Rocktron Piranha User Manual
MIDI PROGRAMMABLE TUBE GUITAR PREAMP
USER'S MANUAL
HUSH ® licensed by
May be covered by one or more of the following: U.S. Patents #4538297, 4647876, 4696044, 4745309, 4881047, 4893099, 5124657, 5263091,
5268527, 5319713 and 5333201. Other patents pending. Foreign patents pending.
PRECAUTIONS
NOTE: IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THIS SECTION TO PROVIDE YEARS
OF TROUBLE FREE USE. THIS UNIT REQUIRES CAREFUL HANDLING.
All warnings on this equipment and in the operating instructions should be adhered to and all
operating instructions should be followed.
Do not use this equipment near water. Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids
are not spilled into the unit through any openings.
The power cord should be unplugged from the outlet when left unused for a long period of time.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SERVICE THIS EQUIPMENT. THIS EQUIPMENT SHOULD BE
SERVICED BY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL ONLY. DO NOT MAKE ANY INTERNAL ADJUSTMENTS OR ADDITIONS TO THIS EQUIPMENT AT ANY TIME. DO NOT TAMPER
WITH INTERNAL ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AT ANY TIME. FAILURE TO FOLLOW
THESE INSTRUCTIONS MAY VOID THE WARRANTY OF THIS EQUIPMENT, AS WELL
AS CAUSING SHOCK HAZARD.
OPERATING TEMPERATURE
Do not expose this unit to excessive heat. This unit is designed to operate between 32° F and 104°
F (0° C and 40° C). This unit may not function properly under extreme temperatures.
Copyright ©1995 Rocktron Corporation.
All rights reserved.
Contents
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1
2. Front Panel ................................................................................................................................... 2
3. Rear Panel .................................................................................................................................... 4
4. Connections ................................................................................................................................. 6
5. Operation ...................................................................................................................................... 8
A. Selecting a preset ............................................................................................................................... 8
B. Creating a new preset ......................................................................................................................... 8
C. Storing a modified preset to a different preset location ....................................................................... 9
D. To copy a preset to a new location ................................................................................................... 10
E. Setting the HUSH® Threshold .......................................................................................................... 11
F. Selecting a Power-up preset ............................................................................................................. 12
G. Using the Piranha with a Rocktron All Access in REMOTE mode ................................................ 13
6. Special Functions ...................................................................................................................... 15
A. Factory Reinitialization ..................................................................................................................... 15
B. MIDI Preset Dump ............................................................................................................................ 16
C. MIDI Preset Load .............................................................................................................................. 17
D. Continuous Controller Mode .............................................................................................................. 18
.............................................................................................................................................................. 18
SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................................................................................ 19
1. Introduction
1. Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of the Rocktron Piranha High Voltage Tube
Preamp! The Piranha was designed to provide programmability with a user-friendly
interface. With the front panel controls set up similar to an amplifier, it isn't necessary
to page through endless menus to find a specific parameter - just turn the knobs on the
front panel and press the STORE button to save a sound!
The Piranha is powered by dual 12AX7 tubes using a high voltage toroid trans-
former to ensure high headroom and dynamics. Rectified supply voltage for the tube
heaters add to the quality design, while active EQ with superior-grade, low noise op-
amps affords a tremendous amount of tone versatility. The Piranha incorporates a
parametric mid band ranging from 250Hz-7kHz to provide wide tone variations.
The Piranha also provides a global mode, where a single parameter can be
adjusted on
change doesn't require that each preset be individually adjusted.
all of the presets simultaneously. This means that a common parameter
Besides great sound and versatility, the Piranha provides many other features,
including:
• two distinct distortion modes - "Classic Tube" and "Modern Tube"
• a programmable stereo effects loop
• stereo outputs
• stereo XLR direct outputs with speaker simulation circuitry
• programmable HUSH® noise reduction
• front and rear input jacks
• MIDI dump/load capabilities
• Continuous controller mode, which allows the Piranha to send continuous
control messages through the front panel controls
For a thorough explanation of the Piranha and its functions, please read this
manual carefully and keep it for future reference. After removing the Piranha from the
box, save all packing materials in case it becomes necessary to ship the unit.
1
2. Front Panel
2. Front Panel
(1) POWER switch
(2) DISPLAY panels:
The 2-character display on the left always displays the current preset number, while the 3character display on the right shows the current parameter value for the parameter being
adjusted.
(3) UP and DOWN buttons:
The UP and DOWN buttons are used to scroll through Pirahna presets. These buttons are also
used when setting the threshold level for the HUSH noise reduction.
(4) STORE and HUSH buttons:
The STORE button is used to store altered parameters into the Piranha memory.
The HUSH button displays the current threshold setting for the HUSH noise reduction
circuit.
(5) LOOP and GLOBAL buttons:
Pressing the LOOP button (L.E.D. on) switches the mono send, stereo return effects loop into
the signal path. Switching the loop out (L.E.D. off) switches out any effects connected in the
loop. The on/off status of the effects loop is programmable for each preset.
Note: If the effects loop is not used (i.e. no effects are connected to the rear panel Loop
Send and Returns), switching in the LOOP function can be used as a volume boost.
The amount of volume boost is determined by the rear panel LOOP MIX control.
