ADA Depot - A Forum To Support Users of ADA Amplification Gear
Non ADA Gear => Guitars => Topic started by: El Chiguete on July 24, 2014, 09:03:21 PM
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So a thread in another forum got me thinking this, probably there won't be a deffinitive answer but whats the best for our MP-1, 2s and Classics preamps? I'm asking this because In the other forum there was talk about how you don't need old school high power pickups because when they where made the amp didn't have that much gain so the needed a push in the from and that came from the pickups (like how the Dimarzio Super Distortion makes older Marshalls scream) but with out ADA preamps that have way more gain should we steel use this type of high output pickups? Or maybe a mid output pickup should be better to have more clarity? Dont know, just food for thought.
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Based on my experience a middy, high output pickup on my MP-1 and MP-2 has given me issues, or on anything resembling a metal oriented rig, at least for rhythm playing. The ADA preamps really like my Aria Pro PE-R80's vintage output humbuckers (especially the bridge), same for my medium output P-Rails on my Kawai F1 Jr as they don't congest the preamp and mask the note attack. While The guitar's construction will figure greatly I think those forums are on the right track. There are always exceptions though...and preferential differences... :-\
On a side note: This goes along the same lines as the debate. I recently tried out a new EVH 5150 III for the first time...best guitar for the lead and crunch channel?...Turns out it was a draw between a maple necked Cabronita Telecaster with Filtertrons and a Pawn Shop Strat with the Wide Range humbucker in the bridge, bizarre thrash heaven. Go figure. ??? :dunno: :whoohoo!:
Then again the 5150 is a different sort of beast.
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Hey El, there can't be a definitive answer, it's so subjective and also the ADAs' are so adaptable/adjustable, they will cope with most things, the sound (in the end) is up to the individual. The factory presets are set for a variety of guitars and PUs. For me, the first part of the sound is what you do with your fingers on a guitar that does what "it" does, then into pre amp amp cabs. There are lots of PUs available (my fav is Ultrasonics very flat most others are middy), they all sound different. To me, to say it doesn't matter anymore is crap, all the bits/elements combine to make "your" tone.
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That is what is so cool about Guitars and Basses. There are so many ways to Color your Sound. There really is no right or wrong pickup for the ADA just your personal taste. In my experience I got rid of all my High Output Emgs. I felt they made a modded MP1 scratchy sounding.But I used use Single Coil Emgs in my Telecaster and Love the sound. When it comes to my heavy riffing I use whater...X2N dual blade..Invader..gotta get rid of my passive Emgs but thoses too and one of my Favs is my Medium Output Infinity Stock Ibanez Pu. The Medium output works great with further cleaning up high gain channels when I need it.
There are some amazing independent PU makers around too.
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I definitely agree with the last two posts in this thread by Richard, and Robb. They pretty much hit the nail on the head.
I remember trying The DiMarzio Super Distortions in a Gibson L6-S. They did push the overdrive much further, and made for a great lead tone, but when you rolled the volume knob back, you couldn't get rid of the distortion. Those pickups and the Power Plus pickups were useless when it came to getting a clean tone. IMHO
Whoever posted about that in the other forum is just looking for excuses to cover a lack of technique. It brings to mind and old saying: It's a poor musician who blames his instrument!
Harley 8)
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I have to agree with the pretty much everyone so far. I find myself gravitating to mid-output pickups with my preamps, but especially the MP-2. The Classic is just more forgiving in a lot of aspects. It's better with picking attack, which makes it seem more organic, like an INSTRUMENT. As Harley pointed out, the magic is in the fingers, not the gear.
Guitar bodies do make a difference too - the heavier the guitar, the more I gravitate towards higher output humbuckers. Nothing active or super high gain, mostly Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB pickups in my guitars. My heavier guitars are solid mahogany bodies, most with a maple cap. The lighter ones are either basswood, hollow mahogany bodies, or korina. My Korina Explorer though, has Gibson PAFs, not a high gain PU at all. It sounds amazing.
In the end, it's all subjective. There is no right answer, only the answer that is right for you.
Slightly off topic: What cracks me up is that all of us strive for that grail tone, slaving through settings and consuming tons of gear to get it just right. Then, we post recordings and all our tones are very similar, just made with a different recipe :lol: Could be because we are all influenced by similar beasts. Hence, the ADA gear that they used is what we use.
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Some salient points Dante, it is mostly in the fingers (and our respective pattern memory which steers them). The gear is a vehicle.. albeit an important one :thumb-up:
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Slightly off topic: What cracks me up is that all of us strive for that grail tone, slaving through settings and consuming tons of gear to get it just right. Then, we post recordings and all our tones are very similar, just made with a different recipe :lol: Could be because we are all influenced by similar beasts. Hence, the ADA gear that they used is what we use.
Hey Dante,
I think this is because we have a particular tone in mind that suits us individually more than others. So what we try to do is produce variations of that tone that transition from one to the other in a smoother way than it would from a drastic tone change. I know I am that way with my Strat tones. I use more bottom end in my tones so that my Strats don't sound as thin, and I set up my tone settings much in the same way on my Preamps.
The hard thing is when we have to have a contrast in guitar tones for recording that blend with each other well in the final mix. I find that to be a bit of a challenge because what may sound good from the guitar alone, takes on a different character when the rest of the instruments are added to the mix. That's when I find myself going back to the contrast tone and trying to come up with a different setting that will blend in a bit better.
Harley 8)
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AGREED.
There are a few tones I have that sound 'less than beautiful' by themselves, but the sit in a mix very well. That's a great point, thanks for bringing that up.
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+1 :thumb-up: very good point, and made me realise that my tones were mostly run up in a 2 guitar band (he used various boogies). Since doing some more just one guitar here and there (in many ways my preference these days), I needed to add quite a bit more bottom end. Initially when MP1s came out, apart from sounding great, they gave me what I needed, an easy way to get lead boost and clean sounds, I'd been using a Marshall 72 50w with power soak, so volume jumps for solos was an issue. Then I dialed in all my own sounds (such a nice sound stage in ADA gear) and redefined my tone. Then MP2 and redefined again, but still my tone (which obviously includes PUs and playing). One of the great things with the ADA preamps is they were designed to cater for a vast range of PUs and playing styles, and now with 3TM even higher gain...if that's what floats your boat.
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Yes, the contrast tones I mentioned are not really guitar tones we are in our "comfort zones" with. I always find myself second guessing my playing techniques, and amp settings, etc. Sometimes I find it difficult to just let go and play like that because I'm thinking to myself, "this sounds way off, and maybe too much of it!" while I'm playing. Then I'll go back and try to adjust the level of that contrast tone to subdue it in the mix. When I get it to a level that blends in to the mix, then I'll pick up something that is missing in that tone and have to go back and do it again, this time with Chorus added to the tone, or maybe Univibe, or something similar.
I find it difficult to get myself in the mindset to just use a stripped down plain jane tone when I'm so used to working with rich, full bodied tones on a constant basis. Less isn't more....More is more!
Harley 8)
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Less isn't more....More is more!
Harley 8)
I agree 100%.