Is the BluGuitar Amp 1 Any Good? An HONEST Review

[@MrJonguess]

Haters are going to hate. I bought the Mercury edition. The amp is phenomenal. For a tube not tube or nano tube in this case. I love it and it is exactly as advertised. Versatile insanely portable and worth every penny.

[@asarcadyn2414]

When I bought a Line 6 Helix I spent 5 solid days (I’m retired) trying get pleasing sounds. No music came out. I was playing music the second I plugged in to the Amp1. Life’s too short for modellers for me.

[@rgbplumbinghilton]

A year on and I still love mine. It sits perfectly along side some great amps on stage and sounds as good as any of them live. It is the best modern amp I have bought in the last 10 years!

[@joelsmith4816]

You got that right. I'm so attracted to that damn little box. It's got some magic inside. Blug amp 1 Mercury!!!

[@martijn_yt]

I have the Silver Edition, and feel exactly the same. It’s basically almost impossible to get a bad sound :)

[@joelsmith4816]

With the knobs on the side for tone and volume. The tones are endless. Plus using the volume on the guitar you get amazing tones. Fucking LOVE my Mercury Amp 1

[@truthfactreality6814]

I have the amp 1 iridium edition and it’s replaced my Marshall jvm410h and silver jubilee. I use mine in conjunction with the quad cortex for effects and midi switching. It’s absolutely epic sounding ! So many people think this is a gimmick pedal. No. It’s an actual amp with bloody awesome tones !! And it’s 1kg ! AMP X HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED !

[@stevethebeeline44]

Yeah I've had the Mercury Edition of AMP1 for a few years now, just got the Iridium Edition in the 'Testing Weeks' from Bluguitar. I'll be holding onto the Iridium edition! Awesome tones and definitely not just for metal. Very versatile amp. The weight, features and no need for a load box are a big selling points. I run mine into the HX Stomp for cabs and FX, amazing set up with such a small footprint.

[@spharr]

I have one. This is a nice demo of what tones you can get with relatively minimal tweaking. The side controls tend to be something one sets up for your preferred voicings and then often remain untouched. The nanotube is in the power amp section, so the fact you had main master on high (7?) meant you were getting a nice bit of the tone that the nanotube adds when it gets pushed. (If you had a speaker plugged in with no soak that would have been incredibly loud!) It also has MIDI capability that opens up another level of utility, enabling you to switch channels. have different gains, boost and reverb settings, engage a built in power soak, have a 2nd master volume, and recall preset configurations, all of which are useful for covers or tribute band stuff. Used by Jennifer Batten, Ian Crichton (Saga) Jude Gold (Jefferson Starship) among others. The fact that you can take this in your carry on luggage is another big plus.

[@pedrog7663]

Really like your videos, so glad to see you checking out the Amp1! Got one about a month ago after flirting with it for a while and am pretty impressed with how it sounds. I think it nails the basics, you get beautiful cleans as well as the Marshall-y dirt with very responsive tone shaping options as well as an fx loop that allows you to run 4CM. And the ability to go direct. Would love to see you try to pair the Amp1 with the HX stomp!

[@saundiesSixSixSix]

Great video John! Could you please do another video with pairing the Amp1 & your HX Stomp? Would be interesting to hear how the Amp1 would help the real amp feel of the Stomp 👍🏼

[@thelolguy007]

I’ve been gigging mine now for a few months and it’s great. It’s like it’s always been there 😎

[@timhopkins3810]

I was considering this recently - and may still go that way. Thomas Blug is great at voicing his amps and has some amazing ideas - his amp x is essentially an analog helix

[@Bushprowler]

>his amp x is essentially an analog helix nope not in the slightest.

[@SteveRayMorse]

I owned the first edition of AMP1. Is pretty amazing what it can do considering the size and even price. Unfortunally I had to sell it but I would love to put my hands in a Mercury Edition. It could easily be my main/only option for a "real" amp.

[@bigjohnsgmail]

Oh man I got the Mercury and iridium and holy freaking smokes are they loud and versatile

[@timothy5974]

Here we go now. So this is definitely a easier option than menu diving. A much better comparison to the simplicity of the Original POD control.

[@aristocaster]

It is great amp, and it works like a dream to the guitars volume knob

[@sambroxguitar]

You know you can put it in preset mode, too, right? So each switch calls up one of three presets, so you could have Clean, Vintage, then Classic on different switches. With the Remote, you can store volume, gain, power soak etc

[@TheRisingoftheLights]

I recently went to use my carefully set up pedalboard, based on the HX Stomp, a Plethora, and a few select drive pedals live for the first time. Plugged in and my homemade presets sounded awful. Didn’t have time to tweak it so grabbed my friends AMP1 and in seconds had a sound that was exactly what I needed for the song I was doing.

