Blackstar Launches Free Verified Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) Captures with TONE3000
Official Blackstar NAM captures of the Artisan Series, St. James 100, Series One 100 MK II, TV-10 series and more are now free on TONE3000.
Today, Blackstar Amplification unveils a Verified Profile on TONE3000, featuring official Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) captures of Blackstar's most iconic analog gear. These captures cover amp heads, full rigs, and guitar pedals from across Artisan, St. James, Series One MK II, TV-10 and more. Every capture launched today is free for the entire TONE3000 community to enjoy.
To create these verified captures, Blackstar shipped a mountain of amps and cabs from their Northampton, England HQ to the TONE3000 New York City studio at Dimension70. Alex Gee, Head of Products at Blackstar, flew over to work with TONE3000 co-founders to painstakingly create each NAM capture. Along the way, Alex conducted blind playing tests against the original gear to verify that the feel and dynamic response of each capture exactly matched the real thing.
Here's a rundown of just some of the tones:
Blackstar Series One 100 MK II
The amp that launched alongside Blackstar back in 2007, refined with 30+ circuit revisions. Six voices across four channels, from shimmering cleans to crushingly tight modern metal. Blackstar’s Series One has been embraced over the years by the likes of Ihsahn (Emperor), Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Neal Schon (Journey) and Gus G. (Ozzy Osbourne / Firewind) to name but a few.
Blackstar Artisan 100
Designed by Blackstar’s founders (ex-Marshall) and launched in 2007, this 100 Watt EL34 driven Class A/B powerhouse comes with a 4-way Voice control that walks you from Bassman and Twin territory through to '60s and '70s Plexi crunch. Richie Sambora made it a cornerstone of his rig in 2012, Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü calls it "the best amp I've ever played," and Uli Jon Roth of the Scorpions runs one alongside his vintage Marshall Super Lead Tremolo.
Blackstar Artisan 30
Four EL84s in Class A, with that chimey AC30-meets-Plexi voicing. James Williamson of Iggy and The Stooges switched to the Artisan 30H for live use and called it "fantastic" the moment he fired it up. Billy F. Gibbons (ZZ Top), Gaz Coombes (Supergrass), James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers), and Steve Cradock (Paul Weller's longtime guitarist) have all relied on the Artisan 30 platform.
Blackstar St. James 100
A modern four-channel workhorse built on Blackstar's patented St. James reactive load design, with a dual power-tube configuration that pairs EL34 and 6L6 valves so you can flip between British aggression and American clarity. Championed by John Browne (Monuments / Flux Conduct), and the same platform behind signature models for Toby Lee.
Blackstar TV-10 AH
The American voicing of the TV-10 series. A single-ended 6L6, Class A design that nails glassy vintage cleans through to mid-gain crunch in a compact, studio-ready package.
Blackstar TV-10 BH
The British counterpart to the TV-10 AH, powered by an EL34 for warm low end and the punchy, mid-forward bite that defines classic British rock, punk, and indie tones.
"These are amplifiers that most players will never have the opportunity to plug into. Working with TONE3000, we’ve captured them faithfully and put them in the hands of anyone who wants them. Great tone should be accessible to everyone." – Alex Gee, Head of Products at Blackstar
See the full library of tones at the Blackstar Verified Profile.
Captured with Neural Amp Modeler (NAM)
These neural models were created with the open source Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) modeling technology, widely considered the most accurate amp modeling technology in the world.
These Blackstar tones don't just work on Blackstar devices. Just like any NAM capture, these Blackstar tones work on all NAM compatible hardware and software, including a rapidly growing ecosystem of plugins, multi-fx pedals, amps and more. Blackstar has recently joined this community with their launch of the Beam Mini, the world's first mini amp to natively support Neural Amp Modeler, powered by the TONE3000 API.
We're very grateful to have met Alex and the rest of the Blackstar team at the beginning of this year. This is just one of many announcements in our partnership. Stay tuned!
– Staas and Woody
