GETTING STARTED
TUBES
Your amp comes with premium tubes. The output tubes are made in the St. Petersburg,
Russia factory previously known as Svetlana. These special tubes were originally designed
for video applications in the Russian military. Because of this, they have much wider band-
width than common audio tubes. The output tubes that come with your amplifier are fac-
tory matched and should last between 6 months and 2 years depending on how many
hours the amp is used.
The input tube (smallest one) is typically a 12AX7. If you run a preamp in front of your
Taboo you can also try 12AT7 and 12AU7. Both of these alternates have less gain then the
12AX7 and will therefore require more gain from your preamp.
Any 5Y3GT rectifier (largest tube) will work. Alternately you can experiment with 5AR4
and 5U4 type rectifiers (or compatible models) however you will probably find the best
sound comes from the 5Y3GT that we ship with the amp.
The popular 6BQ5/EL84 output tubes can be used in place of the SV83/6P15P output tubes
as a direct plug-in replacement. In the Taboo, these tubes have a bit more spank, while
the SV83/6P15P tubes tend to have more tone.
Look at the photo on the front of this manual to see which tubes go where.
Now that you know which tubes do what, carefully install them into the amplifier. The rec-
tifier (5Y3GT) should last for many years. This amplifier was biased and voiced with a
5Y3GT rectifier so it is logical that it would sound best. Having said that, no harm will
come to the amplifier from using a 5AR4 or even a 5U4 rectifier.
BEFORE POWERING UP
Be sure that you always have speakers connected to this or any tube amp before turning
it on. Tube amps are typically the opposite of solid state in that you can short the speaker
wires together and nothing bad will happen.
With your speakers and line level source connected, you can turn the amplifier on by flip-
ping the switch on the rear. The switch on the front is not the power switch, but rather a
signature altering switch that changes the amp from “normal” to “lucid” mode. It may be
operated in either position and can be operated on the fly while you listen.
After allowing the amplifier to warm up for a few minutes, you can slowly raise the volume
(located on the front) to the desired listening level.
DURING OPERATION
After about 30 minutes you will notice the amplifier getting warm. This is intentional, the
higher temperatures brought on by the pure class A operation push the fidelity higher.
Some areas of the chassis may be hotter than others. This is normal. However, proper
ventilation is recommended. If you operate the amplifier inside a cabinet, allow a minimum
of 4 inches on the sides, and 10 inches above if possible.