ADA MP-1's - Opinions?

[SFW]

Out of all the gear I owned through the 90s, I miss my ADA MP-1 and Peavey Classic 60 rack the most. The ADA MP-1 and the MP-1 Classic are killer units!

 

[chunktone]

I used one for several years with a Mesa 2:95 power amp. The cleans were great, and it had plenty of gain, but it was VERY noisy.

 

[saxxamafone]

nah i dont like thin/cheesy/hissing/stale type gain.

i like beefy tight, low-focused mids with enough gain to give it the chainsaw effect. but not too much to over saturate your tone making it sound thin.

ive never played through a mesa-anything i liked. ive heard mesa's that dont sound bad at all. but ive never played one i liked. ever. although, no matter what "IT" is, i as far as pre-amps go i do know the marshall crunch like a 2204 will be necessary in the power amp stage. whether its a head or not

thanks for the inputs guys. time saver indeed

i had one and didnt find it thin and buzzy . it actually gave me a great lead tone, with some nice cleans as well. everyone has a different opinion tho!

ive never played one. that was a response to saxx

so far everyone loves the cleans.

i think my best bet would be to start with an 800. couple people here already mentioned it in an ADA thread. so its gotta sound bad ass

yep i think the cleans are great on the ADA's too

 

[glpg80]

Out of all the gear I owned through the 90s, I miss my ADA MP-1 and Peavey Classic 60 rack the most. The ADA MP-1 and the MP-1 Classic are killer units!

and yeah zach, ill definately check in about the mods available. but again.. theres a good chance whatever i get i will mod myself too.

i did everything on my amp. OT, chokes, a voicing mod, bias mod, theres more but i cant remember it all. i love what mark camerons done with marshalls. kinda wanting to get close to that tone myself since the back-log is so long =]

would be killer if i could do it on an ADA myself hehe

EDIT: checked out that adadepot site zach.

i now want one thats modded.. heard my tone through one of the members' rigs - using an ADA with the 3TM ultra mod.

i downloaded a very high-quality video with sound/rhythm/vocals/leadwork/drums and the rhythm tone was right on the head of the nail for what ive got in my head.

the tone was just SICKKKKKKK

he was running it through a 20/20 mesa. definately getting a rack setup now..

for anyone else, adadepot.com - "jam15"

DAMNIT

i quit school. =p

 

[shredhead7]

I bought mine in 2000 when they were giving them away, got mine for $75. The key (IMO) to getting the 80's sound, is to go with an 80's rig. This preamp reacts better with EL34's. Most of the guys ran these through Marshall 800/900 loops, or through the Marshall power amps. I have a Mesa 50/50 power amp and the ADA sounds much better slaved through my Lee Jackson head, with El34's. It also sounded good through a Peavey 50/50 (or is it 60/60) power amp. The Mesa was actually the worst pairing of any of the tube power amps I've tried. I also briefly had a Tube Works Mosfet power amp.

The 80's guys also liked the BBE sonic maximizers as well. These add the low end and high end smear, that kills a little bit of the harshness of the units. These guys are bright and a little on the thin side. To be fair, most 80's guys had exactly that, bright and thin tone. One last thing, don't forget the chorus.

 

[Bash_Man]

Here's a quick video I did a while back with my 3TM MP-1 into VHT 2502 setup.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=W0KT8qkJFF8

Here's also some clips of my 3TM MP-1 into the same setup. VHT 2502 and VHT 412 cab.
http://www.netmusicians.org/?section=us ... of%20Metal

listen to "Home Sick" (first clip on the top).


Cheers

 

[SeaDog]

I have both a stock and Voodoo modded MP-1 and used the stock ADA back in the 80's and early 90's for both an original metal band and a 90's modern rock cover band. They sound best in the loop of a marshall, but will be ok (especially for covers) with a good power amp. Too be honest I can't hear a huge difference in the stock, Voodoo mod or langer modded units. They all still have basically the same voicing to me. I used to use two locally modded 78 marshall heads (both awesome) live and then tried the ADA directly in the loops and was pleasantly surprised that the sound was very, very close but I had the added benefit of midi switching and a clean sound. Any Marshall guy who hates the sound probably didn't have the right power amp.

 

[glpg80]

awsome tips guys.

all the info i could ask for PLUS some

aprpeciate all the help. especially on the EL34 recommendations. ill be new to rack setups, but i know have an awsome idea was to what my second rig will be now.

btw i know this might make very little sense, but i do alot of dokken/crue/scorpions/leppard/leatherwolf covers. plus originals. my 5150II gets very close after the mods. but it really makes doing the covers "easier" when you dont have to fight the tone or the amp to get that "little extra sustain on that one note" or maybe that one harmonic you can get sometimes on a good day, and others you cant.

it makes it easier to have the gear of the time or close to the tone.. makes it easier when your "playing the song in your head" if you know what i mean.

again, very greatful. thanks! now its time to pull all this together.

 

[MikeT]

MP-1's are cool. The main issue with the stock unit is that 1) although it has plenty of gain the tone loses defnition and focus once both ODs go above 6 or 7 and 2) low end gets a litlle flubby.

The MP-1 is voiced a little different and to get a thick Marshall-ish sound, the trick to the Mp-1 is to keep the treble control low, like -2 or -4. Bass and presence around 4 and mids around -2.

Mike T

 

[Bash_Man]

MP-1's are cool. The main issue with the stock unit is that 1) although it has plenty of gain the tone loses defnition and focus once both ODs go above 6 or 7 and 2) low end gets a litlle flubby.

The MP-1 is voiced a little different and to get a thick Marshall-ish sound, the trick to the Mp-1 is to keep the treble control low, like -2 or -4. Bass and presence around 4 and mids around -2.

Mike T

+1 to all of that. I always found keeping the treble at -2 helped make the tone thick but still bright. same with the mids. even though they are at -2, they cut through no problem.

 

[jcj]

Had an MP-1 and an MP-2 , way back when.....preferred the 1...not a super saturated gain machine, but if you can play, there are killer tones to be had! Well worth checking out for the price. Good enough for Nuno, good enough for me.

 

[verderacer]

MP-1's are cool. The main issue with the stock unit is that 1) although it has plenty of gain the tone loses defnition and focus once both ODs go above 6 or 7 and 2) low end gets a litlle flubby.

The MP-1 is voiced a little different and to get a thick Marshall-ish sound, the trick to the Mp-1 is to keep the treble control low, like -2 or -4. Bass and presence around 4 and mids around -2.

Mike T

+1 to all of that. I always found keeping the treble at -2 helped make the tone thick but still bright. same with the mids. even though they are at -2, they cut through no problem.

Excellent piece of advice. I remember doing pretty much the same thing on mine...