Hartke Systems HS 1200 BASS COMBO KICKBACK
Produced by On The Right Wavelength for Samson Technologies Corp. Copyright 1995, Samson Technologies Corp. Printed November, 1995 Samson Technologies Corp. 575 Underhill Blvd. P.O.
Table of Contents Introduction 4 HS 1200 Features 5 Guided Tour 6 Front Panel 6 Rear Panel 9 Setting Up and Using the Hartke HS 1200 Bass Amplifier 10 About Equalization 13 Effect of the Shape Control 16 Specifications 17 3
Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of the Hartke Systems HS 1200 KickBack™ Bass Amplifier! Although we designed this amp for easy operation, we suggest you take some time out first to go through these pages so you can fully understand how we’ve implemented a number of unique features.
HS 1200 Features The HS 1200 offers all the newest concepts in state-of-the-art bass amplification at an extremely affordable price. Here are some of its main features: • Power to spare—a full 120 watts into 8 ohms. • Bipolar design for clean, crisp sound—as well as our Transient Attack® circuitry, which ensures that every nuance of your bass performance is reproduced faithfully. • Three bands of high-quality equalization, allowing you to create a broad range of tonal colors for your bass instrument.
Guided Tour - Front Panel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hartke Systems HS 1200 BASS AMPLIFIER 120 WATTS 0 0 Transient Attack 0 SHAPE ∞ +10 VOLUME IN OUT ® o 0 INPUT 10 11 80Hz 1KHz -15 +15 +15 -15 -15 POWER +15 DIRECT OUT SHAPE LOW MID HIGH HEADPHONES Hartke Systems HS 1200 BASS AMPLIFIER 120 WATTS 0 0 Transient Attack 0 SHAPE ∞ +10 VOLUME IN OUT ® o 0 INPUT 80Hz 1KHz -15 +15 +15 -15 -15 POWER +15 DIRECT OUT SHAPE LOW MID HIGH HEADPHONES Hartke KICKBAC
Guided Tour - Front Panel 3. Shape switch - When pressed in, the HS 1200 activates a special equalization curve that is designed to enhance the sound of your bass instrument. When out, Shape is inactive. For more information, see the “Effect of the Shape Control” section on page 13 in this manual. 4. Shape control - When the Shape switch (see #3 above) is pressed in, this control is active.
Guided Tour - Front Panel 8. Direct output - This standard male XLR connector provides a miclevel pre-EQ (and pre-Volume) balanced low-impedance output from the HS 1200. You’ll usually use this to connect the HS 1200 signal to a Direct Injection (DI) box or to an XLR mic input when interfacing with external sound reinforcement or recording mixing consoles. The signal from this output adds approximately 6 dB of gain to the input level. 9.
Guided Tour - Rear Panel 1 2 FUSE FUSE 3A/250V SPEAKER OUTPUT MIN 8 Ω ~AC INPUT 120V/60HZ, 150W 1. Fuse holder - Insert a 3 amp, 250 volt fuse here for 115 volt operation. We recommend the use of slow-blow fuses. 2. Speaker output - The internal speaker is normally connected to this standard unbalanced 1/4” jack; if desired, external 8 ohm speakers can be substituted, though this is not recommended.
Setting Up and Using the HS 1200 Bass Amplifier Setting up your Hartke Systems HS 1200 KickBack™ Bass Amplifier is a simple procedure which takes only a few minutes: 1. Remove all packing materials (save them in case of need for future service) and decide where the amplifier is to be physically placed. To avoid potential overheating problems, make sure that the rear panel is unobstructed and that there is good ventilation around the entire unit.
Setting Up and Using the HS 1200 Bass Amplifier SPEAKER OUTPUT MIN 8 Ω 2. The HS 1200 is shipped with a rear panel connector between the speaker output (see #2 on page 6 of this manual) and the built-in speaker input; check to make sure this is in place; if not, plug it in. If you are using an external speaker cabinet, make a connection between it and the 1/4" unbalanced Speaker output connector on the rear panel.
Setting Up and Using the HS 1200 Bass Amplifier 0 -15 0 +15 HEADPHONES DIRECT OUT -15 0 +15 -15 +15 8. Adjust the three equalization controls to taste (when you get a great setting that complements your instrument and playing style, it’s a good idea to write it down for future use). 9. Test the headphone output by turning the Volume control to its minimum (fully counterclockwise) position and then connect a standard stereo headphone to the front-panel Headphones jack.
Using Equalization The Hartke Systems Transient Attack® HS 1200 Bass Amplifier gives you enormous control over shaping the sound of your bass, using a process called equalization. To understand how this works, it’s important to know that every naturally occurring sound consists of a broad range of pitches, or frequencies, combined together in a unique way. This blend is what gives every sound its distinctive tonal color.
Using Equalization In many instances, the best way to deal with equalization is to think in terms of which frequency areas you need to attenuate, as opposed to which ones you need to boost. Be aware that boosting a frequency area also has the effect of boosting the overall signal; specifically, too much Low EQ boost can actually cause overload distortion or even harm a connected speaker.
Using Equalization • For a twangy, cutting sound, try boosting the High and Mid frequencies (putting new roundwound strings on your bass will help a lot also!): 0 -15 0 +15 LOW 0 +15 -15 MID -15 +15 HIGH • Whenever you get a really good EQ setting for a particular instrument or song, write it down (you’d be amazed how easy it is to forget these things!).
Effect of the Shape Control SHAPE IN OUT 80Hz 1KHz SHAPE The HS 1200’s unique Shape control enables the sound of your bass instrument to be enhanced at the touch of a button. When the front panel Shape switch is pressed in, a special equalization curve is activated that is designed to improve the sound of most electric bass instruments. This curve provides moderate boost at certain frequency areas and deep attenuation at other frequency areas.
Specifications Normal Limit 1. Rated Output Power (@ 1 kHz, 8 ohm) 135 W 120 W 2. Rated Input Level (@ 1 kHz) -30.1 dBu -30 dBu 3. Total Harmonic Distortion (@ 120 W, with 30 kHz LPF) 0.03% 1% 4. Signal To Noise Ratio (with 30 kHz LPF) 85 dB 80 dB 5. Frequency Response (EQ flat, +0.5/-3 dB) Pre Output Speaker Output 5 Hz - 60 kHz 35 Hz - 52 kHz 20 Hz - 50 kHz 50 Hz - 50 kHz Maximum Gain Input to Pre Output Input to Speaker Output 45.05 dB 62.
