BluGuitar Amp1 - Iridium vs Mercury Edition

In this video, Paul Drew and James Ivey compare the BluGuitar Apm1 Iridium Edition with The BluGuitar Amp1 Mercury Edition.
The Studio Rats are core band members Paul Drew on guitar/production/mixing, drummer James Ivey and Dan Hawkins on bass. They collaborate with singers and musicians to produce radio-ready songs.
Mercury Edition
The AMP1 Mercury Edition has enjoyed growing popularity since its release, and the global user community around professional guitarists such as Jennifer Batten, Uli Jon Roth, Kat Dyson and Ian Crichton is constantly growing. The revolutionary Nanotube technology, which is up to par with traditional boutique tube amps in terms of authentic sound and real feel, has set a new standard for guitar amps: a guitar amp that meets the demands of a professional guitarist on stage and in the studio, yet is small and light enough to be carried around in the glove compartment or gig bag.
Iridium Edition
This unique high-gain amp in a pedal-format delivers tight, characterful sounds, and it is the perfect combination of real tube tone and 100 watts of power in an unrivaled compact and lightweight format. In cooperation with experienced, international metal guitarists, BluGuitar founder and professional guitarist Thomas Blug has developed this amp from the ground up, and, unlike the acclaimed AMP1 Mercury Edition, he voiced the AMP1 Iridium Edition uncompromisingly towards modern metal.

[@ManuelGonzalez-tv2ob]

I was hesitating between them until a used Mercury at a very convinient price appeared in front of me. Man, this thing is unbelievable, top notch. Hands down, the best piece of gear I've had. Thomas Blug is a genius.

[@BluGuitar]

😂 greetings 🖖 Thomas

[@Mywheel]

I met Thomas a several time! He‘s a real Gentleman and a total sound nerd. Can‘t wait for the ampX. - good comparison, thank you

[@nedim_guitar]

Oh man, I missed the last two live podcasts, didn't get around to watching them yet. I'm interested in Blug, so I gotta watch that one ASAP! His AmpX will be HUGE!

[@blakjack3053]

In my experience, with regards to practical application, I only use real tube amps on stage and the digital stuff; IR, plug-ins processing software and whatnot only in the studio. I have used digital modeling amps and floor processors live but they always left me wanting. Conversely I've used tube amps in the studio with similarly unsatisfactory results, so I settled on only tube amps for live and digital processing for studio. It's just easier that way.. it's what works for me.

[@dracul74]

Nice video. Would love a part 2 where you made a track with both so we could hear in a mix.

[@sptlj7676]

Great review as always!

[@javyclubsoda]

Awesome PRS with P90s I Want It

[@poronkusema1162]

Your shirts match your Amp1 preferences… Great comparison, I am happy with the mercury but I like the Iridium very much too

[@josephrusso7069]

OMG! Amazing!. I just discovered this unit today. I wish I had discovered this unit 4 months ago when I blew 6k on 2 new tube amps! I'm always the late one to the party. Uhhhh!!!

[@edgohery]

Hi guy’s, I’m looking for some advice about which amp1 to get. Mercury vs Iridium. I need a clean, crunch and lead sound. I mostly play anything from AC/DC to Whitesnake. John Sykes, Doug Aldrich type sound. I’m currently using a Marshall JVM 410H and 4x12 cab. Which edition would you recommend would be most suitable for what I’m trying to achieve. I was blown away by the sound of both the ME & IE. Awesome videos guy’s. Very informative and helpful. Looking forward to watching lots more from your channel.

[@prometheusrising8767]

I have the iridium for 2 months and is easily the best in quality and innovation and best as value for money equipment I ever had as it easily is in the same league sonically with much more expensive amps. I guess is the same for the mercury edition , is just different flavor of the same idea.

[@BluGuitar]

Thank you so much 😊! I only can agree…. ;-)

[@jancreighton]

useful comparrison - thanks - on classic drive channel iridium is probably smoother, more even, a littler cooler (colder) and a littler more crisp and focussed. Depends on the mix and on the context, what will work better - both sound awesome - I'd be very happy with either and I have the ME

[@liys540]

I love both of them , it depend on how you use it

[@SlickCat]

I have the Mercury. Its amazing, I can go from beautiful cleans to Marshall heaven. I never expected a "pedalboard" amp to sound so good. Its a REAL amp for sure. If I had any criticism it would be that the reverb is weak, and those side knobs are fragile.

[@jerrymckenzie1858]

The BluGuitar amps sound really good!

