Samson Musical Instrument Amplifier Acoustic Pre Amp User Guide

ACOUSTICꢀPRE-AMP/DI  
 
Table Of Contents  
Acoustic Attack Introduction And Features  
Introduction  
Acoustic Attack Features  
Acoustic Attack Front Panel Layout  
Acoustic Attack Side Panel Layout  
Operating The Acoustic Attack  
Setting Up The Acoustic Attack  
Power The Acoustic Attack  
Phantom On ‑ Off / Ground Connect / Lift Switch  
Using Phantom Power  
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3
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5
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6
6
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Installing The Battery  
Using An Ac/dc Power Adapter  
Control Knobs And Switches  
Using The Equalizer  
Acoustic Attack System Diagrams  
Acoustic Attack Typical Set‑ups  
Direct Insertion Of An Instrument Into A Pa System  
Using An External Effects Processor For Recording  
 
Acoustic Attack Introduction and Features  
Introduction  
Congratulations on your purchase of the Acoustic Attack acoustic pre‑amp/ direct box by Hartke!  
The Acoustic Attack is a high quality preamplifier designed specifically for acoustic instruments.  
The Acoustic Attack is a perfect solution for applications where you need to amplify or record  
an acoustic guitar, mandolin or even violin. Of course, you players of electric guitars with on‑  
board piezo acoustic pick‑ups can really enhance your set up by adding the Acoustic Attack to  
your arsenal of stomp boxes. The active three band equalizer with tube pre emulation will warm  
up any amplifier or recording. Plus with the MIX control you can dial‑up just the right amount  
of tone enhancement that matches the personality of your sound. The convenient PAD switch  
makes the Acoustic Attack compatible with just about any PA system. The Acoustic Attack has  
extensive input and output connectors including 1/4‑inch inputs, balanced XLR Direct Output  
and 1/4‑inch Parallel outputs, providing maximum flexibility for patching in to amps, mixer and  
recorders. Rest assured, the Acoustic Attack will provide high quality and reliable performance  
thanks to its solid Hartke build construction. That's why the Acoustic Attack is perfectly at home  
in the studio or on the road. In fact, the aluminum extrusion and steel chassis ensure solid per‑  
formance from night‑to‑night and venue‑to venue. Whether you are recording or playing live,  
the Acoustic Attack by Hartke will give you the sound you’ve been looking for.  
Acoustic Attack Features  
Acoustic Guitar Pre‑amp / Direct Box.  
Tube Pre Emulation Circuit warms up any amp or recording.  
Active 3‑Band Equalizer.  
Sweepable Mid‑Range frequency control with "notch" cut helps reduce feedback.  
PAD switch provides clean input for acoustics with Active or Passive pick‑ups.  
Convenient 1/4‑inch and XLR Outputs.  
Rugged aluminum extrusion construction.  
Three year extended warranty.  
 
2
Acoustic Attack Front Panel Layout  
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2
3
OUTPUT - Control knob used to adjust  
the overall Output volume.  
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7
ON/OFF - Footswitch used to engage  
the effects.  
BASS - Control knob used to boost or cut  
the low frequencies.  
ON/OFF LED – RED LED, which illumi-  
nates to indicate that the OUTPUT, BASS,  
MID, TREBLE and MIX, plus the Tube Pre  
Emulation functions are engaged.  
MID – Used to boost or cut the midrange  
frequencies.  
8
MIX – Control knob used to adjust  
the blend between the dry signal and  
effected signal.  
4
5
TREBLE - Control knob used to boost or  
cut the high frequencies.  
FREQ – Used to adjust the center fre-  
quency of the MID control.  
 
