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GIBSON 'GOLD TONE' GA-15RV
CIRCUIT DISCRIPTION
Please refer to circuit diagram for DC voltages and other information
INPUT SECTION AND PREAMP
SK1 and SK3 are the LO and HI sensitivity inputs respectively. When the LO socket is used
R5, R39 and R3 act as a potential divider to reduce the input level to the preamp.
C3 has two purposes, firstly to block any DC from the input that may unintentionally be
present, this would otherwise change the bias point of the first valve stage, secondly the value
of the capacitor has been chosen so that there is a slight roll off of lower frequencies, this
prevents the sound from getting too muddy.
V1a is the first gain stage and is configured as a cathode bias, common cathode, voltage
amplifier with bypassed cathode resistor for increased gain.
R6 and C6 give a slight presence lift and the frequency of the Bright effect is set by C7, which,
when switched in, is across pins 2 and 3 of RV1 (Volume). Obviously connected like this the
amount of brightness added will decrease as RV1 is turned up.
V1b is the second gain stage configured similar to before, C9 is added across the anode
resistor R8 to smooth out the top end.
The Tone network is passive and controlled by RV2. This is a dual ganged potentiometer, one
part of which effectively controls the mids (RV2B) while the other part inversely controls the
treble (RV2A).
R28, R34 and R35 act as a potential divider to lower the signal sent to the reverb circuitry.
REVERB SECTION
The signal from the preamp is fed into IC1A which is configured as a boot strapped voltage
follower. Z1 and Z2 have been added to prevent any nasty spikes from damaging the opamp,
this should in practise never happen.
C4 and R44 roll off a lot of the lower frequencies before the signal gets sent to IC1B and
IC2A. These opamps are configured for current gain, the actual gain being dependant on the
impedance/frequency curve of the reverb tray. Because of this it is crucial to the correct
operation of the reverb that the right reverb tray is used. This should be an Accutronics
8CA3B1B.
The output of the reverb tray goes into IC2B. This is configured as a differential amplifier as a
way of reducing any hum that may be picked up on the sensitive reverb return leads.
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