Black Beauty
Contents
1. Aural Enhancer Level Frequency Treble SLAP Midrange Aural Enhancer Level Frequency Treble 200 800 STUDIO 16 BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL BLACK BEAUTY LIMITED WARRANTY The BLACK BEAUTY from SWR is warranted to the original consumer purchaser for TWO YEARS from the date of purchase against defects in materials and workmanship provided that it is purchased from an Authorized SWR dealer This warranty applies only to products purchased in the USA or Canada This warranty is VOID if the unit has been damaged due to accident improper handling installa tion or operation shipping damage abuse or misuse unauthorized repair or attempted repair or if the serial number has been defaced or removed FMIC reserves the right to make such determi nation on the basis of inspection by an Authorized FMIC Service Center All liability for any incidental or consequential damages for breach of any expressed or implied warranties is disclaimed and excluded herefrom Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts or the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages so that the above exclusion may not apply to you This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state SHOULD YOUR SWR AMPLIFIER REQUIRE SERVICE OR REPAIR PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE 1 Locate your original receipt showing dat2. Black Beauty SWR CORONA CA USA IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS CAUTION TO REDUCE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT REMOVE THE COVER OR BACK NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE PLEASE REFER TO A QUALIFIED SERVICE TECHNICIAN A READ INSTRUCTIONS All safety and operation instructions should be read before the product is operated B RETAIN INSTRUCTIONS The safety and operating instructions should be retained for future reference C HEED WARNINGS All of the warnings on this product and in the operating instructions should be adhered to D FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS All operating and use instructions should be followed E CLEANING Unplug this product from the wall outlet before cleaning Do not use liquid cleaners or aerosol cleaners Use a slightly damp cloth for cleaning F WATER AND MOISTURE Do not use this product near water for example near a swimming pool wet basement and the like G ACCESSORIES Do not place this product on an unstable cart stand tripod bracket or table The product may fall causing serious injury to a child or adult and serious damage to the product H VENTILATION Slots and openings in the unit are provided for ventilation and to ensure reliable operation of the product to protect it from overheating thus these openings must not be blocked or covered This product should not be placed in a built in installation such as a bookcase or rack unless proper ventilation is provided or the manufacturer s ins
3. DAMAGE REQUIRING SERVICE Unplug this product from the wall outlet and refer servicing to qualified service personnel under the following condi tions 1 When the power supply cord has been damaged 2 If liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the product 3 If the product has been exposed to rain water or other conductive liquids 4 If the product does not operate normally by following the operating instructions 5 If the product has been dropped or damaged in any way 6 When the product exhibits a distinct change in performance P REPLACEMENT PARTS When replacement parts are required be sure the service technician has used replacement parts specified by the manufacturer or have the same characteristics as the original part Unauthorized substitutions may result in fire electric shock or other hazards Q SAFETY CHECK Upon completion of any service or repairs to this product ask the service technician to perform safety checks to determine that the prod uct is in proper operating condition R HEAT The product should be situated away from heat sources such as radiators heat registers stoves or other products that produce heat INTRODUCTION Congratulations on your purchase of the SWR Black Beauty Bass Combo Amplifier You now own the heaviest duty biggest sounding combo amp in SWR s world renowned Professional Line of products for bassists A little history The SWR Black Beauty is the successor to the Basic Blac
4. LINE position dictated by the setting of the Effects Blend con trol on your Black Beauty When in this position the output level will be affected by the Gain control on the front panel as well as the XLR Pad control It s worth noting that changing the level of the Gain control will affect the signal present at your speakers the Effects Send jack and the Balanced Output while the XLR Pad control affects the level present at the Balanced Output only For this reason it s usually better to set your Gain control in accordance with the directions in the Gain Control previously listed in the Front Panel Features section of this manual and to use the XLR Pad control to set the level specifically for the Balanced Output The third position for this switch is the DIRECT SUB position In this position the signal present at the Balanced Output jack is the same as when in the DIRECT position with one important exception the SubWave is present What s the benefit of this set ting We ve found that most people who use effects pedals prefer to use them in front of the amplifier In other words they run their bass into the effect pedal s input then from the effect pedal s output into the front of their amplifier In live applications where sound rein forcement is required often times the front of house engineer will take a direct signal from the bass itself via either a direct box or the Balanced Output of your amp set to the DIREC
5. On SWR speaker enclosures the total impedance is generally indicated on the speaker s input panel So how do you determine the total impedance of two cabinets hooked up to your Black Beauty Here s a quick key of the most com mon setups One 4 ohm enclosure internal one 8 ohm enclosure extension 2 6 ohms total impedance One 4 ohm enclosure internal one 4 ohm enclosure extension 2 ohms total impedance Here s another formula To figure out the total impedance of two or more cabinets of equal value hooked up in parallel divide the impedance of one cabinet by the number of cabinets Impedance of one cabinet number of cabinets total impedance For an even more in depth discussion of impedance and power rating issues go to the SWR Website at www swrsound com click on Press then click on Articles then click on Plug and Play Setup Tips for Amps and Speakers an article by SWR founder Steve Rabe that ran in the August 92 issue of Bass Player Magazine 12 BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL BLACK BEAUTY POWER DELIVERY CAPABILITIES POWER RATINGS After determining how the extension cabinet you wish to use affects the total operating impedance you need to take into account the power handling capabilities of that speaker cabinet as compared to what the Black Beauty can deliver at that operating impedance Those ratings are as follows 450 Watts O 2 ohms 400 Watts O 2 6 ohms So if you use an 4 ohm
