Product: ADA Ampulator
Price Paid: US $360
Submitted
05/09/1997
at
05:41pm
by
Hidde Hanenburg
Ease of Use
:
3
The Ampulator is a non-MIDI, single space rackmount "power tube amplifier emulator". It also includes a cabinet simulator section like the ADA MicroCab. Built in power supply cord (no wall wart).
The "power tube" emulator basically uses a 12AX7 tube running at 175 volts to simulate the effect of guitar amp power tubes in various stages of distortion. The controls are drive, hum injection, pentode/triode switch, bias A/AB/B, simulated output wattage.
The cabinet simulator section provides EQ filter curves for combinations of 10"/12" speakers, #speakers=1/2/4, open/closed back cabinets, and bright/dark voicings. The cabinet simulator can be bypassed so you can use the power amp emulation by itself.
The ADA web page has a picture of the Ampulator and a description of the control layout.
The Ampulator controls are VERY subtle. Often, tweaking the power tube section yielded little noticeable difference in tone. I tweaked for hours and never got a sound I liked.
Sound Quality
:
3
I bought the Ampulator to replace my ADA MicroCab, which I run in the effects loop of my ART SGX2000 preamp. I use this setup for headphone practice and 4-track recording direct to tape.
On the outside the Ampulator looks like a "bigger and better" version of the MicroCab. When plugged into my rig, all I got was a brittle, harsh distortion any time I cranked up the drive control on the power amp emulation. The sound was NOT at all "tube-like" even though there is a 12AX7 inside. On the contrary, it sounded like a solid state amplifier suddenly running out of headroom and clipping -- very ugly in a bad way. The Ampulator was very sensitive to the signal level coming out of the preamp, to the point that I could never get a useable sound.
When I plugged my MicroCab back in, everything sounded good again. The MicroCab handled the output level of the SGX2000 just fine.
Also, as a strict "speaker simulator" my MicroCab out-performed the Ampulator cabinet simulator section. The Ampulator sounded washed out in comparison.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Only had the Ampulator one day before I returned it to the store for a refund. After hearing how bad it sounded, I thought about doing a "reliability test" by throwing it down a flight of stairs...
Customer Support
:
5
OK - I have had the MicroCab for 2 years without any problems.
Overall Rating
:
3
The Ampulator lists for $600, so of course I thought it must be three times as cool as the $200 MicroCab I already had. NOT SO!! Man, did I learn a lesson on this one!
The Ampulator is back in the rack at my local music store waiting for its next victim. My MicroCab is back in MY rack where its doing a fine job - and I've got $360 back in my pocket.
Product: ADA Ampulator
Price Paid: US $400
Submitted
05/11/1996
at
10:25am
by
Chris Muir
Ease of Use
:
7
Easy to use, although there are some _very_ subtle knobs on the front pannel. It pays to read the manual, which is pretty good.
Sound Quality
:
10
I use this in conjunction with a Mesa/Boogie TriAxis preamp. The combination of the TriAxis preamp and the Ampulator is wonderful. It improves the feel of the system and not just the sound.
Reliability
:
8
So far it has been rock solid. It is a tube device, so there is always room for disaster. Carry spare tubes.
Customer Support
:
10
I haven't had to contact the company for this product, but I have dealt with them in the past, and they were very responsive.
Overall Rating
:
10
This is the only thing in its class. It is a power amp simulator as well as a cabinet simulator. It improves the feel of my preamp, making it feel like I'm really bouncing an amp around stage.
