Blackstar Amped 3 Overview
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Blackstar Amped 3 Overview (and How to Use it) – A True, Real Amp in a Pedal for Metal Guitarists

ByJason Stallworth

As a metal guitarist, there’s nothing like plugging into a tube amp and cranking it. Whether it’s a combo amp, 2×12, or 4×12 cabinet, you get this dominating sense of power when you start riffing.

But it can get tiresome lugging around all that gear show after show. And it’s not always realistic to crank up a tube amp every time you want to record your guitar or just jam.

This is where software-based amp simulations, also called plug-ins, come in. Talk about convenience. Just plug your guitar into your interface and you’re set. But no matter how far this technology has come, there’s still that disconnect of the feel you get with a real amplifier.
One may argue there’s no difference in the sound in the mix; however, the feel, or lack of it, can impact your performance.

There are also the hardware amp simulation units like the Axe FX, Kemper, Line 6 Helix, and Neural DSP Quad Cortex, and the list continues to grow. The two main issues with these are the price and the complexity of working with them.

This brings us to a solution that may give you the qualities you love about tube amps and amp sims while eliminating (or at least greatly reducing) the things you DO NOT like about both:
The Blackstar Dept. 10 Amped 3.

In this post, I’m going to take through the following:

  • Amped 3 Features
  • Blackstar Architect & Cab Rig
  • Manual & Patch Mode Explained
  • How to Record Direct with the Amped 3
  • How to Use the Amped 3 with a Speaker Cabinet
  • My Thoughts on the Amped 3 & My Settings

Blackstar Amped 3 Features: What it Does and What You Get

First, unlike many amp pedals, the Blackstar Amped 3 is a real amplifier. And it actually gives you options for power/wattage. This adds convenience when you’re using it with a cabinet. We’re going to get into those details and the multiple ways you can use it later.

At a glance, you have three channels: clean, crunch, and overdrive. But you can also change the mode and use these channels to store your own presets. We’ll get to that soon, as well.

What’s really cool is that each channel has two options:

  • Clean: Warm/Bright
  • Crunch: Crunch/Super Crunch
  • Overdrive: OD1/OD2

So these three channels really turn into six channels.

Of course, you have your standard gain and EQ but with more tone-shaping options:

  • Gain
  • Bass
  • Middle
  • Treble
  • Presence
  • ISF

This ISF allows you to get that extra American or British sound, which is an awesome added feature to the Amped 3.
I tend to have my ISF setting leaning towards the British side of the fence.

The Amped 3 also comes equipped with reverb. And you have the option of a dark or light reverb.
I must add that I’m impressed with the Blackstar reverb.

You also get a boost that you can set as pre or post. The ‘pre’ acts as an overdrive pedal that you would typically place in front of a high-gain amp to tighten it up. It sounds great on the Crunch channel but does leave a little to be desired on the Overdrive channel (just my opinion…but I have a solution for that at the end). If you select ‘post’ for the boost, it increases the volume, which is great for solos.

The power amp section is where the Amped 3 really shines. You can choose different responses and power settings. Here’s what you get:

Response:

  • EL84
  • EL34
  • 6L6

Power:

  • 1 watt
  • 20 watts
  • 100 watts

Lastly, let’s take a look at the back of the Blackstar Amped 3. You have everything you’d expect to see on the back of any amplifier with some additional options that make this pedal even more versatile.

You have your input and output along with send and return connections for an effects loop. This allows you to have pedals such as a noise gate and overdrive in front of the amp (going into the input). And you can have your time-based effects like delay running through your effects loop.

An extremely cool feature is the two Blackstar HI POT power outputs. This can simply your rig eliminating the need for an additional power source for those pedals.
I share what pedals I’m using with the Amped 3 at the end of this post.

You can also use the Amped 3 with a cabinet running out from the Amped 3 speaker outputs (there’s an option for 8 or 16 ohms). And this is where the choice of wattage comes in handy.
BTW, playing the Amped 3 through a real speaker cabinet at 20 watts is perfect for recording in small rooms and studios.

Another highlight of the Blackstar Amped 3 is the Cab Rig feature. This is where you can get the best of both worlds by combining hardware and software. We’ll get into how to use this later.

You also have connections for USB if you want to record direct (the Amped 3 acts as its own interface), line out (which can go into an interface), and MIDI capability.

Here’s a video on my YouTube channel that covers the specs and how to use the Blackstar Amped 3:

***If you’re ready to get the Blackstar Amped 3 after reading this, please consider going through my Sweetwater affiliate link here (I get a little reward for this and that helps support what I do, which is greatly appreciated): BLACKSTAR DEPT 10 AMPED 3

Blackstar Architect & Cab Rig: Creating and Saving Tones

There are a few steps you’ll want to take to get the Blackstar Architect software:

  • Create your profile on the Blackstar website (you can register your product here as well): https://portal.blackstaramps.com/uk
  • Download the Blackstar Architect software from the Blackstar website (on this page, search for ‘Blackstar Architect’): https://portal.blackstaramps.com/uk/ProductDownload/All
  • Use the USB cable that came with your Amped 3 to connect your Amped 3 to your computer (the connection for this is on the back of the Amped 3 to the left of where it says ‘Cab Rig Outputs’)
  • Next, you’ll plug in your guitar to the Amped 3 input on the back
  • Once your software is installed and your Amped 3 is connected to your computer, go into your DAW and select the Amped 3 as your interface.

TIP: If you’re using another interface (with your studio monitors connected), you’ll want to leave your play device as that interface and select the Amped 3 for just your recording device.
You can also run a cable from the Amped 3 line-out into your interface and keep both playback and recording device settings as-is with your current interface. There is another feature to using the Amped 3 as an interface and I’ll cover that in detail below.