ADA Ampulator

There are a lot of controls on this unit, but the manual does a very good job of explaining what they all do. Even so, it takes quite a bit of fussing around to get the right sound, because every control interacts with every other control--meaning that if you turn up one parameter, it will affect the way all the other parameters work and you'll have to change those, as well. Big hint--you should follow the basic guidelines in the manual, and then do SUBTLE changes one-by-one to get your sound. It's in there, trust me. And, interestingly enough, the most subtle controls of all turn out to be the speaker cabinet parameters, rather than those for the power amp simulator. The high and low-end controls on the cabinet section (which simulate different microphone positions) are VERY subtle--you can get radically different results from just a slight change to those controls. I find that the Ampulator can darken things up a bit, so I tend to apply a bit more of the high-end boost, which creates some really lovely (and realistic) bite to the sound. But too much of that, and you get into 'tin can full of bees' territory very quickly! :)

One problem with using this unit is that the controls don't have number markings--meaning that it's difficult to set the unit to the exact same settings you had before. ADA screwed up on that--simple 1-10 markings around the controls would have been really helpful.

But the biggest problem with the Ampulator is that it is a single-channel mono unit, which means that you cannot use it in combination with both channels of a stereo preamp, or after a stereo effects processor in your signal chain. Placing the effects before the power amp/cabinet provides a very different sound than having the effects be last in the signal chain, but you simply don't have that option with the Ampulator, unless you want to try and find two of them and set them identically for each preamp/effects unit channel. But jeezus, it's tough enough to find one Ampulator for sale nowadays, let alone two! Since the ADA MicroCab was a stereo device, why couldn't they have made the Ampulator that way, also?

Do you do direct recording and find that your guitar tracks always sound two-dimensional and unrealistic, lacking depth, bite, and nuance? If so, there are two ways you can go: (1) use an amp head and plug the speaker output into a Groove Tubes speaker simulator, which has a dummy load that can work with a real power amp section, or (2) locate an Ampulator and use it with a preamp (NOT a regular guitar amp--you don't want to plug the output from a power amp into the Ampulator!!). Either method will give you much better guitar sounds than any of those amp modelers out there or by plugging a preamp direct into the board (or even through a regular speaker simulator). The key here is that you NEED a power amp (or a simulation thereof) to accurately recreate the sound of a guitar amp.

The Ampulator does a great job of recreating the effect of a real power amp and cabinet on your sound. I use a Rocktron Chameleon 2000 preamp in combination with a Furman PQ-6 dual-channel parametric EQ (one channel before the preamp, and one after it), the result of which gets fed into the Ampulator, and from there into a TC Electronics G-Major, and then into the mixing board. And I get a sound that is frighteningly close to what you'd get by miking a speaker cabinet. And all without bothering the neighbors or giving myself hearing damage! No, it's not 100% the same as the real thing--but 85-90% so, and that's good enough for this hobbyist! And probably more careful attention to various sound parameters by an audio pro would yield even better results than I've gotten. Makes me wonder if any big $$$ albums were recorded using the Ampulator. In the hands of a pro engineer, it could probably be done, and no one would be the wiser.

I have to say, though, that the Ampulator seems to have problems working with really "tubey" preamps. I tried a Peavey Rockmaster preamp through the Ampulator, and it sounded like ass. The sound was very flubby and lacked low-end definition, even though that exact same preamp rocked hard when played through a real power amp and 4x12 cabinet. You're probably better off with a totally solid-state preamp like my Rocktron, or a solid-state/tube "hybrid" preamp like the Marshall JMP-1 (that the reviewer below me uses) or Rocktron VooduValve. ADA MP-1 users also claim to have gotten good results with the Ampulator--but I've never used an MP-1, so I can't say whether those guys just have extreme brand loyalty, or whether the MP-1 is solid-state enough to work right with the Ampulator. In any event, the Ampulator will give you more than enough tube warmth to eliminate the need for lots of it from your preamp.

Oh, and don't even think of putting a Line-6 POD through the Ampulator! I tried that shortly before I sold my PODxt, and (even with the POD's AIR cabinet simulation turned off) I got all kinds of weird and crappy audio artifacts going on. Why? I have no idea. But use a real guitar preamp with your Ampulator, please.

