Blackstar HT Club 40 MK III 1x12" Tube Combo Amplifier

Blackstar HTV40MK3 Overview

Versatile and ideal for the gigging musician seeking a powerful tube combo that won't break their back (or bank), the HT Club 40 MK III from Blackstar is a compact 40W tube combo amplifier with a single 12" Celestion speaker, two footswitchable channels (a boutique clean and a high-gain overdrive), and four footswitchable voices. The two 12AX7 preamp tubes and two EL34 power tubes deliver classic tube potency, but can also be kicked down to 4W for recording or home practice.

With the patented ISF knob, you can shift through the full gamut of amp tones, from American to British, while you get plenty of control over your tone through the expanded clean-tone controls, three-band EQ, onboard digital reverb with a dark/light switch, channel plus master volume control, and even emulated speaker outputs via the CabRig analog XLR and 1/4" outputs. The onboard FX loop plays well with your external FX, whether they are pedals or rack gear, and you even get a USB-C output for sending multitrack DAW recording or emulated speaker output to a computer. This amp combo includes an FS-15 footswitch and a power cable.

HT Stands for High Tension

HT stands for High Tension and refers to the high voltages used in tube circuits like HT Club 40 MK III. The HT name goes back to the very beginning of Blackstar and its first products: the HT valve pedals.

Boutique Cleans and Modern Overdrives

The Clean channel, though simple in appearance, offers vast versatility in producing classic clean and crunch tones. Both Voices utilize a 12AX7 tube exclusively for producing valve compression or crunch.

The Overdrive channels have evolved from the original Series One range. The topology shares the same basic building blocks in the gain structure and tonal shaping and includes the cascaded gain stages of a 12AX7 double triode tube.

Two Distinct Voices on Each Channel

Each Voice is far more than a minor tweak to the sound. With HT Venue MK III, each Voice switch introduces comprehensive circuit alterations in both preamp and power amp to recreate authentic reference tones without compromise.

This includes EQ voicing, tone stack position in the circuit, the gain, and power-amp damping. Achieve diverse tonal options with the flick of a single switch.

CabRig DSP Speaker Simulator Technology

CabRig, Blackstar's class-leading DSP speaker simulator comes as standard, offering hundreds of different cabinet, mic, and room settings. Save your favorites to three presets for easy access directly from the amplifier.

Switch into standby for silent recording or silent stage use. The USB-C port lets you send 4 channels (clean/dry, preamp out, stereo emulated out) to your DAW, ensuring the easiest way to capture authentic tube tone in recordings.

Power Reduction Down to 10%

Blackstar's reliable and transparent attenuation switches the power down to 10% of the amp's rated power. This power reduction is achieved not by load resistors, which affect the tone in an undesirable way due to changes in transformer/speaker reactance, but by controlling the internal working voltages of the power stage, including the HT (high voltage) and bias.

This limits power output without affecting the tone shaping of the output stage and feedback loop, preserving your basic tone. Power amp overdrive occurs at much lower volume levels, giving the feel of a small tube amp verging on meltdown.

Comprehensive I/O for Any Occasion

With more musicians recording at home, HT Club 40 MKIII is perfect for the way we play today, sporting I/O for pro recording and live use.

• 1/4" input for instruments
• Three 1/4" speaker outputs: 1x 16 ohm, 1 x 8 ohm, and 2 x 16 ohm
• Balanced XLR out for CabRig DI usage, and a 1/4" line/headphone output CabRig emulation
• FX loop with level control for use with guitar pedals or pro-level gear
• Two 1/4" footswitch inputs, one 5-way and one 2-way
• USB-C port for multitrack audio recording and digital speaker emulation output

Footswitch Flexibility

All modes are footswitchable, offering a broad range of onstage tube tones, with boosts on every channel. The included 2-way footswitch toggles between Clean and Overdrive channels, and their two voices. For comprehensive control, the optional FS-14 5-way foot controller gives you access to all Channels, Voices, a global volume boost, and Reverb on/off.