Greetings!

[potomuss]

I forgot to introduce myself when I joined. In my defense I was focused on repairing my MB-1 so...

I've been an ADA player since '93. Thousands of gigs on my MB-1 and it never once let me down. Heck it's so dependable I never even owned a backup amp. Recently I sold my original unit and used the funds to purchase another identical unit with the must have mods. It arrives in a few days so I can't wait to hear it. Being without an MB-1 for a whole week just seemed strange. I don't think I'll ever want to be without one.

Beyond that I grew up a straight up rock bassist with a love of most other forms of music. I also dig synthesizers. Some of my favorite bands are Rush, Kings X, Cheap Trick, Tesla, Beatles. I was exposed to jazz via Jaco and find a lot of nice things to listen to in that world, although I don't really have any favorites in particular. Not a fan of EDM, rap or county.

[MarshallJMP]

Hi and welcome!!

[Dante]

WELCOME to the Depot!

:wave: :wave:

[potomuss]

Thanks guys! You've already been so very helpful! Thank you again!

[rnolan]

Hey potomuss, welcome (retrospectively LoL  :wave: ), Peter will also be happy there's another MB1 user in our midst  :banana-jazz-smiley-emoticon: .  I have 2 MB1s (not that I play bass that much, I did for a while while our bass player had hiatus.  I bought the 2 MB1s and the B500B and sent them to MJMP for MDRT and whatever else they needed.  Great bass preamp and also not bad for clean guitar.  You'll love it I'm sure when it arrives     I have one in my studio rack and the other in my live rack (along with MP2s).  I'm still debating what to do with B500B as it has a US transformer and also shipping to Australia from anywhere is so expensive.  Maybe check with MJMP what it would cost to send it to you and make me an offer  .  If I come across an MXC I'll let you know.  The MXC, expression pedal and quad switch work quite well with the MB1 (with the MB1 v2.05 EPROM), but you could also use other midi pedals (eg FCB1010).  v2.05 has some continuous control capability (have a read in the MB1 posts).

[potomuss]

Well how about that! My name is also Peter!  I'll just go by pos or potomuss to avoid confusion  ;)

It's been a busy weekend. I practically stole a Peavey IPR2 3000 from a local guy, then caught a MXC on Reverb. The new MB-1 showed up with the 4x4 controller instead of the Quad... but I scored a brand new Quad gathering dust at the local music store so now I'm deep in controllers. The fella I got the MB-1 from (he's a member here as well) also mentioned using the FCB1010. One of these days I need to do the UNO chip in that thing, but I really like the build quality of the ADA stuff.

I'll reach out to MJMP and see what he says. Maybe we can work something out on that piece.

The difference between the stock and modded MB-1 doesn't leap out at me. To my ear it's subtle in that it's not a radical difference, but at the same time it's an enormous improvement. Most noteworthy to me is less of the silly MB-1 compression, and much improved clarity. It just sounds wider... more high definition. My conclusion is that the MDRT and noise mods really take this preamp from great to amazing. I'm in love with it all over again! 

[rnolan]

Hey Pos, did the MXC come with an expression pedal ?  Both my MB1s came modded (MJMP'd  :whoohoo!: ) so were great out of the box (as it were) so I've never used a MB1 without MDRT.  But based on the difference the MDRT made to Mikes MP1 I get where you're coming from.  It seems to really open up the dynamics. Slight downside is they take so long to boot/warm up  (nothing to do with MDRT though, not sure why MB1's take so long to boot/startup, MP1s start up really fast, MP2s are a little slower (similar to a normal tube amp) but MB1s take a while).

When I got them I delved into the CC possibilities and did a couple of quite detailed posts in the MB1 section (as the manual isn't particularly "intuitive" about it, getting your head around slots etc).  But you can control the master vol of both tube & SS at the same time with an expression pedal (and it's a global parameter (affects all 256 patches)) and toggle a bunch of stuff with the quad switch (NB read these parts of the manual 5 times  , I did  , it helps ).  I've attached the factory patches chart for you, I made a word version so I could print it better...

[Peter H. Boer]

Hi and welcome Peter Potomuss.

Let's rule the low end world with our MB1's  :banana-guitar:


p.s., what basses are you using it with?

