VIDEO review of APP-1 by Chucky

[Chucky]

Hi guys!!

I decided to squeeze 5 minutes out of my schedule to make you listen to the APP-1.
This is a no frills video.
I recorded the whole thing without any preparation or editing.
Zoom Q4N for camera and audio recording.

Set-up:
Orville Les Paul with stock pick-ups.
ADA APP-1 fed into my Joyo DualKlonz (Yeah yeah, this is my new baby...  ) effect loop return.
The Joyo has EL-34 and was running in a Marshall "JCM-800" setting.
There is a hint of reverb provided by a TC Electronic Nova System.
The cab is a Marshall Valvestate 8412 loaded with the stock Celestions 35 watts each.

Hope this helps you seize the machine a little better.
I didn't plan any special things to play, so you get a bit of wine-fed noodling.

I still have to say that this thing is quite impressive!! I love it!

Feel free to ask as many questions as needed!!   :canadian-flag-banana-smiley-e

[Dante]

Just watched it...NICE ORVILLE!

[Griphook]

Nice Review! Definitely a cool sounding Pedal!

[Kim]

That sounded much bettter than I expected!  (probably because of all the tone in Chucky's fingers.  lol)

Should be the start of a really good flyrig, IMO.   

[vansinn]

Finally someone demoing the APP-1 right - the other reviews I've seen haven't been too useful.
Chucky's da man ;)  Nice axe, BTW.

Hehe, I've often thought about how it would work in front of an MP-2 in fat clean mode for the bluesy stuff; now I know..

[Chucky]

Hehe, I've often thought about how it would work in front of an MP-2 in fat clean mode for the bluesy stuff; now I know..

Well I'm not sure that would turn out.
Here I'm using it going in the effect's return of my Joyo amp.
The APP-1 is a full-on preamp, not a pedal at all.
I tried a bunch of VERY good OD/dist pedals in the same manner and they sound shit direct in a power amp.
The APP-1 is very unlike a pedal even though its shape might make one think it is.

What you are suggesting is using it like you would rout an MP-1 into an MP-2.
Not sure it would deliver anything interesting. 
But then again...  :???:

[Chucky]

Should be the start of a really good flyrig, IMO.   

Totally! The APP-1 is one serious piece of gear which could easily be used as the heart of a quite powerful flyrig.
You could run one channel real clean and the other either OD or full-on distortion and get all the in between using a few OD pedals.
I shall eventually do another video where I will combine the APP-1 and my Nove Drive to see how many tones I can cover with a very small set-up.

[Dante]

I would be very interested in hearing how it sounds with the Nova Drive.

I'm saving up to buy a G-System, which has a few extra loops in it, so I'm shopping dirt box pedals again  Top ones I'm considering;

• App-1
• Mesa V-Twin
• Nova Drive

So, yeah, I wanna. hear the Nova with that App-1....please

[Chucky]

I would be very interested in hearing how it sounds with the Nova Drive.

I'm saving up to buy a G-System, which has a few extra loops in it, so I'm shopping dirt box pedals again  Top ones I'm considering;

• App-1
• Mesa V-Twin
• Nova Drive

So, yeah, I wanna. hear the Nova with that App-1....please

Okay sir, I'm on it!! 

But the Nova Drive and the APP-1 are totally different beasts.
The first is a stomp box, the second is a preamp!!

I dig the ND for the fact that it provides both OD and distortion in one single unit
That it also permits you to run both channels in parallel and lets you change the order in series.
But especially for the fact that it can store many preset pages...
So with its MIDI functionality you end up with the most powerful and versatile OD/dist on the market.
There is no argument there.

The APP-1 isn't to be mistook as a pedal.
It's a preamp in a square metal box.
Not to be used as a booster or driver for another amp.
Albeit there are no rules...Some people might use it like that.
It's always a bit tricky to use two power amps in series.
For now, the only little complain I would have with the APP-1 is that it has no way or means
to trigger the channels other than with the stomp swich.
I wish it had a quarter phone jack to hook it to an external trigger or a MIDI jack...
So you could hook it to a G-System and let it switch the channel at the same time as all other processors.
But hey!! We always want more!!   ;D

But yeah, I had the intention to do a little video of what I would consider
being a quite small but incredibly powerful Flyrig: The Nova Drive feeding the APP-1.
Hold on, it's coming!!  :whoohoo!:

[MarshallJMP]

Really nice sounding, first I thought you used it like an OD pedal, but you're just going straight into the power section, even more impressed haha.

[Chucky]

Really nice sounding, first I thought you used it like an OD pedal, but you're just going straight into the power section, even more impressed haha.

I really tried to warn people that I was routing it directly into a power amp. as well in the description and saying it verbally.
This is NOT a stomp box, it's a preamp just in the same way as an MP-1 or MP-2.
And yes, it sounds pretty good.
I am fully impressed by that thing.
It is an absolute keeper.