One other note about the sound--if you are a metalhead like me and want a gain sound that is punishing but still retains definition, I recommend changing out the tube in the Ampulator from the no-name 12AX7 that ADA put in it to (oddly enough) a cleaner Groove Tubes 12AT7. With the 12AX7, I found that things got pretty muddy if I turned the gain on the Ampulator up very high in combination with a lot of preamp gain. But having the gain section set high on the Ampulator is where you get a lot of the best sound characteristics out of it. A change to the 12AT7, especially a high-quality Groove Tubes unit, made all the difference. Now I get a really crisp, but still warm and inviting, metal sound with my high-gain being created in the preamp, where it should be for metal. You Stevie Ray fanatics out there might want to keep the 12AX7 in your Ampulators, however--that type of sound is more commonly created by using a relatively clean preamp through a power amp section being

Never had a problem with it in the year or so I've owned mine. It's built like a tank. Just try getting the top off of it--you have to remove, like, a dozen screws. And the insides appear very sturdily constructed--the tube even has a shock mount. This is studio gear, but it could certainly go on the road if that was necessary.

ADA has been out of business for some years now, due to a catastrophic fire that they couldn't recover from. But go to www.adadepot.com, and you'll find a committed and knowledgeable group of users who can answer a lot of questions--though most of the content there is about ADA's preamps, rather than stuff like the Ampulator.

To sum it up--I would now be utterly lost in my home studio without the Ampulator. I would absolutely have to seek another one out if mine went 'bye-bye'. Problem is, they are very difficult to find now. The new-old-stock units that were available for awhile from adadepot.com are now long-gone. Basically, you're looking at eBay now, and I only see about 3-4 Ampulators listed on "the Bay" per year. Good luck! :)

Actually, I may end up snagging another one if I can, just so I can run a fully stereo signal path--but that's a bit far down on my Gear Acquisition Syndrome wish list...

I must say, that reading the manual (which explains the concept very well) proved to be quite helpful. If you understand the concept of this equipment, it's hard not to get a killer tone. It's easy to just dial in the tone you have in mind.

I'm currently using the ampulator with a Hughes & Kettner Access and a Marshall JMP-1. Initially I ran it in a three channel configuration: dry Ampulator signal combined with wet stereo preamp signal using speaker-emulated outputs to mixer. This setup worked quite well.
Now I'm running the preamps through the Ampulator straight into TC-Electronic's G-Major: great dynamics, killer tone! The power-amp and speaker emulation are fantastic
I'm using it for both clean and distorted sounds: it really feels like a complete amp. Very responsive to guitar volume and picking.

Since I've only had it for about two weeks, couldn't say....But it seems to be built like a tank.

I've obtained the Ampulator through http://www.adadepot.com/.
First of all I would like to thank Jur for his excellent support. Buying and shipping went very smooth and customer friendly.
If you're looking for ADA stuff just visit Jurrie's homepage.

I've been looking for an Ampulator for years. Still can't believe how lucky I got. Adadepot still had old stock for sale; brand new, out of the box! Since ADA went out of business, their products are hard to get.
As far as I know, there's no similar piece of equipment.
If you can buy it: get it!
I would be convenient if it had been MIDI-programmable, but it's quite easy to just tweak a few knobs

It took some time, but even without the manual (which I prefer in the first place :-)) it's easy to do. You need to listen and tweak until you have the right tone. No patches, so you have to make a settign every time you play with another sound.

Off course the Ampulator will not let your crappy pre-amp sound as a good pre-amp. The Ampulator sounds really realistic and my SM-57's are getting old without being used anymore. I use the Ada MP-1 Classic or the MP-1 with it and it's awsome. I never sit tweaking for hours, and I guess you must be def or like bad tone if you cannot deal with this thing.

Real good stuff, like all Ada stuff!!!!

Well, Ada went out of business and no support from them anymore. I maintain the Adadepot website and as soon as you have technical problems, lots of tech-dudes can help you out.

I use the Ampulator to get good speaker and power-amp emulated sounds, clean and overdriven sounds. I also use the Microcab II, but this thing gives more satisfaction. Sure it's too bad no patches can be stored, but with pen and paper you keep you writingskills healthy! Very decent piece of gear, I wish Ada still exists and came up with a programmable Ampulator.

The ADA Ampulator is a tube power emulator + a speaker cabinet simulator in a 19" housing. It uses a preamp tube in power amp configuration in order to emulate power amp distortion.
The parameter functions are interactive; i.e. tweeking one may influence another which makes tonal adjusting a little bit complicated but I used to it very soon. The manual explains the functions very well. No MIDI implication.

