Want my Blackstar HT-20mkII to be brighter, less lows- speaker change?

[Erlend_G]

Hello;

I find that the overall tone of my Blackstar HT-20mkII isn't exactly to my liking.

It has too much in the lows / low mid area; and too little high-mids. It's a bit "hollow" sounding and subdued, to my ears.

I much prefer the "Marshall" type high-mid attack and crunch; while the Blackstar has more of a "hollowness" in the 200-400hz area...

So, I'm considering either a speaker change (some say greenbacks sound great in it), or a Joyo 10-band EQ pedal. :o

Any input?

Thanks,
-Erlend

[Demanic]

The 10 band eq is probably a lot cheaper than a new speaker. I'd try that first.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

[Hsb]

Ill vote for the eq as well. Can do a lot of tone sculpting with one.

[Erlend_G]

thanks.

I'll sit and think this trough for a while...

As my guitar & amp is "everything I got", and I'm else in a "prison like" life situation, need to be home every morning at 10 to get my methadone;

soon it's winter and "dark time" here in North Norway,

and guitar tone gets crucial for life quality .

I'm thinking about the EQ pedal aswell. It's cheaper than a new speaker, and it allows for drastic changes in "tone".

-Erl

[CK71]

I agree with the others about the EQ I think you will really like it. I used to have a club-40 and used a 10-band EQ. It added a lot of versatility to the amp.

[Top-L]

thanks.

I'll sit and think this trough for a while...

As my guitar & amp is "everything I got", and I'm else in a "prison like" life situation, need to be home every morning at 10 to get my methadone;

soon it's winter and "dark time" here in North Norway,

and guitar tone gets crucial for life quality .

I'm thinking about the EQ pedal aswell. It's cheaper than a new speaker, and it allows for drastic changes in "tone".

-Erl

Its an EL84 amp, not much you can do about that. EL84 is usually considered buttery, but not known for deep low end.

https://humbuckersoup.com/tubes/diff...el84-el34-6l6/


EQ pedal or new amp.

You could try preamp tubes. The hottest and brighest AX7s that I've encountered, are graded ECC83s from Groove Tubes. Those are consistently hot and bright.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ct-preamp-tube

[ehdwuld]

Doesnt that amp have a "morph " knob
that lets you change the tone stack from American to British

[Erlend_G]

Doesnt that amp have a "morph " knob
that lets you change the tone stack from American to British

Yes, it has;

but there isn't that much of a difference;

At one "extreme" the sound's a bit tighter, and the mids more focused;
in the other end, the bottom end is looser, and the mids more scattered.

I thought it would have a more drastic impact, (when I bought the amp). but I leave it at noon, or at 11'o clock

[Lewguitar]

Maybe consider adding a Celestion Vintage 30? Those are bright and not especially bassy.

[GreatOz]

My vote is the EQ pedal simply because it's cheaper, but if you have extra cash to spend, I would recommend a speaker swap. I assume you're using the stock speaker (I think it's the 50W Blackbird), which I didn't care for. I use a Celestion V-Type Speaker in a 1 x 12" open-back cab and they sound fantastic for both my Strat and McCarty. But this is also for the HT-5R MkII, not the full HT-20R so take that with a grain of salt lol

Side note, the "classic" voicing (no light) I didn't care for on either the clean or the overdrive channel, the "modern" voicing (light) works way better, at least for the mix and is a lot cleaner.
For me, I borderline have the opposite problem with it being too bright.

[ehdwuld]

On my Bugera copy
I can turn the morph knob and it changes how the tone controls work
I have to turn the mids back and it chimes in a Fenderish way

[Erlend_G]

My vote is the EQ pedal simply because it's cheaper, but if you have extra cash to spend, I would recommend a speaker swap. I assume you're using the stock speaker (I think it's the 50W Blackbird), which I didn't care for. I use a Celestion V-Type Speaker in a 1 x 12" open-back cab and they sound fantastic for both my Strat and McCarty. But this is also for the HT-5R MkII, not the full HT-20R so take that with a grain of salt lol

Side note, the "classic" voicing (no light) I didn't care for on either the clean or the overdrive channel, the "modern" voicing (light) works way better, at least for the mix and is a lot cleaner.
For me, I borderline have the opposite problem with it being too bright.

Oh!

On my HT-20, the voicing does very different things on each channel..

The clean channel is either "voicing off"- a mid-scooped, clean fender-ish clean;
voicing on- a middy, "nasty" more overdriven tone. But still clean if I turn down the gain.

On the overdrive channel, I never use the "voicing" button, because I don't like the sound. It makes the sound much more bright and agressive. :/The

The "voicing" button also affects the sound, of the line in/mp3 mini jack input. Gives it a "loudness" type of sound. :o

The HT-5 and HT-20 are slightly different amplifiers, it's not only the power difference.

I'm glad you like your amp!

I like mine aswell, but some days I regret that I didn't buy a Princeton Reverb instead.

rock on \m/

-Erl

[Mr. 80's]

Since that amp has an MP3 line in for "jamming along with your favorite music" as they say, it makes me believe that it doesn't have a real guitar speaker in it but more of an FR/FR like a modeler otherwise it wouldn't play well with backing tracks at all. So my vote goes for a real guitar speaker and not use the MP3 line in if that's the case.

[Gtrjunior]

Yes, it has;

but there isn't that much of a difference;

At one "extreme" the sound's a bit tighter, and the mids more focused;
in the other end, the bottom end is looser, and the mids more scattered.

I thought it would have a more drastic impact, (when I bought the amp). but I leave it at noon, or at 11'o clock

I turn mine to the left or American side on my HT-20.
For me, itÂ’s much better the other darker, looser. British side.
IÂ’d suggest popping a new production Mullard preamp tube in there. To be, itÂ’s a bright tube.

But if you go a speaker swap route I’d recommend the WGS Veteran 30. It’s a Vintage 30 clone without the harsh upper mids thing going on.
I have one in my 2x12 paired with a WGS ET-65 (Creamback clone) which I use for my Blackstar.

[Animal]

But if you go a speaker swap route I'd recommend the WGS Veteran 30. It'€™s a Vintage 30 clone without the harsh upper mids thing going on.

If the stock speaker in his HT-20 sounds as a hollow as the Rocket 50, then a V30 type speaker will be a quite significant upgrade: