SWR Sound Super Redhead owner manual Mid Range Section

PREAMP CLIP LED

The Preamp Clip LED will light whenever the preamp, tone section, or output buffer reach clipping (run out of headroom). This function does NOT monitor the first tube stage of the Passive/Active Input jack (see “Passive/Active Input” for more information). Since the Preamp Clip LED also moni- tors the tone section, radically boosting any of the tone controls can cause the LED to activate. If this occurs, turn down the Gain control.

Note: Constant clipping will not harm the electronics in the Super Redhead, however, damage may result to the loudspeakers due to near-DC content present in a clipped waveform.

GAIN CONTROL

The Gain control adjusts the volume of the preamp section. After the tone controls, Aural Enhancer, etc., have been adjusted to your liking, the Gain control should be set to where the Preamp Clip LED barely flashes upon striking your loudest note; then adjust the Master Volume control to the desired volume level. Since the Gain control is similar to a “Pad,” a small amount of signal will be heard when the Gain control is rotated fully counter-clockwise. Utilizing these controls in this manner assures the user of maximum signal-to-noise ratio without distortion caused by the preamp circuits clipping.

AURAL ENHANCER

SWR’s Aural Enhancer was developed to bring out the fundamental low notes of the bass guitar, reduce certain frequencies that help mask the fundamentals, and enhance the high end transients. The resulting frequency response should be similar to that used for recording the bass in the studio. This effect becomes more radical as the control is turned to maximum. The result is a more “trans- parent” sound and is especially noticeable when using the thumb style technique (“slapping”) on the bass guitar.

The Aural Enhancer can basically be described as a tone-shaping control, as it is a passive R/C net- work that alters the frequency response throughout the bass spectrum. This pre-shaping is “blended” into the original signal via the Aural Enhancer control. Exact frequencies affected are dependent on the characteristics of the instrument used.

BASS CONTROL

The Bass control employs a shelving-type circuit and boosts or cuts the bass response ±15dB. Starting at mid-position (“center click”), turning the control counter-clockwise cuts the bass response; turning the control clockwise boosts the bass response.

PULL TURBO FUNCTION

Pulling the Bass control to the “out” position widens the bandwidth of the Bass Control to include fre- quencies down to 30Hz (low “B” on a 5-string bass). Since some of these notes can be felt more than heard, it is especially important to keep an eye on the preamp and power amp clip LEDs. Constant clipping of these frequencies can diminish the life of Super Redhead’s internal speakers or cause them to fail.

MID RANGE SECTION

LEVEL CONTROL

The Level control cuts or boosts the frequency set by the Frequency control a maximum of ±15dB. Starting at mid-position (“center click”), turning the Level control counter-clockwise cuts the frequency set by the Frequency control; turning the Level control clockwise boosts the frequency. When the Level control is set at mid-position, turning the Frequency control will have no affect on the sound.

4 • SUPER REDHEAD OWNER’S MANUAL