Crate GX-212 User Manual

GX-212 GUITAR

AMPLIFIER

OWNER’S MANUAL

GX-212 Amplifier

2

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

• READ, FOLLOW, HEED, AND KEEP ALL INSTRUCTIONS AND WARNINGS.

• DO NOT OPERATE NEAR ANY HEAT SOURCE AND DO NOT BLOCK ANY VENTILATION OPENINGS ON THIS APPARATUS. FOR

PROPER OPERATION, THIS UNITREQUIRES 3” (75mm) OF WELL VENTILATED SPACE AROUND HEATSINKS AND OTHER AIR
FLOW PROVISIONS IN THE CABINET.

• DO NOT USE THIS APPARATUS NEAR SPLASHING, FALLING, SPRAYING, OR STANDING LIQUIDS.

• CLEAN ONLY WITH LINT-FREE DAMP CLOTH AND DO NOT USE CLEANING AGENTS.

• ONLY CONNECT POWER CORD TO A POLARIZED, SAFETY GROUNDED OUTLET WIRED TO CURRENT ELECTRICAL CODES AND

COMPATIBLE WITH VOLTAGE, POWER, AND FREQUENCY REQUIREMENTS STATED ON THE REAR PANEL OF THE APPARATUS.

• PROTECT THE POWER CORD FROM DAMAGE DUE TO BEING WALKED ON, PINCHED, OR STRAINED.

• UNPLUG THE APPARATUS DURING LIGHTNING STORMS OR WHEN UNUSED FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME.

• ONLY USE ATTACHMENTS, ACCESSORIES, STANDS, OR BRACKETS SPECIFIED BY THE MANUFACTURER FOR SAFE OPERA-

TION AND TO AVOID INJURY.

• THIS APPARATUS DOES NOT OPERATE NORMALLYAND REQUIRES SERVICE WITH ANY PHYSICAL DAMAGE FROM IMPACT OR

ANY EXPOSURE TO MOISTURE.

• SERVICE MUST BE PERFORMED BY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.

• OUR AMPLIFIERS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HIGH SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS. CONTINUED EXPOSURE TO HIGH SOUND

PRESSURE LEVELS CAN CAUSE PERMANENT HEARING IMPAIRMENT OR LOSS. USER CAUTION IS ADVISED AND EAR PRO­TECTION IS RECOMMENDED IF UNIT IS OPERATED AT HIGH VOLUME.

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC
SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPARATUS TO RAIN OR MOIS­TURE. TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT
REMOVE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.
REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

"IT IS NECESSARY FOR THE USER TO REFER TO THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL"
“ES NECESARIO QUE EL USUARIO SE REFIERA AL MANUAL DE INSTRUCCIONES.”
"REFERREZ-VOUS AU MANUAL D'UTILISATION"

EXPLANATION OF GRAPHICAL SYMBOLS:
EXPLICACION DE SIMBOLOS GRAFICOS:
EXPLICATION DES SYMBÔLESGRAPHIQUES:

"DANGEROUS VOLTAGE"
“VOLTAJE PELIGROSO”
"DANGER HAUTE TENSION"

=

=

PRECAUCION

RIESGO DE CORRIENTAZO

NO ABRA

PRECAUCION: PARA REDUCIR EL RIESGO DE INCENDIOS O DESCARGAS
ELECTRICAS, NO PERMITA QUE ESTE APARATO QUEDE EXPUESTO A LA
LLUVIA O LA HUMEDAD. PARA DISMINUOIR EL RIESGO DE CORRIENTAZO.
NO ABRA LA CUBIERTA. NO HAY PIEZAS ADENTRO QUE EL USARIO PUEDO
REPARAR DEJE TODO MANTENIMIENTO A LOS TECHNICOS CALIFICADOS.

ATTENTION

RISQUE D'ELECTROCUTION

NE PAS OUVRIR

ATTENTION: PROTÉGEZ CET APPAREIL DE LA PLUIE ET DE L'HUMIDITÉ
AFIN D'ÉVITER TOUT RISQUE D'INCENDIE OU D'ÉLECTROCUTION. POUR
REDUIRE D'ELECTROCUTION NE PAS ENLEVER LE COUVERCLE. AUCUNE
PIECE INTERNE N'EST REPRABLE PAR L'UTILISATEUR. POUR TOUTE
REPARATION, S'ADRESSER A UN TECHNICIEN QUALIFIE.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

The Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,5

Suggested Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

System Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .back cover

3

GX-212 Amplifier

Congratulations!

