ashdown pedal manual

7/29/2019 Ashdown Pedal Manual

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BassChorus Plus

True Bypass Switching

BassDrive Plus


BassDual Band Compressi

True Bypass Swi

Bass Effects Pedals

BassSub-Octave Plus


Designed to meet the s

of the modern bass playe

Dual Band Compressor spl

into high and low frequenc

applies compression separately to both

and decay for the high frequency and slow atta

for the low frequency or fundamental waveform

The amount of compression applied to each is in

variable and the balance between the high and lo

components of the signal is also controllable as

combined into a single, full r

Why should guitar players have all the fun?

Ashdown's Bass Drive Plus pedal generates a wide

range of bass distortion by splitting the signal

into High and Low frequency bands and applying appropriate

types of distortion to either one or both. HF and LF distortion

have their own individual Drive controls with a separate Balance

control to blend the two together. I n this way distortion can be

added to the HF signal only maintaining

a full and fat bottom end.

A high-quality chorus, just for bass players. In addition to the standard

Depth and Speed controls, the Plus part of this pedal can be switched in

to provide flanging and a unique range of delay effects.

This earth-Shattering pedal generates a note

one octave below the note being played, at the same

volume and based on the waveform of the original signal.By blending the sub-octave note with the original signal, bass players

can move from a subtle reinforcement of the sound to truckloads of

bone crushing tone. As a further Plus, distortion can be added to the

sub-octave note, with the level of distorted sub-octave and

degree of distortion both adjustable by the player.

It’s time to get funky with the Ashdown

Envelope Filter. Capable of a wide range of

effects from auto-wah through to spaced-out, auto-

triggered funky tones, the sweep of the filter can be either up or

down with selection of band-pass or high pass filter modes. A peak

control is provided to deepen the ‘Q’ for more extreme effects and the

depth of the effect is controlled by the volume of each note as it’s

played, making this a truly creative and dynamic pedal.

BassEnvelope Plus

True Bypass Switching www.ashdownmusic.com

#19061- Pedal Ops Amend 14/10/05 7:28 pm

7/29/2019 Ashdown Pedal Manual

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All effects pedals in the Ashdown range have been

specifically designed for bass.

TRUE BYPASS SWITCHING

All effects pedals in the Ashdown range use ‘True

Bypass Switching’, this means when the effect is

bypassed then all electronic components within the

pedal are switched out of circuit, the Input jack

socket is then connected directly and only to the

Output jack socket ensuring no degradation of yourbass signal.

In most effects pedals the internal circuitry remains

connected even when the effect is bypassed. This

changes and degrades your bass signal. With ‘True

Bypass Switching’ when the effect is bypassed then

it is the same as if your bass were plugged directly

into the input of your amplifier.

All Ashdown effects have an LED that will light to

indicate when the effect is active.

INPUT & OUTPUT LEVEL CONTROLS

All Ashdown effects have Input and Output Level

controls. The Input Level control allows the user to

adjust the signal level from his bass to allow the

effect to work at its optimum. The Signal Level can

easily be monitored on the front panel VU Meter.

This is necessary as signal levels from different bass

guitars can vary over a very wide range especially

between Active and Passive instruments.

SETTING THE ‘INPUT’

With all Ashdown effects pedals always adjust the

‘Input’ so that the VU meter gives a reading of

between –7 and 0dB on the scale all the time you

are playing with only occasional peaks into the red

section.

ADJUSTING THE ‘OUTPUT’

The Output Level control allows the user to adjust a

perfect balance between the effect being switched

into circuit and the ‘True Bypass’ mode.

BATTERY

The internal 9v battery is activated when a jack plug

is inserted into the Instrument In jack socket. This

can be replaced by removing the battery

compartment door on the underside of the unit.

Always use an Alkaline battery type 6LR61 for

maximum life.

AC ADAPTER

Only ever use the special 9v AC adapter available

from Ashdown. This can be plugged into the DC

Connector on the back of the unit.

Bass Effects PedalsOperating Instructions

DUAL BAND COMPRESSOR TheAshdown Dual BandCompressor is a specialkind of

compressordesignedspecifically forbass.ItsplitstheBasssignalinto two frequency bandsand appliescompression individually to

each band.Thedegree ofcompression appliedto eitherhigh orlowfrequencies is individually adjustableby theuser. Thesetwo

frequency bandsare then re-combinedinto asingle FullRange

signalwith thebalance between high and lowfrequenciesadjustablewith the‘EQ Balance’control.

