OverviewCrunch Master (aka "Blues Master" in North America) Contains an 12AX7 (ECC83) and an EL84, run to give crunch. The Crunch Master has a great, complete feature set and provides actual cranked tube power-amp tone, for classic Fender crunch tone at reasonable levels. It's like have a 59' Bassman in a small box. Add an external reverb unit and it matches the sound very closely. The Crunch Master is "VINTAGE AMERICAN CLEAN & CRUNCH.”
The Crunch Master is for the player who wants crystal clear valve clean sounds and bluesy over-driven "crunch” sounds. Crunch is not a specific type of distortion, but mild overdrive or distortion. Crunch has a tone that resembles the sound of breakfast cereal crunching blended to a guitar sound. It has an EL84 power stage and a 12AX7 pre-amp stage. 1 channel instrument input on front and back of the unit. Pre-amp gain, master volume, 3-band EQ (treb, mid, and bass controls), a bright switch and power switch on the front. The back of the unit has a jack to plug in a speaker cab using the 5W power amp of the unit, tube amp out jack. There is a switchable line / instrument out and a H&K Red Box (Cabinetulator) built in. It also has outputs for tube amp out and mix out. There are eight 1/4" jacks on the unit for all the input / outputs. This device is capable of a large variety of rich natural clean, blues to crunch tones. The sounds range from clean to bluesy to dirty-sounding solo-blues, with output-stage-valve soft-clipping. Think Eric Clapton (1989), and B.B. King. Specifications1. Input
Input jack for electric guitar 2. Gain Gain attenuator to control gain of pre-amp A / B / C equalisation (Treble / Mid / Bass) Bright switch 3. Bypass Displays state of the bypass switch On = Tube circuit 4. Master Controls the power amp overdrive and output power 5. Power Mains switch 6. Power indicator LED 7. Fuse 0.1W Slo-blo 8. Mains cord 9. Speaker Speaker output 1W - 8 Ohm 10. Tube Position = Crunch Master Signal Bypass Position - Instrument Signal is on Line/lnstr. Outputs 11. Footswitch A Standard footswitch plugged into this socket fulfills the same function as switch 10. 12. Tube Amp Volume Controls the output power ofthe tube stage 13. Tube Amp Out Only tube amp signal is available. NO Signal in Bypass position 14. Instr Out Only instrument signal - no signal in Tube position 15. Line / Instrument Switches the outputs 13, 14, 16 and 17 to Line or Instrument level Output to: Switch Position Guitar amp input Instrument Power amp Line Tape machine Line Mixing desk Line or instrument Stereo system Line16. Mix out Either the Tube or the Bypass signal is available 17. Cabinetulator Mix Out Same as Mix Out with added 4 x 12” Celestion 18. Input Parallel Input to front Input socket (front switches off when used) DI - Studio RecordingYou can connect the output of Crunch Master (Blues Master) directly to a mixing desk or tape machine simply by switching to Line level. The built-in Cabinet Simulator (Cabinetulator Mix Out - 17) will produce the type of sound you would normally get by miking your speaker cabinets.
Installing in a 19" RackAvailable as an option is either a single or a double 19 inch rack mount adapter. At the rear of the Crunch Master (Blues Master) is an additional
input jack socket to simplify rack connection. When in use, the front mounted input jack is automatically disconnected Using a Cream Machine & Crunch Master ComboIf you wish to use both the Cream Machine and (Crunch Master) Blues Master in combination, use the H&K CRM pedal board. This lets you
kick in either of the Soundmachines or, if desired, to bypass them altogether. To retain maximum high frequency response, there is an internal switch at the rear of the PCB (printed circuit board), which you can use to switch the Cabinetulator filter out when in bypass mode. |
YouTube VideosSound SettingsWhat a Cabinetulator DoesSince its late-‘80s release, the original Hughes & Kettner® Red Box® Cabinetulator has been the standard tool for capturing the sound of guitar amps without using microphones. Particularly in live applications, the advantages of the Red Box® concept are obvious. It delivers unvarying sound quality at every gig, putting an end to crosstalk with other instruments. The Crunch Machine Cabinetular is essentially the Red Box cabinetulator circuit simulating a miked Celestion 4 x 12 cab.
Schematic
Using as a Pre-ampThe various line outputs (13,14,15,16) seen in the illustration to left can be switched to instrument level using switch no. 15,
This brings the output of the unit down to a level which is similar to that produced by your guitar on its own. You than simply plug the Crunch Master (Blues Master) into the input of your guitar amp. If you have a single channel amp, it’s best to use either the Mix Out (16) or the Cabinetulator Mix Out(17). A standard type footswitch plugged into socket 11 will enable you to bypass the Crunch Master and feed the original guitar signal straight through into your guitar amp. If you are using a twin channel amp, there are two separate outputs available: the Tube Amp Out (13) and the lnstrument Out (14). The latter bypasses the Crunch Master and takes the guitar signal directly into your amp. The Tube Amp Volume (12) allows you to adjust the level of the Tube Amp Out in relation to the bypassed output signal from Instrument Out' The gain or volume control on your guitar amplifier should be set to match the output of the Crunch Master. |