Cool new gear: Line 6 DT50 amplifiers

The DT50 is Line 6's new flagship amplifier series.

I was lucky enough to have Line 6 send me out a Spider Valve MkII 112 combo to review. Whilst I found that it had some great amp and effects models I felt that it had a little too many features for me. I thought that if it was just a two or three channel amplifier with a few great amp models to cover most sonic territory that it would have been brilliant.

When I saw that Premier Guitar had a new article on the new Line 6 DT50 series of amplifiers I was very excited.

Here’s what Line 6 have to say about the DT50 series:

Calabasas, CA (September 30, 2010) — Line 6, Inc., the industry leader in digital modeling technology for music-creation products, announces DT50, its new line of flagship guitar amplifiers. The new amplifiers deliver a wide range of inspiring amp tones by delivering a deeper integration of flexible, boutique-style tube design and revolutionary new HD amp modeling technology.

“By far the most creative and advanced integration of tubes and amp modeling technology today can be found under the hood of DT50,” comments Elliot Chenault, Line 6 Product Manager. “We’ve totally rethought the relationship between modeling and tubes. The digital section of the amplifier effectively “talks” with the analog section, which was designed by living-legend tube amp designer Reinhold Bogner, for an incredibly responsive and distinctive amplifier that stands alone as Line 6’s flagship amp.”

DT50 guitar amplifiers produce the four amp voicings on which all great amplifiers are based – classic American cleans, chimey and crunchy British tones, and modern high-gain distortion – and they do so with exceptional results. To deliver the most authentic sonic signature, each voicing is comprised of a preamp and tone stack fueled by brand-new Line 6 HD modeling technology, and automatically paired with dynamic analog circuitry including tube configuration and negative feedback topology courtesy of Reinhold Bogner’s uniquely versatile 50-watt EL34 power section.

To produce a classic American amp voicing, for example, DT50 guitar amps engage HD amp modeling technology to configure the preamp and tone stack to produce a gleaming, classic clean tone and supports it by automatically reconfiguring its analog components for a high amount of negative feedback, reproducing the analog circuitry of heralded American amplifiers.

Players can also create their own signature tones with easy front-panel access to the tube amp’s analog Class A/Class AB and Pentode/Triode switches. Their favorite Class A amp tones can be run in Class AB, and so on. The mixing and matching of HD amp modeling technology with reconfigurable analog circuitry is one of the many benefits of groundbreaking new Line 6 technology, which is debuting in DT50 guitar amplifiers.

The amps feature a classic, two-channel design for a simple and engaging experience. Each channel can be set with a completely different reconfiguration – Channel A can be Voicing I/Class A/Pentode; Channel B can be Voicing IV/Class AB/Triode – for total one-touch reconfiguration via the channel switch. The streamlined and straightforward layout is free of complexity and learning curve, and is ideal for the gigging musician.

DT50 guitar amplifiers integrate seamlessly with new POD HD multi-effect pedals. Together they deliver incredible tonal variety, functionality and component-to-component communication via new proprietary L6 LINK technology. POD HD multi-effect pedals can add scores of effects, trigger DT50 analog circuit reconfigurations, and more.

All DT50 amplifiers include a high-quality spring reverb model on each channel, a serial FX loop with level boost/cut, and a push/pull volume pot that engages a Low Volume Mode, which is perfect for late nights or smaller venues. An output transformer-tapped XLR connection provides a cabinet-simulated direct output, providing a line-level output which dynamically interacts with the DT50 speaker and tubes. Channel switching can be achieved via standard 1/4-inch footswitch, MIDI, or L6 LINK connections.

DT50 112 features a 12-inch custom Celestion G12H90 speaker; DT50 212 features 12-inch Celestion Vintage 30 and custom Celestion G12H90 speakers; DT50 412 cab is cross-loaded with two 12-inch custom Celestion G12H90s and two 12-inch Celestion Vintage 30s.

DT50 112 – $1849.99 (MSRP)
DT50 212 – $2149.99 (MSRP)
DT50 Head – $1649.99 (MSRP)
DT50 412 Cabinet – $1149.99 (MSRP)

For more information:
Line 6

This sounds like the perfect amp for someone who wants some versatility without needing multiple amps, but still wants relative simplicity from their setup.

Here is a video of the DT50 head courtesy of Premier Guitar.

I can’t wait to try this amp out.