ACME sound Low B-1 User Manual

Owners Notes Low B
-
2 and Low B
-
4 Systems
12
noticeable before. Or, your pickups might exhibit a “peakiness” that hadn’t been noticeable when used
with a peakier speaker.
Distortion
Distortion, when introduced by any part of a sound system, will be heard from the speaker. If, for
example, an amplif
ier has a weak tube, the effects of that weakness will be heard as distortion
from the
speaker
. Sometimes, then, to say “the spe
aker is distorting,” can present a false picture.
A couple of gents had their Low B speaker disassembled before they realized t
hat their effects processor
had a low battery. Another fellow sent frantic email asking help in diagnosing his faulty speaker, b
efore
realizing the battery in his bass was nearly spent, and he hadn’t noticed with his old speaker. A new
battery fixed his sp
eaker!
The point, then, is that when you hear distortion, you must isolate the cause of it. If your instrument is at
one end of
a chain, and your speaker is the other end, distortion occurs when any link in the chain is
overdriven. To
overdrive
any compon
ent is to expose it to an input signal of sufficient strength to exceed
it’s capabilities.
Sometimes, when faced with a speake
r of lower efficiency, such as the Low B systems, a player will,
without thinking, boost the volume control on his/her instrumen
t to compensate. To do this though, is to
risk overdriving the preamplifier, by exceeding it’s input capability. Similarly, to t
urn the volume control
to levels that would try to squeeze 200 watts from a 100 watt amplifier is to (over)drive the amplifier i
nto
distortion. To push 1000 watts into a 500 watt speaker will obviously overdrive the speaker.
So, having explained that, if
you hear distortion, proceed as follows:
(1)
Increase the volume setting on your power amp, if you have one. Compensate by dec
reasing the
volume on your preamp.
(2)
If distortion persists, increase the setting on your preamp’s volume control,
and compen
sate by
decreasing the setting on your instrument’s volume control.
(3)
If distortion persists, check all of your batteries, an
d make sure any
ancillary equipment is
operating properly.
(4)
If distortion persists, and you’re not playing very loud, you mi
ght not have
enough power. If
you’re playing quite loud, you might have too much
power, and could be overdriving the speaker (Ye
s,
it
is
possible.) Try with
another amp.
(5)
If distortion persists, call Acme, and we’ll talk about it.
Midrange Attenuat
or
The midrange attenuator, while rugged and generally quite nice, can have a “scratchiness” if you listen
to it while you turn
the control. Don’t be alarmed. This isn’t a sign of a defect. That’s just the way they
are. I believe it’s as a result of a manu
facturing residue of some kind, as it tends to go away as the
attenuators are adjusted repeatedly.
Tweeter
The tweeter in these
speakers is crossed over at a very high frequency. In some circumstances, there will
very little output from the tweeter, becau
se there will be no substantial signal from the instrument in the
very
-
high harmonics. This has led to the conclusion by some th
at their tweeter is either blown or
malfunctioning.

ACME sound Low B-1 Specifications

General

Brand	ACME sound
Model	Low B-1
Category	Speakers
Language	English