Carl Martin Quattro

February 2008 Guitarist 135
QUICKTEST
MISCELLANEOUS
GUITARIST RATING
The bottom line
We like: Inclusion of chorus;
excellent sounds; easy to use
We dislike: You just need a
chinagraph pencil to mark your
control settings!
Back in issue 276 we took a look at
Carl Martin’s first attempt at a
non-programmable multi-FX.
Impressed by its organic analogue
tone the only thing we questioned
was the inclusion of the more
niche vibrato effect over a more
mainstream effect, such as chorus.
Seems we weren’t the only ones as
in late 2007 we received the MkII
model that combines compression,
overdrive and delay with chorus.
Carl Martin has also tweaked the
compressor circuit to make it less
‘invisible’, but aside from that all is
pretty much the same. It’s housed
in a rugged all-in-one metal unit
(with integral mains adaptor and
trailing lead), idiot-proof controls,
tap-tempo switch for the delay and
choice of two gain levels for the
overdrive. Along with the single
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 FX.
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. The
chorus widens the appeal while
the dual overdrives can be used for
differing textures and/or gains for
rhythm/lead tones.
Ve rdic t
The addition of the chorus here
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 the many
of us that love old-style FX and
their sound. [DB]
Carl Martin Quattro £359
Danish FX specialist updates its analogue multi-FX
CONTACT: First Line Distribution PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.carlmartin.com
CONTACT: ThreeGuitars by 3-Esse snc PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.3guitars.com
Formed by brothers Franco and
Paolo Turra and luthier Giovanni
Tensi, Italy-based ThreeGuitars
specialises in carbon fibre and
aluminium alloy technologies. The
Meta Salvo guitar reviewed here is
the signature model of eclectic
Satriani-esque Italian guitarist/
producer Salvo Correri and
features a CNC-machined
aluminium body and a ‘tubular’
carbon graphite neck bolted to the
body via a patent pending ‘Steady
Lock’ dual bolt fixing on a minimal
heel. The Gotoh/Wilkinson
vibrato and Seymour Duncan
Custom/’59 humbuckers are more
familiar; likewise the Sperzel
tuners adorning the aluminium
headstock. At just under 9lbs in
weight it’s not overly heavy and the
workmanship is top quality.
Sounds
It’s an extremely in-tune sounding
guitar, precise, even and pristine.
The five-way selector gives
standard humbucking linkages,
dual single-coils and neck single-
coil and the tonal range is good.
There’s a very defined separation
which makes high-gain clearly
audible, only the bridge ’bucker
can sound a tad shrill with older-
style lower gains. Certainly not
vintage or woody, it’s much more
modern sounding and excels at
clean funk chops contrasted by
inspiring high-gained textures.
The fingerboard edges could be
less sharp and the frets feel tall, but
it’s a guitar that grows on you.
Ve rdic t
Anyone looking for a new voice
that’s well-made, excels at high
gain and stays impeccably in-tune
should check this out. It ain’t
cheap, but then neither is its
construction, sound or vibe. [DB]
The bottom line
We like: Alternative materials;
tuning stability; pristine tones
We dislike: Pricey; lack of UK
availability; hardly vintage
in tonality
ThreeGuitars Meta Salvo
Correri Signature
¤3,900
Forward-looking European design. But does it work?
GUITARIST RATING
This Italian stallion
features an aluminium
body and carbon
graphite neck
The addition of chorus
makes the Quattro
very tempting indeed
GIT299.rev_quick 135 20/12/07 12:55:00