ADA MP-2

MP-2 1U rackmount guitar preamp. 2 x 12AX7, numerous features (effects, fx loop, 2 x cab sim, midi control). Using rev 1.41 (which is the last firmware rev). Getting a good sound is pretty easy, depending on what you want. The box will do dirty to 80's crunch very well. Cleans and overdriven cleans are a bit trickier to get nailed, but can be sufficient. The box can do the crystal clean nicely - funk chops, anyone?

The manual (which came with mine) is helpful, and is written in English, not Engrish, which is always a plus. I've used it a few times. If yours didn't come with one, go to adadepot.com - it's all there, and then some.

Editing patched is very straightforward, once you understand the layout. It literally takes me 1-2 minutes to completely edit a patch, including everything except CC parameters. If you need CC programming, it will take quite a bit more effort. It's the price you pay for being such a geek....

All in all, easier than a Roland piece, harder than a Fender combo, but there's a lot of versatility in there.

Currently using it with a PRS custom 24, customized Ibanez S540 (20 years old now!). For power (and backup preamp), I use a Lexicon Signature 284 (3W x 2). Avatar 2 x 12 cab w/ Hellatones. By the way, if you come across one of these Lexicons for less than $500, buy it immediately. I also use a TC G-Major for additional effects. The setup sounds amazingly large, and doesn't hurt my aging back....

For it's time, this box was WAY ahead of the curve. Brilliant conceptually. It does have some noise in the high-gain modes, but it can can be tamed with good choices for tubes (Tung-Sol ECC803S) and a mod provided at adadepot.com, which does help considerably. There is also a noise gate, defined PER PATCH, that is pretty good. I also have a Rocktron Hush IICX...

The effects are: 1) Chorus. Very good. Analog. Thick. 2) Cab simulator. Very good. Beats the hell out of going without it. 3) Tremelo. Don't use it very much, but seems to do it's job. 4) Wah. Surprisingly good. I'm not a wah snob, so I can't say it's better than this or that, but seems to be regarded well among those who are.

The unit has not failed me yet (or the previous owner). Of course, ADA is long dead, so operate at your own risk.

Using anything without *some kind* of a backup is a bad move, regardless.

Well, there is no company to deal with, but there is a fantastic users' community at adadepot.com. You can usually get questions answered there. Very cool guys, and very knowledgable. As I said before, there is a great noise mod for the MP-2 that does make a significant difference.

I've been playing for about 25 years, though no longer professionally. WhenI do play, I play mostly rock. There is some occaisional country, blues, R&B thrown in. This preamp is not my only option (or choice), but has an impressive feature set for a piece it's age and cost. Any option that is it's equal or better is much more money. I have been a long-time Mesa user, and had a Triaxis a while back, which was a better preamp, with 5x the price tag. But it didn't have a gate, chorus, wah, or tremelo, either. By the way, the recording outs on the ADA are better, too.

Since I don't generate income from playing anymore, I have a hard time justifying expensive equipment costs. My purchases are dictated mostly by value - something good (or great) for as little as possible. The ADA fits that value model pretty well. The tone isn't for everyone. If metal is your thing, this will disappoint. If you like anything from Stones to to ZZ to AC/DC to hair metal, this will get the job done - in one rack space.

I would probably replace it with another if lost. The price is right, and it gets good tone.

It is very easy to use

I like the sound,but it is very noisy, so I am looking for that Spiridon who did that mod for MP2, can anyone help me to find him?

I used it a lot on a live gigs

Company died

not too tough to use at all. you can download the manual as a PDF, but unless you're diving into the midi functions it's pretty intuitive. I needed the manual for the midi stuff.

well, when I first got it, I was pretty happy with the cleans and totally bummed about the distortion voicings. It was a complete fizztastrophe, just buzzy tone. not bad at break-up, but pushing it into high gain was just horrible. The worst aspects of hotrodded late 80s marshall top end sizzle. I also noticed that in the clean and the dirty channels, the dynamics just suck. So I retubed it. It had sovteks in it which I swapped for a set of JJs, which made all the difference. It's still voiced in that hotrod marshall way, but the fizz is gone. It's never gonna do the non-diode clipping, smooth liquid gain thing, but it actually sounds pretty good now. I can get rootsy breakup on up to some great metal sounds now, and it's got a lot of clarity when you play chords with the gain cranked. goody! the cleans are pretty good, but like I said earlier, the dynamics suck. new tubes won't change that. oh well. we all know that the noise gate is horrible. the tremelo is great. the chorus is serviceable, though it's no small clone. I actually prefer my dano fab chorus, which is a surprisingly good chorus at any price... anyway, I don't use the wah, so no opinion there. I don't use the compressor either. The EQ is good. before the retubing, I'd give it a 2 for the dirty channels, but now it's about an 8. A little noisy, but I don't usually play at super saturation so no biggie. the cleans get about an 8 also. this is because of the shitty dynamics, like there's always a compressor on it that you can't turn off...

yes and yes. it's a solid piece of work.

well, the folks at ADA depot are pretty friendly, although things are certainly geared more toward the MP-1 there. It's a good resource.

what style of music do I play... man, what don't I play? that's why I opted to get this amp, I need the many many channels and many many settings. I can't get a santana sound or a good black metal sound out of it, but pretty much everything else is in there if you dig deep enough.
If it got ripped off, I may replace it, or maybe go for the triaxis. one nice thing about it is that even though there's no reverb, the sound it puts out doesn't need it. If I could change it, I'd add a tube or 2 and chuck the diode clipping altogether, although it's pretty good sounding as is. I'd definitely do something about the lack of dynamics you get out of it. it's definitely worth the money you pay for one.

I guess this is entirely dependant upon one's previous konwledge of FX processors. I found it extremely easy to use, no need to read a manual. Speaking of manuals, I believe that it is still downloadable as a pdf if it is needed.

First some background...

I have been playin for over 20 years and have gone through a huge amount of guitars, ampilifiers, effects, etc.

As preamps that I have owned to compare this to...

