Diamond Amplification Assassin - Manual (Page 6)

ASSASSIN OWNER’S MANUAL
PAGE 3 OF 5
You should always return the amp to standby before turning off to allow the amp to
“discharge” voltage. Doing this habitually will extend the life of your amp.
DIALING IN
THE TONE/VOLUME CONTROLS
Volume/Gain. As with any amp, the gain control dictates the amount of saturation, break up
or distortion of the channel. The higher the gain, the more the channel distorts. Like any
good tube amp, this amp is very sensitive to the signal it is being fed. Think of it like a car,
the more you press down on the gas, the more then engine turns over, hence, the car goes
faster. Well your pickups are your gas pedal. The hotter the pickup, the more crunch you’ll
get out of the amp. So, with a low output (maybe, say, a single coil), the more sweep you
have on the gain knob before the amp will start to provide more crunch. For us metal
players, our super high output pickups will cause this channel to distort much more quickly.
For gain settings, generally your cleaner tones will be lower on the gain knob and the higher
you run it up, the more crunch you’ll get out of the channel. But volume and gain interplay.
Assume you dime the gain, but set the volume to 1. Then set your volume to the desired
level, dial in tone controls and play!
Bass. This will increase or decrease the “low end” in your guitar sound.
Middle. The mid-range of an amp is by far the most critical tone range. Remember, guitar is
a predominately mid-range instrument. Suck out the mids and try hearing yourself in the mix.
So adjust to taste. This is the most important of the controls.
Treble/Presence. The interplay between treble and presence is always unique. Depending
on how your old amp was designed, sometimes they work backwards, sometimes one
doesn’t work, sometimes they work like you’d expect. So, forget what amp(s) you’ve used