3
Acoustic Attack Side Panel Layout  
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A
B
Power Inlet – Power inlet for connect-  
ing the optional AD006 9 Volt power  
adapter.  
F
DIRECT INPUT - Standard �/-inch input  
jack for connecting an additional signal,  
like from another effect, that bypasses  
the processing, but can be mixed with  
the signal connected to the Acoustic  
Attack's INPUT.  
PHANTOM ON / GROUND LIFT switch -  
Used to switch between phantom power  
or battery operation, and/or Ground Lift/  
Connect.  
G
INPUT – Standard �/-inch input jack for  
connecting a passive or active Acoustic.  
C
OUTPUT - �/-inch jack carrying the  
line-level output signal, either affected or  
un-affected, depending on the ON/OFF  
switch.  
D
E
PAD switch – Push switch used to cut  
the level sent to the Direct Output by 0  
dB.  
DIRECT OUTPUT - XLR balanced output  
connector carrying the mic-level output  
signal, either affected or un-affected,  
depending on the ON/OFF switch.  
 
4
Operating the Acoustic Attack  
Setting Up the Acoustic Attack  
The basic procedure for setting up and using your Acoustic Attack is simple and takes only a few  
minutes. Remove all packing materials (save them in case of need for future service).  
Power the Acoustic Attack  
You can power the Acoustic Attack with a standard 9‑volt battery, a standard DC power adapter,  
or by applying standard 48‑volt phantom power. You can use which ever power source is most  
convenient, however, you should keep in mind that there are, from time‑to‑time, trade‑offs. You  
may have a well grounded live sound or studio set‑up that will not exhibit ground loop prob‑  
lems, but when you are on the road or in other studios you can have ground loops. Because of  
possible ground loops, which are just a part of live sound and recording, you may want to con‑  
sider using a battery to keep the grounds from the Acoustic Attack isolated from the grounds of  
the rest of your gear. You can check the phantom or AC operation with a quick sound check to  
listen for any buzzing. If there is no buzz you have a well‑grounded system. If your hear buzzing,  
go to battery operation. Hey, life’s a trade off, so is powering your audio gear.  
Phantom On - Off / Ground Connect / Lift Switch  
The PHANTOM ON ‑OFF / GROUND CONNECT / LIFT SWITCH is a latching switch that provides  
two functions at the same time. In the up position, the switch connects Ground on the XLR  
cable, and by doing that, the switch also allows the unit to be powered by a phantom power  
supply. When the switch is set to the down position, the Acoustic Attack is set to operate on  
phantom power. When the switch is in the up or out position, the ground is disconnected, and  
the phantom power operation is disabled, therefore the Acoustic Attack must be operated by  
battery.  
Using Phantom Power  
If you are connecting to a mixer that has phantom power, the Acoustic Attack can be powered  
by connecting a standard mic cable to the Direct Output. Be sure to check that the mixer’s  
phantom power switch is set to the “on” position. Then, make sure that the PHANTOM ON ‑ OFF  
/GROUND CONNECT / LIFT SWITCH is out so that phantom power is enabled.  
WARNING: To avoid a possible loud pop that can damage speakers, be sure to mute your speak‑  
er system and Acoustic amp before un‑plugging any mic cable with phantom power.  
 
5
Operating the Acoustic Attack  
Power the Acoustic Attack - continued  
Installing the Battery  
Install a standard 9‑volt battery by removing the battery door and attaching the battery to the  
terminal connector. Fit the battery into the compartment and reinstall the battery door.  
Using an AC/DC Power Adapter  
You can power the Acoustic Attack using the optional AC006 power supply available from your  
local Hartke dealer. Simply plug the power adapter into the DC inlet and then, plug the power  
adapter into a standard 110‑volt power outlet.  
Control Knobs and Switches  
Before you get started you should get familiar with the various control knobs and switches on  
the Acoustic Attack and how they operate. The BASS, MID and TREBLE, as well as the MIX con‑  
trols, are activated by the ON/OFF switch and are engaged when the red LED is illuminated.  
Using the Equalizer  
The BASS, MID and TREBLE knobs are used to adjust the overall tone of your acoustic guitar.  
These equalizer controls are active when the footswitch is set to "ON" indicated by the illumi‑  
nated red LED. When the equalizer controls are set to the “5” position they are set flat and have  
no effect on the sound. If you want to add more lows or highs to your sound, move the BASS  
or TREBLE control knobs up, and if you want less low or highs move the respective knob down.  
The MID control works in conjunction  
with the FREQ control, which selects  
the mid‑range center frequency. You  
can sweep the mid range control from  
170 Hz to 4 kHz. Use your ears and  
experiment with these knobs to get  
the sound that’s best for your music.  
A good place to start is with the BASS,  
MID and TREBLE control set to “5” and  
then make small changes and listen to  
the difference.  
 
