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Author Topic: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!  (Read 8893 times)

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NeverAfter

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Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« on: Time Format »

Hello fellow ADAphiles!

I just registered on the board and I would like to take this oppertunity to introduce myself. I'm a 42 year old male living in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. I play (mostly rock/metal) guitar and am in an amateur band with some friends.
 
10+ years ago when I bought my MP-2, I hung out here for a while. Too bad the old board with it's treasure of information is gone now, but good to see it's still/again here and alive! My MP-2 is after all these years still at the heart of my rig. I use it with our (metal/rock) band but mostly with just standard presets. I've been putting of the danting task of programming my rig for a long time but now the time has finally come for me to face that challenge! :D

About my current rig:



Furman PL-PLUS E - No rack without one! Everything gets plugged in this unit.

ADA MP-2 - Needs no introduction here! The 1.33 version, I will order a 1.41 chip from Marshalljmp soon. Currently has High Mu matched JJECC83 tubes in it but will look for some lower gain ones in the future. I already did did two upgrades on it, I believe it was a noise mod and a noise gate fix.

Rocktron Intellifex - The older blackface version. I don't use many effects besides some delay, reverb, chorus and the intellifex does that very well. I really love how you can set up to 8 voices for chorus and delay! And ofcourse it has Hush!

MESA 20/20 - I really love this little beast. Don't let the 20 watt rating fool you, it can keep up easily with a very loud drummer! I did the deep mod on it but not in the usual way. The left switch switches the highpass filter in or out for both channels and the right switch alternates between the original and a lower value capacitator. With my old Marshall 1922 cabinet the difference wasn't that noticable but with the new 4x12 ENGL standard cab the difference is huge! It currently has 4 x EL84 and 3x ECC83 tubes from JJ in it.

ENGL 4x12 Standard - I got this cab about 2 months ago and I absolutely love it! The sound of the V60 speakers really suit my rig perfectly! There is a slight midrange scoop on them but that can easily be compensated for resulting in a very smooth midrange sound. It also has very smooth highs, comparable to a greenback speaker. The lows are really tight and also work very well for 7 string guitars.

Behringer FCB1010 - Stock version with older firmware. I love the versatility of this unit, especially for it's price! It's just needs some updating with an UNO firmware chip and a phantom power mod.

As you can see, my rig is really due for some updating, modding and programming. Since budget is tight atm, things will have to be done over time. Good thing about that is that it gives me some time to research everything thoroughly. Currently I'm working on a backplane for my rack with stuff I have lying around the house so I can connect everything a little faster at band practise and spare the connectors on the original equipment. So far I have put in a fan, a dual outlet and an on/off switch on a 2EH blindplate. Still to be added is the speaker outputs, guitar input, a midi input with switchable phantom power and a an extra 230v euro connector as backup power for my FCB1010 in case the phantom power fails.




Other mods I plan to do over time are:

- Rewire the rack with better cables, I now have those cheap colored patch cables in there.
- ROM upgrade on the ADA.
- Order and install the noise mod pack from marshalljmp.
- ROM upgrade on the FCB1010 with an UNO chip.
- Phantom power mod for the FCB1010.
- Install HumFrees to prevent ground loops.
- Fix my TU-2 that has become microphonic.
- Build a fligtcased pedal board for my FCB1010 and TU-2. In the future I will probably add a tubescreamer in there as well.

So, still plenty to do and probably plenty to ask here on the forum.  ;D
Looking forward to chat ADA with you all!

Martin.
« Last Edit: Time Format by NeverAfter »
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rnolan

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #1 on: Time Format »

Hey Martin, well welcome to the depot  :thumb-up: and greetings from Australia  :wave: . Nice rig BTW  >:D . Tube wise for MP2 my favourites are the Mullard long plates (new sensor reissues, hey no secret here  :facepalm: ) They are so 3D and work really well in MP2s (I have 4 MP2s all with the same tubes... and while the Boogie (JJ) SPAX7s are ok (tried them, nice feedback but so 2D), they don't have a patch on these Mullards.. I tried so I know..).
Hey programming your rig isn't that hard (and very happy to help you here), what's hard is to decide when to stop as there are so many variables. Let your ears decide.
Some tips:
Run up new sounds at stage volume then turn them down for bedroom (whatever) (very important) they will turn down quite well you'll find (not so good the other way...).
Try my/or others MP2 presets (I've posted a few here) see what you think and adjust to what "you" want.
And hey ask anything you want, happy to share (and I know MP2s pretty well  :thumb-up: ).
So question: how have you patched you setup ? Is the inteliflex in the stereo loop ? (which is where I would put it unless, like me, you use a small mixer and run it all like a PA and run it off 2 FX sends/returns)
Cheers R
« Last Edit: Time Format by rnolan »
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Harley Hexxe

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #2 on: Time Format »

Hello NeverAfter!

