Rocktron Blue Thunder User Manual Download

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To reload user data from a sequencer

Operating the Blue Thunder

Connect a standard MIDI cable from the MIDI OUT of the transmitting sequencer to the
MIDI IN on the receiving Blue Thunder.

Step 1

IMPORTANT:

Do not allow a looping connection from the MIDI OUT/THRU of the receiving Blue Thunder
back to the MIDI IN of the transmitting sequencer.

Turn the FUNCTION SELECT controls on both the receiving Blue Thunder until "MIDI
DUMP/LOAD" is displayed.

MIDI DUMP/LOAD

RECEIVING BLUE THUNDER

Turn the PARAMETER SELECT controls on the receiving Blue Thunder until "BULK
DUMP/LOAD" is displayed.

MIDI DUMP/LOAD

RECEIVING BLUE THUNDER

Step 4

Step 3

Press the EDIT button to enter the “EDIT MODE”

EDIT MODE

Step 2

Summary of Contents for Blue Thunder

Page 1: ......

Page 2: ... and that it should be immune from other sources of interference when properly used Improper use of this equipment could result in increased RF emissions which may or may not interfere with other electronic products To insure against this possibility always use good shielded cables for all audio input and output connections Also bundle audio cables separately from the AC power cables These steps w...

Page 3: ...1 Selecting a preset 31 Changing preset parameters 32 Storing changed preset parameters 32 Editing a preset title 33 Controller Assignments 35 Copying Blue Thunder Presets Titles and Controller Assignments 39 Tap Delay 42 Program Changes 43 MIDI Channels 45 MIDI Dump Load 46 To dump a single Blue Thunder preset into another Blue Thunder 46 To dump a single Blue Thunder preset into a sequencer 48 T...

Page 4: ...ted signal to reached the desired effect Pre loaded with 128 professional presets custom designed for bass Presets 1 64 are meant for live situations Presets 65 128 are designed for recording or direct connection situations However all presets can be used in any situations and are completely user definable Preset Spillover allows for reverb and delays from a current preset to carry over into the n...

Page 5: ...DDITIONS TO THIS EQUIPMENT AT ANYTIME DO NOTTAMPER WITH INTERNALELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AT ANY TIME FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS MAY VOID THE WARRANTY OF THIS EQUIPMENT AS WELLAS CAUSING SHOCK HAZ ARD POWER REQUIREMENTS This unit accepts power from the 9VAC 1 5A adaptor supplied with the unit This 9 volt RMS AC voltage is internally processed by a voltage doubler which generates a bipolar 15...

Page 6: ...or distortion etc you must enter into the EDIT MODE To do this follow these steps STEP 5 Press the EDIT button to enter into the EDIT MODE the display will read the current preset number and EDIT MODE STEP 6 Turn the FUNCTION SELECT control to the desired effect or utility function STEP 7 Turn the PARAMETER SELECT control to the parameter you wish to alter after you have selected an effect or util...

Page 7: ...l is used to adjust the BASS LEVEL of the selected preset When in the EDIT MODE see point 5 EDIT button this control is used to adjust the displayed parameter value When the bass level or parameter is altered from its stored value the LED above the STORE button will light until either a the new value is stored b a new preset is selected or c the parameter is returned to its original value 7 STORE ...

Page 8: ...of overdriving the unit These LEDs also display the final digital mixer output levels when any other functions are displayed This will help you to guard against clipping the output of the mixer at the digital to analog converter 12 INPUT LEVEL control This control adjusts the unit s gain to match the signal level at the input of the Blue Thunder Use the INPUT LEVEL meter to determine the setting o...

Page 9: ...able must be used in this operation and is available from your Rocktron dealer 5 MIDI IN jack This 7 pin DIN connector must be connected to the MIDI OUT jack of the transmitting MIDI device via a standard MIDI cable or to the MIDI THRU jack of the preceding MIDI device if the Blue Thunder is within a chain of MIDI devices Pins 6 and 7 of this connector carry phantom power to power a Rocktron MIDI ...

