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[PrimalScream91]

Tell us how you came about the MP1?  Always nice to hear peoples stories on getting into ADA.

My own is quite random.  I think I googled 80's guitar sounds and kept finding "ADA MP1 legendary preamp for classic 80's heavy metal tones"  (it does a whole lot more btw).  Then I think I decided to track one down on ebay if the price was right!  And the three MP1s later and the rest is history.

I noticed this comment on one of the other threads and it raised a great question!

We are all here because of our love for these great preamps, power amps, pedals, etc. But how did everyone get into ADA?

Personally, I'd heard of ADA years ago but the idea of having rack gear didn't appeal to me as I'd always preferred the look of an amp head. As much as I liked Bratta and Nuno's sound, I just couldn't get into the MP-1. BUT! That all changed after I watched this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBDyv-EEZ9g

Posted on April Fools Day, this video really caught my ear. I knew it was a joke, but I desperately wanted to know what he was using to get that tone! I obsessed over it for quite a while until Brian (owner of Wampler) posted in the comments that he was using an MP-1 in the video, after that I knew I had to have one.

Since getting my first MP-1 (I say my first, because I know it won't be my last!) I've found it can do a lot more than just 80's rock, and the rest is history!

I now have an MP-1, MP-2, B200S, & MC-1. But I'm always on the hunt for my next piece of gear!

[Harley Hexxe]

Okay, I'll jump on this thread.

    My introduction to ADA was years before the MP-1 came out. The first ADA piece I got was the ADA Flanger pedal back in 1981. I bought it used for $20. It was a 1978 pedal, and I still have it. I've had other Flanger pedals since then, but none were as good, so they're gone and the ADA remains.
    Then, by 1985, I was switching my set up from the heavy tube heads to the GK 250ML. A good sounding amp with an effects loop. That's when I started using the ADA S-1000, and 2-FX, and I was hooked.
     Later, when the MP-1 came out, I dropped the GK, and ADA became my amplification system of choice. I still have the GK, but don't use it much. Today, I use my ADA rig(s) in tandem with my Fender amps, and I have all the sonic soundscapes I need. Sometimes, I'll add my Leslie to the mix, and get an even richer guitar sound.

      Harley

[Chamai]

i was looking for an amp for hair metal few years ago. i didn't the any guitar gear knowledge at that time.  i pretty much just googled "best amp for hairmetal" and the ADA MP1 popped up. i search for one on craigslist and some guy was selling one. so i just gave the guy the money and went home with it.

[Soloist]

First off:

@ PS91  That video is awesome, I remember seeing it when it first came out! Wishing I had one
@ Harley  I had the Gallien Kruger for a bit too in the mid 90's. Did a great Anthrax tone!

Anyways when I first seen the ads for the MP1 back in the late 80"s I was just graduating high school (damn I suddenly feel old) but couldn't afford it back then. Back then I was using Marshall DSL head and Marshall 412 cab, so I had the heavy american speed metal tone I wanted at that time. As I got older I grew tired of the speed metal and wanted to get into Lynch, DeMartini and early Vai. That whole 80"s hard rock and glam metal tone was the direction I wanted to take. After doing some research I was reminded of the MP1 and the great 80's tones it produces. While I was kicking it around in my head trying to decide I ended up going to check out this local 80's cover band. It happened to be an open jam with the band night and the guitar player was using an MP1 and a Marshall 9005 power amp. It sounded like heaven to me. So I decided to jam a tune with them. It was "Mista Bone" by Great White and man did his amp sound like it was on fire I bought 1 two weeks later and never looked back. Now my rig has that same MP1 still in it plus an MP2 , MT200 power amp and my ADA split stacks. I also see getting an MP1 Classic in the near future. Might as well complete the family

[vansinn]

Had good guitars but no good sound, went to a shop where a metal dude who could actually play wanted to test my Duesenberg through an MP-1, commenting "All you'll ever need is this and any good amp".
Bought the MP-1 same day. Pity I had just sold my Sunn Model-T..

[rabidgerry]

hahaha god to know something I said on this board was worthy of starting another thread 

I'll expand on my story a little.

Never heard or knew anything about ADA before, I;d saw them in pictures before but has no idea what the hell they were.  As I said I internet searched good 80's heavy metal gear and MP1 kept popping up along with others like Kitty Hawk and Peavey.  I bought the MP1 on a whim and basically got convinced after I landed a 3TM.  Then I gota stock MP1 and I love both.

@Soloist
You had the GK 250ML!!!!!!!!!  I am on lookout for one or else the 2000cpl!  I need the amp/preamps from Iron Maiden "Somewhere in time" "Seventh Son" era!  Solid State gods those amps!

