Coreblade Plugin - Audio Amplifier Hughes Kettner - Free user manual and instructions

Brand	Hughes & Kettner
Model	Coreblade Plugin
Product Type	Software guitar amplifier plugin
Category	Audio amplifier
Channels	4 independent channels (Clean, Drive, Ultra I, Ultra II)
Pre-Amp Effects	Noise Gate, Filters, Doubler, Screamer (draggable signal chain)
Amplifier Controls	Gain, Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence, Resonance, Boost, Master, Reverb, Delay, Modulation FX
Modulation FX	Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo with adjustable speed and intensity
Cabinet Emulation	6 built-in speaker cabinets (H&K VC412, TC412, Coreblade 412, TM212, BG 2x12, Voice 2x12)
Impulse Response Loader	Load up to 3 third-party IRs, blend them, adjust volume, pan, phase, solo/mute
Microphone Simulation	4 mic models (Dynamic 57, Ribbon 121, Condenser 414, Dynamic 421) with dual mic positions
Post-Amp Effects	Studio Compressor and graphic/parametric Equalizer
Equalizer Bands	Selectable band types (High Pass, Low Shelf, Notch, Peak, High Shelf, Low Pass) with ±24 dB gain
Preset Management	Preset list, A/B banks for comparison, undo/redo, copy settings, save/delete presets
Bypass Options	Plugin bypass, cabinet bypass for external IR loaders
Input Level Control	Adjustable input level and fixed input mode for consistent presets
Output Level Control	Adjustable output level to balance final signal
Power	No external power required; powered by host DAW
Maintenance	Regular software updates recommended for optimal performance
Repairability	Software-based, no physical spare parts needed; support from Nembrini Audio
Safety	No physical safety hazards; follow DAW audio safety practices
General Information	Digital recreation of the Hughes & Kettner Coreblade amplifier with professional-grade tone

Frequently Asked Questions - Coreblade Plugin Hughes Kettner

What is the Coreblade Plugin?

The Coreblade Plugin is a meticulous digital recreation of the iconic Hughes & Kettner Coreblade amplifier. It delivers professional-grade tone, intuitive control, and seamless integration into your recording environment.

How many channels does the Coreblade Plugin have?

It features four fully independent channels: Clean, Drive, Ultra I, and Ultra II, each with its own character and tone-shaping circuitry for versatile sound sculpting.

Can I load custom impulse responses?

Yes, the Impulses Loader lets you load up to three third-party impulse responses and blend them together. You can adjust volume, pan, phase, and solo/mute each IR for personalized tones.

What cabinet emulations are included?

The plugin includes six selected cabinet emulations, such as the Hughes & Kettner VC 412 A25, TC 412 A60, Coreblade 412, and more, based on classic Celestion speakers.

How do I rearrange the pre-amp stomp effects?

The effects in the pre-amplifier stomp section are draggable. You can drag each effect along the arrow path to change the signal chain order, giving you flexible control over your sound.

What microphone models are available for recording?

You can choose from four microphone models: Dynamic 57, Ribbon 121, Condenser 414, and Dynamic 421. The plugin allows two microphones with adjustable position, distance, and on/off-axis orientation.

Does the plugin include effects like reverb and delay?

Yes, the amplifier section includes Reverb, Delay, and Mod FX such as Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, and Tremolo, each with adjustable speed and intensity.

What are the post-amplifier effects?

The post-amplifier effects section includes a Studio Compressor and an Equalizer. Both effects are draggable to change the signal routing for flexible sound design.

Can I compare different settings easily?

Yes, the plugin features A/B banks to compare two different settings. You can copy settings from one bank to another, use undo/redo, and switch between presets for quick comparison.

Is there a bypass option for the cabinet section?

Yes, the Bypass mode bypasses the entire cabinet and recording chain section, allowing you to use an external IR loader or your real power amplifier and speakers with the plugin.

USER MANUAL Coreblade Plugin Hughes Kettner

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INPUT

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OUTPUT

HUGHES & KETTNER COREBLADE

Congratulations on choosing our Hughes & Kettner Coreblade plugin.

The Coreblade plugin is a meticulous digital recreation of the iconic Hughes & Kettner Coreblade amplifier.