6. The type of switch contained inside the footswitch chassis is momentary normally open If you connect the footswitch to the unit while the unit is on the SubWave effect may engage This is normal 10 BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL TWEETER MODE SWITCH This three position switch gives you the choice of three different options for operation of the horn tweeter In the Full Range top position the tweeter will reproduce an unattenuated signal of every frequency it sees roughly 2 kHz up to 15 kHz within certain tol erances The 6db bottom position reduces the level of the tweeter s outputs by 6 decibels which to the ear sounds roughly as if cut in half compared to the Full Range position The Off middle position will defeat the tweeter s output entirely Try starting with the switch in the Full Range position If this sounds too treble y to your ear and you still want the touch of crispness that a tweeter provides you can a Set the Tweeter Mode Switch to 6db b Adjust the Treble tone control on the front panel c Try a combination of both Those users with a predisposition against a tweeter in general have the option to turn it off and leave it off but we recommend trying it out first SPEAKER MODE SWITCH This two position switch controls the signal sent from the power amplifier to your speaker cabinet and extension speaker if connect ed When set to the On top position default setting from the factory the Black Be
7. indicates that at some point the preamp is clip ping no harm is being done to your amplifier However clipping of the power amp can cause dam 4 e BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL age to your speakers and is not recommended AURAL ENHANCER The Aural Enhancer is a feature that s been on just about every SWR amplifier since the company s inception in 1984 and is a trade mark part of the SWR Sound people have come to know and love It was developed to help bring out the fundamental low notes of the bass guitar enhance the high end transients and reduce certain frequencies that help mask the fundamentals The ultimate result is 1 A more transparent sound especially noticeable when slapping and popping 2 It can make a passive bass take on an active type of quality when set at positions of 2 o clock or further clockwise Let s take a second to learn how the Aural Enhancer works Think of it as a variable tone curve that changes depending on where you set the Aural Enhancer control knob As you raise the control clockwise from the MIN position you are elevating a whole range of sound lows mids and highs at a variety of frequency points selected specifically because they re different than those selected for the individual Tone Controls This remains true up to about the 2 o clock position This position a favorite for many users brings out both the low end fundamen tals and crisp highs and at the sa
8. AMPLIFIER THE HOTTER IT WILL GET BLACK BEAUTY POWER AMPLIFIER MINIMUM IMPEDANCE RATINGS Here s what this means to the power amp in the Black Beauty Like most combos the Black Beauty contains a mono power amp which makes things fairly simple The operating impedance of the internal speaker system in your Black Beauty is 4 ohms so that s your starting point When you add an extension cabinet to the Black Beauty invariably the total operating impedance of the amplifier will get lower The Minimum Impedance Rating of the Black Beauty is 2 ohms This means that you can safely connect to the exten sion speaker jacks Two 16 ohm speaker enclosures 2 6 ohms total impedance One 8 ohm speaker enclosures 2 6 ohms total impedance One 4 ohm speaker enclosure 2 ohms the minimum total impedance allowed These three hookups will provide between 400 and 450 watts of power but as previously mentioned the lower the operating imped ance the hotter the amplifier will run 2 ohm operation in particular will run the amp quite hot An amp that runs at or near its mini mum impedance all the time may wear the life of its components faster than normal Furthermore damage to the power amplifier section of the Black Beauty may occur if speaker enclosures with total impedances less than the minimum loads listed above are connected to the speaker output section The owner s manual that came with your speaker cabinet should state its total impedance
9. CKS One Speakon Jack and one 1 4 phone jack both wired in parallel are provided for connection of an extension speaker to the Black Beauty Whenever possible use of the Speakon jack is recommended Speakon jacks and connectors offer the best possible connec tion and are far superior to banana or 1 4 phone jacks in that they not only lock in place preventing accidental disconnection but also offer a greater and more stable connection surface This solid connection provides a more effective transfer of power to your speaker Only SPEAKER CABLE of 18 gauge or heavier the heavier the cable the lower the gauge should be used to connect an extension speaker to your Black Beauty Do not use shielded instrument cable in this application as this can result in intermittent power loss cause your amp to oscillate and damage itself and or your speakers and render the cable useless for any purpose Recommended SWR Speaker enclosures for use as an extension cabinet with the Black Beauty include Goliath Ill 4x10 Goliath Junior Ill 2x10 8 ohms Son Of Bertha 1x15 Big Ben 1x18 Subwoofer Bass Monitor 12 SPEAKER FUSE The speaker fuse is provided to protect your speakers in the unlikely event of a power amp failure or to protect your power amplifier from incorrect speaker impedances or hookups Size and rating of the fuse is 3AG 10 amp fast blo Do not defeat the purpose of this feature by using a higher rated fuse as it can damage your ampl
10. FICATIONS NOTE All measurements were taken with a line voltage of 120VAC All noise specifications are unweighted All voltages and watts are RMS All measurements are taken with tone controls set flat Aural Enhancer at minimum Power Ratings minimum 350 Watts 4 ohms internal cabinet 400 Watts 2 6 ohms with 8 ohms extension cabinet 450 Watts 2 ohms with 4 ohm extension cabinet Frequency Response power amplifier 3dB O 20 Hz and 40 kHz 2 e BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL Sensitivity full output under clipping 8 ohms load 100 Hz Passive Input Jack 38 millivolts Active Input Jack 60 millivolts Power Amplifier Effects Return Jack in 5 volts Input Impedance Passive Active Input 800k Ohms Active Input 60k Ohms Effects Return 27k Ohms Output Impedance Effects Send 100 Ohms Tuner Send 100 Ohms XLR Balanced Out 750 Ohms Signal To Noise Ratio 72 dB lt 10 millivolts typical Equivalent Input Noise 9 microvolts Dimensions 23 Wx 25 7 8 Hx 18 3 8 D Weight 95 Ibs BLACK BEAUTY GETTING STARTED Remove the AC cable from the accessory pack and connect it from the amplifier to a standard wall outlet Make sure that the Gain and Master Volume controls are set to the minimum position fully counter clockwise Locate the power switch on the right side of the front of the unit and turn the amplifier on Upon powering up dont be surprised if you hear a small pop Th
