LINE 6 DT50 – HD Electric Guitar Amplifier Head
Line 6 – INNOVATION, EXCITEMENT and TONE
Digital modelling in guitar amps is now a widely accepted format but for some, the allure of vacuum tubes doing their harmonically charged high current thing still rules. The DT50 is the amp that caused many guitarists to reconsider.
Reinhold Bogner’s genius means that the DT50 feels and sounds much the same as an all-valve design with the digital elements of the amp so fully integrated and seamlessly intertwined with the analogue that the experience is a valve amp with a little tonal flavouring from digital, rather than a modelling amp that’s using a valve stage to ‘authenticate’ the sound.
This Line 6 is a very versatile amp indeed, loud enough for any gig and with useful facilities for recording and home practice.
What stands out above all else however, is that this amplifier delivers the four distinctive flavours that are regarded as the cornerstones of guitar tone – Fender, Marshall, Vox and Mesa/Boogie.
Owning all four would be an expensive if not impractical exercise leaving the DT50 as the closest you’ll get in a single amp to emulating all four.
As the undisputed leader in guitar amp modeling technology, Line 6 has created some of the most exciting electric guitar amplifiers of the past decade. Line 6 have teamed up with valve amp guru Reinhold Bogner to combine their amp modeling technology with Bogner’s vast experience building some of the world’s most desirable boutique tube amps to create a versatile amplifier with incredible tonal performance.
• Advanced HD modeling technology
• Reinhold Bogner’s most flexible tube amplifier design
• 2 x 12AX7 preamp tubes, 2 x EL34 power amp tubes (25W/50W)
• Simple and straightforward 2-channel design
• Backlit front panel to easily see which options you’ve chosen
• WYSIWYG operation
• Channel Controls: Drive, Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence, Reverb, Channel Volume
• Master volume
• High and Low inputs
• Reconfigurable analog components (Class A/Class AB; Pentode/Triode)
• Complete, one-touch analog reconfiguration (via Channel select switch)
• Low-power mode
• MIDI in and out
• L6 LINK™ in/thru connection for seamless POD® HD integration
• Footswitch jack for channel switching
• Serial effect loop with level control
• XLR direct out with cabinet simulation and ground lift switch
• 4, 8 and 16-ohm speaker outs
• DT50/DT25 v2.0 firmware expands the HD preamp count from four to 30
• DT50/DT25 v2.0 firmware lets you configure your own custom voicings and more
FIND YOUR VOICE
Classic American clean, chimey and crunchy English tones, modern high-gain distortion – all great amplifiers are based on one of these four celebrated amp voicings. DT50 has them all, and the four-way Voicing switch on the front panel is your speed-dial to each one.
Behind each Voicing is the perfect recipe of dynamic analog circuitry (which includes tube configuration and negative feedback loop topology), and HD amp modeling technology (which fuels the preamp and tone stack). The choice is yours.
DT50/DT25 v2.0 firmware lets you create original amp tones by pairing your choice of 30 HD preamps with any combination of dynamic topologies (negative feedback loop, operating class, power tube mode and more) within Reinhold Bogner’s reconfigurable tube power amp.
SWITCHABLE ANALOG COMPONENTS
Each Voicing can become a classic powerhouse or totally customized thanks to tube amp guru Reinhold Bogner’s uniquely flexible design. The 2 x 12AX7 preamp and 50W, 2 x EL34 power section offer easy reconfiguration of operating class (Class A/Class AB) and power tube mode (Pentode/Triode) for a wide range of feels and tones that can be added to each Voicing: modern or vintage, tight or dynamic.
DIVER DOWN
State-of-the-art HD modeling technology goes deeper than modeling ever has and fully integrates into Reinhold Bogner’s power section. The two technologies combine and deliver a truly unique and powerful playing experience available only from DT50 amplifiers.
LOW VOLUME MODE
HD modeling technology really comes alive in low-volume mode. Perfect for recording or quieter gigs, low-volume mode lets the HD modeling technology provide both preamp and power amp tones. You can perform with all the grit and gain you need without the volume that normally comes with it.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Line 6 have made things easy for guitarists who like to keep things simple allowing switching between the two channels to be implemented with a standard footswitch. For those who own the Line 6 M9 and M13 Stompbox Modelers, switching control is possible via MIDI.
So, everyone is happy – but there are always those of us who need to push the envelope, to shift the paradigm and take their valve amplifier where no valve amplifier has gone before . . . for those guitarists the DT50 incorporates a proprietary L6 Link that offers seamless integration with the new POD HD series, where selecting a POD preset optimises the DT50’s analogue components to complement the POD amp model creating an incredibly powerful and intuitive guitar amplifier.
