Nace PRO-18 User manual

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Professional Tube Amplifier
PRO-18
User Manual
WWW.NA EAMPS. OM

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TABLE OF ONTENTS
HAPTER 1 IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRU TIONS ........................ 3
HAPTER 2 FIRST TIME OUT OF THE BOX SETUP AND PLAY ....... 5
HAPTER 3 FRONT AND BA K PANEL ................................... 3—6
HAPTER 4 FRONT PANEL ..................................................... 4—7
HAPTER 5 BA K PANEL ....................................................... 5—8
HAPTER 6 NOTES ON THE V-POWER* ONTROL .............. 6—10
HAPTER 7 FRONT PANEL ONNE TIONS .......................... 7—11
HAPTER 8 BA K PANEL ONNE TIONS ............................ 8—13
HAPTER 9 EXTENSION ABINET ONNE TIONS ................ 9—15
HAPTER 10 A FEW NOTES ON THE RE ORDING OUTPUT 10—17
HAPTER 11 AVERAGE AND PEAK POWER. ...................... 11—18
HAPTER 12 ELE TRI AL SPE IFI ATIONS ....................... 12—19
HAPTER 13 TUBE LO ATIONS ......................................... 13—20
HAPTER 14 WARRANTY .................................................. 14—21

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CHAPTER 1 IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
PLEASE READ ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heed all warnings.
2. Follow all instructions.
3. Lethal voltage levels are present inside the amp that may cause serious
bodily harm. Do not use the amp outside of the cabinet.
4. Do not play the amp without the appropriate speaker attached to one of
the amplifier outputs.
5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
6. lean only with dry cloth.
7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Maintain at least 3 feet of distance
around all sides of amplifier. Do not block any ventilation openings with
items such as newspapers, tablecloths, curtains, etc.
8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers,
stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A
polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding
type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or
the third prong are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not
fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete
outlet.
10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at
plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the
apparatus.
11. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.
12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the
manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution
when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.
13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long
periods of time.
14. Refer all servicing to Nace Amps. Servicing is required when the apparatus
has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is
damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus,

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the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate
normally, or has been dropped.
15. Avoid placing any liquids on or near the amplifier that may splash or drip
such as those contained in bottles, cans, glasses, etc.
16. Nace amplifiers are capable of producing very high sound pressure levels
which can cause temporary or permanent hearing damage.
17. Do not operate with a Variac. The amplifier has line conditioning and
damage to the amplifier may occur if a Variac is used.
18. For best results and safety information, please watch the Tech Tips – A
Power video at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1nTFILdY3s&index=1&list=PL1A4D3BEE9514
17D5
PLEASE KEEP THESE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
THANK YOU

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CHAPTER 2 FIRST TIME OUT OF THE BOX SETUP AND PLAY
1. arefully remove the amp from the shipping carton. Please retain shipping
materials for at least one (1) year.
2. Attach the supplied A cable to the A module on the back panel.
3. Plug the other end of the A cable into a 115VA outlet
4. Flip the A power toggle switch to the ON (up) position with the standby
toggle switch in the off (down) position. The pilot light will light up.
5. Set the controls as follows:
a. GAIN: to 9 O’clock
b. Master Volume to 12 O’clock
c. TREBLE: to 12 O’clock
d. BASS: to 12 O’clock
e. REVERB: fully counter clockwise, 7 O’clock
f. V-Power fully clockwise, 5 O’clock
g. No connections on the back panel other than the appropriate 4/8/16
ohm speaker connection and the A cord.
h. Wait about 2 minutes for the amp to warm up and the tubes are fully
operating.
i. Plug in your favorite guitar.
j. Flip the standby toggle switch to the on (up) position.
k. Adjust the guitar controls and play.
l. Once you are comfortable with the levels, adjust the controls to your
specific playing style.