[@hemmelight]

Not sure what's happening with the noise on the boost - I have a Mercury Edition and there's no noise at all, boost or not. In any case, I love my Amp1. Best amp I've ever had. To anyone curious, if your aim is to use this primarily with the direct / headphone out, don't bother. It's easily the weakest part of the unit and not very good. For playing as a normal amplifier into a real cab, it's friggin great. It's a little Marshall miracle in a box. I wanted a Marshall that could be played at ALL volumes and this delivers. It feels very direct and dynamic, like you'd expect from a proper amp.

[@tonystartup3817]

Think it's microphonic feedback from the pickups? I didn't get any noise with this unit with the modern channel and boost on full myself - but then I onlyn tend to have the master on 2 max rather than 7 or 8!!

[@hemmelight]

@@tonystartup3817 Good shout, that's probably it. I guess he's sitting pretty close to the unit itself, too. I normally play mine between 1 and 2 (3 when I had a house to play loud in). 😆

[@cobowe]

I know some “professional “ guitarists are touring with these (hidden behind their plexis) coz they’re reliable and consistant… thru 2x12 or 4x12’s is how I’ve heard them and it’s got “that tone”

[@officialpoa3171]

*You can set the EQ how ever you choose for any channel - just save PRESETS and recall via midi!*

[@MS-Patriot2]

I have a Mercury edition. If I read the manual correctly, the EQ is NOT saved with the preset. It certainly doesn’t seem to do so with my hardware. Please advise if I am wrong.

[@officialpoa3171]

WHAT?? REALLY?...@@MS-Patriot2

[@landon.cunningham]

Yeah not sure which you had but there is an original silver - then a newer Mercury Edition with improvements. After that iridium - the clean and reverb are different and it's more high gain or boogie feeling. Just a tip - the controls on the side you should use first - then fine tune with the ones on top depending on the room. Also - you can boot up the unit in different modes - I like half gain mode - I feel it's more great usable range for a lower gain player. There's also a half power mode that allows you to drive the power amp harder indoors. All in all a lot in the box. Take time with it - the first time I looked at it I missed a lot. If it's good enough for Euge Valovirta that says a lot.

[@johnnathancordy]

It's an underrated little thing in my opinion - seems like this would work for loads of people?

[@landon.cunningham]

@@johnnathancordy it does. Lots have converted. Lots moved back from digital camps to get great usable tone in a simple package that can be used indoors or at a stadium and get back to playing rather than endlessly tweaking. Thomas is really in to something here. Reach out to him - he's great - I'm sure he'll send you everything he makes you want to check out and test.

[@landon.cunningham]

Thank about it too - it's a 100 watt tube amp with an effects return. You could run helix right into the return minus your cab modeling and you have a powered Helix and then still a great simple amp when used separately. Think about how much all the other power amps are like Seymour Duncan and so forth - and they can't be used alone. Lots of possibilities!

[@KenithCopeland]

yep, i love my amp1 while i do agree that the contour controls on the side are a bit fiddly, i've had my amp1 for a couple years now and have touched them maybe twice, so not that much of a concern

[@-jk-2580]

Thanks for the demo and great playing as always! However, I heard the same harsh and grainy top end there on high gain tones as with other videos. I guess that’s feature.

[@chrisdannunzio_]

I got the Mercury Edition with the HX Effects as a pedalboard with the 4 cable metod and its perfect!

[@aristocaster]

Damn, i have same pedalboard 😀

[@andyfenton1510]

Me too

[@JeremyBennett32]

Got my AMP 1 when my Helix LT started freezing in battle with no instant remedy. I don't regret going 'back in time' to tube amp and pedals though.

[@SerkanBerksoy]

I got mine second hand for 150-200 Euros. Never looked back. My go to amp with my 2x12 cab at home. Great for clean tones also a good pedal platform. Don't care what tube it is, just put a preamp pedal and connect to return, you got everything you need.

[@patrickstefurak3124]

My KZbin channel has some videos of Amp-1 with the Boss MS-3 effects. I've gigged this amp many times over the last four years and never had a failure. Freinds have heard my Amp-1 at gigs, bought their own, then they gigged theirs weekly and never had a failure either. Very reliable.

