Quad Guitar Preamp: Can I get Metallica/Lamb of God Sounds?

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I am looking to purchase my first big boy (tube) amp. I am a poor college student so money is definitely tight, but I have wanted a Mark IV or Mark II C+ ever since I knew that's what created some of the best metal guitar tones. I have heard Metallica used the Quad Guitar Pre-Amp in conjuntion with a Mark C II C+ on ...And Justice for All. Since I'm too much of a poor *** to afford a Mark at this point I am looking into other options. One of them being the Quad Guitar. They seem to be alot cheaper than any Mark (probably because they are a pre-amp) so I am looking into them. Can anyone tell me if and how you can get a great metal tone out of the Quad Guitar? And any other issues with the amp I should know before buying one. Please and thank you!
 
You can definitely get some great metal tones out from the Quad pre. A lot of. And some rock, funk.... versatility is the word.
But don't forget you need a poweramp to get with ! a SimulClass 295/395, 50/50 would be a great choice.
 
As crane says the Quad's one of the best preamp out there and you can easily get any metal tone out of it (as like as rock and blues tones) but don't forget you've to pair it with a poweramp (and a cab of course). A 2:95 or a 50/50 will do the job.
 
So I am doing this the poor man's way. I am going to use the current Fender Amp I have as the ""slave amp" using the power in input located in the back of the amp. Is there anything I should be aware of when doing this?
 
Agreed, there are great tones in the quad. If you don't bother having a clean as the same time as distortion, channel 1 (mk 2c/+) has a great lead sound, and channel 2 (mk3) has a great rhythm sound. The power amp is key in getting tones though. If you just want to run into your computer with impulse software and want to hear what that sounds like, I recently uploaded a video showing just that.

http://youtu.be/Op37OuNmpas

In regards to price versus other marks, recently (within the last year) the quads seem to have jumped in price. So much that mark 3's are only a few dollars more. IMHO if you've never played a mark before, any mark (besides maybe the mk 1) will sound much more like those tones you're looking for. But yes, a quad will get you those tones, and petrucci, and tons of other great sounds. Just not all necessarily at the same time without knob fiddling.
 
What do you think a good price range is for one of these, I see a few on ebay for 450, one has a foot pedal. I haven't seen any Mark III's in my price range and I 've been looking at marks for a long time.
 
I have been watching the Mark 3s start around 700 versus the other marks being in the low 1k -> 2.5k. (Mark 3 buy it now for 700 a week or two back). I am not sure how many have been selling though. A few months ago several quads sold for upwards of 700 I believe, but since then it appears they have fallen in price again. I bought mine in October 2011 for around 550, and that was w/o the footswitch. The two on ebay right now look to be good. They are the older model without MIDI (which is not a problem at all), and would come with two reverb tanks instead of one. If I was to buy another one, I definitely wouldn't pay above 550. Especially considering that you need a power amp to make it as functional as a head. The footswitch is kind of personal preference as well. Not having ever used one, I get along fine without it, as I use a shorted 1/4 inch plug to decide on my channel, but I have also only used it at my house to play for fun, not in any kind of a band situation.

link to that mark 3: http://www.ebay.com/itm/121011440761?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
 
Also consider the Studio Preamp, which is more or less the top half of a Quad Preamp. You can pick those up for a few hundred less than a Quad. Obviously they don't have the versatility of a Quad, but when it comes to tone many people actually prefer the Studio Pres to the Quads. You can get by running the preamp into the power amp input on your Fender. It might sound pretty good; then again it might not. Depends on the particular amp you're using and how well it reacts to doing this. The power amp in is expecting a line-level signal, which is what any of these preamps will put out, so you can't go too wrong there. Chances are you'll ultimately want a dedicated power amp (or a Mark III, which isn't too much more money than a Quad), though.
 
Fraught with danger this path is...
If your on a budget stick with a head/cab or combo amp 1x12 rig and get a couple pedals and play.
Mark III is likely your best bet on a budget, but you can score some deals if your patient watching Craigslist, I grabbed a Mark V combo for $1350 a while back. It sits on top of my 4x12 next to my quad rig and I lay rhythm tracks down on my repeater pedal on the V and then jam along on the quad rig.
Yes the Quads got great tone its versatile and it nails that sick old school metal tone. Make no mistake it's not a mark substitute its two mark head preamps in one box then you add the stereo power amp.
By the way have you considered a Mark IV that's kinda the signature LOG tone.

markorecto005.jpg
 
Sorry for the story here but....

Several years ago I was looking for that MOP era tone, living over in the UK, the choice of Boogies isn't as big as in the US.

I bought a Mark IV but just couldn't get a good sound out of it apart from the cleans. People always say that Boogies aren't plug and play and you need to tweak. Well I spent over a year tweaking without success. Eventually I sold it. I'm used to oldschool Marshalls (UK thing!) and I just couldn't get on with the the compressed tone, simul class and not being able to change the bias.