   Greetings from the USA, and welcome to the Depot :thumb-up:

    I've been using the MP-2's in my rigs for several years now, and have learned quite a bit about the program editing process. I'd be happy to share anything I've learned as well as some of my presets with you.
   I agree with Richard on the choice of tubes for the MP-2, Mullards do seem to offer a more realistic response to the MP-2's super hot factory programs, but there are other tubes which might help it sound even better. I just haven't gotten around to them yet.
    That's a nice little setup you have there by the way. I've been very curious about the Mesa 20/20 for years, but havent had the nerve to get one since I still love the sounds I get from my Microtube power amps.
    One tip I would like to offer about editing presets: When you are tweaking the EQ, be aware that when you tweak the 4-band parametric EQ, it affects the graphic EQ settings, so when you go to tweak the graphic EQ bands, then that will affect the 4-band EQ as well. I found that to be a little maddening personally :lol: It took me a while to get the hang of it, but it was worth learning.
    I also like the built-in wah that is in the MP-2. Mine is tweaked to the Stratocaster frequencies, since that is my primary guitar for everything I play. I would strongly recommend you experiment with that too!

Harley 8)
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MarshallJMP

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #3 on: Time Format »

Hey neighbor

Greatings from Belgium and welcome to the depot!!!

Let me know if you need anything,btw i can also supply you the UNO eprom (at a depot price) if you want.

BTW love the green fan  :thumb-up:
« Last Edit: Time Format by MarshallJMP »
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rnolan

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #4 on: Time Format »

The EPROM upgrade is a no brainer, go for the 1.41, well worth it for a couple of bucks, the main difference is the patch change speed, changes it from frustrating to cool/that's good... And I say this with experience... It turns up as a preference though, you have to select "fast change" in the global parameters. This turned the MP2 around for me (back in the day) the pause in patch change was (Not good/irritating) and pissed me off, I was coming off my MP1 and it was the only thing I didn't like in the transition but then they fixed it...
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Kim

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #5 on: Time Format »

Welcome!    :wave:
Love your backplate idea; I should look into that myself.  I've done something similar to my home recording setup by just making a "breakout box" to plug in/out of so the main connection to the 'puter can stay put and avoid the wear and tear.


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GuitarBuilder

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #6 on: Time Format »

Welkom from a fellow countryman far away in California!

Fabulous rig you have there!
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NeverAfter

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #7 on: Time Format »

Thank you all for the welcomes, tips and nice replies on my rig!

rnolan: I will definetly give the mullards a try! As from what you describe it sounds like we have the same experience with the JJ's. I'm looking for a little more character and dynamics in the tubes. When I ordered the JJ's from Dr. Tube, I had him match them for a high Mu value. They have tons of gain but therefor lack a bit in character and dynamics. Over the years I've learned you really don't need to use that much gain on an amp. Too much gain kills the dynamics and washes out the tone.
I'll give the patches here on the forum a try. I've found that with the MP-2 there's a lot of approaches you can take to get your desired sound. It's always interesting to see what others have come up with.
I've indeed discovered it doesn't work to program your patches at home. Luckily we rent a rehearsal space and whenever there is no other band in it, we can use it at no extra charge. So I can go there for an afternoon or evening to work on my patches at stage volume. I will do the basic patch programming at home first.
There used to be a topic about serial vs straight through on the old board. That was actually what I first came looking for when I got back to ADAdepot but unfortunatly it seems to be lost. I will start a new topic on this soon, since I think it's a usefull discussion to have in the MP-2 section. I remember there were lots of pro and cons for either way. Until recently I've had my MP-2 running straight into the intellifex and from there into the poweramp. I've now switched to using the effects loop and I really like the way that sounds. To my ears the effects blend a little better with the dry signal from the MP-2 when routed through the loop. It takes a bit of the digital edge out of the sound. Could this maybe be because of the buffers on the loop? It also gives me the option to have different wet/dry levels for different ada patches without having to programm the same effect with different mix levels on the Intellifex. I used to connect it straight trhough, so when switching patches I could let the delay or reverb effect trail off to make the switching a little less noticable, but this should be better already with the 1.41 ROM.

Harley: The Mesa 20/20 is an amazing amp! it's very transparent with enough headroom to give you a crystal clear sound that can keep up with a loud  drummer. To my ears, a 50/50 amp only gives you about a 25% volume increase. This thing is loud, especially when you feed it a proper +4Db level. One should at least give the deep mod a try as well, it's an easy and cheap mod. the original highpass filter is a little agressive on cutting lows out of the mix.
My current approach to the tone controls and eq is to first set the tone controls. Then when I, for example, want to fine tune the mids with the graph. eq by boosting some freqs, I first turn the mids down one notch in the tone controls. If I mostly cut freqs on the graph eq, I first turn them up a notch in the tone controls. This, for me, gets the fastest results.

