Blackstar Series One 100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head

Blackstar builds the Series One S-100 tube guitar amp head on the rock-solid foundation of the classic 100W EL34 power stage. The S1-100 amplifier sets new standards for clean and crunch tones: 2 channels and 4 footswitchable modes, complete with ISF, include the amazing Super Crunch for some of the biggest, crunchiest tones yet heard.

The S1-100's highly flexible 2-channel, 4-mode design boasts the unique DPR (Dynamic Power Reduction) and ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) controls. Although the S1-100 tube amp has a comprehensive control set, it's still simple and intuitive to use.

The S1-100 amp head's DPR control allows power to be reduced to 10W for studio and small venue work, while a series effects loop and MIDI switching further expand the professionally spec'd Blackstar tube amp's flexibility.

The ISF control is unique to Blackstar Amplification and represents a major step forward in tone shaping flexibility. The ISF control shifts the response of the 3-control tone stack between a US response at one end and at the other a UK response. Importantly, an infinite number of alternative tone choices lies in between that would otherwise be unavailable.

The amp head's Clean Channel sets the precedent for no-compromise design, by featuring Bright and Warm modes. Each mode actually reconfigures the pre-amplifier voicing and power amplifier damping to reproduce either ringing Class A performance in the Bright mode, or crunchy Class AB tones in the Warm setting.

Crunch mode covers the widest range of crunch gain levels possible, from on-the-edge cleans, to crushing modern rhythm tones. Super Crunch mode alters both gain levels and tonal shaping for maximum crunch flexibility. The overdrive modes are characterized by a tone that's high in gain, but lacks any of the detached top-end often found in many similar designs. The unique preamplifier and power amplifier shaping techniques also benefit the player in the way the overdrives clean up beautifully as the guitar volume is reduced. Even at the most extreme settings, the overdrive channels remain natural sounding.

Completing the tonal feature set is the DPR control, which reduces the power of the output stage from full power (100W) down to 10% (10W) and any power output in between. This means that the full tonal depth of the EL34 power amplifier can be enjoyed at any volume, making the S1-100 ideal for recording, smaller gigs and even home practice use. Working in conjunction with the power amplifier voltages, this method of power reduction suffers none of the loss in tone of other power reduction systems. The tonal flexibility of the S1-100 is augmented by full MIDI implementation of the main channel and mode switching functions. Used in conjunction with outboard gear such as multi-effects units, MIDI allows a whole new level of creative performance to be explored.