SCIENCE Sister User manual

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Intro
Thank you for purchasing the Science Sister guitar amplifier! This manual goes over the
different features of the amplifier, maintenance, tube, and warranty information as well as
some general tube amp info.
Front Panel
Input ack: ¼” for your guitar cable.
Channel switch (Normal/Overdrive): Switches between Normal and Overdrive channels.
Overdrive channel includes: Overdrive Gain, rotary Depth control, and Overdrive Loudness.
Normal Channel includes: Normal Gain, and Normal Loudness. Treble, Middle, Bass, Presence,
and Resonance controls are shared and and active for both channels. The Channel switch is
over-ridden with the footswitch is plugged into the rear panel.
Overdrive Gain: Ad usts overall gain for the Overdrive channel. The more the control is
turned up, the more overdrive will be produced.
Depth: 6-way rotary switch that ad usts the overall low end depth in the preamp for the
Overdrive channel only. The most counter-clockwise setting provides the least depth, while
the most clockwise produces the deepest tone. This control is highly interactive with the Gain,
Bass, and Resonance controls, and can produce a huge array of tonal variations and break up
characteristics. Experimentation is key!
Normal Gain: Ad usts the overall gain of the Normal channel. Turning the gain control up will
result in subtle to a crunchy driven tone depending on the output of the pickups in your guitar.
Bass: Adds bass frequencies to both channels when turned clock-wise.
Middle: Adds midrange frequencies to both channels when turned clock-wise.
Treble: Adds treble frequencies to both channels when turned clock-wise.
Overdrive Loudness: Ad usts the overall volume of the Overdrive channel. Can be used to
balance volume with the Normal channel.
Normal Loudness: Ad usts the overall volume of the Normal channel. Can be used to
balance volume with the Overdrive channel. Tip: For the cleanest tone possible, set the Normal
channel Loudness maximum, and use the Normal gain to adjust the overall volume level. For the
most overdriven sound possible from the Normal channel, set the Normal gain to maximum and
bring up the Normal Loudness to the desired level.
Presence: Adds sizzle, bite, and... “presence” to the tone when turned clock-wise, or cuts high
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harmonics when turned counter-clockwise for a smoother tone. Affects both channels, but is
more noticeable on overdrive settings when more high harmonics are present.
Resonance: Adds deep resonant bass to both channels. Lower settings provide a “tighter” low
end response, while higher settings give greater low end response. Note: This control is more
effective with closed-bac spea er cabinets, and even more exaggerated with larger enclosures
and certain spea ers.
Off/Standby/Play switch (3-way): To turn on the amplifier, flip the switch from the down to
middle position. The amp is now in Standby. Standby mode mutes the sound and allows the
tubes to heat up before applying high voltage in Play mode. Leave in this mode for 30 seconds
to a 1 minute before switching into Play mode (up position). Standby can also be used to mute
the amplifier while leaving the tubes warm short breaks. For long breaks it is best to turn the
amplifier completely off.
To turn off the amplifier, follow the same turn-on procedure in reverse – allowing the amp to
idle in Standby mode for about 30 seconds before powering off. While it is perfectly okay to
turn the amp off immediately, idling in standby before powering off lets the filter capacitors
inside the amp fully discharge. If turned off immediately, there will still be some sound as the
filter caps continue to discharge.
Rear Panel
120 VAC power input: Plug in the included standard IEC power cord here. For use with 120
VAC (USA) only unless otherwise specified.
WARNING!: Use with grounded power outlet only! Discard power cord immediately if
ground pin is damaged/broken. The ground connection is for your safety in case of a
fault!
Footswitch ack: Plug included 1-button footswitch here. Plugging in the footswitch over-
rides the front panel Channel switch.
Speaker Jacks and Impedance Selector
Note: Spea ers must be rated for at least the full rated clean output power of the
amplifier (100W). Under overdrive conditions, the clean power can be exceeded by
tens of watts, therefore it is preferable to use spea ers whose combine power rating
exceeds the clean power rating. This topic is up for debate as some spea er
manufacturers rate their spea ers with this nowledge in mind (i.e. four 25W rated
spea ers may be OK for a 100W amp).
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Using one speaker cabinet: With the amp OFF, match the impedance selector with the
speaker cabinet's impedance. Always verify a speaker cabinets impedance before using with
the amplifier. An impedance mismatch can potentially damage the amplifier.
Using two speaker cabinets: When using with two speaker cabinets, both must be the same
impedance (i.e. two 8 ohm cabs), and the impedance selector should be set for half each cab's
impedance. For example:
•When using two 8 ohm cabs: Set the impedance selector should be set to 4 ohms.
•When using two 16 ohm cabs: Set the impedance selector should be set to 8 ohms.
