ADA Monster Rig

[Harley Hexxe]

Hey Gang,

    Here I go again....

     I'm going to start work on my MP-1/3TM Monster Rack again. Keeping in mind that I want the entire signal path of the system to be all ADA, and obviously I have several options of poweramps to use.
    What would your power amp choices be for such a rig?
    I do want to keep this rig in stereo, (4 Split-Stacks per side).
    I'm open to suggestions for other power amps too

    Right now, I'm considering using 2 of the MT200's but they tend to add noise, so lets hear from the Forum champions.
     What power amps would you use with these two preamps?

      Harley 8)

[MarshallJMP]

I would go for the marshall 9005  ;D  Ow sorry ADA only you said,if it was me the B200S or the T100S.

[Soloist]

Micro Tube 200 sounds excellent in my rig. Doesn't add any noise in my set up. Other choices would be a Mesa 2:90 or a Mesa 50/50.

[Harley Hexxe]

I would go for the marshall 9005  ;D  Ow sorry ADA only you said,if it was me the B200S or the T100S.

I'm open to the suggestion of other power amps. If for no other reason, than to get some poweramp color into the tone, but it has to sound good with the ADA.

Harley 8)

[Harley Hexxe]

Micro Tube 200 sounds excellent in my rig. Doesn't add any noise in my set up. Other choices would be a Mesa 2:90 or a Mesa 50/50.

I've seen a few of the 50/50 amps on Ebay. Aren't they all 6L6 amps? Or can they be re-biased for EL34?

Harley 8)

[MarshallJMP]

Usually mesa amps don't have bias pots so ...

[Soloist]

Yes the 50/50 is 6l6. However the stereo 2:50 is designed to take both via a switch to select El34 or 6l6. On the other hand according to Mike over at Mesa you can put el34's in the class A slots of a 2:90. Only difference is they will run a little cooler beings you can't bias them. I have not tried this so I cannot give any definitive results.
Also, in the past I have gotten good results with a Carvin DCM200L.  Yeah its solid state, sounds like shit with my piranha but sounds great with the MP1.

[Dante]

How about a Mesa 20/20 Dyna-Watt ?

I have not tried one myself, but everyone who I've met using one, says they are fantastic. Only 20w, but hey, they do get loud.

[Soloist]

How about a Mesa 20/20 Dyna-Watt ?

I have not tried one myself, but everyone who I've met using one, says they are fantastic. Only 20w, but hey, they do get loud.

I have also heard positive reviews on the Dyna-Watt 20/20

[Harley Hexxe]

How about a Mesa 20/20 Dyna-Watt ?

I have not tried one myself, but everyone who I've met using one, says they are fantastic. Only 20w, but hey, they do get loud.

I have also heard positive reviews on the Dyna-Watt 20/20

I've been checking out reviews on the 20/20 also. It seems a lot of users say they can't get over the drummer with those. I don't see how, since combined it's putting out 40 Watts. That all my Vibrolux Reverb is and it is a great combo for a band situation, and small to medium sized venues.

I'm not in a hurry though, and I have to allow the funds for some exotic amps like that.

   Harley 8)

[Harley Hexxe]

Yes the 50/50 is 6l6. However the stereo 2:50 is designed to take both via a switch to select El34 or 6l6. On the other hand according to Mike over at Mesa you can put el34's in the class A slots of a 2:90. Only difference is they will run a little cooler beings you can't bias them. I have not tried this so I cannot give any definitive results.
Also, in the past I have gotten good results with a Carvin DCM200L.  Yeah its solid state, sounds like shit with my piranha but sounds great with the MP1.

   That's strange. Any tube amp can be biased, it's just a matter of swapping out the correct value resistors and maybe a cap or two to adjust the voltage through the tube. They may not have bias pots, but then again, none of my old tube amps do either. They still have to be biased every time you put in a fresh set of power tubes though.

   Harley 8)

   I wish Micheal J Soldano made Tube power amps, that would probably do it for me :banana-rock:

[Soloist]

Sure you can bias any amp, I didnt know you were looking at something that required that much work. I was thinking you were looking for plug and play!

If you have the coin Engl makes some nice power amps as well using 5881 tubes, almost a 6L6 but breaks up sooner. I know a few guys that use these and they love em.

[MarshallJMP]

Maybe a cheaper option is the marshall 20/20, I have one and these are good amps.

BUT since this is an ADA monster rig you should use a ADA amp I think??

[Harley Hexxe]

Sure you can bias any amp, I didnt know you were looking at something that required that much work. I was thinking you were looking for plug and play!

If you have the coin Engl makes some nice power amps as well using 5881 tubes, almost a 6L6 but breaks up sooner. I know a few guys that use these and they love em.

Actually, I'm not looking at something that requires that much work, I would prefer not to anyway. My comments are based on what I'm seeing is out there and available, which is pretty much the same. Either way, it looks like a costly proposition.

   Soldano amps use 5881 Sovtek tubes in them because they can handle 700 volts across the plate, which surprises me, since I tend to think of Sovtek tubes as weak with a short life span. Maybe I'm wrong in that respect. It seems Mike  Soldano has figured out a reliable circuit for them.
    I have no experience with the Mesa amps, but I know several of the members here do, so I'm relying heavily on the comments and opinions of how they respond with the ADA preamps from what the users here have to say about them.

Maybe a cheaper option is the marshall 20/20, I have one and these are good amps.

BUT since this is an ADA monster rig you should use a ADA amp I think??

My original plan is for 2 poweramps to drive eight Split-Stacks with. If one amp could deliver a good enough performance, I would probably be good with that.

  As far as the ADA amps that I like, my favorite setup is to use the MT100's in mono bridged mode, but they don't last like that, One channel always seems to blow. There were long discussions in the old Forum about that, but no one ever seemed to figure out why that happens, or how to solve that. Besides, using MT100's like that would require 8 of them, and I'd have to put them in a separate rack. Not very practical.
  For now, it seems like two B200S, or two MT200's would be my options.

    Harley 8)

[GuitarBuilder]

Another vote for the MT200....