Manual - CeriaTone.Com
Contents
1. labeled MAIN If you want to run two cabinets in parallel connect the second cabinet to the amplifier using the jack labeled EXTENSION NOTE never turn your amplifier to OPERATE mode without connecting the amplifier to a speaker cabinet or suitable dummy load Failing to do so may damage your amplifier IMPEDANCE three way rotary selector Set this selector to the position that matches the impedance of your speaker cabinet NOTE if you are using two speaker cabinets in parallel ex two 16 Ohm cabinets set the impedance selector to half that of a single cabinet in this case 8 Ohms EFFECTS LOOP RETURN 4 instrument jack can be used to directly interface the power amp of the SSS thereby bypassing the preamp and using the amplifier as a power amplifier Conversely this is usually used as the RETURN of the effects loop Plug the output of your effects unit or interface device ex C lator Klein ulator into this jack using instrument cable The effects loop in the SSS amplifier is all passive like the originals EFFECTS LOOP SEND instrument jack can be used to directly interface the preamp of the SSS thereby bypassing the power amplifier and using the SSS as a preamp Conversely this is usually used as the SEND of the effects loop Plug the input of your effects unit or interface device ex C lator Klein ulator into this jack using 4 instrument cable The effects loop in the SSS amplifier is all passive2. like the originals If only using the preamp of the SSS the amplifier still must be connected to a suitable speaker or passive load A h PAB aka PREAMP BOOST two way toggle switch manually switches between boosted and normal configurations In this SSS the PAB accentuates midrange frequencies and attenuates low frequencies making it great for cutting through during a solo Engaged you will also notice an increase in gain and distortion characteristics If you are using the foot pedal set this in the PEDAL position If you are not using the included foot pedal the toggle switch in the MANUAL position switches the SSS to PREAMP BOOST mode In the PEDAL position the SSS is in normal mode FET two way toggle switch manually switches the JFET boost in and out of the circuit If you are using the foot pedal set this in the PEDAL position If you are not using the included foot pedal the toggle switch in the MANUAL position switches the SSS to FET mode In the PEDAL position the FET boost is not activated NOTE if the FOOT PEDAL is plugged in but the PAB and or FET toggles are in MANUAL the foot pedal LED indicators will still light up but functions will not be switched For the FOOT PEDAL to function PAB and FET rear panel toggles MUST be in PEDAL position FOOT PEDAL 5 pin DIN female jack is used to connect the foot pedal to the amplifier Use the foot pedal to control the PAB and FET modes Red LED indicates FET activated and
3. Ceriatone SSS UUW all tube guitar amplitier User s Manual NE Thank you for the purchase of your Ceriatone SSS guitar amplifier Here we hope to explain how best to use your new amp Table of Contents 1 About ie SSS ESEG TENETE EEEE te nd page 2 ZV WGC SSID Ede ED EEEN Ge EG ER enne page 3 3 Front Panel COnUOlS tse E A AE A emee wenende senen haan page 4 4 Rear Panel Controls Ean EA EE EG ERROR DE Ge eat Ahi aes hers page 8 5 Tube compliment and external bias jacks and adjustment annen RR RR ee ee ee ee ee ee page 12 6 Freduentiy Asked QUESTIONS rover eer ennen ed page 17 1 About the SSS 100W and 50W amplifiers The release of our Overtone series of amplifiers has been overwhelmingly popular and the support of customers such as you has instigated the release of currently over ten different versions within the series In addition we have released the Klein ulator and C lator effects loop interfaces specifically for use with our Overtone amplifiers We have been pleased to provide many players access to our unique take on these legendary amplifiers At this point we have finally been able to release our most anticipated model in this series the SSS We have spent the better part of 10 years researching this amplifier yet the information available was limited and understandably closely guarded However in the last two years we were given a once in a lifetime opportunity that we could not pass up After tens of thousan