•Using two 4 ohms cabs: This configuration is not supported because there is not 2 ohm
tap on the Sister's output transformer.
Effects Loop
The Sister's tube effects loop is designed to work ideally with instrument level effects (i.e.
effects pedals) and some line level equipment (i.e rack effects units) gear. In general, time-
based effects such as reverb and delay are best placed in the effects loop. The effects loop is
located after the preamp section of the amp, where most of the overdrive is generated. This
allows time-based effects to be operated cleanly. For example, plugging a delay into the
effects loop allows you to delay your distorted tone, giving a clear delay effect. Conversely,
plugging a delay into the input of the amplifier would overdrive the delay, giving a muddier
washed-out delay sound. There is no correct way to use your effects, it's all a matter of
preference.
The Return ack of the Effects Loop may also be used as a power amp input, and in con unction
with a separate preamp unit. When used in this fashion, both Presence, and Resonance
controls will function normally.
Tip: A volume pedal also wor s well in the effects loop, acting as an overall master volume, which
can be extremely useful in a live setting, however a buffered pedal is preferred to prevent
volume/treble loss.
Send Jack: Connect to the input of your effects via ¼” shielded instrument cable.
Return Jack: Connect to the output of your effects via ¼” shielded instrument cable.
Footswitch
Switches between Normal and Overdrive channels. Plugging in the footswitch over-rides the
front panel Channel switch.
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Bias ad ustments
Left bias ad ustment: Controls the bias of the two left-most output tubes, V1 and V2 (See
tube chart on pg. 12). The setting is locked in place by the outer locking nut. To make an
ad ustment, slightly loosen the outer locking nut.
Right bias ad ustment: Controls the bias of the two right-most output tubes, V3 and V4 (See
tube chart on pg. 12). The setting is locked in place by the outer locking nut. To make an
ad ustment, slightly loosen the outer locking nut.
Note: The 4 output tubes wor in pairs; the left bias control adjust the bias voltage for V1 and V2,
while the right control adjusts the bias voltage for V3 and V4. While the output tubes can only be
adjusted in pairs, a test jac is provided for each individual tube to provide more accurate bias
monitoring (e.g. trying to find a faulty tube).
Test acks: For use with standard multimeter probes.
Black common probe ack: Plug in common meter probe here.
V1 red probe ack: Plug in probe to monitor V1 (See Tube Chart on pg. 12) output tube bias
voltage.
V2 red probe ack: Plug in probe to monitor V2 (See Tube Chart on pg. 12) output tube bias
voltage.
V3 red probe ack: Plug in probe to monitor V3 (See Tube Chart on pg. 12) output tube bias
voltage.
V4 red probe ack: Plug in probe to monitor V4 (See Tube Chart on pg. 12) output tube bias
voltage.
Bias procedure
WARNING!: Malad ustment of the bias controls can lead to output tube failure. The bias
ad ustments are not fool-proof, and output tubes can be under-biased because a
reasonable bias range needs to be given to account for different output tube samples. If
under-biased for a sustained period output tubes will likely fail. Science Amplification is
not responsible for output tube failure due to mal-ad ustment of bias controls.
Please familiarize yourself with the bias procedure before making bias ad ustments. If
you at all feel uncomfortable making ad ustments, take the amp to a qualified technician.
We do, however, encourage you to bias yourself because it is completely safe. It is also
easy once you get the hang of it, and can save you quite a bit of cash!
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Note: A electronic volt meter (digital preferred) with a millivolt setting is needed to ma e bias
readings/adjustments. A digital multimeter can be found cheaply at any hardware store. Here's
the cheapest we've found on the web, which is totally sufficient for the job:
http://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-digital-multimeter-90899.html
With a speaker cabinet plugged in,turn on the amp, let it warm up for about 30 seconds, then
take off Standby into Play mode (The volume can be all the way down for the test). Let the
amp run for a minute or two.
Next, set the multimeter to DC millivolts (mV).
Insert the black test probe into the black ack on the rear panel, and the red probe into any of
the red acks.
Note: The 4 output tubes wor in pairs; the left bias control adjust the bias voltage for V1 and V2,
while the right control adjusts the bias voltage for V3 and V4. While the output tubes can only be
adjusted in pairs, a test jac is provided for each individual tube to provide more accurate bias
monitoring (e.g. trying to find a faulty tube).
For the correct bias range you should read between:
•32mV to 39 mV per tube when using EL34s
•39mV to 46mV per tube when using 6L6s
•or 46mV to 53mV per tube when using KT88s
Anything lower settings will not harm the tubes, but anything higher than:
•43mV and up per tube for EL34s
•52mV and up for 6L6s
•61mV and up for KT88s
will lead to shortened output tube life or imminent failure.
