ADA Depot - A Forum To Support Users of ADA Amplification Gear
Miscellaneous => Rants & Raves => Topic started by: Systematic Chaos on April 10, 2016, 01:34:09 AM
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Hey y'all...
since we (family) are slowly but surely getting ready to move from 220/240V Germany to 100V Land of the rising sun in June, I had to make up my mind about wether or not packing and shipping tons of racks and tube amps that are built/wired for 220V...thus making it necessary to get and add some kind of sufficiently spec'd voltage converter (Furman AR, Kikusui PCR1000M,...) adding even more weight (and spending $$$).
Talking weight...my Triaxis/2:90/MPX-G2 rig had a total of 75kg (just the shock mount rack plus gear inside)...add cabinets, footcontroller...get the point?!
Long story short....head or gut decision. Finally ended up selling both the big Boogie rig and my old and trusted Engl Savage SE head locally here in Germany to nice folks who travelled a couple of hundred km to test-drive and pick up / buy the stuff.
I been noodling around with modelers since 2009 (had a DigiTech GSP1101 back then), got an 11R early last year and got an AxeFX II XL+ last December.
I´ve been on a steep learning curve with especially the Fractal unit and was able to get reeeeeally close to my feels-at-home Boogie Mk and Engl tones. Add the surplus of top-notch quality effects, endless routing/parameter/... options.
So I also sold the 11R and finally the Axe II XL+ as well, but just because the AxeFX II is basically the exact same minus some more memory and peripheral connection possibilities (also, the Axe II can be found ~1000-1200€ cheaper than the XL+).
The final evolution of my present rig now consist of an AxeFX II (MkII) and a Roland FC200 (that I got for dirt cheap off the *bay).
The FC200 is a nice sturdy MIDI Controller with Expr Pedal and offers the possibility to hook up up to 6 additional Midi switches/controllers/Expression pedals.
I´ll use the built-in pedal for Master Vol and I´ll probably add another Mission Engineering SP-1 to control the Wah.
I had the chance to gig out with this setup recently, just either using the backline at the venue as poweramps/cabs, active monitors and/or going direct FOH.
Could´t be happier with the sound results, personally don´t even *feel* that big a difference to before, got compliments for my tone and sound don´t have to haul tons of stuff around anymore....
(http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af41/MagnusBausW/4215BD38-3D57-4076-87FE-A4B97D641ABB_zpsupxkjk3j.jpg)
(http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af41/MagnusBausW/07CC6D3A-1CA2-4F5C-A942-68ABD82E4E0D_zpsaw9idoda.jpg)
(http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af41/MagnusBausW/F7262627-7AE0-48BD-A97B-95193F5CE330_zpsemsdve0x.jpg)
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Which IR's are you using to get a Mesa vibe? - assuming that's what you'd be after ;)
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Which IR's are you using to get a Mesa vibe? - assuming that's what you'd be after ;)
Basically, I´m after whatever sounds good to me ;-) I tried a variety of UltraRes IRs (Ownhammer,....) but for the gain stuff I usually end up with the IR of a Traditional Boogie Recto 4x12 (not the oversized) captured with both an SM57 and a KSM313.
Alternate is an IR of an Engl 4x12 with V60
For the cleans it´s an IR of a 2x12 captured with a Beyer M160.
At the end of the day it´s what sounds best to me...so I mostly go by ear and not by name/description of the IR ;-)
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You went to the dark side! jeje
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You went to the dark side! jeje
:lol:
But no I can see why you did this, practical and all.
Why didn't you give me a heads up on selling your gear booooooo!! I would have bought the furman at the right price :thumb-up: since I'm saving up for one. If you did mention on here about selling gear and I missed it apologies.
Japan!!!!!!!! :o You will never get to see the band then :( shame, would have been good to meet you SC
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Hey RG,
I was contemplating on wether or not to sell the rig as a whole or strip it to its pieces and sell them individually... I decided against the latter and offered it as a whole package since all components were somewhat matched to each other.
Same for the Engl E660 which I sold together with the Z7 Interface....
Yeah, I saw your European dates...would have loved to come around and meet'n'greet.
