Hughes & Kettner TUBE ROTOSPHEREMK II User Manual
BEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG
MK IITUBE
®
www.hughes-and-kettner.com
ENGLISH
DEUTSCH
MANUAL
2.0
®
MK IITUBE
®
TubeTools
INDEX
- Welcome to Hughes & Kettner
- Connections and Control Features
- Recommended Applications and Standard
Connections
- Troubleshooting
- Technical Data
WELCOME TO HUGHES & KETTNER
Thank you for choosing the Hughes & Kettner
TUBE ROTOSPHERE MK II. We designed this device to
provide you with a high-quality, tube-driven emulator
that delivers the sound and the dynamics of the
original rotary speaker cabinet. The TUBE ROTOSPHERE
MK II is a compact, easy-to-operate signal processor
for enhancing the tone of your keyboard or guitar.
In addition to these traditional applications, the
TUBE ROTOSPHERE MK II lets you experiment with a
host of other instruments such as synthesizers, bass
guitars, etc. and even vocals. The only limits is your
imagination.
The TUBE ROTOSPHERE MK II´s rotary speed adjustment, control features and handling options are
®
based on the sought-after original tube Leslie
the 60´s. Those of you who have used this or a similar
device will soon come to terms with the TUBE
ROTOSPHERE MK II. For those of you who are less
experienced with rotary cabinets, this manual
provides all the information you need to put a
wicked tailspin an your sound. It also contains
valuable advice on cable connections and
application potions.
’s of
IF YOU HAVE NEVER USED AN ACTUAL ROTARY CABINET,
THE FOLLOWING SECTION DESCRIBES HOW THIS TYPE OF
DEVICE WORKS AND WHAT IT´S PRIMARY FEATURES ARE:
1. A rotating tweeter in the upper section and a
rotating bass woofer in the bottom section. The
speakers rotate at different speeds and in opposite
directions. This complex motion generates a blend
of Doppler effects, phase shifting, ever-changing
room reflections and alternating frequency
dampening that is responsible for the characteristic
sound of a Leslie®.
2. Tube amplifiers. The rotating speakers play a
decisive role in shaping the sound, but Tube
amplifiers are essential to the highly desirable
Hammond®tone. Originally regarded as a shortcoming, the tendency of tube amps to generate
soft, musical distortion at full throttle was soon
found to be a highly desirable audio characteristic.
Hence the legendary Hammond®sound was born.
Innovative players found that they could vary the
level op distortion within a wide range by manipulating a tube amp´s volume setting. Classic examples of highly distorted organ sounds in conjunction
with a Leslie“ rotary cabinet include the songs,
“Born to Be Wild“, “Whiter Shade of Pale” and
“Smoke on the Water”. To this day, the dynamic
response of tube amps is unique. No other technology can rival the way tubes compress signals and
generate overtones in response to signal level.
3. Breaker switch: The breaker cuts off the power
supply to the rotary motor. The rotating speaker
slows down until it reaches a full stop. The breaker
switch is an essential feature of the TUBE ROTO-
SPHERE MK II.
4. Speed: The two different basic speeds (Slow and
Fast) can be varied via the breaker.
ENGLISH
We wish you loads of fun and success with your
TUBE ROTOSPHERE MK II!
Hammond®and Leslie®are registered trademarks of the
Hammond-Suzuki Corporation.
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CONNECTIONS AND CONTROL
FEATURES
Potentiometers:
Drive: Adjusts the input impedance (gain) and
thereby the distortion level.
Output: Adjusts the output volume level.
Rotor Balance: Adjusts the balance of volume bet-
ween the tweeter and bass rotary speaker.
LEDs:
Flashing LEDs: The right LED indicates the speed of the
upper rotor, the left LED the speed of the lower rotor.
Tube Sat: This LED illuminates at the threshold of tube
saturation, i.e. when the signal starts distorting.
Effect On: This Led illuminates green when the effect
is activated.
Slow/Fast: This LED illuminates when the device is set
to slow speed.
Switches:
Slow/Fast: Selects the speed range to either slow or
fast. A couple of trim pots let you adjust the FAST
speed separately for the woofer and horn. These two
trimmers are located to the left and right of the
BALANCE knob. Use a small screwdriver to adjust
them. Feel free to try out different settings for the two
rotors and dial in the combination of speeds that you
like best.
Breaker: The button that controls the BREAKER
function was replaced with an on/off switch. While
the old model required you to hold the button down
with your foot to arrest the rotary action, now you
can simply activate and deactivate the BREAKER at
the touch of a button. That frees up your foot to
operate other effect devices or, in the case of
organs, bass pedals.
When you stop the rotary action, the simulated
woofer and horn always return to the same default
position. This ensures that varying rotor positions don’t
color the sound of the pedal and that you get
consistent tone when you use the Tube Rotosphere
purely as a tube preamp.