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CHAPTER 3 FRONT AND BACK PANEL
1. Front Panel Controls, Switc es and Connections:
a. Gain
b. Master Volume
c. Treble
d. Bass
e. Reverb
f. Variable power*
g. AC ON/OFF switc
. Standby switc
i. ¼” Hi impedance jack
j. ¼” Lo impedance jack
k. Pilot lig t
2. Back Panel connections:
a. ¼” mono r yt m/boost jack. Boost enable is default.
b. ¼” mono reverb jack. Reverb enabled is default
c. ¼” mono FX Send jack
d. ¼” mono FX return jack
e. ¼” stereo record jack
f. ¼” mono 4 o m jack
g. ¼” mono 8 o m jack
. ¼” mono 16 o m jack
i. IEC AC connector wit internal fuse.

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CHAPTER 4 FRONT PANEL
1. Power: Switc up to turn amplifier on
2. Standby: Switc up to enable amplifier
3. V-Power*: Sets t e maximum output power from 1 Watt to 18 Watts
Please refer to Specification 1 for conditions
4. Reverb: Controls t e reverb level.
5. Bass: controls t e low end EQ.
a. 12 O’clock is flat
b. Clockwise is boost
c. Counter clockwise is cut
6. Treble: controls t e ig end EQ.
a. 12 O’clock is flat
b. Clockwise is boost
c. Counter clockwise is cut
7. Master: Mater Volume
a. Controls signal level to t e power tubes and sets t e level of
distortion from t e power tubes.
8. Gain:
a. Controls t e signal level to t e preamp and sets t e level of t e
preamp distortion.
9. Input:
a. Hig is t e normal guitar input.
b. Low may be used as anot er guitar input, electronic device, or to
daisy c ain amplifiers.

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CHAPTER 5 BACK PANEL
1. RVRB:
a. External on/off foot switc for reverb.
b. Normally enabled and controlled via t e Front Panel Reverb control.
c. Foot switc is not included.
d. Recommend item P-H477 from Antique Electronic Supply
2. BOOST:
a. External on/off foot switc controls pre-amp level to boost from
r yt m to lead.
b. Levels can be set up via t e gain and/or V-power* controls.
c. Normally enabled for lead.
d. Foot switc is not included.
e. Recommend item P-H477 from Antique Electronic Supply
3. RECORD:
a. A line out from t e pre-amp to facilitate recording sessions and
ot er functions. Use a ¼ inc stereo plug for balanced output and a ¼
inc mono plug for single ended output.
b. Emulates t e SPL of a Celestion Greenback.
c. Use a ig quality guitar cable or mic cable for best results.
d. Turn t e Mater Volume fully counter clockwise w en using.
e. Cable is not included.
4. FX SEND/FX RETURN:
a. Output from pre-amp (no internal reverb) to facilitate t e use of
external audio processors including foot pedals.
b. FX SEND may be used as a pre-amp output to ot er amplifiers.
c. FX RETURN may be used as an input from ot er amplifiers.

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d. Wit a blank ¼ jack plugged into FX SEND or FX RETURN, user may
t en play wit t e internal reverb only.
e. Use a ig quality guitar cable or mic cable for best results.
f. Cables are not included.
5. 4/8/16 OHM OUTPUTS:
a. Facilitates t e use of speakers wit 4, 8, or 16 o m voice coils.
6. IEC AC Connector:
a. Accepts a standard IEC AC cable.
b. Module as an internal fuse. Use a 2A slow blow fuse only.
c. AC cable and fuse are included.

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CHAPTER 6 NOTES ON THE V-POWER* CONTROL
A common problem wit practice vs. stage playing is to get t e same
tonal c aracteristics at practice t at you get on stage. Consider t at on
stage you set t e gain control to get t e pre-amp distortion t at you desire
and t en set t e master volume to get just t e rig t amount of power amp
distortion. Now, take t ese same settings ome to practice, and your wife,
kids, and/or neig bors will run you out of t e ouse. So now you ave to
reduce t e master volume to reasonable levels in order to keep peace in
t e neig bor ood but your tone is now messed up.
Anot er scenario is, w ile on stage, t e audio engineer wants you to
reduce output level. Here, again, you must compromise between tone and
proper stage setup.
Nace Amps as invented a solution to t is problem. T e V-POWER*
front panel control. T is control allows you to set t e output power level
wit out affecting t e master volume and gain control settings t us keeping
t e tone you want but at lower output levels. Typically from 1 Watt peak
(464 milli watts average) wit t e V_POWER* control fully counter
clockwise to 27 Watts peak (18 Watts average) wit t e control fully
clockwise and all power levels in-between. T is is not a alf power switc
t at eats power or removing tubes form t e power amp section but an
electronic circuit t at controls t e actual gain of t e power tubes (EL84s) to
control t e output power wit out c anging t e tone of t e amp.
Now you ave it all. A practice amp and a stage amp all in one
amplifier.
*T e V-power circuitry is Pat. Pending

