Crate Amplifiers BX-4115 - Manual (Page 4)

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.
The Front Panel:
BX-4115
E Q U A L I Z A T I O N E Q U A L I Z A T I O N M A S T E R M A S T E R C H O R U S C H O R U S I N P U T I N P U T
INPUT
CONTOUR GAIN
CONTOUR
ON/OFF
— 15dB
MASTER
LINE OUT
LEVEL
EFFECTS
BLEND
HEADPHONES
LEVEL
LIMIT
®
SPECTRUM DEPTH RATE
ACTIVE
CHORUS
ON/ OFF
HEADPHONES
POWER POWER
OK
INCREASE
GAIN
DECREASE
GAIN 0
1
10
2
3
5
7
9
8
4 6
1
2
3 7
9
8
4 6
0
1
10
2
3
5
7
9
8
4 6
0
1
10
2
3
5
7
9
8
4 6
0
1
10
2
3
5
7
9
8
4 6
0
1
10
2
3
5
7
9
8
4 6
0
1
10
2
3
5
7
9
8
4 6
FULL 500
250
0
1
10
2
3
5
7
9
8
4 6
40 100 225 625 1.6k 4k 8k 16k
POST/PRE
FREQUENCY BALANCE
100 Hz 1kHz
300 Hz
LO HI
C R O S S O V E R C R O S S O V E R
1
3 9 11 14 6
2 5 8 15 16 1718 19 20 21 22 10 12 13 7 4
4
BX-440H / BX-4115 BX-440H / BX-4115 ThunderBass Amplifier