Renowned for its uncompromising tone and cutting-edge flexibility, the original Coreblade redefined what a modern tube amp could be. This plugin captures every detail of its powerful personality from pristine cleans to face-melting high gain, complete with effects and advanced features tailored for serious players.

Coreblade features four fully independent channels, each with its own character and tone-shaping circuitry. Its intelligent design lets you sculpt your sound with surgical precision using integrated effects.

Now available as a plugin, Coreblade delivers the same thrilling sonic experience as the original amplifier, giving you professional-grade tone, intuitive control, and seamless integration into your recording environment.

Plug in and experience the power of Coreblade, without compromise.

• Pre-Stomp Section: Includes a Noise Gate to eliminate unwanted noise, Filters for precise tone shaping, a Doubler to create wide stereo from a mono guitar signal, and a Screamer overdrive to sculpt your tone.
• Cabinet Emulation: Seamlessly integrates with modern Impulse Response (IR) cabinets, delivering authentic speaker simulation for a realistic playing experience.
• Effects Section: Features a Studio Compressor to control dynamic range and a graphic-parametric Equalizer for precise tonal shaping.

1. INPUT LEVEL: This knob adjusts the overall input level of the plugin. It helps manage how much signal is fed into the various stages
2. FIX INPUT: Keeps the input level constant when switching through different presets, ensuring consistent signal levels

TOP TOOLBAR

1. NAVIGATION: These icons allow you to navigate between different sections of the plugin:

2. STOMPS: Opens the stompbox section, where you can access pre-amplifier effects like Noise Gate, Filters, Doubler and Screamer

3. AMPLIFIER: Opens the amplifier section, letting you tweak amp settings like tone, reverb, delay, and modulation
   • CABINET: Opens the cabinet section, providing access to cabinets, IR loader, and bypass options

4. EFFECT: Opens the post-amplifier effects section, where you can add effects like equalizer and Studio Compressor

5. OUTPUT LEVEL: This knob adjusts the overall output level of the plugin. It helps balance the final signal before it leaves the plugin, ensuring an appropriate volume for your mix or performance

AMPLIFIER

Amplifier section of the Coreblade plugin:

1. POWER SWITCH: Toggles the plugin on or off with an indicator light showing the amp's status, replicating the feel of the original Coreblade amplifier.
2. MASTER: Adjusts the overall output level of the plugin. Use it to set the final volume of your signal.

3. CHANNEL: Selects one of four channels Clean, Drive, Ultra I, or Ultra II, each offering a distinct tonal character.

4. CLEAN: Delivers sparkling clean tones with high headroom and clarity, even with powerful pickups.

5. DRIVE: Offers classic overdrive tones ranging from mild crunch to bold rock distortion.
   • ULTRA I: Produces tight, modern high-gain tones with focused compression and articulate response.
6. ULTRA II: Delivers aggressive American-style high-gain with deep lows and biting highs—perfect for metal riffs and powerful leads.

AMPLIFIER

Amplifier section of the Coreblade plugin:

1. VOLUME: Adjusts the relative level of each channel's preset.
2. PRESENCE: Controls the amount of high-frequency overtones for added clarity and definition.
3. RESONANCE: Enhances or dampens low-end speaker resonance for tighter or softer bass response.
4. BASS, MID, TREBLE: Classic passive 3-band EQ tailored per channel for precise tone shaping.
5. GAIN: Sets the input sensitivity and controls the amount of preamp saturation.
6. BOOST: Increases specific frequency ranges for a more aggressive, creamy, or punchy tone—varies per channel.

AMPLIFIER

Amplifier section of the Coreblade plugin:

1. REVERB: Adds warmth and depth with a classic reverb effect that adjusts its tail length based on the reverb level.
2. DELAY: Provides control over the delay time, feedback, and volume, allowing you to create anything from subtle repeats to infinite echoes.
3. MOD FX: Offers four modulation effects—Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, and Tremolo—each with adjustable speed and intensity for a wide range of sonic textures.

AMPLIFIER BOTTOM TOOLBAR

This bottom toolbar provides quick access to key preamplifier settings, visible in every section of the plugin for convenient adjustments

PRE - AMPLIFIER STOMP

The pre-amplifier stomp section consists of four effects: Noise Gate, Filters, Doubler and Screamer. Each effect is draggable, allowing you to rearrange the signal chain to achieve the desired tonal characteristics. The routing order can be adjusted by dragging each effect along the arrow path, giving you flexible control over your sound.

