Hartke HA5500, Owner'S Manual

Page: 7 / 20

5
Guided Tour - HA5500 Front Panel
6. Compression control - This determines the amount of compression (peak sig-
nal reduction) by simultaneously adjusting both threshold and compression ratio
(which ranges from 2:1 to infinity [limiting]). At the fully counterclockwise “Off”
position, the circuitry is bypassed and no compression is applied (the knob
clicks when set to the “Off” position). As the knob is raised clockwise (at set-
tings from “1” to “
∞
”) increasing amounts of compression are applied. For more
information, see the “About Compression” section on page 15 of this manual.
7. Graphic Equalizer In/Out switch - When pressed in (the “In” position), the
Model 5500’s graphic equalizer circuitry (as described in #8 below) is
operational. When pressed out (the “Out” position), it is bypassed. The
provision of this switch allows you to set up a custom equalization curve (an
equalization “preset”) with the graphic EQ sliders, which can then be activated
with the press of a single button.
8. Graphic Equalizer - These sliders allow you to “draw” the tonal response of
the system by adding 15 dB of boost or attenuation to ten different narrow-band
frequency areas (30 Hz, 64 Hz, 125 Hz, 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 3 kHz,
5 kHz, and 8 kHz), affecting the main output signal of the Model 5500. When a
slider is at its center detented (“0”) position, the selected frequency area is
unaffected (it is said to be flat). When a slider is moved up (above the “0”
position, towards the “+15” position), the selected frequency area is boosted,
and when it is moved down (below the “0” position, towards the “-15” position),
the selected frequency area is attenuated. For more information, see the “About
Equalization” section on pages 13 - 14 of this manual.
9. Contour Low Pass control - This acts as a broad-band low frequency equal-
izer, providing 18 dB of boost or attenuation at 100 Hz. You should generally
adjust this control (and the Contour High Pass control, described in #10 below)
prior to “fine-tuning” the system with the graphic equalizer (as described in #8
above). For more information, see the “About Equalization” section on pages
13 - 14 of this manual.
10. Contour High Pass control - This acts as a broad-band high frequency
equalizer, providing 18 dB of boost or attenuation at 10 kHz. You should
generally adjust this control (and the Contour Low Pass control, described in #9
above) prior to “fine-tuning” the system with the graphic equalizer (as described
in #8 above). For more information, see the “About Equalization” section on
pages 13 - 14 of this manual.
11. Master Volume control - This is the overall volume control. For best signal-
to-noise ratio, keep the output of your bass at or near maximum and adjust the
amp’s Master Volume to the desired level.
12. Power LED - Lights whenever the Model 5500 is powered on.
13. Power switch - Use this to power the Model 5500 on or off.