ADA MP-2

I found the MP-2 to be fairly easy to program. All you have to do is press the edit button and then select the set of parameters you want to tweak from the front panel. I like the compare function, too. I have an Intellifex, which is a superb sounding FX processor, but it is a friggin' nightmare to program. The ADA is simple in comparison. I've had to tweak the tone numerous times (see sound quality) in the middle of gigs, and it hasn't been a problem.

This is the category in which the MP-2 stinks. Thin, thin, thin. As I said above, I've had to tweak the tone numerous times on the gig. Why? Because there isn't a good tone to be found anywhere in this thing. And believe me, I've tried. The clean sounds might be passable if it weren't for this damned annoying distortion that rears its ugly head if I try to coax any kind of bass frequency at all out. It's not a warm distortion, either. If you heard this kind of noise on the telephone, you'd hang up because of the bad connection. The compressor just makes it worse, and if you try to add the chorus...fahgeddaboutit! Too bad the distortion tones don't make up for it-they are embarrasingly weak. Yeah, there's plenty of gain, but there's no TONE going on here. I have to CRANK the bass on the graphic EQ to get much of anything, and what I do get is flabby and lifeless. Unless, for some reason, you actually LIKE uncontrollable noise and feedback. The noise gate does clamp off the otherwise horrific noise, but you have to set it so high that you can't roll off the guitar volume. In a nutshell, this thing is the cheesy-sounding piece of plastic that has been alluded to elsewhere on this database. I'm running it with a Boogie 50/50 and a Marshall cabinet (both of which are fine), and I've tried just about everything imaginable to locate the source of my tone problems (new tubes, repatching, yadda, yadda, yadda...). Let's just say that I've found it. This thing sounds so bad you can smell it.

Crappy tone aside, reliability is not an issue. You can count on getting the same plateful of mud night after night. It has only freaked out on me once, and that was because of a power surge. I just turned it off and turned it back on, and everything was fine. I've been using it for a while without a backup. If I had a decent sounding preamp, it would BE the backup.

When I discovered the nature of the beast, I called ADA. The service rep at the other end cheerfully listened to my rant and wasted no time in deciding that this thing needed to see the repair shop. The repairs(?) were done free, and the turnaround time was reasonable. Unfortunately, the unit sounds just as bad as it did before I sent it in. I can only conclude two things: 1)there was nothing technically wrong with it, or 2)they never looked at it. I tend to believe outcome #1 because I followed up with a phone call after I got it back. The service rep immediately pulled up my file and went down a dated checklist that the techs used to try to find the problem. Of course, he could have been lying, but I see no good reason for him to. I can't expect them to repair a design problem.

Despite the ease of programmability and good customer support, I'd have to give the MP-2 a low rating because of the sound quality. To me, tone is the most important factor in deciding to buy a piece of gear, and the MP-2 doesn't stack up against the competition. The only reason I bought it in the first place was because I was getting a good deal (or so I thought) and I was short on money (something I'm sure most musicians can relate to.) Needless to say, I learned my lesson the hard way. If I had a chance to do it all over again, I would have saved up and bought a really good piece of gear. Speaking of which, is there anyone out there who needs to sell that TriAxis to make rent this month....

I previously owned a mp-1 and I also own a digitech gsp2101 so I didn't have any problem getting the sound I was looking for. The front panel eq makes things a bit confusing though. So I would rate itt very easy to use compared to the 2101 but hard compared to the mp-1. I didn't get a manuel

