Front Panel, Clean Channel, Lead Channel | Carvin MTS3212 specification

MTS3200 FRONT & REAR PANEL CONTROLS

GETTING STARTED QUICKLY

If you are like most players, you probably want to plug in your new amp and get start- ed playing it right away. You can read the rest of the manual later to learn the finer points of operating your amp. In order to get started you will need your MTS3200 amp, a 120 or 230 AC grounded power outlet, your instrument and a standard guitar cord. With the amp turned off, you may now plug it into the proper AC voltage.

Now turn all the volume and drive controls off and set tone controls at their mid center position. If you have purchased the FS22 foot switch, plug it into the rear foot switch jack for switching the channels and reverb. Note: The channel SELECT button must be in the OUT position (CH 1) for the FS22 to function (a hum will be heard if it’s in the wrong posi- tion).

Now, turn the power switch and standby switch ON. Allow 60 seconds for the tubes to warm up. Gradually raise the volume controls and re-adjust the tone controls and your ready to go. The brass knobs can feel hot after the amp has been on awhile. This is nor- mal because brass conducts heat while plastic does not. This will not cause a problem for the controls. Please call if you feel your amp is malfunctioning. Occasionally tubes are damaged in shipping.

FRONT PANEL

1. GUITAR INPUT

A standard 1/4” input jack feeds both channels through using the SELECT switch. Use a professional quality guitar cord no longer than 25 feet. Typical cable capacitance should be under 50pf—the longer the cord, the greater the capacitance (you can measure this with a capacitance meter). A long cable with high capacitance will reduce the overall tre- ble response from your pickups.

of DRIVE or move the guitar to the side or away from the speaker(s).

6. LEAD—BASS, MID & TREBLE

To start off with, set the BASS, MID & TREBLE controls at their center (5) position. These controls are to be set according to the type of pickups used (dual or single coil). It’s normal to decrease the BASS at higher playing levels. Try the PRESENCE control also when adjusting the treble.

7. LEAD PRESENCE

Channel 1 features it’s own LEAD PRESENCE control for added clarity. It’s frequency range is set at the mid range of the tonal spectrum. Careful adjustment with the TREBLE control will make this feature very useful.

CLEAN CHANNEL 2

8. CLEAN CHANNEL INDICATOR

The red LED will illuminate when the CLEAN channel is selected.

9. CLEAN VOLUME

Channel switching from the Lead channel into Channel 2 gives you crisp, clean playing. Thanks to special mud-cutting circuits that work between the frequencies of 500 and 700 Hz, your guitar tones will be full and vibrant.

10. CLEAN PRESENCE

For added clarity, the CH 2 PRESENCE switch increases only the highest guitar harmonics in the 8-10k Hz range which is ideal for acoustic guitars. A normal bright switch works only in the 3k Hz range leaving your sound somewhat flat. Single or dual coil pickups will deter- mine the need for this switch.

2. CHANNEL SELECT

Set the channel SELECT switch to the desired channel. The LED’s next to the volume controls will let you see what channel is functioning. Use channel 2 for clean playing. Use channel 1 for overdrive/sustain. For the FS22 foot switch to function, set the chan- nel SELECT to the “ OUT” channel 1 position.

LEAD CHANNEL 1

3. LEAD CHANNEL INDICATOR

The red LED will illuminate when the LEAD channel is selected.

4. LEAD VOLUME

The volume of the lead channel is to be used as a master level control. For partial clean output, set the VOLUME control to 10 and turn the DRIVE nearly off—under 1. By reduc- ing the guitar volume, you can use this channel as an alternate clean channel.

5. LEAD DRIVE

For mild tube saturation, set the DRIVE control between 1 & 2. For some of the best saturation, set the control between 4 & 6. For full blown overdrive, set the control between 6 and 10 (your guitar volume should be turned all the way up). Because the MTS3200 has been “Hot Rodded” with so much gain in the DRIVE control, you will have an abundance of guitar feedback. However, if feedback is a problem, reduce the amount

MTS3200 Head as shown

MTS3212 Combo front & rear panels reversed

11. CLEAN—BASS, MID & TREBLE CONTROLS

You can start at 5 on the dial for each of the tone controls. However, these settings do not represent a normalize (flat) sound. You need to set them where they sound best! Most musicians like to reduce the MID’S between 1 and 4 for deeper bass and crisper highs. If your sound is too bright with single coil pickups, you may want to keep the PRESENCE switch off.

MASTER SECTION

12. MASTER REVERB

Set the REVERB control for the desired amount (this works in both channels).

13. STANDBY SWITCH

Use the STANDBY SWITCH If you are taking a break. This turns the high voltage off, increasing the life of your power tubes while keeping the power and preamp tube fila- ments on for immediate use.

14. POWER SWITCH & INDICATOR

The power switch is to be utilized as the master ON/OFF switch. As the amp is turned on, the RED portion of the power switch will illuminate as your ON indicator.