Series One 100
(Dynamic Power Reduction). The ISF interacts
with the tone controls to further shape the voicing characteristics. Not a switch or a notched
knob, this is a gliding pot that goes from “US”
(fully counterclockwise) to “UK” (fully clockwise)—the general idea being the ability to
adjust toward either American- or British-style
voicing and response, or anywhere in between.
It enables users to go beyond the usual bass,
middle and treble. And to add even more to
the tonal palette, the Master menu serves up
Resonance and Presence controls for the overall
bass and treble response of the amp.
The DPR allows you to get cranked-up tone at
virtually any physical volume. It can reduce the
output down to 10 percent of the amp’s rated
power—in this case all the way down to 10
watts—or anywhere in between without sacrificing that tone. Blackstar designed this without
placing the power reduction between the output and speaker, so it’s not an attenuator. The
DPR’s primary function is to reduce the power
output without sacrificing the damping effect
or losing the harmonic content of the signal.
Also included is a MIDI in/thru interface port
and a speaker emulated out for a direct line to a
soundboard or recording console.
Each of the two channels, Clean and Overdrive,
has two modes, each with its own Gain and
Volume controls. The two modes of the Clean
channel are Bright and Warm, the target tones
being in the realm of boutique-ish Class-A
amps and the British workhorse rock tones,
respectively. The Overdrive channel has Crunch
and Super Crunch modes, which is somewhat
self-explanatory. However, there is a difference
in the sonic behavior between the two beyond
the higher gain of the latter. The four modes
are accessible by push-buttons on the amp, as
well as the provided footswitch.
The tube complement is four EL34 power tubes
(standard for a 100-watt amp), three ECC83
tubes in the preamp section, and one ECC82
that serves to goose the input stage of the
signal. According to Blackstar, “The ECC82
is actually used as a buffer to the input of the
power amplifier and allows the amp to accommodate a wider spread of power valve grades.”
For this review, the amp was accompanied by
a Blackstar Series One 412A slant cabinet that
houses four 60W Celestion Vintage 30 speakers.
Performance
Beginning with the Clean-channel Bright mode,
I plugged in a ’ 57 reissue Strat and went at
it. I wanted to see how close I could get to a
180 PREMIER GUITAR DECEMBER 2009
