NAD: BluGuitar Amp1 Iridium

[2dor]

Was hellbent on getting a Victory Kraken 50W head for a "grab-and-go" amp but then started going back on some bookmarks I had and stumbled upon the BluGuitar Amp1 line.

Although the Mercury seemed more my jam, the Iridium seems to cross-over into that territory but, most importantly, allows disabling the built-in IR on the "Recording Out".

Briefly tested it at home using the Attenuator feature of the st.Rock ReactIR2 and into my ENGL 1x12 cab (Mesa-spec V30) and it feels so good under the fingers. Taking it to band practice in a few hours to see if it hangs with a very, very loud drummer.

 

[EOengineer]

Looking forward to hearing impressions. The Blug stuff always interests me.

 

[Devin]

This is the only amp I GAS for


Hit us with a clip kimg!

 

[laxu]

FYI the cab sim on the recording out is not an IR but an analog cab sim. Being able to turn it off is useful, but the amp does sound better with a load connected.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised how loud it gets.

 

[2dor]

Thing can definitely freakin hang with the loudest drummer I know to date.

Can't believe this little thing gets the tones it gets. Gonna try to shoot a clip or something these days

 

[2dor]

FYI the cab sim on the recording out is not an IR but an analog cab sim. Being able to turn it off is useful, but the amp does sound better with a load connected.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised how loud it gets.

It sure does feel great with a good load attached. I was looking through a lot of videos and Thomas Blug really drives home that the key ingredient to that "tube" goodness most players rave about is the interaction between the poweramp section and the cab / load.

 

[EOengineer]

@2dor what were you using as the load at rehearsal? Your 1x12 ENGL or something else?

 

[2dor]

@2dor what were you using as the load at rehearsal? Your 1x12 ENGL or something else?

View attachment 43715

An Orange 4x12 cab (16 ohm).

Not sure about the speakers inside it - don't think they're V30s because they came across as a bit darker than how my own cabs sound like (Mesa 4x12, Mesa 2x12 and the ENGL 1x12).

We don't have our own place for band practice & do a lot of hopping around between several places in our city depending on how we can fit everybody's schedule.

As long as there's a drum set and a PA, we can manage because of the IEM rack I managed to put together with some info from @PippPriss. That said, some of these places have one or two 4x12 cabs in the rooms we play in so. whenever possible, I like to take advantage of that but I'm never sure what cab I'll get lol - it's like that Forrest Gump line on the box of chocolates.

 

[MatrixClaw]

I've been really thinking about picking one of these up. I have my Iconic 40 combo for my grab and go amp but it's still heavy AF and I just got a third 4x12, so I don't really have room for it at home. This would be badass with my little 2x6" cab. The whole thing would weigh less than 10lbs and still able to be insanely loud.

 

[EOengineer]

An Orange 4x12 cab (16 ohm).

Not sure about the speakers inside it - don't think they're V30s because they came across as a bit darker than how my own cabs sound like (Mesa 4x12, Mesa 2x12 and the ENGL 1x12).

We don't have our own place for band practice & do a lot of hopping around between several places in our city depending on how we can fit everybody's schedule.

As long as there's a drum set and a PA, we can manage because of the IEM rack I managed to put together with some info from @PippPriss. That said, some of these places have one or two 4x12 cabs in the rooms we play in so. whenever possible, I like to take advantage of that but I'm never sure what cab I'll get lol - it's like that Forrest Gump line on the box of chocolates.

FWIW there is internet wisdom saying V30s sound darker in orange cabs due to filtering caused by their grille cloth? I’ve not validated it personally but I’ve seen it around, so-to-speak.

So final verdict - your opinion on how closely it replicates the sound and feel of a big iron amp?

I’ve been trying to ignore the Mercury Edition since it was released.

 

[Mongillo19]

FWIW there is internet wisdom saying V30s sound darker in orange cabs due to filtering caused by their grille cloth? I’ve not validated it personally but I’ve seen it around, so-to-speak.

So final verdict - your opinion on how closely it replicates the sound and feel of a big iron amp?

I’ve been trying to ignore the Mercury Edition since it was released.

I thought it was due to different V30s compared to stock Mesa?

