Crate Amplifiers owner manual BX-440H / BX-4115 ThunderBass Amplifier The Front Panel, 1718

BX-440H /BX-4115ThunderBass Amplifier

The Front Panel:

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I N P U T					E Q U A L I Z A T I O N					M A S T E R								C R O S S O V E R					C H O R U S
											LINE OUT		EFFECTS			HEADPHONES																POWER
	GAIN		INCREASE	CONTOUR				MASTER			LEVEL		BLEND			LEVEL		FREQUENCY		BALANCE			SPECTRUM		DEPTH					RATE
INPUT	4	5 6	GAIN	4	6			4	5 6		4	5 6	4 5	6		4	5 6		300 Hz					250	4	5	6		4	5	6
	3	7		3	7			3		7	3	7	3		7	3		7						3			7	3				7
	2	8	OK	2	8			2		8	2	8	2		8	2		8						2			8	2				8
	1	9	DECREASE	1	9			1		9	1	9	1		9	1		9				CHORUS		1			9	1				9
	0	10						0	10		0	10	0	10		0	10	100 Hz	1kHz	LO	HI	ON/ OFF	FULL	500	0		10		0		10	ACTIVE
			GAIN
					40	100 225 625 1.6k 4k	8k 16k																									BX-4115
	—	15dB		CONTOUR					LIMIT		POST/PRE																					®
				ON/OFF
																HEADPHONES

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1.INPUT: Connect your bass to the amplifi- er here.

2.GAIN: Use this control to properly match the output of your bass to the amplifier. With the amp’s Master level control at “0”, begin playing your bass as you normally would. Watch the adjacent LEDs (#4) as you turn up the Gain control: the proper setting for the Gain control is the one where the “OK” LED lights most often while playing. If the “Decrease Gain” LED stays lit even with the Gain control turned down low, press in the -15dB button (#3) and continue adjusting the Gain control until the proper setting is obtained.

3.-15dB:If your bass has active electronics or “hot” pickups, its output signal may need to be padded to get the best signal to noise setting from the Gain control. If the “Decrease Gain” LED stays lit with the Gain control turned down low, press in the -15dB button.

4.LEDs: These three LEDs are your guide to properly setting the Gain control. Follow the steps given for the Gain control (#2) until the “OK” LED lights most often while you play.

5.CONTOUR: This control allows you to make additional changes to your tone and is active only when the Contour On/Off switch (#6) is pressed in. As the “wave” icons indicate you can enhance both the lows and highs at the same time, or add mid punch.

6.CONTOUR ON/OFF: Use this switch to engage the contour circuitry. With the switch pressed in, the Contour control (#5) is active.

7.EQUALIZATION: This eight-band graphic equalizer allows you to custom tailor your tone. Each slider controls the frequency indicated directly below it and offers a cut or boost of 10dB at various frequencies from 40Hz to 16kHz

8.MASTER LEVEL: Use this control to set the output level of the amplifier. This controls the signal level at the Speaker Output jacks (#30), as well as the Preamp Out jack (#28).

9.LIMIT: The amplifier employs Crate’s APM Automatic Power Maximizer protection circuitry to keep the output distortion-free even at high volume levels. Whenever the output nears its clipping point, the limit circuit kicks in to keep the output clean. The Limit LED lights up when the APM limiter circuit is activated. Occasional flashing of the LED is normal. Very frequent flashing or constant illumination indi- cates the output level is too high; reduce the Master level control (#8) and/or your instru- ment’s output until the LED flashes less.

10.LINE OUT LEVEL: This controls the level of the signal at the Balanced Line Out jack (#31). You may also use this output (or the headphone jack, #14) to run a signal to a tuner.

11.POST/PRE: This switch selects the tap point for the signal at the Balanced Line Out jack. With the switch out, the signal is tapped before the eq, contour and effects loop (“pre”). With the switch pressed in, the signal is tapped after the eq, contour and effects loop (“post”).

12.EFFECTS BLEND: This control propor- tions the amount of effect added to the signal going to the power amp stage. At the “0” posi- tion the signal is “dry” (no effect added); as you bring the control towards “10” the amount of effect applied increases. (“5” is a 50/50 blend of dry signal and effects.)

13.HEADPHONES LEVEL: This control adjusts the signal level at the Headphones jack (#14).

14.HEADPHONES: Plug a pair of stereo headphones in here for private listening. The signal at this jack is post Gain and post EQ. The level of the signal here is determined by the set-

ting of the Headphones Level control (#13). Using headphones does not disable the speak- er outputs or the internal speaker (BX-4115). You may also use this output (or the line out jack, #31) to run a signal to a tuner.

15.FREQUENCY: This sets the crossover point when using the amplifier in the biamp mode (using two power amplifiers, one for the low frequencies, one for the highs). Please see the section entitled “Using the Biamp Capabilities” on pages 6 - 9 for more details about biamping.

16.BALANCE: This adjusts the relative level between the low frequency and the high fre- quency biamp output signals. Please see the section entitled “Using the Biamp Capabilities” on pages 6 - 9 for more details.

17-21, Chorus Section, BX-4115 Only:

17.CHORUS ON/OFF: This switch turns the Chorus section on when pressed in, off when switched out.

18.SPECTRUM: This control allows you to adjust which frequencies (from the entire range to only above 500Hz) are enhanced by the chorus effect. The further to the left (toward “Full”) you turn the control the broader the spectrum of the chorus effect.

19.DEPTH: This control sets the amount of chorus enhancement: towards “0” for less, towards “10” for more.

20.RATE: This control sets the speed for the chorus effect: towards “0” for slower, towards “10” for faster.

21.ACTIVE: This LED lights when the chorus effect is engaged. The LED pulses in relation to the rate of the chorus.

22.POWER: This two-position switch turns the amp on and off, “on” being the UP position. The switch lights up when the amp is turned on.

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