Page 10: ...5 Connections Using the Blue Thunder with a power amp and cabinets 7 ...

Page 11: ...Using the Blue Thunder with a Bass Amplifier Head 8 ...

Page 12: ...Using the Blue Thunder with a Bass Combo Amplifier 9 ...

Page 13: ...Using the Blue Thunder with a MIDI Footcontroller 10 ...

Page 14: ...Using the Blue Thunder with a Phantom Powerable MIDI Footcontroller 11 ...

Page 15: ... each Blue Thunder preset To enter the Function and Parameter controls press the EDIT button The Blue Thunder user interface is set up to allow you to first access each function via the FUNC TION SELECT control then the list of available parameters for the selected function via the PARAMETER SELECT control and finally the adjustable value for each parameter via the PARAMETER ADJUST control 6 Opera...

Page 16: ...blue thunder block diagram Block Diagram 13 ...

Page 17: ...g 160 HZ sends all frequency content above 160 HZ into the effects processing section Selecting 240 HZ sends all frequency content above 240 HZ into the effects processing section Selecting 320 HZ sends all frequency content above 320 HZ into the effects processing section NOTE While the HP FILTER ON OFF parameter is global the HP CUT selection is per preset The OUTPUT parameter determines whether...

Page 18: ...PREAMP In this setup the direct signal is passed through the digital HUSH circuitry and effects section In this setup you should have your Blue Thunder connected to a power amplifier If you would like to use the Blue Thunder in the effects loop section of your bass head or combo amplifier select EFX LOOP In this setup the direct signal is not passed through any digital processing i e the direct si...

Page 19: ...the output level to drop approximately 40dB i e 20dB of gain reduction In the absence of any input signal the expander will reduce the gain so that the noise floor becomes inaudible The HUSH circuit is located after the A D converter in the signal chain to reduce any noise generated from the bass other effects and the A D converter This ensures a quiet input signal to the Blue Thunder effects When...

Page 20: ...o it For years musician s have plugged their tube heads into a Variac and reduced the voltage coming into the amplifier from the AC outlet This allows the amplifier s tubes to reach saturation at a lower input level and increases the gain pro duced The Variac parameter operates in a similar manner as a conventional Variac where lowering the parameter level lowers the level at which saturation will...

Page 21: ...FREQUENCY parameter determines a high band center frequency between 1KHz and 8KHz to be cut or boosted via the TREBLE LEVEL parameter The TREBLE BANDWIDTH parameter determines in octaves the width of the selected high band The PRESENCE LEVEL parameter allows you to cut or boost an additional high band fre quency by up to 15dB The PRESENCE FREQUENCY parameter allows you to select a high band center...

Page 22: ...the current preset Select IN if you want activate the compressor Select OUT if you want to bypass the compressor The COMPRESSOR THRESHOLD parameter determines the input level in dB at which compression will begin Lower settings of this parameter will result in more compression The COMPRESSOR ATTACK parameter determines the speed in milliseconds at which the compressor will reach its maximum compre...

Page 23: ... signal being immediately turned off when the delay is switched out This means that delays and regeneration will not continue when the delay is switched out If the output were not muted signals that were input before the delay was switched out would be allowed to regenerate even after switching out the delay It is also possible to mute both the input and the output BOTH so that no signal enters or...

Page 24: ...rameter determines the length of time in 10 milliseconds increments after the input signal that the Delay 2 signal will begin The DELAY TIME can be adjusted via the PARAMETER ADJUST control MIDI controller changes or via the Tap Delay feature The FINE 2 parameter allows for adjustment of Delay 2 in 1 millisecond increments The DLY RGN 2 parameter determines how many times the Delay 2 signal is fed...

Page 25: ...put of the Blue Thunder relative to the direct signal and other effect signals The REVERB DECAY parameter determines the length of time that the reverb signal will sound before it has completely died out The REVERB HIGH FREQUENCY DAMPING parameter is used to control the decay rate of high frequency information in the reverb signal Higher parameter settings will result in a faster decay of high fre...