 

[BahamaDada]

Read a German review yesterday, that the Iridium does not pair that well with V30s. Is that true? Iridium looks very nice (from "what's in the package"), but I don't want to buy a BluGuitar speaker. On the other hand those magazine reviews... they suck.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

Read a German review yesterday, that the Iridium does not pair that well with V30s. Is that true? Iridium looks very nice (from "what's in the package"), but I don't want to buy a BluGuitar speaker. On the other hand those magazine reviews... they suck.

Not true, it sounds good with v30s.

 

[BahamaDada]

Not true, it sounds good with v30s.

That's what I thought. No way TB wouldn't have in mind tuning a METAL based amp to a V30. Print mags...

 

[2dor]

FWIW there is internet wisdom saying V30s sound darker in orange cabs due to filtering caused by their grille cloth? I’ve not validated it personally but I’ve seen it around, so-to-speak.

So final verdict - your opinion on how closely it replicates the sound and feel of a big iron amp?

I’ve been trying to ignore the Mercury Edition since it was released.

Toyed with it a bit around the house today but through the st.Rock ReactIR2 and IRs, back to back with the Mesa Badlander 100W.

I can get very close to how I like to dial in the Badlander. I'll say that it can't get as piercing in the high-end because it doesn't have a dedicated Presence control but then again, most of that very high-end content will just blow your head off.

In the room, it behaves like a big-iron amp for sure - no doubts there. I'm not sure if it's a 1:1 with my 100W Ceriatone King Kong or Badlander 100W, because at those volumes my ability to discern is affected by the loudness lol, but if you'd put this in an A/B switcher and ask me to pic between it and some of the real amps I've played loud "in the room", I'm sure I'd fail to pick it apart. It has a fast, big & responsive lowend.

 

[2dor]

Quick vid with some in-the-room noodling around comparing the Mesa Badlander 100W and the BluGuitar Amp1 Iridium.

It would have been easier to fight some of the feedback if I would have gone into the DAW from the st.Rock ReactIR2 but I wanted to showcase how they come across in the room (that's the reason I got the Amp1 Iridium for in the first place)



The Badlander was in 100W mode boosted with the MXR Badass OD (tone at noon, bump engaged, 100Hz slightly above noon, and output at Max) with the following settings:

For the Amp1 Iridium, I only used its own built-in boost and not the MXR.

What I heard in the room is the Amp1 Iridium had a lot more lowend which I needed to tone down a lot & more gain.

 

[HomespunEffects]

That's what I thought. No way TB wouldn't have in mind tuning a METAL based amp to a V30. Print mags...

You have to remember that it’s cool to pick on the big kid from behind a keyboard.

 

[2dor]

.... I'm getting the AmpX when it comes out lol - new or used but getting one 100%

 

[GuitarBilly74]

That's what I thought. No way TB wouldn't have in mind tuning a METAL based amp to a V30. Print mags...

Blug voices his amps around his favorite tones, which are mostly Marshall based. I think the Modern channel in the Iridium is voiced a bit different, maybe more towards H&K or Diezel.. but still.
Point being, speakers that work with Marshalls also work with Bluguitar amps. V30s, Greenbacks, 75s etc, they will all work fine. You don't need a proprietary cab or speaker to get a good tone out of them.

 

[laxu]

Some tips:

• It can be useful to leave the gain knob on the OD channel higher (5-7), and rolling your guitar volume and tone pots down. This can reduce any harshness you might get from a bright cap.
• I recommend tuning the little side tone knobs and the EQ to the cab you use. I find that when I've got settings I like with a particular cab, I leave the side knobs parked there and at most tweak the EQ knobs a tiny bit for different guitars or volumes.
• If you get the MIDI adapter (MIDI controller built into the adapter cable) you have access to the powersoak, a 2nd master volume, switchable fx loop and ability to set the gain range of each channel. The Amp 1 ME at least has a shitton of gain on tap, so paring it down 20-30% can be useful. My understanding is that the Iridium can also save the gain range setting whereas the Mercury does not.
• You can use the Reverb footswitch to toggle between two states of the noise gate on the Iridium. You can set the gate to the faster "metal" setting, and use the Reverb footswitch to turn on "soft" for leads. If you don't want to use the reverb, just turn the knob all the way down.