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Related Manuals for Black Box HG-2
Summary of Contents for Black Box HG-2
- Page 1 A N A LO G D E S I G N Vacuum Tube Microphone Preamplifier / D.I. rev. 3.0...
- Page 3 While most things these days are made over seas in huge factories with the singular goal of maximizing profits by cutting corners and using the cheapest components, Black Box Analog Design™ does things differently. In fact we take a different approach to most things. We are not interested in creating clones of old gear or building derivatives of popular gear.
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Page 5: Important Safety Information
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USE WARNING! For your safety, the information in this manual must be followed to minimize the risk of electric shock. Failure to do so may result in property damage, injury or loss of life. IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS WARNING: This device contains high voltage electricity... - Page 6 CONTROLS WHAT DOES THIS BUTTON DO? 3 way power switch with Off/Standby/On positions: Standby mode sends power to the tube heaters and LEDs Input impedance selector: Impedance is switched by tapping into the transformer at different points in the winding 48 volt Phantom power fed by an isolated, regulated, linear supply Phase switch 5 position, low end roll-off selector...
- Page 7 IEC power socket 2AG power fuse: Replace only with the same rating fuse (2amp) Master on/off switch: In the “off” position, no power will reach the face plate and the front panel power switch will be inoperable. Be aware that in the “on”...
- Page 9 The Black Box Analog Design™ pre allows you to control how you capture a sound and get it right before you ever hit tape or your converters! And yes, it does...
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Page 10: Getting Started
GETTING STARTED PRE FLIGHT CHECKLIST! • Always put preamp in “standby” for at least 20 seconds before turning on. This will greatly increase the life of the tube. • Make sure output is turned down before powering unit on. This will avoid any pops and is just good practice. -
Page 11: Quick Start
SHAPING TONE SO HOW DO I USE IT? The most important thing to remember is that unlike other preamps, when you turn the gain knobs, you are also changing the tone. The second thing to remember is that what you do at one stage affects the others. While this seems odd at first (and is exactly why we wanted you read this before firing it up!), it actually allows you to have an amazing amount of control. - Page 12 SHAPING TONE A CLOSER LOOK While finding the sweet spot and getting the right tone with the Black Box Analog Design™ pre is more about feel than anything, it is still helpful to know how each part of the circuit behaves and reacts. This section goes into...
- Page 13 SHAPING TONE Triode Stage The Triode stage of the circuit is located after the Pentode stage. The curve shift of the Triode is much less extreme than the Pentode and adds nice second order harmonics. In fact, when you increase the gain beyond a certain point, the Triode stage brings up the harmonics at a rate of about 2:1 over the fundamental, allowing you to add a ton of pleasing harmonics! Boost / Tone...
- Page 14 SHAPING TONE Input impedance 50/200 Unlike most impedance switches on preamps today, we use real impedance switching by tapping into the specially made transformer at different points in the windings. The “50” and “200” settings correspond to the output impedance of the microphone it is designed for rather than the actual impedance of the transformer.