Matchless DirtBox, Mesa V-Twin, Budda Phatman, Rocktron Voodoo Valve, Marshall JMP-1, Sansamp PS-1, Lexicon MPX-G2, Line 6 Pod, Roland G100, Roland VG-8, H & K Cream Machine. I have also have had way too amps and effects to bother listing.

Now my setup is very simple, Ravens West PRS style Hollowbody, ADA MP-2, Epiphone Valve Jr.

I absolutely love all the tones I have been able to coax from this rack unit. I was expecting this to be somewhat noisy but it is exactly the opposite of that, in fact it eliminates the small amount of noise I get when plugged directly into the amp, and this is without any use of the ADA's noise gate, ever. I can run the distortion full out with out any need of the noise gate and when I stop playin, dead quiet. I have never experienced this from any of my pedals or amps when the gain is even slightly cranked much less full out saturation, incredible!

This preamp fits my Valve Jr. like a glove, I am able to get all manner of cleans, in betweens, and full out balls to the wall tone out this litlle beast. I love the effects that live within this box, the EQ works sonic wonders, the Wahs are great (I have always had problems finding a wah that I liked), Tremolo is fantastic, Compression works wonderfully, and the Chorus is the best I've owned.

I still can't believe that I have been playing with this setup for over a year and have not felt the need to even use delay or reverb. The tones coming out of my little amp have a 3 dimensional shimmer to them even with a completely dry setup.

My musical influences run the gamut, King Sunny Ade, Ali Farke Toure, Ry Cooder, James Grealy, Jimmy Page, Tom Morello, Billy Corgan, Charlie Hunter, Zappa, Brad Shepik, Shakti, Tupac, etc...

With this box I can nail most any tone shy of full out Fuzzed mayhem ala Grealy's tones in Big Brother and the Holding Company, for that stuff I need a bit more. If anyone knows the trick to that tone let me know.

I have to say that I have never held on to one piece of gear as long as this and I have no plans to ever part with this. I don't know if I may have got an exeptional unit or if most are this impressive. I do know that this has ended my search for a versatile box of tone.

I had this sitting in a closet for 6 months, had it fall off a table onto a cement floor, and like the Energiser Bunny it kept on tickin. I hope it never dies as ADA is no more.

There is a couple things I wish it had. I wish that I could bypass the preamp section and just use the effects into my amp. I wish the effect loop was located just after the preamp in leau of not being able to bypass the preamp. I wish ADA still existed.

I see this unit as a good match for all styles of music. I can get great clean jazz tones, exotic world music tones, breaking up blues tones, and thumping palm muted heavyness with eaqual ease. I have been reading reviews here since it hit the net and have NEVER been inclined to even consider writing a review before but this unit has blown me away so...

I generally have little patience for scrolling through menus and programming units, but I found this unit generally very easy to set sounds and all the buttons are dedicated to each parameter which is very nice. I did not try to program the midi functions, so I am not rating that (although the ADA MXC pedals were plug and play with this, so this is all I'd ever want to do anyhow). Overall though, very tweaker friendly since the unit is actaully fairly basic with only a few effects.

I'll start out by saying I bought this unit on Ebay so my experience may be somewhat tainted if the unit was abused previously. I was attracted to this unit because many users compared it favorably to a Mesa Triaxis. I then bought a Triaxis and compared them - and there is no comparison between the two.

That's not to say the MP-2 overall sounded great. I was absolutely impressed by the direct recording outs, I thought sounded better than my POD. I was playing this through an ADA Microtube 200 and an Avatar 2x12 with Century Neo 60's (similar to Vintage 30's but with Neo magnets). I thought the clean voicings were good, a little sterile and thin, but not bad. Maybe this was not the fault of the MP-2, but was due to the solid state (but with tube pre) Microtube poweramp. However when I played the Triaxis through the same exact setup, the cleans were so much warmer and fatter. Back to the MP-2, I found that the unit was fairly quiet on the clean and mid gain voicings, but horribly noisy on the high gain voicings. This forces the use of the noise gate, which is very chattery, so much so that it is almost unusable in my opinion. The presets I thought sounded pretty good direct through the recording outs, but I couldnt use them live through the amp/cab. I wonder if something was wrong, because many of the presets were just howling with noise.

I think the second biggest complaint I had about the MP-2 was that it lacked dynamic response to picking force. I saw someone else say this in another review and I know now what they are talking about. Is it horrible? Well no, it blows away a POD, but when I compare to my Mesa Mark IV, and the newly purchased Triaxis, the MP-2 is uninspiring to play. Again, I realize this MP-2 was old - but I did put in nice new JJ tubes and it did not improve this aspect much if at all. Again, this may be the a result of using the ADA Microtube.

I was able to approximate the lead sound on my Mark IV with some tweaking, but eventually gave up. It wasnt too far off, and let's face it, if you want the boogie tone, then get a boogie. I am not bashing the MP-2 because it doesnt emulate a fender/ marshall/ boogie perfectly. It has some great clean and gain sounds (maybe a bit flat and sterile), but it is the lack of dynamics that turned me off. Just didnt feel right, and the noise gate was driving me up a wall!

The chorus was good, and the tremolo was very good(I compared it to my Keeley modded boss tremolo, and it was better I think).

In my opinion (at least using the MP-2 with the Microtube 200) the MP-2 is good, but just lacking in the warmth department. I really wanted to like this, and was initially blown away, but after critical listening, it just didnt deliver top notch tone/feel of a great tube preamp.

Seemed solid and it survived this long since about 1993! I think I'd trust the MP-2, but the Microtube is another story. It is a bit quirky on powerup, but seems to keep on ticking once it is fired up.

I do think ADA was way ahead of there time and it is unfair to compare the MP-2 to a lot of newer stuff. Too bad they went out of business. I really liked the ADA MXC midi pedal - I actually wish I kept them because the modern offerings are too big/bulky.