Pressing the GLOBAL button (L.E.D. on) puts the unit in Global mode, which allows for all
of the Piranha presets to be modified simultaneously when adjusting parameters. This feature
is useful when a specific venue has a particular acoustic characteristic which requires the
adjustment of all the presets. For example, turning the BASS control down 6dB while the
GLOBAL button is lit will decrease the bass setting in all presets by 6dB. Any changes made
while operating in Global mode will remain in effect only as long as the GLOBAL button is
lit (i.e. exiting GLOBAL mode returns all Piranha presets to their original settings).
(6) DISTORT and CLEAN buttons:
These buttons determine the current operating mode (clean or distortion) of the Piranha. The
button currently lit indicates which mode the Piranha is currently operating in.
Pressing the CLEAN button (L.E.D. on) switches the Piranha to Clean mode. A wide variety
of tones can be generated by varying the programmable Gain control from 0 (super clean) to
70 (moderate rhythm distortion). The Input Level control can also be used when specifying
the maximum amount of gain attainable in the clean mode.
2
Pressing the DISTORTION button (L.E.D. on) switches the Piranha to the Distortion mode.
The Piranha provides two distortion modes - Classic Tube and Modern Tube. The
DISTORTION button is used to swicth between each mode.
When the DISTORTION button is lit (but not flashing) the Piranha is in the Classic Tube
distortion mode. This mode provides tones ranging from smooth, slightly overdriven rhythm
tones (at lower Gain control settings) to full tube high gain (at higher Gain control settings).
Pressing the DISTORTION button again switches the Piranha to the Modern Tube distortion
mode. (The DISTORTION button will flash quickly in Modern Tube mode.) Like the Classic
Tube mode, this mode also provides a wide range of tones, but also incorporates distortion
characteristics reflective of modern hard rock guitar sounds.
(7) BASS level control:
This control adjusts the amount of low band information in the Piranha output for the current
preset. Turning this control one step (or one "click") will display the current value for the
BASS level control without changing the current value.
(8) MID -/+ control:
This control adjusts the amount of mid band information in the Piranha output for the current
preset. Turning this control one step (or one "click") will display the current value for the
MID level control without changing the current value.
(9) MID FREQ control:
This control determines the mid band frequency that the MID -/+ control will adjust.
(10) TREBLE level control:
This control adjusts the amount of high band information in the Piranha output for the current
preset. Turning this control one step (or one "click") will display the current value for the
TREBLE level control without changing the current value.
(11) GAIN level control:
This control adjusts the amount of gain applied to the input signal for the current preset.
Turning this control one step (or one "click") will display the current value for the GAIN
level control without changing the current value.
(12) LEVEL control
This control is used to adjust the output level of the current preset. Turning this control one
step (or one "click") will display the current value for the LEVEL control without changing
the current value.
(13) OUTPUT LEVEL control:
The OUTPUT LEVEL control increases or decreases the overall output level of the Piranha independent of the LEVEL control.
(14) INPUT DRIVE control:
This control is an adjustable gain stage which feeds the input of the tube stages, and allows
for input level adjustment when switching between guitars which provide different output
levels (i.e. switching from a guitar with passive single-coil pickups to a guitar with active
humbucking pickups).
The INPUT DRIVE control also determines the maximum amount of distortion that a preset
can have, as higher levels of input drive will result in a higher potential distortion level.
Conversely, presets can also be globally "cleaned up" by reducing the input drive level.
(15) INPUT jack:
This standard unbalanced jack is used to provide input to the unit. For convenience, the
Piranha provides both front and rear panel mounted input jacks.
3
3. Rear Panel
3. Rear Panel
(1) INPUT jack:
This standard unbalanced jack is used to provide input to the unit. For convenience, the
Piranha provides both front and rear panel mounted input jacks.
(2) LOOP SEND jack:
This standard 1/4" mono jack provides a post-distortion output to the input of the first device
in the effects chain.
(3) LOOP MIX control:
This control determines the amount that the effected (loop) signal is mixed with the dry
(direct) signal. It can be set from 100% dry (no effect signal) to 100% wet (no direct signal).
DIRECT OUTPUT
Connectors
(4) LEFT LOOP RETURN jack:
This standard 1/4" mono jack accepts the left output from the last device in the effects loop
chain.
(5) RIGHT LOOP RETURN jack:
This standard 1/4" mono jack accepts the right output from the last device in the effects loop
chain.
(6) LEFT OUTPUT jack:
This standard ¼" mono jack provides output for the left channel of the Piranha. When using
the Piranha in a mono application, either output jack may be used.
(7) RIGHT OUTPUT jack:
This standard ¼" mono jack provides output for the right channel of the Piranha. When using
the Piranha in a mono application, either output jack may be used.
(8) and (9) LEFT and RIGHT DIRECT OUTPUT jacks:
These balanced XLR connectors provide direct preamp output that can be connected to the
inputs of a mixing console. Use of this feature eliminates the need for transporting equipment
(amplifiers, speaker cabinets, microphones, mic stands, etc.) for a studio session.
Although the Piranha's DIRECT OUTPUTS are compensated to provide the sound produced
by a miked speaker cabinet, judicious use of the TREBLE control is recommended, as
excessive treble will result in an increased "fuzziness" to the preamp sound. Try using the
mid band to enhance the highs instead.
In the same manner, it is also recommended that the treble is kept down on the mixing
console. If enhancement of the highs is needed, try boosting the mid band from 2-3kHz while
Pin 1 = Ground
Pin 2 = Positive
Pin 3 = Negative
4
cutting the treble to eliminate any excessive "fuzz" effects.
In addition to these tips, also try adding a small amount of reverb as well, as this will
simulate the natural depth of a speaker cabinet.
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