DigiTech Brian May Red Special Pedal User Manual

DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY

Manufacturer’s Name: DigiTech®
Manufacturer’s Address: 8760 S. Sandy Parkway
Sandy, Utah 84070, U.S.A.

declares that the product:

Product name: Red Special Pedal
Product option: all (requires Class II power adapter that conforms
to the requirements of EN60065, EN60742, or
equivalent.)

conforms to the following Product Specications:

Safety IEC 60065 (1998)
EMC EN 55013 (2001 + A1)
EN 55020 (1998)

Supplementary Information:

The product herewith complies with the requirements of the Low Voltage
Directive 73/23/EEC and the EMC Directive 89/336/EEC as amended by
Directive 93/68/EEC.

Vice-President of Engineering - MI
8760 S. Sandy Parkway
Sandy, Utah 84070, U.S.A.
Date: May 12, 2006

European Contact: Your local DigiTech Sales and Service Ofce or

Harman Music Group
8760 South Sandy Parkway
Sandy, Utah, 84070 U.S.A.
Ph: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Warning

For your protection, please read the following:

Important Safety Instructions

1. Read these instructions.

2. Keep these instructions.

3. Heed all warnings.

4. Do not use this apparatus near water.

5. Clean only with dry cloth.

6. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in ac­cordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

7. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators,
heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including

ampliers) that produce heat.

8. Protect the power cord from being walked on or
pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles,
and the point where they exit from the apparatus.

9. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when
unused for long periods of time.

10. No user serviceable parts inside. Refer all servicing to

qualied service personnel. Servicing is required when

the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as
power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been
spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the
apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does
not operate normally, or has been dropped.

11. WARNING: To reduce the risk of re or electric shock,

do not expose this apparatus to rain or moisture.

12. Refer to labels on the unit, including bottom cover, or
other markings and pertinent infor mation.

Congratulations on choosing the DigiTechTM Red Special Pedal!
This piece of gear is, in my opinion, a work of genius! I claim no credit! An

amazing DigiTech team led by legend Eddie Kramer have created a device

“

capable of making anybody sound like me! (If you should want to, that is!)
Through an incredible new modeling technique, this pedal captures 14 of the most

memorable tones I’ve achieved for Queen over the years, and places them at your
fingertips.

But it does not stop there. Our hope is that you, the guitarists of the future,
will use this machine as an aid to creating your own new tones, and inspire you
to greater heights. To enable this to happen, each tone setting on this pedal can
be adjusted in gain, level, bass, treble, and many other parameters to meet the
demands of your wildest dreams!

From the searing harmonically rich solo sound of Bohemian Rhapsody, to the
churning saturated thickness of the climax of ‘We Will Rock You’, to the hitherto
inimitable ‘Deacy’ amp tone, which I’ve used for years to create ‘orchestras’ of
guitars on record, this device will shock you! The Red Special Pedal puts a new
spectrum of tones at your command, whether used as a preamp for a stage set-up,
or directly into the board in your studio (the Pedal models the amp cabinets too).

Plug in and turn it up – and ROCK!
Cheers!”

May, 2006

Included Items

The DigiTech® Red Special Pedal includes the following items:

• DigiTech Red Special Pedal

• Red Special Artist Series Gig Bag

• Sixpence Plectrum

• PS0913B Power Supply

• This Owner’s Manual

• DigiTech Warranty Card

• DigiTech Brochure

Please make sure that all of these items have been included before you
get started.

Setup Directions

Follow these setup directions before use:

1. Turn the volume down on the amplifier/mixer you are connecting to.

2. Connect the pedal output to the amplifier/mixer input.

3. Connect the guitar to the pedal input.

4. Connect the power supply to the pedal.

5. Turn up your amplifier/mixer level to your desired listening level.

6. Turn the selected Model on or off by pressing the TOE SWITCH or
the HEEL SWITCH.

NOTE: To best utilize the built-in treble booster, plug your guitar directly
into the Red Special Pedal (instead of placing the Red Special Pedal at
the end of your effects chain). The built-in treble booster boosts the high
frequencies of the guitar signal and attenuates low frequencies. However,
it also has a relatively low input impedance which loads the guitar pickups
more than plugging into a high impedance input (like a a guitar amp). This
has the effect of rolling off a portion of the highs and smoothing out the
overall tone. Since this “loading” effect cannot be reproduced digitally, an
input loading circuitry is utilized along with digital modeling anytime the
signal path in the Red Special Pedal uses a treble booster effect.

For more than 30 years, Brian’s signal path has begun with the Red Special

Treble Booster

Phaser

Deacy Amp

Vox AC-30s

OR

guitar and its multitude of pickup selections and phase options.