So you gotta make sure you play the Tokyo Budokan or Loud Park ;))
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Oh man!! May be next year we do Budokan!
:lol:
So tell me, you have zero ADA stuff now?
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Here's a question, will a US MP1/2 etc work in Japan ? I know ADA did separate transformers for US, Japan and then the rest (of us 240v folks). My "loose" understanding was Japan is 110v and the US is 117 - 120 ?
Hey RG, if my new job works out (fingers crossed, not confirmed yet), I'm going to come over in October and MJMP and I will come check you out :thumb-up:
Hey SC, any idea roughly when you'll be in Australia ?
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Here's a question, will a US MP1/2 etc work in Japan ? I know ADA did separate transformers for US, Japan and then the rest (of us 240v folks). My "loose" understanding was Japan is 110v and the US is 117 - 120 ?
Hey RG, if my new job works out (fingers crossed, not confirmed yet), I'm going to come over in October and MJMP and I will come check you out :thumb-up:
Hey SC, any idea roughly when you'll be in Australia ?
Richard, you're coming over to Europe? Why for? lol That's insanse if you come all this way to potentially watch me do a duff gig :lol: But at the same time you and MJMP being there would be cool :thumb-up: Jeez getting nervous already, can't let you guys down :facepalm:
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Here's a question, will a US MP1/2 etc work in Japan ? I know ADA did separate transformers for US, Japan and then the rest (of us 240v folks). My "loose" understanding was Japan is 110v and the US is 117 - 120 ?
Iirc, there is an extra transformer wire on some ADA stuff that is unused in the US version...isn't this the 100v lead for the Japan users? No idea what the mains plug looks like over there,
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Japan is kinda tricky in terms of voltage.
Generally it´s 100V, but the current has 50Hz in Eastern Japan (Tokyo, Yokohama,....) and 60Hz in Western Japan (Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima,...)
The plugs and sockets are the same as US and most US appliances can be safely run in Japan (even though there is a delta of a couple of volts)
@RG: Yeah, I´m completely ADA-, Boogie-, Engl-,...-less right now.
All gear has found great new owners and good homes (buyers came over to my place to pick stuff up, chat, have a coffee,....)
I also only made this step since I now feel comfortable enough with the Fractal. As I mentioned earlier, I have been (and still am) on a steep learning curve with the AxeFX II as it´s certainly no plug'n'play thingy. But once I had figured some things (interactions between certain parameters, programming, mapping, routing,...) out I can get tones that are *almost* 1:1 to my former actual amps.
Getting the correct Boogie Mk and Engl tones was paramount, all other amps in there (and there´s plenty...the Friedman HBE e.g. is to die for btw....) are a nice surplus.
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here is a question for you SC :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:
What is better? ADA MP1/ Mesa Tri or Fractal?
:lol:
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Sooooo subjective and very individual....
You don't wanna go there ....
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Hey Sc you could kept your ADA's,with the MDRT you can use it worldwide.I did this for customer,i added a 240/120V switch.So when he travels around he can still use his ADA's.Did this with his MB-1 and MP-1.
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Hey MJMP,
I was aware of that...but all other gizzmos were 220/230/240V, so it would have meant some voltage regulator/transformer anyway....
I can happily live with what I have right now ;)
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Ok,so moving to Japan hé,how long are you going to stay there?or is it permanent?
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4+ years...just came back from a house hunting trip and rented a nice house in the Tokyo 'burbs. Planning on moving in early June
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Is there a German base in Japan?
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DAMN. Me likes the tiny rig!
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Hey RG, I've been wanting to come over for a while just to meet you guys and get out of Australia for a bit. Getting the finance required has been problematic with the way my contracts have been going but I'm hoping to make it this year. And seeing your gig would be a big plus :thumb-up:
Hey MJMP, would be good to add the switch to the MDRT mod.
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Sooooo subjective and very individual....
You don't wanna go there ....
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A few people I know here have bought one. One guy loves it but he doesn't play live. A guy I know who has used his live says he still prefers the tube input on his amp in a live context but it's great for studio. I like that they use fractal algorithms and dedicated DSP chip. I must go try one sometime.
