Bluguitar Amp1 Control1 ??

GrahamG

Anyone tried/bought the Control 1 with a Mercury ?, any verdicts 

Emiel

I just noticed they are back in stock! Quickly ordered one with a Midi1 cable. It basically features a power attenuator, second gain stage and second master volume. I have used the Amp1 in a (loud) band and sometimes at home run it into a Blubox and a loadbox. It definitely sounds bigger, thicker, BETTER when the master volume goes beyond 60% which is very very loud, too loud for most bands, even on the half power setting. So to be able to get that at much friendlier volumes, ánd get more gain out of the clean channel, as well as a second master? That sounds like a great addition to the already excellent Amp1 (I have the Mercury). Will report back when I got it through the paces.

GrahamG

Emiel said:

I just noticed they are back in stock! Quickly ordered one with a Midi1 cable. It basically features a power attenuator, second gain stage and second master volume. I have used the Amp1 in a (loud) band and sometimes at home run it into a Blubox and a loadbox. It definitely sounds bigger, thicker, BETTER when the master volume goes beyond 60% which is very very loud, too loud for most bands, even on the half power setting. So to be able to get that at much friendlier volumes, ánd get more gain out of the clean channel, as well as a second master? That sounds like a great addition to the already excellent Amp1 (I have the Mercury). Will report back when I got it through the paces.

Have you watched the demo by Manuel Bastion( ?great demo), are you buying the Midi cable for the control1 ? he seems to say that the connecting cable is just a TS to TS Jack.
I bought a used Mercury yesterday(i've had 2 x Silvers before), going to stick with it this time, i'm getting to old to be lugging Combos around, it sounds really great in the couple of dems on Y/T.

Emiel

Manuels video is exactly whats got me into buying the 1Control! As far as I know the MIDI1 isn't just a cable, it actually contains a midi interface so it seems neccesary to have:
https://support.bluguitar.com/en_US/midi1/midi1-selber-bauen

Definitely try to stick with the Mercury and if you can, get the Fatcab too. They are a match made in heaven, although I have since then changed the stock speaker (which is a bit more V30ish I'd say?) with a Fat Jimmy C1265GB to get a more Greenback type of sound. The Fatcab sounds huge, really not much smaller than a proper 2x12. 

Many people won't believe me until they've heard it, but the Vintage channel really sounds like my Plexi clone, the Classic channel really sounds like a JCM800. It doesn't just nails the tone, but the feel as well. That's what makes the Amp1 so special. And yet it weights next to nothing...!

firepaulmusic

I've decided to give the Amp 1 another go after I got a good deal on a Silver edition on EBay. A pity the Control 1 only works with the Mercury edition though. I'll probably use my Captor X to load it down so I can drive the master harder...

TheBigDipper

firepaulmusic said:

I've decided to give the Amp 1 another go after I got a good deal on a Silver edition on EBay. A pity the Control 1 only works with the Mercury edition though. I'll probably use my Captor X to load it down so I can drive the master harder...

I ran a Silver AMP1 into a FatCab for 4-5 years. The clean and vintage channels are pretty decent. The other two were a bit fizzy for my ears, but they aren't the tones I gravitate to, so I didn't mind. 

I went through nearly the whole BluGuitar rig available at the time:

AMP1 (Silver) - as noted above
FatCab - some good low end punch, but not quite a 4x12 and not a 1x12 at all. I kept it just because of the low weight/size
NanoCab - never tried one
MIDI1 - worked great
Remote1 - worked fine and as designed, but too much tap dancing for me
BluBox - easy to drive but my ears don't like IR technology. I was happy with the cab emulation in the AMP1 for going direct at gigs. The BluBox sounded best if there was a speaker load as well (you can do it either way). 

If people can look at this stuff for what it is, rather than what it is not, it's all decent stuff, IMHO. It suits some of us and not others. Like everything else in life! :-) 

GrahamG

Just a follow up , i tried the 1Control with my newly aquired Mercury(my third Amp1) & for using at Home it works great but i only use my Amp for gigs & didn't really get the best out of it, i already have Master 2 at 7or8 on the dial so the Power Amps cranked anyway.
Just a comment about the Amp1 i think i prefer the Mercury to the Silver it just feels a bit tighter on the Classic & modern channels & still sounds great on the Vintage(maybe not quite as "squishy")but still sounds great.
But i'm back to my old problem that when using Amp1 live, i'm not getting the best out of it because i don't want it on the floor near my mic stand due to playing small Pubs etc.& i'm paranoid about beer spills or worse our clumsy Bass player trampling all over it, so i'm working on using MIDI control with a pedal out front & the Amp & FX(at the moment my grandsons GX100) on my cab & though i've never used MIDI before i've actually got it working 
So I've actually got the GX controlling the Amp1 with Midi, but i'll need to buy a MIDI pedal for out front & if anyone is reading this i could do with some advice about MIDI pedals & how to cable up into the GX(or probably a HXFX) & the Amp1, a separate thread might be in order