WALRUS AUDIO MAKO Series ACS1 Amp and Speaker Cab Simulator User Manual
- July 30, 2024
- WALRUS AUDIO
Table of Contents
User Manual
MAKO Series ACS1 Amp and Speaker Cab Simulator
The [ACS1]™ is an amplifier and speaker cab simulator delivering the sound and
feel of worldclass amplifiers, complimentary speaker cabinets created by Tone
Factor, and controllable room size. With the ACS1, players have expansive
options to deliver their
tone whether it’s on stage, in the studio, or practicing at home. Simple
controls, stereo in and out, onboard presets, and MIDI support make the ACS1
an immeasurable tool in any guitarist’s arsenal.
The use of an isolated power supply is recommended for powering all Walrus Audio Pedals.
Daisy chain power supplies are not recommended.
Got questions or need a repair?
Email help@walrusaudio.com to talk with a real
live human about your Walrus gear!
This product comes with a limited lifetime warranty.
Click Here for more info.
9 volt DC, Center Negative • 300mA min
AMP MODELS
Amp Switch (Fullerton | London | Dartford) – The Amp switch selects between
one of three classic amp models built into the ACS1.
Designed from the ground up using a detailed physical modeling-based
simulation of the original circuity, each of the cascading triode/filtering
stages have been faithfully replicated creating complex tones, rich with even
harmonics and subtle intercomponent asymmetries/inconsistencies.
The power amp staging has been highly biased to retain plenty of dynamic
warmth and headroom during Class A behavior at low gains, shifting into an
increased sensitivity and overdrive in Class AB saturation through to complete
Valve breakup at maximum.
Fullerton: Inspired by the classically snappy and clear Fender® Deluxe
Reverb. Clean headroom that blooms into the fat, rich breakup that players
have come to love over the years.
London: Inspired by a 1962 Marshall® Bluesbreaker with a harmonically
rich, valve-driven breakup. Perfect for sustained lead notes with tons of gain
on tap and a punchy mid-ranged voicing.
Dartford: Inspired by the legendary and jangly tones from a 1960s Vox®
AC30 with all the bite and chime from the British Invasion. Higher gain
settings offer up plenty of saturation that represent the loudness and punch
of the original amp cranked.
CABS
The cabs are broken into two groups of three. The “front” three are accessed
by simply moving the Cab toggle switch to the desired position. The “back”
three are accessed by holding down the bypass switch while moving the Cab
toggle. To help make this more intuitive, we have laid these out based on the
amp we like using them with, but there is no right or wrong. Mix and match
however you like!
The ACS1 includes six IRs
custom engineered by David Hislop and Kenyon Reed at Tone Factor. Each IR has
been created with vintage amps to deliver the best tonal representation
possible.
The IRs that are included in this update are based on a 90’s UK-made AC30 6TB
with Blue Alnicos, a Marshall JTM50 Tremolo Bluesbreaker 2×12 combo with UK-
made 6402-cone G12M Greenbacks (16ohm versions that come in Marshall cabs,
which are brighter than the 8ohm versions in Vox cabs), and a Vintage 1966
Fender Deluxe Reverb with it’s original Jensen C12NA. Visit tonefactor.co/ACS1
to explore their new XR IR Collection and see all of the complete IR packs
with more microphones and placement options.
Front Cabs
A: ‘66 Fender® Deluxe Replication / SM57
B: Marshall® JTM50 Bluesbreaker Replication / SM57
C: Vox® AC30 6TB Replication / SM57
Back Cabs
A: ‘66 Fender® Deluxe Replication / Royer 121
B: Marshall® JTM50 Bluesbreaker Replication / Royer 121
C: Vox® AC30 6TB Replication / Royer 121
CONTROLS
L + R Switch – The L+R switch is an important control as it selects which
channel the controls will affect. For setting up the ACS1 with similar sounds
on both left and right channels, set this switch to the “+” position. Any
changes made to a control will sync that parameter across both channels.
Select an amp and it will be applied to both sides. Dial in the tone stack,
and it will match on both sides and so on.
Use the outer switch positions, “L” and “R”, for crafting different amp sounds
on the left and right channels. Set the switch to the “L” position and use the
controls to dial in the desired sound for the left channel. Similarly, set the
switch to the “R” position and use the controls to dial in the desired sound
for the right channel. You can use this process for things like selecting
different cabs for each channel all the way to dialing in a totally different
amp and cab combo on the left and right side.
Use the Volume knob on each side to balance the overall level of each amp when
crafting unique sounds on the left and right channels.
CONTROLS
Bass – The Bass knob shapes the low-end tone stack of the selected amp model.
Turn up for a thicker sound and down o help tame muddy pickups.
Mid – The Mid knob shapes the mid-range tone stack of the selected amp model.
Try this control above noon for punchy aw mid-range tones and below noon for
more classic scooped sounds.
