Series One DPR Vs Attenuator

[Superchampable]

Ive read a few reviews of the DPR on the series one and was informed that it was junk and it compressed the crap out of the tone.. any one have any experience with this gimmicky fancy name for an attenuator? The series one is what really cought my attention and if I had the money.. expecially with the DPR and if its built into the head Id think it would work perfectly. So is it better than any attenuator on the market?

[Icarus]

The DPR not only reduces the wattage, it helps get different tone types from the amp. Up at 200 watts(i have the 200) you can get a more open feel to the gain, whereas down at lower settings it can help get a compressed tone and really saturate. Personally i hate attenuators, if you need one then buy a lower powered amp. Bedroom guitarists with 100w + amps whining that they cant get good tones is not only boring, its plain stupid.

I dont look at the DPR as a way to lower the volume, i use it as another way to get different sounds from my amp......... but i dont play my amp at home.

[Superchampable]

I guess. To me its an attenutor. But maybe you can get cool tones with the DPR set lower, but then you wouldnt have the wattage anymore and then you would need to mik up your halfstack? Sounds kind of silly to me.. its definitly a attenuator that probaly dosnt sound that good. Cant knock it till i try it though. Anyways all tube amps should have some kind of attenuation IMO

[Icarus]

I'm always mic'd so volume is never really an issue.
I dont think the DPR is as groundbreaking as they are making out but it will be more useful to some than it is to others.

[ffooxx]

Ahoj, can someone help me to understand(who owns the amp with DPR) how does the DPR behave as I can still not imagine, how that work. Is it similar to Egnater's reduction or does it really attenuate like say power brake or hot plate, but with better quality?
So if you turn the DPR all the way down(lets say 4.5W or 10W) does it reduce the volume(loudness) or it is just reconfigure the power amp so you can dial the master volume way down to achieve the saturated sound of EL34s at lower levels?

[Keith Johns]

The DPR works. I've got Hot Plates and the DPR is better by a long way. I think Hot Plates change the sound while the DPR really does keep the loudness and thump even at its lowest setting. The truth is getting an amp to sing is always gonna be too loud in a house, even a small amp gets loud, the Series One 100 is a loud amp but the DPR really does let you play at home at 2-3 in the morning and still play with a full driving tone and not get in too much trouble from your other half. I've had my amp for over a year and I'm really happy with it, the only thing I don't like, the bright mode has no bottom end, but a modded GE-7 from Pedalmods UK who makes them quiet has made the class A bright mode perfect for my teles, and the supper crunch mode is too loud, but with the help of a TC boost pedal has lifted the crunch mode and drives the amp to my liking. I have to say that the DPR works really well, we all play too loud and it lets you turn down but keep the tone and drive but not the loose the balls of a big sounding amp. I think the Series One is one of the best amp I've had, it's not as good at metal as my JMP-1 pre-amp but it's not meant to be. It is just as good as my Marshall and Fender amps and works better than a two amp set-up and the DPR just simply works simply. Anyone who says it's crap is talking crap, I'm surprised the DPR is not on all of the bigger Blackstar Amps.

[Superchampable]

Thanks for the good info. I heard alot of hearsay on other forums like harmony central, from owners that wernt to impressed with it. Then not to long ago I read a in detail statment from I think blackstar on how it works. Put short it supposedly dose something with the power before it hits the valves to make no tone loss compared to an attenuator damping the sound after it hits the power tubes.. I dont know ill have to try a 45, im curious now.

[Keith Johns]

what I should have said........your amp is set at 3 0clock it's rocking, power chords, you then hold a note the amp screams then feeds back, you wang your finger and the feedback keeps going. You have now being punched in the face and have been told to turn it down the volume or it's a divorce.....You turn the DPR full on, and you can still get feedback, you have to work at it a bit more but the thing is still feeding back and at home volumes.
I have an OCD pedal that I used at home to do the same sort of thing but it does change your tone and your talking £400 for a Hot Plate and a OCD pedal. It's a no brain er.
The only reason I can see me looking at another amp would be a Series Two

[OzStrat]

Our sound guy dropped by recently and I played him some stuff at low volume. Unexpectedly he took 3 steps back and said "Wow, that's the same tone you get at gigs!"

The DPR is a very lovely knob!

[RocknRolla81]

The DPR is the main reason I got a Series One 200. I traded a Peavey 6505+ and a Mesa/Boogie Tremoverb for it. I did this because at 120 watts my Peavey was extremely loud. The level I had to turn it up to to get the tone I wanted was just too much for the bars I play in. I got really tired of the sound guys cutting the balls off my amp. Although I'm having a little trouble finding MY sound in the Blackstar, the DPR allows me to maintain quality tone at almost any volume. It functions quite well and for me its a real innovation. Rather than lower my volume, I can back the wattage off a little if I need to be quieter. I grew up in bands that only used a PA for the singer and if I wasn't loud I wasnt' heard. As a semi-professional musician now dealing with mics and PAs and sound techs, I find that I really don't need this much amp but I'm stubborn and I can't seem to let go of the sound and feel I get from a half stack. The DPR allows me to use the same amp in any setting without losing tonal quality.