Blackstar HT Club 40 Review - The Perfect 1x12 Combo Amplifier

The Blackstar HT Club 40 is a fantastic amplifier from the HT venue range, Packed with tons of features, great sounds all at a fantastic price.

Blackstar combo amps were getting some really good reviews of late so I decided to check the club 40 out. After reading from the reviews and videos this amp really appealed to me. I purchased this combo with high hopes it could deliver me a great sound with lots of versatility, and it certainly delivered. This 1 x 12 combo is a fantastic mid-range amplifier producing many different sounds with every guitarist in mind. The club 40 packs tons of volume perfect for the practise room and the stage.

Features

This 1 x 12 combo amp pumps out 40 watts of pure raw sound. It has 2 channels with 4 modes, clean and overdrive both complemented with an easy to use interface to dial in some great tones. Equipped with 2x ECC83 and 2x EL34 tubes, Perfect for any style of music. There are voicing switches on both channels adding more control over the tone you are dialling in.

Back Panel Features

• Footswitch connection
• Reverb dark/light options
• Speaker outputs( 1x16 ohm,1x8 8 ohm, 2x16 ohm)
• Emulated output
• Effects loop
• Effects loop send and return

The HT Club 40 is a very nice looking combo amp, it almost strikes you with its classy boutique looks and bold Blackstar logo. The design is very eyecatching with its black vinyl but also looks tough and rugged, perfect for going on the road. The EQ interface looks simple and easy to use accompanied with sturdy knobs. The Club 40 has a nice big rugged handle securely fastened down with very nice chrome bolts. There is no doubt that Blackstar's HT venue range is nothing short of top quality

Sounds

This all valve amplifier has some of the best sounds available for a mid-range 1x12 combo. The Club 40 has every guitarist accompanied for, From blues to high gain metal this amp does it all. Accompanied with its versatility the amp is easily loud enough be used at a small to medium sized venue without a microphone.

Overdrive Channel

I was lucky enough to crank this amp much to the displeasure of my neighbours. The thump of bass you can get from the 12” celestion speaker is amazing. There were also thumps coming from next door yelling at me to turn it down. Being a closed back cabinet can really make a difference to the bass response perfect for metal guitarists. You can achieve saturated metal tones to nice crunchy rock tones depending on how high you have the gain. The volume is easily enough to cut through a mix in any live situation.

Overdrive voice switch on: Gives you tighter mid range gain and bass suited for metal tones.

Overdrive voice switch off: Gives you a classic tight crunchy sound suited for rock.

A really cool feature on the Club 40 is the ISF control (Infinite shape feature) this allows you to voice different amp characteristics such as a UK tone or a USA tone or a mix between both.

Clean Channel

The Club 40's clean channel has a nice rich boutique tone when the voicing switch is in the pressed position, added with some reverb you can achieve a really nice rich lush tone. Single coils sound amazing with this channel, add a chorus pedal to really make this amp sing. The volume and tone knob make it easy to dial in any tone you desire such as twangy funk to blues. The clean channel is also where the Club 40's dark and light reverb options comes in handy giving you more versatility with your clean tone.

Clean voice switch on: Gives you a boutique voicing.

Clean voice switch off: Gives you a more modern voicing to keep the sound cleaner at higher volumes.

Other Features

Power: 40 Watts

Dimensions (mm): 619 x 566 x 297

Weight: (KG) 24.4

Footswitch: FS-5 suppled

Pros

• Affordable
• Excellent tones
• Very versatile
• Simple control layout

Cons

• A touch on the heavy side

Overall

The Blackstar HT Club 40 is a must have amplifier for the gigging guitarist looking for an affordable mid-range high quality amplifier. The Club 40 can produce a range of high quality sounds suited for many styles in a compact 1x12 setup. Blackstar offer you a reliable, robust amplifier with many features at a fantastic price.