The Ampulator sounds great. My setup is ADA MP-1 -> ART Levelar -> ADA Ampulator -> Rocktron Pro Q -> Lexicon MPX-1. I use this setup mainly for homerecording and practicing with a headphone. The philosophy of my rack is to get a great direct recording stereo sound with a (relatively) light rack. The Ampulator is the key to this dilemma.
It offers a very realistic direct recording sound while I can use a light solid state power amp for amplification. For live performance I just bought an ADA Microtube 100. The Ampulator emulates a power amp very well, I am sure it will do the trick for live performances too. The Ampulator will give me a light rack with a great direct recording sound. It works in particular great for slightly overdriven sounds.
I don't have a POD to compaire with but the combination of the ADA MP-1 and the ADA Ampulator suits all my needs. With the Ampulator it is possible to switch between class A, AB an B emulated types of distortions as well as different types of speakersimulations (1x10, 1x12, 2x10, 2x12 and 4x10, 4x12 both with dark (celestion) or clean (EV) speakers, open or closed cabinets.
A commonly heard complaint about the POD is that is sounds like a guitar amp but doesn't feel like it. The Ampulator feels like a guitar amp too.
Very quit too.
I don't understand the two reviewers below that claim that the Ampulator doesn't add anything to your sound at all! The Ampulator is in fact the heart of my rack.

Don't know. Seems sturdily build to me. I will use it for gigs when I have another band again, since it essential for my sounds.

ADA is out of business unfortunately. They made great stuff.

Pros:
- Very realistic sounding
- Very quit
- Very instructive for understanding functions and characteristics of different tubeamps and speakercabinets.
- Good manual

Cons:
- No MIDI; MIDI implication would have made the Ampulator the ultimate piece of gear to me.
- Interactivity of functions. As a result the output level can fluctuate significant. For live performances this means you have to select one setting and stick to that one, otherwise you end up tweaking all night!
- Layout and functions could have been simpler.

One thing that has to be remembered when you use the knobs and buttons on this unit is that it replicates the real thing very well, which means that if you are a beginner at setting sounds you may have to spend some time with it. But it's really worth the effort since you can get some really, really good and authentic sounds with the Ampulator.
This thing is probably as analog as it gets these days. There are no storing possibilities which, of course, would ge great to have. On the other hand, you have that vintage feel. ;)
The manual is great and if you get one when you purchase the Ampulator I highly recommend reading it before tweaking any knobs.

It's very important that you use the right preamp with this one. I, for example, used a Sansamp PSA-1 in the beginning and it did not sound good at all, since the Sansamp already has tube and speaker simulation integreated in to the actual sounds. The signal became too compressed and the headroom was not just there. I changed to the ADA MP-1 and all of a sudden the sounds that I was looking for came bursting out! I've tried it with the Marshall JMP-1 and that sounds really good, too. I guess that any preamp with an unfiltered sound would sound great through the Ampualator since it's the Ampulator that takes care of the actual tone shaping.
The "Drive Level" knob determines how hard you push the power amp. This means that you can get a really clean tone from a preamp to distort if you if you crank this baby up. Also, the actual volume from the output of the preamp effects how hard you're pushing it.
The "Power Level" knob adjusts the wattage of the amp you're simulating from 0.2 watts to 200 watts. At 200 watts the headroom is BIG!
The Miked Cabinet Section gives you the possibilties of 10" and 12" speakers with Bright(new) and Dark(old) character as well as open and closed back cabinets. You also have a selection of 1, 2, or 4 speakers in the cabinet. I found it to be a little bit easier to get a good sound using the 10" speakers then the 12" speakers, but maybe I like that sound more, I don't know...
I dont find this unit to be noisy at all, except when I use a lot of gain from the preamp, but that what happens anyway with any preamp and poweramp combination.
The Equalization has two knobs LO RESONANCE and HI BALANCE. LO mimics the distance of the microphone and HI mimics the position of it. It's a very effective tool.

I've had it for five years and it works perfectly. I have never had to repaire it and it seems to be built for war... :)

Since the company does no longer exist, there are no support.

I play mostly hard rock and blues music and it works great for that. I've been playing guitar for 17 years and have collected some stuff along the way. POD, GP-100, Hughes & Kettner Tubeman, Hughes & Kettner Cream Machine, Sansamp Classic, Rocktron Piranha and Marshall SP-100. If I had to select a few of these it had to be POD, GP-100 and, of course, the ADA MP-1 with ADA Ampulator.
I've seen that you can buy the Ampulator really cheap nowadays and I'm probably gonna do that to have a backup unit if this one gets stolen or something.
This is a very musical and a very inspiring piece of equipment and I highly recommend it to everyone who wants to have a killer tone when recording guitars directly.