PRE - AMPLIFIER STOMP: NOISE GATE

1. RANGE: Controls the level of signal reduction when the gate is closed. Higher values result in more noticeable suppression, helping reduce noise effectively
2. GATE: Adjusts the attack time, determining how quickly the gate responds to the signal. A faster setting will clamp down immediately, while a slower setting allows for a more natural fade
3. THRESHOLD: Sets the level at which the gate activates. Signals below this level are muted, allowing you to control how much noise is filtered without affecting the desired signal
4. SWITCH: Activates or deactivates the Noise Gate. When engaged, the gate will operate based on the set parameters to clean up the signal

PRE - AMPLIFIER STOMP: FILTER

1. TIGHT: Adjusts low-end response, tightening bass frequencies for clearer articulation and punch.
2. HARSH: Smoothes high-frequency content, allowing precise control over bright or aggressive overtones.
3. FOOTSWITCH: Activates or bypasses the filter pedal effect.

PRE - AMPLIFIER STOMP: DOUBLER

1. SENSITIVITY: Adjusts the sensitivity of the transient detector that triggers dynamic left/right stereo panning.
2. PITCH: Controls the amount of pitch detuning applied to the stereo channels.
3. MONO: Makes frequencies below the selected cutoff mono—useful for mono compatibility and reinforcing low-end solidity.
4. OFFSET: Sets the maximum time offset between the left and right channels. The offset changes dynamically, triggered by the input signal (0% means no offset).
5. SWITCH: Activates or bypasses the Doubler stomp. When engaged, it applies the effect to your signal, transforming a mono guitar into a wide stereo sound.

PRE - AMPLIFIER STOMP: SCREAMER

1. DRIVE: This knob controls the amount of gain or distortion applied to your signal. Turning it up increases the saturation, providing a more aggressive over-drive, while lower settings give you a mild crunch that retains the clarity of your playing dynamics.
2. LEVEL: This control sets the overall output level of the Screamer effect. Use this to adjust how loud the signal is after applying overdrive, which can help balance the effect with your clean tone or add more volume for solos.
3. TONE: This knob adjusts the brightness of your Screamer sound. Turning it clockwise will increase the treble response, making the tone sharper and more cutting, while turning it counterclockwise will result in a warmer and more mellow overdrive.
4. SWITCH: This footswitch activates or bypasses the Screamer stomp. When engaged, the overdrive effect is applied to your signal, giving you the gritty and saturated tone.

CABINETS MODE - IR LOADER

1. CABINET: Selects the built-in cabinet emulations. This option allows you to use the carefully crafted cabinet models included with the plugin, providing a range of tones that emulate classic speaker cabinets
2. IMPULSES: Switches to the IR loader mode, enabling you to load custom impulse responses (IRs). This option is perfect for users who want to use their favorite IRs to create personalized tones
3. BYPASS: Bypasses the cabinet section entirely, allowing you to use an external IR loader or another cabinet emulation in your signal chain. This is useful for players who prefer to use their own external cabinet modeling tools for additional customization

CABINET MODE

1. CABINET: you can choose between six selected cabinet emulation

• Hughes & Kettner VC 412 A25 with Celestion* G12M Greenback speakers
• Hughes & Kettner TC 412 A60 with RockDriver Classic 60 speakers
• Hughes & Kettner Coreblade 412 with Celestion* Classic Lead 80
• Hughes & Kettner TM 212 with Celestion* Vintage 30 speakers
• BG 2x12 V30: based on Bogner* 2x12 Celestion Vintage 30 speakers
• VOICE 2x12 BLUE: based on Vox* 2x12 with Celestion* Blue speakers

1. MIC 1 AND MIC 2 SETTINGS: This feature allows you to simulate the use of two virtual microphones for your amplifier's recording chain. It provides the flexibility to:

2. Choose from four different microphone models, enabling a range of tonal characteristics.

3. Select the microphone's orientation with options for On-Axis or Off-Axis positions, affecting the color and intensity of the captured sound.
4. Adjust the Position and Distance of each microphone relative to the speaker, offering control over the depth and spatial effects in your recordings.

