Transcript
ELECTRIC BASS AMP
Owner‘s Manual
BS3-125
Congratulations! We would like to thank you for purchasing the BS3-125 Electric Bass Amplifier. It has been specially designed and developed for the use with electric basses. Before using your new amplifier, we advise to read the following pages carefully.
Taking care of your BS3-125 Safety Warnings
Daily use
We want you to be aware of certain safety aspects, for reasons of product safety and liability. With all due respect, please read the following before operating your new Fame amplifier. • Do not use or store your amplifier in or near moist or wet areas. • Make sure that the voltage shown on the back of the amplifier is the correct voltage for the location you are using it. The BS3-125 can never be used at different voltages than shown. • Opening the amplifier housing must only be done by authorized personnel. No user serviceable parts inside. • The power amp is configured to deliver highest tone at normal volume levels. We advise you for your own good not to expose yourself to very high volume levels for long periods of time. It can lead to hearing damage.
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Cleaning the BS3-125 • • • •
Transporting the BS3-125 •
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Never be rough with knobs, connections or other parts of the amplifier. Be careful while pulling out cables. Pulling plugs quickly can cause damage. Disconnect all cables before transporting the unit. Avoid physical shocks, such as hits or drops. You should never put any heavy items on top of the BS3-125.
The BS3-125 is a solid state instrument amplifier. The built-in circuits are sensitive to hits, especially when hot. To avoid damaging the unit, we recommend using care during setup and tear down of the unit. Allow the amplifier to adjust to the ambient temperature before operating, 10 minutes should be sufficient in all cases. Especially the change between a cold vehicle and, in most cases, warm stages can cause condensing fluid inside the electrical circuit. This can lead to circuit shorts. For continued road use, please protect the amplifier with a professional flight case. Transport only in operating position. Do not transport upside down or on its side.
Usually it is sufficient to wipe down the outside of the amplifier with a slightly moist cleaning rag. Do not use any abrasive cleaning chemicals. Sometimes a vacuum cleaner can be used to remove dust and dirt from nooks and crevices. Avoid putting any vinyl on top of the unit. It glues and discolours the surface.
Electric enviroment •
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This amplifier contains electric circuits, which can cause interference when operating near Radio or TV units. If you notice any abnormal noise, we recommend to put the amplifier away from such devices. Blown fuses can only be replaced with fuses of equal values. The use of incorrect fuses is prohibited and can cause severe injury or damage the amplifier. Only use a grounded power cable in good condition.
Content Setting up the BS3-125 ..................................................................................................
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Peripheral Connections ..................................................................................................
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Preamp Section ............................................................................................................... Basics Features ................................................................................................................
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Controls & Switches ........................................................................................................
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Special Gimmicks ............................................................................................................
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Specifications ...................................................................................................................
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Setting up the BS3-125 WARNING! To avoid electrical shock or any other damage, make sure that the BS3-125 and all other devices are switched off before you start connecting them to the amplifier!
Power Connections/Mains
Main Fuse
Before connecting to a grounded power outlet, make sure the power switches are in the off position (facing down). The BS3-125 is set up for 230 V of line voltage. Once the amplifier is plugged in, you can get started!
The main fuse is situated in a little drawer which is part of the power input jack. This sliding fuse holder also hides a spare fuse. For 230 V, the fuse must be a 1,6A slow blow. It is crucially important to use the specified fuse values only.
Connecting an electric bass
Maintenance
The input jacks on the left side of the frontpanel receive your electric bass signal by means of a shielded guitar cord with 1/4” mono style plug. Make sure the master volume of the amplifier is set to the lowest position to avoid disturbing noise while connecting.
All checkups and repairs must be undertaken by authorized service personnel. With the right treatment, the electric circuit and the power amp will not need any kind of maintenance at all.
Speaker protection The BS3-125 has a built-in 15” speaker. It can be damaged by heavy feedbacks of the connected instruments. You should always keep a sufficient distance to the amplifier to avoid such feedbacks. This will extend the life of the speaker and the power amp.
Travelling Abroad If travelling to countries outside the EU, always check their local voltage before operating the BS3-125. Mismatched voltages can and most likely will destroy your amplifier. Should you encounter voltages and frequencies other than those indicated, a transformer must be used between the power socket and the BS3-125. This transformer must be able to transform the voltage and frequency to one of the indicated settings.
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Periphal Connections Your guitar cord is an important part of our signal chain and its quality and construction type clearly affect the overall tone of your rig. Try and buy the best quality cord you can or want to afford for maximum sound!
Signal In Jack
Balanced Line Out
The BS3-125 features two different input jacks, which you will find on the very left side of the panel. They are titled with “Passive” and “Active”, and were installed to transmit the signal of your bass perfectly to the preamp of the amplifier. If you play a bass with high output pickups (i.e. humbuckers or active systems), you should use the “Active” input. For the usage with singlecoil equipped basses, we recommend the “Passive” input.
