The EQ section is quite impressive. There are 3 EQ's to choose from: 3 Band Parametric, 5 Band Parametric, and 11 Band Graphic. In both parametric EQ's, the middle bands are fully parametric in that you can also adjust bandwidth, while the high and low bands are shelving type equalizers. If that means little to you, just know that the equalizers in this unit could stand alone as a nice little digital equalizer.
So you've got 4 basic effects that can be linked together to give you up to 4 effects at once in the QUADRAVERB. While some processors will let you actually select what effect will go where in the chain, the QUADRAVERB offers 5 "configurations" to choose from. In other words, the linking of these effects has already been done for you. All you have to do is select one of the five configurations by using the "Config" button and the "Value" buttons, and you're off and running. This simplifies operation considerably. The 5 configurations are:
1. EQ->Pitch->Delay->Reverb (this is the "QuadMode")
2. Leslie->Delay->Reverb
3. Graphic EQ->Delay
4. 5 Band EQ->Pitch->Delay
5. EQ->Reverb
To do your own programming, you would start by selecting one of these configurations by pressing the "Config" button and making your choice. On the front panel are buttons labeled "Reverb", "Delay", "Pitch", and "EQ". Once you've selected a configuration, you hit any one of these buttons to select the various types of reverbs, delays, EQ's, and pitch effects available, then vary their parameters to suit your needs. Any one of the effects in a configuration can be bypassed should you only want EQ, for instance. In effect, this actually allows for more than just 5 configurations.
Another button on the panel is labeled "Mix". There are a number of mix options available, but the options are too numerous to get into detail about. The main features of the mix section give you separate control of the output level of each effect in use. This is like having up to 4 different processors using the same input but with different level controls for each output. These 4 outputs are then sent to a master effects level parameter which can be mixed with the direct signal to your taste. After you've spent a half hour in this section, you will be glad to know that the mix settings are saved with your program when you hit the "store" button.
Two more buttons are labeled "MIDI" and "MOD". These get you into the MIDI control section of the unit. For the sake of brevity, we'll let it suffice to say that the MIDI enthusiast won't be disappointed with the unit's ability to be controlled via MIDI. Just about every major parameter is MIDI controllable as well as some parameters you might not expect to have control of, such as the bandwidth in the EQ section. The various uses of MIDI to control processors such as the QUADRAVERB is something we'll leave to Todd Albertson to cover in the "MIDI PAGE". Thank you Todd.
That pretty much covers the guts of the QUADRAVERB. For those of you who just want to know what it does when you plug it in and turn it on, we'll refer you to this month's Cassette. We've patched a mike into it and stepped through all 90 factory programs to give you a sample of what it can do right out of the box.
In a nutshell, the QUADRAVERB is a superb unit for the dollar, and that's the good part. When we got our hands on it, we were quoted a list price of $425. After using the unit for a few weeks, we had to check back with a local dealer to double check that price and make sure there wasn't a misunderstanding. What we were told was that the price had just gone up to $499. (Maybe we weren't the only ones who thought it was underpriced.) Still, at $499, the QUADRAVERB is hard to beat, at least this month it is.
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