Members NiggyTardust Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 After 20 years of gigging with just about every amp under the sun, I've come to the conclusion that the best tone I ever achieved was with a rack setup using a late 80s MP-1. I'm tired of pulling my hair out in search of "the" sound and am seriously considering going back to the old rack setup. I've got a line on an MP-1 Classic and was wondering what the differences are between it and the original. I don't need massive amounts of gain, just something versatile enough to cover the territory from Blackface to Plexi exceptionally well. Will the MP-1 Classic fit the bill, or should I look elsewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scottop1972 Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 let me know if this works out for you. I am interested in going that route and getting a rack effects unit for basic effects stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members separanets Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 I used to have both and stayed with the Classic. It has the Brown Channell, that gives a Plexi-like crunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hamer95USA Posted November 23, 2007 Members Share Posted November 23, 2007 Hey niggytardust, I used my stock ADA MP-1 preamp for about 12 years. I had mine converted to the ADA Depot 3TM "Ultra" mod now and it has a ton of gain and improved EQ in the distorted & clean tube channels now. The noise mod made it quieter, installed a new lithium battery & battery holder, installed a rear input jack (v1.38), and upgraded to a v2.01 software chip. The 3TM mod & "Ultra" upgrades made my MP-1 preamp sound killer and roadworthy. I now own 2 ADA Depot 3TM "Ultra" modded MP-1 preamps now. From my experience, the ADA Depot 3TM modded MP-1 preamp sounds so much better than the Marshall JMP-1, Mesa Boogie Triaxis or the Rocktron Pirahna preamps. If you want more information, look here: www.adadepot.com Guitar George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elric Posted November 25, 2007 Members Share Posted November 25, 2007 From a thread on adadepot.com: Things the Classic has that the MP-1 stock does not: Extra Channel - "Brown" FX Loop is Stereo Fixed FX Loop: No longer tone sucks Built-In Cabinet Emulator (with two emulation modes) for Line Out NOISE GATE (and a good one at that) and better overall noise performance to begin with. Differences: Chorus was tweaked Dist channel supposedly has slightly more gain (according to ADA) but arguably less "clarity" (according to some users). I personally think it's pretty minimal in both departments. Overusing gain can reduce clarity and if there's more... you get the idea. No Rear jack on Classic No top switch for Line/Inst level outputs on Classic Classic "steps" are different on the EQ adjustments. The MP-1 EQ does not go up by single up/down steps and neither does the classic but the "step amount" between the two varies. Basically, IMHO, on the Classic, they took the few bad things there were about the stock MP-1 (FX Loop, NOISE, No Cab Emu) and fixed it. Added one awesome new channel (Brown). And left everything else well enough alone for the most part (If it ain't broke don't fix it). It's pretty much the perfect MP-1. It's different enough that it has no mods done for it and it's more rare. I think it will more than fit the bill. The Brown channel will probably be useful to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scottop1972 Posted November 25, 2007 Members Share Posted November 25, 2007 does the mp-1 have effects built into it. you mentioned the chorus??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elric Posted November 25, 2007 Members Share Posted November 25, 2007 does the mp-1 have effects built into it. you mentioned the chorus??? Chorus is the only effect in either MP-1. You can use it like a notch filter, tremolo, etc with extreme settings but really, I'd just consider it chorus only. The chorus IS good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members django5 Posted November 25, 2007 Members Share Posted November 25, 2007 I thought an FX loop came between pre and power amps, how can a preamp by itself have one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dirtybart Posted November 25, 2007 Members Share Posted November 25, 2007 +1 i really like mine but its a bit noisy. i also have been thinking about going back to using a rack. right now i have my ada going into a mesa simulsatellite for a poweramp but it doesnt sound like plugging into an amp, and thats why i end up back at using heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gimme411 Posted November 26, 2007 Members Share Posted November 26, 2007 Any version MP-1 should have the noise mod and the MDRT mod done to it to reduce the noise issues. It was like night and day with my stock unit, before and after. Here are some sound clips that should help http://www.adadepot.com/cool_things/soundclips/main.htm I thought an FX loop came between pre and power amps, how can a preamp by itself have one? The effects loop on the MP-1 is a tone sucker and not recommended for