SHIVA USER MANUAL
Please read safety instructions before you use this
amplifier!!!
1. Features:
- Footswitchable 2
Channel All-Tube Design
- Footswitchable
Boost, variable on Channel 2
- Tube-buffered
series FX-Loop
- Ch. 1: Bass,
Treble & Volume controls, Bright switch
- Ch. 2: Bass,
Middle, Treble, Gain & Volume controls, Bright switch
- Common Master
Volume and Presence control
- Functions on
footswitch: channel switch, boost, reverb (reverb models
only)
- 80 watt EL34 or
60 watt 6L6 Power Amp Section
- Available as
Head, ported 1x12, 2x10 closed back combo or open back
2x12 combo
OPTIONS:
Reverb with independent reverb level controls for each
channel
DIMENSIONS and
WEIGHTS: Are subject to change anytime, Please measure
your amp carefully if a Custom Case is being
made. All measurements include handle and rubber feet.
Head: 11 1/2" H x 24
1/2" W x 10 1/2" D 41 pounds
1x12 (2x10) Combo: 23" H x 24 1/2" W x 10 1/2" D 68 pounds
(71)
2x12 Combo: 21 1/2" H x 27 3/8" W x 10 1/2" D 71 pounds
2. How
to use it:
Read this owners
manual completely before use to fully understand your Shivas
functions.
a) Master Volume
and Presence
The Master Volume and
Presence work on both Channels. Experiment with different
combinations between Volume and Master Volume. You can set
the Volume high and the Master Volume low or set the Master
high and the Volume low. One setting could be just as loud
as another,but they will feel and sound different.
b) Boost
Function and Bright Switch
On Channel 1, with the
Boost engaged, the Tone-Stack is bypassed. This means the
Bass and Treble controls are not in the circuit anymore and
have no effect on the sound. This was the only way to have a
boost function on this channel with the original unboosted
tone preserved.
With the Bright switch pushed in you get a brighter more
open sound; this is less to none effective the higher the
Vol.1 is set.
On Channel 2, with the
Boost off use Vol.2 ,with the Boost engaged use B.Vol.2 .
This makes the boost variable and you are able to set it
quite different.
With the Bright switch pushed in you get a brighter more
open sound. This gets less effective the higher the Gain is
set but still noticeable if turned all the way up.
c) Effects Loop
Your individual
channel volume levels control how hot the effects loop send
signal is, depending on the effect unit you may have to keep
the channel volumes lower but you can then turn up the
"Global Master Volume" to control your amps overall volume.
The Shiva's Loop is a series Loop between the Pre and Power
Amp, if you have an older version Shiva made prior to
12/1/05 see below for special info. Current version Shivas
made after 12/1/05 now have two Effect loop sends and one
effect loop return. One send is a low-level Pedal/Instrument
level and the other send is a hotter-level Rack/Line effects
level. You can only use ONE loop send at a time. This
newer version Shiva eliminates the need for the special
"Effects loop cable" that older version Shivas made prior to
12/1/05 sometimes needed to prevent effects from being
overloaded from the hot loop send the older Shivas had.
Current Shivas allow you to use the new low-level
Pedal/Instrument level send for pedals and rack effects with
inputs that overload easily. The new hotter-level Rack/Line
level loop send is perfect for rack effects or pedal effects
with a lot of headroom on their input stage. If you notice,
after plugging in an effect through the loop that your tone
is distorting or too compressed, try using the low-level
Pedal/Instrument level send for pedals and rack effects with
inputs that overload easily. If you're still overloading the
effects input, remember to lower the individual channel
volume levels since they control how hot the effects loop
send signal is, you can then turn up the "Global Master
Volume" to control your amps overall volume. If you would
like to use the Shiva as a "Power Amp" only with other
manufactures Preamps, plug your external preamps output into
the "Power Amp In" Input jack on the back panel, located
near the Effects Loop section. The "Power Amp In" bypasses
the Shiva's preamp, you can still use the Master volume and
Presence controls since these controls are part of the power
amp circuit.
NOTE for Older
Shiva's made prior to 12/1/05 Effects Loop: The Loop is
a series Loop between the Pre and Power Amp, designed for
line level-Fx (we used a Rocktron Intelifex). If you want to
use an instrument level (floor) Effect unit or if your line
level (rack) Effect unit is too sensitive for the hot send
signal, you can use our special built in Boost Amp. All you
need is a special level ducking cable, available from us or
you can make your own, see the "How To Make Effects Cable"
link on Shiva portion of our website. Plug this special
cable between the Effects Loop Send output and Input of your
Effect unit, make sure to insert into the Effects unit input
the modified 1/4" plug. Plug the output of your Effects into
the input of the Boost Amp (located on the back) and hook up
the output of the Boost Amp to the return of the Fx Loop
with a short jumper cable. This is necessary because of the
lower output send level so it does not distort the input of
your FX but we have to bring the level back up after it
leaves the FX in order to keep the original tone of the amp.
Remember (if you use the Loop) the Channel Volume controls
work like send levels, the higher you set the Volume, the
more Level comes into the Effect. Set the Master Volume for
overall Volume. The Loop circuit is always in the sound
chain (even if nothing is hooked up to it). If you want to
bypass your FX, you would have to do it on the FX unit.
If you plug into the
send you tap the signal of the Pre Amp and you could also
send it to a recording device, mixer or another power amp
etc. It would not be necessary to return the signal back
into the amp. On the other hand if you plug into the return
you disconnect the Pre Amp from the Power Amp. You could use
your Shiva just as a Power Amp. As always, you must have the
amp under load from a speaker cab or load box or damage may
occur.
d) Reverb
If you switch the
Reverb in, you hear a slight level loss.This is because the
reverb circuit loads the amp down.On most amps you don't
hear that because they don't have real reverb bypass and the
amp is down loaded all the time.We decided not to do this
because we like the open sound of the amp if you don't use
the reverb. It is possible to change that with a very easy
modification. Contact the factory for details. You have
individual Reverb controls for each channel located on the
back panel.
e) Speaker Outputs
If you put the amp in
play make sure you have a load or speaker cabinet hooked up,
otherwise you could damage the output transformer and the
power tubes. Let's begin by hooking up a speaker to the new
Speaker 1 "Use First" jack on the back panel of the Shiva.
Be sure to set the impedance switch correctly, use the 16,
8, or 4 ohm setting to match your cabinet. If you're not
sure what impedance your cab is, open the back of the
cabinet and call your dealer. There are many ways to wire a
speaker cabinet and you need to know what yours is rated at.
To add a second speaker cabinet, use the second speaker jack
and make sure both cabinets have matching impedances, the
speaker output jacks are parallel so be sure to change the
impedance selector to "half" the impedance rating of one
speaker cabinet. For example: using two 16 ohm cabinets
switch the impedance selector to 8 ohms or to use two 8 ohm
cabinets you must change the selector to 4 ohms. Do not use
two 4 ohm cabinets and NEVER EVER use mismatched speaker
impedances. Next, flick the power switch (front panel, right
side) to the center "standby" position and let the amp warm
up for several minutes. This will stabilize the circuits and
prevent a painful surge from flashing through your tubes. If
you're kind to your amp, it will reward you with grateful
reliability. When ready to play, flick the power switch up
to the "play" position.
NOTE for older
Shivas made prior to 12/1/05: If you put the amp in play
make sure you have a load or speaker cabinet hooked up,
otherwise you could damage the output transformer and the
power tubes. This older Shiva does not have an ohm selector,
it has 3 speaker output jacks each labeled with an oval
containing 2 numbers in it. One of the numbers in each oval
is marked out with a black marker, so only the other
number is important to you! If you hook up only one
cabinet, the impedance (ohm value) of amp and cabinet should
match: 4 into 4, 8 into 8 or 16 into 16. If you hook up two
cabinets (they must have the same impedance, same ohm
value). The total ohm value is half the value of one cabinet
since they run parallel now: so two 16 ohm cabs plug into
the two 8 ohm jacks, two 8 ohm cabs plug into the two 4 ohm
jacks if your amp is wired with two 4 ohm speaker outputs of
course, see the following for more details: The EL 34 Model
has one 16 and two 8 ohm speaker outputs (the transformer
has an internal 4 ohm tap also, so the outputs could be
wired to 8 4 4 or 16 8 4 ohms if you wanted your amp
customized)
NOTE for 6L6
Shiva's made June 2002 and newer are wired with one 16
and two 8 ohm speaker outputs, just like the EL34 models.
Shiva 6L6 models made before June 2002 approx. do not have a
16 ohm tap. The older 6L6 Model have one 8 and two 4 ohm
speaker outputs (the transformer has an internal 2 ohm tap
also, so outputs could be wired to 4 2 2 or 8 4 2 ohms if
you wanted your amp customized) Keep that in mind because
most of the 4x12" cabinets are 16 ohms.
f) Footswitch
Your amp comes with a
3 button footswitch, (Note: in the past 2 button
footswitches were used for "older" non-Reverb Models, see
below for info). One button is for switching between the two
channels, one for engaging the boost on channel 1&2 and one
for the reverb option if applicable. The footswitch jacks
are located on the back panel. The top one is labled reverb,
the bottom one channel/boost. The older 2 button
"non-Reverb" footswitch has one stereo (ring,ring,tip) ¼"
plug which goes in the channel/boost jack. The 3 button
footswich has a second plug, a mono ¼" plug (ring,tip),
which goes into the reverb jack. If you don't know the
difference between mono and stereo plugs look at them and
you will notice the difference (Mono=tip,ring and
Stereo=tip,ring,ring). Current Shivas have a 4-position
rotary switch on the right-side back panel. This rotary
switch is only active when the footswitch is not plugged in.
This rotary switch allows you to activate either: Position 1
= channel one or Position 2 = channel two or position 1+ =
channel one with boost engaged or Position 2+ = channel two
with boost engaged.
NOTE for older
Shiva versions made prior to 12/1/05: On older Shivas if
you don't connect the footswitch only the Clean Channel 1
can be accessed, read further below on how to activate the
High Gain channel 2 if not using a footswitch. On reverb
models, the reverb is always on if the reverb footswitch
plug isn't connected. NOTE using the "older version" Shiva
without the footswitch connected: Some people may not need
to use their footswitch because they only need one channel
to play thru. The Shiva defaults to the Clean channel with
the Reverb on when no footswitch is plugged in, however to
activate the High gain channel without using the footswitch
you have two options: First option, plug in a "shorted" mono
1/4" instrument plug, this will give you the High gain
channel with the Boost function engaged as well. Second
option: plug in a "shorted" stereo 1/4" instrument plug,
this will give you the High gain channel without the Boost
function. Shorted means the tip and sleeve/ground are
connected, using a "right-angle" plug is a good idea also
since it has a low profile and will not protude out from the
amp chassis very much. Also you can easily short the 1/4"
plug internally, just solder a jumper between the two
contacts.
3. Tubes
EL34's should be only
Svetlana or old stock Siemens/Telefunken/Mullard. Other
brands may work but it's risky because of the high plate
voltage we use. 6L6 should be Svetlana or Sovtec 5881, we
prefer the first. For preamp tubes you could use everything
from 12AX7, 7025, ECC82, ECC83, 12AXWB,1 2AX7WA, 12AT7 etc.
Sovtek, EI, Electro Harmonix, Chinese, Tesla, GE, Philips,
Telefunken, RCA etc. We prefer the Chinese 12AX7A's.
The Shiva has 6 preamp
tubes (7 in reverb model) which do the following:
1st (closest to input
jack) > Ch 1+2 > check that one if your amp gets noisy or
microphonic.
2nd+3rd > Ch2 only
4th > one part
(triode) Ch 1, second part for the loop send (affects both
chanels)
5th > loop return
(affects both chanels)
6th (second row in
center of chassis) > phase inverter (affects both chanels)
7th (second row
towards side of chassis) > reverb
Note: If you want to
experiment with different tubes the first 3 tubes are the
most noticeable ones, soundwise. The less gain the tube has
and the earlier the tube is in the sound chain (1st, 2nd,..)
the less noisy your amp is.
Make sure you turn
your amp off when you switch tubes and be careful the tubes
might be very hot!! Do not touch tube sockets with fingers?
Even after turning your amp off and unplugging it from the
power outlet there could be enough voltage stored in the
capacitors to give you a lethal electrical shock.
Read safety
instructions again!!
4. Speakers
The 1x12" combos made
prior to June 2002, are loaded with a Celestion Classic 80 8
ohm speaker. 1x12" combos made June 2002 and newer use
Celestion Classic 80 16 ohm speaker. If you want a more open
vintage sound try a Celestion Vintage 30 NOTE: be carefull
how loud you play because the Vintage 30 speaker can handle
only 60 watts.
Subject to change, depending on availability on Speakers.
5. Troubleshooting
Make sure your read
and understand the safety instructions!! Repairs should be
done only by knowledgeable Technicians!! Always make sure
your Cables, Guitars, Effects and Extension Cabinets are
working and hooked up correctly. If you think something is
wrong with your Amp, play straight into the Amp with nothing
else hooked up other than a Guitar. That way you make sure
it is the Amp. If you own a combo unplug the internal
speaker and hook up an external speaker cabinet to make sure
it's only the amp which is faulty. For noise check the
appropriate preamp tubes (refer to f ). Tubes are delicate
and have a limited live span depending on operating time,
temperature and mechanical influences. 99% of all sound and
noise problems come from preamp tube failure. We let our
amps run for at least two days before we ship them to make
sure that the tubes work properly but since they have a
glass housing and delicate little plates inside them it
happened that they got damaged during shipping. Please don't
feel discouraged. We don't manufacture tubes and can only
retest them to make sure they're okay.
6. Fuses
To check the fuses,
use an Ohmmeter to make sure they're blown because sometimes
you can't see if they're blown. The Main fuse for 100 and
117 volt models should be 3A (2A for 230 volt). The HT fuse
should be ½ A on all models. Use only type "3AG Slow Blow"
fuses. You can get those from Radio Shack. The HT fuse blows
usually if your power tubes are bad to protect the poweramp
circuit from getting damaged. If the Main fuse blows it
could be just a voltage peak from your power outlet. Put a
new one in and see what happens. If it blows again give us a
call. In most cases it is just a 20 cent rectifier diode for
the plate voltage which went bad.
