gxt series

Owners Manualfor your new

Guitar Amplifier

by

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Congratulations!You are now the proud owner of one of Crates newest and hottest additions to

Music, the GXT Series Guitar Amplifier. Designed by one of the leading experts in tubetechnology, the GXT Series captures the very heart and soul of music and puts theWorld of Tone at your fingertips.

Like all Crate products, your GXT Series amplifier is made with pride in America,using only the best components. Extensive testing at the hands and ears of skilled tech-nicians and musicians insures you that this amplifier is the absolute best it can be.

In order to get the most out of your new amp, we strongly urge you to go over theinformation contained in this manual before you begin playing.

And thank you for choosing

CAUTIONRISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK,DO NOT REMOVE COVER.

NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

ATTENTIONRISQUE D'ELECTROCUTION

NE PAS OUVRIR

ATTENTION: POUR REDUIRE D'ELECTROCUTION NE PASENLEVER LE COUVERCLE. AUCUNE PIECE INTERNE N'EST REPRABLEPAR L'UTILISATEUR. POUR TOUTE REPARATION, S'ADRESSER A UN

TECHNICIEN QUALIFIE.

VORSICHTELEKTRISCHE SCHLAGGEFAHR

NICHT OFFENEN

VORSICHT: ZUR MINIMIERUNG ELEKTRISCHER SCHLAGGEFAHR NICHTDEN DECKEL ABENHMEN. INTERNE TEILE KONNEN NICHT VOM

BENUTZER GEWARTET WERDEN. DIE WARTUNG IS QUALIFIZIERTEMWARTUNGSPERSONAL ZU UBERLASSEN.

THIS EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN DESIGNED AND ENGINEERED TO PROVIDE SAFE AND RELIABLE OPERATION. IN ORDER TO PROLONG THE LIFEOF THE UNIT AND PREVENT ACCIDENTAL DAMAGES OR INJURY, PLEASE FOLLOW THESE PRECAUTIONARY GUIDELINES:

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT OPEN CHASSIS; DO NOT DEFEAT OR REMOVE THE GROUND PIN OF THEPOWER CORD; CONNECT ONLY TO A PROPERLY GROUNDED AC POWER OUTLET.

WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

CAUTION: NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

CAUTION: THIS UNIT IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HIGH SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS. CONTINUED EXPOSURE TO HIGH SOUND PRESSURELEVELS CAN CAUSE PERMANENT HEARING IMPAIRMENT OR LOSS. USER CAUTION IS ADVISED, AND EAR PROTECTION RECOMMENDED IFUNIT IS OPERATED AT HIGH VOLUME. THE CHART BELOW SHOWS THE U.S. GOVERNMENTS OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINIS-TRATION (OSHA) REGULATIONS WHICH WERE IN EFFECT AT THE TIME OF THIS PUBLICATION FOR PERMISSIBLE NOISE EXPOSURE, PER29CFR1910.95, TABLE G-16:

ACCORDING TO OSHA, ANY EXPOSURE IN EXCESS TO THESE AMOUNTS LISTED ABOVE COULD RESULT IN SOME HEARING LOSS.

"IT IS NECESSARY FOR THE USER TO REFER TO THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL""REFERREZ-VOUS AU MANUAL D'UTILISATION""UNBEDINGT IN DER BEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG NACHSCHLAGEN"

EXPLANATION OFGRAPHICAL SYMBOLS:

"DANGEROUS VOLTAGE""DANGER HAUTE TENSION""GEFAHLICHE SPANNUNG"

= =

SOUND LEVEL DBA, DURATION PER DAY SOUND LEVEL DBA, DURATION PER DAYSLOW RESPONSE IN HOURS SLOW RESPONSE IN HOURS

90 8 102 1 - 1 1/292 6 105 195 4 110 1/297 3 115 1/4 or less100 2

ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3The Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4The Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Some Suggested Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6About the Preamp Tubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7System Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .back cover

GXT-SeriesGuitar Amplifier

3

Introduction:

The GXT Series guitar amplifier represents Crates never-ending quest to offer musi-cians more of what they want: more flexibility, more tone control and more satisfaction.The clean channel offers sounds that range from warm and clean to cool and crunchy,with everything in between. The distortion channel, with its two separate gain controls,offers sounds that range from crunchy to completely devastating.

