Hey DjC, some say I think (and talk) too much
LoL. But like many here I have a passion for ADA gear and, as it get older, we are faced with the "well what else is there
" question. This came home to me a while ago when I thought about it, if my MP-2 dies WTF can I get that even gets close to it
. So I started acquiring MP-2s
, much like what you are doing with MP1s but apart from one screwed up purchase attempted with "Joe Perry" where I didn't get the goods
, all the units I bought work (and all sound different even with the same tubes etc).
I don't think MJMP needs me to manage him LoL (or would want me to (he has a wife for that LoL)), but I have no problem highly recommending him and pointing people in his direction, I don't know of anyone else with his knowledge of ADA gear and also with a good range of modernised bits you can use to refurbish your unit. And all power to him (along with immeasurable thanks) for getting the MDRTs made at a price we can afford and a range of sub board PCBs etc.
The tube board came up when Mike was refurbishing his MP1, so you could remove and install new gold plated tube sockets (highly recommended by SC IIRC and makes sense, they do corrode/gather dust whatever). Or you can (as Mike discovered) get a brand new (stock circuit) tube board populated with the best (modern construction) components and not burn your fingers LoL from MJMP. I have a bunch of gold plated tube sockets sitting in the drawer to replace the ones in my MP2s. Not a trivial job in MP2 though (hence still in the drawer, but I'll get to it one day). Wait till you see inside a MP2, there's not an inch/mm of space left...