The Ampulator is easy to use. Difficult to get a good sound.
There are no patches, no editing. Unit cannot be upgraded.

I tried using the Ampulator in a guitar rack and in a recording gear rack. All it did was make noise/hum and turn the tone to mud. There are a bunch of knobs on the front, half of them don't seem to have any effect on the sound. Overall, I think it's a useless piece of crap.

I didn't have any problems with it. It turned on, but that's about the extent to which I could get any use out of it.

ADA is gone, so no way to get any help.

I messed with this thing for hours trying to rig it in different configurations with different things running through it. All I got was noise and muffled sounds out of it. This unit was in brand new condition when I bought it, so I know the terrible sound wasn't because there was something wrong with it. I'm glad I bought it used.
Save your money!

The Ampulator is one of those devices which makes people give you a puzzled look when you tell them you own one. It's basically a 1U rack space module that emulates the power section and speaker cabinet of a big guitar amp.
It's fairly easy to use. There are no menus to wade through, just a whole slew of knobs which control everything from the "class" of the "amp" to the position of the "speaker cab" in relation to the "mic". It would get a 10 in this category, but some of the controls are really subtle, so it gets an 8.

More on the controls: They could have just replaced most of the knobs on the "amp" side of the unit's front panel with 3 knobs, labelled "kick ass", "whoop ass", and, I don't know, "Thrust", maybe. I run a Peavey Tube-Fex through this, and was getting REALLY sick and tired of dealing with the cheesy speaker simulator in the Peavey. It did an okay job, I suppose, but there was nothing in the Peavey to give that low-end wallop that a big guitar amp gives you. As a result, I'd always have to crank up the bass control on the Peavey, which muddies up the sound. So, best case, I'd get a really muddy, harsh-sounding direct-recording sound with it. Then I got this thing, and now I can tame the sounds in the Peavey considerably, and still get lots of sustain. The Peavey is good for about 6 sounds: Clean/weak, slightly overdriven, heavy crunch, ultra-heavy death machine lead tones, and midrange-heavy 80's lead sounds. It does a barely-passable job of these by itself when recording direct, but with the Ampulator running in the FX loop, there's cranium-crushing fun to be had with the peavey.
In the power-amp section, there's "input drive", which lets you control how touch-sensitive the amp is, there's "presence", "tube matching", "hum injection", and "class", which work together to control what "class" the amp runs in (VERY subtle controls), and then there's a Triode/Pentode switch and a simulated power-level knob to control what type and how ballsy the amp really is. All of these controls work together to provide a pretty authentic "amp" vibe to the sound. This by itself is enough, IMO, to justify this unit's existence.
In the speaker emulation section, there's a selector for 1, 2, or 4 speakers, 10" or 12" speakers, "bright" or "dark" drivers, and open or closed-back cabinet emulation. In addition, there is a "Cabinet resonance" knob to add more low-end to the sound, and a "high balance" knob to rotate the virtual mic in relation to the virtual speaker cabinet. These controls give you more control over the overall sound of the unit than the amp-side controls do. You can go from that really dark "I think this what is giving me the headache I seem to have" tone of later Metallica albums to a more close-miced Fender Twin tone. I could prattle on and on. Let's just say that "sparkling" is not an adjective you'll use to describe what this thing does to your sound. "Thick", "Heavy", and "Beefy" are more likely. Sometimes, it seems like it's almost a little too dark and smooth, hence the "9"

I certainly hope I can depend on it. ADA, the company who made this thing, is no longer. Too bad. I would use it on a gig without a backup... I mean, do I have a choice? It's not like there's something else like this out there, and I would really feel like a nerd owning two of these things.
I can't see any problems happening with the reliability of it. It's got 1 12AX7 in it, the insides look like they were constructed in a really butch way, and the thing just sits there. What can go wrong?

Oh yeah, the customer support is great, considering that the company doesn't exist.

I play everything from metal to western swing (all at the same time). This suits my style when I need a really heavy sound. If it were lost or stolen, that would mean that the burgulars probably made off with my preamp, power amp, power supply, and some cords too. I'd probably just go buy a FlexTone from Line 6, and forget about it. It's one of those devices that comes in really handy in the studio, but I sure wouldn't die without it. There's other stuff out there that sounds just as good, I'm quite sure, and I'd just go find out about that if I needed to. One other thing: I SURE AS HECK wouldn't have paid the exhorbitant new price for one of these things. $600? Sheeyah.

