NRGD! ADA 2FX

glpg80

glpg80

Well-known member
Scored an ADA 2FX multi-effect unit off of ebay for $100 shipped :rock:

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Many moons ago I owned an MP1 and did the 3TM to it. One of the most defining tones I remember from it was the built-in chorus effect. To this day, I haven't found an equivalent chorus other than the TC 1210 to really cover that lush sound.

It's a tone soaker but I cannot wait to use it :rock:
 
I just recently got an MP1 and the chorus is very good, nice little bonus. I had to adjust the trimmers to get the gain to sound decent. I read posts on how to do it but ended up turning them both (for OD1 and OD2) all the way down and it still has plenty of gain. The only thing I have to play it through that sounds decent is a Mark IV with GEQ (with classic V shape).
 
Good score!! I'm buying an old ADA mp1 vers 1.38 from a good friend that have in a box from 10 years!! I love ADA MP1 chorus one of the best chorus I've tried in my life!
 
Know I'm a little late to the party, but yeah, I thought the chorus was the best thing about the MP1 I had back around '92. I could just never bond with it, although I got some really good tones.

Curious... how's the 2FX working out now that you've had it for a few weeks? Is the chorus as good as the MP1? How's the flange?
 
ChurchHill":dvf8mdm3 said:
Know I'm a little late to the party, but yeah, I thought the chorus was the best thing about the MP1 I had back around '92. I could just never bond with it, although I got some really good tones.

Curious... how's the 2FX working out now that you've had it for a few weeks? Is the chorus as good as the MP1? How's the flange?
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I'm still piecing together my rig. It's non-functioning at the moment so I can't really say. I still need to grab some cabinets from splawn again. It will be a while, but when I get the chance, I'll be sure to post some clips in another thread :rock:
 
Cool! Thanks for letting me know. I'll be looking forward to hearing about it. I've considered picking one up a few times, but never did. I have a slight thing for old digital gear like this, love the character that newer gear, even though it's much more flexible and powerful, just doesn't capture.
 
Do you guys generally prefer digital or analog chorus ? I'm more an analog chorus guy, but prefer digital delay for echo or slap back echo.
 
For me, typically analog chorus. My favorite is the old MIJ Boss CE-2, followed by the Fulltone TERC (and I'm sure the old units it's based on), and the TC 1210 (and SCF). I do like some digital chorus, too, such as Lexicon PCM, Eventide, and the symphonic presets in the Yamaha SPX series.

Somewhat related, it's tough to beat the chorusing created by wow and flutter on an old tape delay. Not terribly practical for live use, but breathtaking (and worth it). Also really hard to beat the modulation on an old EH Deluxe Memory Man.

For echoes, for me, I usually prefer analog, but for anything over about 500ms or anything in a loop, it's hard to beat digital delay. Especially the newer ones that can do so much with dynamic modulation and filtering.

Bottom line, for me, is, if it sounds good, works in the context of the song, and does what I want it to do (having a unique character is a big plus, too), it doesn't really matter what the underlying technology is. At least not to me.
 
I have no preference for how the tone is generated. As long as it sounds good, I don't care. I don't let brands, style of design, age, or other aspects dictate my choice in doing what I'm looking for. Pieces of gear like this fly under the radar all the time all because they don't have an exuberant price tag associated with them IMHO. I will say this though, you will be less fatigued both without a headache and also physically if your tone is not complete garbage. It's easier to play and overall just more inspiring.
 
glpg80":2ckhdoxd said:
Pieces of gear like this fly under the radar all the time all because they don't have an exuberant price tag associated with them IMHO. I will say this though, you will be less fatigued both without a headache and also physically if your tone is not complete garbage. It's easier to play and overall just more inspiring.
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I could not agree more, which is exactly why I'm curious about the 2FX. If there's some inspiration in it, it's worth a shot.
 
ChurchHill":g2k7cldn said:
glpg80":g2k7cldn said:
Pieces of gear like this fly under the radar all the time all because they don't have an exuberant price tag associated with them IMHO. I will say this though, you will be less fatigued both without a headache and also physically if your tone is not complete garbage. It's easier to play and overall just more inspiring.
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I could not agree more, which is exactly why I'm curious about the 2FX. If there's some inspiration in it, it's worth a shot.
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So I finally had a chance to sit down with the ADA 2FX and play with it to see whether it could cop the chorus effect of the MP1 to a T.

First off, the MP1 is a stereo out unit. The ADA 2FX is a mono-only unit for effects. This wasn't easily found on the internet when searching for one, so I'm stating it point blank.

The answer is that not only can it do the ADA MP1 chorus, but I was able to get a MUCH thicker chorus utilizing a "doubler" feature with the analog delay that you can stack onto either the flanger effect or the chorus effect (but not both at the same time for three effects).

I was able to run the analog delay in the doubler mode as fast as it could run, but increase the feedback on the delay to get a deeeeep lush sound, and then taylor the input level to drive the op-amps to the point where a shimmer existed only when you picked harder - ala Yngwie's ovation live tone on acoustic for example. The result with the chorus depth maxed out and the rate to taste created one of the lushest analog chorus effects I've ever heard for cleans. I was running into the front of an amplifier like a pedal, since this is most likely how I will be using it in the rack (and not in the loop). I'd run it in the loop if it were stereo or intended to have the chorus on all the time with gain involved. I plan to get another rack unit for stereo chorus in the loops for when high gain is involved and noise is more of a concern.

Basically, I was thinking of trading it for a stereo chorus effect and after getting a chance to play with it, combining the chorus with the doubler feature of the built-in analog delay, it creates one of the best chorus effects I've heard. Definitely a unit that is flying WAY under the radar at the moment.
 
That's awesome, sir!

I've owned 2 MP-1's and 2 MP-2's at one point... I actually miss them a bit, but found a more suitable tone with my ISP products... however, that MP-1 chorus to this day is one of my favorites. The closest approximation that I found is the MXR Analog Chorus, the little blue guy... I run my guitar into an MXR Custom Comp, then the MXR Chorus, and the wet signal goes to one amp, and the thru goes to the other... sounds excellent on the cleans and high gain and gets that fun wide stereo separation like the MP-1 and the old Gallien-Krueger 250rl/ml and 2000cpl...

I've always wanted to try out the ADA effect units, but never got around to it! Nice to know they pack a punch!
 
Hey, glpg80! Thanks for posting this! Good to know that it's mono, but that definitely has its uses, too. You hit on one of the things that I love about some of these old units, being able to drive the input hot enough to get some magic out of them. Some work great for this, some not so much, but when you find it, you'll know it.

Thanks again for posting this!!
 
ChurchHill":1m8ankz4 said:
Hey, glpg80! Thanks for posting this! Good to know that it's mono, but that definitely has its uses, too. You hit on one of the things that I love about some of these old units, being able to drive the input hot enough to get some magic out of them. Some work great for this, some not so much, but when you find it, you'll know it.

Thanks again for posting this!!
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You're quite welcome :cheers:

The input on these is almost like another parameter for each effect. It drastically changed how the chorus sounded - either mellow, bright, full, or even dark for some of the super low settings. That's something that digital chorus effects definitely don't have going on and also something I haven't seen in chorus pedals IMHO.

Definitely earned its keep after playing it a bit :rock:
 
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