“SEND IN THE CLONES” – UPDATING THE JOHNSON MILLENNIUM AMP

This column is directed at a select group of guitarists out there – those who presently own the “Johnson Millennium Stereo 150” guitar amp (see video below), and wish to update the software of their amp to the current version 1.05. Those of you who don’t own a Johnson… go check one out ! In my belief they are the “creme de la creme” of the latest innovation to hit the market: “amp modeling”. For a complete description of what I am talking about go to the Johnson website.

Now, down to business…wow, think how kooky this is? First a company that has the good graces to update and actually support their products (hats off to Johnson Amplification) and secondly that it is possible to get a whole new bunch of sounds and features by doing this simple procedure… read on.

What we are about to do is called “cloning” and all you will need is two MIDI cables and a new Johnson amp to clone from. Your local Johnson dealer should have one in stock and I am sure they wouldn’t mind. The whole procedure will take about 10 minutes.

First… when you power up your amp it should read: “version 1.00 – 1.04” if in fact it needs to be updated to 1.05. Here is what you do:

Step I.

Connect the two MIDI cables to the backs of both amplifiers, inputs to outputs and outputs to inputs.

Step II

On the amplifier with the latest version hold down the “store” button and turn the amplifier on. The display should now read “sending version 1.05”.

Step III.

On the amplifier that needs to be updated hold down the “tap it” button and turn that amplifier on. The display should read “waiting for data”.

Should your amplifier start acting strangely as you try scrolling through settings, your amp may need to be reset. To do this turn the amplifier off, hold down the “config” button and turn the amp on again. Wait for about 20 seconds and then press the “mod” button.

That’s it ! If you don’t have access to a new Johnson amp to clone from, just go to their site to find out how you can download the software update over the internet. The benefits to this update are numerous, once again just go to the Johnson website for the whole story. If you live in the London area, come on down to “Matt’s Music” where I do my weekly guitar set ups – we’ll be glad to demonstrate the Johnson Millennium !

My thanks to Russ Eidemiller and Eric Shea for their expertise in this matter.

By Greigg Fraser

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