Getting great guitar-tone is very tech-related, so if you are a technician the ease of use is great. If you're not you'll have to struggle through the good manual.

I used to have a lot of different preamps, just looking for the *right* sound, such as TRIAXIS,JMP-1,SOLDANO SP77-II,V-TWIN,MESA QUAD, GX700,DIGITECH2101. They are all great ..... when used with a cranked power amp. But They all suck, using only the preamp direct (using a speaker-sim) into the desk. So it took me a while and a lot of money to conclude: preamp-distortion alone is not capable of giving you *that* rocksound. And.... bother..... I can only play at very moderate levels (master level of my 30 watt combo at 0.0001).
Now I use the following setup: JMP-1 into ADA-ampulator into multi-effects into Desk into domestic-stereo.
The ampulator emulates typical power-amp characteristics which you can't create using pre-amps, such as: cross-over distortion, hum-injection (driving a power amp very hard), push-pull power-amp behaviour, and .. very important... emulated interaction between power-amp and guitar-speaker (most guitar-amps have very poor damping, which sounds great).
Sound quality of this unit is very good. You get all the distortion,compression, non-linearity, and drive you'd expect from a driven power-amp. This is the first time in 20 years my guitar sounds like a rock-guitar using just a few 19" 's and a domestic stereo.
Off course there is a speaker-simulation circuit too. It sounds great, and even *reacts* to the simulated power-stage. Very good!

Just a few weeks in use

Just a few weeks in use. Oh yeah.... it's hard to get in Holland. In fact I never saw new ADA-products on the shelf here. You have to make a specail delivery of it.

If you are a tone-addict, but can't play at loud sound-levels, or if you are recording guitars very often, this is the best available unit. It's all analog, so you do not have the typical digital wannabee sound other manufacturers offer (In time digital techniques will improve, but at the moment it's not good enough) .

Follow up to my previous review: The Ampulator is a power-amp and miked-cabinet emulator. The Power-Amp emulation is very interesting. The compression and light overdrive were satisfying and useful.
As a miked-cabinet emulator, the unit seems comparable to the H&K Cabinetulator circuitry (as implemented in the Cream Machine) or putting an SM57 on the cabinet. My complaint about the speaker emulator was misplaced by blaming the Ampulator. Its emulation of a MIKED cabinet is fairly close. (At least when miked by me. :) ) What it does not do or claim to do is emulate the sound of the CABINET ITSELF; The sound I hear when standing near my cabinet. I'm thinking that some sort of 4-tap delay with very light delay times might help simulate each speaker in a 412 cabinet being in a different position and reaching your ears at a slightly different time.
I wish it had a mix control for the dry signal vs. the speaker simulated signal.
If you like an SM-57 on a 12" speaker, and want a bit of extra compression, and overdrive, check this out.

Many of the controls are very subtle. Reading the short manual a couple of times helped me to understand what was going on.
It is relatively easy, once you understand the controls, to get various settings with the Ampulator. Without reading the manual, it was not very obvious to me.

I used this unit with my Rocktron Piranha MIDI Tube Preamp and my IntelliFex LTD.
The speaker simulator sounded very similar to putting an SM-57 on my Ampeg cabinet with Celestions. Unfortunately, I find I don't really like the sound that that produces. I believed it to be authentic, however.
Overdriving the poweramp produces additional sustain and some very warm overdrive. Backing off the knob cleaned it up some. I was able to adjust my preamp presets so that Clean presets would compress, but would not clip, while the distorted and lead presets would push the poweramp pretty hard. This was relatively satisfying. My displeasure with the miked sound could not overcome the positive effects of the power-amp. overdrive the

For various rock music, if you like the sound of an SM-57 on a cabinet, this unit should do the trick. The additional overdrive from the poweramp can make your distorted tracks sustain for ever...
I have returned the unit because I didn't feel it was worth 480.00. I'd probably snap one up for 150.00.
Lack of any sort of presets is limiting.
A very interesting piece of gear, nonetheless.

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.

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.

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...

OK - I have had the MicroCab for 2 years without any problems.

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.

Easy to use, although there are some _very_ subtle knobs on the front pannel. It pays to read the manual, which is pretty good.

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.

So far it has been rock solid. It is a tube device, so there is always room for disaster. Carry spare tubes.

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.

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.