Carl Martin Quattro review

Danish FX specialist updates its analogue multi-FX

  • £359
  • $829
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Old school analogue warmth resides here in abundance

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!

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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.

Music Radar Team
Music Radar Team

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