The Blackstar HT-BOOST is a boost pedal designed specifically for driving a tube amp, either as a clean volume boost or, at higher gain levels, to push the amp into overdrive1. Premier Guitar notes that because it effectively adds two more valve stages to your amp, you can also take advantage of an additional tube EQ1. It sits in the same HT family as the Blackstar HT-Drive and Blackstar HT-DIST, and belongs to the wider world of boost pedals and overdrive pedals.
What it does
As a clean boost, the HT-BOOST raises volume without changing the character of your tone. MusicRadar's reviewers found that "it effortlessly gives a huge volume hike to a clean tone without colouring your sound"2. When the amp is already working hard, the pedal changes character: "If your amp is already driving at the preamp stage, the HT-Boost encourages more compression and sustain"2.
Premier Guitar's reviewer got a sense of just how much volume is on tap when testing into an Egnater Tourmaster 4212 combo set at 20W1:
"I had the boost gain turned up about halfway, thinking to myself, 'How much louder could it really get?' It nearly rattled my teeth loose."
Controls
The pedal gives you EQ shaping alongside the boost itself, which is unusual for a simple clean boost12:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Boost | Works with the bass and treble controls to cut or boost your signal in those frequency bands2 |
| Bass | Individual cut and boost control: left of 0 (counterclockwise) sets the amount of cut, right of 0 (clockwise) sets the amount of boost1 |
| Treble | Individual cut and boost control, working the same way as the bass control1 |
Because the bass and treble controls can cut as well as boost, the pedal can shape the signal going into the amp rather than only lifting it, which is where the additional tube EQ effect Premier Guitar describes comes from1.
Outputs
The HT-BOOST offers more than one output level. The 'high' output is hotter, which MusicRadar takes to be aimed at players using solid-state or hybrid amps, so as not to overload the front end of a transistor amp2. That makes the pedal usable beyond the tube-amp role it is primarily designed for1.
Where it sits in Blackstar's range
The HT-BOOST is part of Blackstar's HT line of valve-equipped pedals, alongside the HT-Drive and HT-DIST2. Blackstar later brought out the Dept. 10 series of valve-based pedals, including the Dept. 10 Dual Drive, and the more affordable LT Drive in the LT range, giving players several routes into the company's gain and boost designs1.
Videos
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Pedal Tone
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Sources (2)
- Blackstar HT Series Pedals Review: DIST, BOOST, DRIVE, Premier Guitar, 2008-09-11
- Blackstar HT-Boost BT-1 review, MusicRadar, 2007-12-12
