Duncan TARA Owner's Manual

SEYMOUR DUNCAN RESEARCH

T A R ATM

True Acoustic Response

Amplifier

OWNER'S MANUAL

601 Pine Avenue

Santa Barbara, CA 93117

[phone]

[phone] (fax)

TM



WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO
NOT EXPOSE THIS UNIT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

TO REDUCE RISK OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO
USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED
SERVICE PERSONNEL.

TO REDUCE RISK OF FIRE, REPLACE FUSE ONLY WITH SAME TYPE, AS
SPECIFIED.

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of the Seymour Duncan True Acoustic ResponseTM
Amplifier. This amplifier has been crafted specifically to fill the needs of the acoustic

guitarist. Every feature has been specifically chosen to give you an unprecedented
amount of control over your sound while allowing the flexibility to handle virtually any
playing situation. It is truly a performance system design.

The cabinet and speaker system were designed to hi-fi standards, providing very flat
transparent sound with an extended bottom end. Each of the two channels will accept
three inputs (Mic, Instrument, & Effects Return) while allowing incredible tone shaping
with two sets of 5-band graphic equalizers and a contour switch. Anti-feedback controls
in both channels have been optimized to allow very high sound pressure levels without
annoying feedback. You can play guitar through one channel, sing through the other,
and mix your drum machine in through one of the three-buffered effects loops. In short,
we think you will find your TARA amplifier has the flexibility to handle any playing
situation, from solo club gigs to studio work.

A Discussion on Feedback

An acoustic guitar, which sounds warm, rich and responsive when, played without
amplification can feedback annoyingly when amplified. The sound from the speakers
interacts with the guitar's natural resonance to cause feedback. There are two
dominant resonant sources, the air cavity and the soundboard. The air cavity is the
lower of the two, generally falling around 100Hz. The soundboard, which produces 90%
of the guitar's acoustic output, resonates around 200Hz.

Our T.A.R.ATM. amplifier has several features which are designed to control unwanted
feedback. Each channel has a phase switch and a notch filter with variable frequency
and depth. Generally, the phase switch is used to knock out the air cavity resonance of
the guitar and the notch filter is used to control the soundboard resonance. The phase
switch inverts the polarity of the amplifier's output relative to the resonance of the guitar.
Changing the phase of the output signal can effectively control the low frequency air
cavity resonance, although in very loud settings you may actually need to block the
sound hole. The notch filter is very useful in controlling soundboard feedback. Once
the notch filter is "tuned" to your guitar's soundboard, the depth control can be used to
cut more or less depending on how loud you are playing. You only want to notch out
"just enough" to control feedback so that the guitar retains as much of its acoustic
characteristics as possible. Proper use of the phase and notch controls will allow you to
play at high volume levels without feedback and without unduly compromising the
natural timbre of your instrument.