BluGuitar iridium first test

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mchn13

mchn13

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Just got this yesterday as I've wanted to try it since it came out. I dont have a working cab at home right now, so i ran it into my interface and used a ir/cab sim from amphub. Had my monitors a little loud, internal boost only, jackson dkmg with a dimarzio fred in the bridge.
Im going to go by the rehearsal space tonight and run it through a boogie cab and see how loud it can actually get, and compare it to my 5150 and engl.
Sounds pretty sick at first try, and surprised how brutal it can get on its own.
 
Also have been really digging the fred lately. A buddy gave me this one with a broke ground and i fixed it and popped it in this guitar for shits and grins, and it kills lol.
It might have a better top end than my prs with painkillers in it. ?‍♂️
 
I too have been super curious about these. I've had deals worked out to trade for one on three separate occasions and then the other person always randomly backs out at the last second ?
 
Devin said:
Also I agree the FRED is awesome; it has the most insane harmonics of any pickup I've ever had
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dude its crazy! i never really gave it a glance over the years, and its tight yet not brittle sounding, and works good in a scooped tone environment, and has a great rock grind. i cant believe i slept on these for so long..
 
MatrixClaw said:
I too have been super curious about these. I've had deals worked out to trade for one on three separate occasions and then the other person always randomly backs out at the last second ?
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i have been trying to build a pedalboard rig for a couple years now, but nothing has been able to dethrone the tube heads. i like the tone i get with it and its pretty simple. ill see if it hangs at volume tonight. the fm3 i had sounded great through ir's and monitors too, and shit the bed at rehearsal volume and a cab.
 
Great job on that demo. Awesome chugs!

I would be very happy to have the Fred as my "trapped on a desert island" pickup. Some people think it will make them sound like Satriani. Well, no. Gotta have Joe's hands for that. LOL The Fred (DP 153) very tight, crazy harmonics that are normally difficult to get (it's like they literally fall out of your guitar), you can hear every note in a chord under high gain (like in your video), and for leads it sings and/or screams depending on how you play. Very vocal sounding pickup. They're great in the neck position, too. The Fred slays in Les Pauls and other 24 3/4 scale instruments. I once played a 17th Street (short lived brand) Superstrat that had the Fred in bridge and neck positions and was blown away. Around 30 years ago I met Gary Brawer in S.F. (He does Satriani and Neil Schon's guitar repair and upgrades) and back then he liked the Fred with 250K pots. I like it with 500K. The Fred kicks ass with either pot value.

Now I want an Iridium, dang you! LOL.
 
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If you don't mind me asking, what's the internal boost you're using in this video? The sound you're getting kicks ass. Back in the early 80's a friend had an R.A. Gresco preamp in his guitar and it sounded amazing.
 
JohnnyGtar said:
If you don't mind me asking, what's the internal boost you're using in this video? The sound you're getting kicks ass. Back in the early 80's a friend had an R.A. Gresco preamp in his guitar and it sounded amazing.
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No i meant the internal boost of the blug. Its a boost knob on the side but doesnt act like a normal TS type. IMO. It seems to be more of an extra gain knob, but the iridium is already pretty tight, so im wondering how it will react with an od808 in front at band volume. I might have finally met an amp that I dont have to boost lol. Im definitely going to try and do a couple demos where its more than iphone audio in the room.
Gary worked on a couple guitars for me back in the late 90’s-2000-ish. I live on oakland ave and macaurthur blvd but practiced off fern alley off polk st! Down the street from sliders.
 
And thanks for the kind words. Ill try to actually do a legit demo where i warm up and shit lol.
 
mchn13 said:
Gary worked on a couple guitars for me back in the late 90’s-2000-ish. I live on oakland ave and macaurthur blvd but practiced off fern alley off polk st! Down the street from sliders.
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Too cool! I tried to get a job as his apprentice. It was down to two candidates, me and another guy. The other guy got the job. Oh, well. Life goes on. LOL I'm in a tiny rural village in Southern California now, but I do miss the Bay Area.

Went hiking in Purisima Creek Redwoods Reserve (Mid Peninsula) every so often. Check it out if you haven't been there before. 29 miles south of S.F. It's a spectacular place. 2,500 acres of forest!

The Bay Area is one of the coolest places on Earth. I used to go to S.F. a lot (Ghirardelli's, the Wharf and Chinatown, etc) with my girlfriend (she's now my wife).
 
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Metalhex said:
I love my Iridium, I've only played through my Mesa 4x12, but it kicks ass. Let me know how it goes at band practice.
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Well i got postponed until tomorrow but got a chance to run it into a 2x12 and was surprised at the volume. Ill know within 5 mins with my loud ass drummer and triggered kicks in the p. A. I love the tone im getting with it.
 
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I had an Iridium and Mercury at the same time for a while. Still have the Iridium but wish the Mercury was still around too. They sound great right out of the box and can get plenty loud.
 
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my bud has the irridium(?)...he likes it. I need to take a road trip and check it out.
edit-mercury....my bad....
 
One of my fav YT guitar channels, uses the Iridium in his live rig:



and an earlier review:

 
Young local hotshot kid is playing through one of those exclusively and it sounds fantastic. My only gripe is that he doesn't use much for onstage fill and has a 1x12 cab in back of him that serves basically as his monitor, right up front its sort of meh as there's nothing coming at you from the stage, but step back and get the PA fill and its impressive. The guy above whose name I can't say and sounds like Ozzy with a bag of marbles in his mouth when he talks is pretty ripping too :sneaky:
 
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