Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers Owner's Manual
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Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers Owner's Manual

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Bass Amplifiers
OWNERS MANUAL

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Summary of Contents for Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers

  • Page 1 Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers OWNERS MANUAL...
  • Page 2 | Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers Users Manual Thank you for Your Purchase Thunderfunk Bass Amps are designed to be versatile, lightweight, and powerful, with built-in Enhancer and Limiter, designed for the working bass player, amplifying the natural quality of the bass instrument. The intent of the amp is to give you the best tone possible as soon as you plug in.
  • Page 3 ♦ If you ever experience any ringing in the ears, your body is telling you something: TURN DOWN. ♦ If you suspect hearing loss, consult a health care professional. ♦ A Few Secrets Behind The Thunderfunk Tone Thunderfunk Bass Amps are pure op-amp and transistor solid state designs – made famous by such classic designs as the Acoustic 360, and the AMP BH-420. They use the largest high-quality power transformers that can be packed into two rack spaces. Half the weight of the amp is the power transformer, and it is conservatively controlled by 1200-watts worth of power transistors in the TFB800-B2. Other key elements of the amp’s tone are a whopping amount of power supply filter capacitance, so dynamics are maintained and distortion reduced even at the highest volumes and lowest fre- quencies.

  • Page 4: Front Panel Features

    | Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers Users Manual Front Panel Features Dual Input Jacks – The left jack is designed for a standard Switchcraft “280“ ¼ inch plug, from either a passive or active bass system. Passive systems have been around since the invention of the electric bass, and active systems typically include a 9-volt battery inside the Bass, or use an external supply, e.g., some Alembic models.

  • Page 5: Setting The Limiter

    PAGE | a Limiter “clamps” the higher level signals only, thereby allowing you to set a higher overall Vol- ume level without creating excessively high “peak” signals. A small time delay is built into the Limiter to prevent it from “riding” the low frequencies, causing an audible “pumping” effect. Using any limiter or compressor will affect your sound, so you should adjust it by ear.

  • Page 6: Tone Controls

    | Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers Users Manual Tone Controls To match your speaker cabinets and the bass instrument to the room you are playing in, a very wide range of tone shaping is available. While the amps are renown for sounding great flat, you can also dial in nearly any tone imaginable. A little can go a long way; excessive boost or cut in any one area may destroy your tone, while a single boost or cut can make a world of difference.
  • Page 7 PAGE | A simple turn from one dot to the next creates a difference. Remember that a little can go a long way. The first knob is often associated with “Solid”, especially in the 50Hz area. At lower volumes, ♦ you may wish an increase to fill out the bottom end – similar to the “loudness” control on your stereo –while at louder settings, consider a cut here. This is also a good knob to help out less than full range cabinet designs, adding back the “-3 dB” often seen in specifications. Since “-3 dB” is halve the power of “0 dB”, a cabinet designed for the full range of the instrument will always sound better. The second knob has been found to be useful for filling in the dead spot so common on many ♦ necks –the one about ½ way up on the “G” string. The top three bands control frequencies where your sound starts to get defined as human hearing starts to sharpen. The right amount of midrange gives you clarity and punch, but be careful: too much can sound harsh.

  • Page 8: Treble Control

    | Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers Users Manual Learning How The Parametric Controls Works Try this. Boost the level control in one section, so you will more easily hear the frequency you are adjusting. Then rotate the frequency control directly above it. After you identify what frequency you’re adjusting, return to the level control to adjust it to the desired amount of boost or cut.
  • Page 9 PAGE | Like the Enhance control, it is a complex adjustment of both treble and bass on one knob. Use it to range from a full to a punchy bass tone. Turned down you get a deep, full-bass tone, and turned up you get a tight, punchy-bass tone. It is suggested you start with the Timbre at the 12 o‘clock setting, set the EQ for the speakers and room, and then experiment. The control is detented, for an easy and fast flat setting and removal from the circuit.

