Hey Frank,
Thank you for contacting Blackstar.
The ID:Series amplifiers do have a specific noise floor on the Crunch and Super Crunch channels, which is due to the need for a noise suppression filter at lower signal levels.
To avoid unwanted noise such as hiss or static, there is a need for this noise suppression. We appreciate that rolling back the volume on your guitar, added with perhaps lower output pickups, may result in the signal level being just above/around the noise floor. This will cause the ‘dampening’ effect, but is simply due to the level of the signal.
We are constantly working on ways to improve our products, and the digital teams are looking at the possibility of an update for the ID:Series in the near future. If there any further updates to this, we will keep you posted.
Hope this helps.
Kind Regards,
Tom Craig
Product Specialist
Blackstar Amplification
Dist-X Distribution
Tel: +44 (0)1604 817817
www.blackstaramps.com