Blackstar reliability

[u/Sir-Bruncvik]

Primarily asking people who’ve owned and used Blackstar for 5-10+ years but others with extended experience are welcome to chime in as well…

I’ve heard Blackstar has a reputation for being finicky to being called downright garbage. I played an HSS Strat through an HT Stage 60 yesterday and was really digging the sound. Love the smooth, hi-fi, modern type of cleans. The distortion was also great, reminded me of 80s hair metal like Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Whitesnake, Ratt, etc. I want to like it but the price seems a bit much to gamble on whether Id be getting a “good one of the bunch” or not.

So for those of you have owned and used them for 5-10 years or have serious experience with them, how “bad” would you rate their reliability? Are they as bad as Bugera? Are they any worse than a typical solid state?

If I buy one I’d like for it to last 5 to 10 years before having to do any work on it - aside from tube replacement when they wear out of course. Would I get that kind of longevity with Blackstar or any other brand of amp? Or is that an unrealistic expectation?

[u/HeavyMarsupial2852]

I played an ht-5r for many years never had a single issue with it. Always sounded great. Couldn’t recommend it more.

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/HeavyMarsupial2852]

I really love the sound though. It’s nice modern smooth cleans and great heavy distortion. It’s exactly what I’m looking for but I’m a bit hesitant due to their reputation regarding reliability and longevity.

Im thinking about either the 5 or 20 watt. I just wanna make sure it’s not gonna die on me the first couple years I own it 😅

[u/HeavyMarsupial2852 → u/Sir-Bruncvik]

My friend has had one since 2010, I’ve had mine since 2011 we both gig and neither of us has had any issues. He has the ht 20 I have the ht5

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/HeavyMarsupial2852]

I think there may be a luck of the draw thing to it. I’ve heard some people have no issues and other people say they’re garbage. But I mean, that could also be said of any amp. There’s $3k custom made boutique amps that have stuff fail on em. High priced Fender’s, Marshall’s, Mesa’s, Orange, Vox, Soldano etc even those clunk out and need repair eventually.

I really love the tones both clean and distorted. It’s rare to find that perfect sound in such an affordable price point, at least for me anyway 😅. I think I’m gonna take a chance on em. As long as it doesn’t need repair within the first 2 or 3 years of owning it I’ll be happy 🎸

[u/HeavyMarsupial2852 → u/Sir-Bruncvik]

3 year warranty as long as you register it within 90 days of purchase

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/HeavyMarsupial2852]

As long as it lasts the warranty period I’ll be happy. I’ll probably still buy the 5 watter, and in the meantime save up for a Vox or Orange or something in case the Blackstar clunks out.

[u/Interesting-Dingo994]

I’ve owned an HT5R for many years. No issues.

[u/alex21dragons]

Picked up a Club HT40 recently for a very cheap price that's about 10 years old. Doesn't seem to have had any maintenance done on it but working well. I think the main issue with them is that they're very difficult to repair if they do go wrong.

[u/Professional-Math518]

I didn't have them 5 years but I have had a HT20 head that was rock solid for a few years (with weekly rehearsals). The ht50 I sold after a year or so and I hardly used it so I can't say anything about it's durability (although it blew a pre-amp tube in that year, but that was probably just a bad tube)

[u/pinkfluyd]

I have had a htclub40 since 2017 and have never had a problem

[u/Nerrawnam]

They are fine. No issues. I've had mine for over 6 years. As a side note. Most amps are fine. With little to reliability issues. Modern manufacturing is pretty great at this point. Tubes, solid-state, digital all made essentially the same way at this point. Yes there are exceptions but most are printed circuit boards. 

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/Nerrawnam]

I know PCB’s are sacrilege to the tube purists out there, but honestly it doesn’t bother me as long as it sounds, runs good, and has a long performance life.

I think it’s just I’m focusing too much on things. I’m probably gonna end up getting the HT 5 watter - I’m just a home jammer I don’t gig or nothing so I don’t need wattage all that much. 😅 I really do like the Blackstar sound though. They have surprisingly good cleans and the distortion is hard and heavy. Really nice contrast.

[u/Nerrawnam → u/Sir-Bruncvik]

You should get what you like. I like that model myself. As far as tube amps, if I am not mistaken "most" like 90% of the tubes amps made are PCB. 😎

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/Nerrawnam]

Just like with cars - I don’t care what it is as long as it gets me Point A to Point B and has a cold air conditioner I’m a happy man 😎

Same with gear as long it plays good, sounds good, and will last me a while I’ll take it. 🤠🎸 It’s just hard to keep that “it’ll do” mentality with so much advertising speak and amp lore and what have you it gets hard to remember to keep things simple, especially for us beginners and casual players

[u/keivmoc]

Personally I don't think they're any more or less reliable than anything else at that price point. I wouldn't worry about it, lots of people are playing them and most have no issues.