Remove the red probe, and insert it into the other ack to check the reading. Ideally it should
be the same as the first reading, but a couple millivolts difference is no big deal.
Here are some situations where you may need to check the bias:
•The amp sounds thin, or abnormal in any way.
•The amp is quieter than normal.
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•The amp hums more than normal.
•The bias controls are accidentally malad usted.
If a reading is below the safe range by more than 10-15mV, then it's likely a tube has failed on
that side and needs to be replaced. This will also cause the other side to be higher than
normal.
The output tube pairs will also age unequally (much like car tires), so some may ad ustment
may be needed through out the tubes' life to keep them in balance. Although it's not
necessary to keep the pairs balanced, it will keep the amp putting out maximum output with
the least amount of hum.
If ad ustment is necessary, first loosen the outer lock-nuts on the bias ad ustments. Make
move the control with a flat-head screwdriver (a guitar pick works well too), while monitoring
the number on the multimeter. You may have to ad ust both controls back and forth until they
are balanced because they are somewhat interactive.
Tube life and troubleshooting
Output tubes (V1, V2, V3, and V4 – See tube chart on pg. 12) generally produce a good strong
sound for 6 months to a year when played regularly, then they may become dull sounding,
and/or the amplifier may begin to loose some power. Power may last much longer depending
on how hard the amp is played. Sometimes they die gently, sometimes abruptly causing a fuse
to blow, which in turn protects the amplifier from further damage. Output tubes may also
become microphonic like preamp tubes.
It's sometimes possible to see which power tube(s) is damaged. If necessary, remove the
output tubes to inspect them (Remove power cord, allow tubes to cool, then grab by the
plastic base, and gently pulling up in a circular motion). Here are things to look for:
•Shiny silver area on top of tube turns white.
•Burned spot on the large gray structure inside the tube.
Sometimes a output tube or preamp tube will become “microphonic” when something
becomes physically loose inside the tube's glass envelope. In turn, this noise then gets
amplified through the speaker. The noise can be anything from static, a high-pitched ringing,
or intermittent sputtering noises. This is usually exacerbated by vibration from the speaker
cabinet. If you think a tube may be microphonic, try isolating the amplifier from the speaker
cabinet.
Tip: If you thin you have a microphonic tube, you can very gently tap on each tube with a pencil's
eraser to see if the sound becomes worse or changes. All tubes will amplify the sound a little,
especially preamp tubes. But for example, if you hear an intermittent ringing sound and tap each
tube to find V9 is causing the ringing to start and stop, you can be sure it's the problematic tube!
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In general preamp (V9, V8, V7), phase inverter (V6), and effects loop (V5) tubes (see tube
chart on pg. 12) can last many years, and usually become microphonic before wearing out or
failing.
Changing preamp, effects loop, and phase inverter tubes
V5, V6, V7, V8, and V9 (see tube chart on pg. 12)
Push down and gently twist remove the aluminum shields over the preamp, etc. tubes. To
remove tubes, gently pull upward using a very slight circular motion if necessary. When re-
inserting a preamp tube, mind the pin/socket orientation as they are “keyed” to insure proper
installation.
Changing output tubes
V1, V2, V3, and V4 (see tube chart on pg. 12)
CAUTION!: Tubes can become extremely hot during normal operation. Make sure the
amplifier is OFF, and always allow tubes to cool before handling to prevent burns.
In general, it's best to change all 4 output tubes at once (V1, V2, V3, and V4 – See tube chart on
pg. 12), and preferable to buy a "matched quad" from a reputable dealer. However, because of
the dual-bias system, it is possible to replace only one pair of output tubes with a "matched
pair," then balancing the bias level with the old pair.
Tip: Buy “burned-in” tubes when possible for maximum stability and minimal bias drift.
To change tubes, remove the old tubes and set both bias controls all the way down (counter-
clockwise). Insert the new tubes minding the “key” on the bottom of the tube, and slowly
bring up both bias controls until they are equal and in the safe bias range.
If tubes are not pre-“burned-in,” check the bias after playing to see if it has drifted from the
initial setting. Full burn-in may take up to 24 hours depending on the tube set. This is why
burned in tubes are preferred.
Different tube types and bias ranges
The Sister can use either EL34, 6L6 tubes, or KT88 output tubes (however not mixed
together). Below are the correct bias ranges for all tube types:
For the correct bias range you should read between:
•32mV to 39 mV per tube when using EL34s
•39mV to 46mV per tube when using 6L6s
•or 46mV to 53mV per tube when using KT88s
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Anything lower settings will not harm the tubes, but anything higher than:
•43mV and up per tube for EL34s
•52mV and up for 6L6s
•61mV and up for KT88s
will lead to shortened output tube life or imminent failure.