Thisapproach towards Compression isnecessary for bass because

aFastAttack is requiredto catch theinitialtransientandhigh

frequency contentofthebassnotewhereasa SlowAttack isrequiredforthelowfrequency orfundamentalwaveformofthe

noteto ensurethewaveformisnotdistorted.If aFullRangecompressorisusedforbass then aFastattack willdistortthelow

frequency waveformswhereas a slowattack wouldfail to catch theinitialtransient.Thisis also trueoftheDecay/Releaseportion of

thecompression,afairly fast decay is idealforthehigh frequencieswhereasa slowdecay is bestforthelowfrequency content.

TheAshdown Dual BandCompressor thereforegives you thebestofboth with Attack andDecay parametersalready setto optimum

valuesfor LowandHigh frequenciesplusindividualuser

adjustmentof thedegree ofcompression appliedto each portionofthenote,LowComp& High Comp.

TheAshdown Dual BandCompressor can increasesustain on any

noteor harmonic,smooth outplaying dynamics,add definition to

fastruns,providea switchablevolumeboost,provideawide rangeofEQ’sthatareeasily andinstantly adjustable,provideHigh or

Lowcompression orany combination ofthetwo and can functionin theeffectslooporon thefrontendofany amplification system.

LOW COMP, HIGH COMP Thedegree ofcompression applied to thelow frequency content

ofthebasssignalis setusing theLowCompcontrol.Applyingcompression only to thelowfrequenciesgivesafat bottomendto

thenote, it can also smooth outplaying dynamicsand provideadditionalsustain.Allthiswithoutthelossof thetransientor

attack portion ofthe note.The degreeof compression appliedtothehigh frequency contentof thebasssignalis setusing theHigh

Compcontrol.Thiscompressestheattack partofthenoteand can

beusedto goodeffectin limiting the transienton pulledorslappednotesandcan beusedaloneorin combination with the

LowComp control.Try to useboth thesecontrols in moderation asthiswillproducethemostpleasing effect.

EQ BALANCE TheEQ Balancecontrolprovides adjustmentofthe balancebetween

highand lowfrequencieswithin thenote forfurtherartisticexpression.Settoits centrepositioni.e.12o’clockitprovidesan

equalbalancebetween lowand highfrequencies.Turningto therightincreasesthe highfrequenciesand decreasestheLow

frequencies.Turningto theleftIncreases thelow frequenciesanddecreasesthehighfrequencies.Thisin factthisgivesfurtherusesfor

thiseffectspedalwhereLow& HighCompressioncanbothbesetto

zeroandjusttheEQBalancecontrolbeusedto setadifferentEQthatcanbeswitchedIn orOut.

Technical specifications

Highpass filter sectionFilterfrequency 225Hz

Filterrolloff 12dB/octaveLow pass filter sectionFilterfrequency 900Hz

Filterrolloff 12dB/octaveCompositecrossoverpoint ofthe overlapping High andLow passfilters =

350Hz

HighcompressionAttack time1mS

Decay time70mS

Max compratio 8:1Low compression

Attack time22mSDecay time122mS

Max compratio 8:1

InputImpedance470k Ohms

Signallevel –10dBvto 0dBv

OutputImpedance10k Ohms

Signallevel variable–10dBv to 0dBvSupply

Internal9v battery

Externalsupply 9vDCadaptor. Centrepin negative.

Bass Dual Band Compressor

TheAshdown BassDrive Plusis abass specificdistortionunitprovidingawiderangeofdistortioneffects.Thisoperatesina totally

differentwayto allpreviousand existingdistortionor overdriveeffectsunits.TheapproachissimilartotheDualBandCompressorin

thatdistortioncanbe addedto eitherthehighfrequencycontentorthelow frequencycontentof thebass signalindividually.

Thethinking behindthis isthat distortioncan beadded toonly thehighfrequencycontentofthebasssignalleavingthelower

frequenciescompletelyuntouchedand thuspreserving thesolidbottomend ofthebasssoundwhilststillprovidingaveryuseable

distortion.It wasfoundthatthedegreeandtypeof distortionthat

worksbestforbassneedstobedifferentatlow frequenciestothatforhighfrequencies.Sowhatwe havedoneisto splitthebass

signalintotwofrequencybandsand appliednotonlydifferentdegreesofdistortionto eachbandbutalsodifferenttypesof

distortioncharacteraswell.Theamountof distortionis individuallyadjustableforthehighfrequencyandlowfrequencyband.

