For

Owner’s Manual

Designed and Engineered byBlackstar Amplification UK

EnglishSystem Requirements

CabRig, available on all St. James series amps, is Blackstar’s next-generation DSPspeaker simulator and begets a fundamental shift in the accessibility of professional
recording and performing. CabRig awards budding musicians the ability to accesspreviously unattainable technology, that has long been reserved for professionalsound engineers and producers. Leading edge advancements in speaker cabinet
and microphone simulation will allow any player to achieve unparalleled quality intheir live sound and recorded music.

To run Architect, your computer should meet (or exceed) the following hardware
requirements:

Our new advanced algorithm can simulate a speaker, cabinet and room withincredible detail and with effectively zero latency, no phase mismatch and with
infinitely more flexibility than a snapshot IR. Blackstar’s unrelenting devotion toinnovation and evolution of design has led to ground-breaking developments inDSP engineering that bestow the ability to strip previously inextricable elementsof a recording into constituent parts. As these parts are segmented, they undergooptimisation to reduce their size, without a loss of audio quality. This allows full andfaultless speaker cabinet, microphone and room recreations to be loaded onto, andrun directly from, the amplifier.
Blackstar’s Architect software provides access and in-depth control over every
aspect of CabRig, granting a vast collection of gear that, in the real world, canonly be found in professional recording environments. Over 250 combinations ofcabinets and microphones allow the user to inhabit the role of a sound engineer andget outstanding results every time, without any of the hassle.
With the sheer quantity of sonic options available from CabRig, it can beoverwhelming. This handbook will simplify and explain the fundamentals of achieving
the sound in your head using CabRig. CabRig lets you fall down the rabbit hole only
as deep as you’d like to. Spend hours fine-tuning the perfect set-up or get a great
tone quick using the Blackstar Presets. The choice is yours.

2EnglishIntroduction

Windows requirements:
64 bit Microsoft® Windows® Operating SystemIntel® Pentium® 4 2GHz or faster (or equivalent)
1GB RAM or greater
1GB free HDD space
Minimum display resolution of 1366x768
Internet connection for accessing the Online Community
Apple® Mac requirements:Mac OS® X 10.9 or later
1GB RAM or greater
1GB free HDD space
Minimum display resolution of 1366x768
Internet connection for accessing the Online Community
Systems that do not meet the required specification may still be capable of running
Architect, but these systems will not be actively supported by Blackstar.

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User Interface – CabRig Layout
EnglishYou can also download the Architect manual here: www.blackstaramps.com/wpcontent/uploads/2021/06/architect-v1.0.0-handbook.pdf

Mic up your virtual cabinet with a choice of 6 industry standard microphones. Toggle
the axis of your microphone choice for a different tonal flavour. In general, OFF AXIS
will darken your tone and shift the mid-range character.
Microphone

Two Cab Channel Strips
1

2
1

3
1

57 - Dynamic

421 - Dynamic

467 - Condenser
414 - Condenser
121 - Ribbon
160 - Ribbon

The Cab Channel strips allow you to craft and control your virtual cabinets.
CabRig gives you the ability to run two separate cabinet, microphone and EQ
combinations at once.
1. Cabinet Selection

EnglishTo access edit CabRig settings you will need Blackstar’s Architect software.
Download Architect from the Blackstar website: www.blackstaramps.com/architect

1. Microphone Selection

Character
Bright and cutting, with controlled lows. A classic
microphone choice for recording guitar cabinets. Use
this microphone off-axis for a less sharp, mid-focussedtone. Typically paired with a ribbon microphone for abalanced sound.
Aggressive and tight. Use this microphone for an
upfront sound or off-axis for a more mellow sound.
Pair with a thicker microphone for a full bodied tone.
Balanced with an extended top end. Off-axis thismicrophone gives a similar tone to a ribbon, but with acontrolled low end.
Rich and bold. An extended top and bottom end
make this microphone pair perfectly with mid-focussed
microphones.
Thick and warm. A great choice for a vintage sound.
Pair with a brighter microphone for more cut in a mix.
Punchy mids with smooth highs. Use this microphone
for a more controlled ribbon sound. Pair with a brighter
microphone for more bite.

3. EQ

Select your virtual cabinet using the Cabinet Selection panel. Choose from
23 distinct speaker cabinets or select DI (Direct Injection) for the direct power
amp output.

