Crate Amplifiers VC-508 User Manual

VC-508 Guitar Amplifier

Owners Manual

Conratulations!

You are now the proud owner of the Crate VC-508 Guitar Amplifier. This
powerful little unit packs a whole lot of vintage tube sound into its compact
cabinet – giving you an amp that’s small and easy to operate yet still pro­duces incredible sounds!

All Crate amplifiers are Musician Made with Pride in the U.S.A. using the
finest components available. Each amp is rigorously tested by skilled tech­nicians and musicians to ensure that your amplifier is the best it can be.

For best results please read this manual before using the amplifier. And
Thank You for choosing

CRATE!

VC-508

The Controls and their Functions:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. INPUT: Plug your guitar in here.
Use a shielded instrument patch cord
for this.

2. GAIN: This determines the amount
of overdrive distortion. At low settings
(the 1 - 3 range) the signal is clean and
low. As the control is turned up the
signal becomes more overdriven and
louder. Use this along with the Volume
control (#4) and the volume control on
your guitar for a wide variety of
sounds.

3. TONE: This control lets you quickly
“dial in” just the right sounds. Basically ,
rotating the control towards the left
enhances the mid frequencies; rotat­ing it to the right enhances more of the
low and high frequencies simultane­ously, with a myriad of tonal variations
in between.

4. VOLUME: This control varies the
output level of the amplifier. Use this
control along with the Gain control (#2)
to obtain the level you need. The
Volume control also governs the level
of the signal at the Line Out jack (#5).

5. LINE OUT: This jack provides a line
level signal for connecting to a house
mixing board, recording console or
external amplifier. This jack can also
double as in Insert jack, allowing you
to add an external effect, as shown on
the facing page. The jack is a stereo
1/4” type: tip = signal out, ring = signal
in, sleeve = ground.

6. POWER LIGHT: This jeweled lens
glows when the amplifier is turned on.

7. POWER SWITCH: This heavy duty
switch turns the amp on and off. Allow
a few seconds once the amp is turned
on to let the tubes warm up.

AC LINE CORD (rear of amplifier,
not shown): Plug this cord into a

grounded outlet of the proper voltage
and current. See the sticker on the
underside of the chassis for the ampli­fier’s power requirements.

VC-508

System Block Diagram:

Using the Line Out as an Insert Jack:

The line out jack can also serve as an Insert jack, allowing you to 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 two 1/4” mono signal cables to connect to the effect as shown:

INPUT

GAIN

VOLUME

SPEAKER

LINE OUT

TONE

Stereo-to-mono Y-cord:

to Insert

jack

TIP
RING
SLEEVE

Y-adapter and 2 cables:

SEND

RETURN

GROUND

(STP201, 3'

STP202, 6'

STP203, 9')

RING

to
effect
"OUT"
jack

External Effect

TIP

to

effect

"IN"
jack

TIP

RING

SLEEVE

(YPP117)

RING

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

MONO SHIELDED

CABLES)

to
effect
"OUT"
jack

External Effect

to Insert
jack

TIP

to

effect

"IN"
jack

©2001 SLM Electronics • Adivision of St. Louis Music

1400 Ferguson Avenue • St. Louis, MO 63133

VC-508

Technical Specifications:

OUTPUT POWER RATING 5 W RMS @ 10%THD, 8 ohm load, 120 VAC

INPUT IMPEDANCE 1M ohm

MAX. SIGNAL ACCEPTED 2.5v peak-to-peak

SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO 66dB

GAIN 58dB

TONE CONTROL +/–16dB @ 1kHz

LINE OUT LEVEL 80mV RMS

INTERNAL SPEAKER 8”, 8 ohm, 15W Crate Custom

POWER REQUIREMENTS 120VAC, 60Hz, 40VA

100/115VAC, 50/60Hz, 40VA

230VAC, 50/60Hz, 40VA

SIZE AND WEIGHT 12” H x 13” W x 7.5”D; 18 lbs.

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.

