Hey everyone, new member, long time lurker.

I have an MP-1 Classic with an odd behavior - it seems that the noise gate is clamping shut even when it is turned off in the patch. It also ignores the threshold I set, whether turned on or off. I tried turning the gate on and setting it very low but that doesn't seem to work either.

When I'm on the Tube Clean setting, I have to strum very hard to get the occasional sound through, but the sound that does come through is crystal clear, clean tone, and as the notes fade it will mute. The same behavior is present on the Tube Brown and Tube Dist voices, but on Tube Dist with the gain up the gate is only active if I really let a note ring out for a while. Still, it very clearly sounds like an overly aggressive noisegate and since turning on/off the gate doesn't change the behavior of the amp, I'm inclined to think that's the problem.

I'm not afraid to pick up the soldering iron here, but I'm not really sure what I'm looking at on the schematic or what values I should check first. I'd love to get a few pointers on where to start here - thanks!

TS100 still available by any chance?

I know I am a little late to the game. Haha

I've still got it. Might still be interested in selling. I'll message you

Hey Max, I've heard good things (mostly on here) about the Rocktrons.  An IIRC RG was trying out a European hybrid power amp that he liked. 

@Duke, if you can find a Carvin DCM200L (unfortunately I think Carvin shut down  ), they are great and 1 RU, really light.  I have one in my 8RU rack which I use for both guitar (MP-2) and bass MB-1 

But you might find a B200s ?? 

The nut needs to be set up for the gage of string you are using and also how you like the feel on the first fret.  If you press down just in front of the 2nd fret and check how much it clears the 1st fret (bottom of strings forms straight edge or you can use a small ruler), that's what you need to adjust.  I like it low (~1/64th), others like it higher 1/32nd or even 3/64ths.

Also, you need to file the nut such that only half the string sits in the nut slot (easy for low E, careful on the plain strings) or you loose volume.  And the string should break over the nut (and saddles) at a minimum of 15 deg (why god invented string trees for strats) and the reason for angled peg heads.  Generally I also slightly angle the nut slot to ensure the contact point is the very front of the nut. 
 
The reason I ended up buying the JPLP was the neck (though initially I fell for the tiger striping).  It's the first Gibson neck I've ever really liked.  So it's a custom shop '59 replica (of Pages #1) which has been shaved even more.  I played a 1960 LP a friend has (worth $175k apparently).  It also has a nice thin neck, although not quite as nice as the JPLP.  I had my Epiphone SG neck shaved into a soft V (he copied my Anderson) which made it way nicer (for me) to play.

Hi there! 

Currently I use a couple of power amps.
The main one is an Advanced Tube Technology TA-70, 60+60W EL-34 stereo full tube power amp.
It's made in Italy and it's a perfect companion for all my tube preamps: MP-1, Marshall JMP1 and Digitech GFX-1 Twin Tube.

The backup unit it's the classic Marshall Valvestate 8008, 80+80W solid state stereo power amp.
Great and solid unit.

Another good solid state power amp is the Rocktron Velocity: 120, 150 or 300 are the ones to go for.

In the past I also used classic ADA power amps: B200S and Microtube 100.
Very nice units.

Sadly there doesn't appear to be any place with anyone selling a B200S.  I always remember it was somewhat rare and when people had it, they kept them.

I came across the Mosvalve Poweramp and Rocktron Velocity as well.   

Show me the part, I'll change it....and it may work (I can neither confirm or deny that)

And a big Plus One for the Marshall Valvestate amps, not much on features, but plenty clean and loud

Dante,

    It's the power transistors in those Microtube amps. That's why none of my MT 100s are in use. they go faster than the MT 200s. It's an issue I posted about in the forum over 20 years ago. It seems there is still no solution to solving why that happens. A local electronics repair shop should be able to replace that for a relatively low cost. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, you could order them from Mauser and replace it yourself. I might give that a go myself, and maybe even try to re-cap the power amps. There really isn't that much in them.

Duke,

    If you're going to go with solid state, I would of course recommend the B200S, which is probably the best sounding solid state power amp for the guitar. Then again, a lot of people swear by some of the Marshall valvestate power amps too. I still see those pop up on ebay and reverb from time to time.

   You might also check Sweetwater on their used gear pages. You never know what might come up there.

   P.S. Never tried a Matrix power amp.

Dante,

   It isn't just Gibson doing that, Fender does too. The nuts need to be grooved deeper and they all need to be set up and intonated from the factory, so that's not surprising to hear.

   The 70s were the Norlin years I think, and yeah just like CBS with Fender, they were focused on numbers and profits more than quality. I don't like the mid 70s and upward Gibsons either.

   Gibson still can't make quality guitars, so they sue everybody who can. I have one of the lawsuit guitars that I picked up a couple of months ago, it's an acoustic. I'll get around to taking some pics and posting it one of these days.