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manual abstract
This amplifier is built for those that know tone and feel are inseparable. The Black Pearl 30® is meticulously designed with an all-tube signal path, component selection and custom transformers that add up to responsive, thick, rich tone. Inside there are beautifully crafted black military spec PCB’s with robust, precision routed direct-to-point gold-flashed signal traces, neatly dressed wiring and custom tube sockets and retainers; all to ensure that every amp built delivers the Black Pearl 30’s® boutique tone yet will withstand the rigors of the road. They say “Tone is in your fingers”, but it’s our tube rectifier design, custom wound transformers and choice of Eminence® Alnico speakers that lets your tone come through, from the bell-like chime of single coils to the warm purr of humbuckers. THE GENZ BENZ Black Pearl 30® DESIGN The Black Pearl 30® is based on the classic Class A, EL84, 30 watt platform. In the development of this guitar amplifier we referenced the most sought after vintage and “boutique” amps available for our performance and tone standard. We then added a design feature set and GENZ BENZ build quality that makes the Black Pearl 30® a versatile and “tour-tough” tone source for the most discriminating professional musician. CLASS A: The Black Pearl 30® operates in cathode biased, Class A mode. This method of power tube operation eliminates harsh, zero-crossing distortion and generates warm, lush, musical output tube breakup. Another hallmark of Class A operation is it’s exemplary dynamics. The Black Pearl 30® is highly touch- sensitive; every subtlety and nuance of the player’s technique are reproduced making the amplifier an extension of the guitar and the player’s hands. NO FEEDBACK / OPEN-ENDED: In order to stabilize the tone of an amplifier, most designs include a significant amount of global feedback in their power amplifier signal path. It is an easier way to design a power amplifier, but unfortunately it dampens dynamics and desirable harmonics resulting in a lifeless tone and feel. With the Black Pearl 30® we’ve taken painstaking time in creating a carefully executed design and layout that remains stable without the use of global feedback. Incredibly rich harmonics, musical output tube breakup and a wonderful feel is the result. Just the right amount of sag and soft, tube compression is present to let your notes respond and sing. EMINENCE® RED FANG™ ALNICO SPEAKERS: Alnico speakers contributed greatly to the wonderful tones produced by vintage, Class A designs. Their sensitivity was partly responsible for these amps dynamic response as well. Due to Alnico’s expense, speakers using this magnet material fell out of wide use in the 1970’s and they are now only found in premium speakers such as the Eminence® Red Fang™. We conducted blindfold tests in a room full of speakers made with different magnetic and cone materials from several respected manufacturers and we chose the Red Fangs™. They bring a perfect combination of warmth, bite and thickness with a very musical midrange to the Black Pearl 30®. They are also highly touch-sensitive. The BP30-112 and BP30-212 models use the 12” Eminence® Alnico Red Fang™ loudspeakers and the BP30-310 utilizes a newly developed 10” version of this premium speaker. We worked closely with Eminence® in developing this 10” Red Fang™, assuring its tonal match to the Black Pearl 30® amplifier. The Red Fang™ 10” reproduces wonderful punch and chime along with a stellar focused midrange vocal quality. The tight triangular configuration of the speakers in the BP30-310 enhances the big tonal foot print of this design. FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW: INPUT JACK – The .” input is unbalanced and high impedance to allow for the correct matching of the instrument’s pick-ups with the amplifiers tube buffered input circuitry. VOLUME CONTROL – This control sets the preamp volume/gain of the input stage. Use this control in conjunction with the Master Volume control. The Volume control also interacts with the Boost level settings. MODE – The Mode switch selects the level of gain for the single channel of the Black Pearl 30®. A position for the foot switch is provided so that the Boost function can be accessed through the single button foot switch that is included with each amp. BOOST LEVEL – Controls the amount of gain boost and/or volume boost when engaged. This control works in conjunction with the preamp Volume control and reacts differently depending upon the preamp Volume control settings. With the preamp Volume set at lower settings the Boost function acts more like a volume boost. With the preamp Volume control set at higher settings the Boost level control adds more gain to the signal. VOICING CONTROL – This 5 position voicing network provides a tonal foundation within the preamp gain stages, unlike a normal EQ network. Located in this position of the design, the Voicing filters add a unique flavor to the varying gain settings of the preamp. The voicing filters are (from...