New Amp: ADA MP-2

February 20, 2019

I’ve had a lot of fond memories with my ADA MP-1, a few times while moving around it was my only amp and it pulled double duty as a practice amp, a microphone preamp, even a headphone amp run through my PC with an IR back in the early days of IR’s just to have something to practice on.

I knew that an MP-2 existed, although it isn’t as highly regarded as the MP-1, so I’ve always wanted one to find out for myself.

Well, I’ve finally gotten one - and I also picked up a 6-slot rack and someday I hope to fill all six slots with various rack preamps - Peavey Rockmaster, ENGL E530, Marshall JMP-1… all on my list to grab someday (I run these through the FX loop in of my Marshalls instead of through a rack poweramp, which is fine for my setup).

I think this is an extremely underrated amp and it is entirely held back by one thing alone - how complicated it is to set up. Most guitar players just want to turn a few knobs and start playing, and even on the MP-1, you basically chose either distortion or clean and a few EQ settings and started playing. On this amp, it’s not that simple - there are 10 different preamp voicings, and each has the usual ADA setup with two gains, a 4-band EQ section (there is a presence control but this is a preamp so it’s more like “very high treble”). That alone isn’t too bad, but some of the voicings are a little less interesting sounding because clearly this amp was intended by the designers for you to use the second part too - all of the effects. This amp has a noise gate, graphic EQ, and several effects including the classic chorus that ADA’s are famous for. The problem is that the amp relies on these to get the optimal tone - as opposed to the MP-1 which is a bit more plug and play, although that one also benefits nicely from further processing - how many MP-1 players say they don’t like the MP-2, but then use a BBE Sonic Maximizer and a rack mount Graphic/Parametric EQ in the chain anyway. It’s just a different way of doing it with the MP2 because it’s all self contained.

All of that said, I still think the MP-1 is superior in tone because I like the voicings better, but I’ve also had the MP-1 for a decade and I’m still new to the MP-2, so that’s probably a big part of it. Someone wrote a computer program to configure the MP-2, if I can get that working I think that will be a huge improvement for me if I can set up some patches in advance and then just download them to the MP-2 instead of having to program on the MP-2 itself. Either way, I think with the same 128 stored presets, and now so many voicing, effect, and EQ options, I would love the MP-2 as a touring musician if I played the same material constantly. I feel like I could program in 2-3 patches for every song in the set and still have space left over.

I’m glad to have this one in the arsenal, but it’s going to take some time to get the best out of for sure.

Kramer guitar project

December 15, 2018

I’ve wanted a maple fretboard Kramer for a long time, but they are few and far between in the “pointy” era (86-90). After I happened across a nice sustainer body on reverb for too low of a price to pass up, I had visions of a chance to do a graphic finish and a maple board.

I lucked out and snagged a fairly beaten maple neck from Craigslist (thanks Joe!). Someone had tried to lacquer the neck and didn’t do the best job, but structurally it is in perfect shape. I personally like lacquered necks as opposed to satin or oil finishes, but this one looks to be lightly brushed on and has a few bumps along the back. I think when I have the time, I’ll do some sanding and apply some more lacquer to smooth it out, then it will be perfect.

Since I don’t have the sustainer circuitry, I picked up a GFS Modboard that’s a switchable wah or midboost. I haven’t heard it yet, but with so many free holes for switches I wanted to put something in. I’m hoping I can get a similar sound to my Charvel Spectrum’s JE-1500.

At the moment, the bridge pickup is a Gibson Dirty Fingers, which I’ve never had before - and it sounds fantastic. My neck pickup is eventually going to be a Dimarzio PAF Pro, but the one I bought used has larger holes than I have screws for right now so I just left it empty for now.

Stay tuned as I add the rest of the parts and get to work on the finish. Really excited about how this is going to turn out!