[@peterschaefer1665]

Love the MS-3. I was using a jmp-1 in the loop of one! Does the ms-3 switch the amp1 seamlessly?

[@patrickstefurak3124]

@@peterschaefer1665 Yes, it's seamless.

[@TomClarkSouthLondon]

Awesome review of a Badass! Amp👍

[@zoomzoom3950]

I'm intrigued by the Mercury, but if I'm going silent stage, I don't need a 100W power amp. I use my Mooer Prime P1 rig, that said, I really dig the sounds I get from my Tech 21 PSA 2.0. I owned a PSA 1.1 back in the day, and it was one of my favorite preamps, tone sculpting machine. The PSA 2.0 could use a headphone out, and a DI out, but it still sounds amazing IMO. Old school analog that is often overlooked by many. IDK if it's the price or what, but if you learn how to use it, it's much easier than amp models and loading IRs etc., where you have thousands of options to sift through. After you've listened to several amp models and IR combinations, I doubt few can remember or compare them effectively or efficiently. I know the tones I want when I hear them. Sifting through dozens of amp / cab / Ir combinations is tedious. Blue Cat Audio Destructor, now in Axiom, or PolyChrome DSP is much more rewarding and efficient for me. I'd be curious about your take on the PSA 2.0. Still sounds good, but not as versatile as the older rack versions, but the size is compelling. Many great tones in the PSA, if you can use your ears without any frame of reference as a crutch. Cheers!

[@smokingtarheel3003]

When is the USA tour? You're up there with the greats. Amazing. Now if I can pay attention to the rest of the video. Sounds boutique-like. Pristing cleans.

[@geoffwaggott1110]

I have the original edition of the Amp 1 and currently using it 4 cable method with the hx stomp. It has midi capabilities to using an adapter cable, so I change combinations of chanel and boost based on snapshots. Works well and sounds good!

[@raphexe]

I have a great time with the Amp 1 mercury. Paired it with a Torpedo Cab M+, no need for a load box, sounds great. It’s a breath of fresh air after years trying to make modelers sound good.

[@ibanezman1025]

How are you liking this through your Cab M+? Do you have to pad the input to compensate?

[@raphexe]

@@ibanezman1025 it goes : amp 1 speaker out -> speaker cable -> cab M+ amp in (set level to -24 db). Thomas Blug stated that we can use any DI box that has a -20db pad to go from the speaker out into an audio interface to bypass the cab sim. I chose the Torpedo to get wall of sound and a more complete solution overall. You can use send out as well with a standard cable and no need to pad, but you lose the use of the master volume and the power amp. I wish the mercury had a cab sim switch like the iridium.

[@SergeiVlassov]

@@raphexe hm... interesting! I wonder where all the load goes in such connection? If you crank it, 100W of power, that's a lot! Somehow it should be decipated. You don't have any issues with that?

[@raphexe]

@@SergeiVlassov amp 1 doesn't need a load, you can go straight from rec out (not speaker out be careful ;) ) to an audio interface/console without a speaker connected. Rec out sounds good enough for clean to dirt tones, I use it more these days when I don't want to plug all the gear. I've read that pluging a dummy cable (just a cable going nowhere) in the speaker out while using the rec out does improve the tone, I have yet to try this out, sounds fishy to me.

[@SergeiVlassov]

@@raphexe yes, I am not surprised about inner dummy load being active when using rec out, I am familiar with such solutions. E.g. I had such in Laney IRT Studio. But I was very surprised to hear you use speaker out going to amp in of Torpedo CAB M. That is a bit surprising for me. You take 100 W signal that is meant to be drive a speaker, but you just plug it into Torpeda CAb that does not have any dummy load. I also have CAB M and use it with amps, but I connect Load Box to speaker out in Cab M. Interesting...

[@prosperguitar]

You should play it through a real cab! You will love it!

[@icarusi]

I tried one a couple of years ago, but couldn't get a sound Iiked, but I didn't find out about the side controls until later. If I see one I'll give it another try, but I don't particularly like TB's own sounds, when I saw him demo it, and the demo went on so long I had to go before trying it. Also it was with TB's own speaker, and I wanted to hear it with other speakers. The power/size/weight/price ratio looked good at the time. The only competition seem to be from Quilter. The nanotube part could be a bit of a problem long term. I have legacy VFD units and most have dimmed considerably just from age, not use, but one of them is unchanged. The Amp1 unit may be ok, but it's not going to be an easy or field replaceable part, like an ECC83.