LF DRIVE – HF DRIVE Two separateand differentdistortion circuits areemployed in the

BassDrivePluseffectpedal.Oneoperating on thehighfrequenciesand anotheron thelowfrequencies.TheLFDrive

controladjuststheamountofDriveordistortion addedto thelowfrequency contentofthe bassguitarsignal.TheHF Drivecontrol

adjuststhe amountof Driveordistortion addedto thehighfrequency contentofthe bassguitarsignal.

Themaximum amountof Driveavailable on each controlisdependenton thesetting oftheInputcontrol.With thissetfor

optimumsignalas describedin theSETTINGTHE‘INPUT’section of

theseinstructionsthedegreeofDrivewillbe whatweconsidertobeoptimumforbass.Ifmoredistortion isrequiredit ispossibleto

increasethesetting oftheInputcontrolto providethis.

< BALANCE > The< Balance> controlprovides adjustmentof thebalance

betweenhighandlow frequencieswithinthenoteforfurther

artisticexpression.Settoitscentrepositioni.e.12o’clock(withHF&LF Drivesettozero)itprovidesan equalbalancebetweenlow

andhighfrequencies.Turningtotherightincreasesthehighfrequenciesand decreasesthe lowfrequencies.Turning tothe left

Increasesthe lowfrequenciesand decreasesthe highfrequencies. TheBalance between high andlow frequencieswill vary

depending on thesettingsoftheHF &LF Drivecontrols,this

Balancecontrolcan then beusedto restoretheHF/LFsignalbalance.

Awiderangeof Distortion effectsareavailablewith thisunit. Try adding justHF Driveas explainedearlier orjust LFDrive orof

coursemixturesofboth.UsetheBalancecontrolforfineadjustmentsto thesignalHF/LFbalanceas thesetwo Drive

controlsarevaried.Wearesuretherewillbea setting idealforeverybody’stastes.


HFDrivefilter section

Filterfrequency 180HzFilterrolloff 12dB/octave

LFDrivefilter sectionFilterfrequency 600Hz

Filterrolloff 12dB/octave

Compositecrossoverpoint ofthe overlapping High andLow passfilters =250Hz

HFGain

0 to 60dBLFGain

0 to 30dBInput

Impedance470k Ohms

Signallevel –10dBvto 0dBvOutput

Impedance10k Ohms

Signallevel variable–10dBvto 0dBvSupply

Internal9v batteryExternalsupply 9vDCadaptor. Centrepin negative.

Bass Drive Plus TheAshdownEnvelope Filteris abass specificunit providinga widerangeof automaticfilteropening andclosing or‘sweeping’effects.

Althoughthecontrolsperform similarfunctions tootherEnvelopeFiltereffectsyouwillfindthata muchwiderrangeofeffectsare

availablefromthis unitthan frommost EnvelopeFiltereffectspedals.Moreofthereasonsforthisbelow.

AnEnvelopeFiltereffectissimplyavariableBandPassorLowPasselectronicfiltercircuit wherethe‘sweep’ throughits filterrangeis

controlledbythelevelofsignalpassingthroughtheunit.Inotherwordsthedeviceisdynamicallycontrolledbytheplayeri.e.the

harderthenote isplayed thegreaterthe frequencyrangethrough

whichthesweepof thefilterpasses.ThisSweepcanusuallybechosentobe inan Upwarddirectioni.e.thefilterfrequency

increaseswithanincreaseinsignallevelorina Downwarddirectioni.e.thefilterstartsat ahighfrequencyandsweepsdownwardwith

thedegreeof sweepfollowingthe signallevel.

Itisimportanttoset theInputleveltothecorrectreadingontheVU

meteras thiswillaffecttherangeandsensitivityoftheenvelopefilter.

PEAK ThePeak controladjuststhe sharpnessofthe Peakor ‘Q’of thefilter

response.Increasingthesettingofthiscontrolgivesa muchmoreemphasisedrangeof filterharmonicsin theinstrumentstone. Use

thelowrangeformorenaturalsoundingfiltersweepsandthehighersettingsfor moreexaggeratedfiltereffects.

