Crate Amplifiers BV300H User Manual

This is the operation guide for the Crate BV300H.

READ IT.

Then get ready for the Ride of your Life!

2

Contents:

A Message from the People Behind the BV300H . . . . . . . . . .3

The Front Panel - Input & Channel 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

The Front Panel - Channel 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

The Front Panel - Channel 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

The Front Panel - Effects Loop, Eek & Ugh . . . . . . . . . . .7

The Rear Panel - Footswitch, Speaker Outputs, Slave Out . . . .8

The Rear Panel - Effects Loop, Bias, AC Power . . . . . . . . .9

Important Information About Tubes and Tube Products

A Brief History Of The Tube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Tube Types And Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

The Nature Of Tubes: Why (And When) To Replace Them . . . .11

The Importance Of Proper Biasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Survival Tips For Tube Amplifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Some Suggested Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

The Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

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 UNIT REQUIRES 3”

(75CM) 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 APOLARIZED, SAFETY GROUNDED OUTLET WIRED TO CURRENT ELECTRICAL CODES AND COMPATIBLE WITH VOLTAGE, POWER, AND

FREQUENCY REQUIREMENTS STATED ON THE REAR PANELOF 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 OPERATION AND TO AVOID INJURY.

• WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK OR FIRE, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS UNIT TO RAIN OR 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 PERMA-

NENT 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.

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.

"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 SYMBÔLES GRAPHIQUES:

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

=

=

A Message from the People Behind the BV300H:

3

You now own the finest lead guitar amplifier in the world. The Crate BV300H was designed to
fulfill the needs of the professional musician. It is equally at home in the studio, in the
club, or on the big stage. This amplifier has been designed with key features to finely
sculpt its sound into YOUR sound. The BV300H uses premium materials and workmanship and is
made entirely in the U.S.A. It includes a full 5 year warranty on parts and labor and a 90
day warranty on tubes. Unlike some other amplifiers which only sound good when turned up,
the BV300H delivers the same awesome tone at low volumes that it does at high stage levels.
This is due to our unique power amplifier that produces the same sweet, warm juicy tone at
ANY level. 3 watts or 300 watts, the tone is consistent, strong and powerful.

Don’t let the 300W rating scare you. All amplifiers can benefit from added headroom. 300
watts allows the player to hear the detail and dynamics of the sound much better. The sound
is like nothing you have ever heard before. Imagine palm muting the low strings and actually
hearing the full dynamic. Many players don’t even know what this sounds like because their
amplifiers are underpowered. Have you ever started to turn your amplifier up louder only to
have the tone change, get flubby, fart out…. Lack of headroom. The only way to describe it
is to experience it.

Coupled with its massive power amplifier is a state of the art 3 channel preamp. Switching is
accomplished via momentary switches that provide instant access to each of the 3 channels.

A classic design originally used for bass or guitar, Channel 1 is full of dynamic headroom
and tonal versatility. It utilizes a clean, punchy preamplifier section with classic high
and low tone EQs and a 5-position midrange selector to further dial in your tone.

Channel 2 has a classic british tonality that will be familiar to most players. The warmth
and crunch of a naturally overdriven power amp is captured powerfully by this channel. Touch
sensitivity and dynamics are emphasized in this traditionally voiced preamp. This channel
provides creamy-smooth overdrive, with a slight compression effect.

Channel 3 is the power driver. It delivers the goods in a forceful, aggressive manner with
the slightest amount of tube compression. Voiced quite a bit harder than Channel 2, Channel
3 is like a sledgehammer pounding away.

Rounding out the front panel controls are a pair of power amp feedback controls, Eek and
Ugh. Use them for tuning the amplifier to different cabinets or rooms.

The rear panel consists of an array of speaker outputs, 1/4" and Neutrik Speakon

®

, slave
output with level control, bias controls and test points, and the effects loop with level
controls - switchable for series or parallel operation. The loop can be engaged from the
front panel switch or the supplied BVFS4 footswitch.

Speakon® is a registered trademark of Neutrik U.S.A.

1.Input Jack: 1 Meg Ohm input impedance 1/4”
input jack – plug your guitar in here.

2.Channel 1 Select Switch: When you want to
use Channel 1, press this switch. The green LED
above this switch lights up when Channel 1 is
selected. The BV300H uses instant access switch­ing – when the footswitch (#28, rear panel) is
connected, either the front panel channel select
switches or the footswitch will select the
desired channel.

3.Gain: Use this control to adjust the input
gain for Channel 1. Towards the “–” side gives
you tight, dynamic clean tones. Towards the “+”
side you’ll get more crunch. Using a circuit
that was originally used for the bass or gui­tar, the gain is mild, yet thick & punchy. (A
humbucker will push the preamp intensely into
compression.)

4.Treble: Use this control to adjust the top
end level for Channel 1. The Treble control

provides a range of 38dB at 5kHz.

5.Mid Freq Select: Use this control to select
the frequency where the Mid control takes
effect – 300Hz, 700Hz, 1kHz, 1.5kHz, or 3kHz.

6.Mid: Use this control to adjust the midrange
level for Channel 1. The Mid control gives you
10dB of boost or 22dB of cut at whatever fre­quency the Mid Freq control (#6) is set to. The
Mid control is a peak/dip style filter.

7.Level: Use this control to adjust the output
level of Channel 1. Along with the Gain control
(#3), you can get the right blend of dynamics
for your playing style.

8.Bass: Use this control to adjust the low end
level for Channel 1. The Bass control provides
24dB of boost or cut at 50Hz.

THE FRONT PANEL - Input, Channel 1:

4

9.Channel 2 Select Switch: When you want to

use Channel 2, press this switch. The amber LED
above this switch lights up when Channel 2 is
selected. The BV300H uses instant access switch­ing – when the footswitch (#28, rear panel) is
connected, either the front panel channel select
switches or the footswitch will select the
desired channel.

10.Gain: Use this control to adjust the input
gain for Channel 2. Towards the “–” side gives
you the classically British warm crunch. Towards
the “+” side gives you creamy smooth overdrive
with a touch of compression.

11.Treble: Use this control to adjust the top
end level for Channel 2. The Treble control
provides 12dB of boost or cut at 2kHz.

12.Mid Boost Select: Use this control to add
a 4~5dB boost from the low end up to the
midrange frequency selected: 250Hz, 500Hz,
750Hz, or 1kHz. There is, of course, no boost
when this control is at the “off” position.

13.Mid: Use this control to adjust the
midrange output level for Channel 2. The Mid
control gives you 10dB of boost or cut at
750Hz.

NOTE: The Mid Boost Select (#12) uses a differ­ent circuit than the Mid control (#13).

14.Level: Use this control to adjust the out­put level of Channel 2. Use this control along
with the Gain control (#10) to get the sound
you’re looking for on Channel 2.

15.Bass: Use this control to adjust the low
end level for Channel 2. The Bass control pro­vides 20dB of boost or cut at 50Hz.

THE FRONT PANEL - Channel 2:

5