[@BluGuitar]

Thank you 🙏

[@VMV8622]

On many review it sounds killer but there's a lot of hum 😬😬😬 did you forget to put the gate on? Or maybe on soft mode? Great playing as per usual 😍

[@steviesedge]

I have the silver edition :) these amps are the dogs danglies!

[@jonni1000rr]

That Iridium is sounding Gnarly 🤘🏻 Looks like I'll have to get my ass to the guitarshop and try on 😅

[@stevegough9798]

I'm guessing you guys are plugged into a real speaker cab? would he handy to know?. Well done, nice vid as always........

[@VictorEMusique]

I just got a CABZEUS cabinet simulator - try the Amp1 with that - turn it into a stereo unit :)

[@Brutuscomedy]

I feel like these cut through better than most analog amp sim pedals. I wonder how much the lil power tube has to do with that.

[@paultaylor2968]

I mentioned on your live q and a a few weeks ago the hotone britwind pedal floor amp. I have had time to use and test it. Amazing a cheaper version of the blug amp one. You should get one, loud enough to do everything you want pedal size. Great sound too.

[@TheStudioRats]

Hi Paul. If they sent one I’d be happy to look at it for review

[@colinrobertson4569]

Mercury for me 🤘

[@mcadder]

Why is the REC OUT on the AMP1 a stereo jack? Should I connect a stereo tele cable and somehow split it into two inputs on my sound card??

[@zeppo20]

Best amp nowdays.

[@Only4YGuitars]

Awesome demo Paul. I was already convinced to go for the Mercury (even if i own a FM3, but for different purposes for me). Could you please confirm the signal chain (cab loader, IR, ..) as it is obviously a big part of your very good sound.

[@notalkguitarampplug-insrev784]

He uses a torpedo. Wait for the AmpX

[@Only4YGuitars]

@@notalkguitarampplug-insrev784 Thx a lot for your feedback. Amp X will be far too expensive for me !

[@JM-eq3sx]

What cabinet are you running through?

[@TheActressAndBishop]

Very interesting - would love to know what you were doing to record these? Built in rec-out? LoadBox+IR .. and also what the settings were on the side - the tweak controls? Just getting to know my Mercury and it's very interesting to hear this ..

[@minorharmonicscale]

98% certain that he’s going speaker out to his torpedo studio, two cabs miced up ( there is a video about the mics/cabs)

[@donaldrobidoux4862]

What is your recording chain?

[@Maysha6bona]

IR used for both devices?

[@Roryfan1000]

Had both, both great. Had to choose one to sell, but it's fine, I think the difference between the two is down to EQ, they sound different, the ME sounds "fatter" and suits Strats (surprise) and the IE sounds "tighter" and works better for humbuckers. IMO.

[@dennispost7903]

Being mostly a strat guy, this was excatly the info I was looking for. Mercury it is:) cheers!

[@crawltochina]

Which did you choose and why?

[@dennispost7903]

@@crawltochina the Mercury. Works perfect for my needs:)

[@stormblessed1794]

Since you have demonstrated both BOSS GT-1000 and Amp 1... If you had to choose between the GT-1000 and Amp 1 (with a few key analog pedals like a delay, chorus, reverb, etc. on the board) for practice/recording/small gigs, would you have a strong preference?

[@TheStudioRats]

They’re both great but as you said gigs I’d choose the amp 1

[@stormblessed1794]

@@TheStudioRats Thank you! Greatly appreciate your advice!

[@officialpoa3171]

*In your professional opinion; the AMP-1 Mercury and Iridium, do they sound better running them direct into an IR, like TWO-Notes CAB or when they are Loaded Down through an Reactive-Load before the I.R.; like what is the actual difference??*

[@joelsmith4816]

Hello sir. Subscriber here.. Is this bluguitar iridium/mercury as AWESOME as it seems on videos? Please comment. Should I send back the Blackstar ht20 mk2 and get this. Does it feel great under the fingers. Heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllpppp!!!!

[@zoomzoom3950]

Looking forward to seeing the AMP X. While having a pedalboard 100W amp is nice, I don't really need it. My small, simple, direct rig is a Tech21 PSA 2.0 + Mooer Cab X2. If I need effects, I can run the PSA in the loop of my HX-Effects which also loads IRs, and can control the PSA via MIDI. Cheers!

