A/B test of Boogie Quad and Triaxis

Hey Folks

I think some of you would like to know the sound of both Triaxis and Quad. And yesterday i have a chance to play my Quad and my friend's Triaxis in my rehearsal room. And here is my 2cents..

For clean sound, i think Quad blow the Triaxis away. Actually, the clean tone of Triaxis sounds very compressed. If you want to use it to play some blues or jazz stuff, i think it is not very suitable. However, the clean sound of Quad is much richer and warmer. Also, it got more real "AMP" feel!

For the distortion, i think the tone between these two preamps are similar. Tsoudn is just "boogie" like tone. Actually, you could get the smooth lead tone or crunchy rhythm out of these two preamps. But in my opinion, the sound of Triaxis more smoother to my ear!

But of cuz, both amps got its own pros and cons.

Quad: 3u ...too heavy....no midi...$450-550+$100-150 midi switcher

Triaxis: 1u....more versatile.....$700-1000...

To me, if you just wanna get several basic sounds, i would recommend Quad since the price is more affordable. But if you want to get a lof of different sounds out of one preamp, no doubt that Triaxis is your choice!!!!

nice, i was thinking of getting a triaxis to go along with my Jmp-1 preamp, just to get more sounds. By the way how well dose the triaxis nail those mark sounds? :?:

um..As far as i know, the circult of Quad preamp is similar to Mark II and Mark III. When i was playing the Triaxis Lead 2 yellow mode, its sounds similar to my Quad Lead 1 mode. SO i think Triaxis do sound pretty close to Mark series.

If you want to get Mark series sounds, i think Triaxis is not bad!! But if you want to get more "Amp" feel sound, i would receommend Quad!!

Thanks for that mate.
Any chance of getting any clips up, even if their just of your quad?

Thanks for the Triaxis/Quad comparison, Brian. I'd like to offer my discoveries in tube swapping to improve a couple of Triaxis deficiencies you noted:

Improved cleans - try a Mullard 12AT7/CV4024 in position 2 (input for rhythm and lead 2) of the Triaxis.

More "amp" feel - try a black plate 12BZ7 (RCA, GE, or others) in position 5 (output tube) of the Triaxis.

These changes really work! For more details, check out http://www.grailtone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=749

Thanks for your reply! Timbre Wolf

I would like to listen to your Triaxis since you said that it sounds better after changing the tube.

How do you fell about about JJ tube?

I would like to listen to your Triaxis since you said that it sounds better after changing the tube.

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I've got to hook up with someone who can help me record some clips. If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, I'd welcome an in-person visit.

How do you fell about about JJ tube?

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I'm not qualified to form an opinion about JJ preamp tubes, since I have no experience with them. I do have experience with their EL84s, and, honestly, they're the worst sounding EL84s I've tried (even worse than Sovtek) - murky and bland. But that's with two caveats: 1) they were up against premium NOS such as Mullard, RCA & Sylvania black plate, Amperex, Tungsram, and 2) it all depends on the amp's circuit and the bias setting (and everything else in the signal chain, plus your taste).

I personally think Sovtek's sound just fine, and actually use Sovtek 6L6's in the the power section of my '94 Dual Recto along with a set of JJ's in the preamp. The JJ's in the preamp really help the amp shine and greatly improves the clean channel.

I'm a perfectionist, so I seldom get to be simply satisfied with a good thing. The problem is, I've tried other options, and now I'm driven to seek my favorite shade of tone. Fortunately, my obsessive-compulsive nature gives me energy to pursue my perfectionism.

A wise man once said, if you want to be certain of the time, only have one clock. Once you get a second clock, you'll never have that feeling of certainty again.

Check this out: just last week I tried out a new (to me) Lexicon Signature 284 amp, which has stereo, single-ended EL84 power. You can really hear the sonic signature of the EL84s, because they overdrive at lower volumes. For reasons I'll not go into now, this amp doesn't take NOS EL84, so I've been enjoying it - yes, really enjoying it - with JJ EL84s. I could live with it, if I didn't know that it could possibly be improved. After this weekend, I'll mod the amp to accept NOS power tubes, and probably never look back on the JJs, as I will then be able to install Amperex Bugle-Boys, Mullards, RCA, etc. Who knows, though?

Lesson? Don't get bitten by the NOS bug unless you're willing to pay the price.

Hey Timbre Wolf, what the best way to swap tubes on the Tri... turn the unit off and on between each swap or can I leave it on and swap without damaging anything? Thanks in advance!

Robotechnology said:

Hey Timbre Wolf, what the best way to swap tubes on the Tri... turn the unit off and on between each swap or can I leave it on and swap without damaging anything? Thanks in advance!

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I put my power amp (M/B 20/20) on standby, and switch the Triaxis off between swaps. I'm not certain it would be unsafe to do otherwise, but at the very least, the preamp tubes are hot, so it helps to cool them a bit. I have found, though, that I can change fairly hot tubes (even power tubes) with my calused fingers on my fretting hand. Getting burned is one thing to be cautious with, but saying "ouch" and dropping & breaking your coveted tube may be a more lasting wound.

Actually, as I consider it, I have changed tubes without shutting the Triaxis off, but it has been a tube that is out of the circuit when I make the change (either V1 when in a Rhythm or Lead 2 mode, or V4 when in a Rhythm or Lead 1 mode).

To get the most understanding of how a tube swap affects the tone and response, just change one tube at a time.


Hey, I realize that since I wrote that last post, I've modded the Lexicon Signature 284 and pulled the JJ EL84s. Although the JJs sounded very good, the change to one '50s Amperex Bugle-Boy (square-getter) EL84 and one '60s Mullard EL84 was a clear improvement. What a surprise!

- T