  • Page 10: Volume Control

    10 | Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers Users Manual Tone Revisited How you set your EQ depends on style, equipment, the room, cabinet placement, audience quantity, etc. When playing in different rooms, cabinet placement and room acoustics play a criti- cal roll, for everyone but especially for bass. Many clubs, auditoriums, rehearsal halls, etc. tend to naturally enhance the frequencies below 50Hz, while people in the room absorb the higher frequencies. This is called Frequency Enhancement, and sometimes it is good, sometimes it causes difficulties. Low frequencies do tend to be omni-directional – you can’t really tell where they are coming from. Placing the cabinet on a raised wooden stage will acoustically couple it and signifi- cantly boost fundamental frequencies. Setting it against the wall can couple the walls to your speaker cone, and placement in a corner can add even more effect.
  • Page 11 PAGE | 11 Thunderfunk bass amps are capable of producing sound levels that can cause permanent hearing loss. This is especially true in when additional sound sources, such as when headphones are used. Also, please respect the ears of the audience that has come out for you.

  • Page 12: Recording Outputs

    PA or direct to another Power Amp/Speaker System. Pin 2 is the + signal. You can also use this DI Output and a special XLR to Phone jack cable to daisy chain several Thunderfunk slave amps together, matching the setup with one set of preamp controls working all the power amp and speaker systems simultaneously.

  • Page 13: Effects Loop

    Power Amp input of the Thunderfunk. This is where you would connect the special XLR to Phone jack cable, mentioned in the Post EQ Balanced section of this manual, to connect or “daisy chain” several Thunderfunk slave amps together, matching the setup with one set of preamp controls working all the Thun- derfunk slave power amps.

  • Page 14: Power Cord

    14 | Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers Users Manual The amp will produce only a slight amount of additional power at 2 ohms and the fan should defi- nitely be left on. It is not a good idea to run the amp this way. As a reminder, the actual volume of your system is determined by many elements, the most important being the sensitivity of the connected speakers. A speaker system with a sensitivity that is 3 dB higher will, for the same volume, will use about ½...

  • Page 15: Thermal Issues

    For 220 volts set the top switch to 220V and the bottom switch to +0V. For 240 volts, set the top switch to 220V and the bottom switch to +20V. For 230 volts, set the amp to operate at 240 volts. Thermal Issues The Thunderfunk bass Amp was originally designed without a fan. This allows super-quiet opera- tion for studio and TV work. However, some of the TFB420 amps, and all of the TFB550 amps have 60mm fans with an on/off switch. If the amp is being used where the noise of the fan isn’t a problem, turn it on. If you’re in the studio, leave it off. It’s up to you.With or without the fan, the bottom of the amp gets hotter than the top, so you should avoid putting other equipment un- derneath it if installed in a rack mount. The TFB550 amps are designed to handle as much heat...
  • Page 16 16 | Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers Users Manual Mechanical and Electrical Issues Electricity and Water DO NOT Mix. Operating the amp near water can put your life at risk. Your amplifier should therefore always be stored and operated away from moisture or water. Your amplifier is sturdy, but it is also a delicate instrument. While Thunderfunks are made for the road, care should be taken not to drop, throw, drive over, or otherwise suffer unusual abuse. Connections The most quiet, dynamic and musical results are achieved when all instrument, effects, line-level, and other source connections are made with high-quality shielded cables. There is much fuss these days about recent improvements in these connections. Use your own judgment. The use of...
  • Page 17 PAGE | 17 Rack Ears Removeable Rack ears are optional. They extent 1” out of each side of the amplifier and are at- tached with four screws and nuts. On all TFB800-B2, TFB750-A, TFB550-B, TFB550, and TFB420 amps with serial numbers of 300 and up, the rack ears can be put on and taken off without removing the top cover. First remove the side-strap carry handle, and use Four #10-32 x ½” screws to attach the rack ears using the perma- nently installed “PEM“ nuts. The newest rack ear design has alternate holes to either mount the handle flush with the faceplate, or to mount it ½” forward of the faceplate in order to recess the faceplate for added protection of the front knobs and switches. In either case the two front side- mounted bumper feet will have to be removed to mount the rack ears. On the TFB420 Serial numbers 100-299, the ears are attached by removing the top cover and then the side-strap carry handle, and attaching the ears using Four #10-24 x ½” or #10-32 x ½”...

