PREAMP MANUAL

OWNER’S MANUAL

D I G I T A L M U S I C C O R P O R A T I O N

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your choice of product! The three channel, all tube Voodoo Lab Guitar Preamp was designed to be simply the most effective and organic direct recording tool available for guitar, as well as a centerpiece to the live rig of any tone connoisseur. Careful attention was paid in the design stage to provide tighter and more even bass response than you find in many vintage circuits, with an emphasis on string definition and picking dynamics. Most important was capturing the elusive feel and “vibe” of a vintage tube amp.

UNPACKING

Your Voodoo Lab Guitar Preamp box should contain the following:

1. Guitar Preamp

2. Footswitch

3. AC power cord

4. This manual

5. Warranty card

Please take a moment to fill out and mail in your warranty card. This will register your warranty, make you eligible for technical support, and allow us to notify you with updates and new product information. Don’t worry, we respect your privacy and never sell our mailing list.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Your Preamp is a professional piece of equipment. Always use common sense and observe these precautions:

Always make sure the unit is properly grounded.

Shut the unit off and disconnect AC power before changing fuse or tubes.

Always insure adequate air circulation around Preamp.

Always turn off the power of all related equipment before making connections.

Do not use excessive force in handling buttons, switches, or controls.

1

FRONT PANEL

POWER

CABINET

SIMULATOR

IN

OUT

OPEN

CLOSED

VOLUME TREBLE

1 2 3 4 5

MID

PUNCH

BASS

BRIGHT

GAIN

CHANNEL

SELECT

CLEAN RHYTHM

LEAD

VOLUME VOLUME TREBLE

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

MID BASS GAIN

SHIFT BRIGHT BRIGHT

GAIN INPUT

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

GUITAR PREAMP

1. Power switch

2. Cabinet Simulator – In/Out

3. Cabinet Simulator – 2x12 Open/4x12 Closed

4. Green Volume – volume control for Clean channel

5. Green Treble – treble EQ control for Clean channel

6. Green Mid – midrange EQ control for Clean channel

7. Punch Switch – changes EQ curve of Clean channel to accentuate the lower-mid frequencies

8. Green Bass – bass EQ control for Clean channel

9. Green Bright Switch – enhances high frequencies in the Clean channel

10. Green Gain – gain control for Clean channel

11. Channel Select – Select between Clean and Rhythm/Lead

12. Channel Select – Select Rhythm or Lead

13. Yellow Volume – volume control for Rhythm channel

14. Red Volume – volume control for Lead channel

15. Red/Yellow Treble – treble EQ control for both Rhythm and Lead channels

16. Red/Yellow Mid – midrange EQ control for both Rhythm and Lead channels

17. Shift Switch – shifts EQ curve of both Rhythm and Lead channels to accentuate the lower-mid and lower-high frequencies

18. Red/Yellow Bass – bass EQ control for both Rhythm and Lead channels

19. Yellow Bright Switch – enhances high frequencies in the Rhythm channel

20. Yellow Gain – gain control for the Rhythm channel

21. Red Bright Switch – enhances high frequencies in the Lead channel

22. Red Gain – gain control for the Lead channel

23. Input jack – standard 1 ⁄

4

" instrument level input

2

BACK PANEL

FOOTSWITCH DIRECT OUT PREAMP OUT

GUITAR PREAMP

CAUTION

To prevent electrical shock, do not remove cover.

No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel.

MADE IN U.S.A.

1 2 3 4

1. Footswitch Jack – 1 ⁄

4

" TRS input jack for footswitch

2. Direct Out 1 – balanced XLR with Cabinet Simulator

3. Direct Out 2 – unbalanced 1 ⁄

4

" with Cabinet Simulator

4. Preamp Out (2) – standard 1 ⁄

4

" outputs

5. AC In – AC power input jack – this is a standard “IEC-style” connector

AC IN (100W MAX)

FUSE

FUSE

1 AMP

5

CONNECTIONS

Here are some of the possible ways that your Preamp can be configured into your setup:

RECORDING:

FOOTSWITCH

Balanced

XLR

DIRECT OUT

Unbalanced

1/4"

Direct out to recording console setup

PREAMP OUT

GUITAR PREAMP

CAUTION

To prevent electrical shock, do not remove cover.

No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel.

MADE IN U.S.A.

AC IN (100W MAX)

FUSE

FUSE

1 AMP

3

LIVE:

FOOTSWITCH

CABINET

DIRECT OUT

Pre-amp/power amp setup

PREAMP OUT

IN LEFT

GUITAR PREAMP

CAUTION

To prevent electrical shock, do not remove cover.

No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel.

MADE IN U.S.A.

AC IN (100W MAX)

FUSE

FUSE

1 AMP

CABINET

I N RIGHT

POWER AMP

FOOTSWITCH

CABINET

DIRECT OUT

Pre-amp/power amp/effects setup

PREAMP OUT

IN LEFT

GUITAR PREAMP

CAUTION

To prevent electrical shock, do not remove cover.

No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel.

MADE IN U.S.A.

AC IN (100W MAX)

FUSE

FUSE

1 AMP

CABINET

IN RIGHT

EFFECTS PROCESSOR

IN LEFT IN RIGHT

POWER AMP

4

LIVE (continued):

FOOTSWITCH

CABINET

DIRECT OUT

Pre-amp/amplifier head setup

PREAMP OUT

GUITAR PREAMP

CAUTION

To prevent electrical shock, do not remove cover.

No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel.

MADE IN U.S.A.