I play mostly hard rock/bluesy style. The MP-2 sounded more like a great "wall of sound" generator, and did not have the expressiveness that I prefer. I've been playing for about 20 years and have gone through the rackmount phase, the solid state phase, the tube combo amp phase, the modelers, and now back to rackmount (albiet tube rackmount) phase. I've used to just run a distortion pedal into an old Roland Jazz Chorus and then upgraded to an ART SGE back in the late 80's early 90's and thought that was great at the time, but always felt that the response was not there, though I didnt know what it was missing at the time. Then I got a Mesa Tremoverb half stack and then knew what a real amp was. I then went through a couple of amps like a Mesa Nomad 45, a Peavey Ultra, a Mesa MkIV, and now the triaxis. I recall when I was buying the ART SGE back in the day, the MP-1 (precurser to the mP-2) was on display brand new, and I opted for the ART (I think I was mesmerized by the effects though, and might not have made that choice today knowing what I know now).

All in all, not a bad preamp, if the high gain sounds were more useable (less noise or better noise gate) it would be a lot better. Also, run this through a nice tube poweramp and maybe that will show the qualities of this preamp in a better light. I think that the Triaxis must just be plain better than the MP-2 since it can still sound good using the Microtube amp.

I will also say that, yes, it is not fair to compare the Triaxis at $1700 to an old 1993 MP-2 going for $200 used. Very true, and if you put it that way, the MP-2 gets a couple extra points for being as good as it is for bargain basement cost. I just wanted to compare it to the Triaxis to share my experience and an alternate opinion as to how the two compare, especially since I see this comparison drawn in several other reviews.

I would give it an 8 for the cleans/mid gain and tremolo, and a 6 or lower for the awful noise on higher gain settings, and chattery noise gate. So an average of a 7 is probably about right, but as everything else, ratings are subjective, so try one for yourself!

Every metal head knows about the sustain and chunk that an ADA preamp can achieve. some classic rockers, blues brothers and jazz strummers can also get some good tones if they take the time to really look at what it is and listen to how all the controls respond. As I said before, this is NOT an effects divice, if you want effects (the only effect I want is delay and verb!) go get this with a nice studio unit... Think older Alesis or some of the newer T.C. Electronic stuff. If you want ALL-IN-ONE, go check out Digitech's GSP-2101, 2112 or 2120, or Rocktron's Voodoo Valve. I've personally been running one of an ESP KH-2 (with Duncan's Dimebucker and '59), an ESP/LTD M-1000fm (still with the EMG-81's for now) or a slightly older Ibanez RG-570 (with the Ibanez V-series pickups) into this. The preamp then goes into a Peavey Classic 60/60 power amp and into a Peavey Triple XXX 2x12 cab. I tie everything together using NOTHING but Monster Rock series cables. I also have a Boss GT-8 that I use from time to time, but, it (even with all the effects available) still sounds digital when compared to this. This thing especially shines in band rehersal when I get to turn up the power amp and get the power amp to heat up with it.

I managed to get a deal (one time where Ebay worked to my advantage) on a VERY clean 1993 ADA MP-2. Analog signal path with compresion, nine-band eq, chorus, tremolo and even wah effects! Let's not forget the range of 10 tube voices from clean, to vintage dirt to Hi-Gain (and there's plenty to spare there). I'm going to say up front, this is NOT an effects unit. This is not a Digitech, Rocktron or Boss. This is an early ninety's attempt to add digital control and flexibility to a great analog preamp. 2x 12AX7's, a stereo effects loop, direct outs with cabinet emulators, it's good piece live and in the studio. What more do you need?

Haven't had it for very long, but, I've owned at least three or four ADA MP-1's in my life (hey, I was a teen and didn't know how to really use 'em!), and the only problems I've EVER had with ANYTHING ADA was my own fault. I always keep a new set of tubes handy and have a little chart in my rack cover to make sure I remember to retube everything at least once a year. Again, never had any problem that wasn't my own fault.

Ada disappeared when the rack scene went to all-in-one then back to pedals and amps...

I've been playing for about 14 years and I listen to mostly metal and classical. If this disappeared or died, I would hunt down another without any second thought. In fact, I'm SO jazzed by this that I'm trying to hunt down a couple of ADA's combo amps that used to be on the market! I love this pre's simplicity and tone availablity! It's a preamp? What more do you REALLY need? Oh, yeah, an outboard (I'm not saying the preamp needs it, that would just screw up the analog signal path!) digital delay! I mean, hey, what're effects loops for if it's got it in it, right?!

The distorted tones were ok/tolerable and a bit better than the MP1, however.... This stereo preamp had a flickering stereo right channel that would clip out constantly into mono-ville.
This preamp was a lemon from Day 1. Its chorus was ok but overall, the effects were weak and NON-transparent. I returned this dead dog and stepped into the very alive ROCKTRON Chameleon and later into the wicked Voodu Valve. These "real all-in-one machines are both musically beautiful and very transparent sounding units. The pick attack is not lost and the distortions/hush are killer. ADA did me a large favor by innovating the idea for a single rack space tone machine...however, other companies successfully took it into a whole new realm and buried them alive. ADA dropped the ball.

I got this thing in an attempt to get an "all in one" effects unit that sounded great and was a piece of cake to both use and tote around to gigs. NOT! From the start this piece of crap was a LEMON. I had dabbled in the MP1s and found them to be the best preamp sound out there in the early 90s at the time...so I felt that the "revved up" version 2.0 would hit the nail on the head. It was problematic from the start.

Unreliable. Especially considering the fact that the stereo sound was defective the moment it was received. Makes you nervous from the start. BAD first impression. If I had these kind of problems in 1996, I bet others did too. Thus the company went OUT of business.

The unit was sent back TWICE for the same problem. Never got fixed. We told them to stick the ADA MP2 up their NUMBER 2 (where the sun don't shine). Frustrating. I thing this was part of the Fall of Rome for this ADA group. Too bad for them.
WE'RE GOING ROCKTRON BABY!!!

Sucks. LONG LIVE ROCKTRON!!!

I never believed that I could get tone this good from a single space preamp with only two tubes! The scoop sound on this thing just totally nails that old "Master of Puppets" and "Justice for All" tone.
It also has really good lo-gain sounds as well. The Clean voicings are a far cry from Fullerton, but they're not horrible either. The compressor and chorus are perfect for me. I like to use just a little bit of chorus with the slowest rate possible on each patch because it's almost like having live double-tracking; it helps to spread the tone out and give it more dimension.

