Samson 115C, 210C, 112C User Manual

HartkeHartke

112C 115C 210C

Caution: To reduce the hazard of electrical shock, do not remove cover or back.

No user serviceable parts inside. Please refer all servicing to qualified personnel.

WARNING: To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this unit to rain or moisture.

The lightning flash with an arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated "dangerous voltage" within the products enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product.

Important Safety Instructions

1. Please read all instructions before operating the unit.

2. Keep these instructions for future reference.

3. Please heed all safety warnings.

4. Follow manufacturers instructions.

5. Do not use this unit near water or moisture.

6. Clean only with a damp cloth.

7. Do not block any of the ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturers instructions.

8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (includ ing amplifiers) that produce heat.

9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or third prong is provided for your safety. When the provided plug does not fit your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.

10. Protect the power cord from being walked on and pinched particularly at plugs, convenience recep tacles and at the point at which they exit from the unit.

11. Unplug this unit during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.

12. Refer all servicing to qualified personnel. Servicing is required when the unit has been damaged in

any way, such as power supply cord or plug damage, or if liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the unit, the unit has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Hartke 112C 115C and 210C Combo Bass Amplifier Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 5

Guided Tour - Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Guided Tour - Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Setting Up and Using Your Hartke Hydrive Combo Bass Amplifier . . . . . . . 9 - 11

The Effect of the Shape Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Using the Bass Attack Overdrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Using Equalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 - 15

Hydrive Combo Sample Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 - 17

Hydrive Combo Setting Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 - 19

Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Printed December, 2007 v1.0

Hartke 45 Gilpin Avenue Hauppauge, New York 11788-8816 Phone: 1-800-3-SAMSON (1-800-372-6766) Fax: 631-784-2201 www.hartke.com

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the Hydrive Bass Combo Amplifier from Hartke! We know you don’t like reading owners manuals, but you’ve just purchased one of the finest bass amplifiers around, and we want to tell you about it. So, before you plug in and start popping and slapping, we’d like to suggest you take just a few moments to scan these pages. We’ll make it as painless as possible, we promise—and, who knows, you might just pick up a tip or two.

The Hydrive series is new line up of 250-watt bass combo amplifiers featuring Hartke’s Hydrive hybrid cone bass transducers. This manual covers three models, the 112C featuring a 300 watt, 12-inch Hydrive speaker, the 115C with a 300, watt 15-inch Hydrive speaker and the 210C with two, 150 watt, 10-inch Hydrive speakers. Hydrive transducers are a radical change, and improvement, in bass speaker technology. Hartke’s unique hybrid cone speaker is constructed using an outside paper cone producing deep and warm low frequencies and an inside aluminum cone that produces mids that cut, yet are still sweet. Hydrive speakers incorporate a cast frame design, supporting robust motors constructed with large voice coils and neodymium magnets providing increased power handling while being lightweight! To complete the speakers systems, there’s a 1-inch titanium compression driver with level control, producing the high frequency response that allows you to get a sweet tone that cuts through the backline. All of the Hydrive combos feature 250 watts of true, clean, robust linear power. The beefy power supply features a massive toroidal transformer and oversize filter caps. Plus, there’s internal protection circuitry to help protect the amplifier and speaker during power up and power down. The Hydrive combos’ front panel features a unique and powerful complement of signal processing and tone shaping controls. The Hydrive’s input has been designed to handle the output signal from virtually any bass - passive basses with low output pickups, to active basses powered by dual car batteries will work fine. Next to the input is a variable Compressor control that allows you to squeeze the signal just a little or quite a bit. You can use the Compressor to help keep the signal clean or to dial up a sound. The Hartke Shape control adds a pre-set equalization curve with a slight lift in the low frequencies, a cut in the mids and then a slight lift again in the highs. The Shape circuit has a backlit on/off switch to engage the Shape EQ circuit. As you turn the Frequency control, you are adjusting the center frequency so the entire contour curve is adjusted. For added control on stage, the Shape circuit can be controlled using the optional Hartke FS2 footswitch. The Hydrive combos also feature Hartke’s Bass Attack Overdrive. The Bass Attack Overdrive section has three controls: Harmonicswhich is used to set the amount of drive; Brite- to add highs that additionally excite the harmonics; Mix- that blends the overdrive and the clean signal. You can add just a touch, which is almost unnoticeable(until you turn it off), a modern overdrive, or you can even dial up a creamy fuzz tone. On stage, the Overdrive circuit can be controlled using the optional Hartke FS2 footswitch. For expanded tonal control, the Hydrive combos feature a 7-band graphic EQ with, +/- 12 db cut and boost allowing you tocontour a tone that’s perfect for your sound. Finally, the Bass and Treble controls (with Bass providing a low frequency shelving EQ at 100 Hz and Treble, a high frequency shelving EQ at 8 kHz). The Hydrive cabinets are constructed using high quality plywood with extensive bracing and dado joinery, which makes them rigid

Introduction

and at the same time lightweight. The vinyl covering, steel grill and corners provide added protection while moving the amplifier from gig to gig. The road tough, black and chrome biker look says you're ready to rock! And of course, the Hydrive combos feature the world famous, and the original, Kickback design allowing you to project the sound directly at yourself while on stage. Hydrive combos are super clean and natural with enough tone and signal processing to produce a radical range of sounds. That versatility, together with Hartke’s famous reliability, make the Hydrive combos the ideal amp for bassists playing jazz, funk, country, roots rock, death metal or for whatever style you create.

