Carvin Quad X-Amp Tube Preamp

This unit has a noise gate, graphic eq, 2 clean, 2 dirty chanels &
independent FX loops for each chanel. What else could you possibly
want in a preamp.

The clean sound is equal to or better than the best Fender you ever played through. The distortion sound is the new sterile mass produced Marshall sound. THE FIX-do not change tubes as this is a waste of
money, change the OP-AMPS and there are a lot of them. If you look in any amp that kicks that uses OP-AMPS you will always see Texas Instruments. I have pillaged the coveted ones made from late 80's to
mid 90's mostly from Peavey Classic amps. Yes these little chips effect sound just like changing tubes. This gives the preamp a more warm and vintage sound for both clean and dirty. I use this with an old Traynor plexi style amp which is the best fit of every amp combination I have tried. I use Strats and Les Pauls with Seymour Duncan or vintage pickups. Very good for live gigs, not too complicated but versatile.

Just had to spray the pots out after years of abuse, no other issues.

Carvin has been around for a long time, no issues getting anything you need from them.

Absolute must have for your arsenal, matched with the right power amp and speakers you have a winner.Been playing for 20 years, have owned everything.

Rackmount preamp, 2U. My unit was shipped on September 1992.
Four channels (2 cleans, 1 crunch, 1 lead), 9 tubes, 6 effect loops (4 inserts per channel, 1 master loop, 1 reverb loop), onboard spring reverb, 5-band EQ, noise gate. Relay switches for channels, reverb, effect loop and EQ.

Still can't find the real need for 2 clean channels... rather have 2 crunch channels (thus the 9).
Ch.2 (clean) and Ch.3 (crunch) share the same pre-gain EQ.

Huge (but I mean HUGE) amount of gain on channels 3 and 4. Interactive pre-gain EQ and a very bold post EQ.
You can cover any range of tone imaginable with this unit only.

First thing: this preamp is so silent that I have never needed to engage the built in noise gate (or *any* gate at all)! Even when the gain levels reach 10 on the Ch.4!

It was built for shredders. It handles perfectly the most extreme Metal guitar tones. Nevertheless, rolling down the volume brings the Quad-X Amp to the sweetest clean tone.

I mainly use Ch.1 for crispy clean tone, with effects (chorus/delay) and reverb.
Ch.2 is used for a dry (just a little bit of reverb) fatter tone.
Since the pre-EQ is shared with Ch.3, I set my tone on Ch.3, which is used for an overdrive-like tone. I also use Ch.3 with a bit of reverb.
Ch.4 is my main "chunk-chunk" Metal tone. I use it completely dry for rhythm work and I switch EQ (with a slight boost of mids and high-mids) and eventually effects for solo work.

I use my Quad-X with a Peavey Classic 50/50 (2x50W EL84 power-amp), a Rocktron Intellifex (multi-effects processor) and a Behringer Virtualizer (multi-effects processor).
My guitars range from a HSS Aria Pro II (strat replica) to a Wesley PRS replica. Ibanez RGs, Yamaha Pacifica and RGX... they all sound good with this pre-amp.

I have it for about two months now. The previous owner is a friend of mine and he never had trouble with it. Just follow the regular tube replacements...

Due to the sensitivity of tube amps, it is always a best practice to carry a backup rig with you. Just in case...
I always do. However, I never used it. :-)

So far, the only thing I dealt with Carvin's customer support was an e-mail asking for the manufacture date.
So they promptly answered me... but no further additions!

I'll be honest to everyone and not rate this category.

This is one of the best guitar pre-amps ever built. In my 15 years of playing, very few pieces of gear have pleased me this much.

I bought it "blindly"... I haven't even tried it for myself! I took the chance... and my God, am I pleased with this!!! :-)
It sounds and feels like a "boutique" Mesa/Boogie Mark IV, with an added clean channel and tweaked EQ. (No unusable settings as in the Mark IV).

As I mentioned earlier, I'd rather have 2 crunch channels instead of 2 clean channels.

If it were lost, I'd try to find another one. If it were stolen, return it or dead man! :-)

ADDICTING!!!

Quite easy to use after the user's manual reading.
Then, no rocket science there, do not forget to assign/unassign Rev, Mast eff and Eq per channel when light up.

Rear face connection also clearly labeled.
The manual is clear and accurate.

The preamp just fit my use. 4 channels, very efficient tone knob.
Impressive efficient preamp, for ones who take time to taylor the sound, good tone should not be a problem.
It isn't for me. The effect loop per channel is great to assign an ext graphic eq on channel 2 for exemple.
Only the reverb is disapointing, anyway, I use an external one, like most of us I imagine.