This is an ammendment/addition to my current review:

I have come to believe that most of the negative reviews for the MP-2 come from people who have bought the unit used, and most likely from Ebay or some other such source. If you're going to buy one of these from Ebay, make absolutely sure that you ask A LOT of questions pertaining to the condition of the unit.
There are quite a few inputs and outputs on this thing, so make sure the current owner has tested them and can verify that they work. Also ask about the state/age of the tubes. If they're older than a year, be ready to replace them before you plug in and rock out.
Ask if all of the led lights and the Display are working correctly. If at all possible, arrange for Fed Ex or the US Post Office Parcel Service to get it shipped. UPS really banged mine up good. The pin connector for the LCD to the IC Board was completely pulled off, and the connection at the LCD was almost halfway off. Keep in mind that this MP-2 was packed really well and yet it still suffered this nasty abuse.
So, make sure you've opened the unit up and checked all the connections before firing it up.
If you have any doubts about the purchase, then be smart and don't do it.

I absolutely LOVE this preamp; it ROCKS!!!

I think the more appropriate question about the MP-2 should be "What CAN'T you do with amazing little box"?!?!
Considering the year of its birth, this unit is light years ahead of so-called "tube amp modeling". I've found that if you're going to use digital gear, select products that use all of thier processing power to do ONE thing, and do it well. Until digital guitar stuff reaches a MUCH higher bit-rate that 24, these devices will never come even close to tube and analog devices.

Disclaimer:
I am in the process of choosing a new guitar that will be my next full-time ax. Until then, I'm using a cheap-o Epiphone LP Junior that I generally use only for electric slide work.
Even though this guitar is a far cry from being the best, the pickup still manages to convey the tone in a honest and transpearant fashion.
Some people claim that the ADA preamps are too noisy, but I've yet to come across a noise that was out of control. Plus, the MP-2 DOES have a noise gate; so USE it! If you REALLY want to eliminate noise altogether then I suggest you buy active pickups( I use EMG's and I love them! ), a Rocktron HUSH, and put it before the MP-2 and coming right out of your guitar. Then you can set the MP-2 noise gate a lot lower and get your sustain back.

The cleans don't seem as robust to me as thier distortion counterparts, but they do NOT suck too badly either.
The distortions this Unit can get are absolutely incredible for a preamp with only two tubes. It's got really good in-between sounds, but hi-gain is where this baby roars to life. I've been able to get fat and focused Boogie tone, mighty Marshall midrange, and depending uopn EQ settings, I can almost nail that Matchless "blizzard of nails" distortion as well.
Tonally I have no complaints about the MP-2

Stereo, MIDI-based, tube preamplifier.
A TRUE Stereo FX Loop, and your choice of Outputs which break down like this:
XLR Stereo Outs and 1/4-inch outputs which send the signal through a Speaker Simulation circuit before it hits your mixer or soundcard.
Stereo, 1/4-inch outputs that run independent from said Speaker Simulation. These are the outs that you connect to your power amp.
And of course; MIDI In, Out, and Through.

If you buy one used from Ebay, make sure you ask the seller a LOT of questions about it. I've read horror stories about people who bought one and it didn't work right at all upon firing it up for the first time, so be cautious.
Mine arrived in good shape so I have no complaints( so far...).
Also, you should experiment with diffrent tubes so that you can get the sound your after. And ABSOLUTELY you must replace the tubes when you first get it! You'd be suprised at how many people spend hundreds of dollars to buy a used amp, and then they complain about the tone because they didn't think ahead and realize the tubes were what caused the weak tone.

ADA no longer exists, and it's a damn shame. These guys did quite a bit of pioneering work in the field of electronics and amplification, and I wouldn't mind seeing a comeback from them.
There IS however a GREAT support group called adadepot.com, and they can help you find a way to get your MP-2 fixed or upgraded if needed.

The only thing I wish the MP-2 had is a data wheel or two to help simplify and speed up editing. Rocktron really has it down when it comes to faceplates and ease of editing.
Other than that, I'm as happy as a clam with the MP-2.

I've owned two MP1s before this unit. Setting patches is time consuming, but the results are rewarding. And the process is really self explanitory. The changes are by ear. You do what "sounds" best. Not the easiest process in the world, but not brain surgery by a long shot. Like I said; more an ear thing than technical.

I agree with everyone saying that the chorus is the big show as far as the MP2's effects go. I owned 2 MP1s before this unit. When the MP1 first appeared, it was the only preamp the compared favorably to the sonic qualities of the Soldano amp head. Not wanting to mortgage my girlfriend, I opted for the MP1. I haven't been disappointed yet. And when a beer got poured through it at a show, I went and got another one. Now this MP2 is "all that and then some". Harmonics are easy, saturation is easily on par with Soldano's, sound density is ruthless but notes in chords aren't lost. I put the @#$* to it at shows and I've enjoyed fairly flawless performance. Only problems I've had with all these units is "pick dynamics". Pick hard or soft, same dynamic..regardless of the gain level or compression in / out. At ultra gain setting, don't stop playing or the feedback will kill you. I don't use the gate much as it sounds too artificial. Silky clean tones too. At triple the price, the only thing better is the Mesa Boogie Triaxis.. and then, not enough to be worth it.

Short of pouring a beer through it, this thing is unstoppable. Keep a spare set of 12AX7s with you and everything is 5 by 5. I.E. I haven't had one die on me of natural causes yet.

If you buy one of these now, you're working without a net, pal. Don't let that scare you though. They are relatively cheap now that so many other things have come onto the market. You still can't go wrong with this unit for the price. I picked mine up for $150 used. At that rate, you could buy a stack of them and throw 'em at people.

Rack gear in general is a pain in the @#*. Old school pedals are much easier, but the sonic clarity of digital gear makes it worth having. The level and room eq knobs make this unit very "venue friendly" without having to mess with your patches. Several levels of eq make tonal variations endless. Put it in front of a couple Marshall stacks in stereo: voice of God, brother!