4. Green LED indicates PAB boost activated NOTE when using the FET boost on the footswitch you may notice a slight pop when you engage the circuit depending on your settings We have gone to great lengths to minimize this pop as much as possible and preserve signal integrity Anytime a circuit is engaged before the first gain stage of an amp any switching noise is amplified hundreds of times through the preamp circuit In the SSS the switching noise is far from problematic but we wanted to inform you if you do experience it it is normal and neither a malfunctioning circuit nor design flaw V1B LNFB three way toggle switch This controls the amount of negative feedback applied to the second gain stage of the amplifier Placing the toggle in the up position defeats the negative feedback which provides the most gain and harmonic bloom In the center position the negative feedback is applied minimally The bottom position provides the most negative ed n SSS feedback which results in a cleaner leaner and more controllable sound and is the standard SSS setting Experiment for your own best results V1A LNFB three way toggle switch This controls the amount of negative feedback applied to the first gain stage of the amplifier Placing the toggle in the up position defeats the negative feedback which provides the most gain and harmonic bloom In the center position the negative feedback is applied minimally The bottom po
5. NPUT is a typical 1megaohm input impedance as seen on most guitar amplifiers If the FET mode is engaged the guitar signal will pass through a high input impedance low output impedance JFET gain stage before hitting the first triode tube stage Originally the FET circuit was designed for piezo pickups without an onboard preamplifier Since then it has provided players a unique option for fine tuning their tone In the SSS amplifier experiment with using the FET mode as a clean boost to overdrive the amp for one of the most pleasing crunch tones you ll ever hear FET adjusts the amount of signal boost coming out of the JFET booster Set it at unity gain for a slightly brighter more articulate tone Set it higher to use a clean boost to overdrive the SSS s preamp or as a solo boost GAIN adjusts the signal strength coming out of the tonestack and going into the second tube stage Think of this as a traditional gain control in a primarily clean amplifier BRIGHT is a high frequency boost that can be used to add sparkle to your tone in both clean and overdrive modes This high frequency boost is more prominent as VOLUME is turned down With the toggle switch in the UP position BRIGHT is on and at a minimum level In the middle position BRIGHT is off The bottom position is BRIGHT on and provides the brightest tone DEEP is a bass frequency boost You can use this to add subharmonics and girth to your tones Engaging this switch with single coil g
6. a value between 35mV and 45mV 5 Repeat for the next red probe jack to the right V7 again the red probe jack one more to the right V8 and finally the red probe jack on the far right V9 Okay now ve measured my bias Now what To calculate bias there are two pieces of information you need to know your amplifiers power tube plate voltage and the published value for maximum plate dissipation for the power tubes used in your amplifier To save you some time and energy here are those two values 450 460VDC 30W Approximate plate voltage for SSS amplifiers Maximum plate dissipation for 6L6GCs and now some math The formula for calculating bias is as follows marinum piate dissipation EETA xpercent of marimar dissipation s1000 bias current mA In most cases amplifiers are biased between 50 and 75 dissipation We bias the SSS to approximately 35mV 40mV reading on a DMM Ed h An example is as follows SOW x55 X1000 about 25 40mA ase KEES P AdPEoUE H You might wonder why your DMM is set to millivolts and not milliamps simply we have a 1 Ohm resistor placed between your probe jacks and ground to convert a current reading to a voltage reading That way a bias current of 35mA measures as 35mV on your DMM NOTE Only set your DMM to mV for measuring bias on the SSS amplifiers Not doing so may damage your DMM Now that you know how to calculate bias all you need to do is 1 Follow steps 1 5 on p
7. age 12 2 Calculate what bias voltage reading you will set your tubes to in this case we will use 35mV 3 Insert your red probe in the probe jack of the power tube reading somewhere in the middle bias measurement of your power tubes variation in bias measurements from tube to tube is to be expected so selecting one measuring in the middle will approximate bias for all tubes 4 Turn the bias potentiometer shaft SLOWLY until your DMM reads 35mV 5 Wait 1 minute 6 Recheck all power tube bias measurements 7 Readjust bias potentiometer shaft if necessary A FEW COMMENTS ON BIASING Due to the nature of vacuum tube amplification there are inherent risks when biasing your amplifier Extremely high voltages are present and vacuum tubes reach high temperatures