Mine is a 92 model, I do not know it's former life.
It works and works gig after gig.

Never had to deal with them. The Carvin discussion board answered my questions.

I play pop rock for a lonnng time. This preamp is just the perfect companion because of its 4 channels, very good tone, connectivity, and midi connection.
I only regret that there is no possible midi mapping, that involve a programmable midi footswitch to have patch arranged in one patch for live easy usage.

old still buttons, very easy to use, and get a sound from this item. To understand and take advantage of all the possibilities the only way is still to read the owner manual.

I'd like to put a 10 because the tone pots are really efficient, and even minimal moves will be heard, in other words, if you search you will find your sound. I'd put a 9 only because of the spring reverb that does not convice me a lot..

I got mine second hand, all works perfectly. I do not know about the history , so

Never had to deal with

No hesitation, it will be a 10 there. This stuff got 4 channels, a true natural good sound, and enough versatility for the one who takes time to play with the buttons. The effect insert per channel is a great feature.
On mine the midi is full fonctionning.
I do not understand why this stuff does not exist anymore brand new, too bad. Fortunatly it's not too difficult to find, many have been sold, and it looks very reliable.

Most people who use the Quad X know that the clean channels are execellent. However, most don't know how good the 4th channel is for high gain settings are. The high distortion setting on channel 4 are only needed for leads/ solos. For rhythm guitar, very little distortion is needed. High distortion on this channel adds the sustain needs for soloing. For in your face rhythm settings with the Quad X. First, make sure you have a high output pickup at the bridge position. This will make the most of this preamp setting.

Too much distion gain on channel 4 for rhythm guitar sound will only mAKE too much OF a "fizz/ fuzz sound." For a dominant rhythm sound, I recommend these settings...

overdrive 3.5
low 3.5
mid 4.0
high 5.0

add the graphic EQ with these settings

75 hz 0
160 hz + 4
1K 0
3k + 4
6k 0

I am using a solid state Rockton power amp with the Quad X. A high quality tube power amp will make this setting sound even much better!

This is an old preamp but still has the madness to keep going!

I haven't had to cal Carvin, but they seem to put out a great product.

Very straight forward. Manual is easy to understand.

Tone is great! Very versatile. Great live and direct recording.
Why use a tube amp simulator when you have the real thing!!!???
Got rid of my pod xt. Don't use my v-amp either.

No trouble yet. (fingers crossed)

Never needed support.

I play rock and heavy rock. Been playing 40 years. I run the Quad-X thru a Carvin Tube 100. I run mostly in stereo mode at 50 watts. I run thru a stereo 4-12 cab. I play a Shadow with active electronics (German Made)and a hand made SG with Dimarzio PAF in the neck postition and a Super Distortion in the bridge position.
If this amp were stolen I would hunt the person down like a dog and torture him by playing the Osmonds Greatest Hits until he begs for mercy and pledges never to steal again.
I would definitely buy another one.
What I like best is the versatility in tone and ability to call any combination of effect from my Digitech RP1 and any channel on my Quad-X by the tap of a button via MIDI. I love the MIDI option even though I have the footswitch for the amp also.
I have played Marshall, Mesa, Peavey, Crate, and the list goes on and on............ I'm not gonna say it sounds better than any other amp. It actually sounds similar to some but WAY MORE versatile and easier to access the tones you want at the tap of a midi contoller.
This amp definitely ROCKS!!! Great clean tone, great crunch and great hi gain!!!

Addendum and rebuttal to the pro player assuming a pre-amp could ever stand in for real tube output. Get a clue. NO tube pre-amp is EVER gonna sound like a tube amp. Clipping the headroom of a vacuum tube generates distortion. With pre-amps, it is thin and needs to be amplified. I have used Halfler (read Bogner) tube pre-amps and they sound even better than the Carvin, but never mistake output tube distortion for pre-amp distortion that is amplified.

Ease of use is still 8 for novices; 10 for experienced.

See previous Michael E. Waggy Post

Still lament my tc electronic M-300

Want a tc-1210 spatial expander and 2290 DD

Built like a tank

Never needed it

I'll say it again.....

Lost, broken....buy another

Stolen = Dead Man

Well, it's easy to use, great features.

