MP1 Pro

Name: MP1 Pro
Price: 137 USD
Author: Nembrini Audio

by Nembrini Audio · Amp Sim · Programmable preamp and amp sim with effects

Not rated yet

A guitar amp plugin from Nembrini Audio modeled on the ADA MP-1 preamp, with tube distortion, tube clean and solid-state voicings.

It adds an EL34 power amp, effects, six cabinets and an IR loader, and is on sale for $29.99 (regular $137).

Best for: Guitars. Genres: Metal, Rock & Indie.

Keywords: electric guitar, clean, impulse-response based, tube, 80s, solid-state, bass, hardware emulation, lo-fi, skeuomorphic.

What it does

MP1 Pro (full name MP1 Pro Programmable Tube Guitar Amplifier) models the ADA MP-1 programmable tube preamp of the 1980s and builds a full rig around it. The developer notes it was made independently, without ADA's endorsement.

Preamp voicings: Tri-State Voicing switches between three circuits: distortion tube, clean tube and solid state.
Power amp: four virtual EL34 tubes in class AB push-pull, with presence, resonance, volume and a power switch.
Effects: digital delay with a lo-fi filter and offset control for the stereo sides, chorus or tremolo, and a hall reverb.
Dynamics: a studio compressor and an analog-style noise gate tuned for guitar and bass, with gate speed control.
Cleaner filters: pre- and post-amp low and high cuts, including a tight filter for 7- and 8-string guitars.
Cabinets and mics: six guitar cabinets and four microphone models with on- and off-axis positioning and continuous position and distance controls.
IR loader: three custom IRs with blend, volume, pan, phase, solo and mute.

The current version is 1.0.8. It was on sale when checked, and a demo is available.

Source: Nembrini Audio product page

When to use it

MP1 Pro is a focused pick for the tight, scooped 80s rack sound, with the whole rig of preamp, power amp, effects, cabinets and IR loader in one plugin. Compared with Archetype: Gojira X or Archetype: Nolly X, it offers one classic preamp rather than several modern amps, and costs much less on sale. Unlike AmpliTube 5 MAX or Guitar Rig 7 Pro, it has no large collection of amp models, but its filters are set up for 7- and 8-string guitars out of the box. Compared with a Neural Amp Modeler capture of an MP-1, it gives you the unit's full voicings and controls plus effects, rather than one fixed snapshot.

Best for: thrash and 1980s rack-style metal tones, extended-range guitars and clean-to-overdrive rack sounds with built-in effects.
Genres: metal, thrash, hard rock and 80s rock.
Look elsewhere if: you want vintage British or American amp tones or many amp types; AmpliTube 5 MAX or Guitar Rig 7 Pro cover more ground.
Tip: Guitarbomb found that a touch of the room ambience mic "really makes this plugin sing"; use the filter section to tighten extended-range guitars.

What producers say

The two reviews read are positive about the sound and the feature set; the only real caution is about gain staging.

Guitarbomb was "very impressed" with how it captures the original racks, liked the Fix button that keeps levels steady when changing presets and the three-IR blending, and called it "worth every penny" for this tone.
Andrulian praised the "great range of sounds" from clean to full tube overdrive, the hardware-style interface, the reverb's high and low cuts and the pre/post filters.
Criticisms: Andrulian found it sensitive to gain, needing careful input and output level changes; the iOS version lacks the cabinet and mic choices and the IR loader.

Where to buy

Nembrini Audio: $137

Tutorials and reviews

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