Like all amps in Blackstar’s HT Venue MkII series, the HT Studio 20R MkII is a powerhouse — it’s packed with all the tones you’ll ever need. Experience truly boutique tone from the HT Studio 20R MkII’s updated clean channel, or kick in the overdrive channel for a wide range of distorted textures. And thanks to Blackstar’s patented Infinite Shape Feature, you can dial in everything from inspiring British edge-of-breakup grit to tight and punchy American high-gain. Complete with onboard reverb and a speaker-emulated output, the HT Studio 20R MkII is ideal for your rehearsal space, studio, or anywhere where premium tube tone is required.

Revoiced channels for top-tier tone

When Blackstar hit the drawing board for their HT Studio 20R MkII, not only did they reference their own amps’ popular tones, but they also wanted to match or beat the tones of electric guitar amplifiers costing up to five times more. Take it from the guitarists at Music Experience: They nailed it. The clean channel has a clarity and note definition that is rare on amps in the MkII’s price range. Move over to the gain channel, and you’ll take note of how great the sound is throughout the whole range of overdrive. The original HT Studio 20 was an incredibly popular amp. With the MkII, Blackstar beats it.

Patented Infinite Shape Feature

The Blackstar HT Studio 20R MkII is packed with a massive variety of tube tone, by virtue of Blackstar’s Infinite Shape Feature (ISF). This exclusive feature shifts the EQ curves of the amplifier’s Bass, Middle, and Treble controls. When turned fully counterclockwise, you’ll lend an American characteristic to your voice with a tight bottom end and aggressive middle. Turned all the way to the right, you’ll enjoy more of a British vibe. Beyond that, four different operating modes can be accessed via a pair of Voice switches, unleashing both vintage and modern voicings for each channel.

Loaded with player-friendly additions

The tone of the HT Studio 20R MkII is well worth the price of admission. But Blackstar knows what players want. And they loaded this already great-sounding all-tube combo with enough features to ensure that it quickly becomes your go-to amp. The revoiced reverb offers more depth and detail than ever before. Nailing cranked tones at appropriate volume levels is easy thanks to the onboard power reduction circuit. Beyond that, the emulated line-out and USB audio output will make you your sound engineer’s best friend.

What Blackstar Says...

From chiming cleans, to on-the-edge crunch or full-on distortion, HT-20 MkII deliver ‘the sound in your head’.

EL84 Power Stage

EL84s are at the tonal heart of the HT-20R MkII combo and head. We applied our decades of valve amp design experience to combine the response and character of this classic British valve with a carefully voiced preamp to create wonderfully lush valve tones. From pure boutique cleans, to mild overdrive that cleans up by backing off the guitar volume control, right up to saturated distortion, this amp does it all.

Concentrated, to Concert-rated

HT-20R MkII comes equipped with a power reduction feature taking you down to 2W without any tonal compromise, perfect for driving those EL84’s hard at manageable volumes in the studio or home. When you’re ready to take to the stage, switch to full 20W and utilise the XLR DI output to simultaneously feed direct to the sound engineer with incredible sounding cabinet simulation.

Professional Recording Connectivity

HT-20R MkII comes equipped with a direct USB output for the simplest way to get valve tone into your recordings without the need for an interface. Also included is a fully specified stereo recording output via XLR and jack with selectable cabinet simulation options of 4×12 or 1×12. The best part? These amps have in-built load protection, meaning you can use them without a cabinet connected for silent practice and recording.

Patented ISF

The patented ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) control is unique to Blackstar Amplification and represents a major step forward in tone shaping flexibility. The ISF control shifts the response of the three control tone stack between, a US type response at one end, and at the other, a UK type response. Importantly, in between the two extremes lie an infinite number of alternative tone choices that would be otherwise unavailable.

Ground-Breaking Cleans

The HT-20R MkII has two footswitchable Clean Voices: Voice 1: Voice 1 clean gives a bright and tight tone with a solid bass response, the tone shaping is positioned early in the gain structure for a refined American tone and response. Voice 2: Voice 2 gives a highly responsive “chime” with a looser, resonant bottom-end for a British tone that can be pushed into a mid-range overdrive when driven hard.

Richer, More Responsive Overdrives

The two footswitchable Overdrive Voices are characterised by a tone which is high in gain, but avoids any of the detached top-end “fizz” often found in other designs. Voice 1: This is the Classic “British” Blackstar overdrive. Rich and natural it goes all the way to Super Crunch gain but cleans up beautifully Voice 2: Inspired by the critically acclaimed HT Venue MkII high gain sounds, this overdrive has additional aggression in the high-end with a tight resonant low-end.

Choose Your Cabinet Response

The HT-112OC and HT-212VOC cabinets come equipped with a removable rear panel. This allows the user to easily switch between a closed back for a tight low-end, to a semi-open back for a wide mid-range.

Stage Ready

Connect a two-button footswitch for full stage control over the HT-20R MkII’s channels and voice settings. FX loop and pro XLR DI with inbuilt cabinet sims complete the stage ready package.

Studio Quality Reverb

Our new studio quality reverb has been referenced against the most revered vintage and modern reverb units, designed to perfectly complement guitar tones.

Unique Tilt-Back Design Head

The compact cabinet has a 3 degree angle on the front face, top-loader panel and stage-friendly chickenhead knobs giving the HT-20R MkII a stunning boutique style. The head tilts back slightly to make it easy to dial in your tone.