Rocktron RA50 DSP User Manual

Instruction Manual

Features

o 50 Watts
o 1x10” Custom Coaxial Speaker
o 256 Digital Effect Presets Built In
o Acoustic Guitar and Mic Input
o Multiple EQ Voicings
o Guitar Modeling Features
o Wedge Shaped

May be covered by one or more of the following: U.S. Patents #4538297, 4647876, 4696044, 4745309,

4881047, 4893099, 5124657, 5263091, 5268527, 5319713, 5333201, 5402498 and 5493617.

Other patents pending. Foreign patents pending.

Your Rocktron RA50DSP Acoustic Amplifier has been tested and complies with the following
Standards and Directives as set forth by the European Union:

Standard(s): IEC60065 Professional Audio/Video or Similar

Equipment, EN55013:1997, EN61000-3-2 (1995)
EN61000-3-3(1995), EN55020:1995, CSA E65-94

This means that this product has been designed to meet stringent guidelines on how much RF
energy it can emit, and that it should be immune from other sources of interference when properly
used. Improper use of this equipment could result in increased RF emissions, which may or may
not interfere with other electronic products.

To insure against this possibility, always use good shielded cables for all audio input connections.
This will help insure compliance with the Directive(s).

Specifications

POWER CONSUMPTION

INPUT IMPEDANCE

HEADPHONE IMPEDANCE

EXTENSION SPEAKER OUTPUT JACK

EFFECTS LOOP

Copyright © 2003 GHS Corporation
All Rights Reserved.

OUTPUT

SPEAKER

WEIGHT

DIMENSIONS

EQ

50 W atts
Custom 10” Coaxial (8 Ohms)
14Kgs
495x345x465 (mm)
115W
1M ohm
100 Ohms or greater
1/4” Output Jack
3-band
Yes

Precautions

NOTE: IT IS VERY IMPORT ANT THAT YOU READ THIS SECTION TO
PROVIDE YEARS OF TROUBLE FREE USE. THIS UNIT REQUIRES CAREFUL
HANDLING.

• All warnings on this equipment and in the operating instructions
should be adhered to and all operating instructions should be followed.

• Do not use this equipment near water. Care should be taken so that
objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the unit through any
openings.

• The power cord should be unplugged from the outlet when left unused
for a long period of time.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SERVICE THIS EQUIPMENT. THIS EQUIPMENT
SHOULD BE SERVICED BY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL ONLY. DO NOT MAKE
ANY INTERNAL ADJUSTMENTS OR ADDITIONS T O THIS EQUIPMENT AT
ANY TIME. DO NOT TAMPER WITH INTERNAL ELECTRONIC
COMPONENTS A T ANY TIME. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE
INSTRUCTIONS MA Y VOID THE WARRANTY OF THIS EQUIPMENT, A S
WELL AS CAUSING SHOCK HAZARD.

OPERATING TEMPERA TURE

Do not expose this unit to excessive heat. This unit is designed to operate between
32° F and 104° F (0° C and 40° C). This unit may not function properly under
extreme temperatures.

Front Panel

Piezo Pickup Section

1&2

3

4

5

6

Input Jacks - HIGH & LOW

Using a standard guitar cable with a 1/4” jack - plug your guitar into either jack. Select the
HIGH input for added “gain” or the LOW input for a smoother - softer gain structure.

GAIN Control

Adjusts the overall “GAIN” or input level of the signal.

LEVEL Control

Adjusts the overall “LEVEL” or output of the guitar signal

Microphone Input Section

XLR Input Jack

Using a standard microphone cable with XLR jacks, plug a microphone into this jack.

LEVEL Control

Adjusts the overall “LEVEL” or output of the microphone signal.

Equalization Section

7

8

9

10

TREBLE Control

Adjusts the high frequencies of the signal

MIDDLE Control

Adjusts the midrange frequencies of the signal

BASS Control

Adjusts the low-end frequencies of the signal

DSP Effects Section (Explained in detail on following pages)

EFFECTS SELECT Knob

This 16 position knob allows you to select one of 16 different preset effects “blocks”. Each
effect block (or each position) contains 16 different preset effect “settings” which are selected
via the EFFECTS VARIATION Control (see point 11).

11

EFFECTS VARIATION Knob

This 16 position knob allows you to select one of 16 different presets in each effect
“block”. Each position is a variation of the effect(s) in the block selected with the
“EFFECTS SELECT knob” from point 10.

12

13

EFFECTS LEVEL Control

This control adjusts the overall “Level” or volume of the effect.

POWER Switch

This switch turns the amplifier on or off. When the switch is “lit” - the amplifier is
“ON”.

Back Panel

1

EFFECTS BYPASS Jack

Connect the optional Rocktron RFS1 Footswitch (not included) to this jack. This will
allow you to turn the built-in effects “On” or “Off”. This is ideal in live performance
situations where you may want to turn the effects off for rhythm playing and on for
solos (or vice-versa). See the Rocktron website for more information regarding the
RFS1 - www.rocktron.com

2

3

4

5

6

EFFECTS SEND Jack

This jack sends the guitar signal to an outboard effects processor

EFFECTS RETURN Jack

This jack receives the returning signal from an outboard effects processor

EXTENSION SPEAKER Jack

This 1/4” jack allows you to connect the amplifier to an extension speaker cabinet.

HEADPHONE Jack

This 1/4” jack is used to connect to headphones. Plugging into this automatically mutes
the speaker.

POWER CABLE Connection

Using the included power cable connect the amplifier to a standard wall outlet. See
“Fuse Replacement” section for details on how to replace the fuse

DSP Effects Section

The RA50DSP is equipped with 256 different digital effects presets. Here is a list of the effects avail­able:

Delay
Chorus
Reverb
Tremolo
Flanger
EQ T ypes
and combinations of the above

The DSP Effect section is fairly simple to operate. Please see the diagram below and follow the instruc­tions:

1

EFFECTS SELECT Control - This control knob is a 16 position selector
that allows you to select the desired effects as shown on the front panel of
the amplifier. Each of the 16 positions contains 16 different effect varia­tions of selected effect(s). To select the variation please see point 2.

2

EFFECT VARIATION Control - This control knob is a 16 position selector
that allows you to select a variation of the effect that you have chosen in
the EFFECTS SELECT section (see point 1). There is a total of 16 differ­ent variations of each effect. Thus, in total there are 256 different preset
effects to choose from.

3

EFFECTS LEVEL Control - This control knob adjusts the overall volume
level of the effect. This control does NOT control the overall output of the
amplifier - only the output of the effect. All presets were written with the
EFFECTS LEVEL Control set at the midway point or LEVEL 5.