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The Fundamentals of Handling
SWITCHBLADE is a tube amp and, as such, works like as a tube amp. Nevertheless, the handling concept is rather
advanced, so time spent familiarizing yourself with it is time well spent.
At first glance, the knobs look and feel like standard-issue gear: Control range 300 degrees; 0-10 clockwise; left and right
stops.
At second glance, though, you’ll discover that there is just a single set of knobs to serve all four Channels. One GAIN, one
Channel MASTER, one three-band EQ – that’s it. The selected Channel determines if the GAIN knob addresses the CLEAN,
CRUNCH or LEAD Channel.
The great advantage of this concept is that Channels are independent and do not share the Gain, Master or voicing
knobs; even Presence is separately adjustable for every Channel and every setting can be programmed individually to each
of the 128 Presets!
MIDI Control and Programming
FSM 432
The included Hughes & Kettner
®
FSM 432 MIDI board is a remote control serving to select the 128 memory slots conveniently arranged in 32 Banks
of four presets each. You can easily configure setups any way you wish, say by assigning the four presets of a bank to a song.
PRESET A B C D
Presets within a bank can be activated directly, that is, switching from A to B within the same bank occurs immediately. The LED above the A,B,C,D
buttons indicates the preset.
BANK UP/DOWN
If you want to call up a preset in another bank, you can select the bank via UP and DOWN while continuing to play using the current preset.
The number of the bank is indicated in the display, and it flashes until you select a preset via A,B,C,D. Not until then will SWITCHBLADE load the
new preset.
Factory Settings and Factory Reset
A factory reset is a seldom needed feature. Nevertheless, be sure to read the explanation carefully to ensure you don’t accidentally delete
your presets.
Triggering a Factory Reset
If you press STORE and FX SERIAL simultaneously while powering the amp, all settings are reset, including the 128 MIDI-switchable presets and
the basic MIDI configuration.
Caution: This procedure is a last-resort option! It irrevocably wipes out all stored settings.
Factory Presets and Basic MIDI Configuration
The Switchblade is delivered ex-factory with 64 different presets (memory slot 1-64). In the memory slot 65-128 you will find copies of
the first 64 presets. The basic MIDI configuration is:
•OMNI ON
•MIDI Channel: 1
•FX ON is switched off.
•SERIAL is deactivated.
Storing Settings/Programming
You have two options for storing a preset to one of the 128 memory slots: Select a new memory slot via MIDI or overwrite the preset
directly at the device.
Selecting a New Memory Slot via MIDI Learn
•Press the STORE button briefly; it lights up to signify that it is armed (MIDI Learn).
•Select a MIDI bank from 1 to 32 on the FSM 432; it flashes to signify that the FSM 432 is waiting for input via one of the four preset
buttons A to D.
•Engage preset button A,B,C or D; the board stops flashing, the light on the STORE button extinguishes, and the preset is stored.
Note: Here’s how to proceed for other manufacturers’ MIDI boards and MIDI-enables devices: Arm SWITCHBLADE by engaging
the STORE button and selecting the desired memory slot. As soon as SWITCHBLADE receives a valid program
change command, the STORE button extinguishes and the preset is stored.
If an error occurs (the amp remains armed), you can cancel the storage process by pressing STORE again.
Overwriting Presets Directly at the Device
There is an easier way to overwrite the most recently selected preset than going from the amp to the MIDI board and back after every edit:
Press and hold the STORE button until its light extinguishes (after about two seconds). The ORIGINAL VALUE and the Channel LEDs also flash to
confirm. Then you can release the STORE button and your settings are stored.
ORIGINAL VALUE
This LED tells you which knob setting is stored in the given Preset. To this end, select a Preset, grab the knob and twist it to the left or
right until this LED lights up. The setting at which the LED lights up corresponds to the setting stored in the Preset.
Best wishes from the Hughes & Kettner
®
team. We hope you enjoy playing SWITCHBLADE as much as we enjoyed
designing and refining it!