AMPLIFIER HEAD

AC IN (100W MAX)

FUSE

FUSE

1 AMP

SPEAKER FX SEND FX RETURN

FOOTSWITCH DIRECT OUT

Balanced

XLR

P A CONSOLE

Pre-amp/power amp/PA setup

PREAMP OUT

GUITAR PREAMP

CAUTION

To prevent electrical shock, do not remove cover.

No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel.

MADE IN U.S.A.

AC IN (100W MAX)

FUSE

FUSE

1 AMP

IN LEFT

POWER AMP CABINET

5

6

USING THE FOOTSWITCH

Your Preamp comes equipped with a footswitch for channel selection. To use it, simply plug the 1 ⁄

4

" jack from the captured cord into the footswitch jack on the back panel. Plugging into this jack disables the channel select switches on the front panel.

SWITCHING CHANNELS WITH A GCX AUDIO SWITCHER

You can also switch the channels of your Guitar Preamp with an external switching device like the

Digital Music GCX Guitar Audio Switcher. In order to do this you will need an insert point cable, which goes from a stereo 1 ⁄

4

" plug on one end to two mono 1 ⁄

4

" plugs on the other. One of the mono jacks will be ring/sleeve and the other will be tip/sleeve. You will need to have two loops open in your GCX to switch channels.

Take the stereo end of the cable and plug it into the Footswitch jack on the back panel. Then tale the two mono ends and plug them into the OUT/N.O. jacks of two free GCX loops like this:

FOOTSWITCH DIRECT OUT PREAMP OUT

GUITAR PREAMP

CAUTION

To prevent electrical shock, do not remove cover.

No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel.

MADE IN U.S.A.

AC IN (100W MAX)

FUSE

FUSE

1 AMP

TIP/SLEEVE RING/SLEEVE

GCX AUDIO SWITCHER

When Loop 3 is open and Loop 4 is closed, the Clean channel will be selected. When both loops are closed the Rhythm channel will be selected, and when Loop 3 is closed and Loop 4 is open the

Lead channel will be selected.

OPERATION

Your Guitar Preamp is designed to bring the warmth of an all tube signal path to any musical situation.

Here is a brief description of the character of each channel:

CLEAN CHANNEL

The Clean channel is modeled after the legendary “black face era” American amps of the mid-60’s.

It’s airy and open sounding, with lots of spank and headroom for clean guitar sounds of many flavors

– from rhythmic funk to sparkly pop to country twang. Higher gain settings will reveal a slightly compressed and meatier sound that will start to break up when the Gain knob is turned up all the way. The Punch switch will add a more throaty, punchier element to your sound by accentuating the lower-mid frequencies, while the Bright switch will bring out the highs and let you dial in as much high-end sheen as you could ever want without thinning out your tone or sounding tinny.

RHYTHM CHANNEL

The Rhythm channel is extremely versatile! A fertile source for a wide palette of earthy, crunchy tones that recall the “plexi era” British amps of the late 60’s, the Rhythm channel is also a great choice for blues and country players who want a little bit of grind behind their sound. One of the most desirable characteristics of the Rhythm channel is the way it cleans up as you back off the volume on your guitar, yielding a rich and full tone that is subtle yet clear. Higher gain settings reveal a saturated grind with plenty of sustain for single-note playing and solos. The Shift switch (shared with the Lead channel) shifts the whole curve of the EQ section down, which tends to accentuate both the lower midrange and the lower high frequencies. In addition to adding a bit of bottom end “oomph”, the

Shift switch makes the Treble control more active, and will push your signal into saturation with a little more urgency. The Bright switch brings out the high-end frequencies, and is particularly valuable if you are going for that scooped-mid type of tone.

LEAD CHANNEL

The Lead channel is the side of the Preamp that is the most modern and aggressive. It saturates even at lower Gain settings, and gives you that searing, “violin-like” lead tone with long and smooth sustain that has become the signature of many prog-rock and heavy metal guitar styles. The Lead channel is also great for heavy riffs and rhythm parts; the tightness and definition in the low end that characterizes the Preamp overall really comes into it’s own for heavier playing styles.

CABINET SIMULATION

Your Preamp is also equipped with our Cab Tone analog speaker emulation circuitry. The Cabinet

Simulator offers accurate and punchy emulations of either 2x12 open back or 4x12 closed back speaker cabinets, and is the icing on the cake of the Preamp when it comes to direct recording. Your signal goes through the Cabinet Simulator when you use either the XLR or the 1 ⁄

4

" direct outputs on the back panel. The XLR output is balanced and should always be used for longer cable runs. The

1 ⁄

4

" output is unbalanced and can be used any time it’s more convenient to use that style connection.

The Cabinet Simulator is also great when you are using one of the direct outs to feed the P.A. in a live situation.

7

WARRANTY

Digital Music warrants this product against defects that are due to faulty material or workmanship for a period of five years from the date of original retail purchase. This warranty does not include vacuum tubes or damage to the product from accident or misuse. This warranty is given to the original purchaser only and is not assignable to any other person.

If the product should become defective within the warranty period, Digital Music will repair it or replace it free of charge, provided it’s returned freight prepaid to Digital Music with a valid RMA

(return material authorization) number.

This warranty shall not apply to any goods that have been repaired or altered by anyone other than the manufacturer. There are no warranties which extend beyond the terms described herein.

Should you experience any difficulty with this Digital Music product, contact us as described below.

If it’s determined that the product must be returned to the factory for repair, you will be issued an

RMA and given shipping and packaging instructions.

HOW TO REACH US

You can reach us by any of the following:

Tel: 707 545 0600

Fax: 707 545 9777

Mail: Voodoo Lab

3165 Coffey Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95403

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.voodoolab.com

8