Treble – The Treble knob shapes the high-frequency section of the tone stack
on the selected amp model. Turn up for
adding sparkle and down for taming harsh pickups.
A good starting point for each knob is around noon. The tone stack changes
with each amp model and has been carefully recreated to emulate an iconic
tone.
Volume – The Volume knob controls the overall output level of the pedal. It
also controls the volume of the headphone out.
Gain – The Gain knob controls the amount of gain through the amp “circuit”
within each model. The amount gain and character changes with each amp.
The Gain knob also affects the overall volume just like a real amp so you may
want to increase the Volume knob at lower gain settings.
Room- The Room knob engages a tight room reverb meant to give the impression
of your amp being mic’d up in various size rooms. Turn it all the way down to
disengage and turn it up to add a sense of space to your sound.
A | B | C Cab Switch – The Cab switch lets you select one of six on-board
cabinet impulse responses (IRs) to accompany the selected amp model. The ACS1
ships with six cab IRs carefully captured in collaboration with Tone Factor to
complement our amp models.
Users are also able to upload their own favorite IRs to the ACS1 via
walrusaudio.io.
BOOST
Boost Switch – The boosted gain control goes from the non-boosted gain value
at minimum to the maximum possible gain available with an additional +4db of
of gain. The boosted volume control provides a scaled operation over the
entire range allowing for a matched output level between modes.
To set the boost amount, press the boost switch. The LED light will flash
showing that the boost is on. Turning the Gain knob to zero is now equal to
where the unboosted level is set. Use the Volume and Gain knobs to set boost
levels to your liking. Note that the Volume knob can be set to lower the
volume amount if needed. While in Boost mode, setting the Volume knob to noon
is the mid point. Turn left to lower volume or right to increase volume. Once
you have dialed in your boost amount, press the Boost switch again to confirm
the settings. To apply your new boost settings to your preset, press and hold
down Bypass and Boost until both LEDs flash to confirm your new settings are
saved.
Preset/Boost LED – The Preset LED lights up the color of the selected preset –
Red, Green, or Blue. When a knob is turned, this LED turns purple to indicate
the preset has been modified. When that knob crosses its saved position, the
LED changes back to the color of the currently selected preset to let you know
its last saved position. This is helpful when you want to tweak a parameter on
a preset but cannot remember where a knob was last saved.
STOCK PRESETS
PRESETS
The ACS1 includes 128 total preset slots. The first three presets are
accessible from the pedal using both stomp switches.
All 128 are accessible
via MIDI Program Change messages which are outlined in the MIDI section.
- To recall a preset: Simply press both stomp switches at the same time to scroll through the three on-board presets – red, green, and blue then back to red.
- To save a preset:
- Navigate to the preset in which you want to save a new sound.
- Using the knobs and switches, dial in the desired sound. The preset LED will turn purple indicating the preset has been modified.
- To save, hold down the Bypass and Boost switches until the LEDs stop blinking. The preset is now saved.
RED PRESET
All knob settings refer to clock face positions
Fullerton Amp
Cab – Front, A slot
EQ – Bass – 2 / Mid – noon / Treble – 1
Gain – 1
Volume – 1
Room – 9
Boost – Volume and Gain 2 GREEN PRESET
London Amp
Cab – Front, B slot
EQ – Bass – 11 / Mid, Treble – noon
Gain – 1
Volume – 1
Room – 9
Boost – Volume and Gain 2 BLUE PRESET
Dartford Amp
Cab – Front, C slot
EQ – Bass – 1 / Mid – 11 / Treble – 2
Gain – 1
Volume – 1
Room – 9
Boost – Gain 2
GUITAR INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
The ACS1 offers multiple input and output
configurations and features true bypass circuity.
- Mono In / Mono Out
- Mono In / Stereo Out
- Stereo In / Stereo Out
Headphone Jack – The ACS1 features an on-board headphone output for quiet
practicing. Simply connect your headphones and adjust the Volume knob to raise
and lower the headphone volume.
Micro-USB Port – Used to load IR files and update firmware via computer via
walrusaudio.io.
MIDI
The ACS1 can be controlled via standard MIDI messages.
Simply connect your MIDI controller to the ACS1 MIDI “IN”. Downstream MIDI
devices can be connected to the MIDI “THRU” which simply lets all incoming
MIDI messages pass through to your other MIDI devices. The ACS1 ships with the
MIDI channel set to 1 by default.
-
To assign the MIDI device channel:
1. Hold down both stomp switches at power up then release once the LEDs begin flashing white.
2. Now send a MIDI Program Change message on the desired MIDI channel for the pedal.
3. The LEDs will flash green momentarily, and the pedal will save that MIDI channel and only respond to messages on that channel until the user changes it again. -
MIDI In – Connect upstream MIDI devices or your MIDI controller to the ACS1 MIDI “IN”.
-
MIDI Thru – Connect downstream MIDI devices to the ACS1 MIDI “THRU”.
