opinions on quad
- Thread starter Black_Ice
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I'm the very happy owner of serial: 1879
From Fender type clean to Metallica right to the bone and everything in between. Reverb natural and good.
Alot of different sounds options and settings to find/use.
Quality of the sound are whatever you set it to but very fluid on the lead channels. Very pleasing on all channels and some say more natural than a Triaxis.
Gain stages: Mk II C and MK III.
I have tried a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV combo and there is really no difference in the sound so once you have a Quad other Boogies are really not that importent as they sound that good.
I don't have Mesa/Boogie poweramp yet but the plan is a strategy 400 or simulclass 2:90. Maybe a 395/295 depending on what I can find when I got money to buy one.
I have tried a Marshall 50 watt but it takes some of the tone of the Boogie.
The amp I'm using is a very rare Dean Markley amp signature I-20 100 watt. Using only the poweramp section it does not use anything else than the tone of the Quad.
I have had the Fomula preamp and it has some direct out. Tried it but the sound really was not that good to my ears.
The Quad has direct outs too. I use it at the moment with the record out going to a drum machine. I get the natural sound of the Quad, which beats the hell out of any digital crap in sound, through headphones for practice.
It does Metallica well and so close it's scary. Puppets, Justice and Black album you got it.
Just be aware that there is alot of sounds in a Quad and it's all very good.
I knew after testing it a few minutes that it was an amp to keep forever.
From Fender type clean to Metallica right to the bone and everything in between. Reverb natural and good.
Alot of different sounds options and settings to find/use.
Quality of the sound are whatever you set it to but very fluid on the lead channels. Very pleasing on all channels and some say more natural than a Triaxis.
Gain stages: Mk II C and MK III.
I have tried a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV combo and there is really no difference in the sound so once you have a Quad other Boogies are really not that importent as they sound that good.
I don't have Mesa/Boogie poweramp yet but the plan is a strategy 400 or simulclass 2:90. Maybe a 395/295 depending on what I can find when I got money to buy one.
I have tried a Marshall 50 watt but it takes some of the tone of the Boogie.
The amp I'm using is a very rare Dean Markley amp signature I-20 100 watt. Using only the poweramp section it does not use anything else than the tone of the Quad.
I have had the Fomula preamp and it has some direct out. Tried it but the sound really was not that good to my ears.
The Quad has direct outs too. I use it at the moment with the record out going to a drum machine. I get the natural sound of the Quad, which beats the hell out of any digital crap in sound, through headphones for practice.
It does Metallica well and so close it's scary. Puppets, Justice and Black album you got it.
Just be aware that there is alot of sounds in a Quad and it's all very good.
I knew after testing it a few minutes that it was an amp to keep forever.
Boogie4Life
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I had a quad and ran it with a strategy 400 power amp. That is the one setup that I do miss! It was EXTREMELY brutal,raw old style metal! If I didnt have too much stuff as it is I would be hunting this setup down again.Its that good..... :wink: My Mark 4 with a mod sounds like that setup did stock. :lol:
paleamberglow
Well-known member
what kind of mod did you have done to your MK IV ?
hi, i own a studio preamp, which is very similar to the first channel (it would be better to say the first preamp section, which has got two channels: clean/dirty) of the quad, and it sounds amazing! the quad seems to be a bit smoother and surely more versatile, since you can choose between four sounds instead of two. I consider Quad preamp + a good poweramp (i.e. the old 50:50) the best Mesa product ever together with mkIIC+ and mkIV.Black_Ice said:
4nkam
Well-known member
I actually prefer the tone of the Studio OVER my Quad 
mJ
mJ
4nkam said:I actually prefer the tone of the Studio OVER my Quad
mJ
really? Could you help me finding some sweet lighter gain tones with Studio pre?It's difficult to me to find out some good settings in lead mode if i don't use the V equalization...
is it possible to mod the bias of a PA. Im asking because i know im not going to use all the power of a 2:90 or any other simul-class which has lots of power. I would go for a 20:20 but thats biased for some EL84 which never heard any clips from, but i would prefer 6L6. So is it possible to bias the 20:20 to 6L6. Plus i dont have that much money for a 2:90(that would be the pick for a simul-class) but if i cant change the bias then i will go for the 2:90.
A 20/20 will not take 6L6's without MAJOR modification. EL84's are small tubes that use 9 pin sockets (same as a 12ax7 preamp tube). A 6L6 is an Octal type tube that has a much bigger socket. You also have to consider the operating voltages and heater current which are very different as well.
The 20/20 is an awesome little amp that is really LOUD but it has it's own sound. I love mine. The big bottle amps (50/50 and up) give you more clean headroom and sound different. Personally, I would not buy an amp that I could only turn 2 before people are saying "turn down, it's too loud!" Depends on your needs...some people need the power some don't. Some like the sound of the bigger bottle tubes some would rather small bottle tubes......completely depends on you and your ears. Best bet is to find one somewhere and try it.
The 20/20 is an awesome little amp that is really LOUD but it has it's own sound. I love mine. The big bottle amps (50/50 and up) give you more clean headroom and sound different. Personally, I would not buy an amp that I could only turn 2 before people are saying "turn down, it's too loud!" Depends on your needs...some people need the power some don't. Some like the sound of the bigger bottle tubes some would rather small bottle tubes......completely depends on you and your ears. Best bet is to find one somewhere and try it.
I don't keep my rig @ home. Our practice space is about a 30Min drive from my house and I leave my gear there. I have a V-Amp2 at home hooked to my computer for practice.
Besides, don't trust sound clips you hear on the web....you have no idea what other gear is being used and it all affects the sound (especially the preamp). You'll get a better idea by hearing it in person ---> even more so if you can plug your own preamp into it and use your own guitar.
Speaking of differences, myself and the other guitarist in my band both have Seymour Duncan JB's in our guitars and while my LP sounds bright his is much darker and sounds pretty different. So don't trust clips too much.
Besides, don't trust sound clips you hear on the web....you have no idea what other gear is being used and it all affects the sound (especially the preamp). You'll get a better idea by hearing it in person ---> even more so if you can plug your own preamp into it and use your own guitar.
Speaking of differences, myself and the other guitarist in my band both have Seymour Duncan JB's in our guitars and while my LP sounds bright his is much darker and sounds pretty different. So don't trust clips too much.
4nkam
Well-known member
ytse_jam said:4nkam said:I actually prefer the tone of the Studio OVER my Quad
mJ
really? Could you help me finding some sweet lighter gain tones with Studio pre?It's difficult to me to find out some good settings in lead mode if i don't use the V equalization...
Sure...what are your current settings and setup like?
mJ
well it is a shame but i'm using my studio pre connecting it to the return input jack of the fx loop of a solidstate amp, or using the recording outs directly into the mixer... but give me a month or two and i'll be here with a 50/50 poweramp!
4nkam
Well-known member
ahhhh ok, well trust me you will automatically notice a great difference
mJ
mJ
partyofone
Member
while you guys are on the topic... does anyone have experience with the comparison of the quad, studio pre, and formula's direct to tape sound? I've heard the recto pre (which sounds good), but am curious about the direct sound of the others for recording. I've heard mixed things about the formula for recording, even though it's supposed to be a successor to the studio pre.
