MusicRadar Verdict
The addition of chorus makes this a tempting purchase. There are no push-button menus, no programmability but also no patch leads. It´s a convenient ready-to-go multi-FX for those of us that love old-style FX and their sound
Pros
- +
Inclusion of chorus. Excellent sounds. Easy to use
Cons
- -
Lack of a save function means that you just need a chinagraph pencil to mark your control settings!
MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.
Carl Martin's first attempt at a non-programmable multi-FX was impressive because of its organic analogue tone.
However, the first version of the Quattro featured a more niche vibrato effect where a mainstream modulation effect such as a chorus might have been a better option. Happily, the MkII model arrives with compression, overdrive, delay and chorus onboard.
The compression circuit has been tweaked to make it less ‘invisible´, but aside from that there are few changes.
The Quattro is housed in a rugged all-in-one metal unit with integral mains adaptor and trailing lead, idiot-proof controls, a tap-tempo switch for the delay and choice of two gain levels for the overdrive.
Along with the single instrument input we get stereo/mono outputs plus a handy FX loop (placed after overdrive but before chorus) to add in one or more additional, primarily drive-based effect.
Sounds
Not only are the individual effects high quality, they create - in combination - a wonderful organic tone that's noticeably different from many modern multi-FX units. The chorus widens the appeal while the dual overdrives can be used for differing textures and/or gains for rhythm/lead tones.
“It’s kind of scary to go through these…like, ‘Oh I’m going to take that back!’”: Albert Hammond Jr of the Strokes is (reluctantly) selling a heap of his stage-played gear on Reverb, including a Guild acoustic from the Yours To Keep tour
“There’s three of us playing guitar in Foo Fighters… A lot of tone details can get lost, which is what drew me to the Cleaver – that P-90 cut”: Chris Shiflett on how he found his weapon of choice with his Fender Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe
“People have used it as their wedding song. I often think, ‘Hey, did you listen to the lyrics?’”: The classic number one hit with a sting in its tail