I have always like the sound of the Mark II, it has that raw, less compressed tone compared to the IV. I would have probably bought a C+ except I just don't like Boogie power sections and of course the cost!

So anyway, a Quad popped up on ebay for cheap a couple of months ago - these things are extermely rare in the UK. I couldn't resist the prospect of being able to match a IIC+ preamp with a Marshall poweramp.

I paired it up with a Marshall 9100 with NOS Sylvania 6L6GCs (yes I can bias this thing!) and I love it to bits. It is plug and play, OK I am used to the Mark controls but it reacts in the way I want, the tone I want is always available. There's no constant tweaking, it just sounds excellent whether it's cleans, metal, rock, blues strat or flying v etc etc.

I have never heard a real IIC+ but playing along to Metallica, especially live stuff, it seems identical.

I'm amazed these things are so cheap, maybe it's not widely known that they are a IIC+ and III in one.

The only thing I would say to be wary of is they are complicated beasts, make sure it's fully working. If something goes wrong, it'll have to go to a good tech to resolve.
 
My Studio Pre sounds tits using my Stiletto Deuce for power. So versatile it's stupid.
 
I absolutely agree with what boola said! I bought a Studio preamp about 3 years ago and paired it with a Marshall power amp and I got the tone that's been in my head for years (a sort-of Metallica/ Megadeth/ Iced Earth rhythm tone). I'd kind've always wanted the felxibility of a simple rack-mount but wanted to avoid the can of worms that going fully MIDI would open. The studio is perfect for this!

I recorded all the guitars for my last bands EP entirely in my spare room using the record outs too and it sounded pretty **** good.

My settings are:

Volume - 8
Master - 6
Treble - 8
Mid - 0-3
Bass - 0-4
Lead gain - 10
Reverb - 5 (footswitchable, on for clean, off for heavy rhythm, on for lead)

Graphic EQ usually boost 80Hx, slight cut on 240, full cut on 750, boost on 2200, 6600 no boost or cut.

In the house I play through one of these :http://www.ampmaker.com/store/SE-5a-5W-British-overdrive-amplifier.html
- it sounds awesome, I set the gain low, treble at 12:00 Mids full, bass 12:00 and volume at whatever level I can get away with, typically 9:00 - 12:00
 
Don't listen to these guys. It's impossible to get Metallica and Lamb of God tones from a Quad preamp. Instead, sell that Quad preamp to me for $100 bucks and we'll forget the topic even came up.
 
Sorry for dragging up an old topic but at one point I had aQuad and no power amp. So I ran it into the front end of a Marshall Plexi clone I had and man did that thing Smoke! In fact I did recall reading somewhere that that was what Metallica actually did, slave thier IIC+'s in Marshal heads.
 
Im on my 3rd quad pre and its the best one ive owned by far..its one of the first 100.I run it into either or all 3 of these power amps and its the tone of God...not to be confused w/ L.O.G.
 
I got a 220 Voltage Quad.

Serial: 1879

Dates inside on the reverb tank: 5-12 90 GM and looks like Hank 5-4 90 too along with some red line KP v.

How early is it?
 
i've had my quad for about a year now, it's awesome and versatile. sounds great and feels great/responsive to play.

Metallica sounds and mesa (mark series) sounds in general are not difficult to dial in. to sound 'exactly' as song 'x' on album 'y', you're gonna need more :) double tracking guitars, good recording equipment, plenty of EQ etc.

my quad is from august 1988 (and ignore the eq on channel 1 ;-) )

2014-02-02165442.jpg
 
I am very satisified indeed with my Quad. There is as always a steep learning curve, but I can definitely get the 'Tallica sound from it!

Not to get off the tread;

According to the now legendary recording notes form F.Rasmussen from MOP and AJFA sessions, the settings seems to be a bit different from what I am hearing when I replicate them...

On my Quad (channel 1), having the Volume on 9 and Treble at 7 (pulled) and Lead Gain at 6, the total amount of gain is far too much, at least for rythm tracking !!


Could it be difference in the tubes ? That tubes nowadays have much more gain ?

It seem to get better when I lower the Volume to around 8-7 and the Treble to 6-6,5 and the gain at 3-4 when the Treble is pulled. But I also sense that the Treble Pull Shift makes it sound less "hetfieldesque".
As far as I have experienced, leaving the Treble knob pushed in, you can raise it up to 7 and also the Volume again to 9, to make up for the gain loss of the Treble Shift when pulled. In this way I found it to seem more focused, tighter and also darker.

What is your experiences with tube gain and the treble shift knob??
 
But didn't they also use Furman EQ's in front and possibly after. Also didn't they slave the IIC's into Marshall head's power sections? So to really get that sound would take quite a bit but I find the character of the sound you can definitely get from the preamp alone and I'd rather keep it simple and fun and it's close enough for when I want to bust out 'tallica type riffage.
 

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