11. FRONT PANEL FEATURES INPUT JACKS Both input jacks accept a standard 1 4 phone plug and both inputs can be used at the same time Since the two inputs are totally independent no loss in volume or tone will occur by using two instruments simultaneously However the main applicational use for the two separate input jacks is their difference in level as the Passive Active input has five times more gain than the Active input In other words it s not necessarily intended as a submixer for two instruments but no harm will come from having two instruments plugged in at once Please read below for more details PASSIVE ACTIVE INPUT JACK This input jack is designed to accommodate both passive instruments and most active instruments A passive instrument has no built in preamp and does not use a battery while an active bass utilizes a battery operated preamp for gain tone controls or both The Passive Active Input will work with all instruments having a maximum output of less than 1 volt RMS Some active pickups such as EMG Bartolini etc use batteries for operation and will work perfectly using this input Instruments made by MTD Sadowsky Modulus etc have active electronics that are suited for use in the Passive Active input Generally speaking try this input first If you hear a small amount of distortion and the preamp clip LED is not activated try using the Active input jack If the Active input does not correct any aud
12. Limiter Active LED will light indicating that the Limiter Circuit is active and helping to protect your power amplifier from clipping The Limiter LED will not illuminate when a The Limiter has been defeated by pulling out on the Effects Blend control b When playing at levels not high enough to engage the circuit NOTE If you have defeated the Limiter and you hear a loud sharp distortion present in your sound and the Preamp Clip LED is not lighting up re engage the Limiter by pushing the Effects Blend control back in If the distortion goes away you were probably clipping the power amp which is not a good thing Remember the Limiter circuit is there to protect your amplifier from such a state of operation MASTER VOLUME CONTROL The Master meaning Master Volume control adjusts the level being sent to the power amplifier in your Black Beauty it controls the overall volume of the unit Turning the control counter clockwise reduces the overall level while turning the control clockwise boosts the overall level Two notes The Master control never affects the level present at the various audio output jacks on the rear panel it only affects the level being sent to the power amplifier and subsequently your internal speaker and extension speaker outputs only Also losses caused by external effects units can be recovered by increasing the Master control POWER ON OFF SWITCH This switch turns the complete unit on or off Setting
13. T SUB mode it WILL affect the level of sub octave present This is normal and occurs because the SubWave circuit is locat ed after the first stage of the preamp tube and is blended back into the signal specifically for this special mode of the three position switch We recommend that you set the Gain and SubWave Level controls in accordance with previously mentioned instructions and the gain structure should fall into place fairly automatically Wiring for the XLR jack at the Balanced Output is as follows Pin 1 ground Pin 2 plus Pin 3 minus American Standard NOTE Turn off transients appear at the Balanced Output when the amplifier is shut down We rec ommend that equipment being used in conjunction with the Balanced Output be turned down off or disconnected BEFORE the Black Beauty is turned off 8 BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL XLR MODE SWITCH LINE DIRECT DIRECT SUB This three position switch determines the signal present at the Balanced XLR Output jack as described in the section directly above In simple terms 1 Direct pre EQ and SubWave post first tube stage 2 Line post EQ and SubWave 3 Direct Sub pre EQ post first tube stage blended with SubWave Make sure the switch is set either to full left full right or center to avoid an intermittent condition XLR PAD CONTROL This control sets the level present at the Balanced XLR Output Turning the control counter clockwise reduc
14. T position and use that signal as the main bass sound to the house PA This way if the bassist sets the amplifier s EQ controls in a way to his liking but in a manner not conducive to a good bass sound for the house PA the front of house mixing engineer still has a nice flat bass signal to work with and then he can EQ the bass sound for what s best in the room And more relevantly he would still get the sound of any effects pedal that was placed in front of the amplifier The DIRECT SUB position provides this exact function for the Balanced Output It always contains the sound of your bass signal just after the first tube stage and will also contain the SubWave effect when engaged without also sending EQ settings that may not be right for the house PA or a studio mixing console You can always include all of your EQ settings plus the SubWave at the Balanced Output by setting the three position switch to the LINE position But thanks to the DIRECT SUB position of this switch it s not a necessity that you do so just because you want the SubWave present at the Balanced Output NOTE You can still use the SubWave Level control to set the amount of sub octave effect present at the Balanced Output when in the DIRECT SUB mode however it will also affect the level pre sent at the speaker outputs as well Also though the Gain control will not affect the level of the clean bass signal present at the Balanced Output when in DIREC
15. ain stages in the preamp The Effects Blend control functions only when the Effects Loop is being used It is activated when a 1 4 phone plug is inserted into the Effects Receive jack For more information please see Effects Loop in the Rear Panel Features section later in this guide LIMITER COMPRESSOR CIRCUIT The Limiter found in the Black Beauty is a soft knee type limiter The Limiter circuit is located after post the Master Volume and before pre the power amplifier Therefore the Limiter is driven by the Master Volume control Its threshold starting point is preset by the factory so that the user can get maximum overall apparent volume without unduly overdriving or clipping the power amplifi er which can eventually damage the unit s internal circuitry This can also be helpful in preventing speaker damage when running your system at high volumes ACTIVATING OR DEFEATING THE LIMITER CIRCUIT You may either activate or defeat the Limiter circuit via the Effects Blend control which doubles as an on off switch for the Limiter The In position activates the Limiter Circuit and is the default setting as shipped from the factory To defeat the Limiter simply pull out on the knob of this control until you hear and feel a click To re engage the Limiter push the control back in to its original posi tion LIMITER ACTIVE LED When the threshold starting point of the Limiter circuit is reached the
16. akon and 1 4 extension speaker output jacks and a rock solid cabinet design that completely isolates the electronics from the speaker complement We ve integrated a new feature our SubWave circuit which produces a tone an octave below the original signal and tracks as well or better than anything else on the market today The effect is foot switchable and we ve provided a footswitch for your convenience And most importantly it s now more than double the power of the original Basic Black the upgraded power amplifier delivers 350 watts into its own speaker sys tem and more with an extension cabinet connected Add in the sleek new cosmetics on the chassis and the chrome grill and logo and you ve got what we call the Black Beauty And of course each Black Beauty is assembled by hand and individually sound tested in the U S A at our factory in Southern California It s all part of SWR s commitment to continued improvement and refinement of even our most popular models so that we can contin ue to assist today s bassist in the pursuit of the ultimate goal finding equipment that not only does the job but actually enhances the overall musical experience and contributes to the creative process Everyone here at SWR sincerely hopes that the purchase of your Black Beauty helps you get there from here and beyond Please take the time to read your User Guide thoroughly and completely so that you can realize the full potential of your new Blac
