Crate Amplifiers BV-50H User Manual

Owner’s Manual

for the

BV-50H

All Tube Professional Series

Guitar Amplifier

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-50H guitar amplifier. A 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-50H 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 EQUIPMENT TO 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 SAFETY AND 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-50H Guitar Amplifier

Introduction:

The BV-50H is a feature-packed professional stage performers' amplifier. Rugged construction, reliable
American craftsmanship and two powerful channels of pure tube power are some of the trademarks of this
new and impressive piece of musician's equipment. This amplifier features 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 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 Line Out signal is tapped directly from the speaker outputs, then attenuated and frequency-compen­sated to replicate the sound of a miked speaker cabinet. Two pairs of speaker output jacks provide easy
impedance matching with a wide variety of cabinet configurations.

Features:

Here's a quick overview of the BV-50H's features and controls. Additional information can be
found on the pages indicated.

• Patented Channel Switching Circuitry: Achieves maximum use of each preamp tube - so unique
it's patented!

• Adjustable Presence Control: Fully adjustable upper harmonics level for changing the "presence"
of both channels (page 4).

• Auto-Biasing Circuitry: Want to change your sound? Change your tubes! Internal circuitry allows
the use of either 6L6 or EL34 power tubes with no bias adjusting (page 7).

• D.C. filament supply for first stage: eliminates the need for a “hum balance” control.

• Effects Loop: For noiseless patching of external effects, or use as a preamp out/power amp in con­nection (page 5).

• Line Out Jack: Taken directly from the speaker output signal! This frequency compensated output
lets you patch into house sound boards, recording consoles, etc. with ultimate sonic fidelity (page

5).

• Footswitch Jack: This stereo jack - (tip for channel selection and ring for reverb on/off control) ­allows use of a two-button footswitch (page 5).

• Speaker Jacks: Impedance-matched speaker connectors allows at least four different cabinet con­figurations (page 5).

• High Cosmetic Appeal and Stage Presence: The unique cosmetics of the BV-50H serve as a trib­ute to your good taste in musical equipment.

3

®

BV-50H Guitar Amplifier