-
MIDI PC – Presets on the ACS1 are able to be recalled via MIDI program change messages.
Simply send a program change message corresponding to the desired preset to be recalled on the ACS1 MIDI channel. See the table on the next page for a list of ACS1 presets and how they map to program change messages.
MIDI commands and parameters continued on next page.
MIDI
| PRESET | MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE (PC) |
|---|---|
| Red | 0 |
| Green | 1 |
| Blue | 2 |
| Accessible via MIDI | 3-127* |
*preset LED will be white for all of these presets
| PARAMETER | MIDI CC # | MIDI CC Value |
|---|---|---|
| Bass | 3 | 0-127 |
| Mid | 14 | 0-127 |
| Treble | 15 | 0-127 |
| Volume | 20 | 0-127 |
| Gain | 21 | 0-127 |
| Room | 22 | 0-127 |
| Cab Switch | 27 | Front A: 0-20, B: 22-42, C: 44-64 |
Back A: 66-86, B: 88-108, C: 110-127
L + R Switch| 28| Left: 0-42, Middle: 43-85, Right: 86-127
Amp Switch| 29| Fullerton: 0-42, London: 43-85, Dartford: 86-127
Bypass Switch| 30| Bypass = 0, Engaged = 127
Boost Switch| 31| Bypass = 0, Engaged = 127
GLOBAL PREFERENCES
Bypass IR Block -Disable the IR block for interfacing with external IR loader hardware or plugins, etc.
- Hold down Bypass.
- Once the LED starts blinking continue to hold down while you adjust the Mid knob. Once your changes are done, you can release the Bypass Switch.
• Above noon, the Bypass LED will blink green indicating the ACS1 IR block is active.
• Below noon, the Bypass LED will blink red indicating the ACS1 IR block is bypassed.
Global Low-Pass and High-Pass Frequency – The ACS1 has a global HPF and LPF at the output, post amp and cab, to trim high and low frequencies to taste. These two parameters are stored per preset.
HPF = 20Hz – 200Hz
LPF = 20k Hz – 1k Hz
To use:
- Hold down the Bypass switch, until the LED starts blinking.
- Continue to hold down while you adjust the Bass & Treble knobs.
Once your changes are done, you can release the Bypass knob.
- Decreasing the Treble knob to minimum will lower the cutoff frequency of the output LPF which will cut the highs. Increasing it back to maximum will raise the cutoff frequency making it transparent.
- Decreasing the Bass knob to minimum will lower the cutoff frequency of the output HPF making it transparent. Increasing it to maximum will raise the cutoff frequency and will cut lows.
Factory Reset – Use the following procedure to restore the pedal to its factory settings.
- Hold both stomp switches while applying power.
- Continue holding both stomp switches for longer than 10 seconds. Initially, both LED’s will flash white. Keep holding both stomp switches until the bypass LED turns solid blue and the boost LED blinks blue.
- Release both stomp switches and wait for the normal LED startup sequence to begin. Once your pedal is back to normal with the bypass LED off and the boost LED red, your pedal is then set back to factory reset.
- Note that performing a factory reset will cause any custom stored IR’s and presets to be erased back to the factory default.
WALRUSAUDIO.IO
Walrusaudio.io is a simple interface to update your pedal’s firmware and load
your own cabinet IRs. Connect a Micro-B, USB cable to your ACS1 to access
firmware updates and upload IR’s using your computer.
*Note – Connecting a Micro-B, USB cable to your ACS1 allows you to access
firmware updates and upload IR’s using your computer to log on to
walrusaudio.io via a Chrome-based web browser. Ensure that the USB cable you
are using allows data transmission and is not just for charging devices.
To upload your own speaker IRs:
- Connect the USB cable to the ACS1 and power on the pedal.
- Click on the ACS1 pedal image.
- Click on IR Manager.
- Find the slot that you wish to change and click edit.
- Click Choose IR file to upload your IR.
Note the ACS1 accepts 24-bit 48kHz .wav IR files.
The default IRs have been meticulously designed and tone matched by David
Hislop and Kenyon Reed at Tone Factor. Captured with vintage and era specific
amps matching the ACS1’s amp models.
The front default IRs were captured with SM57s and the back IRs were captured
with a Royer 121 ribbon mic.
Visit tonefactor.co to explore more IR packs with more
microphones and placement options.
TECHNICAL INFO
Frequency Response: 20Hz To 20kHz
Inputs: 2, 1/4” unbalanced TS
Outputs: 2, 1/4” unbalanced TS
USB Type Micro-B: For firmware updates and IR
loading via walrusaudio.io
Power Requirement: Isolated 9VDC,
center-negative, 300mA minimum
Size Including Knobs/Jacks:
Height: 2.48” / 63.15mm
Width: 2.9” / 74.33mm
Depth: 4.89” / 124.37mm
Weight: .8 lbs