BLACKSTAR HT CLUB 40 MKIII
Third time’s a charm? Another update for Blackstar’s core valve amps
Nothing breeds success like success, and Blackstar’s HT Venue series has been one of the world’s most successful mid-priced valve amp ranges since its introduction at 2010’s winter NAMM show. In 2016 and fully established as a market-leading range, the HT Venue amps received their critically-acclaimed first update. Now, roughly another seven years on and two years since the passing of co-founder and Technical Director Bruce Keir, the HT Venue series is once again reborn and rejuvenated, like the BBC’S famous Time Lord. What’s new? Well, on the outside of our HT Club 40 combo, there’s a smart new badge and generally tweaked cosmetics, giving the MKIII a classy, boutique vibe. The clean channel offers volume, bass and treble controls, while the overdrive channel sports a three-band EQ together with Blackstar’s patented ISF (Infinite Shape Feature), which continuously varies the tone network between British and US voicing. It’s a deceptively simple control that adds huge tonal range. The clean channel Voice switch offers a choice of US or British tones, while the overdrive channel Voice switch offers modern or classic sounds. Behind the control panel, the preamp and power amp settings are completely reconfigured every time the Voice switches are used. We loved the classic overdrive’s tight, focused vibe, while the bright, sparkly clarity of the clean channel’s USA tone transforms into a very dynamic British voice, with a looser bass and warmer midrange. The big change which really enhances the Club 40’s flexibility is the addition of Cabrig, Blackstar’s own dynamic cabinet emulation software. Along with an all-new digital reverb, Cabrig is edited via Blackstar’s Architect app using the Club 40’s USB-C socket, which also offers fourchannel recording, together with a mono balanced XLR and a stereo line out/headhones jack, which all stay active in standby mode for silent recording, while a high/low power switch drops the output from 40 watts down to four watts for home or studio use. The addition of Cabrig makes the Club 40 ideal for modern quiet stages or gigs where volume is tightly controlled, like theatres or places of worship. You can switch the Club 40 into silent mode and send your emulated feed to a console in mono or stereo. There’s plenty of volume for live use too, thanks to the Celestion Seventy 80 loudspeaker, one of our all-round favourite drivers. The Club 40 isn’t the most compact and portable 1x12 out there, but it’s a solid performer built to handle years of live use, with typical Blackstar reliability and huge tonal flexibility to ensure you’ll never get bored with it. Beyond doubt, Blackstar’s HT Venue MKIII is the best yet.
THE MKIII IS BUILT TO HANDLE YEARS OF LIVE USE