As a stand alone guitar amp the Line 6 DT50 is a sonic weapon, offering enough tonal variation, versatility, power and control to satisfy the most die-hard tone nut.
Guitarists have to practice, mostly at home at low levels and we all know that can be a challenge. Not so with the Line 6 DT50 – there’s a low volume mode which is initiated by pulling out the master volume knob. This lets the HD modeling technology provide both preamp and power amp tones for a tone that is a close to your on-stage sound but at a much lower level – it really has to be heard to be believed. This technology first surfaced in the Spider Valve amps and is proven, not only that – it sounds amazing.
For quiet recording the DT50 also offers a direct output featuring cabinet simulation via an XLR connection. The DT50 comes in a head version (with optional 4 x 12 cab) or a choice of two combos, a 1 x 12 or the 2 x 12 we have here.
WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET
The Line 6 DT50 front panel is backlit offering a tactile and easy to read layout of your settings. Essentially the DT50 is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) operation – you simply select a channel and set the knobs and switches as you want to achieve your desired tone.
The switches toggle between their settings with the actual switching done by relays rather than by physical position of the switch, so changing channels recalls the options that were set by the switches when the channel was last active.
The dual-channel set-up offers plenty of flexibility as you can have a completely different amp voicing for each channel or set it to operate like a conventional two-channel amp, with the same basic sound but different amounts of gain.
Each of the four voicings has a recommended setting for the operating class and pentode/triode option to more accurately emulate the amp it was based on. All are designed to run in class AB, apart from voicing III, the English chime, where the recommended class A operation tallies with how a real AC30 works.
Disregarding the digital-versus-analogue debate, the Line 6 DT50 is an incredibly versatile amp by any measure – its certainly loud enough for any gig and provides facilities that are real and useful for recording and home practice.
The jewel in the crown however is that the Line 6 DT50 can deliver the four distinct flavours that are generally regarded as the cornerstones of guitar tone. To seriously consider that at your fingertips are the archetypal Fender, Marshall, Vox and Mesa/Boogie tones would, only a few years ago. have been considered ridiculous however, the simple truth is that the Line 6 DT50 is currently the closest you’ll get in a single amp to emulating all four.
Line 6 and Bogner are to be congratulated. The DT50 is the amp that will make you reconsider what is possible from a valve powered guitar amplifier.
The way that Line 6 have brought together the digital elements of this amp is simply mind blowing – here finally is a hybrid all-valve/digital guitar amplifier whose elements are so fully integrated and seamlessly intertwined with the analog that the impression is that what you’re hearing is a valve amp that gets a little tonal flavouring from digital, rather than a modelling amp that’s using a valve stage to ‘warm up’ the sound. If hearing is believing this is it.
FLEXIBLE – CUSTOMISABLE
While the DT50-H head (along with your matching speaker Cab) function beautifully as a stand alone guitar amplifier, LINE 6 have built-in the capability to turn this amp into a tonal chameleon. Simply connect a POD® HD multi-effect pedal or POD® HD Pro multi-effect rack to this little monster and the two integrate seamlessly to become a boutique tube amp tone factory!
Connected via exclusive L6 LINK™ technology, the DT50H amp and POD® multi-effect rewrite the traditional amp/multi-effect paradigm to introduce powerful new concepts in control and customisation.
LINE 6 POD® technology allows you to add effects, additional amp voicings, foot control and instant scalability (including stereo operation with multiple DT50H amplifiers) making the DT50H the perfect partner for POD HD multi-effects. Session players love the versatility, stage musicians love the control. The days of plugging a POD® into the front of an amp are over!
LINE 6 DT50 GUITAR AMPLIFIER HEAD SPECIFICATIONS:
• Modeling: Line 6 HD Modeling
• Preamp Valve Section: 2 x 12AX7
• Power Amp Valve Section: 2 x EL34
• Amplifier Design: Designed by Reinhold Bogner
• Voicings: Selectable, (Cathode or Fixed Bias)
• Bias Types:
• Type I (Tight Feedback, California Clean)
• Type II (Looser Feedback, Crunchy British Feel)
• Type III (Zero Negative Feedback, Chimey Brit Feel)
• Type IV (Modern Feedback, Higher Gain)
• Operating Class and Wattage: Selectable: Class A (25W) <> Class AB (50W)
• Power Tube Configuration: Selectable: Pentode/Triode
• Foot Controller: POD HD300/400/500 via L6 LINK; Standard 6.3mm (1/4″) Tip-Sleeve Footswitch for Channel Switching
• Other In/Outs: Serial FX Loop, MIDI IN/OUT, Cabinet Simulated Direct Out
• Operating Voltage: 240VAC 50Hz
• Warranty: One Year