You are now the proud owner of the Crate GX-212 guitar amplifi­er. These rugged amplifiers deliver serious clean and distorted
sounds through two premium 12” Crate Custom speakers. Channel
selection, Crate’s exclusive Shape circuit, and DSP on/off are con­trollable by the supplied three-button footswitch. An insert jack allows
virtually noise-free connection of your favorite effects.

Like all Crate products, your GX-212 is designed by musicians,
and built using only the best components. Extensive testing ensures
you that this amplifier is the absolute best it can be.

In order to get the most out of your new amplifier, we strongly
urge you to go over the information contained in this manual before
you begin playing.

And thank you

for choosing

4

GX-212 Amplifier

1: INPUT: Connect your guitar here by means of

a shielded instrument cable.

OVERDRIVE CHANNEL: A high gain channel
giving you sounds from a slight edge to serious
overdrive.

2: GAIN 1: Gain 1 is active only when the Gain
Select switch (#5) is out. When active, this con­trol adjusts the amount of compression and dis­tortion from the amplifier. At far left, the sound
will have a thick compressed quality . As you turn
the control to the right the amount of distortion
increases. Gain 1 produces less intense distor­tion than Gain 2.

3: GAIN 2: Gain 2 is active only when the Gain
Select switch (#5) is depressed. When active,
this control adjusts the amount of compression
and distortion from the amplifier. At far left, the
sound will have a thick compressed quality. As
you turn the control to the right the amount of
distortion increases. Gain 2 produces more
intense distortion than Gain 1 .

4: SHAPE: Working in conjunction with the Gain
2 control, rotate the Shape control until you find
the sound you’re looking for. Rotating the control
counter-clockwise enhances the mid frequen­cies; rotating it clockwise enhances the low and
high frequencies. (This control is only effective
when Gain 2 is selected.)

5: GAIN SELECT: Use this switch to select Gain
1 (switch out) or Gain 2 (switch depressed). A
footswitch (#21) overrides this switch.

6: LOW: Use this control to adjust the low fre­quency output level of the Overdrive channel.
This control provides a range of 11dB at 80Hz.

7: HIGH: Use this control to adjust the high fre­quency output level of the Overdrive channel.
This control provides a range of 10dB at 10kHz.

8: LEVEL: Use this control to adjust the output
level of the Overdrive Channel. Use this control
along with the Gain and Shape controls (#2, 3 &

4) to create a wide variety of sounds.
9: CHANNEL SELECT: Use this switch to select

the Clean channel (switch out) or the Overdrive
channel (switch depressed). One of the triangu­lar LEDs beside the switch will illuminate to indi­cated which channel is selected. A footswitch
(#21) overrides this switch.

CLEAN CHANNEL: A normal gain channel
designed to give you crystal clear sounds.

10: LEVEL: Use this control to adjust the output
level of the Clean Channel.

11: LOW: Use this control to adjust the low fre­quency output level of the Clean channel. This
control provides a range of 22dB at 80Hz.

12: MID: Use this control to adjust the mid fre­quency output level of the Clean channel. This
control provides a range of 14dB at 600Hz.

13: HIGH: Use this control to adjust the high fre­quency output level of the Clean channel. This
control provides a range of 28dB at 10kHz.

14: REVERB LEVEL: Use this control to adjust
the amount of reverberation. In the full counter­clockwise position the output signal is “dry” (no
reverb); rotating the control clockwise increases
the amount of reverb. The reverb can be turned
on and off by means of a footswitch (see #22).

15: INSERT: Use this jack to connect an exter­nal effects device to the amplifier. Use a stereo
1/4” male Y -cord: ring = send, tip = return, sleeve
= ground. See the illustration on the panel to the
right for more information.

5

GX-212 Amplifier

16: EXT. SPEAKER: Use this jack to connect an

extension speaker cabinet to the amplifier. This
jack is wired in series with the internal speaker(s).

WARNING: Do not attempt to use head­phones in the Speaker jack! Permanent
hearing damage could result!

17: POWER ON LED: This LED illuminates

when the amplifier is turned on.
18: POWER SWITCH: Use this switch to turn

the amplifier on (top of the switch depressed)
and off (bottom of the switch depressed).

19. POWER CORD (rear panel, not shown):

The grounded power cord should only be
plugged into a grounded power outlet that meets
all applicable electrical codes and is compatible
with the voltage, power, and frequency require­ments stated on the rear panel. Do not attempt

to defeat the safety ground connection.
20: FUSE (rear panel, not shown): This pro-

tects the amplifier against damages caused
from a faulty AC power source or other prob­lems. If the fuse blows, replace it ONLY with the
same size and type fuse. If the fuse blows
repeatedly check the AC source; if it’ s okay, con­tact your Crate dealer for service information.