@ Harley
You had the GK 250ML as well!!!  So envious man!  I nearly bagged a 250RL (the head version)a few months back but the guy backed out of the deal, I was gutted as I want that GK sound in my aresenal!!!!  The sound to me is incredible.

[Harley Hexxe]

I still have the 250ML

[rabidgerry]

Give it to me!!!

If I bagged one I'd be tweaking the internal trim pots for the extra distortion    I'd really prefer to get this one though

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gallien-Krueger-2000CPL-Guitar-Preamp-Vintage-Rack-Effects/302007040049?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3D2ac3116636784af599749b0dc506a31b%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D302007040049

just can't afford it at the moment and I also cannot afford the stupid import tax I would have to pay for this, probably another £100!

[Dante]

Okay, here's my story....I was playing through two half stacks (a Carvin and a Marshall) using a Boss ME-5 in stereo. It sounded epic. This was circa 1989 and I was playing original punk/funk/heavy pop/Prog rock (think Jane's Addiction + Chili Peppers + Yes/Rush). We opened for Primus in 1991 at a local club and I was transfixed by the footswitches Larry and Les were using. They said ADA on them

I went to guitar center in Berkeley the following weekend to buy my first MP-1 and a Quadraverb. I was hooked. I sold the half stacks and kept one of the speaker cabs (the Carvin). Then, built my own two 1x12 cabs and sold the 4x12. I used that MP-1 until I bought an MP-2 in 1995. Then, some years and a few MP-1s later, I finally landed a Classic (thanks Kim!) I sold my home made cabs and landed some Thiele ported cabs and a couple EV speakers and I'm about as happy as I can be (until I have to pick up one of those cabs).

Many other amps and FX have come/gone, but the ADA stays. It truly is the only one you'll need

[El Chiguete]

I knew about them from searching the web and forums and when it was time to upgrade my small Marshall combo I found a good offer of one locally with a Microcab 100 and a Carvin 4x12 cab... the rest is history!

[Harley Hexxe]

Give it to me!!!

If I bagged one I'd be tweaking the internal trim pots for the extra distortion    I'd really prefer to get this one though

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gallien-Krueger-2000CPL-Guitar-Preamp-Vintage-Rack-Effects/302007040049?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3D2ac3116636784af599749b0dc506a31b%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D302007040049

just can't afford it at the moment and I also cannot afford the stupid import tax I would have to pay for this, probably another £100!

    I looked into one of those a long time ago, and it didn't sound quite as good as the 250ML. The same thing with the 250RL. Both were missing something in the tone range that the 250ML already had. I sold the 250 RL and the two GK 2x12 cabs that came with it a few months after I bought it. The 2000CPL I tried out in the store, but wasn't impressed. It was basically the same tone as the 250RL;
    The 250ML I have still sounds good on it's own, and even better when I plug it into my small Fender 2x12 cab that is loaded with Altec Lansing G12-17 speakers. They are wired to individual jacks so each one handles one channel of the 250ML. The downside to the 250ML and RL, is that both amps will want to see no less than 16 Ohms on a speaker channel. Fortunately for me, those two Altecs are 16 Ohm each. What is really nice about the amp is the ADA effects I used through it made it sound even better! I played a lot of gigs in the mid 80's with that amp, which is why I still have it.

  Harley

[MarshallJMP]

My story is a bit like Dante's. Started out with marshall heads into marshall cabs with boss pedals.Later the pedals where replaced by the ME5 until a friend of mine got his mp-1/B200S combo.After hearing it I bought a new MP-1 in 1990 together with an ART X11 pedal and an ART multiverb alpha 2.0.Later in '99 i switched to the MP-2/lexicon MPX1 but I never liked the distorted sounds of the MP-2 and it was also too noisy for my taste. So I switched back to the MP-1 with a tc electronics G-force.Then in 2003 I joined the adadepot and from there on I gathered as much ADA gear as I could. So I ended up with a rack with 16 units mostly ADA. Main sounds come from the MP-1 3TM ultra+ for distortion and the MP-2 for cleans.

[Kim]

My journey began with a Fender Sidekick Chorus, circa 1986 and a Yamaha single humbucker guitar that I can't remember the model.
Blew up the Fender running it too long @ wide open, (really just blew a mains fuse inside but I didn't know any better at the time) so it got tossed.
Bought a KMD 60 watt 1x12 combo with another 1x12 ext. cab, and sounded a lot better.  Also had a new Squire Strat at this time loaded with EMG pups and a Kahler locking trem.
I couldn't get past the sound of single coils, and traded it in on a new Yamaha RGX211 axe.  Shred City!
Played this through a friends pair of JCM900 half stacks with a stereo Chorus pedal connecting the two, and decided I definitely needed that, but I could only afford one half stack:  Peavey Triumph 120.  Sounded pretty good at low volumes but it got too loud and mudded right out past 3 on the Master anyway, so got rid of that too.  About then I stopped playing altogether for a few years.   

When I got back into it, I found some ridiculously good deals:  First a Jackson PS4 guitar that I EMG'd, and a used Peavey 4x12 cab from the late 70s.  I went shopping for a Marshall head and found I could only afford the VS100H.  Not bad, but definitely not great either.
When I had some $$ to spend again, about year 2001 in there somewhere I went to a local Music-Go-Round.  3 things caught my eye...(well 4 if you count the girl who worked there) 
An ADA MP-1, a Rocktron Chameleon, and a BC Rich Gunslinger with the snakeskin print.   
The Gunslinger was missing screws, locknut parts, and had a lot of rust on the metal.  They wouldn't budge a penny on the price, either so I passed on that.
The preamps were the same price, but I went with the ADA because I remembered seeing the adverts in the magazines about them.  I had no clue who Rocktron was at the time. 
Plugged into the Powe In of the VS100H sounded really underwhelming.  Plugged into the front Input it was a real screamer.  And I mean that in both good and bad ways.  I had a killer sound but I couldn't shut it up at any volume without rolling the guitar volume off.  Bye bye VS100H.
I made the jump at that point to go full rack with a Rocktron Velocity 300 poweramp, a Rocktron Intellifex, Korg DTR1000 tuner, Rocktron Hush Super C, BBE 482, both a Marshall 1960A and 1960B cab, etc. and it was just on from there.  Got another Jackson Superstrat, and a pair of Jackson Kellys. Started following the Mod doc made available and got busy.  Real busy.  Probably repaired and modded 50-60 MP-1s. Sold the Velocity for a Peavey Classic 120 tube poweramp, sold the Intellifex for an Xpression, and sold the BBE just to make it go away. I still have the Korg tuner.  Sold the Superstrats.  Still have both Kellys. No MP-1s anymore; the MP-2 is my Grail. Sold the Super C, since the MP-2 has it's own Gate.  Sold the Classic 120 because it was too heavy, and got a ADA MT200.

There's a lot I missed, but this is the brief story.  lol  There was a lot of heavy shit going on at the time, and I got where I'm at now with a little help from my friends. I said I got by with a little help...from my friends.   And I'm forever grateful.   

[rabidgerry]

@Harley
Interesting you didn't like 2000cpl.  It sounds to me from what I have heard online it can do the 250ml and then some.  I'd personally want to go for the CPL as it has a lot more versatility.  Either that or the 2100SEL.  But as I say I cannot afford them as they go for silly money now and I saw some other pres that look quite sexy  GAS.

How come the 250rl did not sound like the ml?  This makes no sense, it's same amp just without speakers attached?  Ws it perhaps the GK speakers then that made it sound to your liking with the ml?

In regards to the thread, I didn't tell my full story about gear, just the ADA stuff.

My first real amp that could compete with a drummer was an Marshall AVT150 using a Zoom Player 2100.  Then I added and extension cab to the AVT150.  Then I got a Randal randall rx120rh with accompanying 4x12".  I used both together for a while eventually progressing to Boss GT6 instead of the Zoom.  Then went to Two Crate Power Blocks and just the Boss GT6 into 2 x 2x12" cabs.  Then eventually 4 x 2x12" cabs.  Then I got into the ADA MP1 and not long after the Peavey Rockmaster.  Switched the GT6 for a GT5.  Then I ditched the power blocks for the Harley Benton GPA-400 (Rocktron Velocity clone) and began using a 3u Rack which either has an MP1 in it or Peavey Rockmaster at any one time in conjunction with Boss GT5 FX on the floor and that's me to date.

[Harley Hexxe]

@RG,
    The 2000CPL when I auditioned it, was plugged into a Peavey 50+50 Classic poweramp, and they had that plugged into a stereo 4x12 cab. I think that was a Peavey too that was loaded with BW speakers. In any event, when I was playing around with it trying to dial in some sounds, it seemed like I would almost get there...but not quite. I messed around with it for a good hour then decided it wasn't meant to be.

   The 250RL, I only played it through the two GK 2x12 cabs I bought with it. I don't know what kind of speakers came in that, I never bothered to open it up. First I noticed it didn't seem to have the punch I was getting from the 250 ML. It sounded subdued. If I added more highs, it would sound thin, if I added more bottom end, it would sound muddy and indistinct. In rehearsals, it sounded muddy all the time. Even though it is the same amp, it didn't seem to have enough 'Oomph' to cut through. I used the ML with a pair of JBL Cabaret series full range speakers at the time with the amps' 8" Pyle speakers, and I had no problems cutting through the mix. At louder volumes, I had to cut the distortion boost back so the amp would sound more natural. Clean or dirty, that little amp is a trooper.

     Harley