RH450 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 RC4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
INTRODUCTION Congratulations on the purchase of your new RH450 amp! When it comes to designing revolutionary products, TC Electronic is used to ripping up the rulebook. After three decades of doing just that in the guitar, studio and desktop music making markets – and designing many award-winning and revolutionary products along the way – we have now applied this considerable expertise to the bass market.
QUICK SETUP GUIDE Unpacking • Unpack your RH450 amp. • The box should contain the following items: – RH450 amplifier – Power Cable – RCA to mini jack 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. • It is also a good idea to keep the packaging for future transportation.
OPERATION – FRONT PANEL Front Panel 1 – INPUT You can connect an active or passive bass to this ¼" input jack. The RH450 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.
RH450 will automatically return to normal mode. In normal mode, the GAIN knob controls the amplifier’s gain level. other words: You are constantly dealing with a tight and difficult compromise. SpectraComp In Depth Gain Reduction / Compression Meter When using SpectraComp™, the light-ring around the GAIN knob doubles as a compression meter, showing you how much compression is applied to the signal.
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 RH450’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 – TUBETONE™ Tubetone™ allows you to alter the “personality” and sound of your RH450. The effects you can achieve range from a small touch of classic tube amp response and character through obvious, but pleasant “tube attitude” to highly overdriven. Contrary to many tube simulations, Tubetone™ recreates both the entire preamp section (located before the tone control section) and the power amp section (located after the tone controls).
OPERATION – FRONT PANEL The headphone volume is controlled by the MASTER level knob. When a set of headphones is connected to the PHONES jack, the speaker output on the rear panel of the RH450 is disabled. This is a very convenient feature when you want to use a “silent mode” at night: There is no need to disconnect the speaker cabinet. In order to set the right level balance between the Auxiliary input signal and your bass sound, use the preset level feature.
Remote Control RH450’s optional remote control – “RC4” – allows for floor recall of all three MEM-settings as well as mute and tuner display. information. To activate Mute mode, simply press the MUTE button. Now the BASS tone control turns into a high resolution pitch indicator supporting the Note and Arrow field of the tuner. 11 – TUNER RH450 is equipped with a fully chromatic, high accuracy bass tuner. The tuner is always active, whether the RH450 is in Mute mode or not.
OPERATION – FRONT PANEL – The RH450 now powers up in Tuner reference mode, which is illustrated by an “R” in the Display (see illustration below). Tune Reference mode – Dial the BASS tone control to alter the tuner reference. The center position equals 440 Hz, and each LED represents one Hertz. So to set the tuner reference frequency e.g. to 438 Hz, turn the BASS knob counter-clockwise until the second LED on the left lights up. – Press the MUTE button to exit Tuner Reference mode.
EN RC4 The optional RC4 footswitch not only allows you to remote access the RH450’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 RC4 as it receives its power from the RH450 amp. 1 – Memory Switches 1, 2 and 3 Press one of the three numbered buttons to recall the settings stored in the associated MEM-location.
OPERATION – REAR PANEL Rear Panel 1 – MAINS IN – Power In & POWER switch The RH450’s auto-sensing switchmode power-supply accepts any mains voltage from 90 to 240 volts – you do not have to change settings, fuses or anything else. Simply connect a standard IEC three pin connector to the local mains voltage, and you are up and running. This is particularly handy when you use the RH450 on a tour. The ground pin of the PSU must be connected in order to avoid voltage differences between e.g.
OPERATION – REAR PANEL The RC4 4 – DIGITAL OUT Use the DIGITAL OUT jack to connect the RH450’s digital output stage directly to a digital audio device, such as a computer’s audio interface. This way, you can record your bass sound straight into Pro Tools, Logic or any other DAW application. The digital output signal is in 96 kHz/24 bit AES/EBU format. This ensures the highest possible resolution and quality of your recorded bass signal.
OPERATION – REAR PANEL In order to set the right level balance between the Auxiliary input signal and your bass sound, use the preset level feature. Level settings are stored as a part of RH450 MEM-settings. 6 + 7 – INSERT PREAMP I/O – Effects Loop/Break point These jacks provide a break point between the RH450’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.
Introduction The RH450 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 RH450’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 18
APPENDIX – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Tone controls Bass Low Mid High Mid Treble 1/4" jack 1 Mohm / 100 pF -96 to 32dB Center Freq: 280Hz (range: 71-1120Hz, Gain: +15/-24dB) Center Freq: 400Hz (range: 100-1600Hz, Gain: +15/-24dB) Center Freq: 800Hz (range: 200-3150Hz, Gain: +15/-24dB) Center Freq: 1600Hz (range: 400-6300Hz, Gain: +12/-24dB) Mains supply Universal 100 - 240V 50/60Hz (85w @ 1/8 Power) Speaker out Combined Speakon / 1/4" jack Power rating 450w (800w Peak) Balanced output Max.
