Blackstar Unveils Beam Mini, Powered by TONE3000

Today, UK-based amplifier manufacturer Blackstar Amplification announces the Beam Mini. Compact, weatherproof, and designed for electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and bass guitar, the Beam Mini delivers over 18 hours of battery life and unlocks endless tonal possibilities wherever you play.

The Beam Mini is the first amplifier in the world to natively support Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) through direct integration with TONE3000. This gives you instant access to the world’s largest library of Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) captures and impulse responses (IR’s), available directly on your Beam.

“Rather than building another walled garden, where Blackstar tones only work with Blackstar equipment, we decided to partner with TONE3000, the world’s largest community of tones,” said Alex Gee, Head of Product at Blackstar. “We’re philosophically aligned with TONE3000. It’s built on Neural Amp Modeler, a breakthrough open-source technology that works across an open ecosystem of plugins, pedals, and amps. This empowers musicians to pursue their art freely and take the sound in their head anywhere... and this is just the beginning.”

The Beam Mini will support Architecture 2 (A2), the next generation of Neural Amp Modeler. A2 is more efficient, enabling NAM to run natively on a wider range of devices, while further improving the feel and realism that have made NAM widely regarded as the most accurate modeling technology available.

All of this is made possible through direct integration with the TONE3000 API, which connects the Beam Mini to a constantly expanding universe of tones captured and shared by a global community of artists and musicians. You can get started with the API here: https://tone3000.com/api

"Our partnership with Blackstar accelerates our mission to make music creation universally accessible," says Stanley Vergilis, co-founder and CEO of TONE3000. Woodbury Shortridge, co-founder and CTO says, "Blackstar believes in an open ecosystem where you can take your tones anywhere. We're thrilled to partner just nine months after our launch."

Beyond the TONE3000 library, the Beam Mini comes pre-loaded with signature Blackstar tones, including twelve electric guitar amps (six Blackstar designs and six Ampton recreations of iconic amps), three bass amps, two acoustic voices, an acoustic simulator, and over 35 studio-grade effects.

All of these tones, from TONE3000's vast library to Blackstar's signature sounds, come alive through a sealed, acoustically-tuned cabinet with two 60mm drivers and dual passive bass radiators. Combined with Super Wide Stereo, it delivers immersive, room-filling sound. You'll be blown away when you hear it.

Hands-on control comes via the tactile SpeedDial and Light Beam Display for instant visual feedback, while the Beam app unlocks deeper editing. With IP66 weatherproofing, the Beam Mini is ready to go anywhere. A studio-quality headset mic input lets you record vocals and guitar together, and when it’s time to just listen, Hi-Fi Bluetooth audio turns the Beam Mini into a full-featured portable speaker.

Pre-orders for the Beam Mini begin in February, with an official launch in March 2026. This Blackstar × TONE3000 partnership is the first of many exciting announcements to come.

Stay tuned.