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Blackstar HT1R boost mod

Discussion in 'Amps and Cabs' started by redeyedjim, Nov 14, 2016.

Nov 14, 2016 #1

I have a sweet tooth for small, 8" combo tube amps. A few years
ago I picked up a used Blackstar HT1R, Blackstar's 1 watt,
12AU7-powered practice amp. It's a cool little amp, and it has
the added bonus of a decent onboard digital reverb. No one will
confuse it with the lushness of a full size Fender reverb, but it
does a great job for what it is. It's very unusual to find an 8"
redeyedjim
combo tube amp with reverb, especially one that sells for ~$200
or less used.

Messages: 2,289 I've never been one to leave well enough alone, and after rolling
Joined: Mar 6, 2012
some speakers through it (I settled on an older Weber CVC8 I
Location: SF Bay Area
had on my shelf) I was curious if there were any mods out there
for this little amp.

I was searching for mods and found this one:

https://guitar-dreamer.blogspot.com/2012/10/blackstar-ht-1-
footswitch.html

I won't repeat all the info in the above link, but as the author
explains it's fairly straightforward to tap into the channel
switcher connections on the PCB and add a switch and
potentiometer to control the boost mode on the clean channel.
So I did this mod over the weekend, and let me say, the boost

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Blackstar HT1R boost mod | The Gear Page https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/blackstar-ht1r-b...

mode on the clean channel transforms this amp into a killer

touch sensitive little tone monster. It's a great addition to this
amp and brings a muscular and harmonically rich tone to clean
channel.

The above link has the wiring diagram and pics of the PCB
connection. I am including it here for completeness; note that it
indicates a footswitch, but I opted to use an on/off rotary
potentiometer:

My pics below show how I implemented this mod on my own

amp in a different way than the originator.

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This is the 25k on/off switch I used. This switch requires use of a
knob with a 2mm shaft opening; I used the top half of a
concentric tone/volume set I had lying around.

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Blackstar HT1R boost mod | The Gear Page https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/blackstar-ht1r-b...

I know this post could use a clip to document what I am

describing. It was too late to record that last night, but I hope to
add a clip this week to demonstrate the before/after.
Last edited: Mar 27, 2017

#1

Nov 14, 2016 #2

Cool! Can you get a vol boost even with the gain and vol on
max?

It might even be possible to remove the clipping diodes and fully

bypass the second gain stages triode for a all tube distortion. Of
course that is if none of the op amps clip for the PI or tone
DrainBamage
Member circuit.

Messages: 1,737 #2
Joined: Sep 23, 2011

Nov 14, 2016 #3

DrainBamage said:

Cool! Can you get a vol boost even with the gain and vol on max?

It might even be possible to remove the clipping diodes and fully

bypass the second gain stages triode for a all tube distortion. Of
redeyedjim course that is if none of the op amps clip for the PI or tone circuit.

> Can you get a vol boost even with the gain and vol on max?

Messages: 2,289
Joined: Mar 6, 2012 Don't know yet, as it was way too late last night when ZI
Location: SF Bay Area finished to play it at full volume. But the volume gain on the
clean channel with the boost mod was very significant.

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Unfortunately, I don't know enough about its internal

architecture to comment about removing the clipping diodes. But
to my ears, adding the boost to the clean channel was like
unlocking a free feature - I just had to add a few wires, a switch,
and a pot. Blackstar should really offer this as either an option
or a new feature, as it makes the amp a lot more versatile. I'll
try to put a clip together to demo it.

#3

Nov 15, 2016 #4

Thanks for sharing the mod. Since you're into unlocking features
and appear handy with a soldering iron, look up the Spin FV-1
that generates the reverb in the HT1R. It's a full featured DSP
that looks to be a DIP switch away from unlocking chorus,
flange, and trem.

stinkfinger #4
Member
redeyedjim likes this.
Messages: 63
Joined: Dec 4, 2014

Nov 15, 2016 #5

stinkfinger said:

Thanks for sharing the mod. Since you're into unlocking features
and appear handy with a soldering iron, look up the Spin FV-1 that
generates the reverb in the HT1R. It's a full featured DSP that
looks to be a DIP switch away from unlocking chorus, flange, and
redeyedjim trem.

Whoa! I had no idea! I looked up the spec sheet and the DSP is

Messages: 2,289
extremely well documented, and the documentation was even
Joined: Mar 6, 2012 user-friendly. Thanks for the heads up!
Location: SF Bay Area
#5

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