Bypass: Switches the overall effect on and off.
Rear panel:
Input Right/Mono: mono signal input or right stereo
signal input jack Sensitivity: -20 to + 10 dB; input
impedance 1 M ohms
Input Left: left stereo signal input jack Sensitivity: - 20
to + 10 dB; input impedance 1 M ohms
Output Right/Mono: mono signal output or right
stereo signal output jack Level: 0 to + 12 dB;
impedance 3 K ohms
Output Left: left stereo signal output jack Level: 0 to
+ 12 dB; impedance 3 K ohms
Mode Switch: Adjusts the impedance and pre-EQ
filtering for either keyboard or guitar.
Remote: stereo jack for external Bypass and Slow-Fast
switch. (tip = Bypass; ring = Slow-Fast switching)
Power Supply: input jack for the included power pack
(12 volt, 750 mA).
RECOMMENDED APPLICATIONS AND
STANDARD CONNECTIONS
1. Keyboard mono:
Use a cable equipped with standard 1/4” plugs to
connect the output from your keyboard to the
ROTOSPHERE mono input. Connect the ROTOSPHERE
mono output to your keyboard amp´s input or your
mixing console´s Line In.
2. Keyboard mono to stereo:
Connect your keyboard to the ROTOSPHERE input as
described above and connect the ROTOSPHERE
outputs to the stereo Line In jacks at your stereo
keyboard amp or mixing console.
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3. Keyboard stereo:
Connect the right and left stereo outputs of your
keyboard to the corresponding inputs and the right
and left ROTOSPHERE outputs to the corresponding
inputs of your amp or mixing console.
To dial in clean rotor sounds, set the Drive control so
that the Tube Sat LED just starts to illuminate at the
loudest volume you intend to use. You can turn the
Drive control up further to set the level of tube
distortion. Set the ROTOSPHERE Output level control
and the gain controls at the mixing console so that
the mixing console´s input channel is not overloaded.
You do not want the mixing console itself to add
harsh, undesirable distortion to the signal.
4. Guitar mono to the preamp input:
(We recommend this option only when you do not
have any type of loop available in your amp where
you could patch in the signal post-preamp.) Use a
cable equipped with standard 1/4” plugs to connect
your guitar´s output jack to the ROTOSPHERE mono
input. Connect the ROTOSPHERE mono output to your
amp´s input. Please make sure you dial in a high
enough level via the Drive control, as guitar signal
levels are substantially lower than keyboard signal
levels. Set the Mode Switch at first to Guitar Mode.
This will adapt the frequency response for guitar
applications, somewhat similar to the RED BOX®.
Check out the sound of both modes and choose the
one you prefer. It is not absolutely essential to use
Guitar Mode exclusively.
5. Guitar mono to your amp´s loop through the
ROTOSPHERE:
Use a cable equipped with standard 1/4” plugs to
connect the FX Send jack from your amplifier to the
ROTOSPHERE mono input jack, and the ROTOSPHERE
mono output to the FX Return of your amp. The FX
loop is located between the preamp and power
amp, and has a higher signal level. Subsequently, the
effect will have a better signal-to-noise ratio and will
sound better.
6. Guitar mono to stereo in an amp´s FX loop.
If your amp has an effect loop with a mono send and
stereo returns, use a cable equipped with standard
1/4” plugs to connect the FX. Send jack of your
amplifier to the ROTOSPHERE mono input jack and
the ROTOSPHERE stereo output jacks to the amp´s
stereo FX Returns.
7. Guitar stereo in the loop of an amp/rack
system:
Use two standard 1/4” plug cables to connect the FX
Sends L + R to the corresponding inputs of the ROTOSPHERE and the ROTOSPHERE outputs to the amp´s
stereo FX RETURNS L + R.
8. External Footswitch:
The Remote jack lets you connect an external footswitch or MIDI switcher. You can switch the effect on
and off (Bypass) and switch back and forth between
Slow and Fast. Please refer to the section “Control
Features” to check the pin assignments of the stereo
1/4” jack. Also be aware of the fact that you can
only switch these functions remotely when the unit
itself is set to Bypass and Fast. With these settings, the
switches are “Off” and LEDs do not illumiate.
TROUBLESHOOTING
WARNING: DO NOT USE ANY POWER SUPPLY OTHER THAN
THE INCLUDED ORIGINAL ROTOSPHERE AC POWER PACK!
The ROTOSPHERE is a tube-driven device and draws a
great deal of current compared with most pedal
devices. A weaker power supply could easily compared with most pedal devices. A weaker power
supply could easily overheat, burn itself out and
destroy the ROTOSPHERE along with it, possibly
causing a fire and leading to further damage and
injury.
Level problems: If you are using a guitar with this
effect, note that electric guitars have low output
signal levels and that you must turn the Drive control
up to a suitable level. We highly recommend that you
ENGLISH
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