I can get the same exact tone I got out of the mp-1 plus alot more. I constantly go back and forth from this to the 2101 and I can't decide which one i like better. Here's what's up The 2101 has less gain in the tube distortion but I think the 2101 is fatter and has a more natural tube sound. However, I am a high gain freak and love the thrash tones the mp-2 can deliver. If the 2101 would go to the extremes that the mp-2 does and retain the fatness I would sell the mp-2. The mp-2 has a great wah-wah and is one of the reasons I bought it. The ten voices prove to make this preamp one of the most versatile around. Also when I turn up the 2101 gets muddy. I have to turn down the bass which then thins out the tone. ADA's seem to have tons of high end and lack a little on the low end. This unit doses sound good loud. I have a mesa 50/50 which i play through a Marshall 412 vintage 30's. I have played the triaxis sounds good but I can't see paying that much for a preamp with no bells or whistles. I want to try a carvin quad-x this thing may just be the preamp I'm looking for, with 9 12ax7's. the mp-2 sounds more like a solid state preamp in the high gain settings with a bit more clarity and compression. I do love having all the voices to select from though, most serve a very good purpose. I like the vintage brown voice coupled with the wah-wah. Makes me feel like Jimi. I'm a little confused but I definitely will never sell the 2101 especially if i figure a way to hot rod the tube preamp. The solid state preamp sounds pretty good for the all out saturation but the mp-2 is better in that arena, because of the tubes I suppose. The other effects are good as well but distortion is my love and I will always be on the look out for something better in that area.

never had a problem with any of my rack gear. all ADA stuff is built to last and I would feel very comfortable relying on the mp-2 .

never dealt with them

I would buy-it again at the price I paid for it new but I have seen it listed much higher and if that was the case I would look for a used unit because ADA products are reliable and the extra money would only get you a warranty you probally will never need. I love the varity of tube voices very versatile. Overall sounds killer but a little thin. The graphic eq does fatten it up considerably over the mp-1 and i don't think that it lacks any tone but has a bit of a transister sound in the high gain settings, noticable with pick or false hamonics. Which some people love because you can really make this thing scream. I compare it to the 2101 almost everyday, and overall the 2101 will do alot more for you at about the same price. Have played the triaxis, pirana,and other rocktron stuff,2112,mp-1 various tube heads by Marshall and Mesa-Boogie. Personally I like the flexability of a rack mount system because contrary to popular belief you don't loose any tone and probally get better tone. And if you get a great tube power amp and speaker setup, just about anything you plug into your system will sound good and you can really customize your tone. The mp-2 would be really neat with a spring reverb unit that would be all the effects I would ever need and then would consider selling the 2101. I have coupled the mp-2 with the 2101 and that is really cool but for some reason I lose alot of volume. When I put the ADA directly into the Mesa man is it loud! I would appreciate any ideas on gain improvement that one may have on the 2101. I've heard that there is a pot near the tubes that will acomplish this , but mine has three pots inside and none are near the tubes.

It is a great preamp for jazz, blues, even metal. I play fusion and jazzrock and it is perfect for me. It can produce sounds from glassy or jazzy clean to nasal or creamy vintage to thrash. The clean channel does not distort the sound when set so. The high gain settings are a bit noisy, but the gate/fader can fairly handle it.

This amp is very versatile. It is very musical, has excellent clean channels nice and saturated vintage sounds and convincing hi-gain settings. However, as it is a correct tube preamp which does not make plastic out of your sound the character of your tone depends on the guitar plugged in it. My vintage gutar has a melodic sound even in hi-gain settings, while a a friends absolutely metal- oriented BC Rich makes obligate trash sound at dinamic and high gains. On the other hand dont expect to get the most out of it without connecting to a good tube PA and responsive speakers. It has a wide range of features without compromising the clean tube voice. Introducing digital effects to this unit would have been a serious mistake as digital effects in this price category make plastic out of clean tube sound. On the other hand this unit is so dinamic and makes can make that rich sound that even reverb might be unnecessary when using good 2x12 or 4x12 speakers which creates sound spacious enough. Dont judge this by factory settings that are generally thin with a lot of treeble in them. It can produce creamy saturated solo ounds as well.

I have a 220V MP2. I found, that these preamps are sometimes sensitive to power variances. I had a previous one, which did not initialized in certain places, but in other locations it worked perfect. I had no problem with the present one.

I would definietly buy it again. I have used several digital multieffects beforehands (Zoom 9002, BOSS ME series, BOSS pedals, etc) but these are not to be compared with the ADA. I have also used Marshall Valvestate combos and heads, I have tried the MP-1, Roland GP100, BOSS GX 700, but they do not come close to this.