21: CHANNEL SELECT / GAIN FOOTSWITCH
JACK (rear panel, not shown):

Use this jack to
connect the 1/4” stereo plug on the footswitch
cable to the three-button footswitch (supplied).
This allows you to remotely switch between the
Clean and Overdrive channels and between
Gain 1 and 2 of the Overdrive channel.

22: REVERB FOOTSWITCH JACK (rear panel,
not shown):

Use this jack to connect the 1/4”
mono plug on the footswitch cable to the three­button footswitch (supplied). This allows you to
remotely turn the reverb on and off.

C

onnecting to the Insert jack:

The Insert jack (#15) lets you patch external
effects into the amplifier just prior to its power
amp stage. Use Crate’s STP201, STP202 or
STP203 stereo-to-mono Y-cord or an adapter
such as Crate’s YPP117 and 2 1/4” mono signal
cables to connect to the effect as shown in the
illustration below.

Stereo-to-mono Y-cord:

to Insert

(STP201, 3'

STP202, 6'

STP203, 9')

TIP

to
effect
"OUT"
jack

TIP
RING

jack

SLEEVE

to

effect

"IN"
jack

External Effect

Y-adapter and 2 cables:

RETURN

SEND

GROUND

RING

TIP

RING

SLEEVE

(YPP117)

TIP

(1/4"-TO-1/4"

MONO CABLES)

to
effect
"OUT"
jack

External Effect

to Insert
jack

RING

to

effect

"IN"
jack

6

GX-212 Amplifier

SUGGESTED STARTING SETTINGS:

CLEAN:

BLUES:

RHYTHM:

LEAD:

OUT

OUT

OUT

IN

IN

IN

IN

GX-212 Amplifier

7

SYSTEM

BLOCK DIAGRAM:

R

INPUT

BUFFER

OVERDRIVE

CHANNEL

GAIN 1

CHANNEL

LOWVOLUME MID HIGH

GAIN

SELECT

CLEAN

SHAPE

ACTIVE

SHAPE

EQ

LOW

CHANNEL

SELECT

HIGH LEVEL

GAIN 2

REVERB LEVEL

MIX

AMP

DAMPING

CIRCUIT

INSERT

POWER

AMP

SPEAKE

EXT.

SPEAKER

©2001 SLM ELECTRONICS, ADIVISION OF ST. LOUIS MUSIC, 1400 FERGUSON, ST. LOUIS, MO. U.S.A. 63133

P/N 18-160-03 • 05/02

Crate continually develops new products, as well as improves existing ones. For this reason, the

specifications and information in this Crate manual are subject to change without notice.

www. crateamps.com

Declaration Of Conformity

#30, Effective 01-01-2001

Manufacturer’s Name: SLM Electronics

Production Facility: 11880 Borman Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146, USA
Production Facility: 700 Hwy 202 W, Yellville, AR 72687, USA
Shipping Facility: 1400 Ferguson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63133, USA
Office Facility: 1400 Ferguson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63133, USA

Product Type: Audio Amplifier
Complies with Standards:

LVD: 92/31/EEC, 93/68/EEC, & 73/23/EWG
Safety: EN60065
EMC: EN55013, EN55020, EN55022, EN61000-3-2,

& EN61000-3-3

Supplementary information provided by:

SLM Electronics - R & D Engineering

1901 Congressional Drive, St Louis, MO 63146, USA

Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone]

GX-212 Amplifier

Output Power Rating 115 watts RMS @ 5% THD 4 ohms load 120VAC
Speaker Size and Rating (2) Crate Custom 12”, 8 ohms
Input Impedance 470k ohms
Maximum Input Signal Level Accepted 7 volts, peak-to-peak
Total System Gain Overdrive Channel: 110dB all controls @10, Gain 2; 88dB Gain 1

Clean Channel: 58dB all controls @10

Overdrive Channel: Low Control: 11dB Range @ 80Hz

Shape Control: Proprietary Circuit

High Control: 10dB Range @ 10kHz

Clean Channel: Low Control: 22dB Range @ 80Hz

Mid Control: 14dB Range @ 600Hz

High Control: 28dB Range @ 10kHz

Input Power Requirements 120 VAC, 60Hz, 95VA

100/115VAC, 50/60Hz, 95VA
230VAC, 50/60Hz, 95VA

Cabinet Size and Weight: 21” H x 26-1/2” W x 11” D, 50 lbs.

The GX-212 is covered with a durable black Tolex material: wipe it

clean with a lint-free cloth. Never spray cleaning agents onto the

cabinet. Avoid abrasive cleansers which could damage the finish.

GX-212 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS