FAME Basspower 600 User manual

ELECTRIC BASS AMP
Owner‘s Manual
Basspower 600

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Congratulations!
WewouldliketothankyouforpurchasingtheBasspower600ElectricBassAmplifier.
It has been specially designed and developed for the use with electric basses.
Before using your new amplifier, we advise to read the following pages carefully.
Taking care of your Basspower 600
Safety Warnings
We want you to be aware of certain safety aspects,
for reasons of product safety and liability. With
all due respect, please read the following before
operating your new Fame amplifier.
• Do not use or store your amplifier in or
near moist or wet areas.
• Make sure that voltage shown on the back of
the amplifier is the correct voltage for the
location you are using it. The Basspower 600
can never be used at different voltages than
shown.
• Opening the amplifier housing must only be
done by authorized personnel. No user
serviceable parts inside.
• The power amp is configured to deliver highest
tone at normal volume levels. We advise you
for your own good not to expose yourself to
very high volume levels for long periods of
time. It can lead to hearing damage.
Transporting the Basspower 600
• The Basspower 600 is a hybrid state instrument
amplifier. The built-in circuits are sensitive to
hits, especially when hot. To avoid damaging
the unit, we recommend using care during
setup and tear down of the unit.
• Allow the amplifier to adjust to the ambient
temperature before operating, 20 minutes
should be sufficient in all cases. Especially the
change between a cold vehicle and, in most
cases, warm stages can cause condensing
fluid inside the electrical circuit. This can lead
to circuit shorts.
• For continued road use, please protect the
amplifier with a professional flight case. Trans-
port only in operating position. Do not trans-
port upside down or on it‘s side.
Daily use
• Never be rough with knobs, connections
or other parts of the amplifier.
• Be careful while pulling out cables. Pulling
plugs quickly can cause damage.
• Disconnect all cables before transporting
the unit.
• Avoid physical shocks, such as hits or drops.
• You should never put any heavy items on top
of the Basspower 600.
Cleaning the Basspower 600
• Usually it is sufficient to wipe down the outside
of the amplifier with a slightly moist
cleaning rag.
• Do not use any abrasive cleaning chemicals.
• Sometimes a vacuum cleaner can be used to
remove dust and dirt from nooks and crevices.
• Avoid putting any vinyl on top of the unit.
It glues and discolours the surface.
Electric enviroment
• This amplifier contains electric circuits, which
can cause interference when operating near
Radio or TV units. If you notice any abnormal
noise, we recommend to put the amplifier
away from such devices.
• Blown fuses can only be replaced with fuses
of equal values. The use of incorrect fuses is
prohibited and can cause severe injury or
damage of the amplifier.
• Only use a grounded power cable in good
condition.

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Content
Setting up the Basspower 600..................................................................................... 4
Peripheral Connections.................................................................................................. 5
Preamp Section ............................................................................................................... 6
Parametric Equalizer ............................................................................................................. 6
Controls & Switches I ..................................................................................................... 7
Controls & Switches II .................................................................................................... 8
Special Gimmicks............................................................................................................ 9
Specifications ................................................................................................................... 10

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Setting up the Basspower 600
WARNING!
To avoid electrical shock or any other damage, make sure that the
Basspower 600 and all other devices are switched off before you start
connecting them to the amplifier!
Power Connections/Mains
Before connecting to a grounded power outlet,
make sure the power switches are in the off position
(facing down). The Basspower 600 is set up for 230 V
of line voltage. Once the amplifier is plugged in, you
can get started!
Connecting an electric bass
The input jack on the left side of the frontpanel
receives your electric bass signal by means of a
shielded guitar cord with 1/4” mono style plug.
Make sure the master volume of the amplifier is set
to the lowest position to avoid disturbing noise while
connecting.
Connecting loudspeakers
Due to the fact that the Basspower 600 does not
feature a built-in loudspeaker, you need to connect it
to an external loudspeaker cabinet before playing.
You should always attend that the impedance value
shown on the connected cabinets is identical with the
value written on the back of the amplifier. The mini-
mum load for the Basspower 600 is 4 ohms, which
means that you will be able to connect one cabinet
with the value of 4 ohms or two cabinets with the
values of 8 ohms.
Travelling Abroad
If travelling to countries outside the EU, always check
their local voltage before operating the Basspower
600. Mismatched voltages can and most likely
willdestroyyouramplifier.Shouldyouencounter volta-
gesandfrequenciesotherthanthoseindicated,atrans-
former must be used between the power socket and
the Basspower 600. This transformer must be able
to transform the voltage and frequency to one
of the indicated settings.
Main Fuse
The main fuse is situated in a little drawer which is
part of the power input jack. This sliding fuse holder
also hides a spare fuse. For 230 V, the fuse must be
a 5A slow blow. It is crucially important to use the
specified fuse values only.
Maintenance
All checkups and repairs must be undertaken by
authorized service personnel. With the right treat-
ment, the electric circuit and the power amp will not
need any kind of maintenance at all.

