Crate Amplifiers GFX-65T User Manual

Owner ’s Manual

Congratulations!

Y ou are now the proud owner of the Crate GFX-65Tamplifier. This rugged amplifier combines
outstanding features with serious clean and distorted sounds. An easy to operate DSPsection lets
you dial in a variety of digital effects including reverbs, delays, octave and wah-wahs – with a sepa­rate level control. Crate’s unique Channel T racking feature means that as you switch between
channels and gains, the DSP automatically “tracks” the changes - your DSP settings for each
channel are stored and automatically recalled! The supplied three-button footswitch allows you to
select channels, change the overdrive gain, and turn the DSPon and off by “remote control.” The
top-mounted electronic tuner lets you get tuned and stay in tune any time the amplifier is on.

Like all Crate products, your GFX-65T is designed by musicians, and built using only the
best components. Extensive testing confirms 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 read the informa­tion contained in this manual before you begin playing.

And thank you

for choosing

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

The Digital Signal Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Channel Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

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

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

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

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

GFX-65T Guitar Amplifier with DSP & Channel Tracking

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

• READ, FOLLOW, HEED, AND KEEPALL INSTRUCTIONS AND WARNINGS.

• DO NOT OPERATE NEAR ANY HEATSOURCE AND DO NOT BLOCK ANY VENTILATION OPENINGS ON THIS APPARATUS.

• 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 BYTHE MANUFACTURER FOR SAFE OPERA-

TION AND TO AVOID INJURY.

• THIS APPARATUS DOES NOT OPERATE NORMALLY AND 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 DESSYMBÔLES GRAPHIQUES:

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

=

=

PRECAUCION

RIESGO DE CORRIENTAZO

NO ABRA

ADVERTENCIA: REDUCIR EL RIESGO DE FUEGO O CHOQUE ELÉCTRI­CO, NO LE EXPONE DE ESTE APARATO A LLUVIA O 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: 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.

The Digital Signal Processor:

Crate’s Digital Signal Processing offers 16 exciting digital effects, accessible through the DSP
Mode control. The effects are described below .

3

GFX-65T Guitar Amplifier with DSP & Channel Tracking

Channel T

racking:

Your Crate GFX-65T gives you the power of Channel Tracking! Once you select a DSP setting
for each channel, Channel Tracking recalls those DSP settings automatically – without changing
the DSP controls! For example:

• Select the Clean channel. Set the DSP Mode to “FLNG 1”

(slow flange + reverb)

• Select the Overdrive channel, Gain 1. Set the DSP Mode to “CHO 1”(slow chorus + reverb) (the set-

ting for the Clean channel is now saved to memory)

• Select the Overdrive channel, Gain 2. Set the DSP Mode to “T-WAH” (touch wah-wah) (the setting

for the Overdrive channel, Gain 1 is now saved to memory)

• Reselect the Clean channel (the setting for the Overdrive channel, Gain 2 is now saved to memory)

Now when you go back to the Clean channel, even though the DSP Mode was last set to “T-WAH,”
Channel Tracking automatically recalls the last setting for the Clean channel – in this example,
“FLNG 1.” Change to the Overdrive channel, Gain 1, and “CHO 1” is recalled. Change to the
Overdrive channel, Gain 2, and “T-WAH” is recalled. That’s the power of Channel Tracking!

(Note: Even when the power is turned off, Channel T racking still retains the settings – until you change them!)

1 REV 1 small room reverb
2 REV 2 medium room reverb
3 REV 3 large room reverb
4 REV 4 concert hall reverb
5 DLY 1 short slapback + small room reverb
6 DLY 2 medium delay + plate reverb
7 DLY 3 long delay + large room reverb
8 FLNG 1 slow deep flange + reverb

9 FLNG 2 flange + reverb + delay
10 CHO 1 slow tremolo chorus + reverb
11 CHO 2 chorus + reverb + delay
12 RTRY simulated rotating speaker effect
13 OCTV DN adds a signal one octave lower than input
14 T-WAH touch sensitive wah-wah effect
15 I-WAH inverse wah-wah effect
16 DBLR simulated second track, slightly out-of-sync

The Front Panel:

4

1 2 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19185 9

1: INPUT : Use this 1/4” jack to connect your guitar to the amplifier 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: Use this control to adjust the amount of light distortion for the Overdrive channel. Gain 1 pro­duces less intense distortion than Gain 2 (#3) and is active when the Gain switch (#5) is in the out position.

3: GAIN 2: Use this control to adjust the amount of heavy distortion for the Overdrive channel. Gain 2 pro­duces more intense distortion than Gain 1 (#2) and is active when the Gain switch (#5) is depressed.

4: SHAPE: Use this control to “dial in” the tone for the Overdrive channel when Gain 2 is selected. Rotating
the control counterclockwise enhances the mid frequencies, while rotating the control clockwise enhances
the low and high frequencies. This control is active only when Gain 2 is selected.

5: GAIN SELECT: Use this switch to select which gain control is active for the Overdrive channel. With the
switch in the out position, Gain 1 is selected. When the switch is depressed, Gain 2 is selected.

6: LOW: Use this control to adjust the low frequency level of the Overdrive channel.
7: HIGH: Use this control to adjust the high frequency level of the Overdrive channel.
8: LEVEL: Use this control to adjust the output level of the Overdrive channel.
9: CHANNEL SWITCH: Use this switch to select either channel. With the switch in the out position, the

Clean channel is selected. When the switch is depressed, the Overdrive channel is selected.

