Optima
®
Acoustic/Electric Guitar Preamp
Owner's Manual
When your monitor or stage levels are too high, and you
hear the guitar starting to feed back, engage the notch cir-
cuitry and simply tune the filter (you’re actually changing
the center frequency of the notch) by slowly rotating the Notch
control until the feedback is eliminated. Full counterclock-
wise, the Notch frequency is roughly 70Hz, while full clock-
wise it is about 700Hz.
Tuner Features and Functions
The tuner built in to your Optima preamp is easy to use,
flexible, and extremely accurate. It is an “automatic chro-
matic” model which, when activated, will display the name
of the note you are playing as well as its tuning status (sharp
or flat). There is an additional function which allows “off-
set” tuning - a quick way to touch up a guitar's tuning. Fi-
nally, to extend battery life, the tuner is controlled by a au-
tomatically timed turn-off circuit. The tuner function is ac-
cessible regardless of whether or not you are “plugged in.”
This means that even when you are playing acoustically,
you’ll be able to tune your instrument precisely.
Tune/Cal
To activate the tuner, simply depress the Tune/Cal push-but-
ton one time. The tuner “OK” LED will flash periodically,
indicating that it is now in the “standby” mode - awaiting a
note to measure. It will remain active for over one minute
(usually enough time to completely tune your instrument).
After this period, the timer circuit will return the tuner to its
“off” state to ensure that your battery will not be unnecessar-
ily depleted. You can activate the tune mode in this way as
often as you need to complete tuning.
Once you’ve enabled the tuner, simply play a note on the
guitar and the tuner LEDs will indicate the note name and
the tuning status. If the note is too sharp, the “Sharp” indi-
cator will illuminate. Similarly, the “Flat” and the “OK”
LEDs will respond to note you play. In addition, if the note
you play is sharp or flat, the LED will flash at varying rates
depending upon the amount sharp or flat. As you move closer
Ovation Instruments
Division Of Kaman Music Corporation
37 Greenwoods Road
New Hartford, CT 06057
Printed In U.S.A.
990146-A
Specifications
Current Draw: 4.7mA @ 9VDC
Flat Ref. Level: -6.1dB
Freq. Response: 20Hz-20KHz (±0.5dB)
Signal to Noise:
Bypass EQ/Notch w/max Gain: -104.3dB
EQ in w/flat setting: - 99.8dB
EQ in w/max High: - 94.9dB
EQ Response:
Low: ±14dB @ 80Hz
LMid: ±14dB @ 600Hz
HMid: ±13dB @ 6.6KHz
High ±12dB @ 10KHz
Notch Response:
Range: 56Hz 105Hz 668Hz
Depth: -31dB -32dB -28dB
Q: 3.3 2.9 2.5
Output: Max. Level @ 5K Ohm: 2V
Max. Level @ 600 Ohm: 1.4V
THD: <.1% (nominal)
Tune "ON" Timer: 64 seconds (nominal)
Low Battery "ON" voltage: 7.7V
to the correct pitch, the flash rate will decrease until you
have reached the correct pitch, at which time the “OK” LED
will illuminate. After tuning each string this way, check
each string a second time. Some strings may require “re-
touching,” especially if your guitar was significantly out of
tune to begin with.
There is another convenient function built in to this tuner.
Occasionally, you might find yourself in a situation where
you must play with other instruments (like an old piano) which
may be slightly out of tune. Simply tune one string of your
guitar to this instrument, then activate the tuner (see above)
and play that string. Wait for the tuner to “lock” on the
pitch (it may indicate sharp or flat). While “locked,” de-
press the Tune/Cal button again. The tuner will now be cali-
brated to “relative” pitch. This approach may also be used
when performing “live” and there isn’t enough time to com-
pletely retune your guitar... You started your first set in tune,
but the whole guitar has gone a little flat... one string a little
more than the others. You can “touch up” that offending string
quickly and accurately. Activate the tuner and play a string
that’s “relatively” in tune. By locking the tuner calibration to
this pitch the offending string can now be accurately tuned rela-
tive to the other strings! This “offset” tuning function is indi-
cated by a double flash of the “OK” LED in the standby mode.
1
Activation Plug (¼”)
(Part Number 9659-0)
Retail: $3.99
2
Ovation Lo-Z Balanced XLR Activation Cable
(Part Number 9658-0)
Retail: $19.95
Above accessories are available from the Ovation Ser-
vice Department (800-552-4681).
To Previous Page
Loading...