6
Operating the Acoustic Attack  
Using the MID control to Reduce Feedback  
A good use of the MID control is to help reduce feedback.  
To do this, turn the MID control all the way down, (fully  
counter clock wise), raise the OUTPUT control or the  
volume on your amp right to right at the feedback level,  
then use the FREQ control and slowly sweep through the  
frequencies until the feedback goes way.  
Using the MIX control  
The Acoustic Attack incorporates a sweet sounding Tube Pre  
Emulation circuit designed to add the richness and overtones  
of a classic studio tube mic preamplifier. The MIX control is  
used to set the balance between your original clean signal  
with the Active Equalizer applied, and the signal that is  
effected by the Tube Pre Emulation circuit. If you set the MIX  
control all the way to the left or counter clockwise the signal  
will be 100 percent clean , or the same as the original output signal from your guitar with any EQ  
you have set. If you turn the MIX control all the way right, or fully clockwise, 100 percent of the  
signal will be effected by the Tube Pre Emulation. That is, no original clean signal, just the signal  
with any added Equalization and Tube Pre Emulation. Use the MIX control to add in just the right  
amount of warmth to your original sound.  
The key to getting the sound that's perfect for your musical style is experimenting with all the  
controls since they are somewhat interactive. Start by making small changes and when you find  
a sound you like, write it down.  
 
7
Acoustic Attack System Diagrams  
Acoustic Attack Typical Set-ups  
There are many different ways to use the Acoustic Attack, however, the basic connection is the  
same in most installations and applications. The following sections detail the connections for an  
acoustic guitar plugged into an Acoustic Attack which is feeding an on stage amplifier and the  
main PA mixer in a live situation, and also, using the pre‑amp with external effects feeding a con‑  
sole in a recording situation. Follow these simple steps to get connected:  
Direct Insertion of an Instrument into a PA System  
One of the most common applications for using a DI, like the Acoustic Attack, is getting the sig‑  
nal of an acoustic guitar into the PA system. Simply put, the full‑range frequencies produced by  
acoustic guitar are difficult to mic, so use of a DI box is almost always preferable. In addition, the  
signal going to PA system can be tweaked by the FOH (front of house) engineer, without affect‑  
ing the sound the musician dials up on stage. Follow the diagram and steps below to connect a  
electric acoustic guitar to a PA mixer.  
Connect the output of the guitar or acoustic to the Acoustic Attack’s INPUT.  
Connect Acoustic Attack’s PARALLEL OUTPUT to the input of the guitar or acoustic amplifier.  
Connect Acoustic Attack’s DIRECT OUTPUT to the input of main PA mixer.  
 
8
Acoustic Attack System Diagrams  
Using an External Effects Processor for Recording  
In a recording application, you can use the Acoustic Attack’s Direct Input as a second input, with  
the OUTPUT to create an effects loop. This will allow you to add an additional effect like a digital  
multi‑effects processor for delay, chorus and reverb and have them mixed in with the Acoustic  
Attack pre‑amp for a killer front end for tracking your acoustic on your next recording. Follow  
the diagram below to connect an external signal processor.  
 
Hartke  
45 Gilpin Avenue  
Hauppauge, New York 11788‑8816  
Phone: 1‑800‑3‑SAMSON (1‑800‑372‑6766)  
Fax: 631‑784‑2201  
 

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