RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

  • Marshall JMP-1

    Votes: 22 52.4%

  • ADA MP-1

    Votes: 20 47.6%
  • Total voters
    42
ishmun

ishmun

New member
hey guys
i dont usually use a rack setup, but i do find the ease of use a big plus when playing live shows
ive recently been given the chance to buy either a ADA MP-1 or a Marshall JMP-1 preamp
both units are the same price and are stock

the Poweramp i will be using is a Mesa Boogie 50/50 (2x6l6 tubes per side)
i play lots of styles, but more inclined to the heavy rock/metal sounds, but funk and fender tones are also pretty necessary (good to see both units have lots of presets!!!!)
what do u guys think is the better option?
thanks
Ishan
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

i know the mesa triaxis goes great with that power amp! ... of the two you mention, i would side with the marshall (you can still get them new, right?) ... the ada's were phenomenal back in the 80's, i would be worried about reliability this many years out

cheers and good luck
t4d
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

theres somebody offering me an ADA MP1 for $90.........is that a good deal (i thought those JMP1 were up in the hundreds arent they?)
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

I like the JMP 1 unless Trace at Voodoo Amps does the mods to the ADA units...

John
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

STRATDELUXER97 said:
I like the JMP 1 unless Trace at Voodoo Amps does the mods to the ADA units...

John
Click to expand...

I'm ordering an ADA from Trace next week unless I find something better(I doubt it), they sound incredible after he puts his magic into them.
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

I like the SansAmp too, as well- The PSA-1. I use a Roland GP-100.
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

I'm not a huge ADA fan. I've found their preamp sounds kind of brittle bright and I have to do some serious EQ at the amp end. My own preamp of choice is Digitech's GSP-5. Yes, they're the very first ones made. You still can't beat their distortions and echoes. I have a Marshall power amp that I run through (I like rack systems because they're consistent), but probably wouldn't buy a Marshall preamp considering all the problems that my power amp gave me in the first years of having it.
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

I like them both for different reasons, if you want to be able to go direct, and get a nice tone,the the JMP-1 is probably for you, it has a more advance FX loop routing also. The eq doesn't have as much swing as it should (IMO), hoever the eq on the MP-1 was made only to imitate various amp curves ... so extra eq is needed with that ... the compressor in the MP-1 isa simple, but useable, and it's chorus is nice, very smooth, reminds me a bit of a CE-2, plus those delay notch settings are kind cool (EH used to call it filter matrix ..re: electric mistress flanger). Warning, don't allow the MP-1 stereo chorus outputs to get summed (like into another fx unit that mixes the direct of both channels to mono), I did that, and blew the MP-1 ...luckily though, this was when they were in business ..hence brings us to another point ...$90 for an MP-1 ...if it works, yeah, great deal ...if it goes or breaks though,good luch finding parts, a few places are around, but they are few and far between, and some of those chips aren't made anymore. So an MP-1 makes a nice recording piece, but if you only got one, and you love it, the road might not be a great place for it. You can also pull some horrible tones from the MP-1 as well as some great tones ... it doesn't seem that you can pull a bad tone from the JMP-1, although you choices aren't as varied.
Food for thought...
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

hey guys, thanx so much for the responses!

do any of you have clips of the JMP-1 in action?
theres a few on the net, but they are 'direct in' to a computer and they sound.....not so good!
i wanna see how it interacts wit tube poweramps

thanx again,
Ishan
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

Of the two you mentioned, I vastly prefer the ADA. If you're looking for parts, try www.adadepot.com Also they offer a killer 3 tube mod for the MP-1.
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

ADADEPOT.COM

These guys have come up with some mods that actually rival some of the high end amp head tones!!!!! I have a couple and they are awesome. With the cost of the units and then doing the soldering/mods yourself, you can afford to have few just to toy with. My three main heads are Diezel, Boogie Dual Rectifier, and a Hot Rodded Marshall JCM 800, and these modded ADA's can get pretty damn close to the tones of each. The Mod 3.66 is actaully better sounding than my Dual Rec. !!!!!!!!!
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

ishmun said:
hey guys
i dont usually use a rack setup, but i do find the ease of use a big plus when playing live shows
ive recently been given the chance to buy either a ADA MP-1 or a Marshall JMP-1 preamp
both units are the same price and are stock

the Poweramp i will be using is a Mesa Boogie 50/50 (2x6l6 tubes per side)
i play lots of styles, but more inclined to the heavy rock/metal sounds, but funk and fender tones are also pretty necessary (good to see both units have lots of presets!!!!)
what do u guys think is the better option?
thanks
Ishan
Click to expand...
I own an ADA MP-1 3Tube Modded and I think its an awsome mod for the MP-1. Very improvment over the Stock MP-1. If you want to check clips of it in action, I made some a while ago:
http://www.digitalsoundplanet.com/VirtualStudios/Listen/usersong.php?userid=83366

I cant comment on the JMP-1 as I've never had one.

Let me know what you think.


Duke
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

Hmmm .... while I personally would go with the ADA, I think you would be better served by the Marshall; there are current dealers everywhere and you can get it serviced practially anywhere in the globe. This is a serious consideration, if you ever plan on taking your music on the road.

Of course, you could always get both and use one as a backup!!
 
Last edited:
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

Between those two, I'd go for the JMP-1, but would also consider shopping for a more expensive pre like a VHT, Mesa, or that top of the line Rocktron? Prophecy?
 
Re: RACK PREAMPS - ada or jmp-1??

Gearjoneser said:
Between those two, I'd go for the JMP-1, but would also consider shopping for a more expensive pre like a VHT, Mesa, or that top of the line Rocktron? Prophecy?
Click to expand...

You can add an Engl 580 pre to that list as well ...
 
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