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6

 

BONES Operation 

 

INITIAL SET UP 

First, start off by connecting a good quality speaker cable to one of the five, self-
explanatory LOUDSPEAKERS jacks on the back of the BONES amp, then to a speaker 
cabinet.  Next, if you have the optional footswitch / Midi, connect them up and set the 
front BOOST switch to the off position and the VOICING L/M/H switch to the M 
position; otherwise disregard this step. Before connecting the AC power supply cable to 
the MAINS INPUT, set the POWER and STANDBY switch in the off or down positions. 
Now, plug in the AC power supply cable to amplifier’s MAINS INPUT and AC outlet. 
Put the POWER switch in the on or up position. Take the next minute or so to set the 
BASS, MIDDLE, TREBLE controls to 12 o’clock, BRIGHT off, BOOST off, VOICING 
L/M/H to L, GAIN and MASTER controls to zero. Plug in a good quality shielded 
instrument cable from your guitar and or stomp box pedal(s) to the INPUT jack on front 
of the amplifier. At this point you can place the STANDBY switch in the up position. 
Now we are ready to explore the range of tones available in the BONES amplifier.  
 

TONE EXPLORATION 

The BONES amplifier was developed to deliver an astonishing array of tones in a simple 
and intuitive package. Beside the use of top quality parts, special attention was given to 
the grounding system that gives the BONES tons of detail to the tone. This is why the 
amplifier loves pedals and different guitars so much. You can dial in luscious, spanky 
clean to the perfect crunch with plenty of girth to searing, cabinet exploding overdrive. 
All these tones are possible from bedroom level to the MASTER volume wide open. It 
truly is like having 3 completely different amplifiers at your fingertips. So let’s go over 
some of the features in more detail. Note that the control setting suggestions may vary 
due to the different type of guitars and pickup configurations used. 
 
VOICING L: This switch sets up the BONES with 2-12AX7 preamp gain stages. This is 
excellent for players that love that wide open, late 60’s British vibe. This is the lowest 
gain setting of the BONES. The BOOST switch is inactive in this mode. With the GAIN 
control setting at 11 o’clock and lower, in conjunction with MASTER volume set beyond 
2 o’clock, will give you some stellar clean tones with loads of dynamics. The BRIGHT 
switch engages a treble boost and the amount is dependent on the GAIN control setting. 
Higher settings of the GAIN control, less effect the BRIGHT switch will have and the 
opposite with lower GAIN control settings. For a great plexi type of tone, set the 
MASTER completely open in the clockwise position, set the GAIN control at 2 o’clock, 
BRIGHT switch ON, tone stack as desired, Depth off and Presence at 1 o’clock.  
 
VOICING M: This switch sets up the BONES with 3-12AX7 preamp gain stages. This 
setting gets into some meaty overdriven tone while still remaining very open sounding. 
Placing the BOOST switch ON adds more gain and girth to the tone. The BRIGHT 
switch functions the same as described above but now with the added tube stage, the 
upper harmonic quality has shifted. Varying the GAIN control will give you different 
degrees of attack and sharpness to the tone. Place the BRIGHT switch off and the tone 
gets rounder and warmer sounding that stays even with the movement of the GAIN 

Summary of Contents for Bones

Page 1: ...1 BONES All Tube Guitar Amplifier By Fortin Amplification Inc Owners Manual 2008 FORTIN AMPLIFICATION INC ...

Page 2: ...versatile and completely inspiring from the first note played It retains all the detail of your instruments and playing dynamics as well as front end coloration from stomp box pedals Take some time to familiarize yourself with this manual and discover all the features BONES has to offer Please do not hesitate contacting us with any questions you might have Cheers Mike Fortin FORTIN AMPLIFICATION I...

Page 3: ...ound pin of the AC power supply cord or inlet Do not place this amplifier near heat sources such as heat registers radiators or other products that produce heat Always insure that the amplifier is properly grounded Always unplug the AC power supply cord before moving amplifier removing any fuses tubes chassis Always replace fuses with correct type and rating The AC power supply cable should be unp...

Page 4: ... Passive Interactive midrange frequency equalization 7 VOICING L M H Selects amount of tube gain stages L 2 stages M 3 stages or H 4 stages 8 TREBLE Passive Interactive high frequency equalization 9 DEPTH Power amp control of low frequency interaction between amplifier and speakers 10 PRESENCE Power amp control of high frequency variable feedback 11 MASTER Controls the overall output volume of the...

Page 5: ...S LEVEL FX loop send level 9 FX LOOP FX loop on or off 10 SEND Send jack connects to effects input 11 SERIES PARALLEL Selects the FX loop operation 12 RETURN Return jack connects to effects output 13 LEVEL L H Sets recovery gain structure for FX Loop Set to L for rack effects and H for stomp box pedals 14 R LEVEL Effects level in SERIES and effects mix in PARALLEL 15 LINEOUT Unbalanced signal tapp...

Page 6: ...e All these tones are possible from bedroom level to the MASTER volume wide open It truly is like having 3 completely different amplifiers at your fingertips So let s go over some of the features in more detail Note that the control setting suggestions may vary due to the different type of guitars and pickup configurations used VOICING L This switch sets up the BONES with 2 12AX7 preamp gain stage...

Page 7: ...xperimenting with combinations of the control settings plus all the different output tubes that the BONES can accept you can cover an astonishing array of tones To embellish this entirely new found tonal palette let s move on to the optional FX Loop FX LOOP This all tube full audio bandwidth effects loop is designed to be completely transparent You can use stomp box pedals or rack effects in this ...

Page 8: ... effects pedal This setting of the S LEVEL will usually be quite low for pedals Setting the S LEVEL for rack units is easier since they have input indicators You will have to experiment with your rack effects to obtain the best signal to noise ratio by trying different S LEVEL R LEVEL settings in conjunction with the input output level controls of your rack effects unit Place the LEVEL switch in t...

Page 9: ...occur Biasing the BONES amp is simple and does not require removal of the chassis You will need a simple voltmeter or digital multimeter set to the lowest DC voltage range typically 200mV millivolts Please note that some meters display may indicate 25 0 for 25 mV and others may display 025 for 25 mV Make sure you know your meter and refer back to the meter s owners manual to be certain Then follow...

Page 10: ... of output tubes place one meter probe black or red into BIAS V1 red tip jack then the other meter probe into the BIAS V4 red tip jack Then adjust either one of the corresponding bias pots to get a 0 reading on your meter Repeat the above for BIAS V2 and BIAS V3 If you are using 2 different output tube types e g 2 KT88 and 2 EL34 place the 2 KT88s in either V1 and V4 or V2 and V3 positions then th...

Page 11: ...se No need to do math to figure out the correct impedance when doing so Experiment with different impedances and go with what sounds best to you If you wish to keep the intended sonic design then select the amplifier s impedance at half the value of the speaker load when in half power mode For example a 16 ohm speaker cabinet plugs into the 8 ohm LOUDSPEAKERS jack of the amplifier You can also tur...

Page 12: ...ltered or have missing or defaced serial numbers This warranty shall not apply to the aesthetics of accessory items including but not limited to cabinets cabinet parts or knobs This warranty does not apply to unpacking setup installation or the removal and reinstallation of products for repair This warranty shall not apply to repair or replacements necessitated by any cause beyond the control of F...

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