I saw one on ebay for REAL damn cheap (even though there's like 2 days left...) and I've been wanting to go rack for a while....thing is I'm a cheap bastard 'cause I dont have a job, so I'm trying to actually buy a preamp in the $200 range... (yeah, that's fuckin' low but like I said, I'm jobless)

Is it a good start for rack gear?

Right now I'm running a Randall RH100 head through a Marshall MG412A (ewwwww.....), would the Rocktron be a step up? (I'd sell the Randall for a cheap Carvin power amp....and i might sell the cab too and see if i can get enough money for a decent 2x12)

Any advice would be appreciated

try and hun down a used ada mp-1 preamp off ebay for like $150...

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Ah, I take it that it's not a great preamp for metal?

Ok, thanks.... I was actually considering the ADA for a long time, but most reviews I've read said it's good for 80s metal....with some EQing would it be "brutal" sounding enough for death metal? (my guitar also has an X2N in the bridge...I'm assuming that would work well with the ADA for Death metal?)

Thanks.

i'm not a fan of rocktron preamps in general...

the ada mp-1 is a great metal preamp... even stock they can be pretty brutal. but i'd look for a modded one, the dukanator mod being my favorite, it's a gain mod(adds gain)+eq mod(makes the eq react a little differently)+noisemod(reduces operation noise)+new li battery(memory for your patches) and a couple other little things... i think you can get one from adadepot.com for like $250+shipping.

the 3.666 or 3tm would probably be even better than that, mainly because they make it made a little more for brutality. but they also cost more.

whats his face from exhumed sports an mp-1. the other guy rocks a 5150 II... so that's probably a good example of the sound they can get.

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I'd rather get it stock and send it in for a mod later....my $200 range is kind of arbitrary, as that's as much money I think I'd get off my friends/relatives for my birthday (which is real damn soon....yeah, I'm a moocher...I'm also 15....)

I'll check out Exhumed to see the kind of tone they can get...but like I said, anything would probablly be a step up from the crap I got now. (The randall isnt even G2 series...)

Thanks for the advice.