Service Notes

Tubes

Tubes are consumables, as they have a given usable lifespan. They are part of the
heart of the tone, so keeping correctly operating tubes is essential. Tubes can fail
catastrophically or gradually, and it’s good to know what to look for if they start
to go bad. Periodically inspect them and look to see if anything inside the tube is
glowing cherry red other than the normal orange glow of the filament. This would
indicate a situation where the tube is conducting more current than it is capable
of handling and most likely about to fail. Two other conditions to observe are:
1) filaments not glowing or 2) a miniature fireworks display inside the tube. Any
of the above conditions indicate serious problems with the tube and should be
taken care of immediately. Tubes quite often are the cause of spurious noise in the
amp. Microphonic tubes will squeal or rattle with the vibrations of the cabinet.
If suspected, tap each tube lightly with a pencil with the amp powered up—the
suspect tube will let you know. Note that there is a normal metallic clinking when
doing this, but a microphonic tube will be quite loud.
Mark Tremonti MT15
Replacing preamp tubes will not require any adjustment, but the power tubes will
need rebiasing to assure proper operation. After power tube replacement, initially User’s Manual
inspect the tubes often to assure there are no “cherry red” components within
the tube. Tubes today can have a wide variety of tolerances and a re-bias is highly
recommended with new ones.

Power tube bias should be adjusted to 30 mV, +/- 5 mV. If power tubes are
mismatched by less than 5 mV, average the two around 30. Mis-matched tubes MT15
beyond 5 mV will induce noise and may cause a degradation of tone.

NOTE! Capacitors may retain an electric charge and can be dangerous even when
the unit is off, unplugged, and has not been played for an extended period of
time. USE CAUTION!!!!

CLEAN CHANNEL LEAD CHANNEL

POWER STANDBY PRESENCE MASTER BASS MIDDLE TREBLE VOLUME BASS MIDDLE TREBLE GAIN INPUT
ON ON LEAD CHANNEL PULL BOOST LEAD

CLEAN

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inlays, the headstock bird, the PRS headstock shape, the PRS body shape, the PRS “scoop” design, “Singlecut”,
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of Paul Reed Smith Guitars. The Birds, New Birds, are copyrighted by PRS Guitars.