17. all socket REMOVABLE CASTER WHEELS Your Black Beauty comes with a set of four heavy duty removable caster wheels SWR uses only closed shaft sockets so as to pre vent air leaks or unwanted noise when the enclosure is in use To install the caster wheels on your Black Beauty carefully turn the unit upside down or on its side so that the caster base sockets are visible Insert the shaft of each caster wheel into a socket on the underside of the Black Beauty When all four wheels are firmly in place return the Black Beauty to its upright position and you re ready to roll You can leave the casters in place during performance but it s recommended that they be removed so as to allow the Black Beauty s speaker compartment to couple to the floor which can be helpful in extending its bass response Please note that the ball bearing type caster wheels provided with your Black Beauty may require periodic replacement depending on usage and care Replacement caster wheels can be purchased from the SWR Service Department 14 BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL INTERNAL FEATURE VACUUM TUBE VALVE SWR installs a specially selected 12AX7A dual triode on the preamp circuitboard of every Black Beauty If this tube needs replacing we recommend that you replace it with a similar high quality product This tube will need replacing only if it becomes noisy or micro phonic which sounds like glass tinkling in the background of certain notes or completely fails
18. auty will operate normally and the sound of your amplified bass will be heard from the speaker cabinet When set to the Off bottom position that signal will be defeated regardless of the settings on the front panel This can be useful for silent practicing in conjunction with the Headphones Jack listed below or for defeating the audio while you re patch cables or plug and unplug your instrument This switch will not affect the signal present at the various audio outputs XLR Effects Send Tuner Out or the Headphones Jack NOTE If the volume on your instrument is up and your Gain and Master Volume controls are up and especially if you re seeing the Preamp Clip and Limiter Active LED s illuminate while you re playing and you can t understand why you re not getting any audible output from the Black Beauty check the position of this switch HEADPHONES JACK STEREO ONLY By inserting a set of stereo headphones into this jack you can monitor your sound more closely in a studio situation or practice silently when the Speaker On Off Switch is set to Off so as not to completely annoy your neighbors The headphone volume level is adjusted by the Master Volume We suggest you begin with the Master Volume full off counter clockwise then slowly bring up the volume to the desired level If you hear some distortion in your headphones that isn t present through your speaker system turn down the Master Volume You are probably overdriving you
19. ay down to low CH C or even low B on some basses SubWave ACTIVATOR SWITCH Located directly above the SubWave Level Control this is an illuminated push button switch that activates the SubWave effect When engaged the switch cap will illuminate in blue Push once to engage then again to disengage The SubWave effect can also be switched on and off via footswitch please see SubWave Footswitch in the Rear Panel Features section later in this guide SubWave LEVEL CONTROL Once the SubWave effect is engaged you can use this control to determine the amount of effect to be blended in with your original clean bass signal Turning the control clockwise will increase the amount of effect while turning the control counter clockwise will decrease the amount of effect When the control is set fully counter clockwise to MIN no effect will be heard even though the effect is engaged and the Activator switch is illuminated in blue This is normal Also when the control is set fully clockwise to MAX the clean bass signal will still be present along with plenty of sub octave effect As always your ears and the desired musical application will be the best judge in setting this control Keep in mind that the Bass Level control will have a significant impact on the perceived level of the SubWave effect as well as it follows immediately after the SubWave in the signal chain P
20. can often times solve the problem TUNER OUT The Tuner Out function allows the user to plug their instrument tuner into this jack and tune up without having to unplug and go back and forth from amp to tuner This feature is totally isolated from the rest of the preamp and will function regardless of the settings on the front panel Being isolated on a side chain avoids loading down of the instrument which can cause a loss in dynamic range To use this feature connect a shielded patch cord from the Tuner Out jack on your Black Beauty to the input jack on your tuner Turn the amplifier on and you re ready to go If you do not wish to monitor your sound during the tuning process you may turn down the Master control EFFECTS LOOP FOR EXTERNAL EFFECTS DEVICES As mentioned previously in the Effects Blend Control section of the manual the Effects Blend circuit in your Black Beauty is similar to that used on recording consoles with the effects loop on a side chain to the normal circuit Unless the Effects Blend control is set to the full wet position you will always get the full sound of your instrument AND get the diversity an external effects unit offers Use of the effects loop will reduce the noise generated by external effects units as compared to using the effect between your instrument and the input jack though many people use it in this fashion anyway This is because the loop is after the preamp gain stages The Effe
21. causing no signal or signal at very low levels The tube in your Black Beauty should last one to three years depending on usage FINAL ENGINEERING SUMMARY The two preamp gain stages utilize a specially selected 12AX7A The tone controls incorporate 1 C s and the power amp is designed with extremely high quality bi polar devices Each type of device was chosen for its performance and reliability in the application used All primary electrical components are U L approved and SWR uses Beldon Cable for all shielded wire All units are assembled by hand and individually soundtested in the U S A at our factory in Southern California SUGGESTED SETTINGS The following page includes examples of tone control options for various styles of music These settings are intended for use as a start ing point for dialing in your own individual sound so feel free to make adjustments based on your own playing style instrument and speaker cabinet configuration After you find combinations you like don t forget to try adding in the SubWave as much as you feel is necessary BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL e 15 SUGGESTED SETTINGS Midrange Aural Enhancer Level Frequency Treble ROCK Midrange Aural Enhancer Level Frequency Treble REGGAE Midrange Aural Enhancer Level Frequency Treble e 50 o elo O e e e e e e e o 200 800 JAZZ Midrange