The sounds this thing makes really are different, sound like a 60s guitar with that very thick rich Santana sound, to disco strat tones, to a very acoustic clean guitar, and go to Crazy train, and each one sounds right. Each mode is musical and just sings in its own way.

OK its finally time for me to review my mp-2. This is the most awesome amp I've found, and if the triaxis could somehow sound better, well it doesn't have as many features either.
This this has tone controls and drive controls for each of 10 different tube voicings. Each channel has a grafic EQ. This is very important becuase when I first got my mp-2, it sounded dead. Turned out that the channels I was using had the eq tones muted. It works so well that you would swear it couldn't make that much difference - but it does... Then you have the effects, a good usable tremelo sound, like an old Fender amp, a chorus, an auto wah, and a digital controlled wah - the only way to go. All these effects are not over the top and very pro sounding - AND THEY DONT ADD NOISE OR KILL YOUR TONE LIKE MOST FOOT PEDALS. Stereo out and all is fully midi switchable - just what you would design for yourself if you could!

They're gone

I've been playing 25 years and played many amps to find the right one - I have plenty of cash to buy what I want but have found nothing I like better yet. Get one and spend some time with it - you will be very surprised that you didn't have to fork over $2K for it!

This is basically a good sounding preamp, but your choice of amp and speakers is CRUCIAL!. I originally used it with an ADA microtube amp and ran it stereo into a 2-12 cabinet I had wired for stereo so I could get stereo chorus live (seemed like a good idea at the time!) It sounded pretty good and of course the convenience of being able to switch patches quickly with a midi floor pedal made it perfect. Then the ADA power amp took a dump on me and since ADA was out of business I couldn't get it fixed. I sent it off to some tech in Los Angeles (I'm in Central Cali) and he just whined about not being able to fix it because of no schematics, no ADA, etc. So I gave up and went and bought a Marshall Valvestate power amp. I think it was an 80-80 or something. This amp, with the combination of my "stereo" cabinet made it sound HORRIBLE! It was dry, with no punch, weak, and lifeless. I played like this for about 4 years and was always wondering why the other guitar player in my band sounded so good (Mesa Boogie and Marshall JMP1) and I sounded so weak. Well, this other guitar player had a Fender Blues Deville that he never used so I borrowed it one night and put the MP2 directly into the "power amp in" on the Fender and everyone's mouth just fell open. The Fender power amp section and speakers completely brought it back to life and I bought the Fender from my friend more or less on the spot. Now my tone is back and I'm enjoying playing again!! YOU NEED A REALLY GOOD TUBE POWER AMP AND SPEAKER COMBO FOR THE MP2 TO REALIZE IT'S FULL POTENTIAL, (in addition to knowing how to program it well.) Oh yeah, I'm using an Ibanez RG 570, with SD '59 in the bridge position and the standard Ibanez pickups in the middle and neck. I play everything from classic to modern rock and have been playing professionally for about 30 years.

Adequate features, I like the chorus, wah and tremelo, but I wish there was some kind of ambience effect (reverb or delay)

LED display poops out when there is a low or unreliable voltage situation from the AC, but otherwise it's stayed together now for about 10 years (I replaced the tubes once or twice).

I would definitely try to replace it if I lost it because I know what it CAN do under the right conditions. HOOK IT UP TO THE RIGHT POWER AMP AND SPEAKERS AND YOU'LL BE HAPPY!
(Sometimes I just want to plug my old "tube driver" pedal and Ibanez chorus into the Fender and just wail, though!!)

The MP-2 is very easy to use / get a great sound
Editing patches is easy .
Yes I have the manual but the mp-2 is so easy to use
the manual is still in the wrapper(will sell on e-bay for cherry kool-aid)
yes /yes

I use an Ibanez 7620 to pedal board-mp2-allesis 320 eq-sonic
maximizer 482 back to mp2 to my power amp to my mesa bogie
4x12 recto cab. the gate is incredible no noise. the only
effect i use is the chourus the rest are preety weak in sound.
I went for my sound huge,dynamic,heavy,crisp and tight .
the mp2 makes the tripple rectifier look a peavy bandit

So far it has crapped out twice on me and has been re-wired a
bunch of times .

They went out of buisness before I could call.

I play death metal and this is a great match ive been playing
for 15 years and I always check out new heads but when I do
I always compare them to the mp2 and so far nothing has come
close .To bad ada wasnt still in buisness and comming out with
the MP-200 million

It's so damn easy to use.

This is my gear and connections: Ibanez JEM77FP---Marshall JCM900 hi gain master volume amp head---amp effects loop--Alesis Midiverb 4 processor----amp to speakers---Line 6 Flextone 2125 cabinet.
The mp2 is amazing, you can get brutal distortions and great tones from it. I play lead guitar and you can get those Marty Friedman guitar solos with the mp2, also it fits very well for sounds like Vai and Satriani. The effects are good, not that great (I never use them) but the noise gate it has is a good one. I have played the mp-1 too, and comparing them I preffer de mp-2, the mp-1 is very noisy.

I have been playing the guitar 4 years, I have played other preamps like the mp-1, hafler T2 (good one), marshall jmp-1, line 6 pod (crappy solid state), and I would say that the mp-2 is the best one (for my style), and you can get one in a good price (the jmp-1 is so expensive so as the triaxis). Too bad ADA dont longer exist.
If you are looking for a real distortion, I recomend you to get the mp2.