[@sheedog7242]

I play a Fender DR with 5 pedals (Tube S, Timmy, Tumnus, MXR 300 Reverb, and MXR Carbon C). I'm trying to see how this piece of gear would fit in my world. Any recording I do is done by band members so I wouldn't use this as a recording device. So lets say I own this and I take it to a gig I'm still going to need a cabinet unless I'm running front of house. I guess I could get rid of my pedal board but outside of that I'm having a hard time figuring out how in my circumstance I could use this. Not being negative just truly trying to see the need for me.

[@iamkevinmccarthy]

It can replace your head unit and nose gate (if you use one). It's that simple. You can use it live, in studio, or just practicing. If playing without a cab, you will need a speaker, headphones, or an audio interface. Literally the most versatile and compact head unit out there.

[@tman6495]

Through a headset (Bose) Mercury is a bit thinner, more top end, notes are not as defined when chording.....Iridium Fuller sound, tight bottom end, chording defined and yes not as "saggy" in the soloing.

[@jasonsapp792]

I know this is a product spotlight on the Amp1 but the difference between the two is like the EVH 5150 iii 6l6 OG 50w vs the EVH 5150 iii Stealth 50w ...both equally good but slightly different...I own an Iridium, gonna have to get a Mercury now!!🤣😂🤣😭

[@mickrose1431]

Play a Silver Edition for years and got an Iridium recently, complement each other well. Meanwhile I use SE for single coil sounds and IE unchains my humbuckers

[@BluGuitar]

That’s how I designed the units…;-)

[@roundy72]

@@BluGuitar thanks for the insight SIR!!!!! (PS you are a living legend)

[@Bill83C]

Running through a cab does it really compare to a standard valve amp?

[@michaeltaylors2456]

Yes, to be fair however , it’s about 95 percent there, but you get this95 percent at 1/4 the cost and 1/10 the weight and size of the “ real valve amp “ that it’s based on; Marshall Plexi/ JCM / JVM I believe, yet you have more reliable and functional form. Did I mention a verb and effective noise gate ?

[@frankgreco]

@@michaeltaylors2456 I think you hit it on the head. To my ears, it doesn't sound like a good valve amp, but it's pretty darn close. For the use case of the traveling musician, it's a decent tradeoff. But there are a lot of amp-in-a-box products these days. It'd be useful to do a comparison of the leading units.

[@crissabater7698]

I totally agree with Paul. I have the Mercury edition and it's the best amp I have ever had. Everything about it just oozes class. Four amps in one is not bad either! Mr. Blug is a genius. Looking forward to his new Amp X edition hopefully next year. I just run the Amp 1 into my Torpedo captor and use good quality Impulse responses and the Amp1 takes pedals very well.:-)

[@cchavez248]

I just hope it doesn't come with a significanly steeper price. ....!

[@TheMemagNeman]

@@cchavez248 Well AmpX will certainly be double the price of Mercury/Iridium, as it was already claimed on Academy of Tone streams (Blug channel).

[@cchavez248]

@@TheMemagNeman pretty close to $2k...... Ummmm.... Yikes

[@TheMemagNeman]

@@cchavez248 We'll see the pricing next year. Keep in mind that AmpX is the next step and it should be able to mirror crazy number of amps. Plus effects, dynamic IR, stereo out, etc. It's supposed to be a real powerhouse of an amp. I am pleased with Mercury but I will dream of ampx.

[@Fox-86]

@@cchavez248 hmm yeah... Plus a cab that goes with it too

[@gitarspan]

You tested PRS MT15 and these Bluguitar AMP1s. Which is better? More natural I mean.

[@TheStudioRats]

I like the amp 1

[@gitarspan]

@@TheStudioRats And what if I ask this same question under the PRS Mt15 video? 🙂

[@Stereostupid]

I enjoy the plexi jcm style better especially a strat player and p90 the mercury is way better for the hendrix beck srv Clapton Richard's type sounds even Brian may plus classic channel with humbcker you get acdc Gary Moore everything this amp is actually unbelievable

[@esmoroglu]

👏🏻The video sounds like there is so much power amp sag to all tones. Is it so in the room?👋🏼

[@80shairmetalband]

I own both. Don't stress out on this is classic and this one metal. Not true. Both are very similar tones. Both do great classic rock and classic metal. Iridium can do more modern metal. Mercury is easier get plexi tones.

[@RBHuckleberry1]

I own both as well. I play Strats and Teles through the Iridium all the time.

[@ParanormalResponse]

7:07

[@stepanvarlamov7461]

I was sold a defective Iridium. And now in the service they say "send to us Germany for repairs and pay 150 euros for the repair". What do I have to pay for and why? BluGuitar is the my worst experience ever. In fact, none of them will help if you have a problem.