22. circuit and boosts or cuts the high frequencies and their subsequent octaves 15dB from about 2kHz to 14kHz Starting at mid position turning the control counter clockwise cuts the treble response while turning the control clockwise boosts the treble response EFFECTS BLEND CONTROL The Effects Blend Control blends the signal sent from your instrument with the signal coming from your EXTERNAL effects unit In other words it has nothing to do with the SubWave effect onboard your Black Beauty With the Effects Blend fully counter clock wise DRY no signal from your external effects unit will be heard As you turn this control clockwise more of the effect can be heard in the overall sound When the Effects Blend control is set fully clockwise WET no true or unaffected signal is heard other than what your external effects unit provides If your external effects unit has a similar control adjust it to the fully clockwise WET position This will avoid any possible phasing problems 6 BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL The Effects Blend circuit is similar to that used on recording consoles with the effects loop on a side chain to the normal circuit Unless the control is set to the full wet position you will always get the full sound of your instrument AND get the diversity an effects unit offers This circuit is also effective in reducing noise generated by effects units because it is located after the g
23. cts Loop is compatible with most individual or multi effect external effects devices Many effects devices on the market have input level adjustments For instance some units have a switch that you can set for either 20 dB or 4 dB In all cases these should be set for O dB if available or 4 dB The level going to your effect is controlled by the Gain control on the front panel NOTE The Effects Loop is used in conjunction with the Effects Blend control on the front panel When the Effects Blend Control is in the full counter clockwise DRY position no effects will be heard This is normal BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL e 9 CONNECTING AN EXTERNAL EFFECTS DEVICE TO THE BLACK BEAUTY EFFECTS LOOP Obtain two high quality shielded patch cables preferably as short as possible Route them in the most direct way possible Running patch cables over the top of the Black Beauty as with any amplifier can induce hum in the cables and is not recommended Take one cable and connect it from the Effects Send jack on the Black Beauty to the input of your external effects device Take the second cable and connect it from the output of your external effects device to the Effects Return jack on your Black Beauty To set levels fol low the instructions as previously listed in the Effects Blend Control heading under Front Panel Features And just so there isn t any confusion the Effects Loop has nothing to do with the SubWave ef
24. do not have a pre determined impedance They deliver power at whatever impedance the speaker cabinet tells it to That s why you hear the term slave amp amplifiers only do what they re told So if someone tells you that they have a 4 ohm power amp their terminology and understanding of the concept is way off the mark Unlike power amps every speaker cabinet has a pre determined impedance rating measured in ohms In most cases this rating is either 4 or 8 ohms though there may still be some old 2 ohm creakers out there The higher the impedance of the speaker cabinet the more resistance to power it will offer The lower the resistance of the speaker cabinet the less resistance to power it will offer In other words HIGHER IMPEDANCE MEANS LESS POWER CAN ENTER THE SPEAKER CABINET LOWER IMPEDANCE MEANS MORE POWER CAN ENTER THE SPEAKER CABINET You may be thinking that you ve found the solution to the universe just use speaker cabinets with really low impedances and you can get skull crushing power out of your amplifier right Wrong There s a catch Power amps have limits as to how low an impedance they can drive safely This is what s known as an amplifier s Minimum Impedance Rating If you try and operate a power amp below its minimum impedance rating it will give you lots and lots of power for about five minutes and then overheat short out and fail com pletely In other words THE LOWER THE OPERATING IMPEDANCE OF THE
25. e of purchase model and serial number 2 Determine the closest Authorized FMIC Service Center to your location The fastest way to get a complete list of Authorized FMIC Service Centers is on the web at http wwwmrgearhead com faa allservice html You can also get this information by calling FMIC Consumer Relations at 480 596 7195 3 To receive warranty service return the complete product to an Authorized FMIC Electronics Service Center with proof of purchase during the applicable warranty period Transportation costs are not included in this Limited Warranty Defective products that qualify for coverage under this warranty will be repaired or replaced at FMIC s discretion with a like or comparable product without charge For a complete list of Authorized FMIC Service Centers and the latest SWR news interviews and more check out our website swrsound com SWR 8860 E Chaparral Rd Suite 100 Scottsdale AZ 85250 2618 USA PHONE 480 596 9690 FAX 480 367 5262 EMAIL custserve fenderusa com WEB swrsound com Copyright 2004 SWR Black Beauty e P N 0066566000 e 09 04
26. es the overall level while turning the control clockwise boosts the overall level It should be noted that turning the control fully counter clockwise to Min does not fully defeat the signal This is normal as the XLR Pad is designed to provide a range of usable levels to be sent to a front of house or studio mixing console XLR GROUND LIFT SWITCH Sometimes connecting to certain mixing boards or studio consoles with non standard XLR wiring can cause a ground loop Your Black Beauty has a push button switch for lifting the ground on the Balanced XLR Output It affects no other outputs Pushing on the switch will change the mode of operation When the switch is in the out position default setting from the factory ground is on Pin 1 of the Balanced Output jack as normal When the switch is in the in position the ground is lifted from Pin 1 of this output If a persistent hum exists after trying both positions of the ground lift there is probably 1 A bad cable or connection somewhere between your Balanced Output jack and the snake leading to the mixing console 2 A dirty or miswired A C socket 3 Mis wired or poorly wired A C in the building 4 Fluorescent lighting directly above you or in close proximity especially when using single coil pickups 5 A cell phone in your right pocket that s interacting with the electronics in your bass don t laugh this actually happens But in the case of a true ground loop this switch