New Amp: Mesa Mark IV

November 17, 2018

A while back, I listed my Marshall TSL for sale online. At the time, I was enjoying the 6100LM more and figured it made sense to sell it off if I wasn’t using it. Thanks to a number of interested and chatty folks I met on Reverb, I learned some new settings and grew to love the amp again, so I took the sale down. However, one person was interested in a trade for a Mark IV combo amp - which didn’t go through as he was able to sell it for cash first. While researching the trade, I started to really like the Mark IV tones and thought it would be great to have especially since it would be so different from my mostly Marshall-like collection so far.

Fast forward a few months and I found a Mark IV Medium head for a really great deal and picked it up. I specifically wanted the Medium head so that the “lead voicing” switch was on the front panel. I’m really a tweaker at heart and though I would use that switch with enough frequency plus the medium head is a better platform in case I had to place another head on top.

This is a killer amp - the high gain tones are super tight and articulate, and even sounds great boosted. Throwing a light chorus and reverb in the loop can get tones very close to Whitesnake’s 1987 album tones (even though they used a Mark III), and of course it can nail those modern metal tones such as Lamb of God.

Dialing this amp is a steep learning curve, and I understand now why players come back with such conflicting reviews on the Mark series amps. Their EQ is situated much earlier in the circuit, right after the input gain stage. This is very different to the usual Marshall style post-EQ that most high gain amps employ. On the Mark, you really need to bring up the treble control to maximum, keep the bass low to avoid flubbiness, and use the graphic EQ to shape the sound you want in the room. The idea of maxing out the treble control on a Marshall style amp is totally alien, but it sounds fantastic with this style of circuit.

Caps in this unit date to 1997, and it came equipped with 2x 6L6GC and 2x EL34’s, which sound great to me.

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New Amp: Marshall 6100LM... again

October 13, 2018

I was so thrilled with my 6100LM that I spotted another one for a very low price on Guitar Center’s used lisings, so I pulled the trigger. I figured I could keep whichever one I liked better and sell the other and pocket a few bucks along the way. This unit dates from 1995 and has the same 5881 power tubes as my 1997 model.

Turns out, this one has been modified - and poorly. Channel 1 and 2 feel about the same, but channel 3, the most exciting part of the 6100LM to me, has far less gain and less fullness. Looking inside, there is some shoddy soldering on the lead PCB and I didn’t take the time to investigate further as I’m able to return this amp for 45 days no questions asked.

New Amp: Marshall 6100LM

September 29, 2018

Finally added another Marshall to the collection! This time another 3 channel one, and from around the same era as my TSL. This one dates from 1997, very late in the production run of these 6100LM’s and is equipped with 5881 power tubes.

I’m very happy with this amp and it barely steps on the toes of my TSL. It does cover some of the same ground, but the tones of this model are definitely more classic sounding than the TSL, especially the crunch channel, though it sadly lacks the TSL’s great spring reverb.

The most exciting part of this amp for me is the “LM” lead channel - I thought the TSL had a good amount of gain but really felt best boosted with the gain rolled down. This 6100LM needs no boost to achieve the same level of gain - especially with the mid boost switch pressed in. Channel 2 is also capable of a similarly massive amount of gain with both switches in (Mode C), though it lacks the mid boost ability. Also usable on channel 3 is a “contour” switch, which shifts the mid frequencies and scoops some of it out. While I don’t usually use the contour switch, my first impression is that with that switch in and the gain turned up can get very brown sounding, and could probably do a great impression of the Unchained riff.

New Guitar: Charvel Model 4 Cobalt Blue

January 24, 2018

I grabbed this one online from Guitar Center’s used section, and it did not come with the pictured case - sadly it was very poorly packed, basically the guitar in a cardboard box with no bubble wrap or any protection whatsoever. When it arrived, the edge of the body where your elbow would was cracked through the finish and causing the thick paint to life off in a big chunk. The bridge had also slipped off its studs, but luckily the knife edges didn’t take too much damage. So, another great guitar marred by yet another terrible GC packing job - I can’t even blame UPS for this one as there’s not much they could’ve done. In fact, I’d have to commend UPS for not breaking the headstock or even chipping it - besides the damage from the body moving side to side, once I repaired the bridge and cleaned it up, there were no other issues to speak of and I was able to start playing immediately. For the time being, I’ll put a tiny line of clear nail polish over the edge of the paint so it doesn’t lift any further but I’ll have to contact GC and see if they can cover some of the repair cost… or perhaps this one will get returned, at this price.

