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Alpha
4. Summary of Operations
Connecting and starting-up
Check to ensure that the mains voltage at your
location corresponds to what is permitted for
operating the Alpha. You will find the necessary in-
formation on the sticker on the rear side besides
Voltage e.g. 230 for Europe or 115 for the USA.
Before switching on the amp, master and return
controls should be turned to zero position (as far
left as they will go) and all other controls to midd-
le position. Then make all necessary cable connec-
tions (mains, instrument and/or microphone). Now
you can switch on your Alpha with the power switch
on the rear of the amp. The green power indicator
shows that the amp is operational.
Level control
To adjust the level properly, leave the master at ze-
ro position and open up the gain of the input in use
to e.g. 11o'clock position. Make use of pad switch
and gain control to adjust various pick-up systems
resp. signal sources to the Alpha. Play hard, above
your average volume. Watch the clip indication. The
clip indicator lights up if the incoming signal is to
high. You should reduce the gain or volume con-
trol on your instrument preamp or other source to
ensure distortion-free reproduction. It just should
light up with your first hard stroke. When change
to normal playing mode it should not be seen.
Now you know:
Your pickup system addresses the Alpha's input sta-
ge properly. You can expect best possible perfor-
mance.
No clipping indication in normal paying mode -
there should be any distortion heard.
Occasional flickering of the clip indication is still ok.
Finally set the desired overall volume with the ma-
ster control.
-5-
• Note: Every indication operates according to thres-
holds. It may well happen that impulses occur that
are too quick for the indication. Always verify di-
stortion free performance aurally and possibly re-
adjust the gain/volume.
If the pickup and/or preamp signal is to low the
Alpha cannot perform at it's best.
Maximum volume cannot be achieved and the
signal to noise ratio turns bad.
Always make sure to use fully charged up batteries
in your instrument preamp. Often it is the reason
for humming, hissing noise and distortion.
Tone controls
The Alpha is equipped with a very musical 3-band
equalisation for both inputs at the same time. It is
designed to provide you with an accurate tool to
change the timbre of your instrument. Always com-
pare the natural sound of your instrument to the
amplified as reference. The colour switch activates
an additional mid-cut treble-boost filter, which brigh-
tens up the sound, makes it kind of lighter. It is par-
ticularly appropriate for finger-style techniques and
can only be made use of with input 2.
• Note: The tone controls are active and have an
impact on the internal levels of the amp.
Please keep an eye on the clip indication!
Effects
The Alpha has an integrated (internal) digital reverb
effect on board. The return control determines the
intensity of the effect (as far to the left as possible
means no effect). Furthermore, a supplementary ef-
fect device can be connected (external effect). For
this purpose, use the sockets send and return at the
rear of Alpha to connect the external device (send
to the input, return from the output of the exter-
nal effect). The intensity will then be set by the con-
trols of external effect device. A standard double
foot switch can be connected to the footswitch socket
on the rear of the amp with a stereo cable. This
switch can be used to turn the internal and exter-
nal effects on and off.
C
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