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Periphal Connections
Signal In Jack
On the very left side of the frontpanel you will find a
mono style 1/4” input jack for the connection of your
electric bass.
Headphones
For quiet practicing at home you can also use
optional headphones. For best performance and a
brilliant sound, we recommend our Fame DT 790
studio headphones. Please note that the overall
volume of the amplifier will influence the master
volume of your headphones. The stereo type output is
situated on the very right side of the frontpanel.
CONNECTIONS ON THE BACK
Output
You can connect up to two loudspeaker cabinets with
the amplifier‘s power amp. It is strongly recommen-
ded to use loudspeaker cables for this connection.
You should also take care of the right impedance be-
fore connecting.
Footswitch
The equalization and the fx loop can be switched by
foot. Therefore you will need two 1-way footswitches
(we recommend our VM-26 by Music Store).
Line Out
Your Basspower 600 needs to be connected to a PA-
System? You would like to record the sound directly
into your recording desk or audio interface?
The Line Out will do just that. All you need is a
standard mono style 1/4” cable to connect the
Basspower 600 to a channel strip of a mixing desk.
Please note that the volume set on the amplifier will be
the level that’s running into the channel strip of your
mixing desk. You should set the volume to the lowest
level possible and increase it step-wise.
Tuner Send
This feature allows you to send the signal of your bass
directly into an instrument tuner. This avoids the use
of long cables on stage.
FX-Loop
On the back of your amplifier you will find both a
send and a return jack. These will be useful if you
want to loop external effects units between preamp
and power amp of the Basspower 600. The built-in
fx-loop is parallel type. This means that the signal path
of the Basspower 600 is not interrupted, the original
signal runs parallel with the signal of the connected
effect device and will be mixed together before run-
ning into the power amp.
Direct Out
This XLR jack offers you balanced signal which runs
directly into the recording device. You can choose if
the signal is taken before or after the power amp.
By experience, we know that a signal sounds much
more powerful and dynamic when running through
the power amp.
Mains
This jack is used to connect the Basspower 600 to a
grounded power outlet.
Your guitar cord is an important part of our signal chain and its quality and
construction type clearly affect the overall tone of your rig. Try and buy the
best quality cord you can or want to afford for maximum sound!

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Preamp Section of the Basspower 600
Basics
The device features both a solid state and a tube-driven preamp. You
can switch between these two preamp modes by using the “Preamp
Mode” switch on the left side of the frontpanel. You will notice a con-
siderable difference between these two modes. While the solid state
preamp will offer a very constant amount of compression and dynam-
ics, the tube preamp produces a higher dynamic range as well as more
brilliance and compression. The attack will be very fast, while the
overall sound is warm and smooth.
Parametric Equalizer
A very important and useful feature is the built-in parametric
equalizer. In comparison to the normal equalizer, you are able to
control the amount of frequencies inside the overall sound as well as
their location inside the frequency band. This allows you to set your
desired sound even, when the environment is supposed to be very
loud.

