Crate Professional BV-60H, Professional BV-120H Owner's Manual

Owner’s Manual

for the

BV-60H/BV-120H

All Tube Professional Series

Guitar Amplifiers

by

®

Congratulations!

Your love of performing and driving ambition to be the best have brought you to a turning point in your musical
career: the incredible BV-60H or BV-120H Professional Series guitar amplifier . An all-tube powerhouse of an ampli­fier designed to take you to the top and keep you there.

We know something about you: we know you were never impressed with those "toys" that some of your friends
called amplifiers. We know you were holding out until someone offered you an American-made, affordable piece
of professional equipment you could really sink your teeth into. A serious amplifier, designed for a serious musi­cian: an amp with the sounds you've always looked for, the power you've always dreamed about, and the reliabil­ity you know you'll need. And all with a name you know you can trust: CRATE.

Like all Crate products, your BV-60H/120H is made with pride in America, using only the best components.
Extensive testing at the hands and ears of skilled technicians and musicians insures 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

Contents:

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

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

The Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

The Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

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

A Word About Tubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

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

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

2

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK,

DO NOT REMOVE COVER.

NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.

REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

ATTENTION

RISQUE D'ELECTROCUTION

NE PAS OUVRIR

ATTENTION: 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.

VORSICHT

ELEKTRISCHE SCHLAGGEFAHR

NICHT OFFENEN

VORSICHT: ZUR MINIMIERUNG ELEKTRISCHER SCHLAGGEFAHR NICHT

DEN DECKEL ABENHMEN. INTERNE TEILE KONNEN NICHT VOM

BENUTZER GEWARTET WERDEN. DIE WARTUNG IS QUALIFIZIERTEM

WARTUNGSPERSONAL ZU UBERLASSEN.

THIS EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN DESIGNED AND ENGINEERED TO PROVIDE SAFE AND RELIABLE OPERATION. IN ORDER TO PROLONG THE LIFE
OF THE UNIT AND PREVENTACCIDENTAL DAMAGES OR INJURY, PLEASE FOLLOW THESE PRECAUTIONARY GUIDELINES:

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT OPEN CHASSIS; DO NOT DEFEAT OR REMOVE THE GROUND PIN OF THE
POWER CORD; CONNECT ONLY TO A PROPERLY GROUNDED AC POWER OUTLET.

WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENTTO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
CAUTION: NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
CAUTION: THIS UNIT IS 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 RECOMMENDED IF
UNIT IS OPERATED AT HIGH VOLUME. THE CHART BELOW SHOWS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT’S OCCUPATIONAL SAFETYAND HEALTH ADMINIS­TRATION (OSHA) REGULATIONS WHICH WERE IN EFFECT ATTHE TIME OF THIS PUBLICATION FOR PERMISSIBLE NOISE EXPOSURE, PER
29CFR1910.95, TABLE G-16:

ACCORDING TO OSHA, ANYEXPOSURE IN EXCESS TO THESE AMOUNTS LISTED ABOVE COULD RESULT IN SOME HEARING LOSS.

"IT IS NECESSARY FOR THE USER TO REFER TO THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL"
"REFERREZ-VOUS AU MANUAL D'UTILISATION"
"UNBEDINGT IN DER BEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG NACHSCHLAGEN"

EXPLANATION OF
GRAPHICAL SYMBOLS:

"DANGEROUS VOLTAGE"
"DANGER HAUTE TENSION"
"GEFAHLICHE SPANNUNG"

=

=

SOUND LEVEL DBA, DURATION PER DAY SOUND LEVEL DBA, DURATION PER DAY

SLOW RESPONSE IN HOURS SLOW RESPONSE IN HOURS

90 8 102 1 - 1 1/2
92 6 105 1
95 4 110 1/2
97 3 115 1/4 or less

100 2

®

BV-60H/120H All-Tube Professional Series Guitar Amplifiers

®

Introduction:

The BV-60H/120H are all-tube, feature-packed professional stage performers' amplifiers. Rugged con­struction, reliable American craftsmanship and two powerful channels of pure tube power are some of the
trademarks of these new and impressive pieces of musician's equipment. Both amplifiers feature two dis­tinctly different 12AX7 tube-driven channels: one with classic tube rhythm sounds and one offering you some
of the finest lead and overdrive sounds of any stock amplifier.

Each channel features an all-tube preamp section with separate reverb level controls and three bands of
equalization for total tone control. The master Presence control lets you custom tailor the sound of your gui­tar to suit your particular needs. The effects loop can be quickly bypassed via the front panel switch or an
optional footswitch and features a switchable “pad” for use with either floor pedals or rack-mounted effects.

The Line Out signal is tapped directly from the speaker outputs, then attenuated and frequency-compen­sated to replicate the sound of a miked speaker cabinet. Dual speaker jacks and an impedance selector
switch allow the use of multiple cabinets totalling 8 or 16 ohms. The BV-60H packs a solid 50 watts of out­put power; the 120H a whopping 100 watts.

Features:

Here's a quick overview of the BV-60H/120H's features and controls. Additional information can
be found on the pages indicated.

• All-Tube Preamp and Power Amp: Classic tube sounds with Crate’s legendary performance and
reliability.

• Two Completely Separate Channels: Independent level, tone and reverb controls (page 4).

• Presence Control: Provides even greater tone control and flexibility by allowing you to vary the

upper harmonics of your guitar (page 4).

• Footswitch Control: Remote channel selection and Effects Loop on/off is available through the
use of an optional two-button footswitch (such as Crate’s CFP-2) (page 5).

• Switchable Effects Loop with Pad: Footswitch or front panel button controlled, the external
effects loop can be switched in or out with ease. A switchable pad provides optimum performance
from line-level rack mounted effects as well as floor-dwelling foot pedals (pages 4,5).

• Impedance Selector Switch: Proper impedance matching is essential for optimum performance
and life expectancy of a tube amplifier. These amps allow the use of 8 or 16 ohm speaker config­urations (page 5).

• Line Out Jack: Taken directly from the output of the speaker jacks, the Line Out signal is fre­quency compensated to sound just like a “miked” speaker cabinet. Use this to connect to the
house mixing board, a recording console or another performer’s powered monitor (page 5).

• DC Filament Supply: The first preamp tube has a DC filament supply for reduced hum.

• High Cosmetic Appeal and Stage Presence: The unique cosmetics of the BV-60H/120H serve
as a tribute to your good taste in musical equipment.

• Musician Made in the U.S.A.

3

®

BV-60H/120H All-Tube Professional Series Guitar Amplifiers