Select your virtual cabinet using the Cabinet Selection panel. Choose from
23 distinct speaker cabinets or select DI (Direct Injection) for the direct power
amp output.
NOTE: For use with 3rd party IR (Impulse Response) loaders, select the DI option.

The channel EQs provide the ability to shape the tone of each of your cab and mic
combinations individually. The EQ can be bypassed for a quick comparison.

45 LOW-CUT: Controls a 2nd order high pass filter
English LOW MIDS: Controls a peak filter at 400Hz +/- 10dB

Continuously pan each of your cab and mic selections individually with the PAN
slider and balance the levels of your cabs using the channel faders. Use the solo
button to isolate one of your cabs, or the mute button to silence it.

English LOW: Controls a low shelf filter at 120Hz +/- 10dB

Mix Controls

 HIGH MIDS: Controls a peak filter at 1KHz +/- 10dB
 HIGH: Controls a high shelf filter at 4KHz +/- 10dB

CAB 1

CAB 2

MIC 1

MIC 1EQEQ

ROOM HI-CUT: Controls a 2nd order low pass filter
TIP: Choose one of the EQ Presets from the drop-down box (shown below) fora good place to start. This is like having your own sound engineer, getting you
to the sound you want quickly. The EQ Presets also provide a great platform forexperimentation should you wish to tweak your tone further.

LR

USB 3+4

MIXER

L

CAB 1 CAB 2

R
MASTER EQ

L

R

L+R

LR

USB 1+2

XLR

LINE OUTRoom12367

1. Room Selection
EnglishEnglish

Support your cab and mic selection with room ambience. Select the type of room
using the drop-down menu. Each room type has a “Damped” option; selecting thiswill result in a shorter and more refined sound.

CAB 1

CAB 2

CAB 1 MICCAB 2 MICMONO

STEREO

2. Width Selection

WIDE

Adjust the stereo width of your room choice using this drop-down. These are
emulations of three different micing techniques (shown below): mono mic, XY pairand spaced pair.
NOTE: The “Wide” setting will enhance and widen the stereo image, resulting inan expansive stereo experience.

SMALL ROOMMEDIUM ROOMLARGE ROOM

89MasterPatches and Presets

EnglishEnglish1. EQ

Click here to show/hide the patches library.
The Master EQ provide the ability to shape the overall tone of your CabRigconfiguration. The EQ can be bypassed for a quick comparison.
 LOW-CUT: Controls a 2nd order high pass filter
 LOW: Controls a low shelf filter at 120Hz +/- 10dB
 LOW MIDS: Controls a peak filter at 400Hz +/- 10dB
 HIGH MIDS: Controls a peak filter at 1KHz +/- 10dB
 HIGH: Controls a high shelf filter at 4KHz +/- 10dB
 HI-CUT: Controls a 2nd order low pass filter

TIP: Choose one of the EQ Presets from the drop-down box(shown here) for a good place to start. This is like having yourown sound engineer, getting you to the sound you want quickly.
The EQ Presets also provide a great platform for experimentation
should you wish to tweak your tone further.
Device (St. James) Patches
These are the patches that are currently loaded on your amplifier, selectable via theCabRig switch. Press the save button and “Save Patch to Device” to save yourcurrent CabRig settings to one of your “Device Patches”.
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Blackstar Presets
EnglishEnglishThe “Blackstar Presets” are a collection of patches created by the team atBlackstar. These presets come pre-installed when you install Blackstar Architect.
The Blackstar Presets are a great place to start if you are new to CabRig. Find apreset that suits your tone and adjust the CabRig settings from there.
Local Patches“Local Patches” are saved on your computer (Documents – Blackstar – Saved
Patches), instead of loaded onto your amp.
To save a local patch, click the save button and “Save Local Patch”. You can save
as many “Local Patches” as you like and these can be recalled at any point by
double clicking on the patch in the patches panel or right clicking on the patch andselecting “Load Patch”.
TIP: To organise your “Local Patches” in the patch panel go to “Documents –Blackstar – Saved Patches” and create your own folders. Simply drag your patches
into the folders you have created and your folders will appear in the patch panel.

Information about your amplifier MODEL, product RANGE and firmware VERSION
will be displayed here.