[@EnricoDellAquila]

To me at first listening these amps alone the black one is more catchy, but I think that in a real world use the silver one fits better in the mix with other instruments.

[@dennispost7903]

Was thinking excactly the same😊

[@timstudio1]

It seems that there are fewer unbiased videos that would give anything negative to say about a product. I personally would like to see something negative.

[@TheStudioRats]

I’ve never been paid by BluGuitar to make a video. Maybe, instead of taking a negative look at things you should look at the positive.

[@timstudio1]

@@TheStudioRats I am glad to know of an unbiased opinion, I just see so many positives out there, which is good, but I start to think that so much money is being made nowadays on the tube. I apologize. I need to keep my arsholeisms to myself. On a great positive, you have some of the best sounding videos I've ever seen.

[@MrBones105]

Okay I can give you some negatives if you want em haha. I own one (iridium edition) and here are my gripes. The biggest one is that the eq is shared between the channels, which isn’t uncommon, but I often find that getting the eq right for one of the channels means that the eq isn’t really what you’d want for the other. Second, I’ve never been able to get the direct out to sound good. People say it’s good but I have no clue what they’re smoking. Third, at low volumes, it sounds kind of solid state-y, but that goes away when you turn it up. Otherwise it’s a pretty sick piece of gear. Almost all the positives you commonly hear are true, but it’s also true that no piece of gear is truly perfect.

[@nacuda9]

Remember you guys tested matched settings. Nothing dialed into.

[@TheStudioRats]

Sorry I don’t understand

[@joejohnson8966]

7:00 lol

[@dvdpz89]

7:08 best part 🤣 “that is the most feminine sneeze”

[@timstudio1]

KZbin=salesman's paradise

[@raf5.132]

My beef with these is that they are always trying to emulate something instead of doing their own sound. It’s like their great amp designers are still “playing covers”.

[@bobboitt3126]

I have the Mercury, depending how you set it you can mimic a lot of amps. I can get it to match my Fender Princeton reverb clean and shimmery or my Marshall Plexi just by the tone and gain settings. The cab you play through matters also. Anything from a 1x10" to 4x12" you really have to try this amp it's crazy good and I was a doubter at first.

[@bradpeel]

The sounds are always "inspired" by previous amps, but with this amp you can dial in YOUR sound. That is the important thing. Choose the model: Iridium or Mercury. Pick the channel (Clean, Vintage, Classic, or Modern) as the best starting point and turn the knobs. Find what YOU want it to sound like!

[@rockybalboa2526]

: / ALLOW ME TO SHED SOME LIGHT HERE..... THE IRIDIUM IS VERY STERILE! ( JUST LIKE ALL METAL MUSIC! ) SO ITS MADE FOR STERILE SOUNDS! THE MERCURY HAS BODY, WARMTH, FEELING, AND IS MORE MUSICAL AND NATURAL SOUNDING ( FOR ALL OF US NON STERILE MUSICIANS ) NO OFFENSE TO ANYONE... IT IS WHAT IT IS......

[@nuendo2496]

PRS ? Meh.

[@TheStudioRats]

The video is about BluGuitar products not the guitar.

[@lightningstrikes7314]

Overpriced and pointless. For home recording Neural DSP, Nembrini etc. will do the job better and at a fraction of the price. For live/silent stage, Helix or Kemper depending on your budget.

[@lukather1]

Correct - add cabs add a reverb pedal delay pedal price is totally prohibitive ! If it was considerable cheaper I’d have one !

[@dennispost7903]

For recording I agree it’s less important, but whem was the last time you put a powered Kemper or a Fractal + a power amp in your backpack for a fly in gig? These floor amps are far from pointless if you’re a touring guitarsist

[@lukather1]

@@dennispost7903 Fm3 or FM9 everything you need ! Job done all the amps effects cabs routing- direct to front of house Blu you need pedals reverb delay leads tuner - ! 🤪😎🎸 I have Fm3 and atomic powered monitor ! Job done

[@dennispost7903]

I have a Headrush gigboard that does that perfectly well, but to me (and a whole lot others) there’s no worse feeling than gigging with the direct to FOH/sound in monitor/in-ear. These amps fit a backpack and the tuner can probably squeeze in there too with a little effort

[@truthfactreality6814]

@@dennispost7903 I use a quad cortex. I record with it too. But given the choice I hook it up to my real amps an captor x. The feel is much better with real amps. I owned both silver and Mercury amp 1’s and when I gigged with them it was truly awesome! I’m just about to pull the trigger on iridium edition I think