Warwick Quadruplet. "Bass preamp" [like the Bassman is a "bass amp"?]. All-tube. 12AX7, 2 ECC83, 1 EL84 [a power tube]. 4-way switch selects tube combinations. Bass, low-mid, high-mid, treb, ouput, tube overdrive controls. Mid-shift, low-boost, high-boost switches. 72431.416 at compuserve.com. Listed in Guitar & Bass Buyer's Guide.
List $779. Street $___. Used $___.
My demo of this unit seems to indicate that it has potential, but was inconclusive. I need a massive clean boost before the Quadruplet. When I demo'd this unit, I pushed its input as hard as I could with the DOD EQ pedal, which has a fairly high clean output, but it seemed that I still couldn't get much power-tube overdrive. The store is looking for the user guide; this might help, because I need to check what the "crunch" knob does (preamp dist?) and verify that the tone controls are *after* all distortion/saturation stages.
Dealer: Warwick product descriptions at Dana B Goods - The Quadruplet is an all-tube preamp with incredible tone shaping flexibility. Includes Warwick's unique 12AX7-EL84 combination for incredible power tube crunch.
Warwick's amp page -- they haven't posted quadruplet info to their site yet, but it will probably be placed here.
[I emailed for info]
Does the EL84 sound like a power tube rather than ordinary preamp tube distortion? Is some sort of load used? Can this unit drive a guitar speaker?
I found a dealer who has the Quadruplet in stock, and will be demo'ing it as a guitar processor soon. I will also ask about the SWR Interstellar Overdrive, which they have carried before.
They also have this technology in some interesting "bass" heads:
ProTube IV -- 400 Watts RMS into 4 ohms. Separate tube and solid state preamps, variable speed fan-cooled MOSFET power section. Tube preamp features a 12AX7 and an EL84 in a cascade configuration. The signal can be taken off either the 12AX7 for fat/warm clean or the EL84 for power tube crunch. Tone shaping is via boost/flat/cut switches for the tube section and an 8-band graphic EQ for the solid state preamp. DI, phones, effects loop, ground lift. Speakon speaker connector. $1,379
From the company site:
The PRO TUBE IV delivers 400 watts while the PRO TUBE IX is armed with a 2x450 watt power- stage. Channel 1, has a unique two tube preamp featuring a 12AX7 paired with an EL84 power tube. The input to the power amp(s) is switch selectable from just the 12AX7 or the 12AX7 plus the EL84 for that unmistakable power tube distortion. The Crunch control takes you from ultra-clean maximum headroom to a juicy tube overdrive. A group of three position switches shape the low, mid, and high characteristics of the sound. A contour switch applies a Warwick voiced "smile" curve. The second channel of the PRO TUBE amp heads is all solid state with a switchable limiter and enough bands of graphic EQ to dial in the perfect sound in any room. The dual power amps in the PRO TUBE IX can be operated in mono full-range, stereo full-range, mono biamp and stereo biamp modes, with both crossover frequency and balance fully adjustable on the back panel. The amp range is perfectly complemented with a line of all-new enclosures. The line consists of a 400 watt 1x15", a 300 watt 4x10" , a 600 watt 4x10" with horn, and the "Terminator" cabinet. This 3-way speaker uses 2x15" speakers in a band-pass configuration and two 10" speakers and a high-frequency horn in a separate chamber. All speaker cabinets are covered with tough blue-black felt and the ports and HF horns are chrome-plated for an understated but powerful stage appearance.
ProTube IX -- 2 x 450 Watts RMS into 4 ohms. Separate tube and solid state preamps, variable speed fan-cooled MOSFET power section. Tube preamp features a 12AX7 and an EL84 in a cascade configuration. The signal can be taken off either the 12AX7 for fat/warm clean or the EL84 for power tube crunch. [I sure wish guitar processor companies would get a clue and use this terminology, specifying *power tube* crunch, not just vaguely saying "real tube crunch" when they merely have a regular preamp tube.] Tone shaping is via boost/flat/cut switches for the tube section and a 10-band graphic EQ for the solid state preamp. Variable crossover, DI, phones, 2-effects loops, ground lift. Speakon speaker connectors. $1999
Bass Central
Carries SWR, Warwick
(407) 628-1213
http://www.basscentral.com
info at basscentral.com
Orlando, FL
Bass Northwest
Carries SWR, Warwick
Seattle, WA
[to do: link/extract DejaNews, Harmony Central, AltaVista]
DejaNews query: warwick and quadruplet [no real hits yet]
DejaNews query: "protube iv" or "protube ix" or "pro tube iv" or "pro tube ix" [no real hits yet]
DejaNews query: warwick and el84 [no real hits yet]
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