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Controls and Switches I
We suggest you start exploring the channels with all controls set to 12:00
o‘clock and the master volume slightly cracked open.
INPUT (Passive/Active)
Controls the input sensivity of the preamp section. If
you are using an electric bass with a passive electric
circuit, the switch should be pushed out. If the con-
nected bass is equipped with an active circuit, the
switch has to be pushed down. This matches the con-
nected device perfectly to the amplifier’s preamp.
Gain
Adjusts the preamp’s sensivity. The “Signal” light
always shows you the actual charge of the preamp.
If the light glows weak, you will need to turn the knob
clockwise. If the light glows very strong, you should
turn the knob counter-clockwise.
EQUALIZER
Treble, Bass
These two knobs are the main equalization of the
Basspower 600. Treble controls the amount of high
frequencies, while Bass is responsible for the low fre-
quencies.
PREAMP MODE (Tube Mode/Solid State)
Switches between the two preamp modes of the
amplifier. You can choose between solid state or tube-
driven preamp.
PAR.EQ
Switches the main equalization off or the parametric
equalization on respectively.
PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER
Freq - High - Level
With activated parametric equalizer, the “Freq” knob
controls the amount of high frequencies. “Level” ad-
justs the level inside the overall sound.
Freq - Mid - Level
These two knobs control the mid frequency range of
the overall sound, when the parametric equalizer is
active.
Freq - Low - Level
These two knobs control the high frequency range of
the overall sound, when the parametric equalizer is
active.
Mute
Mutes the power amp of the Basspower 600. Only
the “Tuner Send” jack will receive a signal for your
connected instrument tuner.
Effect
Switches the fx loop and the connected effect device
on or off.
Effect Level
Controls the percentage of effect signal inside the
overall sound of the amplifier.
Master Volume
Controls the overall volume of the Basspower 600.
Power
Switches the amplifier on or off.

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Controls and Switches II
We suggest you start exploring the channels with all controls set to 12:00
o‘clock and the master volume slightly cracked open.
CONTROLS ON THE BACK
Effects Loop -10 dB
This feature allows you to set the basic level of the
connected effects device. This can be very useful if
you are using an effects unit with a built-in intermedi-
ate amplifier.
DIRECT OUT
Pre/Post
This switch controls wether the signal of the XLR direct
output is sent out before or behind the power amp.
The signal that is sent out behind the power amp will
sound stronger, but will overdrive earlier depending
on the connected device.
Ground Lift
If you notice a slight hum inside the signal while play-
ing, the electrical environment could have an earth-
ing problem. This feature allows you to disconnect
one of the XLR pins. This will solve the problem and
you will no longer hear any hum.

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External Effects
We are convinced that the basic sound of the Fame
Basspower 600 will suit the demands of most bass players.
Although, the usage of external effects devices can
provide a variety of new and interesting sounds.
These are divided into:
• Level-related effects: Compressor, Limiter or
Noise Gate
• Time-based effects: Delay/Echo, Chorus or
Flanger
• Volume-based effects: Tremolo, Auto-Volume or
Pan
• Filtering-related effects: Equalizer, Phaser,
Rotary or Vibe
While the last three effect groups can be inserted in the
fx loop of the Basspower 600, level-related units must al-
ways be connected between instrument and amplifier.
A lot of our customers gave us a positive feedback on
using an Auto-WahWah in front of the Basspower 600.
How to choose the right device
High-quality effects like a vibrato or time-based units like
delays can round up the sound, when placed in the fx loop
of the amplifier. But the final sound is depending on the
choice of the specific unit.
PA multieffects processor i.e. digitalizes the incoming
signal by using an AD-converter and inverts it after
adding several effects. Depending on the used model,
the sound can be influenced in a negative way.
Expensive units contain very capable converters, which
keep the signal in its original value and even improve the
sound quality.
Analogue units will not harm the signal’s quality, but they
are also limited and normally produce only one overall
sound.
Hints & Gimmicks
We came up with the following advice and “wisdom“ according to our
personal experiences. This will help you to improve the performance of your
Basspower 600.

Specifications
Power Output: 600 Watts @ 4 ohms
Tubes: 2 x 12AX7 preamp tubes
Switches: Passive/Active, Preamp Mode, Par EQ, Mute, Effect, -10dB, Pre/Post,
Ground Lift; Power Switch
Equalization: Bass, Treble, 3-band parametric equalizer
Effects: -
Connection Jacks: Input
Headphone Out
FX Send & Return
Line Out
Direct Out
Speaker Outs
Dimensions: 51,9 x 12,7 x 42 cm
Weight: 23,7 kg
Accessories: Owner‘s Manual, Power Cable
Optional: two 1-way footswitches (Parametric, Effects)
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BASSPOWER 600
2007