Only downside with ADA preamps is their age IMO. If I could buy a brand new MP2 tomorrow I would.
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Sooooo subjective and very individual....
You don't wanna go there ....
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That 5% do you think you would get that if you were using real speaker cabs?
You already went half the route yourself...Logidy EPSI, correct?!
Ok I wouldn't equate that to half but may be that's just me, I don't use the fake speakers live :nono:
It's
preamp - FX unit - Power amp - guitar cabs - live
preamp - FX - Epsi - studio.....................................(well the room in the house where I do these things :lol:)
However when I arrived here I was using half FRFR setup and I nearly went full FRFR. Using the amp models on my Boss to go into clean amps but into real guitar cabs was what I was doing.
I'm only asking you because I see a trend in people getting rid of their pre's. Just for the record though a trend that excludes myself. For example I bought my 3TM of a guy who got........wait for it.............wait for it an Axe FX.
So I'm curious to know what the user of the top MFX unit around thinks in comparison, I'm not criticising or anything as impulses are enough to make me want to use them forever and ever recording wise so I believe in the power this technology has. I have also talked about the possibility of touring with my EPSI as my speaker sound.
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;) I know how you use the EPSI, just exagerrated a bit with "half the way" ;)
Well, there's definitely gonna be no fanboy-polemic for either one side or the other from me.
What works for me / sounds good to me doesn't necessarily have to sound *good* to others.
I prefer the Boogie Mk typo gain texture/tone over anything else which resulted in building the Triaxis/2:90 rig and not an MP-1/Marshall rig.
But then, the Triaxis was the first trade-off in my sound pursuit as it's just a close proximity to my holy-grail IIC+ DRGX and MkIV Ch3.
If I'm happy and convinced with the result I personally don't care that much how I got there.
So the whole package does the trick for me. It sounds and feels as close to the real deal as I can judge myself (subjective, individual), is convenient, easy to set up, easy to lig around and (very important) consistent.
If I can achieve all that I couldn't care less on wether that's done with 1s and 0s, Tiger-Shark DSP chips, analog ICs, tubes or whatever.
Sound quality, tonal comfort zone and convenience. That about sums it up.
Almost forgot: the possibility to shape/alter any given amp model to my likings! Lets say I totally dig the Engl Savage overall, but to my personal taste I'd rather rather have it with 6L6 instead of the 6550 and bias them really hot for more sweetness, also reduce some poweramp negative feedback and give it more SAG for some more fluty spongyness....endless possibilities to fine-tune something that is otherwise in the real world limited by its given hardware and physics/electronic bounds....
But then you see, it took me almost half a year to get aquainted to all controls and parameters and to at least scratch the surface of all possibilities (ok, I didn't dive in there 24/7 as real life and family dictates some different priorities).
AND, after I finished the final book of "A Song Of Ice and Fire" I RTFM and the AxeFX Wiki ;)
If I manage to find some time in between preparations for our move to Japan I'll try and post some clips...
In the meantime you can check out the real awesome thrashy Act of Defiance "Birth and the Burial". Chris Broderick tracked exclusively with the Axe II
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Yeah I know what you mean about diehards for one side and diehards for the other.
No shame in taking a year to work out the fractal.
It took me years to get amazing at the Boss GT line. Honestly I bought the GT6 in 03. Played about with it for a bit. Then ditched it for like 3-4 years. The I started working with it at home. Then gravitated to using it live. It made getting a GT8 and GT5 easy then as I understood the logic. But There is still aspects I have no clue about like all the midi shit etc. So I can see how it will be a learning curve.
I think this is where I am at with preamps. It's not as simple as a stomp box amp guy but it's not full blown mega programmeville either with multiple amps and things used. My setup is a few patches I like on the preamp, some buttons and a external footswitch programmed on an MFX to turn of and on effects simultaneously and stereo set up and that's its. Some might say my set up is complex but these sort of people are usually people with the most basic setup. I'm sure there is a lot more complex than my stuff. But the point of all this yackin is I feel I wouldn't use an AXE FX to it's full capacity and it almost would be a waste. Hell I doubt I'll ever have 128 saved settings on my MP1's. Although as time goes on and songs get written you sometimes need to find a new patch to suit. With the rockmaster I have no ability to save settings, I just leave it as it, and dial the MFX setting up around the basic tone set by that preamp. The EPSI for example, I stick with one or two impules. I get lost surfing through the 100's I have saved. However I might have a go looking for a scumback impulse as I liked Els tone in his mahogony project. Tried a few fane impulses as well the other week, nothing neating the JBM K120 at the moment though.