[potomuss]

Hi Peter! Yes sir we shall! The current bass stable looks something like this:

• '95 Carvin LB70 (4 string - main gigging bass - Upgraded bridge and electronics - Rotosound 66s)
• '92 Carvin LB75 (5 string - main gigging bass - Upgraded bridge and electronics - D'Addario EXL165-5)
• '91 Carvin LB75F (5 string fretless - LaBella 750G-B Gold White Nylon Tapewound)
• '89 Fender USA Precision Plus (4 string - main gig bass for last 25 years. EMG BQC preamp with active EMG pups at 18v. Strung with TI flats)
• '16 Fender USA Jazz (Geddy Lee signature - Rotosound 66s)
• '95 Hamer USA B12L (12 string - D'Addario EXL150 regular light gauge)
• '10(ish) Waterstone TP-8 (8 string semi-hollow body - Unknown strings)
• '68(ish) Conrad (4 string hollow body. Still not sure on model and year, but late 60's early 70's)

The fretted Carvins, the P (strung with flats) and the Hamer are always easily accessible. The others rotate in and out of the closet as necessary.

[potomuss]

Hey Pos, did the MXC come with an expression pedal ?

Nope. I'll be on the lookout for one though!

When I got them I delved into the CC possibilities and did a couple of quite detailed posts in the MB1 section (as the manual isn't particularly "intuitive" about it, getting your head around slots etc).  But you can control the master vol of both tube & SS at the same time with an expression pedal (and it's a global parameter (affects all 256 patches)) and toggle a bunch of stuff with the quad switch (NB read these parts of the manual 5 times  , I did  , it helps ).  I've attached the factory patches chart for you, I made a word version so I could print it better...

Thank you very much, and I will absolutely be reading this! Just stated getting into the midi a couple of years ago and I'm very excited to explore!

[Peter H. Boer]

Hi Peter! Yes sir we shall! The current bass stable looks something like this:

• '95 Carvin LB70 (4 string - main gigging bass - Upgraded bridge and electronics - Rotosound 66s)
• '92 Carvin LB75 (5 string - main gigging bass - Upgraded bridge and electronics - D'Addario EXL165-5)
• '91 Carvin LB75F (5 string fretless - LaBella 750G-B Gold White Nylon Tapewound)
• '89 Fender USA Precision Plus (4 string - main gig bass for last 25 years. EMG BQC preamp with active EMG pups at 18v. Strung with TI flats)
• '16 Fender USA Jazz (Geddy Lee signature - Rotosound 66s)
• '95 Hamer USA B12L (12 string - D'Addario EXL150 regular light gauge)
• '10(ish) Waterstone TP-8 (8 string semi-hollow body - Unknown strings)
• '68(ish) Conrad (4 string hollow body. Still not sure on model and year, but late 60's early 70's)

The fretted Carvins, the P (strung with flats) and the Hamer are always easily accessible. The others rotate in and out of the closet as necessary.

Nice hareem 

[rnolan]

Go Pos, nice collection indeed  :whoohoo!: .  Mmm maybe I need to buy some more basses  I only have 1  :'(

I think the expression pedal is pretty simple and other brands should also work (if you can't find the ADA exp pedal), like the quad switch it plugs in with a ring/tip/sleeve cable and the jacks on the MXC (switch 1 & 2, pedal 1 & 2) designate the controller number(s).  I use the pedal as a master (output) volume with both MB1 and MP2.

A tip/trick Peter posted (ages ago) with the FX loops.  The 2 MB1 loops are both serial (break/insert into the signal chain).  If you use a short patch lead between say loop 1s send and return you can then use loop 2 as a parallel loop as the direct signal is being maintained by loop 1.

[potomuss]

Go Pos, nice collection indeed  :whoohoo!: .  Mmm maybe I need to buy some more basses  I only have 1  :'(

Thanks! Been working on this collection for awhile. I went through a few junkers early in my career, then got the Fender P and didn't even own another bass for 20 years or so. Midlife crisis led to a collecting spree. At one time I was up to 15. I had a Rickenbacker and a couple Spectors among other things. Then I settled down and just kept the ones I really like to play. For the record, the only ones I bought new were the Fenders, one in '89 and one in '16. Everything else is used. I have no fear of used gear... usually don't have to worry about putting that first scratch in it!

If you use a short patch lead between say loop 1s send and return you can then use loop 2 as a parallel loop as the direct signal is being maintained by loop 1.

Never even thought of that. Brilliant idea. Can't wait to try it!

[rnolan]

Hey Pos, maybe post some pics (for us to drool over) in the Basses board (http://adadepot.com/index.php?board=33.0).  I put some pics of mine there when I bought it (http://adadepot.com/index.php?topic=1473.45).

[potomuss]

Oh I see now... you've only got one bass... but it's an Alembic! Heck with that tone generator you don't need much more! I'll work on getting some pics up there.