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when tr ying this, make sure the Preamp Clip LED is not activated. If this occurs, turn down your
Gain control until the LED does not light. The first preamp tube stage is NOT monitored by the pre-
amp clip circuit for this reason.

Active Input Jack

The Active input jack should be used with instruments having a built-in (on board) preamp or other sound
sources that will produce output levels greater than 1 volt RMS. The number of bass manufacturers has
increased significantly over the years, and it’s impossible to tr y and keep track of them all. Generally, if you
have ver y “hot” pickups and/or tone controls installed in your instrument, and you use them to boost the
level of your bass signal 10 dB or more, you may find the Active input more compatible. The best judge is
your own ears.

If you’re using a keyboard or bass pedal with the 750x, we have found the best choice to be the Active
input.

Note:

Using the Active input with passive basses (active instruments will always employ a batter y)

may result in a loss of high end transients. Players who roll off their high end star ting at about
2kHz, or prefer a “darker” sound, may find this input more to their liking.

If you hear some distor tion with your active bass and are using the Active Input, make sure the Preamp Clip
LED indicator is not lighting. If the preamp stage is not being driven into clipping, replace the batter y in your
instrument.

Gain Control

The Gain control adjusts the volume of the preamp section. Since the Gain control is similar to a “pad,” a
small amount of signal will be heard even with the Gain control rotated fully counter-clockwise (“MIN”) if the
Master Volume is up.

After all EQ settings and the Aural Enhancer are set, the Gain control should be raised until the Preamp Clip
LED barely flashes when your loudest note is struck. This will insure maximum signal to noise ratio and pre-
vent unwanted clipping of the preamp section.

Note:

The Gain can ser ve as an EFFECTS SEND LEVEL ADJUSTMENT. If your effect is being overdriv-

en, turn down the Gain control and readjust your Master Volume for overall loudness.

Preamp Clip LED

The Preamp Clip LED will light whenever the preamp, tone section or output buffer reach clipping (run out of
headroom). This function does NOT monitor the first tube stage of the Passive input. See that section for
more info.

In the event the clip indicator lights, turn down the Gain control. Since this circuit monitors the tone con-
trols, boosting any one of them can cause the Preamp Clip LED to activate. Once again, you may leave the
tone control at its desired level, but turn the Gain control down fur ther.

Note:

Even though the Preamp Clip LED lighting indicates that at some point the preamp is clipping,

no harm is being done to your amplifier. However, clipping of the power amp can cause damage to
your speakers and is not recommended.

Aural Enhancer

The Aural Enhancer is a feature that’s been on just about ever y SWR amplifier since the company’s incep-
tion in 1984, and is a trademark par t of the “SWR Sound” people have come to know and love. It was
developed to help bring out the fundamental low notes of the bass guitar, enhance the high-end transients,
and reduce cer tain frequencies that help “mask” the fundamentals. The ultimate result is:

1. A more transparent sound, especially noticeable when slapping and popping. 

2. It can make a passive bass take on an “active” type of quality when set at positions of “2 o’clock” or
fur ther clockwise.

Let’s take a second to learn how the Aural Enhancer works. Think of it as a variable tone curve that changes
depending on where you set the Aural Enhancer control knob. As you raise the control clockwise from the
“MIN” position, you are elevating a whole range of sound (lows, mids, and highs) at a variety of frequency
points selected specifically because they’re different than those selected for the individual Tone Controls. 

750x OWNER’S MANUAL • 5

Summary of Contents for 750x Bass Amplifier 750x

Page 1: ...750x OWNER S MANUAL SWR CORONA CA USA ...

Page 2: ...on or pinched by items placed upon them paying particular attention to cords at plugs and the point where they exit the product K Lightning For added protection of this product during a lightning storm or when it is left unattended and unused for long periods of time unplug it from the wall outlet This will prevent damage to the product due to lightning and power line surges L Overloading Do not o...

Page 3: ...he famous SWR clean tone and without having to lug around an 80 pound all tube amplifier Second there s our SubWave circuit which produces a tone an octave below the original signal and tracks as well or better than anything else on the market today The effects are foot switchable and we ve provided a dual footswitch for your convenience Additionally the unit is now lighter quieter in terms of ove...

Page 4: ... Off switch 750x REAR PANEL FEATURES XLR Pad Level control XLR Output jack XLR Mode switch Direct Direct EFX Line Ground Lift switch for XLR Output jack Side Chain Effects Loop Effects Send and Effects Return 1 4 jacks Tuner Out Jack Preamp Out Jack Overdrive Activator Footswitch jack SubWave Activator Footswitch jack Fan Mode switch Stereo Headphones Jack Two Speakon and two 1 4 Speaker Output ja...

Page 5: ...r cabinet If your cabinet is a 4 ohm enclosure the 750x will deliver will deliver 750 watts into it If your cabinet is an 8 ohm enclosure it will deliver 450 watts into it This is a loud amplifier Be sure to check the power handling capabilities of your speaker cabinet before connection and operation Using Two Speaker Cabinets Using a speaker cable of 18 gauge or heavier the heavier the cable the ...