[@caseylockwood5512]

Hey John, you think you could do a demo of running a modeler into the FX return of the Amp1? The little mini tube is in the power section of the Amp1, so the idea is it might impart a more "tube feel" to the modeler, while also acting as a power amp. I'm interested to hear what you think about a setup like this. Just an idea!

[@scottanderson6807]

The power amp is fully solid state

[@caseylockwood5512]

@@scottanderson6807 right but the power tube thing is employed in the power section of the amp, as opposed to the preamp section, so it would still affect the tone of a modeler going in.

[@scottanderson6807]

@@caseylockwood5512 Supposedly it is somewhere between the preamp and power amp. I’m not sure if it would work for you in that way or not. Sounds like a question for Mr. Blug.

[@TheMemagNeman]

Every Wednesday (8-9 PM ,CEST) he has a live show "Academy of Tone", Blug will probably demo his AmpX (his newest rig) and older models with tips and tone tricks. So you can join with questions if you'd like. kzbin.infofeatured Amp1 ME is awesome, I have one, also got his Blubox (IR box) and they are a perfect match for any situation.

[@sambroxguitar]

By the way, it is metal, the silver casing

[@Luke-ht2kj]

I've been gigging one of these for a while and I've just got a Stomp XL. How would you combine the two? Use Amp1 just as power amp? Stomp running fx and amp SIM into Amp1 return and then to cab -- stomp stereo out w/cab model to FOH? Thanks for the awesome videos.

[@jakollee]

I liked the intro piece and playing very much. Never heard of this device, but it sounds pretty decent!

[@johnnathancordy]

I think Thomas is a German chap - I've seen a few reviews online but not too much ongoing useage of it?

[@tonystartup3817]

@@johnnathancordy John, on Thomas's channels there are literally hundreds of hours of videos explaining everything, tone matching, chatting etc. He does a 2 hour live stream every week where they go in to tones etc

[@TheMemagNeman]

Thing about the side knobs, I though about how hard they are to tweak as well , initially. But after a while you will find your preferred spot for each one and you won't touch them at all. Don't forget there is a half gain mode as well which changes how it sounds. To switch it to LG mode, hold "boost" button and turn it on. To reset the amp , hold all three buttons when switching it on.

[@johnnathancordy]

Thanks for the intel - yeh I guess they're supposed to be set and forget type things - in any case the tones are pretty immediate and cool I thought!!

[@tonystartup3817]

@@johnnathancordy John, with the foot pedal you can set the gain available anywhere, so you can run the gain up full on the Amp 1 to remove the effect of the bright cap and adjust the gain with the dial on the remote 1

[@gserwas]

I have been waiting for this video, thanks a lot. I would be very interested in a comparison with the AmpMan, maybe Tony has that too? 😬

[@tonystartup3817]

Nope sorry. Though they do look kinda cool

[@gdhi11]

FWIW the back of the unit is plastic. the top of the unit is a plastic overlay on top of metal. The guys over at BluGuitar have gone around drop kicking them and showing that they still work etc.. I wouldn't worry about the casing.

[@MegaGibson6]

Beautifully played 🙂

[@fritzhieke7209]

I sold my beloved SLO-30 and Bogner Xctasy. Yes, the AMP-1 is THAT good. But you really have to no to opperate it properly.

[@alguitarchristie]

I got rid of mine, because I couldn't get a decent sound from my humbucker guitar on the clean channel, plus i didn't like the cab, it was boxy sounding! The overdrives are pretty cool, but it still sounds like pedals and not a tube amp! But maybe if you are just using it plugged straight in to the P.A its useful, but I have the iridium for that! The custom controls are shit! My friends broke! I think he change them after, but the first model has cheap parts!!

[@chrisfit]

Sounds good. Not cheap but sounds good. Probably robust. Nanotubes don’t really fail right?

[@sic_refugium]

Great playing!!

[@southpaw335]

Nice one John. This has been on my radar to try for years but never the opportunity. What i’d really love to see is how it might take a couple of drive pedals in the front on the cleaner amp settings, and also how the HX stomp might sit in the FX loop for the various delays, reverbs and wobbly sounds…

[@tonystartup3817]

Funny you should say that. I've left John with a couple pedals too - fuzz Face and past FX TD-y tube driver type for trying with the amp 1 for trying out some EJ sounds. Let's see if John tries them

[@Yelbomsirhc1]

I have one and it takes drive pedals in front like a champ. Just like a "regular tube amp" does.

[@michaelperry2446]

I have been watching a-lot of your vids lately with all the different modelers!! Blug is by far the best sound I have heard on by comparisons!!! Great for travel dates, if she is hot enough!!🥸

[@lanceholland]

It also makes a great power amp to run a modeler into.