The emulated microphone are:

1 - Dynamic 57: based on popular Shure* SM-57 dynamic microphone
2 - Ribbon 121: based on modern Royer* Labs R-121 ribbon microphone
3 - Condenser 414: based on classic AKG* C 414 condenser microphone
4 - Dynamic 421: based on vintage Sennheiser* MD-421 dynamic microphone

1. MIXER: This 3 faders controls the volume of the 2 microphones in front of the guitar cabinet and the stereo ambience microphones.

Each channel have a pan control for stereo positions, solo, mute and phase inversion switch.

IMPULSES LOADER MODE

The Coreblade Impulses Loader let you load up to three 3rd-parties impulse responses and blend them together. The following settings are available for each of the three loaded IRs:

1. EMPTY BUTTON: unload the current IR
2. BROWSE BUTTON: open an explorer window that permit you to select a folder and show you the contained wav files in the adjacent display (5).
3. LOAD BUTTON: open an explorer window that permit you to load your favorite impulse response.
4. IR CONTROLS: you can change the volume, pan, phase of each IR and Solo or Mute it
5. BROWSE/PREVIEW DISPLAY: in this display you can browse your favorite IRs or view a preview

BYPASS MODE

In this mode the whole cabinet / recording chain section and impulses loader are completely bypassed, letting you use your favorite impulse loader or your real power amplifier and speakers system with the Coreblade Guitar Amplifier plugin.

POST - AMPLIFIER EFFECTS

Post Amplifier Effects Section including two main effects: Studio Compressor and Equalizer. Each effect is draggable to change the signal routing for flexible sound design.

POST - AMPLIFIER EFFECTS: STUDIO COMPRESSOR

1. POWER SWITCH: This button turns the Studio Compressor effect on or off
2. THRESHOLD: Defines the level at which the compressor starts working, and signals that exceed this level are compressed
3. ATTACK: Controls how quickly the compressor responds after the signal crosses the threshold Short attack times result in faster compression, while longer times allow more transient detail to pass through
4. RELEASE: Determines how quickly the compressor stops affecting the signal after it drops below the threshold Longer release times create smoother compression, while shorter times provide a tighter effect
5. RATIO: Defines the degree of compression by setting the ratio between the input level and the output level Higher ratios apply more compression to the signal
6. OUTPUT: Adjusts the overall level of the compressed signal to ensure volume consistency after compression
7. GAIN REDUCTION: Displays the amount of gain reduction applied in real-time, providing visual feedback on the compressor's performance

POST - AMPLIFIER EFFECTS: EQUALIZER

1. POWER (Band): Activates or bypasses the selected EQ band.
2. GAIN: Sets the boost or cut level for the selected EQ band ( ± 24 dB).
3. Q FACTOR: Sets the bandwidth of the selected EQ band, ranging from narrow surgical adjustments to broader, musical shaping.
4. FREQUENCY: Selects the center frequency of the current EQ band.
5. TYPE: Selects the filter shape for the active band(High Pass, Low Shelf, Notch, Peak, High Shelf, Low Pass).
6. BAND: Selects the EQ band to edit.
7. RESET: Resets parameters of the selected band to default values.
8. RESET ALL: Resets all EQ bands and settings to default values.
9. POWER (Master EQ): Enables or bypasses the entire Equalizer section.

THE TOOLBARS

Top Toolbar

1. Open the manual and the information about the plugin
2. • and - buttons allow you to scroll through the presets
3. Undo/Redo changes made to the parameters of the plugin at any time
4. With A/B banks, it is possible to compare two different settings in an easy way. It is also possible to compare pre-sets by loading them in the two different A/B banks. The red highlight will show the currently selected bank and what you will modify/save
5. Copy the settings from a bank to another, so you can make slight changes to the controls and compare the two settings for example

> Default	A	B	C	D
1	2	3	4	5

1. Shows you the active preset. Click on the label to see the preset list
2. Allow you to override the current selected preset
3. Save the current selected preset as a new preset with a name of your choice
4. Delete the selected preset
5. Bypass the plugin in order to compare your processed and unprocessed signal

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

*Please note that all marks and models are all trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Nembrini Audio. These marks and names are used solely for the purpose of describing certain tones produced using Nembrini Audio's modelling technology.

NEMBRINI AUDIO