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CHAPTER 7 FRONT PANEL CONNECTIONS
Normal Guitar Connection
Two Guitars

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Daisy C ain to anot er amp
Adding a R yt m section wit a redcording device

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CHAPTER 8 BACK PANEL CONNECTIONS
REVERB FOOT SWITCH CONNECTION
BOOST FOOT SWITCH CONNECTION
RECORD
Master Volume must be fully counter clockwise
if no speaker is being used from t e amp.

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FX SEND/RETURN

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CHAPTER 9 EXTENSION CABINET CONNECTIONS
Single speaker connection
Always matc t e speaker o mage to t e amplifier’s output o mage.

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Two of more speaker connections

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CHAPTER 10 A FEW NOTES ON THE RECORDING OUTPUT
No matter how great an amp sounds, trans ating that sound through a
microphone and then through a mixer often eads to ess than desirab e resu ts.
Mic'ing up a guitar amp is as much art as science and most of us don't have the
necessary acoustic spaces or experience to do it we time after time. Simi ar y, if
you capture that magica spot once, it's near y impossib e to dup icate.
The Recording Out on the Nace PRO-18 so ves a of these prob ems. By simp y
p ugging a 1/4" cab e between the Recording Out and straight into your mixer or
recording interface, you' enjoy the sound of a we mic'ed up guitar cabinet
without any voodoo or magic required.
In the studio the benefits of this may be obvious: shorter setup time and
consistent sound.
For the ive p ayer the benefit to sound engineers of not having to have an extra
microphone on stage are numerous.
Keep in mind that ess noise wi resu t from using a ba anced (TRS) cab e between
the amp and mixer/interface.

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CHAPTER 11 AVERAGE AND PEAK POWER.
There are many artic es discussing peak vs. average power with ots of math
and other cures for insomnia. What I want to do is keep it simp e.
Humans “hear” peak power not average power. Average power is taken
over time usua y of a continuous, steady state sound. Consider a fire cracker.
We “hear” the exp osion as it occurs, not averaged over time. If the sound
produced by the fire cracker were averaged over time, we wou d never hear it or
for that matter much anything e se. Thus, when we p ay a guitar, we hear the
sound as it is being produced not averaged over time. So, when I specify the peak
power, this is the power eve you wi hear. The average is inc uded considering a
1000 cyc e tone being p ayed continuous y forever.

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CHAPTER 12 ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATIONS
1. Maximum Power Output - 27 Watts peak, 18 Watts average** under the
fo owing conditions:
a. Gain contro fu y c ockwise
b. Master Vo ume contro fu y c ockwise
c. Variab e Power* contro fu y c ockwise
d. Reverb contro fu y counter c ockwise
e. Bass contro at 12 O’c ock
f. Treb e contro at 12 O’c ock
g. Boost enab ed (defau t)
h. 10mv input signa
2. Power tubes: 2 X EL84 (6BQ5)
3. Preamp tube: 1 X 12AX7/ECC83
4. Phase sp itter tube: 1 X 12AT7/ECC81
5. Input vo tage:
a. 115VRMS +/- 15%, 48/1000 Hz
b. 120VDC to 200VDC
c. The power supp y is a regu ated power supp y that, among other
things, provides power conditioning. Do not use a Variac with this
amp ifier.

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CHAPTER 13 TUBE LOCATIONS
BACK PANEL
FRONT PANEL
12AX7/ECC83 12AT7/ECC81 EL84/6BQ5 EL84/6BQ5