Page 26: ...et Select IN if you want to engage the tremolo Select OUT if you want to bypass the Tremolo The TREMOLO DEPTH parameter determines the amount of modulation for the Tremolo signal Lower DEPTH settings produce more subtle tremolo effects while higher settings will result in a more extreme tremolo effect The TREMOLO RATE parameter determines the speed at which the tremolo signal modulates or increase...

Page 27: ... or right channel by any amount The PHASER DEPTH parameter determines the modulation depth of the phase shift effect Higher parameter settings result in the sweep of the filtering effect occurring over a wider frequency range The RATE parameter determines the speed at which the phase shifted signal is modulated The PHASER RESONANCE parameter adds feedback to the Phaser so that it has a more pro no...

Page 28: ...ts the amount of modulation of Voice 1 Lower DEPTH settings produce more subtle effects while higher settings will result in a more drastic effect The FLANGER RATE 1 parameter determines the speed at which Voice 1 is modulated The TIME1 parameter determines the multiplier by which a new modulation rate will be selected for the RATE 1 parameter when the Tap Delay feature of the Blue Thunder is used...

Page 29: ... for Voice 1 This delayed signal along with Voice 2 is detuned and modulated to produce the chorus effect Using shorter delay times will result in a tighter sounding chorused signal while longer delay times will produce a larger ambient effect The TIME 1 parameter determines the multiplier by which a new modulation rate will be selected for the RATE 1 parameter when the Tap Delay feature of the Bl...

Page 30: ...IC BOOM cabinet sim The SPEAKER EXCITER parameter determines whether the Speaker Exciter circuit is active or bypassed for the current preset Select ON to activate the Speaker Exciter Select OFF to bypass the Speaker Exciter The SPEAKER TYPE parameter determines the type of speaker to be simulated 15 12 10 8 and full range speakers are available The SONIC CLARITY parameter enhanses the overall art...

Page 31: ...TREBLE BW PRES LVL PRES FREQ PRES BW COMPRESR I O COMP THRESH COMP ATTACK COMP RELEASE Functions and Parameter Ranges Active OFF 80 Hz 160 Hz 240 Hz 320 Hz Stereo Mono 10dB to 30dB Out In Out In Preamp EFX LOOP to 6dB to 6dB to 6dB Direct 0 to 100 Effect Direct 0 to 100 Effect Direct 0 to 100 Effect Direct 0 to 100 Effect 0 to 127 Out In 90 to 27 In Out 0 to 100 0 to 5 DST 0 to 100 DRY DST 0 to 10...

Page 32: ...let or None to 0dB Source 1 0 to 100 Source 2 Direct Voice 2 0 to 99 to 0dB Left 0 to 100 Right Direct Voice 20ms to 1000ms 0ms to 9ms to 0dB to 0dB Left 0 to 100 Right 0ms to 1000ms 0ms to 9ms to 0dB Off On Muted Active Effect 0 to 100 Delay to 0dB 0 to 99 0 to 99 Off On Out In 0 to 100 0 to 254 Triangle Square 32nd 16th 8th Triplet or None Out In Left 0 to 100 Right 0 to 100 0 to 254 0 to 100 4 ...

Page 33: ... 100 Right 0 to 100 0 to 254 32nd 16th 8th Triplet or None to 0dB Left 0 to 100 Right 0 to 100 0 to 254 32nd 16th 8th Triplet or None to 0dB Out In to 0dB Left 0 to 100 Right 0 to 100 0 to 254 2ms to 40ms 32nd 16th 8th Triplet or None to 0dB Left 0 to 100 Right 0 to 100 0 to 254 2ms to 40ms 32nd 16th 8th Triplet or None Off On 15 12 10 8 Full Range 15dB to 15dB 15dB to 15dB Off On 30 Function Pres...

Page 34: ...7 Operating the Blue Thunder Step 1 Turn the PRESET control to the desired preset you wish to recall The selected preset will be recalled automatically Selecting a preset 29 PRESET TITLE 31 ...