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

10: LEVEL: Use this control to adjust the output level of the Clean channel.
11: LOW: Use this control to adjust the low frequency level of the Clean channel.
12: MID: Use this control to adjust the midrange frequency level of the Clean channel.
13: HIGH: Use this control to adjust the high frequency level of the Clean channel.
14: DSP LEVEL: Use this control to adjust the amount of digital effect: in its fully counterclockwise posi-

tion the signal will be “dry” (without any effect). As you rotate the control clockwise the amount of effect
increases.

15: DSP MODE:Use this control to select one of the 16 built-in digital effects. Alisting of the effects is shown
on page 3 of this manual.

16: INSERT: Use this jack to connect an external effects device to the amplifier. Use a stereo 1/4” male Y
connector: ring = send, tip = return, sleeve = ground. (Refer to the illustration at the bottom of page 5.)

17: EXTERNAL SPEAKER: Use this jack to connect the amplifier to an external speaker. The internal
speaker is disconnected when this jack is used. The minimum impedance for the external speaker is 4 ohms.

18: ON LED: This LED will illuminate when power is applied to the amplifier.
19: POWER: Use this switch to turn the amplifier on (top of the switch depressed) and off (bottom of the

switch depressed).

GFX-65T Guitar Amplifier with DSP & Channel Tracking

The Electronic Tuner:

5

20. ELECTRONIC TUNER (top panel): This active electronic tuner is on whenever the amplifier is turned

on, allowing you constant, “real-time” tuning. The bottom row of LEDs indicate which string is being tuned,
while the top row of LEDs are your guiding lights: use the flat and sharp indicators until the center LED illu­minates. This indicates a properly tuned string.

21: AC LINE CORD (rear panel, not shown): This grounded power cord is to be plugged into a ground­ed power outlet, wired to current electrical codes and compatible with the voltage, power, and frequency
requirements stated on the rear panel. Do not attempt to defeat the safety ground connection.

21: FUSE (rear panel, not shown): The fuse protects the amplifier from damages caused by a faulty
AC power source and/or other problems. If the fuse opens, replace it ONL Ywith the same size and type.
If fuses continue to fail, check the AC source – if the source is okay, contact your Crate dealer for serv­ice information.

22: CHANNEL SELECT / GAIN FOOTSWITCH JACK (rear panel, not shown): Use this jack to con­nect the stereo 1/4” plug of the supplied three-button footswitch for remote control of channel selection
and gain selection.

23: REVERB FOOTSWITCH JACK (rear panel, not shown): Use this jack to connect the mono 1/4”
plug of the supplied three-button footswitch for remote control of DSP on and off.

CONNECTING T

O THE INSERT JACK:

The Insert jack (#16) allows
you to patch an external
effects device into the amplifier
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 two 1/4”
mono signal cables to connect
the effect as shown to the
immediate right.

GFX-65T Guitar Amplifier with DSP & Channel Tracking

20

Stereo-to-mono Y-cord:

to Insert

(STP201, 3'

STP202, 6'

STP203, 9')

jack

TIP
RING
SLEEVE

RETURN

SEND

GROUND

Y-adapter and 2 cables:

TIP

to Insert

RING

SLEEVE

(YPP117)

jack

TIP

TIP

RING

RING

to
effect
"OUT"
jack

to

effect

"IN"
jack

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

MONO CABLES)

to
effect
"OUT"
jack

effect

to

"IN"
jack

External Effect

External Effect

Suggested Settings:

6

GFX-65T Guitar Amplifier with DSP & Channel Tracking

System Block Diagram:

7

R

GFX-65T Guitar Amplifier with DSP & Channel Tracking

TUNER

A BC D EF G

INPUT

BUFFER

FLEX WAVE

OVERDRIVE

CHANNEL

GAIN

STAGE

SHAPE

ACTIVE

GAIN

CLEAN

CHANNEL

LOWLEVEL MID HIGH

EQ

LOW

HIGH LEVEL

CHANNEL

SELECT

DSP

MODE

SHAPE

LEVEL

MIX

AMP

POWER

AMP

DAMPING

CIRCUIT

INSERT

SPEAKE

EXT.

SPEAKER

GFX-65T TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

Output Power Rating 65W RMS @ 5% THD, 4Ω, 120 VAC
Speaker Size and Rating (1) Custom Design 12”, 4Ω
Input Impedance 470kΩ
Total System Gain Overdrive Ch Gain 1: 88dB, all controls @10; Gain 2: 110dB

Clean Ch 58dB, all controls @10
Maximum Input Signal Accepted 7 volts peak-to-peak
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

Power Requirements 120 VAC, 60Hz, 90VA; 100/115VAC, 50/60Hz, 90VA;

100/115VAC, 50/60Hz, 90VA

Size and Weight 17-1/2” H x 20” W x 11” D, 34 lbs.

The GFX-65T is covered with a durable charcoal gray Tolex material: wipe it clean with a lint-free cloth.

Never spray cleaning agents onto the cabinet. Avoid abrasive cleansers which would damage the finish.

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

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

www.crateamps.com

@2001 SLM Electronics, a division of St. Louis Music, Inc • 1400 Ferguson Avenue • St. Louis, MO 63301

47-475-05 • 09/01

GFX-65T Guitar Amplifier with DSP & Channel Tracking

Declaration Of Conformity

#34, 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 your local Sales & Services Office or:

SLM Electronics - R & D Engineering

1901 Congressional Drive, St Louis, MO 63146, USA

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