Your BS3-125 needs to be connected to a PA-System? You would like to record the sound directly into your recording desk or audio interface? The Balanced Line Out will do just that. All you need is a standard XLR cable to connect the BS3-125 to a channel strip of a mixing desk. Please note that the volume set on the amplifier will be the level that’s running into the channel strip of your mixing desk. You should set the volume to the lowest level possible and increase it step-wise.
CD If you would like to play along with your favourite songs or any other playback, this jack allows you to connect a CD/MP3-Player. Please note, that the adjusted volume on the connected device will influence the overall sound.
CONNECTIONS ON THE BACK Mains This jack is used to connect the BS3-125 to a grounded power outlet.
FX-Loop Speaker Out On the front of your amplifier you will find both a send and a return jack. These will be useful if you want to loop external effects units between preamp and power amp of the BS3-125. The built-in fx-loop is serial type. This means that the signal path of the BS3-125 is interrupted, the signal is sent to the effect s unit, gets processed and then sent back to the return of the power amp.
This jack is connected to the built-in loudspeaker. It is also possible to connect an external cabinet, but the plugged-in cable needs to be disconnected first.
Headphones For quiet practicing at home you can also use optional headphones. For best performance and a brilliant sound, we recommend our Fame DT 790 studio headphones. Please note that the overall volume of the amplifier will influence the master volume of your headphones.
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Preamp Section of the BS3-125 Preamp Features The BS3-125 features a single channel preamp, which means that you are able to play only one sound at the same time. The equalization features parametric mids, which allows you to control the lower mids as well as the higher mids. The presence control rounds it up, by shifting the power amp’s center frequency. This will make the sound either dark or bright. Due to the wide variety of sounds that are possible with the BS3125, you may take a little while until you reach your favourite setting. We recommend to check the effect of every single knob, while finding you personal sound. Another advantage of the BS3-125 is definitely its housing, which is made in a wedge design. This makes it possible to tilt the amplifier for the usage as a monitor while connected with a PA system.
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Controls and Switches We suggest you start exploring the channels with all controls set to 12:00 o‘clock and the master volume slightly cracked open.
GAIN
GND/LIFT
This knob controls the preamp‘s intensity. If you play a bass with an active electric circuit, you should not increase the level to a higher level than necessary. This can cause a very high level of distortion, which has a bad influence on the sound.
If you notice a slight hum inside the signal while playing, the electrical environment could have an earthing problem. This feature allows you to disconnect one of the XLR pins. This will solve the problem and you will no longer hear any hum.
EQUALIZER Balanced Level Bass Controls the level of the balanced line out. We recommend you to start with the lowest setting possible and slowly increase the knob until you reached the desired setting.
Controls the level of low frequencies in the overall sound. Low Mid Controls the level of the lower mid frequencies.
Power
High Mid
Switches the BS3-125 on or off.
Controls the level of the higher mid frequencies. Treble Controls the level of high frequencies in the overall sound. Presence This knob shifts the power amps‘s center frequency. You can turn the sound either dark or bright, while the equalization will be the significant instrument. Volume Controls the overall volume of the BS3-125. Please note that the power amp‘s maximum level will be reached at a setting around 2-3 o‘clock. A higher level can influence the power amp‘s health when playing over a longer period of time.
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Hints & Gimmicks We came up with the following advice and “wisdom“ according to our personal experiences. This will help you to improve the performance of your BS3-125.
External Effects
How to choose the right device
We are convinced that the basic sound of the Fame BS3-125 will suit the demands of most bass players. Although, the usage of external effects devices can provide a variety of new and interesting sounds. These are divided into:
High-quality effects like a vibrato or time-based units like delays can round up the sound, when placed in the fx loop of the amplifier. But the final sound is depending on the choice of the specific unit. A multieffects processor i.e. digitalizes the incoming signal by using an AD-converter and inverts it after adding several effects. Depending on the used model, the sound can be influenced in a negative way.
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Level-related effects are: Compressor, Limiter or Noise Gate Time-based effects are: Delay/Echo, Chorus or Flanger Volume-based effects are: Tremolo, Auto-Volume or Pan Filtering-related effects are: Equalizer, Phaser, Rotary or Vibe
Expensive units contain very capable converters, which keep the signal in its original value and even improve the sound quality. Analogue units will not harm the signal’s quality, but they are also limited and normally produce only one overall sound.
While the last three effects groups can be inserted in the fx loop of the BS3-125, level-related units must always be connected between instrument and amplifier. A lot of our customers gave us a positive feedback on using an Auto-WahWah in front of the BS3-125.
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Specifications Power Output:
125 Watts
Speakers:
1 x 15“ Special Design
Switches:
GND/LIFT, Power Switch
Equalization:
Bass, Low Mid, High Mid, Treble, Presence
Effects:
None
Connection Jacks:
Input (Active&Passive) Headphone Out CD In FX Send & Return Balanced Line Out Speaker Out
Dimensions:
51 x 61 x 47,7 cm
Weight:
27,5 kg
Accessories:
Owner‘s Manual, Power Cable
Optional:
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BS3-125 2007
