ADA Depot - A Forum To Support Users of ADA Amplification Gear
Miscellaneous => Introduce Yourself => Topic started by: GuitarJesus on September 01, 2022, 03:15:41 PM
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Greetings everyone!
Jeff here. Been looking at a ADA MP-1 setup for years, but never got one for plenty of reasons: mortgage, kids, student loans, etc. I'm in the market and gonna pull the trigger.
I have a simple rig, couple of early 70's Strats, custom builts, going into either a 65 Super Reverb, or a little Silvertone 6 watt Champ style 50's fake tweed amp. I'll post pics when I can.
I do see some things I have no idea about though. There is an MP-1, and Classic. Big differences? Also, there is the 3 tube mod? What is that, and does it change the overall tone or just give you more saturation on tap if you want it?
Hope to hear from lots of you!
Jeff
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Hey Jeff, welcome to the depot, I see Dante got you registered :thumb-up: , excellent.
The MP-1 was the first midi programmable tube stereo rack mount preamp ADA made. 3 voicings Dist tube, Clean tube and SS (solid state cleans), active eq (bass, mid, treb, pres) mono series fx loop, stereo chorus...
They also made lots of other things we never got nor really heard about in Australia (combos, pedals, rack fx etc.)
Later they made the MP-2, with lots of extra goodies, 10 tube voices (no SS), wah, tremolo, stereo parallel fx loop, stereo chorus, noise gate, cab sim recording outs, midi continuous control (CC), macros..
Seems many found the MP-2 too complicated (I loved it and now use MP-2) so they made the MP-1 classic.
The MP-1 classic goes back to being more simple like the MP-1 voice wise (albeit different sounding to the original) but kept some of the MP-2 additions e.g. stereo parallel fx loop, cab sim outs, maybe CC control?. I'm not sure how long after that ADA had a fire and went bust but the Classics never came to Australia, and they are harder to find (and a prick to work on is my understanding).
The 3TM mod is an extra tube for the original MP-1, 1 more triode gain stage and a cathode follower. Popular with those who wanted more gain (IMHO it had heaps of gain already but some wanted more >:D , (then the MP-2 has sooo much gain, lots more than the stock MP-1..and needs the built in noise gate to tame it)). So the metal guys like the 3TM, but you loose the Clean tube voicing, not so clean anymore.
The majority of mods developed were for the MP-1 for various reasons, check out Schematics & Modifications http://adadepot.com/index.php?board=22.0 (http://adadepot.com/index.php?board=22.0) .
Hope you find a good one for a decent price :thumb-up: . IIRC you are in Europe? so need a 230v model. ADA preamps are all country voltage specific i.e. US 120v, Japan 110v, Europe/Australia/UK 230v.
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Hey Jeff
Welcome to the depot!!
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Hey Jeff,
Welcome to the Forum!
No CC control in the MP-1 Classic, it's very basic like the original MP-1, but with an added tube voice which they call "Brown"
It does have a built in noise gate too like the MP-2 but much smoother. Also, the Classic has more of a vintage tube tone, but can be tweaked to get into heavy gain saturation. It's a great preamp, but as Richard stated, they are harder to find. It was the last rack mounted preamp ADA made before they vanished in '96.
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IIRC you are in Europe? so need a 230v model. ADA preamps are all country voltage specific i.e. US 120v, Japan 110v, Europe/Australia/UK 230v.
No sir, in Southern California, frying my A$$ off.
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Welcome to the funhouse, Jeff. I do NOT miss SoCal, but lemme tell ya, NorCal is just as hot and I'm jamming with friends tomorrow in a garage - forecast for triple digits (yay)
So...you're preachin' to the choir - haha
I have the elusive Classic and it is just as described...an MP-1 like interface (fast and easy to program) with some extra bells & whistles. Unfortunately, they are a Biatch to work on and I've ruined one already :facepalm: I am not proud of my actions
Now, I use the Classic and the MP-2 direct into the board if I use them at all. I have a 'high end' cover band that plays at nicer venues than your local biker bar, so I'll take the rack to one of those gigs....sometimes. They sound tons better, but they are too delicate for me to relax & play, so I typically gig with other amps (others in here do that too).
SEND PIX! we love pics of all kinds of guitar related stuff...gear, preamps, etc. Here's a pic of my MP-2 rig with my power amp sitting on top (for practicing with speakers).
Note: I resized the pic to 1,000 pixels wide to make it easier to view...sometimes, people post a 5,000 pixel image that comes in like a closeup of a billboard
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Hey Jeff, sorry I didn't get the SoCal reference until Dante pointed it out. So you need a US 120v version or one with the MDRT transformer mod. The MDRT can be wired 230v or 120v. It does change the sound, really opens up the MP-1s dynamics.