Fuses
WARNING: Only check/change fuses with amplifier unplugged from the
wall socket!
Fuses are user-replaceable, and if a fuse needs replacement, always replace with the correct
"T" type and rating. The "T" stands for "Time delay" also known as "Slow Blow." Also be sure to
use the correct amperage rating (Ex. 1A = 1 Amp). These fuses are the 3AG type and are
commonly available. The correct fuse values are located on the back panel of the amplifier.
If a fuse blows, it's a good thing! Fuses are put in place for safety and to protect the most
expensive parts of the amplifier. Fuses can blow for various reasons, however the most
common is a output tube failure. To check if a fuse is blown, push and twist counter-clockwise
to remove the fuse holder and see if the small wire inside the glass is broken. There may also
be a burnt area the inside of the glass.
If you replace a fuse, and it blows again, there is likely a more serious problem. Please contact
us before changing the fuse again at [e-mail] so we can further assist you with
the trouble-shooting.
Safety
•Always use a 3-prong cable into a grounded outlet. This makes sure the amplifier is
always grounded and safe in the rare occurrence the chassis should become "live"
(electrified).
•Tubes become very hot during normal operation. Allow them to cool before handling
to prevent burns.
•Never change tubes with the amplifier ON.
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•Always make sure the amp's vents are open, allowing heat to escape and air to flow
freely.
•Keep the amp away from moisture, and never put any beverages on top of the amplifier,
no matter how convenient it may seem!
•Only change fuses with the amp unplugged from the wall!
•There are potentially lethal voltages present inside the amplifier. Do not open the
amplifier chassis unless authorized and are a qualified technician.
Limited Lifetime Warranty
Science Amplifiers are warranted to be free from defects in workmanship for the lifetime of
the original owner. Electronic components such as capacitors, resistors, transformers, acks,
and potentiometers are warranted for 5 years (not including tubes, see below). Any part
determined defective by Science Amplification within the 5 year period shall be repaired or
replaced by Science Amplification without charge for parts and labor provided the unit is
returned and transportation costs prepaid. Science Amplification will pay return shipping
costs to the original owner. Any unauthorized repair, modification, or tampering voids this
warranty.
The warranty excludes:
•Normal wear and tear: worn out tubes, acks, cosmetic damage, etc.
•Misuse and abuse: operating the amp without a speaker connected (although the amp
has some built-in protection against this), operating the amp into the wrong speaker
load, improper tube installation, using the wrong value fuses, malad ustment of bias
controls, etc.
•Accidental damage: Dropping the amp, spilling liquid inside, etc.
•Acts of "God”: Natural disasters and other non-preventable/foreseeable events that
damage the amplifier.
•Tubes, unless within manufacture's warranty period of 90 days (replacements offered
at manufacturer's discretion).
•Any damage caused by authorized or unauthorized repair or modification that is not
performed by Science Amplification.
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Speakers carry Eminence's 7-year manufacturer's warranty. The terms can be found here:
http://www.parts-express.com/docs/warranty/eminence-manufacturer-warranty.pdf
If you think you have a speaker problem, please contact us first.
For warranty service, please email [e-mail] for return authorization. Amplifiers
must be sent back in the original packaging or equivalent packaging. The cost of return
shipping to Science Amplification is to be prepaid by the owner. Science Amplification is not
responsible for damage caused in return shipping. Science Amplification will pay for the
return shipping after the warranty work is completed.
In general, we will be able to fix your amp for free, and help with tube changes, etc. if needed.
We will also be happy to modify the amp in any way possible until the amp is perfect for you.
Non-warranty repair is also available – please inquire for shop rates.
Don't hesitate to contact us!
Care and Maintenance
If plexiglass panels need cleaning, use only a soft clean, and dry 100% cotton cloth to wipe off
smudges with ust a little pressure to avoid scratching. If needed dampen the cloth with a little
water, or use Novus brand plastic polish. Avoid harsh alcohol-based cleaning products as they
may cause the acrylic to “bloom.” Also avoid the ubiquitous “microfiber” cloths, which can
leave lint and/or tiny scratches the plexiglass in some cases since they vary so greatly in
quality.
Periodically check the 4 mounting screws on the bottom to make sure they are tight. These
screws secure the chassis to the head cabinet, and also insure contact to the aluminum RF
shielding plate inside the cabinet.
If possible, move the amplifier when the tubes have had the chance to cool down for a couple
minutes. Because the tubes get very hot, the elements inside become more vulnerable to
physical damage until the tubes have cooled. In general, try to move the amp off stage last.
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Tube Chart
Birds-eye view of the Sister's tube layout. Only replace tubes with specified types listed
below:
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