THIS EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN
DESIGNED AND ENGINEERED TO
PROVIDE SAFE AND RELIABLE
OPERATION. IN ORDER TO PRO­LONG THE LIFE OF THE UNITAND
PREVENT ACCIDENTAL 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: 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

CAUTION: 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"
"UNBEDINGT IN DER BEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG NACHSCHLAGEN"

EXPLANATION OF GRAPHICAL SYMBOLS:
EXPLICACION DE SIMBOLOS GRAFICOS:
EXPLICATION DES SYMBÔLES GRAPHIQUES:

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

=

=

PRECAUCION

RIESGO DE CORRIENTAZO

NO ABRA

PRECAUCION 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.

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.

ESTE APARATO HA SIDO DISENADO Y
CONSTRUIDO PARA PROVEER ANOS
DE OPERACION SEGURA Y CONFI­ABLE. PARA PROLONGAR LA VIDA DE
ESTAUNIDAD E IMPEDIR DANOS ACCI­DENTALES POR FAVOR SIGA ESTAS
INSTRUCCIONES PREVENTIVAS:

PRECAUCION: PARA DISMINUIR EL
RIESGO DE DESCARGAS
ELECTRICAS: (1) NO ABRALACUBIER­TA, (2) NO ES RECOMENDABLE
REMOVER O DESACTIVAR LA PATA
DEL POLO A TIERRA DEL CABLE DE
CORRIENTE, CONECTE CORRECTA­MENTE AUNATOMADE CORRIENTE A
TIERRA.

ADVERTENCIA: PARA EVITAR
DESCARGAS EL ECTRICAS O PELI­GRO DE INCENDIO, NO DEJE ESTE
APARATO EXPUESTO A LA LLUVIA O
HUMEDAD.

PRECAUCION: NO HAY PIEZAS ADEN­TRO QUE EL USUARIO PUEDE
REPARAR. DEJE TODO MANTENIMIEN­TO ALOS TÉCNICOS CALIFICADOS.

PRECAUCION: NUESTROS AMPLIFI­CADORES PUEDEN PRODUCIR NIVE­LES DE PRESION DE SONIDO ALTO.
EXPOSICION CONTINUADA A LOS
NIVELES DE PRESION DE SONIDO
ALTO PUEDE CAUSA DANO PERMA­NENTE A SU OIDO. ES ACONSEJADO
QUE USE PRECAUCION ALUSUARIO Y
ES RECOMENDADO PROTECCION
PARA LOS OIDOS SI LA UNIDAD ES
OPERADAAVOLUMEN AL TO.

CET ÉQUIPEMENTA VAIT ÉTÉ INVEN­TÉ ET ARRANGÉ POUR POURVOIR
DES ANNÉES D'USAGE SAUF ET
SÛR. POUR PROLONGER LA VIE DE
CETAPP AREILET POUR EMPÊCHER
LES DOMMAGES ET LES TORTS
ACCIDENTELS, SUIVEZ LES
INSTRUCTIONS DE PRÉCAUTION.

AVERTISSEMENT: POUR RÉDUIRE
LES RISQUES D'ÉLECTROCUTION:
(1) N’OUVREZ PAS LE CHÂSSIS, (2)
NE PAS ESSAYER DE SUPPRIMER
LABROCHE CORRESPONDANTÀ LA
TERRE.

ATTENTION: POUR RÉDUIRE LES
RISQUES D'UN FEU OU D'ÉLECTRO­CUTION, N’EXPOSEZ PAS L'AP­PAREIL À LA PLUIE OU À LA MOI­TEUR.

ATTENTION: IL N'Y A PAS D’ÉLÉ­MENTS RÉPARABLES DANS L'AP­PAREIL. CONSULTER UN TECHNI­CIEN QUALIFIÉ POUR LES RÉPARA­TIONS.

ATTENTION: NOS AMPLIFICATEURS
SONT CAPABLES DE LA PRODUC­TION DES NIVEAUX DE SON D'UNE
HAUTE PRESSION. L'EXPOSITION
CONTINUE AUX CES NIVEAUX PEUT
CAUSER LA SURDITÉ PERMA­NENTE. LA PRUDENCE EST ADVISÉ
À UTILISATEUR ET LA PROTECTION
DES OREILLES EST RECOMMANDÉ
SI L'APPAREIL EST UTILISÉ À UN
HAUT NIVEAU DE VOLUME.

P/N 47-451-01

05/01

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