Sonzera 20 vs Blackstar ht40mkii

horax

horax

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May 2, 2018
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I need a new amp. I sold my bassbreaker 15 and am now ampless.

I went to the store and was impressed by both of these amps. The Blackstar was surprisingly awesome and co trolls le for 40 watts. The PRS was so sweet, but the OD channel is insanely loud. Very hard to control, but sounds amazing.
I only play on my house, and id prefer the prs. My question is which would you choose for home playing?
I can turn it up loud as my family doesn’t really mind, but I don’t want to ruin that by going overboard.
The Blackstar has an attentuator built in down to 4 watts.

which of these would you choose? They are the same price.
 
The Blackstar is a better, more versatile amp. And they're pretty much bullet proof. I have, and still do, own quite a few of them...
 
I own the blackstar and its my favorite amp I've owned, Almost everyone in my circle that's played through it has bought one. Extremely versatile excellent sounding amp. Buy it and dont look back.
 
SinSir said:
I own the blackstar and its my favorite amp I've owned, Almost everyone in my circle that's played through it has bought one. Extremely versatile excellent sounding amp. Buy it and dont look back.
Click to expand...

do you have the mk1 or the mk2?
Have you played or compared them both?
 
I hate to say it, but IMO, the HT40's dirty channel is far far superior to the Sonzera's. I don't think the Sonzera amps are at the same level as the other PRS amps.
 
Dirty_Boogie said:
I hate to say it, but IMO, the HT40's dirty channel is far far superior to the Sonzera's. I don't think the Sonzera amps are at the same level as the other PRS amps.
Click to expand...

They’re definitely different sounding - the Blackstar type of lead channel is much more forgiving than the Sonzera. I’ve heard some blues guys with single coils sound absolutely stunning with a Sonzera, but I try to play rock on it and it just doesn’t work as well. I think it may actually have a lot in common with the gain stage setup of the JMOD.
 
horax said:
do you have the mk1 or the mk2?
Have you played or compared them both?
Click to expand...

I have the mkii and played them both. Mine is mkii is the blonde special edition but its the same as a normal MKii besides looks. The red or blue special editions has different tubes.
 
Both are excellent. I think it's great to get input on a forum, but when it's time to decide, I find that taking someone else's advice on amps is like letting someone else try on shoes for you.

You're the only one who can tell what fits you.
 
LSchefman said:
Both are excellent. I think it's great to get input on a forum, but when it's time to decide, I find that taking someone else's advice on amps is like letting someone else try on shoes for you.

You're the only one who can tell what fits you.
Click to expand...

Well, apparently I’ve been buying my underwear all wrong for years! :mad:
 
horax said:
I need a new amp. I sold my bassbreaker 15 and am now ampless.

I went to the store and was impressed by both of these amps. The Blackstar was surprisingly awesome and co trolls le for 40 watts. The PRS was so sweet, but the OD channel is insanely loud. Very hard to control, but sounds amazing.
I only play on my house, and id prefer the prs. My question is which would you choose for home playing?
I can turn it up loud as my family doesn’t really mind, but I don’t want to ruin that by going overboard.
The Blackstar has an attentuator built in down to 4 watts.

which of these would you choose? They are the same price.
Click to expand...
I've owned the PRS and like you used it in the house. IMO it's way too loud for the house. And yeah, the OD channel is a beast to control. I recently just acquired a Marshall Origin 20c, and while it's the same wattage as the PRS it is much more useable for home use, even at the full 20w (it can be attenuated down to 3w and .5w). I've been very happy with it. I haven't played the ht40, but do own an HT-1 mk2 and previously owned the HT5, both I enjoy very much as well.
 
disco13 said:
I've owned the PRS and like you used it in the house. IMO it's way too loud for the house. And yeah, the OD channel is a beast to control. I recently just acquired a Marshall Origin 20c, and while it's the same wattage as the PRS it is much more useable for home use, even at the full 20w (it can be attenuated down to 3w and .5w). I've been very happy with it. I haven't played the ht40, but do own an HT-1 mk2 and previously owned the HT5, both I enjoy very much as well.
Click to expand...

This is the beauty of the blackstar, very user and environment friendly. It can be a beast, in between, or knocked down to meow. All controls are very easy to use to get a sound you are after. 2 voicings for clean and OD plus isf. The master volume is your best friend. I use that on 40w more than 4w. 4w isn't as full sounding but late night it sure does come in handy living in a condo. It loves pedals too. So many features that make this amp a real value in sound and usability.
 
SinSir said:
The master volume is your best friend. I use that on 40w more than 4w. 4w isn't as full sounding but late night it sure does come in handy living in a condo.
Click to expand...
I found something similar with my ATMA. It's 18/5/1 watt and Bodia was telling me he liked the 1 watt mode when he had to play at lower volumes. I thought it sucked at first. Then I really opened it up and it didn't sound bad at all, but it didn't sound as full as the 5 watt mode at the same volume even when using at low volume levels.
 
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