Tech 21 SansAmp RBI Owner's Manual

WARNINGS

•Attempting to repair this unit is not recommended and may void its warranty.

•Missing or altered serial numbers automatically void the warranty. For your own
protection, be sure the serial number labels on the unit and exterior box are intact.

ONE-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY

Manufacturer warrants unit to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for
a period of one (1) year from the date of purchase. 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, Inc. will elect to
repair or replace it free of charge. After warranty period expires, manufacturer will
repair defective unit for a fee.

PROOF OF PURCHASE IS REQUIRED FOR ANY REPAIR

For residents of the U.S. and Canada, please call Tech 21’s main headquarters for
shipping instructions and a Return Authorization Number. Tech 21 will not accept
packages without prior authorization, pre-paid freight (UPS preferred), and proper
insurance.

FOR PERSONAL ASSISTANCE & INQUIRIES

Contact Tech 21, Inc., weekdays from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time.

DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED IN THE U.S.A.

333 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019
Tel: [phone] / Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: info@tech 21nyc.com
Website: www.tech21nyc.com
© 2001 Tech 21, Inc.

Fill in the following information for future reference:

Serial Number______________________________________

Dealer’s Name _____________________________________

Dealer’s Address ___________________________________

Date of Purchase ___________________________________

Owner's Manual

TM

Tech 21, the Company

Tech 21, Inc., was formed by a guitarist possessing the unusual
combination of a trained ear and electronics expertise. In 1989,
B. Andrew Barta incorporated Tech 21 and made his unique
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. While there have since been many entries
into this niche, SansAmp continues to maintain its reputation as
the industry standard.

After developing a full line of SansAmp models, Tech 21 expanded
its offerings to include effect pedals; a compact, battery operable
MIDI footcontroller, the

MIDI Mouse

; as well as “traditional” style
amplifiers. Each product is thoughtfully and respectfully designed
by Andrew 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 professional quality
sound, studio to studio, club to club, arena to arena.

SansAmp RBI, an Overview

Simply put, SansAmp RBI is a rackmount version of our exceptionally
popular pedal, SansAmp Bass Driver DI. This format, too, offers you
an entire sound spectrum of the most coveted traditional and modern
bass amp systems, including mega overdriven tones that usually
require a complex mass of gear --most of which weren’t designed for
bass in the first place.

Tech 21’s proprietary, 100%

analog circuitry delivers styles ranging

from Fender

®

to SVT®, and from King Crimson to King’s X. The inter­active controls give you access to specific tone shaping characteris­tics to create your own custom sounds as well.

For studio and live applications, our SansAmp Tube Amplifier
Emulation technology gives you the sound and responsiveness of a
miked-up stage rig --direct into the mixer of a recorder or P.A. system.
You can also simultaneously plug straight into a power amp, powered
monitor, or conventional bass amp.

Beyond the obvious difference in housing, SansAmp RBI’s additional
features include a dedicated MID control; an individual Level control
for the XLR out to optimize your amp’s output relative to the P.A. sys­tem; an Effects Loop with a Mix 50/50 switch to configure the loop in
series or parallel; 1/4” rear input and XLR output with selectable lev­els; buffered uneffected XLR output to run a dry signal to a separate
channel; Footswitch input to engage the unit; and Footswitch output
to chain and toggle between another SansAmp RBI.

With the SansAmp RBI, you get a truckload of professional bass rigs
in a single cost-effective package. As with each SansAmp model, the
controls are designed to give you the flexibility to define and refine
your individual tone. After all, the greatest inspiration comes from
having the sound that’s right for you.

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IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

This unit is powered by potentially hazardous voltage. Therefore, observe the following
safety precautions:

WARNING: To avoid the risk of fire, electric shock or injury, do not expose this unit to
moisture. Do not remove cover from chassis. Removing the cover exposes extremely
dangerous high voltages. There are no user-serviceable parts inside. Hazardous volt­ages are present inside the chassis. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.

CAUTION: Never modify power cord or defeat the ground pin. If original power cord
becomes damaged, frayed, or has exposed wires, replace immediately with same rating
and gauge, or higher. Replacements are commercially available or through Tech 21.

WARNING: Attempting to repair this unit is not recommended and may void its war­ranty. NOTE: In the U.S. and Canada, servicing is performed at factory only. In other
countries, please refer repairs to the local Tech 21 authorized distributor.

ADDITIONAL PRECAUTIONS:

1. Do not allow liquids or objects to penetrate unit.

2. Protect unit from strong impact.

3. Do not locate near heat.

4. This unit must be earth grounded.

FUSE

Fuse holder located inside A/C cord receptacle. You must remove power cord
to change fuse. Replace with similar type & same value. Units with 100-120V: use

1A. Units with 220-240V: use 0.5A.

QUICK START INSTRUCTIONS

Get your SansAmp RBI up and running before reading the entire manual. But by not
reading the manual, you’ll miss out on getting the most out of your new investment!

1. Plug your instrument into the front panel Input jack (on the left side).

2. Connect either the 1/4” or XLR SansAmp Output with the input of your mixer,
power amp, powered monitor or amp.

3. Plug the AC cord into a wall socket. Set the Level and XLR controls to minimum,
then turn the SansAmp RBI on and engage the Active Switch.

4. Turn on the mixer or amp and bring up the Level or XLR controls of the SansAmp
RBI. If the signal is too “hot,” resulting in unwanted distortion, or too weak, check the
mixer’s or amp’s input control as well as the Level control of the SansAmp RBI.

5. Play your guitar and you should hear sound coming through your system. If not, check
that your guitar’s volume control is turned up, recheck your connections, and be sure
your cable isn’t faulty. If there is still no sound, refer to factory or qualified technician.

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FRONT PANEL

SansAmp RBI is designed with

active

controls, which cut and boost, rather than
traditional passive controls which only cut. This effectively doubles many of the
control’s capabilities, giving you a much larger range of adjustability and, ultimately,
more variety. It should be noted that you need not necessarily set everything at max
to achieve maximum results. As you experiment and become familiar with the interre­lationship of the controls, you’ll easily be able to customize your own sounds.

Input Jack

Faithful to the original designs of traditional tube amplifiers, this 1/4" Input is high
impedance 1M . It is factory set at -20dB instrument level. Note: A second input jack
(Input 2) is located on the rear panel. Plugging into the front panel Input jack overrides
and disconnects the rear panel jack. This allows you to set up your SansAmp RBI as a
permanent part of a rack or patch-bay system, with its usual input source plugged into
the rear panel jack. Then, if you want to plug straight into the SansAmp RBI, bypassing
other gear in the system, you can use the SansAmp RBI’s front Input.

Drive

Adjusts the overall amount of gain and overdrive, similar to when the output section
of a tube amp is being pushed.

Presence

Brings out the upper harmonic content and attack. For a smoother high end and for
clean settings, decrease to taste.

Blend

Allows you to blend the direct instrument signal with SansAmp Tube Amplifier
Emulation circuitry. In most cases, you will probably have this set at maximum (100%
SansAmp). For certain applications, however, such as an ultra-transparent sound or
for use with piezo pickup-equipped instruments, you may want to blend-in the direct
signal to achieve your desired sound. While the SansAmp Tube Amplifier Emulation
circuitry is bypassed when

Blend

is at minimum, the

Bass, Mid, Treble, Level

and

XLR

controls remain active.

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