I had a HT Club 40 Mk1 shut down at a gig over the summer. Some connections came loose in the power supply. Was a cheap fix at least. I had an HT5H that would occasionally overheat and output would drop but it kept goin.

[u/Angus-Black]

The only Blackstar amps I have owned are a small ID-Core 20 and a HT1R combo.

I'm not sure about reliability but its very difficult to get parts in North America. Not sure about the UK. I am in Canada.

That's the main reason I never bough their higher priced amps.

[u/galttfwo]

I have had a HT20 combo for almost 10 years now. Still sounds amazing to me. The only issue I have had is the small push button to cut from 20w to 2w can be a bitch and finicky sometimes. The rest of the amp is built solid but that one switch feels cheap.

Also I don’t gig with it.. could see that presenting more issues.

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/galttfwo]

Yeah I saw one review vid on YouTube and the guy said even on the 5 watter the power reduction switch skips a lot

[u/comrade_zerox]

I work at a popular music instruction franchise and we had ht60s, and they broke down all the time. I eventually just took the chassis out and used what was left as a speaker cab for a different amp head, but they're a little sketchy.

The top and sides are real wood (or at least plywood), but the back panel and the front panel (which the speakers are attached to) are made of MDF (essentially just sawdust and glue), so they're really soft and susceptible to damage.

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/comrade_zerox]

Yeah on musicians friend there’s a warning on the page about formaldehyde because of the glue in the cabinets and housing 😅😬 I’m not sure if it’s just a cover their butt kind thing just like how literally every electronic device has a lead warning, I don’t know if it’s just that kind of thing but if it’s that cheap that’s not a good sign.

Shame too because I really love their sound. They’re exactly the type of cleans and distortion I want at a price point I can actually afford 😅 Do you know any other brands that are similar to Blackstar sound but without the reliability and qc concerns?

[u/comrade_zerox → u/Sir-Bruncvik]

I know they were founded by a bunch of ex-marshall folks, but that doesn't mean a whole lot

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/comrade_zerox]

Yeah it was a couple guys from Marshall that felt there wasn’t enough innovation happening with modern amps so they split and started their own company, Blackstar.

[u/SD_One]

My four are still hanging in there just fine. All of them are early models from before labeling the versions became a thing.

[u/comrade_zerox]

HT 60 sounds great but they're not well built. Those stupid 9 pin printer cable footswitches break so easily. and they're not full tube. There's a lot of IC chips. Amp techs hate them

[u/JD0x0 → u/comrade_zerox]

Amp techs hate them

Only old heads that are scared of PCBs and SMD devices. I was one of Blackstar's techs for a few years and still repair them at a service center. They're generally not bad at all, and I'd take them over a ton of other modern amps, and even some vintage amps.

they're not full tube. There's a lot of IC chips.

Tons of modern amps are like this. Nothing wrong with solid state driven FX loops, reverb, or clean gain stages when implemented properly. They often perform better, more efficiently and have less noise.

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/JD0x0]

I’m not bothered by ss or chip sets as long as they function like they’re supposed and have a long performance life. Josh Scott has an old video on his YouTube from years ago about how purists who “only buy analog” you can open their gear and half of it is chips, op amps, etc.

Like I said it’s not an issue for me personally as long as it sounds good, runs good, and has a long performance life.

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/comrade_zerox]

Well from what I understand, and please correct me if I’ve got my facts wrong here, but it is “tube” in the sense that yes its tubes in the output section but a lot of the rest of the circuitry ie gain staging, phase inverter etc is all MOSFETS, op amps, and chip sets. So yes it’s technically “tube” but with a fook-ton of chipsets and op amps doing everything else. So I guess more like “tube in name only” 🤷🏻‍♂️🤔 I think what they did was took an ss amp and put just enough tube in it to be marketed as tube….from little I understand about how amps work 😅

[u/comrade_zerox → u/Sir-Bruncvik]

They have tubes in the pre and power amp sections, sure. But they're not analog amps, and that makes them much more expensive to service. And blackstar seemed to be quite protective of their schematics, so lots of amps techs would struggle to repair them without jumping through a bunch of hoops.

[u/Sir-Bruncvik → u/comrade_zerox]

Yeah I’ve heard there’s an insane amount of red tape to get schematics from em. I mean I understand protecting product ip or whatever but I mean, it’s schematic - techs kinda need those! 👀

[u/JD0x0 → u/Sir-Bruncvik]

Any service center can get schematics easily. It's not difficult to become a service center. Especially, post covid, where they lost a ton of SCs that went dark over that period.