27. fect onboard your Black Beauty It only is used in conjunction with an external effects device EFFECTS SEND This jack s primary function is to send a post EQ and SubWave signal to an external effects device for use in the Black Beauty Effects Loop However it can also be used as 1 A line level output for use in conjunction with an additional slave power amp such as SWR s Power 750 2 An unbalanced output suitable for recording or live mixing board purposes The output impedance of the Effects Send jack is 100 Ohms EFFECTS RECEIVE This jack s primary function is to complete the Effects Loop circuit by routing the post external effects device signal back into the power amp of the Black Beauty where it can be blended back in with the original signal by using the Effects Blend control on the front panel However it can also be used as 1 A power amp input jack If for some reason you wished to bypass the entire front end and use the Black Beauty strictly as a power amp you could take the output of whatever line level audio source you wished and connect it to this jack Then set the Effects Blend control to the full clockwise WET position Use the Master control to set the overall level and your Black Beauty is now a powered speaker cabinet 2 An input for pre recorded music for playing along and practicing purposes To accomplish this insert a CD player or other sound source into the Effects Receive jack It mu
28. ge present one for boosting and cut ting the level of midrange and another for setting the specific midrange frequency that will be adjusted in level MIDRANGE LEVEL CONTROL The Midrange Level control cuts or boosts the frequency set by the Midrange Frequency control Starting at mid position turn ing the Level control counter clockwise cuts the desired tone Turning the Level control clockwise boosts the desired tone set by the Midrange Frequency control When the level control is set at mid position fcenter click turning the frequency control will have no effect on the sound To find the midrange area you are looking for 1 Adjust the Midrange Level control to the full boost or cut position 2 Rotate the Midrange Frequency control until the desired area you wish to cut or boost is found 3 Adjust the Midrange Level control to the desired amount of cut or boost MIDRANGE FREQUENCY CONTROL The Midrange Frequency control sets the area that is to be cut or boosted by the Midrange Level control If the Midrange Level control is set at mid position turning the Frequency knob will have NO affect Some hints If you need to cut through the band a little more try boosting 200 to 400 Hz If you like a more transparent or scooped sound try cutting at 800 Hz The midrange controls are especially useful in controlling fretless basses and their inherent qualities TREBLE CONTROL The Treble control employs a shelving type
29. ible distortion check the battery in your bass NOTE If you would like to overdrive the first TUBE stage this can be accomplished by using an external preamp between your instrument and the Passive Active input To obtain optimum sound when trying this make sure the preamp clip LED is not activated If this occurs turn down your Gain control until the LED does not light The first preamp tube stage is NOT monitored by the pre amp clip circuit for this reason ACTIVE INPUT JACK The Active input jack should be used with instruments having a built in on board preamp or other sound sources that will produce output levels greater than 1 volt RMS The number of bass manufacturers has increased significantly over the years and it s impossi ble to try and keep track of them all Generally if you have very hot pickups and or tone controls installed in your instrument and you use them to boost the level of your bass signal 10 dB or more you may find the Active input more compatible The best judge is your own ears If you re using a keyboard or bass pedal with the Black Beauty we have found the best choice to be the Active input NOTE Using the Active input with passive basses active instruments will always employ a battery may result in a loss of high end transients Players who roll off their high end starting at about 2kHz or prefer a darker sound may find this input more to their liking If you hear some distortion with yo
30. ifier and void your warranty The fuse can open as a result of a fault in the speaker cable the speakers themselves or the power amp being sent well into clip ping With this in mind it is wise to carry extra fuses at all times LINE FUSE A C OR MAINS FUSE This fuse is provided to protect the internal electronics against power surges etc It also protects the unit against itself should one of the internal components fail If this fuse should open replace it with the same type of fuse and rating Do not defeat the purpose of this feature by using a higher rated fuse as it can void your warranty Proper size of the AC fuse for all countries is 3AG Proper rating of the fuse is as follows United States 7 amp slo blo Japan 8 amp slo blo Europe 230V 240V 4 amp slo blo A C CORD RECEPTACLE This receptacle accepts a standard A C power cable supplied with the Black Beauty in the United States used with almost all cur rent musical professional and household electronic devices We recommend great care when packing up If your unit is not in a rack case put the cable in your instrument or accessory case or leave it attached and looped around one of the rack handles If it does become misplaced a replacement cable can be purchased at almost any music or computer store NOTE The rating for this cable is 3 conductor 10 amperes minimum Look for this rating on the cable Make sure the cable is plugged in all the way in both the amp and the w
31. imum capacity of the power amp POWER AMP CLIPPING CAN CAUSE DAMAGE BOTH TO ITSELF AND YOUR SPEAKER CABINETS Either re engage the Limiter by pushing in on the Effects Blend control to help smooth out the peaks or back off on the Gain and Master controls Remember it s always better to have a little too much power than just barely enough If you find yourself constantly wanting more power than the Black Beauty provides either a Tell your bandmates to turn down b Tell the monitor engineer to turn you up c better option Take the time to investigate getting an external power amp for the additional speaker cabinets to supple ment your rig d best option Investigate getting a larger rig perhaps something modular with a large head and two speaker cabinets for those gigs where more power and volume is needed NOTE The frequency response of the Black Beauty is far greater than usually found in musical instrument amplifiers 20 Hz to 40K Hz This was engineered in order to give the bass player the same punch and clarity on stage as found in the studio or concert P A systems Therefore it is doubly important that you are aware of the impedance and power rating of the extension speakers that you intend to use and that they are compatible with the Black Beauty Speakers that have been overdriven are easy to detect and generally do not fall under a manufacturer s warranty BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL e 13 EXTENSION SPEAKER OUTPUT JA