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Y'know, when I picked up my first GX-700, I used it alone as a preamp. It's all solid state, it got me about 85% of the way there - haha. But, it did some things more tubey than my ADAs, like cleaning up better with the volume knob :dunno: How'd they do that?
My point being, I can be a complete tube snob at times, and I was still getting good results without the toobs. In a pinch, I could use just the GX-700 if the ADA went down and vice versa. It's good enough for who it's for - bunch of drunk clowns screaming Freebird! If the convenience, reliability, and consistency are all there, I'd definitely be swayed to a 95% alternative.
Of course, I'm actually getting to about 90% now with the GT-8 and it's pretty dang portable and durable, just not so consistent.......yet......I'm getting there. Once done, I'll have a combo/pedalboard rig that is much smaller than the full stereo rig, and still smaller than carrying a pedalboard with a rack.
Let's get small
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It's good enough for who it's for - bunch of drunk clowns screaming Freebird! If the convenience, reliability, and consistency are all there, I'd definitely be swayed to a 95% alternative.
I nearly pissed my pants reading this line. I was that drunk clown shouting "freebird" :lol:
Anyways, the GX700 is a good unit. Analogue drives section. May be that is linked to the input some how and makes for a nicer clean up when rolling back the volume?
Dante, do you use the wha in the GX700? Since this is basically my GT5 in rack I was thinking of starting to use it. When I tried it the other week for fun, it sounded pretty good, and analoguey. Perhaps is going through some of the same circuitry that is responsible for the distortions??? hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm, anyways what you think of the wha on that unit? ^-^
I was getting good results with my Boss GT6 so I know where your coming from.. If anything my experience with Boss units for so long has schooled me in many ways and prepared me for running pre's. There is a show we did last year and I'm still running the GT5 for my actual distortion tone, with was an Od boosting one of the digital pres it has and some chorus. I thought that sounded shit hot!! I wouldn't fully ditch the onboard stuff, not if I can still get some great sounds.
Back to the down sizing point.
There is nothing wrong with it at all. In fact may have to leave my rack shit at home when it comes to touring >:( Which means it's going to be GT5 + power amp + cabs (supplied by venue). I went to holland last year with this setup.
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Anyways, the GX700 is a good unit. Analogue drives section. May be that is linked to the input some how and makes for a nicer clean up when rolling back the volume?
Dante, do you use the wha in the GX700? Since this is basically my GT5 in rack I was thinking of starting to use it. When I tried it the other week for fun, it sounded pretty good, and analoguey. Perhaps is going through some of the same circuitry that is responsible for the distortions??? hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm, anyways what you think of the wha on that unit? ^-^
The analog drives could be what makes that possible...doesn't the ADA pre do that too? I don't know, just asking
I have not tried the wah, I have a V-wah that has a million different sounds and a dirt box inside, so I use that. I seem to like the Vox Wah sound and the clean booster in that thing. I will give the wah a go in my GX-700, but i'll need to find my ADA expression pedal - lol - I think it's in the box for my wah pedal.
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Yeah Dante, try that out and see what it's like.
I kinda thought the GT5 was good. Better than what I had thought initially, and a nice couple of options to boot, like frequencey adjustment and mix control, autowha. GX700 bound to have similar. I should know really since I own a GX700 too lol.
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Konnichiwa, SC-san!
I admire your courage - have a great time in Japan. If you ever need an awesome scratch-built 59 LP, let me know - there's a luthier in Japan who does stunning work.
I think you made the only logical choice and are going to be very happy with it. My suggestion is to keep an eye on a used MFC-101 or RJM MasterMind GT-16 on eBay. The Roland is very good, but these will create the ultimate setup for you. Enjoy!
