Blackstar unveils the HT Club 40 MkII Black and Blue edition

Blackstar has announced a new special edition of its HT Club 40 Mk II Combo, the Black and Blue edition. The new version gets its name from the Blackplate 6L6 valves used and its baby-blue finish respectively.

The amplifier features two channels, each with two voices. The Clean channel has controls for bass, treble and volume, while the Overdrive channel features a 3-band EQ alongside volume and gain controls. The first voice for the clean channel is ‘American Clean’ – voiced bright, and remains clean regardless of what dynamic playing you throw at it. The second voice is ‘British Clean,’ with a looser bass response, a warmer midrange and more sensitivity to dynamics.

The Overdrive’s two voices are ‘Classic’ and ‘Modern – with the first being a vintage voice with some power-amp dampening for that retro squeeze, while the latter has a tighter midrange thanks to the pre-overdrive tube-screamer-style boost. There’s also less power-amp dampening for more of a biting tone on the Modern voice.

This is all driven by exclusive 6L6GC-STR valves, powering a single 12” Celestion Vintage 30. Blackstar says of these valves: “Blackplate valves have been considered the holy grail of vacuum tubes ever since the golden age of tube manufacturing. With authentic construction and vintage tone, we’re proud to bring back these sought-after valves.”

Hear the combo in action with Blackstar’s demo below:

For more information, head over to blackstar.com. For more gear news, click here.