Transcript
®
THD Electronics, Ltd.
Preliminary Owner’s Manual 6.1.01
U n i V a l v e A
m
p
l
i
f
i
e
™
r
Owner’s Manual 6/01 THD Electronics, Ltd. • 4816 - 15th Avenue NW • Seattle, WA 98107 • 206.781.5500 • Fax: 206.781.5508 www.thdelectronics.com •
[email protected]
CAUTION For your safety, the following precautions should be observed:
• • • • • • • • • • •
To avoid electric shock, do not open chassis. Connect only to a properly grounded AC power outlet. Connect only to an AC power supply that meets the power supply specifications listed on the back of the amplifier. Do not expose amplifier to moisture or rain. Use only the same fuse type and rating when replacing fuses. Disconnect power cord before changing fuses. Disconnect power cord and wait one minute for capacitors to discharge before changing tubes. Protect hands when handling hot tubes. Keep amp away from children. Refer servicing to qualified personnel. Long exposure to high sound pressure levels could result in ear damage and/or hearing loss.
2
U n i V a l v e A
m
p
l
i
f
i
e
r
Intr oduction: ntroduction: Your new THD UniValve is a 15-watt, Single Ended Class A amplifier head. It can deliver a complete spectrum of tube tones, giving the musician a full palette of sounds to work with.
UniValve has a built-in Hot Plate Power Attenuator that allows for full output distortion at almost any volume level. It also features a noise reduction circuit that minimizes hiss and hum and a great sounding transformer-isolated line-out.
The UniValve’s single output tube can be switched at will among many octal-based power tubes for different tones without re-biasing the amp. Likewise, any combination of a variety of preamp tubes can also be used. In the low-gain input the UniValve gives a wide range of clean sounds from clean, crisp Country to warmer Jazz tones. With the controls pegged and a relatively high-output humbucker, the low-gain input can deliver a very convincing “Texas Blues” type of overdrive. Plug into the high-gain input and you are in a whole different world from early “British Invasion” tones to aggressive Heavy Metal sounds. The
1
2
3
4
5
Having used the best techniques and components available in the building of the UniValve, we found that the results were an amp that is musically useful in every respect. Its versatility and other fine features have made it to be one of the most highly sought after amplifiers of its time. This manual is to inform the user of the amplifier’s functions and features. We recommend that you read it thoroughly.
7
6
3
8
9
10
11
12
™
Front P anel Panel 1 2
3 4 5 6
7
8
ROCK – High gain input. Use shielded instrument cable only. ROLL – Low gain input. Use shielded instrument cable only. This input has one less gain stage than the high gain input and is dramatically different in sound. Plugging into the low gain input will disable the high gain input. You cannot plug into both inputs simultaneously and A/B between them. VOLUME – Adjusts the overall loudness of the amplifier. TREBLE – Determines the high frequency response of the amplifier. BASS – Determines the low frequency response of the amplifier. ATTITUDE – Determines how the driver tube responds to signal and how it drives the power tube. Turned up its sound is edgy and more aggressive. Turned down it sounds sweeter and more controlled. LIGHT BULB ON / OFF SWITCH – The light bulb is part of the noise reduction system of the amplifier. When the light bulb is turned on, the noise reduction circuit is enabled. When turned off, the noise reduction circuit is disabled. The light bulb is powered by the signal coming from your guitar. Thus when you stop playing, the light bulb will stop glowing. If the light bulb does not glow even when it is switched on and you are playing, the bulb may need to be replaced. The amplifier will still function, but the noise reduction system cannot work if the light bulb is blown. Simply unscrew the lens and replace with a #1816 bulb only. These bulbs are available through any THD dealer or directly from THD. They can also be found at most electronic supply houses. HOT PLATE ATTENUATOR CONTROL – The built-in THD Hot Plate power attenuator allows you to have full output distortion at any volume level. The control determines the amount of attenuation applied. Turn the control all the