My guitars I use/used are: A custom made guitar of my own design/shape handcrafted by John Jordan of Jordan Music http://www.jordanmusic.com , it is a solid body electric, basswood body, AAA quilted maple top in translucent red, Evans pickups (E2 in the bridge, E1 in the neck) with a push/push single volume to split the bridge p/u. I also had an Ibanez RG-320 (Downtune a whole step DGCFAD)equipped with 2ea Evans E2 pickups, & a Floyyd Licensed. It was a basswood body as well. I also used a PRS CE-3 with 2 Evans E2 pickups, and recently an ESP/LTD H-207 7stringer.
In my rig which consisted 80% of ADA gear (Except for DDL/Reverb/Harmonizer) treated me very well through those years. It consisted as follows: Furman PL8, Samson Concert Series 2 Wireless reciever, 1 "Y" cable to split signal to, 2 each ADA MP-2, 2each Digitech DSP256XL (DDL/Reverb), Digitech ISP33B Harmonizer, ADA Microcab Miked Cabinet Emulator, Roland M-120 12channel Line Mixer, & ADA Microtube 200. There was also a 4space rack drawer which store cables, strings, tools, etc...

The signal flowed as follows: Gtr to wireles, signal split to 2 MP-2's; one for clean, one for dirty, Stereo dry signal from each direct to mixer, clean MP-2 had loop sending to 1 of the DSP 256XL's for reverbs, delays, the other MP-2 sent Loops send #1 toe the ISP33B, #2 send went to the 2nd DSP 256XL. The signal was split at these processors to stereo and then their wet outputs went to the mixer.

Now, here's the answer to the question "Why did you have 2 MP-2's, wasn't one good enough?" The answer is this, One was used for clean, the other for dirty because I used the CC's to provide a Clean/Dirty "Morph" to similate the crossfade done on a mixing board in the studio. I never like the abrupt change from clean to dirty, & I never liked the volume knob on the guitar rolled back to similate clean. I like my clean to be clean & my dirty to be dirty, & this allowed me realtime & dynamic control in the transition from clean to dirty. Having the dry signals fed direct to the mixer kept my original tone intact. Having the wet signals fed direct to the mixer simplified levels by leaving all the channels on the mixer at the same "6 o'clock" setting & I adjusted the indivual preset levels respectively.

I used one expression pedal for volume, & on an individual patch basis, the wah. The 2nd expression pedal was used to fade in the harmonizer, rather that suddenly. I always thought that this sounded nicer than on/off.

The "monitor outs" of the M-120 Line mixer went to the Microcab, the "main outs" went to the Microtube 200.

My live signal as heard through the house pa was 100% Microcab. This assured me the same consistent mic emulated tone night after night, & allowed me to use my 4x12 cabs simply as onstage monitors. Occastionally, since I was using a 20 space rack, in venues that had statges that were too small to house all of our cabinets, keyboards, & HUUUUGE drum kit, I simply went completely direct, & got of my guitar given to me in my monitor wedges.

This system was Extremely quiet, in any environment it delivered, & it's sound was consistent in any venue or volume.

This amp was in preproduction in early 1993, & put into full production in the spring of the same year. I enjoyed the preamp a great deal since I was fortunate enough to have been endorsed by ADA for 7 years. Because of this relationship, I was fortunate enough to have my ideas considered, & eventually implemented into the products that eventually became the MP-2, Microcab, & Viper. I am a prog metal musician & I played in local Bay Area bands like Gateway, & Prodigal Son. The units never let me down.

Of the concepts I had that were eventually used: MP-2; Loop activation from the effects send, not the return. Return level adjustment, individually between the 2 independent loops, programmable noise gate, cab emulator out.
My input on the Microcab was in lending my ear to testing between emulation & the many cabinets that were tested. This was neat, because I was plugged into an MP1 & a Microtube 200, the signal was ab'd between several 4x12 open/closed back, 1x12, 2x12, cabs of many configurations, vintage & modern. The miked signals then went to (of all things) a Ramsa 31 band EQ, & dialed in until the graphs on the oscillascope matched as close as we could get.

I never had any problem with ADA gear or this rig for that matter, other that of my own neglegence. I was performing at BURNING MAN 98 & our entire camp & stage fell victim to a hellacious sand storm. My rack was outdoors, lids off ready for sound check & was wide open to damage.

My relationship started with my first ADA purchase, the MP1 in 1989. I was its biggest fan. In 1990 My close friend, Chris Keller, went to work for ADA as West Coast Sales Associate. I work just a few blocks from the old ADA site on Edgewater Drive in Oakland, Ca. Chris & I lived in Antioch at the time, so we rode to work together daily. He exposed me quite a bit to what was in development in ADA, & as I was asked, I offered my input & opinions.

It was at this stage that I was fortunate enough to offer my opinions which were later put into production. Lorry Marcus, Matt Bocci, & David Tarnowski (ADA Owner) were very supportive of my ideas which I felt represented the average musician & consumer of gear such as thiers. Matt Bocci wrote the software for the pedals MC-1 & MXC, & I remember one time that Chris & I gave him a ride home to the recovering Oakland hills where the fire had consumed everything. Upon dropping Matt off at his home (The one home in the neigborhood that survived), he asked Chris & I into his home, where he presented to Chris as a gift an old antique harpsicord. Chris was elated.

I have nothing bad to say about their service. It was top notch.

The demise of ADA started upon moving into the building on Lesser Dr. in Oakland.

The building on Edgewater Drive was leased. David Tarnowski purchased the building on Lesser Drive for a price that seemed reasonable, but property in Oakland was not appreciating very well if at all back then. The building on Edgewater had ample room for expansion. The building on Lesser Dr. was triple the size of the previous location, & David only was able to lease out a minimal portion of the excess space for just a short period of time to a mattress company.

His burdonsome mortgage, along with the increasing "retro" trend, caused a decline in rack gear. To offset this negative cashflow, he started laying off production people. Nearly 90% of his production assembly staff were Asian & had worked for him faithfully for nearly 20 years. It was very hard for him to let go of them, & eventually, Chris, Lorry, & additional staff were let go. This also cause a pinch in trying to keep up with prodution with limited staff & cause a flurry of backordering. Without being able to keep up with production, it just snowballed from there.

It's a sad end to a great pioneer in modern amp technology. The man who in my opinion inspired what we now know as amp modeling ala Line 6 & Johnson, is now a man without a company, a product. His product legacy lives on in his gear that is now preciously valued by those who faithfully rely upon it.

Last I heard, David is now working for a computer company. I still have contact with Chris, he works for Federal Express at the Oakland Airport.