Page 35: ...CAY 59 Turn the PARAMETER ADJUST control to alter the parameter value The LED above the STORE button will light indicating that the preset has had a parameter altered from its stored value REV DECAY 32 Step 4 Step 3 Storing changed preset parameters Step 5 While viewing a function or parameter title press the STORE button to store the altered parameter s STORED will flash briefly on the display ST...

Page 36: ... control to select the desired character for the current position flashing decimal Turn the PARAMETER SELECT control clockwise to initiate the Title Edit mode Turning this control will also select the character location to be edited A flashing decimal will follow the character currently selected Editing a preset title TITLE EDIT 57 P RESET TITLE 57 MR ESET TITLE 57 M RESET TITLE Flashing Decimal F...

Page 37: ...ing STORED the Blue Thunder will remain in the Title Edit mode You may either a turn the PRESET control to display and edit other preset titles without having to exit and re enter Title Edit or b turn the FUNC TION SELECT control to exit the Title Edit mode STORED Step 6 After all the characters have been edited as needed press the STORE button to save the new title memory The Blue Thunder will fl...

Page 38: ...will be at 0 while at its toe position it will be at 100 Up to ten controllers can be assigned for each individual preset Operating the Blue Thunder Step 2 Step 3 To access the Controller Assign function turn the FUNCTION SELECT control clockwise to CONTROLLER ASSIG This parameter CTR A only also gives you the option of selecting ADJ When ADJ is selected the parameter assigned to the first control...

Page 39: ...ST control to scroll through the available parameters for the current configuration Turn the PARAMETER SELECT control one step clockwise to display the parameter that is currently mapped to the CTR A control number After selecting the desired controller number press the STORE button to save the number for the CTR A parameter STORED will flash briefly on the display CTR A 7 STORED PA A BYPASS PA A ...

Page 40: ...e range from to 0dB yet you would like the range of the parameter to vary from only 12dB to 2dB you may set a lower limit of 12 and an upper limit of 2 via the Upper and Lower Limit parameters When a parameter is stored in the Controller Assign function Step 7 the maximum parameter value is automatically stored as the upper limit while the minimum value is stored as the lower limit Step 11 Step 12...

Page 41: ... the expression controller will provide the minimum value while the heel position will provide the maximum value Note Steps 1 13 can be repeated nine times for a total of 10 controllers To exit Con troller Assign at any time turn either the PRESET or FUNCTION SELECT control Only those changes that have been stored will be saved after exiting the Controller Assign function After selecting a value f...

Page 42: ...t to be copied while the number on the right represents the preset location to copy to Step 3 Operating the Blue Thunder PR 4 TO PR 4 Use the PRESET control to select the desired preset to be copied PR 21 TO PR 21 Step 4 Preset location to copy to Preset to copy Use the PARAMETER ADJUST control to select the location to copy the selected preset into Step 5 PR 21 TO PR 59 Step 6 STORED Press the ST...

Page 43: ...ON SELECT control to exit the preset copy function The preset has been copied to the new location but its title will be the title which was already at the new location STORED Copying preset titles Step 2 Turn the FUNCTION SELECT control to COPY COPY Turn the PARAMETER SELECT control two steps clockwise to access the TI XX to TI XX parameter as shown below The number on the left represents the pres...

Page 44: ...location to copy those controller assignments to Step 3 Copying controller assignments CA 4 TO CA 4 Preset location to copy controller assgnments to Preset to copy controller assignments from Use the PRESET control to select the desired preset to copy controller assignments from CA 21 TO CA 21 Step 4 Use the PARAMETER ADJUST control to select the location to copy the controller assign ments into S...

Page 45: ...TH one half of the time between taps 8TH two thirds of the time between taps TRIPLET equal to the time between taps or two times the amount of time between taps The maximum delay time the Blue Thunder provides is 1000ms therefore the Tap Delay feature will automatically default to a lower TIME parameter value when the time between taps requires a delay time over 1000ms For example if the HALF sett...