MarshallJMP: Hey zuiderbuur! It's always great to meet a belgian, they are the most kindest and relaxed people you'll ever meet. :)
Great to hear you can also supply the UNO chip! I'll be ordering them both from you very soon then! Did I understand correctly from glancing at your website that you now have an actual store that can be visited? If so, I'll definetly have to pop in some day! I still had the green fan lying around from my PC case modding days, it's a nice touch! ;D

KIM: Thanks for the compliment on the backplate. A blindplate and a Dremel gets you a long way! Some of the parts used, I harvested from a defective computer PSU. You could probably get a defective one for free from your local computer store. The cable passthroughs are actually rubber feet from a PC case I drilled through. If you do get to making a backplane, I'd love to see some pics!

GuitarBuilder: Dank je en hallo! No matter where you go, you'll always run into a dutch guy! ;D
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Harley Hexxe

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #8 on: Time Format »

Hey NeverAfter,
 
  I may just get one of those to try out for a single rig. Another member who used to be on here, (Chester The Jester), had one of those, and he raved about it!

  I never tried that that particular technique of bumping the Tone control up a notch to compensate for the Graphic adjustment. I'll have to give that one a go on my next editing session with the MP-2. Always something to learn here, love it!! Thanks for the tip :thumb-up:


Harley 8)
 
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MarshallJMP

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #9 on: Time Format »

Not an actual store,you can see what i have and you need to send me an email with what you want.

Eindhoven hé, Dynamo open air!!!! great festival and cheap back in the 80's !!! had a lot of fun there.
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Dante

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #10 on: Time Format »

Welcome to the Depot!

Nice, tidy rig. Looks very capable. I got very VERY close to getting one of those Mesa amps a while back. Something about 'Dyna Watt' power that makes them louder, according to the Boogie folks (sipping the kool-aid). Still using my ADA Microtube though, it rocks.

Looking forward to seeing your progress on the rig  :thumb-up:

Dante

rnolan

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #11 on: Time Format »

Hey Martin, the serial vs parallel has quite a few posts here but it was around MikeBs journey with his MP1 and GMaj (so have a look in there). Now being an analogue die hard I've been spruiking using a small desk so digital FXs are combined in parallel to preserve the tube analogue direct signal.  This is easy in the MP2 as it has the stereo parallel loop, not so easy with MP1 as it has mono serial loop.  In the early days, this was less an issue as the FX units of the time often had a true analogue pass through for the dry sound.  But I noticed (in my TC Mone XL) that the first thing it does is A/D the signal (analogue gone  :facepalm: ). Mike and I tested this with his MP1 & TC GMaj and you can hear the difference but then he looses the midi CC features (eg master vol) of his GMaj, again not a big deal if you have MP2 as is built in. I always used a small desk and ran it like a PA (using FX sends/rtns on the desk) so it wasn't an issue. Now as SC points out, it's not a huge difference so use whatever works for you. But you have MP2 so you can use the loop to combine FX in parallel  :thumb-up:

Your eqing tips are spot on, generally, if you boost a bit here then you should cut a bit there, what you are trying to preserve is unity gain (what you put in volts wise is what you get out volts wise albeit with frequencies changed) so the next bit of the chain/circuit is working with a good solid signal.  I've found that the basic tone controls in the MP2 are fine for most things and I don't use the graphic that much, but that's me and my tone(s).
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rabidgerry

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #12 on: Time Format »

Welcome NeverAfter

glad to have you aboard.

I shall be playing with my band in Holland and Belgium this year!!  Played there last year in the Hague.  I really enjoyed your country, it was excellent and I can't wait to go back!

Nice rig you have!! 
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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #13 on: Time Format »

Hallo en welkom in het Depot Martin :wave:

Peter
(from the West-Friesland area of Holland)
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NeverAfter

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Re: Hi from Eindhoven, The Netherlands!
« Reply #14 on: Time Format »

rnolan, unlike the Gmajor the intellifex splits the analog signal at the input and keeps the dry signal analog. after the wet signal went through the d/a conversion it gets mixed back in with the dry signal. Unless you use the built in hush, then it will first convert the whole input signal to mono(!) and route it through the digital hush. I've been thinking about changing to a Gmajer 2 in the future because it has some extra effects and routing options. As you said in that case it becomes even more important to use the loop on the MP-2 to keep the dry signal all analog.

rabidgerry, let me know when and where you'll be playing in holland and I'll see if I can catch the gig!

Peter, dank je!

Last week I dusted off my Halfler Hellrazor preamp to use at band practise until I got my MP-2 fixed. I was quite pleasantly surprised! The clean channel is quite fender like at lower gain setting but with the pull boost out goes into a nice crunch tone. The dirty channel (where I mostly live...) gives some really nice hot marshall tones. But what I mostly noticed is how dynamic this preamp is. It responds very well to volume and pick attack changes. I can go from clean to a solid metal crunch with just the volume pot on my guitar. It didn't work to well with the JJ's. An EH 12ax7EH in V1 and a EH 12ax7LPS in v2 makes it come alive though! I think I'll hold on to this one for a while longer! At least until a get a MP-1 somewhere in the future. :)
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