The Channel Section; The Effects Section - Hughes & Kettner Black Spirit 200 Manual

Black Spirit 200 – Manual 1.1
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3 The channel section

Black Spirit 200 sports four channels, each voiced very differently
and accessible via a chicken-head selector switch. The power amp
feedback circuit, which has a formative hand in shaping your tone, is also
reconfigured during channel switching. The programmable knobs (see 2.1)
afford you full access to all sound parameters on every channel. We even
painstakingly fine-tuned the knobs' control ranges and characteristics to
match the selected channel's voicing.
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1
Input: Connect your guitar to this input using a shielded cord equipped
with 6.3 mm (1/4") jack plugs.
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2
Gain: The Gain knob determines input sensitivity and therefore the
preamp's saturation level. Along with the Boost and Sagging controls, it is
your most important sound-sculpting tool.
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3
Clean Channel: Black Spirit 200's Clean channel certainly merits its
name. It delivers sparkling fresh sounds and offers tons of headroom. It's
worth your while to experiment with different Gain and Sagging settings
in combination with the switchable Boost.
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Crunch Channel: Your first stop for classic overdrive at its finest. This
channel sweeps the sonic spectrum from clean to mean, and countless
tones in between. Engage Boost to conjure a rude rock roar.
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Lead Channel: This channel's masterfully musical compression
sends those riffs and licks flying off your fingertips. Hit Boost for an extra
helping of in-your-face solo sound.
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Ultra Channel: Get your high-gain tone right here. The Ultra
channel's top end slices, dices, but never sacrifices its thunderous low
end for raging metal riffs and larger-than-life lead tone. Dropped tuning
conjures a quasi-religious experience.
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Boost: Boost targets specific frequency ranges in your tone and kicks
them up a notch. This yields even more assertive, creamier, or punchier
tone, depending on the channel.
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Bass, Mid, Treble: The three-band voicing section's sound-shaping
action is fine-tuned for each channel, and it specifically addresses the
frequency ranges that define each channel's characteristic tone.
Heads Up: These are classic passive tone controls that influence one
another. For example, if you crank the Mid knob, the Bass knob will be
less effective than when you back the Mid knob down. Presence and
Resonance are independent of the three-band voicing controls; that is,
their action remains unaffected by the other knobs' settings.
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9
Volume: Use the Volume knob to adjust preset levels and adjust their
relative balance to other presets.
Heads Up: Unlike a conventional Volume control, this knob does not
bring the level all the way down; it merely boosts or cuts the given level.
The 12 o'clock position is the best starting point for adjusting volume.
Caution: Please don't use this knob to control the amp's overall output
level – that's the Master knob's job (see 5.17)!
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10
Noise Gate: This knob controls the noise gate's sensitivity. The noise
gate's IDB™ technology automatically adapts the standard attack and
threshold parameters. Turning the knob all the way down (i.e. counter
clockwise) bypasses the noise gate. The further you turn up the noise gate,
the more aggressively it responds. Set it to 9 o'clock if you want it to open
up at very soft signal levels. The further you twist the knob to the right,
the harder the noise gate kicks in and cuts off signals. The noise gate's
sensitivity setting can be stored within each preset.

4 The effects section

Black Spirit 200 offers three independent effects modules, with reverb,
delay and modulation effects as well as the noise gate. All of them can be
used simultaneously.
Heads Up: The far left knob positions of the "Reverb", "Dly Level", and
"Intensity" knobs bypass the given effect. Twisting those knobs counter
clockwise to the far left takes the given effect module out of the signal
path.
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FX Access: In order to access Reverb, the Delay and Modulation
effects, just press the FX Access button – it will start flashing. Now you
are in the FX mode, and the channel control knobs now serve as effects
controls. To exit the FX mode, press FX Access again. It stops flashing and
you are back to the tone control mode.
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Reverb: Black Spirit 200's digital reverb matches the warmth and
musicality of classic spring reverbs. A genuine improvement over its analog
ancestors, it automatically adjusts the reverb tail – the higher the Reverb
volume setting, the longer the reverb time.
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