UP/DOWN TheUp/Downcontrol determinesifthe sweepthroughthe filters

frequencyrangeisin anUpdirectioni.e.thefrequencyofthefilterincreasesasthenoteisplayedharder,orin aDowndirectioni.e.the

filterstartsat ahighfrequencyandsweepsdownwardasthenoteisplayedharder.In mostEnvelopeFilterpedalsthisisa switched

selectioni.e.youcanchooseeitherUporDown.

Whatwehavedoneistoprovideyouwithavariabledegreeofboth

theUpandDownrangesonasinglerotarycontrolwithfullyUpatoneendofthecontrolandfullyDownattheother. Withthecontrol

initscentrepositionthereisnosweepeffectat all,thisis zero

settingforboth Upand Down.Turningthe controlclockwisefromitscentre positiongraduallyincreases theDown sweepingrange

whilstturninganticlockwisefrom itscentre positiongraduallyincreasestheUp sweepingrange.It isthereforepossible toprecisely

adjustthedegreeofeithertheUp orDownfrequencysweepexactlytoyour liking.

BP/LPBP/LPstandsforBandPassorLow Passfilterfrequencyresponses,

BandPassislikea Wah-Wahwhereanarrowbandoffrequenciesissweptthroughwith thefilterrejecting allfrequencieseither sideof

thispassband.LowPassislikea verypowerfulTreblecontroli.e.whenturneddownyouhearonlythelowfrequenciesandasthe

frequencyrangeissweptupwardthemidandthenthehighfrequenciesareadded tothe lowfrequencies.

Ina wayLowPassis moreusefulforbassasthelowfrequenciesarealwaysretainedwithinthesound,howeverBandPassis amore

exaggeratedeffectbutmakesthesoundtoothinatthehighfrequencyendof therange. Usuallyan EnvelopeFilterwill offeryou

aswitchedchoiceofeitherBandPassorLowPassbutwhatwediscoveredwasthatmixingthetwotogetherprovideda muchmore

usefulsoundthan eitheronealone.

WehavethereforemadetheBP/LPcontrolworkina similarwayto

theUp/Downrotarycontroli.e.oneendof thecontrolisfullyBand

PassandtheotherendofthecontrolisfullyLowPass,thusanywherein-betweenis amixtureofthetwo,withthecentre

positionbeingequalproportionsofBandPassandLowPass.


Filter Range30Hz to 12kHz

Filterrolloff 24dB/octave

Filter Peak QInfinitely variablefrom3 to 10

BP/LPSinglerotary controlselectsBP, LPor acontinuously variablemix ofboth

Up/Down

Up& Down rangescontinuously variablefromzero to fullsweepInput

Impedance470k Ohms

Signallevel –10dBvto 0dBvOutput

Impedance10k OhmsSignallevel variable–10dBv to 0dBv

Supply


TheAshdown BassChorusPlus isa bassspecific unitproviding awiderange ofChorus,Flanging andResonantFilter effects.Most

ChorusunitshaveSpeedandDepthcontrolsandwiththeseitisalwaysnecessaryto reducetheDepthastheSpeedisincreased

otherwisetheresultantsound becomesunusablebecause thenotespitchisovermodulated.WiththeBassChorusPluswe have

combinedthe adjustmentofSpeed andDepth intoone controlthatautomaticallydecreasestheDepth asthe Speedis increased.

Togive somedegreeof pitchmodulationadjustmentwe have

introduceda ‘Range’control.

Withour uniqueChorus/Flangerotarycontrolyou canmorph from

ChorusintoFlanging providingultimatecontrolover thespecificdegreeof flangingintroducedinto theChoruseffect. Theautomatic

‘sweep’ofthefiltereffectcanalsobedisabledwiththe‘Filter’switch.Inthismodethe‘Speed’controlprovidesameansto

manuallysweepthrough thefilterrange providinga spectrumof resonantfiltereffects.

Itisimportanttoset theInputleveltothecorrectreadingontheVUmeteras thiswillensuretheunitisworkingatitsoptimum.

SPEED TheSpeedcontrol adjuststherate ofthe automaticsweep backand

forththroughthe filterrangefor bothChorusand Flanging. Thereis noactual Depthcontrolon theBass ChorusPlusbecause we

havecombinedthefunctionsofSpeedandDepthintoonecontrolthatautomaticallydecreasesthe Depthas theSpeed isincreased.

