Carr Hammerhead MK II Owner's Manual

CARR AMPLIFIERS

OWNER’S MANUAL

Revised 26 Feb 2010

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Hammerhead Mk II Instructions

Thank you for purchasing a Carr Hammerhead Mk II amplifier. The Hammerhead Mk II
employs a pure and simple circuit keeping tone and gain modifiers (Impact and Grip) out of
the direct signal path. The Tone control can be switched in or out of the signal path for
added flexibility. Tones from clean with grit to very heavy output tube overdrive are easily
dialed in using our unique controls. The Hammerhead Mk II has roots in 50s and 60s
eclectic American and British amplifiers combined with superior construction and modern
cutting edge components. Give yourself time to experiment with the 5 controls. You will
find the Hammerhead Mk II covers a surprising amount of sonic ground.

Volume – Controls the drive of the amplifier. Settings below 11 o’clock will yield different
shades of clean tones while higher settings will bring the amp to overdrive (for the average
output pickup).

Impact – Using a parallel circuit the 4 position Impact allows you to select from

1) flat response

2) high treble emphasis like a ‘blackface’ style amp

3) high treble and upper midrange emphasis like a metal face early 70s British amp

4) high treble and full midrange emphasis like a late 60s British style amp

The Impact control is interactive with the Volume control and will have maximum effect
when the Volume is at 3 o’clock and below.

Master – Controls how much of the preamp signal gets to the power tubes. Typically a
setting of 10 o’clock or higher yields the best tone. You will get more output tube overdrive
and bass response at higher Master settings.

We recommend starting with the Master set very high and then bringing up the Volume to
set overall loudness (see

Recommended Settings). From this point, you can roll down the

Master and/or roll up the Volume to find the perfect combination of volume, drive, and tone.

Grip – This 4 position switch increases preamp gain and drive from position 1 to 3.
Position 4 maintains the gain level of position 3 while adding more focused response to the
leading edge of notes.

Tone –When you turn the Tone control clockwise you will feel a click as it activates. The
Tone control starts in the bass position. Turning the control further clockwise will allow
more high frequencies through. The Tone control works by rolling off the high end and is
similar to a variable cut switch. You will find that having the Tone set at 12 o’clock gives
the closest approximation of a ‘blackface’ type of sound. For maximum gain, switch the
Tone control to the OFF position.

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