Sour notes about shipping aside, this is a beautiful deep blue color and has the same features as my grey Model 4 I picked up last year. The JT-6 trem and JE-1200 mid boost circuit offer great tones, and I really love the inlays on this neck. There’s something special about this neck, it’s just really well put together and a great player.

New Video: Laney AOR 50 Playthrough

November 5, 2017

A quick playthrough demo I put together for a buyer when selling this amp. I used my ESP Maverick Deluxe with an EMG 81-X and a cabinet with a Celestion G12M-65 Creamback. Audio is from the camera mic in the room.

New Amp: VHT Pittbull 50/CL

October 20, 2017

I picked this up really on a whim. Usually I research for months/hours of clips, forums, reviews etc, but I only knew that this was a popular amp for metal styles and a few minutes I spent playing a VHT Pittbull 50/ST in a guitar center about 5 years ago.

Well I am sure glad I did, because this is a fantastic amplifier. Somewhat unique to Pittbulls, this one is optioned with tube powered spring reverb, and no graphic EQ. I’m sure the graphic EQ is great to have, but I love the ambience the reverb adds with its relatively short tail, and I can always add an EQ to the FX loop later. Also a very cool feature is the switchable 5U4 tube rectifier, which can be set to both channels, or none, or only on Red but not Green (my preferred setting).

Both channels can be set exactly the same, which I really like as I can dial in two high gain tones, or two crunch tones, or clean/high gain or anything in between.

Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 EX DG vs Tokina 28-80 f/2.8 ATX Pro

August 31, 2017

I put together a quick comparison of these reasonably priced alternatives to modern standard f/2.8 aperture zooms. I've had the Sigma for a long time, ever since switching to Nikon back in 2012. I've really gotten great performance out of it, but occasionally look at close crops and wonder if I could get better sharpness and contrast. I've gone through a number of alternatives, and none have bested my original Sigma, so I'm still using it. In fact, it is my most used lens, and according to my lightroom smart collections I've taken almost 7,000 photos with it. The next nearest lens, unsurprisingly, the Nikon 70-200mm VR2 with around 4,800, and behind that the Olympus 25mm f/1.8 with around 2,000.

I've compared this particular lens with a Tamron 28-105 (far worse), another Sigma 24-70 EX non-HSM (this one was newer but much softer at 70mm). I also had a Tamron 28-75 2.8, but in Canon mount so I don't have any direct comparison images. I've also done some digging through the internet archives, and have read that this Sigma performs similarly or better than the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L (original version), which is high praise. It also performs better than the Sigma 24-70 HSM, especially at the long end. However, there is another easy to find review comparing the Sigma to the Tokina using photos of a newspaper page that points to the Tokina being much better. This is definitely not the case after my testing though, and I think that the testing performed on such an old body may have been more of an issue of phase detect AF needing calibration with their copy of the Sigma lens (at the time, AF Microadjustment was not readily available). It's worth noting that the Tokina has incredible construction quality - it's very tightly assembled, the AF/MF clutch mechanism, similar to the Sigma's, is smoother and better dampened, and the felt-lined hood is deeper. The Tokina also does not extend when zooming, and it's a little thinner and longer which personally I think looks nicer and probably makes it a little more resilient to dust and water. The Sigma zooms quite a bit towards the wide end, though it is a single cam mechanism (one barrel) and made from metal with a nice textured finish (though not as nice as the Tokina's).

And Tokina 28-80mm f/2.8 ATX Pro for Nikon F

I recently acquired the Tokina 28-80mm f/2.8 ATX Pro and after taking that lens out on a photo shoot, I did quick comparison in my office to see which lens was the better performer in a more controlled setting. In these shots, I used the D800 body on a tripod, fired on a 2 second timer and focused with live view contrast detection to ensure phase detect micro errors would not play a role in the results. Let's get into the samples.