Thereasonfor thisis thatas theSpeedof thefiltersweep isincreased,itisalwaysnecessarytoreducetheDepthoftheeffectto

preventexcessivepitch modulationdestroyingtheactual pitchof

thenote.This approachsaves timein selectingdifferentSpeedsettingsasit isonlynecessarytoadjustonecontrol.

Wehave howeverretainedsome degreeof pitchmodulationadjustmentby providingaRangecontrolthatdoesnotneed

readjustingeachtimetheSpeedisaltered.InFiltermodetheSpeedcontrolprovidesameanstomanuallysweepthroughtherangeof

ResonantCombFilter effectsavailable.

RANGE TheRANGE controlprovidesfine adjustmentoverthe degreeof pitchmodulationintroduced toeither theChorusor Flangeeffects.

Thishas agreater degreeof controloverthe flangingeffectsbecausethe harmonicswithin thenote areconsiderablymore

emphasisedthanin chorusing.ThiscontrolalsohassoFiltermode.

CHORUS/FLANGEWiththis controlin itsfully anti-clockwisepositionallChorusonly.Asthecontrolis advancedFlangingisint

Choruseffectuntil atits fullyclockwiseor maximumsFlangingis achieved.

ThisChorus/Flangecontrolprovides arange ofeffectsChorusand Flangingthat arevery useableand infinit

FILTER SWITCH TheFilter switchdisables theautomatic ‘sweep’throu

rangeinbothChorusandFlange.OncetheautomaticbeendisabledtheSpeedcontrolcanbe usedtoman

settingofthenowstaticfilterrangeprovidingahostocombfilter effects.TheRange controlalsoprovides fu

tuningto thisadjustment.The mostprominentresona

areachieved withthe Chorus/Flangecontrolset atmaFlange.

Technical specification

DelayFilter Range

60Hz to 12kHz

Filter Peak CombFilter with very high Qresonantpeaks

Frequencysweep speed0.2Hz to 8Hz

Chorus/Flange

Continuously variablefromChorus to fullFlangeInput

Impedance470k OhmsSignallevel –10dBvto 0dBv

Output

Impedance10k OhmsSignallevel variable–10dBv to 0dBv

Supply


Bass Envelope Filter Bass Chorus Plus

TheAshdown Sub OctavePlus generatesa noteone octavebelowthatofthebass guitarnoteat itsInput.ThisSubOctavenoteis

basedon thewaveformofthe basssignalanditslevelwillalsofollowthatof theoriginalbassguitarsignal.Theloweroctavenote

generatedcan be mixedwith theoriginalbassnoteusing theSub

Levelcontrol.Asa furtherPlus,Distortion can also be addedto theSubOctavenotewith thedegreeofdistortion andthelevelofthe

distortion both being adjustableby the user,providing an entirelynewrangeofeffectsavailableto themodern bass player.

SUB LEVEL TheSub Levelcontrol setsthe levelof volumeof theclean sub

octavenoteproducedby theSubOctavePluspedal.Thiscanthereforebebalancedagainsttheoriginalbassguitarsignal.

DIST DRIVEDistortion can be addedto thesub octavenotgeneratedandthe

DistDrivecontrolis usedto adjustthedegreeofDriveorDistortion thatis addedto theoriginalsuboctavesignal.

DIST LEVEL Thelevel ofthe distortedsub octavesignal can be balanced

againsttheclean suboctaveandtheoriginalbassguitarsignalusing theDist Levelcontrol.

Therange ofcontrols on theSub OctavePlus effectprovides not

only theoneoctavebelowsoundthatmostoctavepedalsproduce

butalso a wholerangeof newsounds availablefromtheadditionofsuboctavedistortion thatcan be mixedin with both the clean

suboctaveaswellas theoriginalbassguitarsoundwith infinitevariationsof thebalance between all3 sounds.

Technical specification

Sub OctavePitch - 1 octavebelowroot note

Waveform- Sampledfromoriginal noteEnvelope- Followsoriginalvolume envelope

SubBandwidth – 10 to 160Hz

DistortionDriveGain0 to 30dB

Input

Impedance470k OhmsSignallevel –10dBvto 0dBv

OutputImpedance10k Ohms

Signallevel variable–10dBv to 0dBv

SupplyInternal9v battery

Externalsupply 9vDCadaptor. Centrepin negative.

Bass Sub-Octave Plus

#19061- Pedal Ops Amend 14/10/05 7:28 pm

ashdown pedal manual

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