With four decades of being a sound designer, BluGuitar owner Thomas Blug came up with the idea of creating an all analog Nanotube™ guitar amp design that is flexible enough to (re)-create any amp that he could think of - those that have excited us in the past as well as any ideas that might come in the future. Combined with BluGuitar’s 100 watts Nanotube™ power amp stage, wouldn’t this be the most powerful guitar amplifier ever?
AMPX is, at its core, a 100% analog amp design. Up until now, analyzing the DNA of sounds and recreating them has been the nature of digital processing – but it had never been done in the analog world before now. Our Neural Analog Amp™ design allows us to edit and save analog circuit parameters at a component level – like a “virtual soldering iron” for analog amp tuning. From a technical point of view, it’s a bit like changing the circuit.
The analog circuit of the AMPX is designed in a way that – with the help of our virtual soldering iron – it can take the DNA of any (yes, any!) tube amp design (that already exists, or is yet to be created) and bring it to life in your AMPX… in authentic analog tube tone quality! The same applies to pedals, effects (in this case analog or digital, depending on which technology is superior for the respective effect) and speaker simulations.
AMPX comes stock with a extensive set of tones, but you will also have the chance to download new sounds (we call them BlugPRINTs) from our constantly-growing online BlugPRINT sound library and install them on your AMPX. Yes, that’s right: you download a digital set of data that, once installed on your AMPX, changes the analog circuit parameters of the amp! This allows you to create a 100% authentic reproduction of your favorite tube amp.
And we will add BlugPRINTs for all the sounds and devices that you could ever ask for! So AMPX offers all you need and all you ever will need. It’s your entire analog, 100-watt tube-driven guitar rig in a 3 kg/6.5 lbs., pedal-sized device.
The first units of the AMPX will probably ship towards the end of the year. Register now for the pre-sale without obligation!
... a collection of the best tube amps of all time, in fully analog original quality, united in a single device.
... a collection of the best tube amps of all time, in fully analog original quality, united in a single device.
... you could freely combine these amps with all your favorite effects (analog, digital, mono, stereo) and an extensive speaker collection (based on IRs, with great dynamics) and store them in presets.
... you could freely combine these amps with all your favorite effects (analog, digital, mono, stereo) and an extensive speaker collection (based on IRs, with great dynamics) and store them in presets.
... a huge online library of vintage amps. You'd find rare classics, priceless boutique amps, and unique sounds that you can transfer to your amp at any time.
... a huge online library of vintage amps. You'd find rare classics, priceless boutique amps, and unique sounds that you can transfer to your amp at any time.
... your whole guitar rig shrinks down to just one pedal-sized device.
The NEURAL-ANALOG-PREAMP™ – like the NANOTUBE-X power amp – offers for the first time the groundbreaking possibility to edit and save circuit parameters at component level. From a technical point of view, that’s like changing the circuit. With this new approach and the use of extremely small and lightweight components, AMP X can now authentically reproduce all kinds of classic tube amps in a true analog circuit. These defining parameters can then be stored as what we call "BlugPRINTs™".
Similar to the NEURAL ANALOG-PREAMP™ we have direct access to sound shaping parameters like, power amp saturation or current feedback, and we can edit and save them. This allows us to authentically recreate the sound and playing feel of different power amps. In combination with our NEURAL-ANALOG-PREAMP™, this "neural" flexibility, enables us to reproduce all imaginable amp circuits.
The additional digital effects section works with a state-of-the-art 8-core DSP. For full signal integrity, the signal path remains fully analog as the digital effects are added to the direct analog signal.
AMPX features a pre FX section (“PEDAL”) and a post FX section (“FX”). The ladder is stereo and offers the effects you’d expect to find in an amp’s FX loop, or in the studio, such as modulation effects, delay or reverb.
If the volume changes, the sound of speaker tones at any volume level. The Dynamic IR technology delivers vibrant direct sounds as you’ve never heard them before!
And there’s more: With AMPX, you can use up to five Dynamic IRs at the same time. These IRs can be freely applied to several outputs (e.g. stereo recording out, line out, speaker out). In this way, you can create any setup you can think of - from a maxed-out recording setup with a mix of five different speakers running through the same recording out, to wet/dry/wet setups, even with full range cabinets! And of course, simpler setups are usable too!
For programming advanced settings (…), a second control panel is hidden under an aluminum flap. It features dedicated controls for POWER DRIVE and BOOST. Depending on the selected effect, the respective parameters are assigned to the controls of the X CONTROLS and their function is displayed in illuminated fields.
The PEDAL, AMP, FX and CAB buttons provide direct access to the various sections of the AMPX guitar system. Finally, the combination of DISPLAY and incremental encoder allows deep editing of complex parameters. This unique mix enables direct and intuitive operation of such a complex guitar system as the AMPX with all its functions.
For the first time, AMP X delivers both: the sounds of all imaginable tube circuits in the world in one compact device – and thanks to analog tube technology, you now even get the authentic and identical feel of the originals.
With our new neural technology, we can analyze, record and store the "DNA" of every sound and make it available to every AMP X user with our BlugPRINTs™. A BlugPRINT™ is the digital blueprint for controlling the analog AMP X circuit. Each BlugPRINT™ contains all information about sound-shaping parameters like gain structure, tone stack, power stage saturation, current feedback, etc.
Beyond that, your AMP X can be expanded by installing additional BlugPRINT™ files. BlugPRINTs™ are available online in the BluGuitar web shop as AMPs (amplifier models), FX (effects) or CABs (speakers) in the BlugPRINT Sound Library. New tube amp and effect classics are constantly being added to this library. It is your database, source and access to the sound world of the AMP X at the same time. This makes AMP X a convertible and permanently expandable “Tube Tone Chameleon”.
This enables the fixed integration of additional pedals for controlling special functions such as expression or wah pedals, additional foot switches or additional, beloved classics in the AMP X housing unit. This turns the AMP X into a pedal board that contains all devices and can be safely stowed away in the optional X-Bag.