during use The risk of electrical shock and or skin burns should ALWAYS be kept in mind Therefore bias at your own risk and only while paying attention and taking all precautionary measures Biasing should only be done on a clean workbench with no distractions Do not wear loose clothing or any jewelry Take your time and think carefully before each step Even though the bias test points and adjustment are external to reduce risk of electrical shock all precautions must be taken while biasing Again bias at your own risk Ceriatone Amplification is not responsible for any damages or injuries resulting from user biasing 6 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS How do hook up this thin
8. amp circuit The RETURN control will generally increase the prominence of the reverb signal compared to the dry signal Turning the REVERB control clockwise will make the reverb sound louder compared to the dry signal creating a more wet effected sound MASTER sets the overall volume of your amplifier eye h PRESENCE adjusts the high frequency response of the power amplifier using negative feedback Use this control to add sparkle and clarity to your tone ON OFF POWER two way toggle switch powers the SSS on and off With the toggle switch in the UP position the SSS is ON In the DOWN position the SSS is OFF OPERATE STANDBY applies high voltage to the vacuum tube anodes and screen grids during use of the SSS To ensure long tube life first power the unit on with the toggle switch in STANDBY position for approximately 30 seconds Then switch to OPERATE to use the SSS With the toggle switch in the UP position the SSS is in OPERATE mode In the DOWN position the SSS is in STANDBY mode INDICATOR will illuminate when the SSS is powered by turning the rear panel MAINS toggle switch to the ON position If INDICATOR does not turn on check your power cable connections and then the 4A 3A in 240V countries slow blow fuse on the rear of the unit 4 REAR PANEL CONTROLS FUSE FULL SPEAKER e EFFECTS r P vis vaa BEND an IMPEDANCE eur ur TPUT TAB sasni AC MAINS BIAS CHECK POWER SELECTOR Hermans 1 HT 1A slow blow fus
9. atone SSS the HIGH filter control is a 7 way rotary switch Turning the switch fully counter clockwise will bypass the FILTER circuit completely Turning the control clockwise will progressively decrease the amount of treble boost present resulting in a darker sound LOW FILTER serves as the other half of the filter control and is an extremely unique EQ control for guitar amplification The LOW filter is an inductor based bandpass filter tuned for bass frequencies Compared to the HIGH filter this is more subtle sculpting control that is highly effective and tuning the low frequency response of the amplifier to your cabinet Fully counter clockwise the most bass frequencies are preserved Turning the control clock wise will progressively decrease the amount of bass frequencies present resulting in a slightly thinner more focused sound NOTE turning the HIGH filter all the way counter clockwise to the left will bypass the SSS s 7 way rotary filter controls SEND REVERB controls the amount of signal fed into the unique three tube reverb circuit in the SSS amplifier The SEND control will impact the nature of the decay of the reverb as well as the overall intensity of the reverb circuit Generally turning the SEND control clockwise will increase the time of the reverb trail creating a longer more springy reverb quality RETURN REVERB controls the amount of signal from the three tube reverb circuit as blended back into the pre
10. ds of dollars in R amp D hundreds of man hours and careful custom made parts revisions we are able to release to you a clone of one of the most sought after amplifiers in history While few specimens exist ours represents a particular 100W model that absolutely blew us away with its complex three dimensional clean tone and it s ability to rock when needed After experiencing this circuit first hand we knew we had something special ee In order to produce the most sonically faithful recreation possible we continued to pour additional time manpower and money into many custom parts specifically for this amplifier In our humble opinion the result of our labors is truly sublime and an entirely unique circuit compared to our OTS series Most of all we hope the SSS fills the gap you have been searching for and becomes an integral part of your tone equation to exhilarate your playing and music Rock on NikAzam 2 QUICK SETUP for instant gratification 1 Plug your guitar using a 1 4 instrument cable into the INPUT on the left of the front panel 2 Plug a suitable power cable from the SSS s rear panel A C MAINS cable inlet to your wall power receptacle 3 Plug the SSS into your speaker cabinet using 1 4 speaker cable 4 Set the IMPEDENCE selector to the match the impedance of your speaker cabinet 5 Plug the footswitch cable into the FOOT PEDAL jack on the rear panel of the amplifier 6 Set the FET and PAB switches on the rear
