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Channel one offers a wide range of tonal control with both full bass and treble response. A "Top Boost" switch accented treble frequencies.
The tone circuitry in the "Normal" channel was identical to the tone circuits in the Super Beatle, Royal Guardsman, Buckingham, and Viscount. However, as a bass amp, the Sovereign did not include the tremolo or reverb functions seen on the guitar amps listed above.
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Channel two had only two controls, Volume and Tone -X. This was the "bass guitar" channel.
Tone-X was a tone control that replaced the normal bass and treble control. Tone-X was a sweepable EQ control that offered about a 6 db boost from approximately 50 hz (control counter clockwise) to 300 hz (control clockwise). However. most people I knew that owned a Sovereign played their bass through Channel One.
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The rotary power switch had three positions. When rotating the switch from "Off" to "Standby," a green pilot lamp illuminated and the amp was turned on. The speakers were muted. In the "Operate" mode, the speakers were introduced to the circuit.
One wafer of this power switch is frequently broken by careless disassembly for amp repair, making the standby function non functional. There are no replacements available for this switch.
However, North Coast Music offers the original green and red pilot lamp assemblies for this amp. Click here to be taken to the web page in the North Coast Music web site that offers these pilot lamps.
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The V117 Sovereign head featured a "G-Tuner" feature. Flipping the "Tune-G" switch played an audible "G" note to help tune your bass. The loudness of the "G" tone is adjusted using the volume control on the Normal channel. |
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A two button foot switch was an included accessory with the Sovereign Bass amp. It connected to the amp using this 1/4" jack on the rear control panel.
One of the two buttons was a momentary (hold down with your foot) style, the other was a latching style (click on, click off) button.
These foot switches advanced the Tone-X setting to "10" when the foot switch button was depressed.
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Anyone who used a Thomas amp head back in the sixties will have a story about the "Line Reverse" switch. These heads did not have a grounded AC plug, so you could get a searing shock when your lips hit the microphone while your hands were on your guitar strings. Flippng the "Line Reverse" switch eliminated that shock. The amp was normally a little quieter when the "Line Reverse" switch was in its proper position, as well. |