[@vladvartosu]

Great video! What setting were you using for the fx loop? Thank you 🙏

[@RogerThat902]

Heard these things sound great. I must admit one of my big hangups was it just looks somewhat goofy.

[@BigEdWo]

i have the first edition which is the predecessor of the mercury edition. the mercury edition is easier to deal with they say and it even sounds slightly different and better? i played it for a couple of years now. i have the amp1 the fatcab and the remote control. it sounds pretty cool and it feels good to play. i don't gig and i don't play very loud. i don't know how it sounds fully cranked. but it sounds really pleasant, this is my honest opinion. i can compare it to a marshall dsl40c and a roland jc120 and the fender mustang. the mustang sounds a bit like a toy in comparison. the jc120 is a very hard thing to play. it forgives nothing. but the amp1 does. it's easy to make it sound good. the marshall is a little spikey but my first choice when it comes to humbucker guitars. my tele elite and the amp1 go really well together. the amp 1 takes pedals quite well. it's all subjective. the amp1 sounds great but not better than a real tube amp. the casing is made of aluminium i quess (almost certain). the knobs on the side are a pain in the ass. unuseable. dial them in once and never touch them again. you can not feel if they do rotate or not. i'm always having problems to find matching volumes between clean and distorted settings and still likle both sounds. the change of master volume or gain has an impact on the over all tone. kind of like a real tube amp would have? i don't like that at all. that's just me. i bought the remote control because of the power soak feature they advertise. it's very expensive and it does nothing for me. very disappointing. it's a little bit of a money making machine. very short cable from amp to cabinet. my honest summary. the amp1 and the fatcab sound good but they are not cheap and i really love the marshall dsl40c. if i needed to decide i'd take the latter. but this is really subjective. people do not complain about the amp1. so it's good.

[@morgiu]

Love your demo mate! you have recorded all with a mic o you go straight into an audio interface? I ask you that because you use very high volume! and when I put it in my focusrite the volume input is too loud LOL

[@EllieReagan]

This sounds surprisingly good

[@tman6495]

Is this amp actually giggable in a small to maybe medium club...100 to 150 people or so?

[@funkyfoe12]

Damn...u can play!

[@tomcox875]

Dammit John. Now I want one of those. When I saw Enuff Z'nuff recently I didn't see an amp on one of the guitar player's cab. After, I asked him what the hell he was playing through it sounded pretty good. He lit up and said "this will blow your mind!" He took me up on stage to see his rig. BlugGuitar...

[@timothy5974]

Are you talking about Johnny Monaco?

[@tomcox875]

@@timothy5974 No. I think his name is Tony Fennell. Had a nice 68 Goldtop.

[@nickjitsu]

Great playing mate! Just wondering what you were plugged in to (you may have mentioned it, but I missed it)? I've got the original amp 1. At the settings you show in the video you would be in danger of blowing your window out. Also the clean channel on 10 would be like a cranked marshall on my rig, have you got low output pickups on your guitar? Sounds great whatever you are doing!

[@peterschaefer1665]

Should be fairly seamless for you. Thomas also uses a Strat SSS.

[@miyamiyacat]

I found one is $200 US in 2nd hand market. IT IS a God sent

[@ddream1313]

How would you compare something like this to the milkman 100? Love the tone of both. Looking to do a wet dry wet rig but not sure which amps to use for it.

[@sid35gb]

It probably can tone match a milkman it’s already been demonstrated to tone match several boutique amps such as matchless etc

[@sonicsaviouryouwillnotgetm6678]

you sound absolutely gorgeous with this =).

[@roryt1985]

Well it certainly sounds good, and John Browne’s demo of the Amp1 Iridium also sounded great. If I was in the market I certainly wouldn’t turn my nose up at either of those units. As usual the hype behind Amp X will likely outweigh what is delivered but I guess we as a guitar community just accept that as the norm now *cough* quad cortex…

[@Brandontsmith85]

I have an old original model and really enjoy it. The only reason I don't use mine more is due to how noisy it is. I don't know if they are all as noisy as my particular unit or if I'm just so used to having a stupid low noise floor after using modelers for so many years.

[@Niceguitarthat]

Im having the same issue .. its got me wondering if they are all like that .. or are we unlucky ?

[@patriciodenzer9368]

Same here. Viewing demos I don’t see this problem, but using it with high gain become very noisy.