Page 46: ...o one correspondance i e MIDI program 1 is mapped to Blue Thunder preset 1 2 to 2 3 to 3 etc Step 3 Turn the PARAMETER SELECT control one step clockwise to display the current Program Change On Map Off status PROGRAM CHANGES PROG CHANGES ON Program Changes status options ON Execute MIDI program changes as received by a MIDI controller MAP Use mapping table when a program change is received OFF Do ...

Page 47: ...4 MAP TO 14 Step 8 The number on the right of the display is the preset number to map to or the preset number that will be recalled when the MIDI program number on the left is received Turn the PA RAMETER ADJUST control to select the preset number to map to 14 MAP TO 112 The preset number to map to can also be set to OFF thereby not responding to that program change command Step 9 After selecting ...

Page 48: ...ontrol clockwise until the Blue Thunder displays MIDI CHANNELS MIDI CHANNELS Step 3 Turn the PARAMETER SELECT control one step clockwise to display the current MIDI Receive channel RECEV CHANL 1 Step 4 Turn the PARAMETER ADJUST control to select the desired MIDI channel You may select channels 1 16 OMNI all channels or OFF will not receive MIDI commands RECEV CHANL OMNI Step 5 Press the STORE butt...

Page 49: ...tandard MIDI cable from the MIDI OUT of the transmitting Blue Thunder to the MIDI IN on the receiving Blue Thunder Step 1 IMPORTANT Do not allow a looping connection from the MIDI OUT THRU of the receiving Blue Thunder back to the MIDI IN of the transmitting Blue Thunder Step 3 Turn the FUNCTION SELECT controls on both the transmitting and receiving Blue Thunders until MIDI DUMP LOAD is displayed ...

Page 50: ...utton on the transmitting Blue Thunder The transmit ting Blue Thunder will display the preset number being dumped and DUMPED The receiving Blue Thunder will display the preset location being stored to and RECEIVING while it receives and stores the preset parameters and title 122 RECEIVING 32 DUMPED After all the information for the dumped preset is stored the receiving Blue Thunder will display LO...

Page 51: ...t to accept SYSX information Connect a standard MIDI cable from the MIDI OUT of the transmitting Blue Thunder to the MIDI IN on the receiving sequencer Step 1 Step 3 Turn the FUNCTION SELECT controls on the transmitting Blue Thunder until MIDI DUMP LOAD is displayed Step 4 Turn the PARAMETER SELECT control on the transmitting Blue Thunder until BULK DUMP LOAD is displayed MIDI DUMP LOAD BULK DUMP ...

Page 52: ... 2 tap delay information string 255 contains program mapping information and string 256 contains miscellaneous information Contact Rocktron for information on how to receive a detailed MIDI spec XXX DUMPED TRANSMITTING BLUE THUNDER Step 7 After the Blue Thunder displays TRANS COMPLETE stop the sequencer The sequencer should have recorded all of the data that was dumped from the Blue Thunder Keep t...

Page 53: ...IDI OUT THRU of the receiving Blue Thunder back to the MIDI IN of the transmitting sequencer Turn the FUNCTION SELECT controls on both the receiving Blue Thunder until MIDI DUMP LOAD is displayed MIDI DUMP LOAD RECEIVING BLUE THUNDER Turn the PARAMETER SELECT controls on the receiving Blue Thunder until BULK DUMP LOAD is displayed MIDI DUMP LOAD RECEIVING BLUE THUNDER Step 4 Step 3 50 Press the ED...

Page 54: ...s and XMEM ERROR for internal hardware errors Errors occurring in transmission does not indicate that all of the received data is corrupted Only the transmission string where the error occurred is corrupted When receiving a Bulk Load it is important that the data loaded to the Blue Thunder is not transmitted faster than it was originally dumped from the Blue Thunder If information is sent too fast...

Page 55: ...ETER SELECT control one step clockwise to RESTR 1 TO 1 The number on the left is the original factory preset number to be restored The number on the right is the preset location that the preset will be stored into RESTR 1 TO 1 Factory preset to be restored Preset location to store into Step 4 Turn the PRESET control to select the factory preset to be restored RESTR 98 TO 1 Step 5 Turn the PARAMETE...

