrive from the pedal when the dirty channel rocks.