use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rich4Once Posted November 26, 2007 Members Share Posted November 26, 2007 I'm very happy with my stock MP-1...I don't use the FX loop, and use a gate after it. No problems at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hamer95USA Posted November 26, 2007 Members Share Posted November 26, 2007 Any version MP-1 should have the noise mod and the MDRT mod done to it to reduce the noise issues. It was like night and day with my stock unit, before and after. Here are some sound clips that should help http://www.adadepot.com/cool_things/soundclips/main.htm The effects loop on the MP-1 is a tone sucker and not recommended for use. Hey gimme411, I'm seriously buying that MDRT transformer from the ADA Depot for my ADA Depot 3TM "Ultra" modded MP-1 preamps. I already had Hairston Bagg "Ultra" mod both of my MP-1 preamps a couple of years ago when he was still doing mods. Guitar George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elric Posted November 26, 2007 Members Share Posted November 26, 2007 NOTE: I'm trying to stay on topic for the OP who is looking at the original and Classic versions of the MP-1. Any version MP-1 should have the noise mod and the MDRT mod done to it to reduce the noise issues. Not necessary (or even possible) for the Classic. It's way quieter than stock and has the gate for when there is noise. For the original MP-1, IMHO, the noise mod was a necessity for my use and works fine, once the noise was down to a decent level a gate works fine for any extra control. I'd definitely call the MDRT thing optional; far from an actual necessity. The effects loop on the MP-1 is a tone sucker and not recommended for use. The stock MP-1 loop is really easy to fix and, again the classic loop does not tone suck and is stereo. The cool thing about having a loop on a preamp is that it is programmable in or out. So you can put something like an EQ, volume boost, or traditional FX in there and turn them on/off selectively. A cool setup is to have an EQ in the loop and then have an FX unit in series after. This gives the ability to pop the EQ in and out for solos/whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gimme411 Posted November 27, 2007 Members Share Posted November 27, 2007 The stock MP-1 loop is really easy to fix and, again the classic loop does not tone suck and is stereo. The cool thing about having a loop on a preamp is that it is programmable in or out. So you can put something like an EQ, volume boost, or traditional FX in there and turn them on/off selectively. Not knocking your experience but I had the effects loop mod done to my stock MP-1 by Hairston and it still sucked tone. Personally I think running in serial sounds a lot better. Hamer, it's finstah from the Depot. Get it and install it yourself. Maybe do an A/B comparison to see if you hear a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elric Posted November 27, 2007 Members Share Posted November 27, 2007 The Classic was basically a new and improved MP-1 right? Isn't that what they were pushing when the company folded? Yeah, the Classic is really an MP-1 rev2 type of device as noted above. It's more or less a standard MP-1 that had been updated to address concerns of the original unit and add a couple of additional features. Maybe not a necessity but until you hear the difference between the old and new transformer don't discount it. Get the new transformer and you don't need the gate period. And it will actually clean up your tone with more clarity and warmth. Something about more voltage getting through. I was skeptical too but decided I wanted to try it so I sold my 3TM Ultra for the 3TM Ultra+ and couldn't believe the difference the transformer made. I don't doubt that it's a worthy upgrade. The depot brothers have been raving about it for months, so I'm sure it's pretty sweet. But, I don't think it's right to give a n00b the impression that something like this is a requirement for the thing to be usable from a noise standpoint. It's definitely not something you'd NEED to do for good sound. My stock MP-1 (which was later converted to 3TM) was easily in the acceptable range for noise performance after the straight noise mod, of course the 3TM board improved that even further. I'll have to do the MDRT to my 3TM at some point and give it a whirl. All the modding talk is cool, but I think sometimes in our enthusiasm for everything you can do with this gear, we ADA fans give people the impression that all of this mod and tweaking stuff is somehow the only way to get a good tone from the MP-1, which, of course, couldn't be further from the truth. Some of these discussions make it end up coming off like this build your own preamp kit rather than a complete product. Whereas, really, the base unit is extremely kick ass, it's legendary for a reason, baby! The noise issue is the only thing that I think needs addressed in a bone stock unit. The fact that you can mod it and tweak it and tune it is icing on the cake! I'd just hate to scare off a beginner into thinking that you have to be some sort of pro amp tech to use/enjoy one. We can get him