How The Knobs Work - Hughes & Kettner Grand Meister Deluxe 40 Mode D'emploi

GrandMeister Deluxe 40 – Manual 1.3

2.1 How the knobs work

GrandMeister Deluxe 40 is a four-channel tube amp. All four channels are
controlled by the same set of knobs. Your choice of channel determines
the knob's assignment. For example, when you have chosen the Clean
channel via the chicken-head selector switch (see chapter 3), the Gain
knob will determine the Clean channel's amount of gain. This means the
channels are independently adjustable and no knobs need to be shared.
The best thing about this is that it gives you total remote control capability
so you can adjust knobs via MIDI in real time. To learn more about this,
see section 2.3 in this chapter and chapter 8.
Note: The knobs look and feel like standard-issue pots with a 300-degree
control range and left and right stops. But there's a difference that may
take some time getting used to: the knob setting programmed in a preset
is independent of the knob's physical position. In other words, when
you switch from one preset to another, the knob's actual position may
not reflect the setting programmed in the preset, and you may well hear
something other than what you're seeing would suggest. The knob will
respond like any other conventional pot as soon as you move it. The Store
LED in the Master section tells you the knob's setting stored in the preset. It
lights up when the physical position of the knob corresponds to the preset
setting. You can learn more on this in section 2.4.
Heads Up: You may hear a soft background noise when twisting knobs.
This sound is made by the Programmable Resistor Network (PRN™), as
it switches its 256 resistors: each of these rotary controls consists of 256
individual resistors in serial array, 256 switches, and a memory with the
ability to save and recall every switch's position.
2.2 Selecting presets
Presets can only be changed via MIDI. You can use any MIDI footswitch,
MIDI controller, or MIDI equipped pedal board to switch presets. Both
MIDI devices, amp (receiver) and the controller (sender), should use the
same channel. Otherwise, MIDI commands will be ignored or get lost.
The factory default is MIDI channel 1 and "Omni On" (which means the
amp receives on all 16 MIDI channels) to guarantee instant operation. If
GrandMeister Deluxe 40 does not react to program changes properly, see
chapter 8.1, which explains how you can change the MIDI channel, or refer
to the manual of your favourite MIDI controller.
4
2.3 Remote Control via the Hughes & Kettner
FSM-432 MK III MIDI Board
Let's have a look at the Hughes & Kettner FSM-432 first. It serves to select
the 128 memory slots 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. GrandMeister Deluxe 40 works with all versions of
the FSM-432. We recommend using the FSM-432 MK III, which ships with
Stompbox mode and two controller inputs for expression pedals and a
footswitch. These features let you operate the GrandMeister Deluxe 40
even more intuitively.
1 Preset A, B, C, D: Presets within a bank activate directly, that is, you can
switch straight from A to B within the same bank. The LEDs above the A,
B, C, and D buttons indicate the selected preset.
2 Bank Up/Down: To access a preset in another bank, select the target
bank using the Up and Down buttons. You can continue playing with the
current preset while you're navigating. The display of the FSM-432 shows
the bank's number; it flashes until you select a preset in the target bank by
pressing A, B, C, or D. The FSM-432 will not switch over to the new preset
until you do this.
3 Tap: Tap offers you a quick, convenient way of adjusting delay time.
It's particularly handy on stage: simply tap your foot on the Tap button in
time with the beat to match the delay time to the tempo. See section 4.3
for more info.
4 Mode switch – Preset/Stompbox: The sliding switch above the MIDI
connections on the rear side of the footswitch determines if the FSM-432
MK III is operating in Preset Mode or Stompbox Mode.
If you move the sliding switch to "Stompbox Mode", the display shows
"Sb". In this mode, the FSM-432's buttons do not serve to select presets,
but to switch channels directly. In addition, modulation FX, delay and
boost can be independently activated and deactivated at the push of a
button. So in this mode, GrandMeister Deluxe 40 operates just like any
common amplifier used with external FX pedals and stomp boxes.
Heads up: Stompbox mode is designed specifically for situations where
you just don't have the right preset available or when you want to create
presets and wish to compare sounds with or without effects at the touch
of a button. The Tap function is unavailable in Stompbox mode, and
effects settings apply to all four channels. This is why Preset mode is
highly recommended for live situations: it lets you switch all settings on
the GrandMeister Deluxe 40 remotely, via footboard.