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Here's what I'm working with for the time being. I have a 78 Marshall 1960 4x12 and a 1971 Marshall 1982b 4x12, along with a 1972 Super Lead and 2 Blackface Bandmasters that see no use anymore. I'll post some more when I get it all together. (https://i.postimg.cc/yYB6JDbs/20220902-220837.jpg)
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Hey Jeff,
Some nice looking Strats you've got there. What's that combo?
The Bandmasters can be some very cool amps when tweaked a little. I'm kind of sorry at times, that I sold all mine off.
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That's an all original 1965 Super Reverb.
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Hey Jeff, nice guitars :thumb-up: . And some very cool amps
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OH yeah!
Those are some killer amps too!
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Add a Microtube 200 to my gear list now...just need to find a good deal on an MP-1!
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:whoohoo!: , hopefully you can find a good MP-1 that's not too expensive.
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I want an Ampulator too.
Once I have the Trifecta, I'll get gear to start plugging into my computer.
(https://i.postimg.cc/mkMPVBZG/20220908-102652.jpg)
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:whoohoo!: , the journey begins LoL. Other option would be a ADA GCS6, but now ADA has gone out of business again :facepalm: . Then I use MP-2s which have cab sym built in >:D .
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Other option would be a ADA GCS6
Is it better than the ampulator?
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I believe the GCS6 is more along the line of a Microcab
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Add a Digitizer 4 to my stash!
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Cool, some serious GAS developing LoL. The GCS6 is a stereo version of ADAs latest/last? cab sim. MikeB uses a GCS3 (mono version) in the loop of his MP-1 when he wants to go direct, which is another option.
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The ampulator is a cab and amp sim.
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The ampulator is a cab and amp sim.
Yeah, I knew it was an amp sim, but wasn't sure about the cab part of it.
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Add a Microcab to the rack! Think I found the deal I wanted on a MP-1 so I'll have the full setup.
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Go man, Go! haha
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Here is what I have so far for ADA gear in my OLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD mid 90's SKB mini rack. The KORG tuner will go bye bye (web based tuners are awesome so it won't stay there), and when I get my MP-1 it will take its place.
Is there anything else you guys can recommend to add in there and get a bigger than 4u rack? I will be plugging the Microcab into my PC, so the power amp is on the off chance I find a band to ever play in again. I mainly have the itch to go back to getting formal lessons, and writing for my creative itch.
(https://i.postimg.cc/J42Mxf17/20221014-152549.jpg)
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Hey Jeff, looking good :thumb-up: . Personally, I'd add a decent multi fx unit, I have an original Quadverb in my 8RU rack and a Midiverb 4 in my new(ish) 4RU rack. They are mainly for delay (which you have already) and stereo reverb but can also do any other fx if I need (flange/phase/ etc.). But these are both live racks. I assume you add additional fx with you PC :dunno: .
Also tuner wise, I've not heard of web based tuners, IMHO the Peterson StroboClip (https://www.petersontuners.com/products/stroboclipHD/) is the best and most versatile (clip onto any instrument) tuner around (best $100AUD I ever spent). I also have a very early Korg (size of an Audio cassette) which cost a b*mb back in the 90's which is ok. But all digital tuners (and I suspect web based tuners?) have a slight sampling delay and a dead zone i.e. upper and lower frequency between which they will indicate you are in tune (Roland seem to be the worst) when you aren't. Strobe tuning is real time and way more accurate (tenth of a cent).
Hey follow that itch :headbanger:
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I can recommend the ADA 2FX or it's analog counterpart the ADA TFX-4. An STD-1 is also nice.
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I used a Quadraverb for a looooong time before I got my GX-700. It served me well :thumb-up:
Pretty sure I bought that quadraverb with my original MP-1 back in the 90s at Berkeley Guitar Center
You remind me that I'm still considering a MicroCab or (if I can find one) an Ampulator
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Jeff,
If you take your rack out and use it in a band, I would strongly recommend a good filtered power supply for the rack like a Furman PL-8 or better. Not all venues that you might play will have clean, and/or grounded power and you need to protect your gear. A lesson I learned the hard way.
I second Richard's recommendation for Peterson tuners, but I'm not fond of clip on tuners since they can break at various points rather easily, so I use the Strobostomp HD pedal. Nothing beats Peterson tuners IMHO
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Back from the dead, finally got an MP-1 coming my way! The holidays, two mortgages, a boat, and truck payment makes everything else second fiddle. Got it for 4 hunny on Reverb. Woot!
(https://i.postimg.cc/jjfvxjnm/Screenshot-20230118-202200-Reverb.jpg)
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EXCELLENT!
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:whoohoo!: :thumb-up: