Duncan 84-40 Owner's Manual

84-40 TUBE AMPLIFIER

OWNER'S MANUAL

CAUTION

To prevent electrical shock, do not operate this unit in wet or moist areas.
There are no user serviceable parts inside. (See, "Maintenance" and "'Tube Chart" sections for
user maintenance procedures.)

Congratulations on your purchase of the Seymour Duncan Research 84-40 Tube guitar amplifier.
The 84-40 Tube is the product of art intense research and development effort. Our object was to
provide guitarists with an affordable, all-tube amplifier, which sounded great.

The 84-40 Tube is based on classic principles of tube guitar amplifier design. An all-tube preamp
drives a quartet of EL-84 power tubes, which provide the sweetest, most musical tone possible.
The rectangular cabinet shape enhances the spacious "breathing" quality of the sound. Features
such as on-board reverb and a buffered effects loop make the 84-40 Tube a simple, functional
rig, which can adapt to any musical situation.

Read this manual carefully to familiarize you with the features and operation of the 84-40 Tube.
Your new amp will provide years of trouble free performance, great tone and musical fun.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Front Panel Diagram
Performance Applications and Guidelines
Rear Panel Diagram & Tube Chart
Maintenance
Trouble Shooting
Warranty
Notes

84-40 TUBE AMP FRONT PANEL

PERFORMANCE APPLICATIONS AND GUIDELINES

The name of the 84-40 Tube amp reflects its design - the amp uses a quartet of EL-84 type tubes
to produce 40 watts of power.

The EL-84 tube was chosen specifically for its rich, sweet toile qualities, especially when pushed
to distortion. This tube was widely used in many early amplifiers, but it is most famous for its use
in the Vox AC-30. This was the amp used on the early Stones, Beatles and Yardbirds records.

The EL-84 has a wonderful musical character - it sings, it growls, and it has great dynamic
response. The harder you play, the more it distorts and sustains. Back off on your attack and it
"idles", cleaning up the sound. In short, EL-84's are a ton of fun!

The first thing you'll probably notice about your amp is that it's very loud for its size. We wanted to
make an amp for the working guitarist- something that could cut it in most club and casual gig
situations. The 84-40 Tube has more than enough kick to keep up with a loud drummer and bass
player. In fact, when we were testing prototypes in clubs around town, the 84-40 Tube had no
trouble holding its own on a stage full of 50 and 100-watt amps.

Using the 84-40 Tube live is simple. Just use your ears to dial in the EQ settings you need,
depending on the type of pickups in your guitar, the demands of the job, etc. Switch channels to
find a balance between clean and overdrive settings. A typical lead/rhythm sound setting might
be:

EQ/TONE CONTROLS

Even though both channels share the same tone controls, the 84-40 Tube amp has been
carefully voiced for a smooth natural transition between channels. By switching back and forth a
few times and adjusting the gain controls of each channel, it will be easy to get the proper tone
and volume balance between clean and distortion sounds.