11. e 2 MAINS 4A 3A slow blow fuse 3 A C MAINS IEC cable inlet 4 BIAS CHECK DMM probe jacks 5 HALF POWER two way toggle switch 6 SPEAKER OUTPUT speaker jacks 7 IMPEDANCE three way rotary selector 8 EFFECTS LOOP RETURN 4 instrument jack 9 EFFECTS LOOP SEND 7 instrument jack 10 PAB two way toggle switch 11 FET two way toggle switch 12 FOOT PEDAL 5 pin DIN female jack 13 V1B LNFB three way toggle switch 14 V1A LNFB three way toggle switch HT 1A slow blow fuse used to protect your amplifier from voltage spikes or excessive current draw Replace only when necessary MAINS 4A 3A slow blow fuse used to protect your amplifier from voltage spikes or excessive current draw Replace only when necessary 4A is used for amplifiers used with a 120VAC country supply and 3A is used with 240VAC A h A C MAINS IEC cable inlet plug a suitable IEC power cable into this inlet to power your amplifier BIAS CHECK DMM probe jacks see Section 5 page 12 for a thorough explanation on their use and biasing HALF POWER two way toggle switch Use this switch to reduce the output power of the amplifier from 100W to 50W Doing so will slightly reduce volume and change the feel and response of the amplifier slightly Experiment for best results SPEAKER OUTPUT 4 speaker cable jacks Use a speaker cable to connect your speaker cabinet to the amplifier using these jacks If you use one speaker cabinet use the jack
12. g See Section 2 beginning on page 3 When I plug effects into the effects loop my tone noticeably changes Sometimes the effects don t sound quite right What s the deal Generally what you re hearing is a significant mismatching of impedances and or an overloading of the effect unit itself Most rack mount units have different input impedance than pedals and thus can sometimes function fine without a buffer before them In addition some of these rack mounted effects can pad the volume they receive preventing it from overloading Pedals do not have proper input impedance or padding ability and therefore do not play nicely For best results an effects loop interface like the C lator or Klein ulator should be used with the SSS amplifier These units prevent impedance mismatching as well as provide the ability to pad down the volume sent to the effects units hence preventing any overloading Can substitute different tube types for the 12AX7 ECC83s or 6L6GCs Although you can try 12AT7s 12AU7s 5751s without any harm the design is optimized for 12AX7s and are therefore the only recommended tube in the preamp positions Usage of other power tubes ex modern 6V6s like Electro Harmonix JJ may be possible but please first consult Ceriatone Amplification or your local competent amplifier technician ONLY USE A 12AT7 ECC81 IN V3 What settings do you recommend Ed H h Try setting all controls at 12 00 and adjus
13. open style Switchcraft jacks used in the originals and many clones Finally we occasionally use NOS components from i EE our vast surplus parts collection in locations they work well and complement the voicing or enhance the performance of the amplifier I like to use rack mounted multieffects units What is the output level straight from the EFFECTS LOOP SEND jack 10dB or 4qB While not exact 10dB is a better approximation than 4dB The actual output level will depend on your settings particularly the volume controls 4dB is usually reserved for recording P A equipment with balanced connections
14. panel in the PEDAL position 7 Set the LNFB switches on the rear panel in the lower position 8 Set all rotary controls on the front panel to 12 00 clock face 9 Turn MASTER control to about 9 00 clock face 10 Set front panel BRIGHT MID BOOST and DEEP switches in the down position 11 Set front panel ROCK JAZZ switch in the up position ROCK 12 Set rear panel MAINS switch in the ON position with adjacent switch to STANDBY for 30 seconds to allow tube filaments to warm up 13 Set rear panel OPERATE STANDBY switch to OPERATE 14 ROCK EN 3 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS BRIGHT FILTER INPUT e e o 10 o 10 o 10 TREBLE MIDDLE BASS HIGH LOW From left to right 1 INPUT instrument jack 2 FET control 3 GAIN control 4 BRIGHT three way toggle switch 5 DEEP two way toggle switch 6 MID BOOST two way toggle switch 7 ROCK JAZZ two way toggle switch 8 TREBLE control 9 MIDDLE control 10 BASS control 11 HIGH FILTER 7 way rotary switch 12 LOW FILTER 7 way rotary switch en REVERB control 14 RETURN REVERB control 15 MASTER control 16 PRESENCE control 17 ON OFF POWER two way switch 18 OPERATE STANDBY two way switch 19 INDICATOR LED f REVERB 5 5 s e 4 s a 6 a o 10 SEND ON OPERATE LI 91 s o 10 o 10 o 10 RETURN MASTER PRESENCE By Ceriatone OFF STANDBY INPUT jacks provide two tonal options in a single jack If the FET mode is not engaged the I