Since the demise of ADA, & without the support of a business currently in operation, I've had to replace all of that gear. I recently (couple of years ago) switched over to a Johnson Millenium J250H Head.

I'm 37, been playing for 30 years, love heavy music, love gear, love learning about all things technical. I hated parting with my ADA gear, but since I was gigging extensively, I couldn't chance being without "replaceable" gear on the fly. I have my patches dumped into the computer, & if I ever neaded to, I could borrow another Johnson Amp & dup my patches back into it. I don't have the luxury of a lot of people around who have ADA gear to borrow from, but the ADA gear still gets my vote, & if they were back in business today, I'd still be there #1 advocate, & I'd be back to using there gear once more.

I play very aggressive metal and I am a firm believer that you do not have to turn the gain all the way up to get a heavy sound. I like the clean,I like the distortion and I think that the effects are half way descent to boot. I play a Marshall full stack,Roland srv-3030 effects unit,BBE 386 sonic maximizer and a Peavey classic 120/120 tube power amp. Jackson guitars

This thing as many cool features and can be all be usable. I dont care for half of the reviews on this page,so dont look into them to much. I think this is a very versitile pre amp and would recomend it to all.

I use the unit daily,have been since I got it a year ago. Nothing has gone wrong with it in the time I've had it.

right

I had the mp1 before this and I didnt like that one much. I was hesitent on selling that only to get the newer model. This thing is on a different level from the mp1 and do believe it is a trusty contender with the jmp & triaxis. But thats one mans opinions...who cares right? Oh I've been playing for twelve years.

Excellent ease to obtain an excellent (TONE!!!)

I am running the MP-2 to a Peavey classic 50/50 stereo tube amp - not to be confused with the 60/60 which lacks true tube amp character for some reason. I run a Digitech GSP 21 for effects (minimal) and midi-controller.

I've read the other reviews on this pre-amp and must say that I am disappointed with the responces as they are very general and lack definition. I hear alot of, "lacks low end" from eq junkies and "noisey" from the gain freaks . In plain or simple terms, any more low end out of this unit and it would be un-micable because the boom would over-ride the tone and I have never in my 24 years as a musician heard a tube amp that didn't hiss when the gain was turned past 8.

TONE is where this unit excels all others and it is very simple to achieve if you turn the compressor OFF, set the eq's flat, select your tube character (program) and evolve your sound from this point.

As an owner of several tube amps (Mesa, Fender) this unit comes unbelievably close to matching any amp and is a hell of alot easier to lug around than 10 tube heads!!!

Users such as Satriani, Vei, Petrucci, Lynch can't be wrong.

If your looking for extreme bottom end - use a solid state amp ( a tube amp will never achieve the lower frequences of solid state).

If you want to use the highest gain settings and over use the compressor - your going to lose your dynamics guys and gals on any amp, but if this is your thing - use the friggin' noise gate.

If you want nothing but pure tube tone then use the MP-2 the way it was designed - as a preamp (nothing more- nothing less) and turn down the gain and compressor!!!

Have had mine for years and am very sorry they (ADA) are no longer around (conspiracy). My fenders and boogies always needed re-tubed and overhauled yearly due to road travel which is why I bought the ADA MP-2 in the first place and got away from the BIG amps. What a blessing!

Out of buisness at this point - but were extremely helpful when they were in buisness!

I have played music for 24 years on a semi-professional level and I play many types of music from blues to extreme metal and the MP-2 covers all extremely well and accurate. I have compared it to nearly everything on the market including the POD which so many seem to love. The POD is nice for sounds on the fly - but is very lacking in tube character. The MP-s simply does a far better job and the built in ampulator is fantastic for direct recording and also does a better job than POD or any other current hype items. My opinions are my opinions and not the gospel - so please do not take it as such. I am not the first nor the last word when it comes to advise - but it appears that some guys on here simply do not know what they are talking about when it comes to the MP-2 or what sound they're trying to achieve for that matter. Do not e-mail me with any obscene or offensive e-mail as I will turn it over to authorites and your internet provider will be notified. All other inquiries are more than welcome.

I've been using this with an Ibanez RG7620 with DiMarzio pickups, and although it gets a decent crunch for metal sounds, the harmonics are not really that good. You really notice it when you put this thing next to any Boogie amp. The distortion just has a "choppy" quality to it, where a good amp will have smooth sounding harmonics in the distortion. Of course, the distortion on this thing can really roar if you're looking for a cool metal sound. You have to be carefull about your gain settings. There is a point where turning up the gain makes the sound sick and gross and only adds noise - use you ear! I really like the lead tones I can get out of this thing.

The clean sounds on this preampamp are pretty weak. I've tried for 7 years to get a clean tone out of this thing that I like, and it just won't happen. All of the clean voices sound weak and thin - no balls.

I would like to say something about the "flubbiness" of the crunch that so many people like to mention, and what I would like to say is this: Use only monster cables, put some decent tubes in it, and turn down the gain!!!

As far as the effects go on this thing, I use the compressor, the wah and the noise gate. None of them are outstanding, but it's nice to have them available. The noise gate and compressor are kind of annoying to use, but if you get them tweaked right they work well.

I'll give the distortion a 10, but the clean a 4, thus an average of 7.

It's got a compressor, wah, tremolo, chorus, stereo effects loop and noise gate - good combination of features. I was able to dig up an old advertisement for this thing, and contrary to other information I've seen, it has an all analog signal path.

I've never had a single problem with it. However, I've never gigged with it or put it under too much stress. There have been a few times when I was playing right before going to work and accidentally left it on for about 12 hours. It got pretty hot, but worked just fine.

This doesn't really matter anymore.

Overall, I like the distortion on this thing, and that's why I keep it around. But keep in mind that the 10 tube voices aren't all that versatile so I am yet one more person that believes that this preamp is for metal ONLY! I'll give this a 6 because it's really just an elaborate distortion pedal.