[@MS-Patriot2]

And the decay tail, with or without noise gate on my Mercury edition has some unpleasant artefacts that are crunchy and unnatural.

[@jerrypinner1671]

Have you used the noise gate? It's on the side with the custom controls.

[@sboy1955]

Sweet and simple. Looks rugged. It sounds very usable to me.. just missing full tonal and fx shaping between presets. I guess that would take away from the simplicity though?

[@tonystartup3817]

There's a bit of tweaking available between channels with the side control and these allow you to balance the channels between themselves. Only thing you can't do is extreme ends of the tone between channels but how often do you really need to do that? Could always stick an eq pedal in the loop if you needed to do that

[@sboy1955]

@@tonystartup3817 - “how often..?” back in the ancient times of amps, switches, buttons, and knobs - ehh not much at all. In this digital modeling age, damn near all the time.

[@ParanormalResponse]

17:50 terrible squeal in the back of the sound?

[@mrcoatsworth429]

Probably feedback from the single coils, as with any amp.

[@bodd66]

Love my Amp1 - I have it on a pedalboard with a Fractal FM3 - sounds Killer! 🤟😎

[@johnhajewski]

What cabs sound good with this unit? I assume you recorded this direct...?

[@JM-eq3sx]

Great review. I might have missed it. What speaker/cab were you playing through? I have the Amp1 Mercury it's been great. It doesn't sound as dark or compressed as your demo tones (which I preferred to my results). I'm using the BluGuitar Nanocab, which is a very compact cab. Much as I like it's portability and overall performance, it's not as full sounding as I'd like, and your demo tones were exactly what I think are missing.

[@tonystartup3817]

He's going in to a load box. Not sure what the speaker IR is though. One difference is that John has got the volume up really high. I bet you never play with the volume up at 7 or 8 with the nanocab?! Get a fair bit of fatness from the power section then

[@JM-eq3sx]

@@tonystartup3817 Great point, thanks.

[@jasoncookston]

Sounded great!

[@rgbplumbinghilton]

I have just started gigging with a ME Blug. It is great sounding and powerful for its size.

[@johnnathancordy]

is ME Blug code for something I don't know about or am I being stupid?

[@rgbplumbinghilton]

​@@johnnathancordy it is the Mercury edition. There is an Iridium version for metal players

[@BigEdWo]

@@rgbplumbinghilton there are three versions actually. mercury, iridium and the "old" one which has no name and which i have. they say the iridium is easier to dial tones in or sth like that. which version you have is written below the fan on the backside.

[@rgbplumbinghilton]

@@BigEdWo yes I know but the current models are the 2 I mentioned.

[@BigEdWo]

@@rgbplumbinghilton that's true. but we do not know which one was used here. probably the mercury edition.

[@rolandmuller1247]

great sound

[@ambientriffs9689]

Have you ever tried any of the tech 21 fly rig stuff?

[@claessorensson225]

Amp sounds nice to!

[@claessorensson225]

You're a great guitarist!

[@em-dashman4404]

Base tones sound really good, but there’s some high-end stuff going on - almost sounds like radio interference, or tube weirdness. Is that something to do with your setup, or the noise gate (it is apparent when you stop playing)? That would put me off. Anyone else hearing it?

[@tonystartup3817]

I think it's pickup squeal. This is my unit John is borrowing and it's never done that to me but John had the volume up much louder than I set it

[@em-dashman4404]

@@tonystartup3817 Thanks Tony. Haven’t heard that in other KZbin reviews, so figured it was something peculiar to John’s situation. Really like the sound f these units!

[@johnnathancordy]

I'm just sat nearish to the monitors so for the high gain stuff, that's all you're hearing!

[@ricmel8008]

Is it loud? I have an EVH5150 head. Can this amp keep up with loudness?

[@theboofin]

Do you have to crank it to 100 watts to get the power section modelling?

[@zeppo20]

I got one, best amp in the market.

[@RockGuitarVibes]

Sounds pretty good, - except, the modern channel is not my cup of tea (maybe because of the used IR). Which IR did you use?

[@TheMemagNeman]

I agree, I don't ever use modern channel as well, but given that it has other 3 fantastic channels I really don't mind the added voice. Perhaps some metal head will borrow it and find it decent enough to play on. It can be tweaked to sound better but remains fluffy and overly pumped, can't be revoiced. Vintage is magnificent in a band mix, classic is ...well classic.

[@willehallem]

Great sounds and awesome playing as usual. Could you let me know what you're using as a cab sim? Or are you miking a cab? Cheers!

