Empress Effects HEAVY MENACE User manual

user manual

Introducon
Thank you for purchasing the Heavy Menace
from Empress Eects - a streamlined
evoluon of our Heavy pedal that oers new
features and a convenient, more compact
size.
The Channel switch selects between the
original Heavy and Heavier modes and a new
Lite(ish) mode, covering everything from
crunch to crushing.
Dial in your perfect tone with the 3-band
EQ and selectable midrange frequency, and
shape your low frequency response with the
Weight control for thick chords or ght palm
mung.
The adapve noise gate is footswitchable, and
it can be linked to the distoron or acvated
independently. We also added a Gate Key
Input for even more exibility.
However you get heavy, add some Menace to
sculpt your signature sound.
- Taylor Hunt
Lead Designer

Noise Gate
A noise gate opens when the input signal is
above a set threshold level, allowing audio
to pass through. The gate closes when the
input is below the threshold, ensuring that
unwanted low-level signals such as line noise
or pickup hum are silenced when you aren’t
playing.
The gate in the Heavy Menace is triggered
from the signal at the input jack, before the
distoron stages. It is an adapve circuit
that responds to your performance, allowing
sustained notes to decay naturally but
clamping down quickly when it detects a fast
stop. When the gate is closed, the LED over
the Gate footswitch will be orange. When it is
open, the LED will be green.
When the Gate Thresh knob is fully
counterclockwise, the threshold is at its
lowest seng and will let the most signal
through. Turning the knob clockwise will raise
the threshold and require a progressively
higher input signal to open the gate. We
suggest raising the threshold to the point at
which any background noise in the signal is

silenced, then ne-tuning so that the gate
responds as naturally or aggressively to your
playing as you want.
For addional opons regarding the
noise gate, please refer to the Advanced
Conguraon and Startup Preferences secon
of this manual.

Gate Key Input
The noise gate can oponally be triggered by
an external signal with the Gate Key Input.
This can be parcularly useful if you have
other pedals before the Heavy Menace in
your signal chain. Spling the signal before
those pedals and sending a clean signal to the
Gate Key Input ensures the gate will behave
consistently regardless of changes to the
signal at the main input. Alternavely, you can
use a completely dierent source for creave
eects.
The Gate Key Input will accept an ⅛” TS or
TRS cable. With a TRS cable, the p (le)
signal will control the noise gate, and the ring
(right) signal will be grounded.
input output
9v-12v dc
gate key input
tip: input
sleeve: ground
250mA
-
+

gate thresh
mid freq channel
heavy
lite(ish)
heavier
low
gate
bypass
mid high
outputweight
gain
200
2.5k
-15 +15 -15
+15 -15 +15
Controls at a Glance
gain: Adjusts the amount of
distortion in conjunction with
the Channel switch.
low, mid, high: Boosts or cuts
each frequency band by up to
+/- 15dB. The low shelf lter
starts around 80Hz, and the high
shelf lter starts around 3kHz.
gate thresh: Adjusts the
threshold level for the noise gate.
mid freq: Selects the centre
frequency of the midrange EQ;
sweepable from 200Hz-2.5kHz.
gate footswitch: Turns the gate
on and o.
weight: Changes the character
of the low end. Turn clockwise
for a thicker sound, and turn
counterclockwise for a tighter
response that’s perfect for palm
muting.
output: Adjusts the overall
pedal volume.
channel: Selects the voicing and
gain range. Lite(ish), heavy, and
heavier oer progressively more
gain and high end.
bypass footswitch: Turns the
distortion on and o.

gate thresh mid freq
channel
heavy
lite(ish)
heavier
low
gate
bypass
mid
high
output
weightgain
200
2.5k
-15 +15 -15
+15 -15 +15
Controls at a Glance
gain: Adjusts the amount of
distortion in conjunction with
the Channel switch.
low, mid, high: Boosts or cuts
each frequency band by up to
+/- 15dB. The low shelf lter
starts around 80Hz, and the high
shelf lter starts around 3kHz.
gate thresh: Adjusts the
threshold level for the noise gate.
mid freq: Selects the centre
frequency of the midrange EQ;
sweepable from 200Hz-2.5kHz.
gate footswitch: Turns the gate
on and o.
weight: Changes the character
of the low end. Turn clockwise
for a thicker sound, and turn
counterclockwise for a tighter
response that’s perfect for palm
muting.
output: Adjusts the overall
pedal volume.
channel: Selects the voicing and
gain range. Lite(ish), heavy, and
heavier oer progressively more
gain and high end.
bypass footswitch: Turns the
distortion on and o.

Advanced Conguraon and Startup
Preferences
The Advanced Conguraon mode lets you
customize the behaviour of your pedal. To
access these opons, press and hold both
footswitches at startup while connecng or
turning on the power supply. The LEDs will
ash momentarily to indicate that you are in
the Advanced Conguraon mode.
Press the Bypass footswitch to toggle
between true bypass and buered bypass:
Bypass LED o = true bypass (default)
Bypass LED on = buered bypass
Press the Gate footswitch to toggle between
normal and independent bypass modes. In
Independent mode, you can use the gate
without having the distoron engaged, as
though it was a separate pedal.
Gate LED o = normal (default)
Gate LED on = independent
Once you’ve made your desired changes,
press and hold both footswitches again. The
LEDs will ash momentarily to indicate that

you have exited the Advanced Conguraon
mode.
By pressing and holding either footswitch
while turning on the power, you can also
set the Distoron and Gate to engage
automacally on startup. The LED will ash
several mes to indicate the seng has
changed, then the pedal will start up as
normal.

Specicaons
Input Impedance: 1MΩ
Output Impedance: 100Ω
Frequency Response
(-3dB): 35Hz - 17kHz
Input Voltage: 9-12 VDC
Required Current: 250mA
Power Input
Connector:
2.1mm Barrel
Connector
Height (enclosure
only): 1.5”
Height (including
controls): 2.5”
Length: 4.8”
Width: 2.6”
Weight: 1lb

Powering the Heavy Menace
Go to www.empresseects.com/power for a
full list of compable power supplies.
Please note: The Empress Heavy Menace
requires at least 250mA of current to funcon
properly. Any power supply rated at 9V DC,
supplying negave p polarity and at least
250mA of current should work.
Legal Stu
FCC Compliance
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits
are designed to provide reasonable protecon against harmful interference
in a residenal installaon. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with
the instrucons, may cause harmful interference to radio communicaons.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a parcular
installaon. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television recepon, which can be determined by turning the equipment o
and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separaon between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit dierent from that to
which the receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Modicaons not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the
user’s authority to operate the equipment under FCC rules

Manual v05