15. sition provides the most negative feedback which results in a cleaner leaner and more controllable sound and is the standard SSS setting Experiment for your own best results 5 TUBE COMPLIMENT AND EXTERNAL BIAS JACKS AND ADJUSTMENT From left to right V9 V8 V7 V6 6L6GC power tube V5 12AX7 ECC83 phase inverter V4 12AX7 ECC83 reverb preamp mixer V3 12AT7 ECC81 reverb driver V2 12AX7 ECC83 reverb send return V1 12AX7 ECC83 preamp gain stages z J ER TA mm O a N 3 a COM In this diagram we have color coded three features for simplicity 1 Green arrows red probe jacks 2 Yellow arrow black probe jack 3 Blue arrow bias adjustment potentiometer shaft r ER To measure your power tube bias carefully follow these steps with the amplifier in OPERATE and connected to a speaker load not doing so may damage your amplifier 1 Turn on a digital multimeter DMM and set it to read millivolts mV in the 100mV range this will vary from DMM to DMM 2 Plug a black probe into the color coded jack on your DMM and do the same for a red probe 3 Insert the black probe tip into the black probe jack labeled COM on the rear of the amplifier This is GROUND 4 Insert the red probe tip into the red probe jack green arrow on the far left according to the picture on page 13 This measures bias for V6 Right down the value your DMM reads You might expect
16. t MASTER to a suitable volume have the foot pedal plugged in but it s not switching functions The LEDs on the foot pedal still light up though Make certain the rear toggles for OVERDRIVE and PREAMP BOOST are in the PEDAL positions I noticed the amplifier has a trimpot on the main board What does it do This trimpot adjusts the amount of signal fed into the FILTER circuit Adjusting this will impact the intensity of these controls as well as signal strength and noise levels As such we do not recommend adjusting this control from the factory setting Do need to use matched power tubes Although not necessary matched power tube sets are recommended for best results Do need to use a matched and balanced phase inverter tis not necessary Feel free to experiment with different tubes of the same type in your SSS though ve read that the components used in this type of amplifier are really important What is inside my SSS We use a combination of parts custom made for us to our specifications power transformer output transformer choke high temperature low ESR electrolytic capacitors inductors custom Alpha potentiometers and those used in the original amplifiers Vishay Dale RN65 precision metal film resistors 1W carbon film resistors SBE 6PS polyester film capacitors high quality ceramic disc capacitors Belton tube sockets Alpha potentiometers We prefer high quality enclosed Cliff built in the UK jacks to the
17. uitars will produce an absolutely stunning piano like response on the lower strings With the toggle switch in the UP position DEEP is on In the DOWN position DEEP is off MID BOOST is a midrange frequency boost You can use this to add fatness to your tones or even make single coil guitars sound thicker and less scooped We particularly like MID BOOST when using the SSS for crunch tones With the toggle switch in the UP position MID BOOST is on In the DOWN position MID BOOST is off ROCK JAZZ adjusts the overall frequency response and voicing of the amplifier ROCK has a fatter midrange and a deeper spongier bottom end You might find ROCK more familiar territory JAZZ tightens up the bottom end and adjusts the contour of the midrange giving the amplifier more of a hi fi response Experiment with both as great sounds rest in each With the toggle switch in the UP position ROCK is on In the DOWN position JAZZ is on TREBLE adjusts the high frequency response for both clean and overdrive modes At near maximum settings you may also notice an increase in gain MIDRANGE adjusts the mid frequency response for both clean and overdrive modes BASS adjusts low frequencies in your amplifier for both clean and overdrive modes HIGH FILTER represents half of one of the most unique perhaps mystifying aspects of the SSS amplifier In the original amplifiers this represented one of the greatest areas of variablility In the Ceri
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