[@tonystartup3817]

He's using speaker out into a fractal load box. Not sure what IR he's using but I think I remember him saying that he was going from the load box into the hx stomp and using the stock cab in there

[@olsza6969]

how do you feel amp section of this unit compare to helix???

[@tommywallberg]

Anyone can suggest a power amp pedal to power up a modeler like Boss gt, me , Tonex helix etc… with enough gig power connected to a passive cab and a desktop audio studio speaker for home use and the possibility to use headphones. Since a multi effect pedal would do the effects maybe a simple powerful power amp pedal would do once it’s connected to a multi effect pedal/ stomp box. Happy to hear some suggestions on this.

[@WhyallaDojo]

Is this the Mercury Edition, or the original?

[@onehandslinger1475]

can any of these demos be done without the bloody reverb?

[@nakoshoko1]

Great playing and tone as always! Does Amp1 feels better ¨in the hand¨ been analog?

[@johnnathancordy]

I'm not sure about feel, but I feel like the modelling alternative it might take a bit more effort tweaking wise to get there?

[@CarlosFerreiraOfficial]

Hi John, have you tried this amp with the ampero stomp 2 as cab sim/ir in 4 cable method?

[@officialpoa3171]

*John the clean would not be spiky, that IS NOT a modeler pedal, it is a full on 150WATT TUBE AMP!*

[@guitartoneSA]

Not it's not. The Poweramp is a 100w Class D Poweramp.

[@TheActressAndBishop]

I think it's a remarkable box. I dunno if you were aware but Thomas Blug used to work for Hughes & Kettner and amongst other things, designed the red box..

[@Bushprowler]

I dunno if you were aware but no, he didn't design the Red Box, ffs. Amp guru Jürgen Rath invented it in the late 80's. Decades before Blug even got involved with Hughes & Kettner (not as a designer but a presenter/marketing guy, btw. which explains a lot now that I'm thinking about it). Jürgen Rath, who was a real amp designer that actually designed circuitry, also modified & repaired Blackmore's amps - even developed a substitute for his beloved tortoise guitar picks, designed the H&K Attax, H&K Cream Machine, H&K Tubeman, H&K PCS50, the analog 4x12 speaker simulation for Behringer's GI100 and the V-Amp Pro and many many more. Rammstein used Rath-Amps on their first albums, many many more followed, his Rath Speaker-Box and Speaker-Box Pro were a Red Box on stereoids, et cetera. Back when Rath invented the Red Box, Blug's greatest achievement was strumming a few chords for an unknown German synth pop trio on only one of their 4 or 5 songs.

[@kurtlonde5892]

... das klingt nach Verstärker und nicht nach Distortion Pedal.... nicht übel

[@GabrielMeirelesmus]

is this silver or mercury?

[@ralliosanen]

What IR are you using? Very nice tones.

[@johnnathancordy]

Stock cabs!

[@martinscholes2023]

Sublime playing. Only just found your channel. Bravo

[@jeddak]

TLDW: No. Don't buy it. Instead, spend thousands on large, heavy, tube amp heads and strain your back lugging these massive hunks of metal and glass around. Everyone knows something this small can't sound any good.

[@saunds59]

Paired with an HX Effects it’s an awesome live rig!

[@Pantalooj]

Sounds fantastic ... across a huge range of tones. Always wondered whether I should upgrade to one of these, but I really don't need 100w. 15w would be fine ... shame there is no lower powered option. I did hear some odd artefacts in the clip, or was that just me. Eg a squealing sound at 19:04

[@tonystartup3817]

The power being 100watt is no problem, easily plays at quiet volumes unlike a regular 100 watt valve amp. And you can always set it in low power mode (50 watt) or via midi access the power soak feature and turn it down all the way to 0.5watt. I prefer leaving it on 100 and turning the master down. Easily play at talking volumes The squealing I think is microphonic feedback from the pickups. John has the volume up really loud with a fair bit of gain

[@Pantalooj]

@@tonystartup3817 Thanks. Didn't realise it had a power soak feature, and good to know it still sounds good at lower volume.