Settings Panel

Click the gear icon to open the settings panel.
Check the bias of your amplifier by clicking “Request Bias Info”.
Follow the instructions on screen to properly check the bias of your amplifier.
If your amplifier does not appear to be biased correctly, please visit the Blackstar
support page on our website: www.blackstaramps.com/support/
WARNING: Do not attempt to adjust the bias of your amplifier yourself.
There are no user serviceable parts in this amplifier. Refer all servicing to qualified
service personnel.

1213

EnglishUSB AUDIO Socket

CabRig SPEAKER SIMULATED OUTPUT - MONO BALANCED XLR
D.I. OUTPUT socket

This B-type USB socket is for the connection to a computer via a suitable lead(not supplied).

This output is for using an industry standard 3 pin XLR cable for connection toa recording device, stage box or mixing desk. This provides a low noise, low
impedance, quality connection for recording or live use.

This is for USB digital audio output and for connecting to the CabRig software.
Again, the signal for the digital audio will be derived from the actual speaker output
via the CabRig technology; providing a high-quality authentic mic’d cab response.
The actual sound is dependent on the CabRig switch setting and the more in
depth settings within the CabRig software.

The signal will be the actual speaker output signal (including power valves andoutput transformer), that has then been passed through the CabRig technology,
to apply the authentic feel and response of a ‘mic’d up guitar speaker cabinet in aroom’. The actual sound is dependent on the CabRig switch setting and the morein-depth settings within the CabRig software.
NOTE: The XLR output is a summed mono mix of the main stereo CabRig output.
CabRig is derived from post-power amp and so the Master control will affect thesignal level sent from this output.
STEREO JACK LINE OUT /PHONES socket
This ¼" TRS jack socket provides a stereo connection to connect to a recording
device or mixing desk. Always use a good quality TRS (stereo) type lead or TRS to2 x TS (mono) (see diagram below).
It can also connect to headphones therefore allowing silent practice with the STBYswitch set to ‘0’.
Again, the signal will be derived from the actual speaker output via the CabRigtechnology, providing a high quality authentic ‘mic’d cab’ response. The actual
sound is dependent on the CabRig switch setting and the more in-depth settings
within the CabRig software app.
NOTE: This output is the full stereo CabRig mix. CabRig is derived from postpower amp and so the Master control will affect the signal level sent fromthis output.
When using headphones, please take into consideration that loud sounds overextended periods can result in hearing damage, both short term, long term andpermanent. We spend a long time making our amps sound good, so we’d preferthat you have a long life of good hearing to be able to enjoy them.

Ring
Right channel
to mixer
TipScreen

14

EnglishAudio Outputs/Rear Panel

For USB audio, standard audio drivers are used to connect the amplifier to a PC,
Mac or other applicable recording device. No specific drivers are required. For aguide on low latency USB recording visit: www.blackstaramps.com/usbrecording
The audio output via USB from your amplifier directly to your computer is carriedacross four independent, simultaneous channels:
Channel 1: Stereo emulated, left channel – The fully processed guitar sound,with CabRig speaker cabinet emulation. Contains the left channel of the main
CabRig output.
Channel 2: Stereo emulated, right channel - The fully processed guitar sound,with CabRig speaker cabinet emulation. Contains the right channel of the main
CabRig output.
Channel 3: This channel contains the raw cab and mic selection of CAB 1 without
EQ, mix controls or room. The signal is taken straight from the microphone.
Channel 4: This channel contains the raw cab and mic selection of CAB 2 without
EQ, mix controls or room. The signal is taken straight from the microphone.
These audio streams can be recorded simultaneously within your chosen recording
software/DAW.
TIP: To record a truly Stereo-effected sound – which is faithfully recreated whenplaying back your recorded tracks on any stereo speakers – pan the stereo
emulated left channel 100% left in the mix, and pan the right channel 100% right.
TIP: To record a DI track alongside a single Cab with a stereo room, mute the DI
channel inside of CabRig. Use USB audio channels 1 and 2 for your processedcab and channel 3 or 4 for your DI signal.
NOTE: Always connect the amplifier via a main USB port; often found on the rearof the computer or side of the laptop. The amplifier will appear as an audio capturedevice within recording software.

Left channel
to mixer

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180402M-1
03/23
Blackstar Amplification Ltd, Beckett House, 14 Billing Road, Northampton, NN1 5AW, UK
For the latest information go to: www.blackstaramps.com

Whilst the information contained herein is correct at the time of publication, due to our policy of constant improvementand development, Blackstar Amplification Ltd reserves the right to alter specifications without prior notice.