The clean channel is very sweet... the distortion sounds are just ok to me... very muddy and unreal... highly compressed... if you could make an A/B Test with a real tube head(think a good Marshall, soldano,boogie), you will realize that this preamp is for kids or the make highly procesor like guitar sounds,there is no contest against a head... no matter power amp use with it.
I'm not sayi' that sounds bad, very muddy and compressed... not an organic distortion at all...

I'm a pro guy with a lot of experience and a lot of gear to compare...
My music style goes from modern jazz and rock-fusion styles...
To me a great tone is the key to great stuff, and this preamp don't give great tones, plastic is the word to define it... Some solid state amps sounds better to me...by far...
I'm still waiting to hear a preamp that could sound as good as a tube head...

Tone to die for! Currently own 14 electric guitars running the range from LP R9 to Custom made guitars. I play hard rock/metal/alternative and run a TSR24s in the effects loop. I can tweak the Quad-X to get ANY Fender clean-tone, Marshall crunch, Mesa punch with as little or as much distortion as I want - I do have some gear I occassionally run into the front-end (Vox V847 w/ Italian Mod, Redwitch Moonphaser, Analog.man Clone Chorus, OCD, Tonebone Hot British) for when I want to push the Quad-X in another direction, but I could easily kick serious ass with it alone. The noise gate is second-to-none, the reverb works well under 2.5, above that it gets sort of funky and the Para EQ is adequate. Running into a Tube 100 or Mesa poweramp is a must as it creates a saturated tone that is not only head-turning, but able to but through the most demanding situations. The distortion is thick, has it's own character but not over the top. My OCD/Classic British can push it there quite easily though.

So far I prefer my original 93' Quad-X the most, but the 96' is interesting in that it has a different "modern" thing going on, and the 92' seems to have more of a early 60s lower gain thing going on.

I tested all three with my own personal tube selection - The 9, freaking 9! original Chinese 12AX7 were great on their own, but I found a mixture of vintage/hi-gain stuff that suits me better.

Unless you're a country, jazz or orchestra cat I guarantee you'll find something using the Quad-X that you won't find anywhere else, which if you're like me means it's a must have item!

I won 3 Quad-X preamps (92', 93' & 96) and they all sound different! I started with the 93' and bought the 92' as a back-up and the 96' because I heard they were voiced different. They're all Midi and they all function 100%.

I have been using the Quad-X as my main tone generator due to its versitility and awesome tone, so far its my favorite by far and I've owned several Marshalls, Mesa, Fender & Peavey amps and for me they just don't do what the Quad-X can...the only other tone generators I own are an Acoustic Control Corp. 164 (just can't bring myself to sell it) and a Pod XT Pro (I use it for scratch tracks until I get around to miking-up my rig for serious recording).

Never had a problem with any of the three units I own.

Well, since they haven't made Quad-Xs for almost 10 years I suppose they couldn't do much for me, even if I needed it.

Carvin must have lost their mind when they discontinued this unit - Being a So-Cal native I've been around Carvin products my whole life and other than one of their guitars I mistakenly bought the Quad-X is the only product I have even seen them produce that's a keeper.

Obviously I think VERY highly of this unit, otherwise I wouldn't find it necessary to own two back-ups, which I bought before the prices went crazy in the used market...Now everyone wants one, but they can't have mine! They're safe and sound in my VERY secure studio and only one leaves at a time and I watch it like a hawk!

tried the preamp with several guitars and always the same result: tons of sustain, harmonics and overtones. very quiet with built-in gate. the clean channel is one of the best i've ever heard. channel 2 and 3 are good to run a pod or v-amp thru to get a some tube help/warmth. channel 4 is all the gain you ever wanted and more. with normal output pickups you may never go past 6 on the gain control. now the bad: channel 4 has a nasal midrange harmonic overtone to it. i tried changing to new mesa tubes but still the same sound. not bad, just very different. you won't get a marshall or mesa sound, just an original carvin sound (which can be good). also, there is no high-end fizz to the distortion, not even with the bright boost on and the eq cranked to max on the highs. what does that mean? get a BBE and you might be happy. the preamp just doesn't cut thru enough on it's own.

by now you know the specs. 9 tube preamp with tons of features.

built like a tank! no problems to be found after years of use.

carvin is great to deal with. the other musician's on the carvin forum are also very helpful.

if i found another quad-x with the pedal for under $250 i would consider picking it up. my friend has mine and uses it in conjunction with a behringer v-ampire amp and v-amp and a BBE and gets great tones out of it. so try it with different gear to see how it reacts before you dis' it. i'm now using an engl E530 preamp and a peavey tube fex preamp and i love it.