LIT-AMP-MAN-MT15 REV B
Using your PRS Amplifier Power On/Off and Standby Switches: The MT15 was designed to not need a Standby Switch
as part of properly powering the amp on. However, as a convenience we have provided a
IMPORTANT: Before using your amplifier, refer to the IMPORTANT SAFETY Standby Switch that effectively mutes the amp while it is still powered on. Use the switch
INSTRUCTIONS insert supplied with the product. to mute the amp when changing guitars, effects, or between sets.
Powering Up:
1. Make sure your speaker or speaker cabinet is connected to the correct speaker output Rear Panel Controls
impedance jack with a high quality speaker cable. Do not use guitar cords. Mains Socket: Always use the mains lead supplied. Your sales outlet can provide a
2. Make sure the power cord is connected to the correct grounded outlet. lead suitable for your country. Always disconnect the equipment from the mains and
3. Make sure there is at least 6 inches (150mm) of clearance around the amplifier to allow ancillary units before moving.
for proper cooling. Never place the amplifier against a wall or other equipment, and
keep it clear of other heat sources, such as other amplifiers or stoves. Make sure there Fuses: This amplifier is equipped with multiple accessible and inaccessible fuses.
are no flammable items, such as curtains, behind the amp. Do not drape items over Replacement fuses must be of the same type and rating as indicated. Failure to comply
the amps that can prevent proper cooling. Do not set drinks or other liquids on top of may result in permanent damage to the product, and/or create a safety hazard. Always
the amp that can spill into the amp. disconnect the equipment from the mains supply before replacing a fuse.
4. The amplifier is designed to be able to power up without the use of a Standby Switch. Mains Fuses: These are located in the mains socket. There is one active and one spare.
It is OK to turn both switches on at the same time, or to leave the Standby Switch on
at all times. Use the Standby Switch to mute the amplifier when necessary. B+ Fuse and Filament fuses: These are located on the PCB board and should be
5. Turn the master volume down (lead channel), volume control down (clean channel) or evaluated and replaced by a qualified technician.
flip the Standby Switch off to mute the amp, plug in the guitar cable and any effects, Bias Jacks and Pot: These jacks measure the power tube current draw in milliVolts.
switch on the Standby, bring the volumes up and play some tunes. This amplifier 1mV=1mA. Review the information on the back of this manual for guidance on replacing
can produce very loud volumes so take care with this procedure to avoid volume tubes. Biasing and tube replacement should be performed only by a qualified
surprises. technician. Bias adjustments can be made with a jewelers Phillips head screwdriver.
This equipment is capable of very high sound pressure levels. Prolonged Speaker Jacks: These are the main outputs for your speaker cabinet(s). There are 3
exposure may cause hearing damage. total jacks to use. There are two 8 ohm jacks wired in parallel, and a single 16 ohm
jack. Determine beforehand what your total speaker loading will be and use the
This equipment contains no user-serviceable parts. Refer all repairs to qualified service
appropriate jacks. Never use the 16 Ohm jack with the 8 Ohm jacks at the same time.
personnel.
For two 16 ohm cabinets in parallel (creating and 8 Ohm load), plug each cabinet into
Ensure that the mains plug is easily accessible to allow the unit to be switched off. one of the two parallel 8 ohm jacks. Failure to correctly match the speaker load to the
appropriate output jacks can cause tube socket arcs, blown power tubes, or failure of
Only connect this unit to an earthed supply socket.
the amp.
THIS UNIT IS CLASS 1 CONSTRUCTION AND MUST BE EARTHED!
Half Power Switch: Selecting the half power setting changes the operation of the
power tubes from full-power pentode configuration to 8 watts in triode configuration.
MT15 Amplifier Front Panel Controls Power down the amp when changing this switch or make the selection prior to turning
Input: ¼” Standard Mono Guitar Cable. on the amp.
Channel Select: Selects between Lead and Clean channels. Effects Loop: This amplifier features a series effects loop that is integral to the overall
sound of the amp. Connect the Send jack with a 1/4” mono instrument cable to the
Lead Channel input of your pedal(s). Connect your pedal(s) output to the Return jack also using
Gain Control: Adjust for preamp volume/distortion/saturation. a 1/4” mono instrument cable. To minimize your cables picking up hum, arrange the
cables together for the first few feet away from the amp, and move them away from
Treble Control: Adjusts the high frequencies within the overall tone. This adjustment the power transformer and mains power cable.
allows the tone to become warmer at low settings and brighter at higher settings.
Footswitch Jack: Connect the included PRS FSIM footswitch to control Channel
Middle Control: Adjusts the midrange frequencies within the overall tone. This adjustment switching. Do not use other footswitches as they can possibly damage the amp. When
allows the user to add fullness or body to the sound, or create a “scooped”, crisp sound. attached, the front panel Channel selector switch becomes inoperable.
Bass Control: Adjusts the low frequencies within the overall tone. Lower settings will Safety Symbols: The following symbols mean:
sound tighter, especially with more gain and higher settings will add deep fullness and
thump.
Warning: read instructions to understand possible hazard
Lead Channel Master: Adjusts the overall loudness of the lead channel. Work this along
with the Gain Control to balance the volume between the Lead and Clean channels. Danger: electrical shock hazard
Clean Channel
Warning: This equipment is capable of very high sound pressure levels.
Volume Control: Increases the volume and gain of the clean channel. Prolonged exposure may cause hearing damage.
Treble Control with Pull Boost: Adjusts the high frequencies like the lead channel with an
added general gain boost of the clean channel frequencies when pulled.
Middle and Bass Controls: Similar function to the lead channel controls.
Presence Control: Adjusts power amp brightness on both channels globally.