Rear Panel; The Master Section - Hughes & Kettner Grand Meister 36 Manual

6 Noise Gate: The programmable Noise Gate button switches the IDB™
noise gate on and off for each preset. When activated, the noise gate kicks
in to mute the amp as the signal level drops below a certain threshold. The
gate remains shut until you hit the guitar strings. When you do so, it opens
up again. The Noise Gate Hard/Soft knob on the amp's rear panel controls
the noise gate's response, see chapter 6.5.

5 The Master Section

The Master section lets you adjust the amp's overall volume, Resonance
and Presence.
1 Master: As the name suggests, this knob puts the power amp and its
volume level at your thumb and forefinger's command. Handle it carefully
and you will enjoy a gratifying rather than an agonizing aural experience.
Heads Up: Unlike channel and effect controls, the Master knob is not
programmable! It works like any conventional knob, and its physical
position indicates the actual setting. It's always a good idea to back the
Master knob off by twisting it to the far left position before powering the
amp up.
2 Resonance: Set the Resonance knob to 12 o'clock, and you will hear the
normal resonance created by the amp-and-cabinet combination. Twisting
it counter clockwise dampens the speakers and the cabinets resonance
for a looser, softer sound that sweetens up clean tone. Turning the knob
clockwise intensifies resonance for a tighter, punchier low-end that works
well with distorted sounds.
3 Presence: This knob controls the amount of harmonic overtones
generated by the amp – the higher the setting, the more intense the effect.
Heads Up: Resonance and Presence can be programmed into every preset,
or these controls can be used as a master control that is not changed
by switching presets, like the Master Volume control. If you want to use
Resonance and Presence as a global control, press Store and FX-Access
simultaneously for three seconds until the Store LED starts flashing. Now
the FX-Access LED indicates if you are in Global Mode (flashing) or in
Preset Mode (not flashing). You can change the mode with the FX-Access
button: if it does not flash (Preset Mode), press it to change to Global
Mode. If it flashes (Global Mode), press it to change to Preset Mode. To
store your changes press Store for three seconds until it stops flashing.
6

6 Rear panel

1 Speaker: GrandMeister 36 offers one speaker output for 8 Ω to 16 Ω
cabinets. Connect a speaker cabinet designed for guitar amps to this jack.
Using a single speaker cord, you can connect any cabinet or combination
of cabinets whose total impedance ranges between 8 Ω and 16 Ω. The
formulas below serve to calculate the overall impedance (R) of two
cabinets with different impedances (R1 and R2):
For cabinets wired in series:
R = R1 + R2
Example: If you connect two 8 Ω cabinets, the overall impedance is 16 Ω.
However, very few modern cabinets are wired in series. Parallel circuits
are far more common.
For cabinets wired in parallel:
R = (R1 x R2) / (R1 + R2)
Here is an example with two 16 Ω cabs:
R = (16 x 16) / (16 + 16)
R = 256 / 32 = 8 Ω
2 Power Soak: This feature lets you enjoy the benefits of full-blown power
amp saturation at low volume, so you can play at home in your living room
without alienating the neighbours. Its silent recording capability lets you
capture genuine tube-driven tone via a mixing console without having to
drive speakers. And if you want to rehearse in silence any time day or
night, simply plug a set of headphones into the mixer. Thanks to the amp's
programmability, you can easily program your own set of studio and home
presets.
None of the buttons in this section lights up when the amp is in 'normal'
operating mode (36 watts of output power). Pushing one of the four but-
tons will activate the output power reducing function. When you press
the 18W button, TSC™ disables two tubes to reduce the output power
by half to 18 watts. When you press the 5W and 1W buttons, some of
the power is converted into heat to further reduce the output to 5 watts
and 1 watt, respectively. In Speaker Off mode, all the power is converted
into heat and the amp is muted. Re-pressing the currently selected and
therefore illuminated button will deactivate the Power Soak and bring you
back to 36 watts of output power.
Note that if you choose to mute the amp, you do not need to connect a
speaker. Designed to enable silent recording, this option provides the full
signal to the Red Box output. To protect the power amp, GrandMeister 36
automatically engages this mute circuit as soon as the plug is pulled from
the Speaker Out port.
The Power Soak is not just about managing volume; it is also about con-
juring the right tone and response. You can assign a separate power soak
mode to each preset! This lets you do things like conjure classic rock tone
by running a preset that uses the Crunch channel in a lower power mode
with the Volume cranked to saturate the power amp – just the way classic
rock amps are supposed to be used. Then you could operate a preset that
uses the Ultra channel at full power and with a lower Volume setting to
coax more modern sounds out of the amp.