addicted to tweaking and modding after we bring him into the fold. Not knocking your experience but I had the effects loop mod done to my stock MP-1 by Hairston and it still sucked tone. Personally I think running in serial sounds a lot better. I run my FX processor serially on my MP-1 and in the loop on the Classic, so I don't have a ton of experience running the loop on my 3TM, although it is "fixed". So my experience would be that the fixed loop on the stock MP-1 is perfectly cool for doing the EQ "trick" I'm talking about or things of that nature. I'm sure the value of the loop and performance of things put there depends on the listener's taste as well as the parameters of the device in the loop, also.... But really with a rack, unless you want to punch in/punch out an effect via the loop, I agree they're really only a special use type feature and running units one after another works well for the most part. I was mostly trying to explain why you would ever want one (as was asked in a previous post in the thread) and to again highlight differences between the original and Classic MP-1's as per the original poster's interest! So, no worries! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gimme411 Posted November 27, 2007 Members Share Posted November 27, 2007 great points E. Sometimes I get carried away with all the mod talk. To the original poster, if you can find a Classic I say get that first and fall back on a stock MP-1 after that. Although the stock MP-1 is noisy you will not be disappointed with the results if you like high gain type tones. Cleans aren't bad either. Great unit and great support at ADADepot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NiggyTardust Posted December 8, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 great points E. Sometimes I get carried away with all the mod talk. To the original poster, if you can find a Classic I say get that first and fall back on a stock MP-1 after that. Although the stock MP-1 is noisy you will not be disappointed with the results if you like high gain type tones. Cleans aren't bad either. Great unit and great support at ADADepot Well, I picked up an MP-1 Classic on a local deal and after spending a couple of days with the stock settings I can hear a definite improvement over the original. I'm not sure if it's the addition of the brown channel or not, but the whole thing just sounds "warmer" to me. Great tones across the entire range of settings. Now to find another Classic for a backup, along with a single space power amp and effects. Suggestions? Thanks folks. After spending a small fortune over the years in search of a great sounding, versatile, grab-and-go setup, I think I'm finally headed in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rich4Once Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 That's great! I've never even seen an MP-1 Classic or MP-2, so I don't know anything at all about them. In my 10 years with the MP-1, I've never been disappointed with the sound. Duke, Gimme(Finstah), and Hamer always talk about the mods that need to be done to MP-1s, and I think sometimes they scare off newbies who think ADA is only good after a lot more money is spent. Their hearts are in the right place, because they want eveyone to hear what they hear, but the truth is that the stock MP-1 is pretty good all by itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hamer95USA Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 In my 10 years with the MP-1, I've never been disappointed with the sound. Duke, Gimme(Finstah), and Hamer always talk about the mods that need to be done to MP-1s, and I think sometimes they scare off newbies who think ADA is only good after a lot more money is spent. Their hearts are in the right place, because they want eveyone to hear what they hear, but the truth is that the stock MP-1 is pretty good all by itself. Hey Rich4Once, I've had a number of issues with the stock ADA MP-1 preamp in my 14 years of usage onstage. 1) OD1 past 6.5 starts turning to mush. This information was shared with me by Todd Langner, co-designer of the ADA MP-1 preamp. 2) It's noisy in its stock form. Replacing the opamps and capacitors in the ADA Depot Noise mod cleans up the sound immensely. The parts are not that expensive and installation is easy, if you're good with soldering iron. 3) The stock EQ of the MP-1 preamp especially bass is not as tight. The 3TM mod tube circuitboard has a seperate bass & mid/treble trim pot you can adjust on the circuitboard and then you can adjust EQ from the preamp itself. Far more tighter sound. 4) Software needs to be updated to v.2.01 and there is no lithium battery holder. Lithium battery is soldered to the circuitboard and is difficult to replace by the end user. 5)MIDI OUT on the ADA MP-1 preamp transmits MIDI noise, so I use the MIDI OUT of my Rocktron Replifex to the MIDI IN of the ADA MP-1 preamp. 6) The stock MP-1 tube circuitboard has nowhere as much gain as either the ADA Depot 3TM modded tube circuitboard or the ADA Depot Mod4MKII mod. The 3TM tube circuitboard when installed, kills any MIDI tube preamp such as the Mesa Boogie Triaxis, Marshall JMP-1, and the Rocktron Pirahna. 