Players who use a lot of clean tone or mild overdrive might find this unit useful, the amount of variety in such is good and the compression works pretty well, but for any use as far as high gain distortion it just isn't happening. I found the amp to be worse than a Peavey 5150 amp as far as background hum, it's just terrible.

A rather versatile amp overall, it has a lot of options, but with this and many amps like it you'll typically see a sacrifice in tone. I found it rather odd that ADA didn't load this unit up with a wider variety of effects (wah, compression, & chorus just won't cut it for most players). The room attentuator is nice feature, but doesn't necassarily serve its purpose.

It seemed dependable enough, but I can't really say since I only owned for 2 months.

I wouldn't give this unit a high rating overall, but who knows it may suit your style. I prefer a mean Marshall overdrive myself and I have to say that if you have the money do yourself a favor and pick up a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, its one of the only modern amps out today that truly rock!

I play progressive rock, using a variety of different sounds. The clean sounds are very dynamic and open and the chourus really makes them come alive. I also use a very spanky funk sound which the ADA does well, with lots of headroom that doesen't go into distortion when it is not wanted. The distortion is awesome. I use a high gain sound, which is very dense and creamy. This amp can achieve some very good distortion tones. The only complaint I have is that it can get noisy in high gain settings.

This pre-amp is very versatile. Its like having 128 channels. Sounds range from mellow clean, to spanky fumk, just touching distortion, warm mild distortion, or high gain saturated distortion. And with compression, wah, tremolo, chorus, and MIDI continous controll, this pre-amp does it all.

I would depend on it. I have had no trouble with it.

Never had to deal with the company

This is a great pre-amp capable of many different tones. It does take a lot more time to dial in a killer sound than with other amps, but once you do, watch out.The interface is easy to use, there are just a lot of settings, and it takes a lot of time. The MIDI controll is another great feature, and works well.

I previously owned a mp-1 and I also own a digitech gsp2101 so I didn't have any problem getting the sound I was looking for. The front panel eq makes things a bit confusing though. So I would rate itt very easy to use compared to the 2101 but hard compared to the mp-1. I didn't get a manuel

I play progressive rock, using a variety of different sounds. The clean sounds are very dynamic and open and the chourus really makes them come alive. I also use a very spanky funk sound which the ADA does well, with lots of headroom that doesen't go into distortion when it is not wanted. The distortion is awesome. I use a high gain sound, which is very dense and creamy. This amp can achieve some very good distortion tones. The only complaint I have is that it can get noisy in high gain settings.

This pre-amp is very versatile. Its like having 128 channels. Sounds range from mellow clean, to spanky fumk, just touching distortion, warm mild distortion, or high gain saturated distortion. And with compression, wah, tremolo, chorus, and MIDI continous controll, this pre-amp does it all.

I would depend on it. I have had no trouble with it.

Never had to deal with the company

This is a great pre-amp capable of many different tones. It does take a lot more time to dial in a killer sound than with other amps, but once you do, watch out.The interface is easy to use, there are just a lot of settings, and it takes a lot of time. The MIDI controll is another great feature, and works well.

You'll probably have to program your own presets, but the results are worth the effort. There's lots of variety in the 10 tube voicings, but the sound varies significantly with different guitars. The factory presets weren't very useful to me. Some extreme higain settings were a little noisy, but with the noise gate I think this wouldn't be an issue, especially in the context of the music you'd use higain distortion for. The clean sounds are good, and the distorted sounds are excellent. The compressor doesn't sound good to me in clean presets, but is very good in some distorted presets.

I made one call which ADA handled on a call-back basis. Got the return call one day later.

I believe the MP-2's strengths are in its tube voicings and in its MIDI control (contrast with GSP-2101, which seems like a preamp designed to support an effects section). This works well for me; I guess it depends on your preferences and goals. But don't judge the MP-2 by its factory presets.

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