ADA MP II Into Axe-Fx?

HornsUp247

Member
There are some videos of Shuhei Matsumoto on YouTube going into an Axe-XL from an old ADA MP I so obviously it can be done but how? The videos don’t actually sound that great but I have an ADA MP II that I used to send to an ADA Power Amp, passing through a Digitech DHP-55, and split into dual cabs for the stereo delay and other stereo effects. The DHP-55 did stereo dual delay really well and both units had MIDI compatibility so it was a nice setup. I had a MIDI controller that allowed my to call up any of the 10 voicings and a decent amount of on board effects in addition to the Digitech poor mans Eventide. In a lot of ways it was kind of like an Axe-Fx with less effects and saturated tube tone at high gain settings.

The ADA has speaker cab emulation, stereo unbalanced and balanced XLR outputs. I’m not sure how nicely it would play with Axe-Fx and I’m barely familiar the four cable method which I’m assuming would put the ADA in a loop block? The idea of my old tube tone into the Axe-Fx is intriguing but maybe more trouble than it might be worth. I don’t think I would need a load box as there is no power section with an ADA preamp, if I’m understanding the function of the load box.

Ideally, in a perfect world, I would have my unfiltered MP2 tone with access to the full range of effects in the Axe-Fx. I’d also play like Nuno and Vito but it’s not a perfect world. I’d settle for that tube tone I loved back in the day combined with the awesomeness of this effects processor. Asking too much?
 
Also, I have no idea what the speaker emulations sound like, never tried them in any of the 2 or 4 speaker options on the ADA. I’d like to dial in the tone with any of the IR’s in my user cab library. I had a couple of ADA Celestion loaded cabs back in the day that sounded great but I’m a big fan of the IR’s for recording.
 
Not asking too much but to make an analogy.......you already have the prettiest girl in school to take to the prom so why you messing with rocky dennis??

in other words, the pieces of gear you’re looking to incorporate will do nothing the AxefxIII doesn’t already do a lot better.
 
Not asking too much but to make an analogy.......you already have the prettiest girl in school to take to the prom so why you messing with rocky dennis??

in other words, the pieces of gear you’re looking to incorporate will do nothing the AxefxIII doesn’t already do a lot better.

Really just looking to incorporate the MP2 preamp tone, I’m sold on the effects of my Fractal. I’m not sold on the Fractal completely replacing the tube tone I’ve enjoyed in the past. If I could get it to work it would be nice to compare anyway.

I found the ADA much much easier to dial in, just my opinion.
 
Really just looking to incorporate the MP2 preamp tone, I’m sold on the effects of my Fractal. I’m not sold on the Fractal completely replacing the tube tone I’ve enjoyed in the past. If I could get it to work it would be nice to compare anyway.

I found the ADA much much easier to dial in, just my opinion.
Understood. I’m certain you can get that tone and better out of the fractal but if you must, simply connect the MP2 output to an input other than input 1. Bring up that input block as your starting block and go from there.
 
where would he plug into, the MP2? In MP2>Send MP2>fractal in2>Blocks>Fractal Out 2> Return MP2?

Yeah, that’s what I was wondering. I’m thinking I would need to plug into the Fractal for pre-amp (loop) block effects into a boosted audio out into the loop of the ADA and back out to the Axe so the ADA would sit in the chain as an effects loop block? That way I could use my IR’s and add post amp effects like delay and verb...
 
This would technically be 3CM (3 Cable Method) since you're using a Preamp only:

Guitar -> Axe Fx

Axe Fx Output 3 -> ADA Input

ADA Output -> Axe Fx Input 3

The issue you have here is lack of a dedicated "power amp only" option in the Axe Fx. You can adjust the Tube Pre model, but it does still include the preamp section of the model.

Inside the Axe Fx, your chain would (in general) look something like this:

Input 1 -> pre amp effects blocks -> Output 3 -> Input 3 -> Amp block (for power amp modeling) -> post amp effects blocks -> Cab block -> Output 1
 
The Leon Todd video makes the ADA sound great in a mix but I feel like most all of these YouTubers are really good at getting the instrument to sound awesome.

I’ve been trying to dial in a high gain tone like the MP2 but a lot of the tutorials I see on the Tube are geared to 7/8 string shredders using gate as a staccato effect. Cool stuff but the last 7 string I owned wasn’t very inspirational to play. I don’t know how anybody plays an 8 string? I’d feel like I was trying to fret notes on a stringed surfboard, doesn’t look easy.

