Academy Of Tone #105: how to troubleshoot your guitar/AMP1 rig PLUS Lucas Fowler interview!

On this week’s Academy Of Tone, Thomas is on a mission to help you troubleshoot any issues you might have with your guitar rig, from your amp, to your guitar, to anything in-between! Plus, we have an awesome pre-recorded interview with Lucas Fowler in the second half of the show.

Thomas is joined in the studio once again by Kai this week for the troubleshooting fun, as much of the ground with any AMP1 issues you may be having is covered in our Blugipedia online Knowledge Base.
Thomas will start the show by demonstrating the differences between 50s and 60s wiring in a guitar, and what that can do for you in a musical context. To do this, he’ll actually use the same guitar, and we’ll have some live soldering action for you to show you how it’s done! And yes, this can be useful in relation to some troubleshooting parts the guys will showcase later in the episode.

Next, it’s all about working out what to do if you have an issue with your rig. Turning up for a gig, then plugging in and hearing horrible hum – or absolutely nothing at all – is pretty much your worst nightmare as a guitar player… but there’s things you can do to minimize this happening! Thomas and Kai will take you right through the process, starting with switching off and unplugging everything and then testing each part of your signal chain to find out what the culprit could be (and it could be many things, from cables to pedals to power supplies to guitars and amps!).

Thomas has also put together a list of the Top 10 guitar rig faults that aren’t actually faults, and the guys will help you how to overcome each of these non-faults if you’re suffering with them. They are:

• A power supply near the BluBOX
• The BluBOX is just emulation for line mic… not your speaker
• Unwanted noise: 99% is not your amp/AMP1!
• Power soak doesn’t work
• Tube failure: nanotube
• Switching doesn’t work (in AMP1’s Preset Mode)
• MIDI switching doesn’t work
• Fan noise: regulated!
• Noise Gate: (1) Metal setting! (2) No elimination of noises from pedals!
• Footswitch doesn’t work: wrong footswitch type
• FX Loop switch: (1) Only whole – no switch?! (2) I hear no difference…
• Clicking noise when connected to mains
• Hum in speaker cabinet when connected to mains
• Boost is not a second Master Volume
• Programmable parameters: no tone controls, etc.

We at BluGuitar want to help you to always be able to check for these issues – and that’s where this episode, and Blugipedia, come in. After the show has finished, you can always head to Blugipedia to wrok through your rig-based issues – but if you still can’t diagnose the problem, Thomas will explain how you can contact us directly so we can come to your assistance!

In the second part of the show, Thomas has a super fun pre-recorded interview with Lucas Fowler, a killer musician and YouTuber from the USA who’s also taken to the Iridium Edition like a duck to water. A talented player and an accomplished vocalist, Lucas has over 20,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel where he demos guitar gear, does repairs and mods, gives lessons, and more. He and Thomas talk about Lucas’s career so far, how he came to discover the Iridium – and how it’s replaced all his other amps – and how the pandemic has affected the music business.

Check out Lucas here: https://www.youtube.com/c/LucasFowler


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Get your AMP1 MERCURY EDITION and IRIDIUM EDITION
with 3 YEARS WARRANTY and FREE SHIPPING (within EU):
https://bluguitar.com/produkte/amp1/

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BluGuitar's Cabinet brochure & manual:
https://bluguitar.com/media/pdf/bc/23/0c/bluguitar-manual_cabs_complete.pdf
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The new "Academy of Tone" SHIRTs are finally available in our webshop:-)
Get yours here:
https://bluguitar.com/produkte/merchandise/

AMP1 MODS: Get them from your dealer or directly here at BluGuitar.com

VINTAGE SPEAKER CABLE , long (5,67m):
https://bluguitar.com/produkte/accessories/speaker-cable/

EASY LOCKS:
https://bluguitar.com/produkte/accessories/easy-locks

MIDI1 ADAPTER:
https://bluguitar.com/produkte/accessories/midi1
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AMP1 "PRESETS": Sound settings and overlays for your MERCURY & IRIDIUM EDITION:
https://bluguitar.com/service-support/downloads/

AMP1 "EXPERT FEATURES" website:
https://bluguitar.com/me-ir-expert/

"ACADEMY OF TONE"-BROCHURE, incl. AMP1 manual download:
https://www.bluguitar.com/manuals.html

Watch Thomas using cool pedals at PEDALICIOUS
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgoykgyXX9OL9evs5SVrDYg

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#AcademyOfTone
#BluGuitar
#AMP1
#ThomasBlug

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