iDEA for Dummies

Power On/Off : The iDEA pre-amp is powered by an internal 9V battery. However to activate the battery you must either plug a 1/4 inch male cable into the guitars output jack, or plug headphones into the 1/8 inch headphone jack located on the pre-amp. All functions of the iDEA pre-amp, including the Tuner are disabled unless one of these connections has ben made. The iDEA pre-amp will support output via the XLR jack if your guitar is so equipped. Use of XLR requires a "dummy plug" be inserted in the 1/4 inch jack to activate the pre-amp power.

With either the 1/4 inch output connected or headphones plugged into the headphone jack the iDEA pre-amp is ready for use. Press and hold the button to turn the power ON. The LCD screen will illuminate indicating that the unit is ON. At any time press and hold the button to power the pre-amp OFF. You may also turn the iDEA pre-amp OFF by disconnecting the headphones and 1/4 inch cable. To help conserve battery power the LCD display is equipped with a "time out" function. You may select to leave the display ON continuously while the iDEA pre-amp is in use, or you can choose for the display to automatically blank out if no controls have been touched for 5, 10, 15 or 20 seconds. If blanked, the screen can be reactivated by simply touching any control button. See ADVANCED page for instructions how to set the display time out.
Menu Navigation : Many of the functions within the iDEA pre-amp are accessed from the LCD DISPLAY in a menu structure similar to a personal computer. The menu is navigated via the small JOYSTICK built into the face of the pre-amp. The joystick allows you to move up, down, forwards and backwards within the menu structure. The currently selected item will be highlighted. You may select the highlighted item by pushing the joystick to the right or by pressing the joystick inwards. Upon pressing the joystick in you will feel and hear a small 'click' that confirms your selection. The MAIN MENU items are - - -

The joystick moves in four directions. Press joystick IN to select an item. You will feel and hear a 'click' to confirm your selection.

Move joystick RIGHT to select highlighted item or choose next lower menu. Also use in Playback mode to skip Forward.

Move joystick LEFT to move up one menu level. Repeat to reach top level. Also use in Playback mode to skip Backwards.

Move joystick UP to select from menu items. Also use to increase MP3 playback volume relative to guitar output volume.

Move joystick DOWN to select from menu items. Also use to decrease MP3 playback volume relative to guitar output volume.

Tuner : Housed within the iDEA pre-amp is a digital chromatic tuner. The pre-amp must be ON in order for the tuner to be functional (1/4 inch cable, dummy plug or headphones must be plugged into the guitar). From the MAIN MENU menu scroll up or down to highlight . Click (press joystick IN) or select (move joystick RIGHT) to enter tuner mode.
	E String - FLAT	E String - IN TUNE	Dummy Plug
Pluck a string and the display will indicate the nearest note name. Tune UP or DOWN to reach the desired note name. Once close, the display will indicate an UP ARROW if you are flat and a DOWN arrow if you are sharp. Fine tune until BOTH the UP and DOWN arrows are equally shown. MAIN MENU *> TUNER > SELECT*

Pre-Amp Controls :
The guitar pre-amp controls of the iDEA work identical to other Ovation pre-amps. The unit consists of a Volume Slider and a 3-band Equalizer which control the output to the 1/4 inch or XLR jack. With the Volume slider moved completely to the minimum (down) the pre-amps output is completely muted. Moving the Volume slider UP will continuously increase the output volume. The 3 band EQ controls the balance of Bass, Midrange and Treble. The center line of the slide path indicates the "flat" setting.

Changing The Battery :	The iDEA pre-amp is power by an internal 9V battery. The remaining battery life can be read by the segment icon on the LCD display (similar to a cell phone). When the battery reaches its minimum power segment, or when you hear audible distortion or loss of volume, replace the battery with a fresh alkaline 9V battery following these steps: 1. Press release button on left side of pre-amp face. 2. Remove pre-amp from the guitar housing left side first 3. Completely remove the pre-amp fro the guitar 4. Slide open the battery cover 5. Remove and safely discard the old battery 6. Install the new battery and replace the battery cover 7. Insert the pre-amp into the guitar housing right side first 8. Insert and depress the left side until the release catch snaps into place