Page 6: ... to an equal level You should now hear the sound of your instrument amplified through the 750x into your speaker cabinet s Eventually you may want to reset the Gain Control in conjunction with your desired settings for the Overdrive effect but we ll get to that later on in the manual 750x FRONT PANEL FEATURES Input Jacks Both input jacks accept a standard 1 4 phone plug and both inputs can be used...

Page 7: ...se ratio and pre vent unwanted clipping of the preamp section Note The Gain can serve as an EFFECTS SEND LEVEL ADJUSTMENT If your effect is being overdriv en turn down the Gain control and readjust your Master Volume for overall loudness Preamp Clip LED The Preamp Clip LED will light whenever the preamp tone section or output buffer reach clipping run out of headroom This function does NOT monitor...

Page 8: ...lso be switched on and off via footswitch please see the heading titled Effects Activator Footswitch Jacks in the Rear Panel Features section later in this manual Overdrive Drive Control Located on the outer portion of the dual concentric knob underneath the Overdrive Activator Switch the Drive Control adjusts the amount of distortion present in the signal Some people refer to this element of an o...

Page 9: ... and the Activator switch is illuminated in blue This is normal Also when the control is set fully clockwise to MAX the clean bass signal will still be present along with plenty of sub octave effect As always your ears and the desired musical application will be the best judge in setting this control Keep in mind that the Bass Level control will have a significant impact on the perceived level of ...

Page 10: ...ntrol until the desired area you wish to cut or boost is found 3 Adjust the Midrange Level control to the desired amount of cut or boost Midrange Frequency Control The Midrange Frequency control sets the area that is to be cut or boosted by the Midrange Level control If the Midrange Level control is set at mid position turning the Frequency knob will have NO affect Some hints If you need to cut th...

Page 11: ...iter LED will not illuminate when playing at levels not high enough to engage the cir cuit Note If you have the Limiter set at MIN and you hear a loud sharp distortion present in your sound and the Preamp Clip LED is not lighting up engage the Limiter by turning up the control If the distortion goes away you were probably clipping the power amp which is not a good thing Remember the Limiter circui...

Page 12: ... when in the DIRECT position with one important exception the Overdrive and SubWave effects are present What s the benefit of this setting We ve found that most people who use effects pedals prefer to use them in front of the amplifier In other words they run their bass into the effect pedal s input then from the effect pedal s output into the front of their amplifier In live applications where so...

Page 13: ...er trying both positions of the ground lift there is probably 1 A bad cable or connection somewhere between your Balanced Output jack and the snake leading to the mixing console 2 A dirty or miswired A C socket 3 Miswired or poorly wired A C in the building 4 Fluorescent lighting directly above you or in close proximity especially when using single coil pickups 5 A cell phone in your right pocket ...

Page 14: ...0 2 An unbalanced output suitable for recording or live mixing board purposes The output impedance of the Effects Send jack is 100 Ohms Effects Receive This jack s primary function is to complete the Effects Loop circuit by routing the post external effects device signal back into the power amp of the 750x where it can be blended back in with the original signal by using the Effects Blend control ...

Page 15: ...to leave at least a 1 2 clearance between the vent on the top of your 750x and anything you wish to put on top of it This will allow for the heat generated by internal components to escape You have complete operational control of the fan via the Fan Mode Switch Setting the Fan Mode Switch to the On position activates the internal cooling fan Setting the switch to the Off position deactivates the c...

Page 16: ... d call that a good amount without operating too closely to the minimum imped ance or in simple terms without running the amplifier too hot That said the 750x is rated to operate safely when connecting One 8 ohm and one 4 ohm enclosure 2 6 ohms total Three 8 ohm enclosures 2 6 ohms total These two hookups will provide 850 watts of power which should be more than enough for just about any applicati...

Page 17: ...ower and be loud er than the other Since your 750x is a mono amplifier it is best to use cabinets of similar impedances when using more than one The best two cabinet setup is to use two 8 ohm enclosures Note The frequency response of the 750x is far greater than usually found in musical instrument amplifiers 20 Hz to 40 kHz This was engineered in order to give the bass player the same punch and cl...

Page 18: ...ating Do not defeat the purpose of this feature by using a higher rated fuse as it can void your warranty Proper size of the A C fuse for all countries is 3AG Proper rating of the fuse is as follows United States 10 amp slo blo Japan 10 amp slo blo Europe 230V 240V 5 amp slo blo A C Cord Receptacle This receptacle accepts a standard A C power cable supplied with the 750x in the United States used ...

Page 19: ...ation to power produced in the speakers The difference in these two figures can be as high as 300 watts This would be the equivalent of putting a 300 watt light bulb inside a metal box which would obviously get quite hot Most musical instrument amplifiers on the market today use steel for their chassis which does not conduct heat as well as aluminum The 750x uses an all aluminum chassis and front ...

Page 20: ... you may also have other rights which vary from state to state For a complete list of Authorized FMIC Service Centers and the latest SWR news interviews and more check out our website swrsound com SHOULD YOUR SWR AMPLIFIER REQUIRE SERVICE OR REPAIR PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE Locate your original receipt showing date of purchase model and serial number Determine the closest Authorized FMIC ...

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