Tech 21 Character Owner's Manual

* Utilizes standard 9V alkaline battery (not included). NOTE:Input jack activates battery.To conserve

energy, unplug when not in use. Power Consumption: approx. 5mA, for battery life of approximately
100 hours.

* USE DC POWER SUPPLY ONLY! Failure to do so may damage the unit and void warranty.

DC Power Supply Specifications:

-9V DC regulated or unregulated, 100mA minimum;

-2.1mm female plug, center negative (-).

Optional factory power supply is available: Tech 21 Model #DC2.

WARNINGS:

* Attempting to repair unit is not recommended and may void warranty.
* Missing or altered serial numbers automatically void warranty. For your own

protection: be sure serial number labels on the unit’s back plate and exterior
box are intact, and return your warranty registration card.

ONE YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY. PROOF OF PURCHASE REQUIRED. Manufacturer war­rants unit to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for one (1) year from date of purchase
to the original purchaser and is not transferable.This warranty does not include damage resulting from
accident, misuse, abuse, alteration, or incorrect current or voltage. If unit becomes defective within war­ranty period,Tech 21 will repair or replace it free of charge.After expiration,Tech 21 will repair defec­tive unit for a fee.

ALL REPAIRS for residents of U.S. and Canada:Call Tech 21 for Return Authorization Number.
Manufacturer will not accept packages without prior authorization, pre-paid freight (UPS preferred) and
proper insurance.

FOR PERSONAL ASSISTANCE & SERVICE:

Contact Tech 21 weekdays from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, EST.

MADE IN THE U.S.A.

POWER REQUIREMENTS

T: 973-777-6996 • F: 973-777-9899
E: [e-mail] • www.tech21nyc.com
©2008 Tech 21 USA, Inc.

OWNER’S MANUAL

TECH 21, THE COMPANY

Tech 21 was formed by a guitarist possessing the unusual combination of a trained ear and elec­tronics expertise. In 1989, B. Andrew Barta made his invention commercially available to players
and studios around the world. His highly-acclaimed SansAmp™ pioneered Tube Amplifier
Emulation in professional applications for recording direct and performing live, and created an
entirely new category of signal processing.There have since been many entries into this niche, yet
SansAmp continues to maintain its reputation as the industry standard.

With a full line of SansAmp models,Tech 21 also offers effect pedals and MIDI products, as well as
“traditional” style amplifiers for guitar and bass. Each product is thoughtfully and respectfully
designed by B.Andrew Barta himself with the player in mind. Our goal is to provide you with flexi­ble, versatile tools to cultivate, control, refine and redefine your own individual sound.Tech 21
takes great pride in delivering consistent quality sound, studio to studio, club to club, arena to arena.

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

The Character Series pedals are unusual inside as well as out.They have an abundance of knob con­trols, are easy to use, and feature our proprietary,100% analog SansAmp technology.These multi­function pedals can be used as a stomp box with a guitar amp, as a pre-amp to drive a power amp,
and for recording straight into a mixer or computer.

You can explore and tailor various eras within each amp style simply by turning a knob.A single,
continuously-variable Character control sweeps through an entire tonal range that spans decades
of sounds.The Character and Mid controls and speaker simulation are individually voiced and cus­tom-tuned to reflect the specific personality traits inherent in each amp style.

By engineering individual amplifier styles, the Character Series pedals offer a significant value at a nom­inal price.Whether you’re frugal or extravagant, you can focus on just those that are your personal
faves.Choose one, two, or collect them all --and trade them with your friends!

APPLICATIONS

AS A STOMPBOX with a guitar amp.You can connect the Character Series pedals in-

line just as you would a standard distortion or overdrive pedal. If the pre-amp of your guitar
amplifier is imparting too much of its own character on the pedal, plug into the low level input
and set the pre-amp as clean and neutral as possible. Since most amps tend to be on the bright
side, you may need to start with High below 12 o’clock and then adjust as necessary.You can also
plug the pedal into the effects loop return (if the amp has one).This will disable the entire pre­amp of the amplifier allowing you to hear a truer representation of the sound.NOTE: the master
volume on your amplifier will be defeated, so be sure to have the volume control down on the
pedal.

AS A PRE-AMP driving a power amp. The 1/4” output of the Character pedal has

enough juice to drive a standard power amplifier. Simply connect the 1/4” output to the power
amp input and adjust the Level control accordingly.You will probably not use the bypass mode of the
pedal in this setup.

AS A DIRECT RECORDING DEVICE into mixer or computer.All of the tone shap-

ing and cabinet emulation needed is already incorporated into the pedal, giving you the perfect
sound “right out of the box.” The Character Series pedals automatically convert your guitar signal
to Low Z allowing you to plug into a variety of inputs that would normally load down your gui­tar’s signal.These pedals can be plugged into mixers (live and studio), workstation/recorders, and
even directly into the sound card on a computer.

THE INS AND OUTS

1/4” INPUT: 1megOhm instrument level. For normal operation, signal level to Input should be

close to that of a standard electric guitar (approx -10dBm / 250mV).The input is designed with
the same sensitivity and loading characteristic as a tube amp.Also switches battery power on/off.
To avoid battery drain, unplug when unit is not in use.

!! WARNING !! DO NOT RUN THE SPEAKER OUTPUT

OF ANY AMP directly into a SansAmp input.

Severe damage to the amp and the SansAmp will result.

1/4” UNIVERSAL OUTPUT: Unbalanced 1kOhm Low Z output.This output can be con-

nected to High Z guitar amplifiers (or effects) as well as Low Z mixer and computer inputs.Output
level is unity gain when pedal is in bypass mode.When activated, the output level can range from instru­ment level to line level depending on your settings.Also drives long cables without loss of signal
integrity,even in bypass.

GUIDE TO CONTROLS

LEVEL: Adjusts the output level of the unit.This control has an exceptionally wide range for

maximum compatibility with a variety of equipment.

LOW, HIGH, MID: On-board post-EQ section gives you full control, like having a studio mix-

ing board at your fingertips. Unlike passive tone controls that only cut, these active controls cut
and boost ±12dB. Low is tuned to 125 Hz; High frequency is 3.2 kHz.Mid is custom tuned for each
model.*

DRIVE: Adjusts the overall amount of gain and overdrive, similar to when the output section of

a tube amp is being pushed.The first half of the rotation will increase the volume as well as the
overdrive.

CHARACTER*: Voiced differently for each pedal in the series. It sweeps through various

tonal possibilities associated with each style of amplifier. In addition to modifying the frequency
response, Character also influences the attack and drive characteristic of each particular amplifier
style. Therefore, you may need to adjust your gain and tone settings after tweaking the Character
control.

SPEAKER SIMULATION*

Built in speaker simulation is an integral part of the Character Series circuitry. Each model is
tuned to match the speaker/cabinet of that amplifier. It is designed for a smooth, even response as
would be achieved by a multiply-miked cabinet, without the peaks, valleys, and notches associated
with single miking.The shape of the speaker curve will not adversely effect or interfere with the
frequency response of your own cabinet.There is no need to defeat the speaker simulation circuit
when using it with a guitar amplifier.The speaker simulation works in tandem with the EQ con­trols to custom tailor the overall sound.

*For more details and sample settings,

see separate charts specific to each model.