In these pages, you’ll find a detailed description of the many features of your Hydrive Combos Combo Bass Amplifier, as well as a guided tour through its front and rear panels, step-by-step instructions for setting up and using the amp, additional information about equalization, plus full specifications. You’ll also find a warranty card enclosed—please don’t forget to fill it out and mail it so that you can receive online technical support and so we can send you updated information about this and other Hartke and Samson products in the future. Also, be sure to check out our website (www.hartke.com) for complete information about our full product line.

With proper care and adequate air circulation, your Hydrive combo will operate trouble free for many years. We recommend you record your serial number in the space provided below for future reference.

Serial number: ____________________________________________

Date of purchase: __________________________________________

SPECIAL NOTE: Should your Hartke Hydrive Combos Combo Bass Amplifier ever require servicing, a Return Authorization (RA) number is necessary. Without this number, the unit will not be accepted. If purchased in the United States, please call Samson at 1-800-372-6766 for a Return Authorization number prior to shipping. Please retain the original packing materials and, if possible, return the unit in its original carton and packing materials. If purchased outside the United States, please contact your local distributor for warranty information.

Hartke 112C,115C and 210C Combo Bass Amplifier Features

The Hartke Hydrive Combos offer all the newest concepts in state-of-the-art hybrid drive bass amplification in an extremely compact size and affordable price. Here are some of their main features:

• The 112C delivers 250 Watts of power to its specially designed, 12-inch Hydrive bass

driver, while the 115C delivers 250 Watts to its specially designed, 15-inch Hydrive bass driver and the 210C provides 250 Watts of power to the dual 10-inch Hydrive bass drivers.

• Flexible input that can accommodate a broad range of input levels, so that you can

use the Hydrive Combos with pretty much any kind of bass, from passive models to those with active circuitry. It is almost impossible to overload the input of an Hydrive Combos bass amplifier!

• Bass and Treble plus a high-quality seven band Graphic Equalizer, allow you to

create a broad range of tonal colors for your bass instrument.

• In addition to the bass, treble and graphic equalizer, the Hydrive combos feature

the world famous Hartke Shape control. When engaged, the Shape control applies a preset equalization curve providing a tone contour that’s sweet on most any bass. The Shape control knob allows the equalization curve to shift over frequency for even more tone control.

• Each combo also features Hartke’s Bass Attack Overdrive circuit, which provides

harmonics that can be adjusted to add a slight amount of tube-type warmth all the way to killer distortion.

• Line-level effects loop send (Preamp Out) and return (Amp In) jacks that allow you

to connect to professional outboard effects processors.

• A dedicated AUX input is included allowing you to hook up a portable CD or MP3

player to practice along with.

Hartke 112C, 115C and 210C

Combo Bass Amplifier Features

• Specially designed cabinet which can be used either flat on the floor or on its

“kickback” position for increased high end clarity.

• A rear panel, line-level direct output, with PRE/POST switch on standard XLR

connector is provided for interfacing with PA systems or recording mixing consoles.

• Bipolar circuit design ensures that every nuance of your bass performance is

reproduced faithfully.

• Rugged plywood construction makes the Hydrive Combos eminently road-worthy.

• The Hydrive combos are beautifully appointed in tough black vinyl with chrome

corners and matching steel grills, giving them a powerful appearance, and sound, on stage.

• Hartke extended three-year warranty.

Guided Tour - Front Panel

1. INPUT (1/4-inch Jack) - Connect your bass guitar to this standard 1/4" unbalanced

jack. This Hydrive Combo Input has been designed to handle the signals from just about any bass with either passive pickups or with hotter pickups if your bass has active electronics (that is, if it has a battery).

2. LEVEL (control knob) - This is the overall volume control. For best signal-to-

noise ratio, keep the output of your bass at or near maximum and adjust the Hydrive Combos Volume to the desired level.

3. COMPRESSION (control knob) - This control determines the amount of

compression (peak signal reduction) by simultaneously adjusting both threshold and compression ratio (which ranges from 2:1 to infinity [limiting]). At the fully counterclockwise “Zero” position, the circuitry is bypassed and no compression is applied. As the knob is raised clockwise (at settings from “1” to “10”), increasing amounts of compression are applied.

4. COMPRESSION LED – The LED provides a visual indicator of the status of the

compression circuitry. When the LED is off (for example, when the Limiter knob [see #3 above] is set to “Zero”), no compression is being applied. When flashing, compression is being applied to the incoming signal at a ratio of approximately 2:1. When steadily blue, the compression ratio is approaching infinity (limiting is being applied to peak signals). This LED “follows” the incoming signal, changing continuously as different amounts of compression and/or limiting are being applied.

5. FREQUENCY (control knob)– This control knob is used to set the center cut

frequency for the Shape circuit. The Shape control adds a pre-set equalization curve with a slight lift in the low frequencies, a cut in the mids and then a slight lift again in the highs depending on it's setting.

6. SHAPE (switch) – This switch is used to engage the Hartke Shape circuit which

adds a pre-set equalization curve with a slight lift in the low frequencies, a cut in the mids and then a slight lift again in the highs. For additional control on stage, the SHAPE switch can be controlled using a Hartke FS2 footswitch.

7. HARMONICS (control knob) – When the Bass Attack Overdrive switch is ON, the

control knob adjusts the amount of overdrive distortion.

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