32. is is absolutely normal and will not cause damage to your speaker system Eliminating this power on transient would require a component called a relay SWR chose not to incorporate this type of component due to the fact that relays degrade signal quality and often fail causing the unit to have no output and requiring a trip to a local ser vice center If you wish not to hear the pop upon power up locate the Speaker On Off switch on the rear panel and set it to Off before you turn the unit on Be sure to remember to set the switch back to On afterwards or you may find yourself wondering why you don t hear anything Plug your instrument into the desired input jack refer to Front Panel Features for greater detail Turn your instrument s volume up to at least 75 of maximum and slowly adjust the gain control Once you begin to play your instrument and you see the red light marked preamp clip over the gain control illuminate back off the gain a bit Now turn up the Master Volume and you should hear the sound of your instrument amplified through the Black Beauty For more detailed information please read the entire manual care fully so that you can fully realize the potential of the your new Black Beauty For those who wish to use an extension speaker cabinet with the Black Beauty please skip ahead to Extension Speaker Output Section on page 12 BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL 3 BLACK BEAUTY
33. k Beauty Bass Combo Amplifier Once again thanks for your purchase and for letting SWR help Amplify Your Future Sincerely SWR NOTE Please take a moment to verify that the following items were included in your SWR Black Beauty packaging AC Cable SubWave Activator Footswitch 4 Heavy Duty Caster Wheels this owner s manual SWR Catalog BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL 1 BLACK BEAUTY FRONT PANEL FEATURES Dual independent input jacks compatible with both passive and active instruments Preamp Gain control with red LED clip indicator Aural Enhancer control SubWave Activator Switch illuminated blue when engaged SubWave Level control Bass control Midrange Level control Midrange Frequency control Treble control Effects Blend control with pulHimiter defeat option Master Volume control Illuminated Neon Power On Off switch BLACK BEAUTY REAR PANEL FEATURES XLR Pad Level control XLR Output jack XLR Mode switch Direct Direct Sub Line Ground Lift switch for XLR Output jack Tuner Out jack Side Chain Effects Loop Effects Send and Effects Return 1 4 jacks SubWave Activator Footswitch jack Tweeter Mode Switch Full Range 6db Off Speaker Mode Switch On Off Stereo Headphones Jack Speakon and 1 4 Extension Speaker Output jacks Speaker Fuse 3AG 10 amp fast blo Line Fuse 3AG 7 amp slo blo AC Power Cord Receptacle SPECI
34. k a combo we offered throughout most of the 1990s as the most affordable solution for bassists who wanted the SWR Sound in the simplest all in one package possible Our top selling product for several years running the Basic Black featured a tube preamp using a specially selected 12AX7A vacuum tube SWR s patented Aural Enhancer an easy to use 3 band EQ section a custom specified 250 watt 15 driver and a high quality discrete solid state 160 watt power amp After shipping thousands of units we finally finished its run in 1999 for the purposes of a Serious upgrade Ironically the same year that the Basic Black went into retirement we released a new series of 15 drivers the Bertha series Featuring a new custom designed 15 speaker with a solid 350 watts of power handling and of course superior tone the Big Bertha 2x15 and the Son Of Bertha 1x15 were released in 1999 to rave reviews and we continue to ship both models today After seeing a sustained positive reaction to the Bertha 15 drivers from a highly satisfied group of customers we knew we had the foundation for anew 15 combo The new Black Beauty takes that foundation and builds a powerhouse feature packed combo upon it The electronics section con tains all of the popular tone circuitry from the Basic Black but adds a variable midrange control a new XLR Balanced output circuit with greater flexibility in level and signal routing a selectable horn tweeter Spe
35. lease read below BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL 5 BLACK BEAUTY ACTIVE TONE CONTROL SECTION BASS CONTROL The Bass control employs a shelving type circuit and boosts or cuts the bass response 15dB from about 30Hz to 100Hz Starting at the control s mid position Center click turning the control counter clockwise cuts the bass response and turning the control clockwise boosts the bass response You ll find that the Bass Level control will boost or cut the SubWave effect along with the clean bass signal That s because of the range of frequencies covered by this particular control You can use both the Bass and SubWave Level controls to get a good bal ance between how much bass you want in your clean sound and how much of a bass boost you want when engaging the SubWave Some users will want a significant boost while others may be striving for a more consistent level or unity gain Again let your ears and musical taste be the judge NOTE Setting both the Bass and SubWave Level controls near or at maximum boost will increase the overall amount of bass in your signal VERY SIGNIFICANTLY We re all in favor of that just so long as the peak levels don t exceed the internal speaker s excursion limit which would be obvious to your ear Adjust the controls slowly and use common sense MIDRANGE CONTROLS Your Black Beauty comes equipped with two different controls for setting the amount of midran
36. me time adds a little lower midrange to help cut through the band However if you go further clock wise and past the 2 00 position selected mids will start to drop off specifically a group of frequencies centered around 200 Hz At this point and after the effect becomes much more pronounced However the curves involved here are gentle as opposed to the very extreme curves you can create by boosting or cutting the Active Tone Controls EQ Most significantly for basses the Aural Enhancer will help bring out the fundamentals of your lower registers without masking them with overtones as is possible when using the Bass control only At the same time it opens up the sibilance characteristics of all instruments without being harsh Obviously numbers and curves and circuits all mean nothing compared to what you hear with your own ears Play a chord a repeated lick or a harmonic and turn the Aural Enhancer control to various points on the knob to hear the effect for yourself As always your ears are the best judge when it comes to settings that affect the tone of your instrument SubWave CONTROLS Based on the circuit from SWR s groundbreaking Mo Bass Soundstation the SubWave on your Black Beauty is a lightning quick sub octave wave engine with tracking superior to other models of sub octave effects currently on the market In plain terms it hears the note you play and immediately generates a signal one octave below it all the w
37. r headphones and could ruin them to say nothing of what you may be doing to your ears Any impedance headphones will work However optimum impedance is 75 ohms COMBO CABINET JACK PLUG ASSEMBLY The black cable plug assembly that comes out of the cabinet and is connected to the rear panel near the text marked Combo Cabinet is the means by which the power amp in your Black Beauty sends its signal to the speaker complement Both the plug and the jack it connects to are a special size slightly less than the typical 1 4 found on instrument and speaker cables alike SWR strongly recommends that you not disconnect this cable as it is not meant to be nor can it be used as an extension speaker output For proper connection of extension speakers to your Black Beauty please read below BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL e 11 EXTENSION SPEAKER OUTPUT SECTION This section of the manual will deal with the proper connection of extension speaker cabinets to the power amplifier in the Black Beauty We recommend that you read this section carefully as power amplifiers impedance and speaker cabinets are all crucial in determining how best to operate your new Black Beauty with an extension speaker cabinet HOW IMPEDANCE AFFECTS POWER RATINGS People often have questions about impedance What is it The root of the word impedance is the verb impede which means to block or resist That s what impedance is resistance to power Power amps
