BLACKSMITH User’s manual
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Read these instructions. Keep these instructions. Heed all warnings. Follow all instructions. Do not use this apparatus near water. Clean only with dry cloth. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not install near heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug.
EMC / EMI & Certificate of conformity EMC/EMI This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B Digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in residential installations. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
Table of contents Introduction EN Important Safety Instructions & Certificate of Conformity....................................... a-b Table of Contents........................................................ 3 Introduction.................................................................. 4 Quick Setup Guide...................................................... 5 Operation Front panel.................................................................. 7 RC-4................................................
Introduction Congratulations on the purchase of your last bass-amp for big stage use. Blacksmith unites immense power and versatility, delivering a sound so massive that it is guaranteed to cover any demand imaginable. The raw power combined with nice features such as presets, compression and TubeTone known from other TC Electronic bass amplifiers will keep the smile on your face for a very long time. Bass amp 2.0 has just reached a high point.
Built-in Tuner – Once you have tried this, there’s no turning back. The idea of having an internal chromatic bass tuner is as simple as it is brilliant. The tuner is always ‘on’, which allows you to monitor your pitch status at all times – and to tune up swiftly between tunes if needed.
Quick Setup guide If you just can’t wait… Here are a few quick steps to get you playing within minutes. Unpacking • Unpack your BLACKSMITH amp. • The box should contain the following items: – BLACKSMITH amplifier – Power Cable – Manual. • Inspect all items for signs of transit damage. In the unlikely event of this having occurred, inform the carrier and supplier. • Keep all the packaging if damage has occurred, as this will show evidence of excessive handling force.
Operation – Front Panel EN Front Panel 1 – INPUT You can connect an active or passive bass to this ¼” input jack. The BLACKSMITH input stage is designed to adapt to any type of pickup. 2+3 – GAIN & OVERLOAD LED The input gain should be set to the highest possible level without overloading the input stage. To find the correct setting, simply plug in your bass, play and turn up the GAIN knob until the OVERLOAD LED occasionally lights up. Then reduce the gain slightly.
Operation – Front Panel Example: Press SHIFT and turn the LO-MID knob to change the center frequency of that control. Sometimes “sweepable” tone controls can be a bit tedious to work with. Here is an easy step-by-step guide to adjusting BLACKSMITH’s Low-mid band to your bass and setup: • • • • 8 Boost the LO-MID band – the more you boost, the easier it is to find the right frequency. Hit the SHIFT button to get access to the center frequency of the EQ bands.
5 – SPECTRACOMP™ Turn the knob to adjust the amount of SpectraComp compression. SpectraComp™ uses a so-called spectral or multi-band approach to compression, allowing for individual compression of the low, mid and high frequency bands. Multiband compression allows a significantly smoother and more transparent compression without killing dynamics or tone. SpectraComp™ is an advanced compressor, optimized to get the best from a bass signal. If you simply want to hear it just turn the knob while playing.
Operation – front panel 5 – TWEETERTONE™ (in Shift Mode) Many heads and cabinets include a so-called “L pad” HF control on the back side of the cabinet. This control normally sets the level of the tweeter in the cabinet and is used to adjust the level of high frequencies. TweeterTone is a far more intuitive and much better way of adjusting the high frequency content. By using TweeterTone, you do not simply turn the tweeter up and down in level – you also get a much more musical and pleasant HF adjustment.
Operation – front panel 8 – MUTE The MUTE button mutes both the speaker and the balanced output. This means that you can tune up with no sound going to your own rig or to the PA. 9 – SHIFT The SHIFT button is used to access the secondary functions marked with red text on BLACKSMITH’s front panel.
Operation – front panel 11 – TUNER BLACKSMITH is equipped with a fully chromatic, high accuracy bass tuner. The tuner is always active, whether BLACKSMITH is in Mute mode or not. Here is how you read the display: The played note is shown on the left side of the display. On the right side of the display, – a circle indicates that the note is in tune. – an arrow pointing right indicates that the note is too low and should be tuned up.
Operation – front panel Tuner Reference This is how you select the tuner reference frequency: – If BLACKSMITH is switched on, switch it off. – Press and hold the MUTE button during power up. – BLACKSMITH now powers up in Tuner reference mode, which is illustrated by an “R” in the Display (see illustration below). EN BLACKSMITH’s default tuner reference is 440 Hz – just like any other tuner. However, you can select any reference frequency between 438 and 445 Hz.
RC-4 The optional RC-4 footswitch not only allows you to remotely access the BLACKSMITH’s three memory locations (MEM 1/2/3), but also to mute the signal for silent tuning and even view the tuner information. No power-supply is needed for the RC-4 as it receives its power from BLACKSMITH. 1 – Memory Switches 1, 2 and 3 Press one of the three numbered buttons to recall the settings stored in the associated MEM location.
Rear Panel EN Rear Panel SERIAL NO. SPEAKER OUT CLASS 2 WIRING Minimum Load: 2 Ohm LOAD IMPEDANCE CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN WARNING TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
Operation – Rear Panel 1 – MAINS IN – Power In & POWER switch Make sure that the voltage of the power grid you are connecting to matches your BLACKSMITH model. The 115 V model can handle voltages between 100 V and 120 V. The 230 V model can handle voltages between 220 V and 240 V.
6 – INSERT PREAMP I/O – Effects Loop/Break point These jacks provide a break point between BLACKSMITH’s preamp section (which includes SpectraComp™, Tone controls and the TubeTone™ module) and the power amp section. This break point can be used as a regular serial effects loop for inserting e.g. modulation effects or other external devices. straight into Pro Tools, Logic or any other DAW application. The digital output signal is in 96 kHz/24 Bit AES/EBU format.
Operation Rear Panel “LINK” 4 Ohm 4 Ohm Send HOLD TO STORE MEM 1 MEM 2 MEM 3 SHIFT BLACKSMITH HOLD TO STORE MUTE ACTIVE / PASSIVE PICK-UP BLACKSMITH SERIAL NO.
Protection mode BLACKSMITH is equipped with an intelligent protection system, ensuring that the amp does not suffer or malfunction if operated wrongly or in extreme environments. General Protection mode If the BLACKSMITH’s display indicates “P”, the amp is in Protection mode. Protection mode is invoked if for some reason a short-circuit situation occurs. In Protection mode, the speaker outputs are shut off so that the speakers cannot be damaged by a shortcut.
Appendix – signal flow DIGITAL RECORDING OUT “LINK” “LINK” INPUT GAIN MUTE SPECTRA COMP TUBETONE PRE TONE CONTROLS TUBETONE POST TWEETER TONE PRESET LEVEL ACTIVE POWER MANAGEMENT MASTER VOLUME “LINK” TUNER POWER AMP IN RETURN JACK “LINK” PREAMP OUT GALVANIC ISOLATION WITH DI DRIVER DI 20 SEND POWER AMP
Input Section Input connector Input impedance Gain range Tone controls Bass Low Mid High Mid Treble 1/4” jack 1 MOhm / 100 pF -96 to 32 dB Default Freq: 200 Hz (range: 71-1120 Hz, Gain: +15/-24 dB) - Shelving type. Default Freq: 400 Hz (range: 100-1600 Hz, Gain: +15/-24 dB) Default Freq: 800 Hz (range: 200-3150 Hz, Gain: +15/-24 dB) Default Freq: 4000 Hz (range: 400-6300 Hz, Gain: +15/-24 dB) - Shelving type.
