Academy of Tone #294: AMPX Release in 2026!

The wait is almost over! In this week’s Academy of Tone LIVE UPDATE, Thomas and Julian bring you the latest and most exciting update yet on AMPX — the roadmap toward the 2026 Release and of course, they’ll be answering your questions live. After years of intense development, Thomas has finally signed off the AMPX hardware for production. The breakthrough? A completely analog amp platform capable of authentically recreating tones from vintage classics to modern high-gain monsters — with all their tonal character available at ANY volume, whether through a real guitar cabinet or running direct. To achieve this, the BluGuitar team developed: True power amp saturation at any level — even bedroom volume or silent recording Authentic power sag for real amp feel Fully analog boost & drive stages inspired by legendary pedals Since the last update, the AMPX has received: A redesigned power amp stage An all-analog post-EQ for room & cabinet compensation without changing presets Improved efficiency for cooler, reliable operation — even on loud stages With hardware locked, the team is now focusing on finalizing software while production preparation is already underway. In this livestream, Thomas and Julian will share: Current development status What’s new since the last update The roadmap toward the 2026 Release Plus — real talk, insights, and your questions answered live. Join us for Academy of Tone 294 A deep dive into the future of tone — and the home stretch to AMPX! #bluguitarfamily #bluguitar #thomasblug #ampx ____________________________________________________________________________________ Get your AMP1 MERCURY EDITION and IRIDIUM EDITION with 3 YEARS WARRANTY and FREE SHIPPING (within EU): https://bluguitar.com/en/products/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ https://bluguitar.com/ 00:00 Introduction and MPX Overview 01:10 Prototype showcase and snowy journey to the studio 02:26 Musical Intro: "Lord I Miss You" 14:42 Welcome and Happy New Year 2026 – The Year of AmpX 15:20 Evolution of the AmpX prototypes and production models 15:51 Showing Serial Number 1 of the AmpX 17:11 Plans for the NAMM Show and Blue Guitar booth 5810 18:37 Behind the scenes: Meetings with manufacturers and partners 19:49 New Release: Mercury Special Edition in Blue 20:37 New Release: Iridium with see-through panel 21:41 The vision of AmpX: A complete analog amp and effect system 23:10 Consistency in analog: Why every AmpX sounds identical 24:42 Demonstration video: Self-calibration and switching between units 28:07 Testing sound consistency: Dumble overdrive and clean sounds 29:49 Quality control: Why mass production takes time 31:30 The balance between speed and reliability 33:21 Shipping strategy: Germany and Europe first 35:50 The X-USB Flash Drive for updates and sound transfers 36:27 Sneak peek: Programming bizarre noises and echo engines 38:32 Hardware details: Power boards and hot-fixes 45:00 Speaker output behavior and impedance mismatching 46:34 Tone comparison: Original 1969 Plexi vs. AmpX 54:06 The history of AmpX: From Amp 2 idea to hiring Julian in 2017 58:19 Overcoming the challenges of a massive spec sheet 1:09:50 Technical specs: Mono vs. Stereo routing and I/O 1:12:04 Naming conventions and legal challenges with amp names 1:21:29 Analog signal path and digital effects latency 1:24:37 Global Stage EQ: Adjusting to the room without changing presets 1:36:13 Accessories: The AmpX Expression Pedal and mounting plate 2:08:10 UI Update: New display layout for better readability on stage 2:21:27 Business philosophy: Why some sounds might be purchasable 2:42:47 Outro and Call to Action