38. speaker cabinet it will get up to 225 watts of power and more during transient peaks An 8 ohm extension cabinet will allow the power amp to deliver 400 total watts of power and again more during peaks but since it has a higher imped ance 8 ohms than the internal speaker 4 ohms it will receive slightly less than half 200 watts the total power delivered Other than this imbalance there is no reason why you can t connect an 8 ohm extension cabinet together with the 4 ohm internal speaker in the Black Beauty In any event make sure your extension speaker cabinet can handle the power There is also the situation known as underpowering your speakers This is caused when the power amp in the process of trying to drive one or more speaker cabinets reaches its limit and goes into clipping That clipped waveform or square wave will quickly heat up the voice coils in speakers and if operating continually while clipping eventually will burn the voice coils and cause the speakers to fail Remember engaging the Limiter will not allow the power amp to clip so we recommend that you not disengage the Limiter when running at low total impedances in general Also be aware that when running the amp at 2 ohms you are operating at the maximum capacity of the power amplifier With extreme settings on the Gain and Master controls and the Limiter circuit disengaged you may hear audible clipping of the power amp If so you have exceeded the max
39. st be a MONO 1 4 plug that goes into this input so you ll have to use a stereo to mono cable adapter of some kind You can adjust the level of recorded music versus the live sound of your instrument by using both the Effects Blend control the more clockwise the control the more pre recorded music signal you ll hear and the vol ume control of your CD or other audio source The mixed sound will be heard through your speaker s Besides pre recorded music this is also an excellent way to practice along with a drum machine Input impedance of the Receive jack is 27k Ohms minimum NOTE Inserting a plug into the Effects Receive jack activates the Effects Blend control The con trol receives this command through the ground created by the phone plug making contact with the jack The plug must be a mono plug tip and ground If you have a stereo plug only it will be nec essary to tie the ring and the ground together SubWave ACTIVATOR FOOTSWITCH Your Black Beauty comes equipped with the capability for hands free control of the SubWave effect To achieve this function locate the footswitch included in your Black Beauty packaging Connect the cable to the SubWave Footswitch jack on the rear of your Black Beauty Turn the effect on and off by stepping on the switch the illuminated switch above the SubWave Level control on the front panel should alternate on blue and off and the effect should engage and disengage accordingly NOTE
40. the switch upwards to the On position turns on the unit and the switch itself will illuminate in red Setting the switch downwards to the Power position will turn the unit off and the red light inside the power switch will turn off as well BLACK BEAUTY OWNER S MANUAL e 7 BLACK BEAUTY REAR PANEL FEATURES BALANCED XLR OUTPUT The Balanced XLR out is a true electronically balanced output suitable for studio and front of house live mixing consoles The level present at this output can be adjusted by using the XLR Pad control see the XLR Pad Control section below for more details The signal appearing at the Balanced Output is governed by the setting of the three position XLR Mode switch located directly below it Line Direct Direct Sub In the DIRECT position the Balanced Output signal comes from directly after the first stage of the specially selected 12AX7 pre amp tube giving you the sound of your instrument and some added warmth In other words it becomes an active TUBE direct box In this position no front panel controls are functional and the SubWave is not present In the LINE position all front panel controls including the Aural Enhancer SubWave and EQ controls are functional except the Master control and the signal is essentially the same as that heard through your speaker system If you are using an external effects device in the effects loop that signal will also be present when in the
41. tructions have been adhered to lI GROUNDING This product is equipped with a three wire grounding type plug a plug having a third grounding pin This plug will only fit into a grounding type power outlet This is a safety feature If you are unable to insert the plug into the outlet contact your electrician to replace your obsolete outlet Do not defeat the safety purpose of the grounding type plug J POWER CORD PROTECTION Power supply cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be walked on or pinched by items placed upon them pay ing particular attention to cords at plugs and the point where they exit the product K LIGHTNING For added protection of this product during a lightning storm or when it is left unattended and unused for long periods of time unplug it from the wall outlet This will prevent damage to the product due to lightning and power line surges L OVERLOADING Do not overload wall outlets or extension cords as this can result in a risk of fire or electric shock M OBJECT AND LIQUID ENTRY Never push objects of any kind into this product through the openings as they may touch dangerous voltage points or short out parts that could result in a fire or electric shock Never spill liquid of any kind on the product N SERVICING Do not attempt to service this product yourself as opening or removing covers may expose you to dangerous voltage or other hazards Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel O
42. ur active bass and are using the Active Input make sure the preamp clip LED indicator is not light ing If the preamp stage is not being driven into clipping replace the battery in your instrument GAIN CONTROL The Gain control adjusts the volume of the preamp section Since the Gain control is similar to a pad a small amount of signal will be heard even with the Gain control rotated fully counter clockwise MIN if the Master Volume is up After all EQ settings and the Aural Enhancer are set the Gain control should be raised until the preamp clip LED barely flashes when your loudest note is struck This will insure maximum signal to noise ratio and prevent unwanted clipping of the preamp section NOTE The Gain can serve as an EFFECTS SEND LEVEL ADJUSTMENT If your effect is being over driven turn down the Gain control and readjust your Master Volume for overall loudness 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 input See that section for more info In the event the clip indicator lights turn down the Gain control Since this circuit monitors the tone controls boosting any one of them can cause the clip LED to activate Once again you may leave the tone control at its desired level but turn the Gain control down further NOTE Even though the Preamp Clip LED lighting
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