“Living, breathing amplifier designs in their own right”: Blackstar breaks into the amp sim software market with St. James plugin

Last year, Blackstar debuted its St. James range of combos, heads and cabinets – an assortment of guitar amps that purported to be some of the lightest tube amps on Earth.

Now, Blackstar has announced its entry into the world of amp simulation software by transferring its portfolio of St. James sounds into a plugin format – which has been designed by the brains behind Blackstar’s Artisan, Series One and ID:Series ranges, as well as the original St. James line.

Two physical St. James amps – EL34 and 6L6 models – are available, and both those models have been relayed into the digital world, with the plugin promising to provide accurate representations of the lineup’s flagship units.

But, what’s more, Blackstar says it’s gone one step further, with the St. James plugin supposedly serving as “living, breathing amplifier designs in their own right”.

Developed through “decades” of amp research and design experience, the St. James plugin is all about giving players the “tone and feel of real valve amplifiers… that will set new standards in the studio/recording world”.

The words “tone” and “feel” are buzz words in the digital gear realm, with all modeling software having the fundamental aim of recreating genuine tube amp tones. With that in mind, it's worth noting the innovative St. James range excelled on all fronts, so early evidence would suggest Blackstar's first-ever plugin will follow suit.

As for what the St. James plugin entails, the two amp models are, naturally, available. That means the EL34 – designed for vintage cleans and chimey mid-gain tones – and the 6L6 – dialed in to deliver dynamic cleans and aggressive modern sounds – will form the foundation of the plugin.

The plugin also arrives with eight pre- and post-FX pedals, including a TS-style drive pedal, a chorus pedal, a delay pedal, a reverb pedal and more.

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Completing the package is an analog EQ emulation – loaded with four semi-parametric EQ bands, low and high cut controls, and individual band bypass – and, perhaps most notably, Blackstar’s CabRig software.

The CabRig technology has become a mainstay of Blackstar’s catalog, and can be found in the physical St. James amps, as well as a host of other units across its collections.

Here, nine Blackstar cabs, six microphone types, a configurable virtual room environment and “comprehensive mix controls” are all included.

It’s a serious statement of intent from the British brand, which seems to now be directing its attention to what will no doubt be the arena for the future of the guitar amp arms race between competing companies.

It’s becoming more evident with every passing year that digital software will form a major part of the tonal future for guitar players, and though Blackstar will be playing catch-up to the industry’s biggest hitters – Neural DSP and Line 6 especially – the St. James plugin looks to be an impressively strong start. 

What’s more, it looks to match its nearest competitors on affordability: the whole St. James plugin package is available now for $99.

Head over to Blackstar’s new dedicated plugin website for more information.