  • Page 18: Amplifier Specifications

    18 | Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers Users Manual Amplifier Specifications TFB800-B2 Serial Numbers 1201 and Up AC Power 100-120-220-240 volts, 50/60 Hz Fuse Size 3AG 8 Amps Slo-Blo for 100-120 volt operation or 4 Amps Slo-Blo for 220-240 volt operation Preamp Gain/Limiting, Enhance, Bass, Semi-Parametric Tone Control, Treble, Timbre, Mute, and “The Switch.” Power 800-watts into 2 ohms, 630-watts into 4 ohms or 305-watts into 8 ohms Dimensions 17” wide x 3½” high x 10-1/2” deep (19” wide with rack ears) Weight 21 pounds or 9.5 kilograms (Add 1 pound or 0.45 kilograms for rack ears) TFB750-A Serial Numbers 1001 to 1199 AC Power 100-120-220-240 volts, 50/60 Hz Fuse Size 3AG 8 Amps Slo-Blo for 100-120 volt operation or 4 Amps Slo-Blo for 220-240 volt operation Preamp Gain/Limiting, Enhance, Bass, Semi-Parametric Tone Control, Treble, Timbre, Mute, and “The Switch.” Power 750-watts into 2 ohms, 630-watts into 4 ohms or 305-watts into 8 ohms Dimensions 17” wide x 3½” high x 10-1/2” deep (19” wide with rack ears) Weight 21 pounds or 9.5 kilograms (Add 1 pound or 0.45 kilograms for rack ears)
  • Page 19 PAGE | 19 TFB550-B Serial Numbers 600 and Up AC Power 100-120-220-240 volts, 50/60 Hz Fuse Size 3AG 6.25 Amps Slo-Blo for 100-120 volt operation or 3 Amps Slo-Blo for 220-240 volt operation Preamp Gain/Limiting, Enhance, Bass, Semi-Parametric Tone Control, Treble, Timbre, Mute, and “The Switch.” Power 550-watts into 4 ohms or 300-watts into 8 ohms. 2 OHM OPERATION IS NOT RECOMMENED Dimensions 17” wide x 3½” high x 10-1/2” deep (19” wide with rack ears) Weight 17 pounds or 7.7 kilograms (Add 1 pound or 0.45 kilograms for rack ears) TFB550-A Serial numbers 500-599 AC Power 100-120-220-240 volts, 50/60 Hz Fuse Size 3AG 6.25 Amps Slo-Blo for 100-120 volt operation or 3.00 Amps Slo-Blo for 220-240 volt opera- tion Preamp Gain/Limiting, Enhance, Bass, Semi-Parametric Tone Control, Treble, Timbre. Power 550-watts into 4 ohms or 300-watts into 8 ohms. 2 OHM OPERATION IS NOT RECOMMENED Dimensions 17” wide x 3½” high x 10-1/2” deep (19” wide with rack ears) Weight 15 pounds or 6.8 kilograms (Add 1 pound or 0.45 kilograms for rack ears)
  • Page 20 Fuse Size 120 volt operation, 5 Amps Slo-Blo; 220-240 volt operation, 2½ Amps Slo-Blo Preamp Gain/Limiting, Enhance, Bass, Semi-Parametric Tone Control, Treble, Timbre. Power 550-watts into 4 ohms or 300-watts into 8 ohms. 2 OHM OPERATION IS NOT RECOMMENED Dimensions Serial Numbers 100-199: 17” wide x 3½” high x 9-1/2” deep (19” wide with rack ears) Serial Numbers 200-399: 17” wide x 3½” high x 10” deep (19” wide with rack ears) Serial Numbers 400-499: 17” wide x 3½” high x 10-1/2” deep (19” wide with rack ears) Weight 15 pounds or 6.8 kilograms (Add 1 pound or 0.45 kilograms for rack ears) Thunderfunk amps are under constant development, and we reserve the right to make changes or improvements at anytime, without notice.

  • Page 21: Support And Warranty

    Support and Warranty Questions about Thunderfunk products can be researched online at http://thunderfunk.com. Thunderfunk is always available for assistance. Our greatest asset is a happy customer, with your continued use of Thunderfunk systems and equipment, and positive word of mouth.
  • Page 22 Thunderfunk Bass Amplifiers - www.thunderfunk.com...

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Tfb800-b2

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