[roylor4]

Originally Posted by ChrisN

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roylor4 - I like that HT-5R - nice feature set and decent sound but (horrors!) some say it's a hybrid that first goes into transistors (preamp?). Actually, I don't really care about that stuff, but it's emblematic of the nuance/nerd issues that distract from the bigger picture. The Boss sounds good, but gave me "model amp" flashbacks to my Mustang II v. 2 that I've never managed to use (99 presets that don't sound good at all, to me). Mustang's headed to the craigslist ranch, I'm afraid.

For reference, here's the 5w Milkman Half Pint combo with the gorgeous clean tone I like (at 32 seconds), but I'd like to find that tone cheaper than $2,400! These Milkman amps are based on some kind of Fender model:
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I don't know where you gleaned this information. The Blackstar uses a ECC83 preamp tube. Both preamp and power sections are tube driven

I understand if you want to totally get away from modeling. Your choice, of course.

I can tell you from personal experience that the tonal palette of the Blackstar can provide the cleans you want. My best friend and jamming buddy play one and I have plugged in several time. Exceptional sounding amp, IMO.

Lot's of other amps can give you that sparkling clean with plenty of headroom too. You can get those kind of tones from a Silvertone 1482 and old Alamos too. I have had several Alamo and Silvertone amps through the years. You will NOT find YOUR tone by surfing youtube. Every amp interacts differently with different guitars and pickups.