NAD: Brunetti Mercury 1

[ChurchHill]

just trying to get used to wide range of tone available through the use of the volume knob and pickup positions. It’s truly a dynamic amp

Damn, that thing sounds incredible! Impressively expressive.

 

[bste328]

I love Brunetti amps. Such an underrated company. The owner, Marco, is really a humble guy for being in the business for this long and the brand have or have had top names as endorsed artists (Dave Kilminster, Kiko Loureiro to name some international ones and countless local pros...). His products are really top notch. I used to own (regret selling it...) a Mercury 100 and it was a thing of beauty. I am gassing SO hard for the Mille CR preamp and this Mercury1.....

 

[scottosan]

I had a pretty good hunch that this amp has a plate fed tonestack. Been looking at some gunshot at I’m 90% certain that I’m correct.

The amp has more gain than you can typically get with 3 preamp tubes while remaining uncompressed. Additionally there is a characteristic to the gain that reminds me of circuits with plate fed tonestacks

 

[GuitarVacation]

I’ve owned the XTC 7 time. I preferred the classic over the 101b. The XTC is easier to play than than the Brunetti, but I fell you need all of the all of the options and switches because the channels did their thing fantastically but didn’t clean up or weren’t super versatile along. The XTC is more compressed And a soft top end whereas the Brunetti is open and clear top end. The low mids is where I feel the 2 are similar. The Bogner can probably do tighter rhythms and has more gain on tap, but the Mercury is more dynamic.

Perfect description pertaining to what I’m looking for. I have enjoyed the properties of the XTC for a long time, still do.

But owning a couple other great amps that are considered less kushy and more revealing have paid off with dynamics and responsiveness. Very similar to what you were demonstrating in your video clip.

Hear the Mercury 1 is similar to an XTC in the low mids, with more openness and different top end, that pretty much describes what I’m after.

 

[ChurchHill]

That's pretty much where I'm at, too. The XTC is my favorite amp for leads, but sometimes I miss the dynamics and openness of a good Marshall or a Tweed Fender. The clips I've heard of the Mercury 1, including the clips you've posted here, all seem to have what I love about the XTC with clear highs and incredible touch sensitivity. Amp-wise, I've got all my bases covered, but the Mercury 1 sounds like it rolls up everything I love about the XTC and adds its own thing to it. Definitely interested in this.

What does the build quality look like? I'd be interested in seeing some gut shots, if that's possible. Brunetti's website mentions the quality of components they use, so I'd expect that the build quality matches, but I'd like to hear that from someone who owns one.

 

[scottosan]

Sam Vilo videos are usually always good but his Brunetti clips are extremely good. Congrats on the the new amp Scottosan! It sounds like an amp that can cover alot of different genre's.

So this amp is 50 watts? It look super tiny for 50 watts!

I know. Im such a huge fan, I'd love to get a Novo Serus J as well, but at 4-5K, I can"t. My most recent build it spec'd about as close as I can get to a Novo. Its at my tech right now getting his fret finishing treatment and rolled edges.

Tempured Pine MJT body
Allparts Japan AAA+ Select roasted neck with Jumbo frets
Mastery Bridghe and trem
P90s

 

[bste328]

What does the build quality look like? I'd be interested in seeing some gut shots, if that's possible. Brunetti's website mentions the quality of components they use, so I'd expect that the build quality matches, but I'd like to hear that from someone who owns one.

Here some pics. They're from the web of a Mercury 100 (not my old one) but I can confirm mine looked identical. I guess the build quality/components are the same on the Mercury1 being just "smaller" 50w.

 

[ChurchHill]

Here some pics. They're from the web of a Mercury 100 (not my old one) but I can confirm mine looked identical. I guess the build quality/components are the same on the Mercury1 being just "smaller" 50w.

Nice! Thanks for posting those! I found some stuff on YT, too. They look really well made. This thing is really tempting.

 

[Luca79]

Interesting, not knew this amp have this much gain. Seem in the Cameron ballpark.

 

[scottosan]

After almost a month with the amp, I have to say that it’s a keeper. I’ve played this thing more in the last month than I have played in decades.

I have amps that can do high gain and amps that can do cleans. This does them both exceptionally well for a single channel amp. That said, it tends to really like low output pickups, single coils, P90s, etc. Sure you can plug in either high output pickups and rip away, but I highly suggest low output pickups or single coils in the neck. The higher output neck pickups loose the sparkle and clarity when rolling down and squashes all of the nuance.

The amp does take some adjustment to get the best out of it for several reasons. The volume taper is so good that it’s very useable even up to 12:00. While many amps go from quiet to ear blast within a narrow sweep, you won’t find an amp with as gradual of taper as this. I suggest setting the amp to get the best out of it with rolled down guitar volumes. At full guitar volume an gain boosted its going to sound great regardless how it’s set, so set for cleans or lower gain optimized first

I set the gain as 3:30, volume at 9:30 and tone stack to taste and hi gain switch off. Play single coil neck with guitar volumes rolled down to taste. Roll volume up and to the bridge for rhythm and hi gain switch for leads or heavier rhythm or compression under the fingers. Between the hi switch and volume and pickup selector, you have so many great tones to choose from.

 

[harddriver]

After almost a month with the amp, I have to say that it’s a keeper. I’ve played this thing more in the last month than I have played in decades.

I have amps that can do high gain and amps that can do cleans. This does them both exceptionally well for a single channel amp. That said, it tends to really like low output pickups, single coils, P90s, etc. Sure you can plug in either high output pickups and rip away, but I highly suggest low output pickups or single coils in the neck. The higher output neck pickups loose the sparkle and clarity when rolling down and squashes all of the nuance.

The amp does take some adjustment to get the best out of it for several reasons. The volume taper is so good that it’s very useable even up to 12:00. While many amps go from quiet to ear blast within a narrow sweep, you won’t find an amp with as gradual of taper as this. I suggest setting the amp to get the best out of it with rolled down guitar volumes. At full guitar volume an gain boosted its going to sound great regardless how it’s set, so set for cleans or lower gain optimized first

I set the gain as 3:30, volume at 9:30 and tone stack to taste and hi gain switch off. Play single coil neck with guitar volumes rolled down to taste. Roll volume up and to the bridge for rhythm and hi gain switch for leads or heavier rhythm or compression under the fingers. Between the hi switch and volume and pickup selector, you have so many great tones to choose from.

It's a good sounding amp.