Page 56: ...ny number of errors other than 0 means that the Blue Thunder may not have initialized properly and the process should be repeated CAUTION Pressing the STORE button at this time will overwrite the current preset with the displayed factory preset ERRORS 0 The Blue Thunder will remain in this condition until the FUNCTION SELECT control is turned to exit the Factory Restore function The preset current...

Page 57: ...CTORY RESTORE Step 3 Turn the PARAMETER SELECT control two steps clockwise to ALL RESTORE 0 ALL RESTORE 0 Step 4 A specific code number must be entered to restore the Blue Thunder memory Use the PA RAMETER ADJUST control to enter the number 243 ALL RESTORE 243 Operating the Blue Thunder CAUTION This procedure will permanently erase all user presets 1 128 and replace them with the original factory ...

Page 58: ...r of errors other than 0 means that the Blue Thunder may not have initialized properly and the process should be repeated ERRORS 0 The Blue Thunder will remain in this condition until the FUNCTION SELECT control is turned to exit the Factory Restore function The preset currently recalled will be the preset most recently restored into the current location The controller assignments for the Blue Thu...

Page 59: ...led each time the unit is turned on The Blue Thunder allows you to store a Power On preset which will always be recalled when the unit is turned on 34 PRESET TITLE Press the STORE button while viewing the preset number and title to save it as the Power On preset PWR ON PR STORED Operating the Blue Thunder 56 ...

Page 60: ...ECTLY MIDI SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION WAS NOT RECEIVED CORRECTLY OR STORED CORRECTLY Corrective Action MAKE SURE EEPROM IS TIGHT IN SOCKET MAKE SURE WITHIN CORRECT OPERATING TEMPERATURE DISCONNECT MIDI CORD AT MIDI IN OF TRANSMlTTING BLUE THUNDER BULK LOAD WAS TRANSMITTED TOO FAST CHECK SUM BYTE WAS NOT CORRECT DATA STRINGS NOT CORRECT LENGTH DATA STRINGS OUT OF ORDER MAKE SURE EEPROM IS TIGHT I...

Page 61: ...MMON SYSTEM REAL TIME AUXILIARY MESSAGES TRANSMITTED 1 16 1 16 X X X X X X X X X O O X X X X X X X X X RECOGNIZED 1 16 1 16 X X X X X X X X O O O X X X X X X X X X REMARKS May be saved in non volatile memory For Bulk Dump Load and Preset Dump Load Blue Thunder Actual MIDI program value sent is 0 127 corresponding to presets 1 128 Optional implementation of program mapping also available The contro...

Page 62: ...input level 22Hz to 22kHz bandwidth Direct Level 6dB Digital Effects Level TECHNICAL DATA Technical Data MEASUREMENT Maximum Input 20dBu Maximum Output 20dBu Nominal Input Range 4dBu to 16dB Headroom 21dBu Input Impedance 470K ohms Output Impedance 120 ohms Dynamic Range 104dB HUSH IN 94dB HUSH OUT THD N 009 Dry Frequency Response 10Hz to 30kHz 25 Wet Frequency Response 20Hz 19 5kHz 3dB 59 ...

Page 63: ...ll Tube MIDI Switchable Vendetta Combo 100W 2x12 Combo Celestion 90s all Tube 4 Channel MIDI Switchable R80DSP 80W 1x12 Amp w Digital Effects RT80 80W 1x12 Amp w Reverb Built in Tuner R120DSP 120W 2x10 Amp w Digital Effects R120C 120W 2x12 Amp w Stereo Chorus and Reverb RT122C 120W 2x12 Amp w Stereo Chorus Reverb Chromatic Tuner R50DSP 50 Watt 2x8 Guitar Amp w Digital Effects R50C 50 Watt 2x8 Guit...

Page 64: ...tion 2813 Wilber Ave Battle Creek MI 49015 USA Tel 1 269 968 3351 Fax 1 269 968 6913 Email info rocktron com www rocktron com Rev 2003 1 482003 Suggested MIDI Footcontrollers Rocktron All Access Rocktron MIDI Mate Rocktron MIDI XChange ...

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