ADA MP-1 : Considering getting one.

[nonamemx]

Hey, Ive got two amps at the moment: A Laney Pro Tube Lead 100 (AOR series) and a Carvin X-100B. Both sit on their own Carvin V412-C cabs with Celestion G12M-70 speakers.

The Laney has a great, twangy, high gain crunch and beautiful overdriven breakup. Golden . . crunchy. . .I could go on all day, but thats not the topic at hand.

The Carvin has a beautiful clean channel. . .but the gain channel. . . .well. . . .kinda sucks without help. Especially when compared to the Laney.

So. . . Ive been trying overdrive/distortion pedals like mad trying to find something that will give me a really great, natural, low-noise, smooth tone.


BUT! I recently just got another idea. . . . I could get an ADA MP-1 preamp. I love Paul Gilbert/ Nuno Bettencourt's tones, and I understand that they used ADA MP-1s as did ALOT of people back in the day.

So. . .Ive got a couple of questions for you rack/ADA conniseurs: ( I know jack shit about racks, I usually just stick to head+pedals)

1. How well would it work If I ran the ADA MP-1 into the FX loop return of my Carvin? (to use the Carvin as a poweramp) Is there any unforseen issue with doing this? Would it sound as good as a normal rack poweramp? (the Carvin is 100w, older 6L6 script logo model thats been re-biased for JJ's EL34Ls.)

2. If I do score myself one, it will be from Ebay. Should I get one with the MIDI footboard or not? What all can it do?

If it will work nicely, I'd like to play around with the ADA MP-1. I play alot of 80's style stuff, and from what I hear. . .thats the preamp to use for that. It would be really nice to have 2 complete giggable, rockable rigs with awesome overdrive. The Laney is good one its own, the Carvin is the one that needs help.


Thanks guys.

[pagemalicious]

Hey, Ive got two amps at the moment: A Laney Pro Tube Lead 100 (AOR series) and a Carvin X-100B. Both sit on their own Carvin V412-C cabs with Celestion G12M-70 speakers.

The Laney has a great, twangy, high gain crunch and beautiful overdriven breakup. Golden . . crunchy. . .I could go on all day, but thats not the topic at hand.

The Carvin has a beautiful clean channel. . .but the gain channel. . . .well. . . .kinda sucks without help. Especially when compared to the Laney.

So. . . Ive been trying overdrive/distortion pedals like mad trying to find something that will give me a really great, natural, low-noise, smooth tone.


BUT! I recently just got another idea. . . . I could get an ADA MP-1 preamp. I love Paul Gilbert/ Nuno Bettencourt's tones, and I understand that they used ADA MP-1s as did ALOT of people back in the day.

So. . .Ive got a couple of questions for you rack/ADA conniseurs: ( I know jack shit about racks, I usually just stick to head+pedals)

1. How well would it work If I ran the ADA MP-1 into the FX loop return of my Carvin? (to use the Carvin as a poweramp) Is there any unforseen issue with doing this? Would it sound as good as a normal rack poweramp? (the Carvin is 100w, older 6L6 script logo model thats been re-biased for JJ's EL34Ls.)

2. If I do score myself one, it will be from Ebay. Should I get one with the MIDI footboard or not? What all can it do?

If it will work nicely, I'd like to play around with the ADA MP-1. I play alot of 80's style stuff, and from what I hear. . .thats the preamp to use for that. It would be really nice to have 2 complete giggable, rockable rigs with awesome overdrive. The Laney is good one its own, the Carvin is the one that needs help.


Thanks guys.

You can run the MP-1 into the effects loop. I used to do it through the fx loop of an old marshall head i once owned. For live situations it would be best to get a midi floor board. the ADA MC-1 floor board is the best one (i own one and it helps). It'll do the 80's metal tone easily and the clean tone on the MP-1 is damn good too, depending on what tubes you put in it.

[neilli]

MP-1s are great

[Speiro]

I have one running through the loop on a Marshall JCM900 100W head and it rocks. I used a Boss SD-1 in front of it before but could get quite enough drive with it. The MP-1 has made a huge difference. I wish I'd got one years ago.

[Outlander]

You can run it in the loop or in front just make sure you have it switched properly. You get more dist/gain through the front but it sounds great either way.

[Fragle]

yep, putting it through the fx return is basically the same thing as using a rack poweramp, as you're bypassing the carvin's preamp.
btw, alex skolnick used to run the mp1 through the front of his jcm900 marshalls, and imho his lead sound is great (although i bet that's largely due to his amazing technique and feel). he said that this was a VERY noisy rig, but apparently "the sound was worth it"