MP 1 Mods

[Metalhead]

Does any one know some one in the USA that still does mods on Mp 1 Pre amps ?

[MarshallJMP]

What mods are you looking for,and do you have some soldering experience?

[kawai2g4b]

http://www.thetonedoctor.com/Price-List-Shop-Online.html

There is a guy in Houston at this link that performs MP1 and MP2 mods...I do not know if he performs the same mods as the ada depot sourced ones but I asked him and he is still modding them.  You would have to ask him in further detail about the mod specifics.  As you will see, he has a plexi, 80s, and "nu-metal" voicing option.  I am considering getting a mod done on on my mp2 when he repairs a couple things on mine.

[Sparker]

For the MP-2:  apart from the general noise reduction stuff, I can't think why you would want to change anything else. IMHO the MP-2 sounds just great as it is. Between the various preamp voicings and EQ settings you should be able to cover most bases. Maybe some more details are required regarding what the mods achieve?   :banana-upsidedown:

[rnolan]

The EPROM update for the MP2 was good, made the patch changes faster, they were a little sluggish initially.  I tend to agree with Sparker, can't think of what else I'd change. (except a MDRT for the MP2 would be nice  :D )

[kawai2g4b]

You are probably right...when I bought the mp-2, the seller said that a noise mod was done to it...however he was lying or the components need to be cleaned.  The stock mp-1 is still my main preamp and upon second thought I just need to give the mp-2 some more run time to iron out the issues I have with it.  This is what happens when you work crazy hours sometimes, my imagination gets ahead of my practice and tweak time  , especially when my Tube Driver combo amp is just THERE to plug right in without going through the whole setup game in my apt.  I do need to get the eprom, seeing as though it is going in for a repair anyway.  Better take advantage of the bench time.

As for my two cents on the mp-1 mods, I love mine and will never mod it save for a future noise mod.  Everything is subjective.  But that modder in Houston is there should you chose to.

[Sparker]

For the MP-1: again noise mods are a must.

However, I think the stock MP-1 distortion sound is just great as is and the MP-2 and Classic versions (patches) of this just don't sound as good as the original, just my opinion. Maybe the different gain structure in the MP-1 makes the difference.

MP-1 Mod4-MkII is fantastic. I've done 3 of these (and sold them on)      but each time it just put a smile on my face when playing through them. Really seemed to open the sound out. Hats off to MJMP and HB for this, great job there.

MP-1 3TM is just insane. I've done 1 of these (and sold on again). But just massive, mad distortion and strangely, lower noise!!! Could be the gain being spread over more stages? don't know, again MJMP and HB great job.

So yes, there is a bit of soldering, techy work etc, if modding. But don't be afraid to have a go. I think MJMP even has a new tube board now that allows the different mods to be pre-built - come on MJMP - chip in.   

[MarshallJMP]

I agree with sparker,the mp-1 just sounds better then the classic and mp-2.The classic is my least favorite preamp and altough the mp-2 has way more gain then the mp-1 i just don't like the gain structure on the high gain voicings.I do like the cleans (that why i use it for) and medium gain voicings.Also the noise on the mp-2 is a bit of a problem but can be tamed down with a good noise gate.

Altough i like the original mp-1 soundwise,for the style i play it doesn't have enough usuable gain,it gets muddy with od settings above 5.0.Back in the '90s i used a boss GE-7 in front of the mp-1 with a reversed smile setting (mid boost) to get higher gain settings without the muddyness.Worked great but it sounded not so good (thin)for cleans.Then after HB and I started modding the hell out of these things i settled for a 3TM ultra+.This is my main preamp for the last 8 or 9 years.I have 2 of those,an original unmodded mp-1, a mod 3.666 and a mod 4 MK III (yes a mk3).I also have 2 mp-2's and a classic.In my main rack i have the 3TM ultra+ for all my overdrive (tube clean channel) and distortion (tube distortion) sounds and the mp-2 for cleans only.I use a rocktron patchmate (old model) to switch between them.

BTW the mod4mkII is acutally the little brother of the 3TM.

Yes i developed a new tubeboard,here you can do all the mods without having to stack caps on resistors,soldering wires on the back (mod3.666) and all the mess that you get when doing some mods.Everything can be placed on the board itself and it also has a connection for the mod3.666 od2 wire on the front so you don't have to use a 9" wire from the back to the front.Also it has a silckscreen with all the resistor,cap and transistor numbers.So no need to get the tubeboard layout.So if you buy a modified board from me it will be brand new with new parts (best quality i can get) and fully wired so you only need to desolder the old board,put the new one in ,resolder the wires and finished.(board is fully populated)

[harper5517]

Hey MJMP, I have two MP1's and was wanting to mod one of them. Do you have pre-assembled boards available for purchase? Are they difficult to install? Im decent at soldering. Give me a shout back.. Thanks!

[Zsoli]

Noise mod:

ADA_MP-1_Noise-Mod_Doc.pdf
vs.
Noise_mod_V2_kit.pdf
?

U4: TL072 vs OPA2604AP?