way clock-wise and you will be attenuating by about 3-4 dB. As you turn the control counter clockwise, the volume drops smoothly down to almost no sound. This control is only activated when the Full Power / Attenuator switch (#9) is set to Attenuator. 9 FULL POWER / ATTENUATOR SWITCH This is a hard-bypass switch for the Hot Plate. When set to Full Power, the Hot Plate is completely removed from the circuit for Full Power playing into a speaker. When set to Attenuator, the Hot Plate is in effect and the Hot Plate Attenuator Control (#8) is activated. The Standby switch should be in the standby position when switching between the Full Power and Attenuator settings. 10 HI V / LOW V SWITCH – Determines the plate voltage of the power tube. At the Hi V setting, depending on which power tube you use, approximately 450 to 470 volts are applied to the plates (a tube that draws more current will have a lower plate voltage). The amp has twice as much power than it does at the Low V setting and it’s sound is punchier, more aggressive and more “in your face”. At the Low V setting, depending on which power tube you use, approximately 300 to 320 volts are applied to the plates. This setting will give you a sweet, warm and smoother sound with a slower attack. To insure maximum tube life, the standby switch should be in the standby position when switching between the Hi V and Low V settings. 11 STANDBY SWITCH – The standby switch should be in the standby position when the amplifier is turned on to allow the tubes to warm-up before any high voltage is applied to them. A typical warm-up period should be 2 to 5 minutes. The amplifier should also be put on standby before it is turned off to cool the tubes more gradually and to reduce the chance of internal arcing. 12 POWER SWITCH – The power switch turns on the amplifier.
4
2
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
Back P anel Panel 1
2
3
4
5
MAINS FUSE – The mains fuse protects the amplifier from damage caused by power tube failure. If it blows, it must be replaced with a fuse of the same type and rating. To reduce the risk of electric shock, disconnect the power cord before replacing the fuse. If the fuse fails more than once, bring your amplifier to a THD dealer or an amplifier technician for service. IEC POWER INLET – For connection to AC power supply. Connect only to an AC power supply that meets the power supply specifications listed above the IEC power inlet. HT FUSE – High Tension fuse. This fuse is for the high voltage supply that feeds the plates of the tubes. Disconnect the power cord before replacing. Replace only with a fuse of the same type and rating. FILAMENT FUSE – This fuse is for the low voltage supply that drives the filament or heater supply for the tubes. Disconnect the power cord before replacing. Replace only with a fuse of the same type and rating. LINE-OUT – The UniValve has a transformerisolated line-out complete with an adjustable level control (#7) and a switch to choose Line-Level or Instrument-Level signal (#6). It’s great for using
6
7 8
9
5
the UniValve as a preamp. It may also be used for connecting to an FX processor and then to another amplifier to achieve a wet/dry system. A wet/dry system is a setup whereby one may run the guitar signal dry (without effects) through one speaker cabinet and wet (with effects applied to the signal) through another speaker cabinet. LINE / INSTRUMENT SWITCH – Switches the line-out between Line-Level and Instrument-Level signal range. LINE-OUT LEVEL – Determines the level of the signal coming from the line-out. IMPEDANCE SELECTOR – Switches between 2, 4, 8, or 16 Ohms. Set this switch to match the impedance of the speaker cabinet in use. The Standby switch should be in the standby position when switching between the different impedance settings. SPEAKER OUTPUT – For connection to the speaker cabinet. Connect speakers with unshielded speaker cable only. When there is no speaker plugged into the speaker jack, the amp uses its own built-in dummy load so no damage will occur, and to allow the silent use of the amp for direct recording purposes when miking a cabinet is not practical.
9
Tube Options What separates the UniValve from other tube amplifiers is its ability to take a variety of different preamp and power tubes without re-biasing the amp. Listed below are some of the various types of tubes that may be used in the UniValve. Some of the more common of these tubes are also conveniently listed next to the appropriate tube sockets on the chassis of the aplifier. Refer to our website for updates of this data. www.thdelectronics.com Impor tant: To avoid electric shock, disconnect power cord and wait one minute for capacitors to discharge mportant: before changing tubes. (Further information will be shown in the complete version of the UniValve owner’s manual.)
Contact IInformation nformation THD Electronics, Ltd. 4816 - 15th Avenue NW Seattle, WA 98107-4717 Phone: 206.781.5500 Fax: 206.781.5508 www.thdelectronics.com
[email protected]
6