[@tonystartup3817]

@@Pantalooj it does but you need the remote 1 pedal to easily access it. It is possible over midi but you need the midi adapter to use and something that can send midi CC commands

[@domizidor]

Last few days Im doing a research for smaller portable rig (but Im not that much of tweaker, so no multi fx) and I though that the best solution would be Iridium/ACS1 into small solid state power amp into real cab. So good gear for recording as well as playing. I saw Pete Thorn was using Iridium into Seymour duncan powerstage 200 into real cab, sounded pretty good to me. Now I saw this and few other videos of Bluguitar and all modellers started sound like shit to me. Dont know what to think now :D

[@tonystartup3817]

I had the Strymon iridium at the time I bought the amp 1. I sold the Strymon as no longer needed

[@domizidor]

@@tonystartup3817 Can you describe the main difference between two for you, cause I dont have the chance try any of them. Cause on internet, opinions on strymon varies. Some people saying its nothing like amp and some that its quite good. Thanks

[@tonystartup3817]

@@domizidor not easy to put in to words. The iridium is fine. Sounds as good as any other modeller I guess for what's in it. The plexi model seemed to be a model of just a single channel of a plexi, probably the bright channel whereas so many of the classic plexi sounds are of both channels jumped with a patch cable. For this reason for me it was too bright and didn't have enough gain. I wish it had a reverb too. It has a room effect that's like a reverb and is really cool but not enough for a real reverb effect. It's basically a cool pedal platform in a pedal but I think it really needs to be used with a bunch of other overdrives unless you only want to play at low gain. The amp 1 can just do it all without having to add anything else and into a normal guitar cab sounds better in the room then the iridium into a frfr

[@domizidor]

@@tonystartup3817 thanks for feedback. I have 1x12 guitar cab with celestion and engl fireball head (im not a metal head that much but clean is very nice on that amp and that dirt channel is awesome, juicy and tight). So when Im thinking about iridium, its with use of real cab with IR bypassed, more like pedal platform. Just not that much examples on youtube for that, but its quite common that people stick some modeller into SS power amp into cab. It probably behaves a bit differently too. I already have some dirt pedals Im using (timmy, rat, fuzz factory), but agree that amp1 in therms of drive sound is winner, cause you could rely just on them + fuzz for me. Its all about convinience and compromises, cause head + pedalboard + cab = 3 heavy things, pedalboard amp + cab = 2 heavy things :D, and sometimes you could grab just pedalboard. I would say AMP1 is clear winner as small amp solution but also its double of price, I would say a bit overpriced. I hope I will have a chance to try these.

[@tonystartup3817]

@@domizidor yeah the price of the amp 1 has gone up over the last year. It was cheaper when I bought it and was expensive but not too expensive. I couldn't afford it at the current price new. I think as a lightweight grab and go solution it's better than the iridium, specially if you want to get anything comparable to the Engl. But then the iridium is cheaper, though there might not be much in it by the time you add a SS power amp. I have a ported 1x12 with a neo creamback which makes for a light cab. The amp 1 and this cab is a nice light solution

[@davidwoods358]

I have always thought the BlueGuitar products all sound amazing.

[@MOAB-UT]

Your playing is great as always. Regarding the product- meh. For the same price, one can snag a lightly used FM3 which is worlds better IMO. Tip- use a magnetic to know if it is metal or not.

[@tappistrt]

Check out the Amp1 Iridium next if you can. It’s the tighter, more metal version of the Mercury. 😎 Combining one of these with an HX Stomp XL in 4CM is an amazingly flexible rig (and is also my setup.)

[@macmusica]

Christ that's rough.

[@MrMoneyHelper]

I bet it would sound better through a real cabinet and speaker.

[@tonystartup3817]

One thing to also note John, the master volume control is like the power amp master control of a tube amp, have it up high and you get power amp overdrive from the nano tube. If you were going in to a cab with it set that high it would be really really loud. Like a 100 watt plexi loud. But you also get all that compression and drive too. If you want a tighter more controlled sounds then dial the master volume back a bit and up the volume in the recording instead

[@TheMemagNeman]

You can always lower the overdrive volume and crank up the master volume. Getting nice saturation on lower room volumes.

[@tonystartup3817]

@@TheMemagNeman isn't that the other way around? Crank the master and it's really loud unless you're using the power soak feature. Lower the master and crank the overdrive for saturation at lower volumes

[@TheMemagNeman]

@@tonystartup3817 Well, I have seen Thomas use high master volumes and low drive volumes to get nice saturated tube tones on low volume. Different texture to it. Preamps don't use nanotube, as far as I understood the build. One of his live comparisons vs JMP , if I recall, also had tone setup like that (master on 7-8, drive vol on 3.5). Ofc you can't crank master above 8+ and keep drive on 1, at one point it will just pop. Try it yourself. I don't have remote1, unfortunately. If you had drive vol on 10 and master on 7-8, it would be pretty damn loud. I couldn't get past 6.5 without it shaking the room on 2*12 cab and becoming painful.