Each channels preamp section is tube-driven and has a three band rotary EQ fortotal tone control. A solid state power amp section delivers the full intensity of tone,regardless of volume level, into loads as low as 4 ohms. A parallel effects loop with mixcontrol allows for noise free blending of your favorite external effects.

Each of the GXT Series amplifiers delivers 100 watts of musical output power. GXTSeries combos use Crate Custom speakers for outstanding tone.

Features:

Here's a quick overview of the GXT Series features and controls. Additionalinformation can be found on the pages indicated.

2 Inputs: One straight, one padded, to accommodate todays wide variety of gui-tar pickups (page 4).

2 Gain Controls: The distortion channels two gain controls can be set at differentlevels, creating a third channel (page 4).

Boost, boost, boost: The clean channel features a Bright switch and a Low/HighGain Boost switch. The distortion channels Gain 2 has a switchable Mid Boost foradded punch and even greater flexibility (page 4).

Effects Mix: Allows you to adjust the level of your external effects to achieve justthe right sound (page 4).

Parallel Effects Loop: For noise free connecting of external effects. Governed bythe Effects Mix control (page 4,5).

CFP-3 Footswitch: Allows remote control of reverb, channel select and selectionbetween the two gain controls of the distortion channel (page 5).

Musician Made in the U.S.A.


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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

1. 0dB INPUT: Connect your guitar or wirelessreceiver into this standard 1/4" jack using ashielded instrument cable. This jack is straight(no pad). If your guitar has a very hot outputuse the -6dB jack (#2).

2. -6dB INPUT: Connect your guitar here if ithas a hot output. This jack is padded 6dB tocompensate for high output signals.

Channel A (Clean):

3. GAIN: Set the input signal level with this con-trol. With a lower gain setting and a higherMaster (#8) setting, the output will be crystalclear. As the gain increases so will the outputlevel and the amount of preamp distortion,resulting in a bluesy crunch rhythm sound.

4. BRIGHT: Add a biting edge to your sound bypressing this push-button switch in. The brightswitch adds 6dB at 5kHz.

5. TREBLE: Adjust the high end response withthis control. The high control covers a range of30dB at 4kHz.

6. MID: Adjust the midrange response with thiscontrol. This control covers a range of 12dB at500Hz.

7. BASS: Adjust the bottom end response withthis control. This control covers a range of 30dBat 40Hz.

8. MASTER: Set the output level of channel Awith this control. Use this control along with theGain (#3) to create a wide variety of sounds andvolumes.

9. BOOST/GAIN SELECT: This is a dual func-tion switch. For the clean channel (Ch. A, switch#10 out) it selects between Low Gain (switchout) and High gain (switch in). For the dirty

channel (Ch. B, switch #10 in) it selectsbetween Gain 1 (switch out, control #11 isactive) and Gain 2 (switch in, control #13 isactive).

This can also be performed with the supplied footswitch.When the footswitch is connected, the front panel switchis disabled. See #24, rear panel.

10. CHANNEL SELECT: Select the activechannel with this switch. The adjacent greenLED glows when channel A is selected (switchout), the red LED glows when channel B isselected (switch in).

This can also be performed with the supplied footswitch.When the footswitch is connected, the front panel switchis disabled. See #24, rear panel.

Channel B (Distortion):

Use the two gain controls to their fullest poten-tial: set one for a mellow lead or a rough rhythmtone and the other for a screaming lead sound.A footswitch allows freedom of control (see #24).

11. GAIN 1: Adjust the amount of preamp dis-tortion with this control. With the control towards0 (to the left) the signal is relatively clean. Asyou turn the control up the distortion increases,along with the overall output level. This controlis only active when the Gain Select switch (#9)is set to Gain 1 (switch out) or when it is select-ed by the supplied footswitch.

12. MID BOOST: Increase the punch of theGain 2 control (#13) with this switch. The boostis active when the switch is pressed in and Gain2 is selected.

13. GAIN 2: Similar to Gain 1: adjust theamount of preamp distortion with this control.With the control towards 0 (to the left) the sig-nal is relatively clean. As you turn the control up

the distortion increases, along with the overalloutput level. This control is only active when theGain Select switch (#9) is set to Gain 2 (switchin) or when it is selected by a footswitch. Gain 2has a bit more of a midrange punch than gain 1,even without the Mid Boost engaged.

14. TREBLE: Adjust the high end response withthis control. The high control covers a range of16dB at 2.5kHz.

15. MID: Adjust the midrange response with thiscontrol. The mid control covers a range of 6dBat 1kHz.

16. BASS: Adjust the bottom end response withthis control. The low control covers a range of20dB at 100Hz.

17. MASTER: Set the output level of channel Bwith this control. Use this control along with theGains (#11 & 13) to create a wide variety ofsounds and volumes.

18. REVERB: Adjust the amount of reverbera-tion with this control: at the "0" position the sig-nal is "dry" (no reverb). As you turn the controlup, the amount of reverb increases.

Reverb on/off can be controlled with the suppliedfootswitch. See #24, rear panel.

19. FX MIX: Adjust the level of external effectsconnected to the effects loop (see #23) with thiscontrol. Effects can be blended in at the desiredlevel and do not disengage the onboard reverb.The 0 position is dry (no external effects); asyou turn the control up the level of externaleffects increases.

20. POWER: This switch applies AC voltage tothe amplifier, turning it ON in the up position.

The Front Panel:


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21. AC LINE IN: Plug the male end of this cordinto a properly grounded AC outlet of the correctvoltage. DO NOT DEFEAT THE GROUND PINOF THE AC PLUG! Use only the suppliedpower cord. If the amplifier is to be used outsideof the United States, see your authorized Cratedealer for information about alternate line cordsand power converters if needed.

22. SPEAKER JACK: Use this jack to connectthe amplifier to external speaker cabinet(s) ifdesired. The amplifier can power speaker loadsas low as 4 ohms. Use the chart which followsto determine the total impedance of multiplecabinets.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT CERTAINEXPORT UNITS: In some areas 1/4 speakerjacks are not acceptable for use on ampli-fiers capable of high output power levels.For this reason the Speaker jack on youramplifier may resemble the illustrationbelow. Connect the amplifier to your speak-er(s) using cables rated for very high outputpower, terminated with the appropriate con-nectors.

CABINET NUMBER TOTALIMPEDANCE OF CABS IMPEDANCE

8 ohms 2 4 ohms 16 ohms 2 8 ohms16 ohms 4 4 ohms

Never connect the amp to a load of less than4 ohms!

23. PARALLEL EFFECTS LOOP: Connectionto an external effects device is made with thesejacks. Using shielded signal cables, connect theEFFECTS LOOP SEND jack to the input jack ofthe effect; the output jack of the effect to theEFFECTS LOOP RETURN jack. The amount ofexternal effect in the mix is determined by thesetting of the FX MIX control (#19).

Because of parallel loop operation, the Mix on youreffects device(s) should be set to 100%.

24. FOOTSWITCH JACKS: Connect the sup-plied three button footswitch (the Crate CFP-3)to these jacks as follows for remote control ofreverb, channel switching and gain select. Thechart which follows and the illustration belowshow the footswitch configuration.

Plug Style: To Amp Jack: Control Function:

Mono (T/S) Reverb Tip = reverb on/off

Stereo (R/T/S) Ch./Gain Select Ring = channelTip = gain 1 or 2

Note: The Reverb on/off shuts off the signal tothe reverb tanks input, allowing the reverb tofade out rather than be cut off abruptly.

EFFECTS LOOP FOOTSWITCH

RETURN SEND REVERBCH./GAINSELECT

47-450-02

23 24

SPEAKERS80 WATTS RMS @ 8 OHMS

4 OHM MINIMUM LOAD140VA

120VAC/60Hz

AVIS:RISQUE DE CHOC

ELECTRIQUE.NE PAS OUVRIR.

WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICSHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

CAUTION HOT!

RISK OF ELECTRICSHOCK.

DO NOT OPEN

47-450-01MO

DEL

:SER

IAL:

LIN

E:

V

~

Hz

WA

TTS:

MA

X

21 22

1 2 31 2 31 2 3

CHANNEL GAINSELECT REVERB

EFFECTS LOOP FOOTSWITCH

RETURN SEND REVERBCH./GAINSELECT

47-450-02

STEREOCABLE

MONOCABLE

The Rear Panel:

140VA120VAC/60Hz

AVIS:RISQUE DE CHOC

ELECTRIQUE.NE PAS OUVRIR.

WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICSHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

CAUTION HOT!

RISK OF ELECTRICSHOCK.

DO NOT OPEN

47-450-01

SPEAKERS80 WATTS RMS @ 8 OHMS

4 OHM MINIMUM LOAD


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IN

OUT

OUT

IN

OUT

IN

IN OUT

OUT

IN IN

IN

Some Suggested Settings:

SPARKLING CLEAN:

BLUESY:

METAL:

SINGING:


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About the Preamp Tubes:

If the amp starts to squeal, gets noisy, loses gain or starts to hum, the preamp tubes may be bad.Since removal of the tubes may expose extremely hazardous voltage levels, always refer replace-ment of the preamp tubes to a qualified service center. Insist upon using only the highest quality, low-microphonic tubes!

System Block Diagram:

BRIGHT

MIDBOOST

MIDTREB BASS MSTR

CH.AMSTR

0dB

MIDTREB BASS GAIN

REVERB

EFFECTS LOOP

FXMIX

REVERBLEVEL

SEND RETURN

TUBESTAGE

TUBESTAGE

TUBESTAGE

TUBESTAGE

POWERAMP

SPEAKEROUTS

-6dB

GAIN1

GAIN2

MIDBOOST

GAIN SELECT

CHANNEL SELECT

CHANNEL A

CHANNEL B

CHANNEL B


Technical Specifications:

Output Power Rating 80 watts RMS nominal @ 5% THD @8 ohms120 watts RMS nominal @ 5% THD @ 4 ohms

Input Impedance 1M ohm

Ch. A Ch. BSystem Gain 71dB Gain 1: 93dB, gain 2: 98db Tone Controls Treble 30dB range @ 4kHz Treble 16dB range @ 2.5kHz

Mid 12dB range @ 500Hz Mid 6dB range @ 1kHzBass 30dB range @ 40Hz Bass 20dB range @ 100Hz

Bright 6dB boost @ 5kHz Mid Boost 8dB boost @ 700HzBoost 16dB boost @ 400Hz

Effects Send/Return Level 0.7V RMS nominal

Tube Complement 12AX7 (2)

Internal Speaker(s) GXT-100 GXT-210 GXT-212 GXT-410Size and Type 12 Crate Custom 80W (1) 10 Crate Custom 50W (2) 12 Crate Custom 80W (2) 10 Crate Custom 50W (4)

Magnet 38 oz. 30 oz. 38 oz. 30 oz. Voice Coil 1.75 1.5 1.75 1.5

Impedance 8 ohm 16 ohm 16 ohm 8 ohm

Power Requirements Domestic: 115VAC, 60Hz,110VAExport: 100/115VAC, 50/60Hz, 110VA; 230VAC 50/60Hz, 110VA

Size and Weight GXT-100/210 GXT-212 GXT-410 GXT-100H 18H x 24W x 11D 20H x 26W x 11D 26H x 26W x 12D 10H x 24W x 10D48 lbs. 55 lbs. 70 lbs. 31 lbs.

Crate continually develops new products, as well as improves existing ones. For this reason, the specifications and information in this manual are subject to change without notice.

The GXT Series amplifiers are covered with high-quality, durable Tolex. To keep them looking their best, avoidabrasive cleansers. Wipe the cabinets clean using a slightly dampened soft cloth. Do not spray cleaners directlyinto the amplifier. Never use brass cleaners on the hardware since they could damage their protective coatings.

1997 SLM ELECTRONICS A division of St. Louis Music 1400 Ferguson Avenue St. Louis, Mo 63133

P/N 47-450-61 09/97


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