The guitar signal is run almost exclusively through a treble booster and
then directly into his customized VoxTM* AC30s. For many of the layered
harmony guitar parts heard on numerous Queen recordings, Brian also
used the infamous “Deacy,” a hand-built battery operated amp designed
by Queen Bassist John Deacon.

For effects, Brian has relied on a FoxxTM* phaser, digital harmony pitch
shifters, and more recently, chorusing effects using a single “dry” amp and
two “wet” amps to create his huge live sound. Some post processing
techniques used in the studio included tape flanging, reverb, and an assort­ment of mics and amp mic’ing techniques that capture Brian’s unique and
instantly recognizable sound.

Brian May’s Signal Path (Example)

CONTROL DESCRIPTIONS

1. OUT 1 (AMP)*

Connect this output jack to your
guitar amplifier. Refer to the Flex-
ible Output ModeTM Setup sec­tion for more information.

2. OUT 2 (MIXER)*

This output has been specifically
tailored for use with a full range
audio system and is designed to be
plugged directly into a mixer or
recording device for optimal per­formance. Refer to the Flexible
Output Mode Setup section for
more information.

3. (Tip) - GAIN

Increases or decreases gain.

(Ring) - LEVEL

Increases or decreases level.

* Use only unbalanced TS instrument cables.

4. INDICATOR LED

This LED indicates the present
mode of the model selected:
OFF=bypass, GREEN=toe mode,
RED=heel mode. (Please refer to
the Flexible Output ModeTM,
and Calibrating the Expression
Pedal sections for more informa­tion.)

5. (Tip) - TREBLE

Increases or decreases treble.

(Ring) - BASS

Increases or decreases bass.

6. POWER SUPPLY JACK

Connect only the included PS0913B
(9V AC) power supply to this jack.
Note that the Red Special Pedal is
not equipped for battery power.

7. (Tip) - CONTROL

Model dependent. Refer to the

Model Control table for more
information.

(Ring) - GUITAR

Transforms your guitar tone to
sound more like Brian’s, using guitar
modeling technology.

SC - Select this setting if you’re

using a single coil pickup(s), typical
of a StratocasterTM* guitar

Red Special - Select this setting

if you’re playing a Red Special
replica (or using BurnsTM* Tri­SonicTM* pickups).

HB - Select this setting if you’re

using a humbucker pickup(s), typi­cal of a Les PaulTM* guitar.

8. MODEL

This knob selects one of the seven
different Models:

1. Keep Yourself Alive

2. Bohemian Rhapsody

3. Tie Your Mother Down

4. We Will Rock You/Champions

Guitar Knob

(outer ring)

5. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

6. Brighton Rock Solo - Live

7. Deacy / A Winter’s Tale

Refer to the Model Descriptions

section for more information.

9. INPUT

Connect your guitar to this jack.

10. FOOTSWITCH

Plug in the optional FS3X
footswitch here. Refer to the

Using the Optional FS3X
Footswitch section to see what

the FS3X can do with the Red
Special Pedal.

11. EXPRESSION PEDAL

Serves as a variable control for
some of the Models. Also used
for engaging the TOE SWITCH

and the HEEL SWITCH (which
enable different modes within each
Model). Refer to the Model Con-
trol table for more information
about the EXPRESSION PEDAL.

To engage the HEEL or TOE

SWITCHES, press firmly on the
heel or toe of the EXPRESSION
PEDAL. The INDICATOR LED
will light green when the TOE
SWITCH is engaged or red when
the HEEL SWITCH is engaged.

If the EXPRESSION PEDAL’s

range becomes diminished over
time, it may be necessary to re-cali­brate the pedal. Refer to the

Calibrating the Expression Ped­al section for more information.

The Guitar Knob

The Red Special Pedal was designed to work
in conjunction with Brian’s Red Special guitar,
but it can also be used with single-coil or
humbucker-equipped guitars.

The pedal’s proprietary Guitar Knob (outer
ring, second knob from the right) uses Guitar
Modeling technology to transform your
guitar’s tone to sound more like Brian’s.

If your guitar has single coil pickups (like a
StratocasterTM), turn the Guitar Knob to SC.
If your guitar has humbucking pickups (like
a Les PaulTM), turn the Guitar Knob to HB. If
you’re playing a Red Special replica, turn the
Guitar Knob to Red Special.

Note that you can fine tune the Guitar
Knob’s position between the HB and the Red
Special settings, and between the SC and the
Red Special settings (they are ranges). But the
Red Special setting itself is a single point (not
a range).