I’m looking for enough gain to pinch out harmonics all over the neck but still hear the separation of notes in a chord covering as many as 5 strings. Not so compressed that I can’t play softer and be able to create dynamics with my picking techniques. I don’t have a particular player I want to emulate either, I just know when I can play a lot of different things and not feel limited by the tone - that’s it. I find it very easy to dial in a great lead tone with a drive pedal pushing the front end of an amp block and a delay making the tone sound spacious. I don’t like much delay on rhythm parts unless I’m playing clean with reverb. It’s the rhythm tone that has me searching. The Axe-Fx is awesome for high gain leads and single note groove metal riffs. I like to play more arpeggio style chord fills or guitar licks transitioning to full chords or pedal riffs depending on where the song is. Very 80’s style stuff...
 
Pinch harmonics, but still dynamics, right, hard to get both, since compression and dynamics are opposite targets.
You can use the MBC and compress the upper band some, maybe 2khz and above. That way you can enhance the pinches while still having lots of dynamics in the mids and lows.
Also try out the solo dallas trick, it gets you compression but it don't adds the compressed sound, it's different.
 
question, why isn’t it better to go guitar>in ADA>out ADA send> in and out of fractal> return ADA? It would preserve the instrument level hitting the ADA as intended.

I don’t think that would work because I feel like the IR’s would lose some of their characteristics after returning from the Axe? I could go ADA unbalanced out to my interface and add the IR’s in Logic too, I just wouldn’t have a way to use the Fractal for processing. Ideally the MP2 would sit in a block on the Axe-Fx. Otherwise the Fractal would effectively be a “block” of its own in between the preamp and interface. I think I’m thinking of it correctly that way?

The Leon Todd video on simulating the power stage makes sense too but it still might not give me the same qualities I’m looking for. I might be better off routing the ADA to my ADA tube power amp and into a load box going into my Focusrite...
 
I don’t think that would work because I feel like the IR’s would lose some of their characteristics after returning from the Axe? I could go ADA unbalanced out to my interface and add the IR’s in Logic too, I just wouldn’t have a way to use the Fractal for processing. Ideally the MP2 would sit in a block on the Axe-Fx. Otherwise the Fractal would effectively be a “block” of its own in between the preamp and interface. I think I’m thinking of it correctly that way?

The Leon Todd video on simulating the power stage makes sense too but it still might not give me the same qualities I’m looking for. I might be better off routing the ADA to my ADA tube power amp and into a load box going into my Focusrite...
If you did that, you'd also be able to use the fractal as a hardware insert in your DAW and be able to set up 2 signal paths, 1 as an insert on your guitar channel and another for bus effects for your session. There are really a lot of ways to do what you're trying to do. The key is to find a workflow you're happy with. This will get me flamed here I'm sure, but no one ever heard a hit song or a great guitar solo played back in the studio and said "hey, its really close but maybe we should change the routing or the IR. Lets mess with the power stage simulations.......". Get a sound that inspires you (even if its the ADA) and have fun.
 
If you did that, you'd also be able to use the fractal as a hardware insert in your DAW and be able to set up 2 signal paths, 1 as an insert on your guitar channel and another for bus effects for your session. There are really a lot of ways to do what you're trying to do. The key is to find a workflow you're happy with. This will get me flamed here I'm sure, but no one ever heard a hit song or a great guitar solo played back in the studio and said "hey, its really close but maybe we should change the routing or the IR. Lets mess with the power stage simulations.......". Get a sound that inspires you (even if its the ADA) and have fun.

I think Randy got some of his tone on Crazy Train by setting a wah pedal in a fixed position he liked so it doesn’t matter how you get there as you get there. Also, some of the best guitar ever recorded was recorded with tones that weren’t spectacular. I’m probably overthinking it but I keep thinking it would be nice to have a tone I’ve already dialed in and add it to the Fractal. The Kemper might be better still but I’m not a fan, tweaking isn’t a strength of the Kemper. You can duplicate a tone that you’ve captured very well but creating tone on a Kemper isn’t what you buy that for. Also, I don’t have the same cabs I had with my old ADA rig.

I’m looking for a shortcut, that’s all. I’ve generally tried to produce high gain patches by pulling up a high gain amp like the 5150 block and selecting IR’s I like with high gain (assigned to colors for easy reference in Axe Edit). I try to figure out if I get the best gain tones from the amp by volume or drive control and boost with a drive pedal (just as a drive, not to add gain but I’ll tinker with that too). I generally don’t like to deep dive, too much of a pain. When I do deep dive a parameter I try it in it’s most extreme positions and dial in from there. I play with the drive block, drive on the amp and amp volume. Then I play with the EQ on the amp block, usually a 5 band. That’s it. Still haven’t been blown away with anything yet but I will say it’s easy to get my lead tone because...delay. I just can’t play everything I need to play with delay.
 
question, why isn’t it better to go guitar>in ADA>out ADA send> in and out of fractal> return ADA? It would preserve the instrument level hitting the ADA as intended.
Because then you can't bypass it via the Axe Fx.

With proper setup of the Axe Fx loop, the signals levels should be the same.
 
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