↑ In the above gallery, the images are arranged left to right with the Sigma set to 28mm f/2.8 and f/5.6, then Tokina at 28mm f/2.8 and f/5.6. The Tokina has noticeably more barrel distortion on full frame than the Sigma does even at 24mm. It also has stronger vignetting, and a cooler color rendition (these images are all set to the same color temperature).

↑ Similarly to the first gallery, this one is arranged left to right starting with the Sigma at 70mm f/2.8 and f/5.6, then the Tokina at 70mm f/2.8 and f/5.6. The Tokina has an extra 10mm to zoom to as well here, though the FOV is similar enough that it would be easy to use either lens in the same situations. Both lenses exhibit a minor amount of pincushion distortion, though it is weak enough to really only be visible on critical subjects with straight lines near the frame edge. The Sigma appears to have slightly stronger distortion, but the Tokina also isn't at the extreme end of its range. The Tokina has some noticeable softness around the high contrast "Marshall" logo in the f/2.8 image when compared to the Sigma.

Looking at these 1:1 samples from the center, the Sigma definitely looks weaker than the Tokina. At f/2.8, the Tokina has much better contrast, and the brushed metal panel of the amplifier is much more visible. At f/5.6, the gap closes but the Tokina is still ahead, both in sharpness and contrast. However, the Sigma does have slightly better performance at the edges of the frame at smaller apertures (not pictured for the sake of space). Now lets look at the telephoto end of these two zooms:

Here, the performance flips in favor of the Sigma. Right from f/2.8, the Sigma is sharper and has more contrast than the Tokina, which has a dreamy haze effect. Closed down to f/5.6, the gap closes but the Sigma is still ahead. The Sigma's performance at the edge is also hard to ignore here, and it's so much different than the Tokina that I've included a sample of that as well below:

For my use, I more frequently require wide open sharpness at the long end of the zoom range for portraiture. The Sigma's performance stopped down at the wide end is good enough for me, and the lack of distortion makes it easy to work with in post processing. While I'm sure the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 (non VR) offers the best of both of these lenses as far as performance, it still runs double to triple the price of these lenses... so I'll be happy with the Sigma for the time being. If you're deciding between these, you'll have to identify where you need the stronger performance. The Tokina offers good sharpness right from f/2.8 at wider focal lengths but at the cost of noticeable barrel distortion. It is also very well built, and really feels like a premium item. The Sigma has better edge to edge performance, stronger telephoto sharpness, and less distortion coupled with a wider angle of view (at 24mm). It is also nicely built, just not as tank-like as the Tokina. Price is also a factor, with the Sigma hovering around $400 while the Tokina routinely goes for less than $250. With the remaining $150, you could purchase a lens such as the Nikon 85mm f/2.0 AI/S, which outperforms both of these lenses at the telephoto end with no distortion and a wider aperture, at the cost of requiring you to manually focus. I also own that lens, and it is truly exceptional for portraits.

New Guitar: Charvel Model 4 Platinum Grey

August 28, 2017

I spotted this online at Guitar Center Ocala which is only about an hour drive from me. I got off work early and headed over there to check it out and after sitting down with it for a few minutes, I ended up taking it home. I worked out a nice deal for a case to be included at a reasonable discount, and even got my hands on the trem bar.

This color is very unique and I’ve only seen one other in the same hue. This Model 4 dates from 1987 and has the JT-6 trem and an active JE-1200 mid boost circuit powered by a 9v battery. The pickups are passive, a J50BC in the bridge and two J200 stacked single coils. I’m not sure how I feel about the J50BC, it’s a bit thin and bright sounding without the mid boost turned up, but the two J200’s sound great at any position. The mid boost circuitry really makes them shine, with it turned down or off they feel like authentic single coil tones, snappy and low output. The mid boost is centered on 650 Hz, so turned up they really start to feel more like humbuckers and have a little bit more output, and lose the classic single coil rasp under distortion - very nice to have both options at the turn of the knob. This would be a great candidate for a bridge pickup swap, but I’ll probably leave it alone for now.

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