7) The MP-1 preamp has a balanced line in at the rear of the preamp that never gets used. I had both of my ADA Depot 3TM modded MP-1 preamps converted with a rear input jack. 8)Keep extra input & output jacks. I've broken the front input jack and rear output jacks from regular wear & tear. The jacks are made of plastic and break up from heavy usage. I just want to let these people know that if you buy a stock ADA MP-1 preamp, it does have certain sonic & hardware limitations that can be overcome with mods & upgrades. It's a great cheap preamp that just absolutely kills once you get the 3TM tube circuitboard and install the "Ultra" mods. Guitar George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rich4Once Posted December 9, 2007 Members Share Posted December 9, 2007 I know what you're saying, in that it can be made better. You guys are way more technically skilled than I am, and know more about how these things work. I'm not arguing that, either. I don't even pretend to know what you guys know about MP-1s and electronics, mods, etc. Where I have a problem is that you guys make it sound like the MP-1 is near worthless unless it has all this extra {censored} done to it. That scares noobs away. I know it would have scared me, had I gone around the net asking about them before I got mine. I didn't have net access 10 years ago, and in retrospect that's probably a good thing. I'm just saying...the original preamp is pretty good, and still fairly cheap. Mine has one mod done to it, which I did myself. I did the batteryless mod so I wouldn't have to worry about that lithium battery dying and me losing all my patches. It has no impact on the sound, it just gave me peace of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hamer95USA Posted December 10, 2007 Members Share Posted December 10, 2007 I know what you're saying, in that it can be made better. You guys are way more technically skilled than I am, and know more about how these things work. I'm not arguing that, either. I don't even pretend to know what you guys know about MP-1s and electronics, mods, etc. Where I have a problem is that you guys make it sound like the MP-1 is near worthless unless it has all this extra shit done to it. That scares noobs away. I know it would have scared me, had I gone around the net asking about them before I got mine. I didn't have net access 10 years ago, and in retrospect that's probably a good thing. I'm just saying...the original preamp is pretty good, and still fairly cheap. Hey Rich4Once, You shouldn't have a problem with a veteran ADA Depot MP-1 users such as myself on commenting about your posting. It shouldn't scare away any newcomers in using the MP-1 preamp. If anything, my experience in playing the MP-1 preamp onstage & at rehearsals will attest to its great sound, reliability, and ease of upgrading so you can overcome its sonic & hardware limitations. The Mod4 MKII mod or 3TM mod makes the MP-1 preamp a gain monster. If you want to do the Mod4 MKII mod or "Ultra" mods on your stock MP-1 preamp, here are the schematics from the ADA Depot website: http://www.adadepot.com/adagear/detailled/ADA-MP-1/mods.htm Unfortunately, the used prices of MP-1 preamps has gone up to $200-$250.00 for a stock MP-1 preamp when you used to find them for $100-$150 used. Modified MP-1 preamps such as the Mod4 MKII "Ultra" mod or the 3TM "Ultra" mod command a higher price on E-bay. Guitar George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rich4Once Posted December 10, 2007 Members Share Posted December 10, 2007 On the other hand...with prices going up, perhaps we *should* be trying to scare newcomers away from the MP-1. That's it! Stay away from the MP-1! It's a dog! Useless for anything other than a doorstop! Run away! Run away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elric Posted December 10, 2007 Members Share Posted December 10, 2007 You could get them on eBay for $120 all day long when I got mine. I really wish I had gotten AT LEAST two at the time. I'd love to have a bone stock unit to go along with my 3TM just on principle. I'm glad I did manage to get one each of the Classic and the original before word got out. FWIW, my stand on the stock versus modded thing is well known (as per previous post in the thread) so I won't belabor that point. Bottom line is if it says "ADA" on it, it's probably a really cool piece of gear. :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members separanets Posted December 11, 2007 Members Share Posted December 11, 2007 And is that possible to have the 3TM mod with an MP-2? I just bought a couple, like, Intellifex LTD + ADA MP-2 + SKB for $100, cheap becuase the MP-2 was slightly out of order. And I thought, inasmuch I need to fix the MP-2 then why not to apply the 3tm mod on top of it all. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rich4Once Posted December 11, 2007 Members Share Posted December 11, 2007 You can find out for sure at www.adadepot.com but I'm pretty sure that the mods pertain to the MP-1 only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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