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© 2017 Sound City® Amplification. All rights reserved. Specifications subject to change without notice.
INPUTS & MASTER VOLUME
The Sound City MASTER VOLUME is noticeably different than the typical master volume you’re probably used
to, and this is important in understanding how to unlock the beast within. A typical master volume is usually set
low to limit and manage the volume of a very high gain cascaded preamp stage. On the Master Series amps,
it is best to think of the master volume as a volume that controls the other volumes, similar to a PA mixer, for
example.
Assuming you will jump the channels, you will set the input volumes for your desired tonal balance and then
set the master volume for the desired output level. The lower the master, the cleaner the amp will sound, the
higher the master, the louder and more overdriven the amp will become as you begin to push the output
stage into saturation.
As you will see, by experimenting with combinations of settings you can cover an awful lot of tonal territory
before you even begin to start thinking about tone control settings. See page 9 for sample settings.
NORMAL
NORMAL
1
2
3
4
BRILLIANT
BRILLIANT
MASTER
VOLUME
INPUTS
NORMAL
NORMAL
1
2
3
4
BRILLIANT
BRILLIANT
MASTER
VOLUME
INPUTS
Input for guitars with humbuckers
When using humbucking pickups with
enhanced midrange output, plug into
Input 2, and jump Inputs 1 and 4. Push
the normal volume more than the bril-
liant volume.
Input for guitars with single coils
When using single coil pickups, plug
into Input 4, and jump Inputs 2 and
3. Push the brilliant volume more than
the normal volume.
Different combinations of NORMAL and BRILLIANT volume control settings will have a dramatic effect on the
response of the amplifier and the personality of your instrument. Once you get familiar with the action of these
controls and you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make any guitar sound mellow, fat, soulful or aggressive.
TRY THESE BASIC SETTINGS SUGGESTIONS AS A STARTING POINT