I play hard rock/metal/alternative/blues/classical/etc. The list goes on. I do not think it covers a wide range of musical styles. It covers rock very well minus the loud hiss this thing has. The noise can be covered up with the built in noise gate, but the gate gets annoying after you use it for a while. You begin to miss the sustain you can get without it, like on better preamps. The preamp doesn't cover the heavy crunch palm muting very well. It's more like a muddy thud, thud, than a crunch. I guess it would be ok for a cheap backup or if you have a smaller amp. I use a marshall half stack and before I tried the Marshall JMP-1 preamp, I thought the MP-2 was really good. The first time I tried a JMP-1 I put my MP-2 up for sale and bought a JMP-1. I'm now thrilled that I have the JMP-1 now. :)

It has a ton of features. More than you'd expect in a preamp. Things like a wah, tremolo, chorus, etc.

I never had trouble wih it.

It's alright if you were deprived from getting to try music gear out all the time like me. Our music stores are pathetic around hear. They rarely get anything good in. So I guess it's not that the MP-2 is a bad choice, it's just there are many choices of preamps that are better.

GREAT SOFTWARE, EASY TO USE, VERY LOGIC EDITING.

MY AXE IS A JACKSON COSTUM SOLOIST WITH AN EMG 81 HUMBUCKER, & 2 EMG SL SINGLES, PLUGED IN TO A DBX 166 COMPRESSOR, ALESIS 133 EQ, LEXICON MPX-1 PROCESSOR, FURMAN PL-PLUS POWER CONDITIONER & A TRIPLE RECTIFIER MESA BOOGIE AMP.
BEST DISTORTION I'VE EVER HEARD ( BEFORE THE MESA TRIAXIS).
WITH A LITTLE WORK, U CAN GET ANY DISTORTION U WANT.

IT BEEN DOING ME SOME PROBLEMS LATELY, SO I USE A TRIAXIS BACK UP.

N\A.... USE YOUR MUSICIANS FRIENDS...

I PLAY METAL THE MOST, ABSOLUTELY WOULD BUY IT AGAIN, WISH IT HAD A NICE REVERB.

I JUST BOUGHT IT ABOUT A WEEK AGO ! AND HAVE FOUND SOME GREAT TONES! AND DISTORTIONS! BUT IM WONDERING IF IM GETTING THE MOST OUT OF IT
SEEMING AS I DIDNT GET A MANUAL WITH IT!
IF ANYBODY COULD STEER ME TO ONE ! I WOULD GREATLY
APPREACIATE IT? PLEASE SEND TO mo_rage@prodigy.net

the distortions on this unit are great ! it seems to have alot of features .that i havent explored as of yet !

i just got it from a friend that said he would never sell it!
how ever he just got a boogie traxis and a couple of weeks later
he said wanted to buy the unit back ! and after that never gave me the manual he promised me he would look up! so i guess he liked the mp2 better than his new boogie after all! so far so good!

im a devout metal head ! i have been using a zoom 9151 gsp
processor !. lopped thur a dimebag signature model randall
a/ b switched to ada mp2 looped with a ada s1000 into an ada pre amp ! thur two 4/12 25 watt celestion cabnets and it sounds killer !!! no noise

The unit worked great for me. It was quiet, versatile, reliable till it started making the hum. I use a PRS, and Les Paul. I used a Peavey Classic 60/60 amp through 2 Marshall 4X12 cabs with it. I had a huge sound. Kinda like an Alex Lifeson sound. I have the Pod Pro and it sucks! It is noisey and does not have any good clean sounds. I am desparate to get this repaired. If anyone can help pleas contact me.

I need someone to fix my unit! It has an intermittent hum. It is not a bad ground. If anyone can help or would like to sell their's e-mail me. Please!

I use a sh*tload of guitar sounds, from Mr. Clean to Captain Crunch to Fuzzy Ferret to Molten Metal. I thought this unit would certainly do the trick. I was WRONG! It makes GESTURES at these sounds, but that's it. This over-priced, over-hyped unit is tragic. It has what must be the most lifeless, character-less sounds I have ever heard. ZERO dynamics, and even though there are 10 basic sounds to choose from, they really aren't that versatile. Hard to describe, but this thing has no feel to it; it's like plugging a guitar into a homogenizing box--they all come out the same. The distorted sounds, when high gain, are way too compressed and buzzy. The cleanest cleans have no sparkle. I am an audio engineer in a studio, and when of the players had this at the heart of his rack, I spent 4 hours explaining to him why he shouldn't use it. He was pissed...but the tape didn't lie. For metal-heads, this preamp would be okay. If you want TONE, not sound, and CHARACTER, not caricature, look elsewhere. This thing is a one trick pony, and there are MANY other units that do that trick better for a LOT less money.

Features are well spoken for already.

I have no idea.....it stayed with me for 3 days before I gave up and took it back.

Didn't deal with ADA. In the past they have been decent about things.

I would compare this unit to having about 6 cheap distorto-pedals at your disposal. You would be better off with a Line 6 POD, a Rocktron Piranha (if you can find one), even a Marshall JMP-1 (which I don't even like). Hell, the old Crate TDP from 1991 or so was better than this thing, at 1/4th the cost. I have been playing for 13 years, working in the studio for 4. Unless that spider guy has one hell of a modification (I hope he doesn't just swap tubes...that wouldn't do enough to change my mind about this piece of dung), this is for metal guys ONLY.

I never cared for MP-1...but that is a FAR better preamp than this one.

It just like a toy for Kids

I'm using this preamp with MY B.C.Rich Warlock(neck:Seymour Duncan Screamind Demon Bridge:Seymour Duncan Invader)and Marshall Amp.
I get this stuff before I'm using BOSS GT-3 as my preamp.
after change to ADA it sounds really getting much better.
you know.B.C.Rich's Guitar Clean sound always not good
but after change this Preamp.My warlock aslo can get
Crystal clean sound and the main part is Distortion.
it's really amagzing!very various Distortion sound I can get.
from Hypocrisy to Katatonia.also can get.
can be Thin can be Fatten sound.
no any complain for this Preamp MORE
I'm sure this preamp must be the best choice if you guys into
Metal Stuff

I