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Introduction
Thank you for purchasing this Blackstar HT Venue MkII amplifier. Like all our
products, this amp is the result of countless hours of painstaking Research and
Development by our world-class design team. Based in Northampton (UK), the
Blackstar team are all experienced musicians themselves and the sole aim of the
development process is to provide guitarists with products which are the ultimate
tools for self-expression.
All Blackstar products are subjected to extensive laboratory and road testing to
ensure that they are truly uncompromising in terms of reliability, quality and above
all TONE.
The HT Club MkII’s flexible two channel design features the unique patented ISF
(Infinite Shape Feature) control and although it has a comprehensive control set,
it is still simple and intuitive to use. Please read through this handbook carefully to
ensure you get the maximum benefit from your new Blackstar product.
If you like what you hear and want to find out more about the Blackstar range of
products please visit our website at www.blackstaramps.com.
Thanks!
The Blackstar Team
Features
This HT Venue MkII is a highly versatile amplifier suited to a wide range of playing
styles and situations.
The Clean Channel has two voices; one based on a classic American circuit and
the other based on a classic British tone. The Voice switch reconfigures the preamp
voicing, EQ and valve gain structure, as well as the power amplifier damping. This
produces a clean, bright and tight but solid bass response for the American tone
and a highly responsive ‘chime’ with looser bottom for the British tone that can be
pushed into a midrange overdrive when driven hard. The Voice setting can also be
selected via footcontroller.
The HT Club MkII also has two voices on the Overdrive Channel, which share a
common EQ section. These two voices provide a broad palette of overdriven tones.
As with the Clean Channel, each of these voices can also be selected by
footcontroller. When switching between channels, the amplifier will recall the specific
Voice setting last used on that channel.
The Overdrive voices are characterised by a tone which is high in gain, but avoids
any of the detached top-end ‘fizz’ often found in other designs. This is a result of
unique preamplifier and power amplifier shaping techniques, which also benefit the
player in the way the overdrives clean up beautifully as the guitar volume is reduced.
Even at the most extreme settings, the Overdrive voices remain natural sounding.
The patented ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) control is unique to Blackstar Amplification
and represents a major step forward in tone shaping flexibility. The ISF control shifts
the response of the three control tone stack between, a US type response at one
end, and at the other, a UK type response. Importantly, in between the two extremes
lie an infinite number of alternative tone choices that would be otherwise unavailable.
The amplifier features naturally sounding digital reverb that can be adjusted via
the Reverb control on the front panel or turned on and off via the optional 5-way
footcontroller. A switch on the rear panel selects between ‘Dark’ and ‘Light’. The
Dark setting is based on a room reverb and the Light setting is based on a plate
reverb.
A Power Switch is provided on the front panel to switch the amplifier between full
power and 10% power. This means that the full tonal depth of the EL34 power
stage can be enjoyed at any volume, retaining the distinctive sound of power valves
working hard.
A USB connector allows for sending up to 4 channels of the guitar signal (dry,
preamp out and stereo emulated out) into a computer for recording purposes.
Two further outputs on the rear, a stereo jack socket and balanced XLR, also allow
the speaker emulated signal(s) to be connected to external devices for practicing,
recording or live use.
