These low‑power amp heads are packed with studio‑friendly features.

Valve guitar amps have a character all of their own, but most models that are built for the stage are too loud for home studio use, as they generally need to be cranked up to a certain level to hit their tonal sweet spot. Blackstar have created practical solutions in the form of the 1W HT‑1 MkIII and HT‑5 MkIII amp heads, both of which are revisions of previous HT‑series models. In addition to their low‑power credentials, both models feature direct recording to a computer over USB‑C, with access to the company’s respected CabRig speaker emulation software, which we’ve covered in previous reviews.

The physical presentation is much like a full‑scale head, though obviously these aren’t quite so large: at around 26cm wide, the HT‑1 MkIII comes in a ‘lunchbox amp’ format, while the HT‑5 MkIII is rather larger at a hair under 40cm wide. Both come in wood‑based cabinets finished in black vinyl, and they have full‑size strap handles on the top.

Overview

The HT‑1 MkIII is a pretty straightforward beast, with the rear panel sporting an IEC power socket, the USB‑C port, a speaker out jack and a footswitch jack that allows the overdrive to be turned on/off. On the front we get a power switch, an input jack and further 3.5mm mini‑jacks for line in (useful when jamming along to backing tracks) and a speaker‑emulated headphone out that can also be used for recording if you wish. There are three switchable CabRig presets for the mini‑jack out and the USB out. The valve layout is simply a pair of dual‑triode valves: an ECC83 and an ECC82. Digital circuitry is used for the reverb and, of course, for the USB‑C interface.

There are no conventional tone controls on this model, just Blackstar’s ISF knob that morphs between a British type of tone stack and a US tonality, the US end of the scale being noticeably brighter‑sounding than the UK end. The reverb has its own level control, while gain and volume controls allow the user to juggle between the amount of drive and the overall output level. A small toggle switch brings in the overdrive and there’s a second toggle switch to flip between two tonal characters, providing the user with a choice of American Clean, British Clean, Classic Overdrive and Modern Overdrive via the two switch...