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Coincidence, I'm downsizing in the same way with an Axe FX II XL+ rig. But... I'm also keeping my MP-1 in a separate rig. I can't see myself selling it!
Originally I put the MP-1 in the FX loop of the Axe Fx, so I could call up the MP-1 like an amp block in the signal chain. But eventually I got to the point where I was creating presets that didn't even use the MP-1. Thus it no longer made sense to me to keep the MP-1 in that rig, so I returned the MP-1 to its own rig, and built a separate rig around the Axe Fx.
The Axe Fx rig was to be my live rig (FRFR) because it's lighter, and broken down into smaller units. MUCH easier to transport, and I'm not getting younger. Unfortunately, the band has entered a state of indefinite hiatus, so no gigging for the foreseeable future, the irony! Hah!
But I'm still keeping my MP-1 rig. The rack weighs as much as a car, the cab is bulky, the pedalboard is heavy. But I still like it!! It even has new tubes.
BTW another coincidence, I'm also going to Japan! Err, not a move though, just vacation.
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I can see MJMP gettin an Axe FX next :lol:
Hey DesmoBob, doesn't Axefx do an MP1 profile? I thought I read somewhere online that it did?
Anyone know the difference between Axe Fx 1 and Axe Fx 2?
and is a kempler the same thing?
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I can see MJMP gettin an Axe FX next :lol:
Mmmm don't think so :nono: :lol:
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I can see MJMP gettin an Axe FX next :lol:
Mmmm don't think so :nono: :lol:
hahahhahaa was just testing you. Quite a few are jumping ship though.
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Well it would be a good solution for you :dunno:
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Anyone know the difference between Axe Fx 1 and Axe Fx 2?
AxeFX Standard and Ultra:
http://wiki.fractalaudio.com/axefx2/index.php?title=Axe-Fx_Standard_and_Ultra (http://wiki.fractalaudio.com/axefx2/index.php?title=Axe-Fx_Standard_and_Ultra)
AxeFX II (MkI, MkII, XL, XL+):
http://wiki.fractalaudio.com/axefx2/index.php?title=Axe-Fx_II_Wiki_Home (http://wiki.fractalaudio.com/axefx2/index.php?title=Axe-Fx_II_Wiki_Home)
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Well it would be a good solution for you :dunno:
No not interested lol I wouldn't bother getting all these preamps and mods and shit if I was just going to dump them for a modeller. It's much more fun this way. And it really adds to my unique way of doing things certainly in the UK anyways. When I bump into another guy with an MP1 at one of our gigs I'll let you guys know :thumb-up:
You mean good as I could travel with it right? Och no, it's not for me, I love my preamps now, it always takes time though for me to get familiar with new things.
But anyone else going the Axe FX route well it's up to them, I'm not going to knock it.
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Hey Chaos.... a lot of Fractal users are using the SKB100 rack/pedalboard case for their rigs. I have one sitting around the studio right now if you were interested. 3 rack spaces and pedal board in one unit.
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I can see MJMP gettin an Axe FX next :lol:
Hey DesmoBob, doesn't Axefx do an MP1 profile? I thought I read somewhere online that it did?
Anyone know the difference between Axe Fx 1 and Axe Fx 2?
and is a kempler the same thing?
It doesn't have a specific MP-1 model, but you can get close by tweaking some other models. One guy even tone-matched his 3TM MP-1 into a profile. Every now and then people suggest the MP-1 as a model, but I think the hard part is the creator getting his hands on a functional, unmodded unit plus schematics. [edit: correction, the guy tone matched a 3.666, not 3TM]
The Kemper is more of a point & shoot type of modeler. It's based on sonic "snapshots" of amps, and you tweak them to your taste. For a lot of people, this is the way to go because there's less fuss, and it's easy to use, but at the expense of authenticity and customization. The Axe Fx virtually recreates the real circuitry within the amps, so the models actually behave like real tube amps, with almost infinite tweakability, but with the expense of a steep learning curve.
Even if they do get an MP-1 model in there, I'm still keeping my real thing. O0