Line 6 DT50 212 Combo Top of The Class
Class A and Class A/B? A simple explanation. The Line 6 DT50 can operate in Class A and Class A/B modes, but what is the difference?
Class A/B amps alternate or ‘juggle’ their output between the output tubes like a pair of pistons in an engine: when one tube is firing, its neighbour is ‘off’. The symmetrical waveform produced by Class A/B doesn’t produce the same naturally pleasing harmonic distortion as Class A but it nevertheless does generally sound and feel more powerful, with more clean headroom.
Compare the bright clear sound of a Class A/B amp like a Fender Twin Reverb compared to, say, the darker tone of a Vox AC30, which is still many guitarists idea of the ultimate Class A amp.
The inefficiency of Class A amps is part of their magic. Class A amps operate with their tubes constantly flat out, which is far less efficient from a pure physics perspective but to our ears it sounds really cool. Class A amps generally produce less power than their Class A/B counterparts and are easier to overdrive, which generates unique musical- sounding odd order harmonics and a broad dynamic range that is so highly prized. The Line 6 DT50’s tube output stage switches between both classes, which are an important factor in choosing your target tones.
settings a piece of cake. There is no fear of forgetting your setting either, the controls are WYSIWYG (literally What-You-See-Is-What- You-Get), which means that all of the user’s settings remain in place until the knobs are moved, and only when the amp is switched on. In some ways this could be said to offer an advantage compared to some conventional amplifier because your tone isn’t compromised if the controls get moved or shifted by accident during transportation.
Sounds
Our 212 test combo came fitted with a pair of 12-inch Celestion speakers; one Vintage 30 and one Celestion
watts, which is useful for low key rehearsals or even small gigs because half power mode reduces the overall headroom without totally knocking the guts out of your tone. Experimenting with the Pentode/ Triode switch demonstrates that the differences between both modes is fairly subtle but when your ears adjust to the difference it seems that switching to Triode mode definitely seems to reduce a lot of the top end shimmer along with a noticeable drop in headroom. We’d suggest that if your tastes run toward a grittier tone with less emphasis on highs and a tone that begins to break up fairly early then Triode mode might be an interesting
The DT50 lets you create your own dream amp…
G12H90 speaker which is specially tailored to match the DT-50s broad tonal palette.
amp voicing is controlled by the speakers’ damping factor, which dictates the amount of low end. The player doesn’t need to worry about adjusting the damping factor – which is automatically reset each time that the player selects a new amp voice. Our ears perceive the difference because a highly damped speaker will produce tightly focused bass frequencies whilst a speaker with a low damping factor will ‘flap’ around more inside the cabinet, delivering more apparent low-end.
Line 6 and Reinhold Bogner have harnessed this natural aspect of amplifier physics and adapted it to set each separate voices individual ‘accent’. It works very convincingly and, just as importantly, quickly; making it easy to establish the type of target amp you want before moving on to fine tune your tone using the amp’s extra features. The DT50’s analogue section comprises of a preamp with 2 x 12AX7s and a 50 watt tube-driven output stage with a standard pair of EL34 output tubes that switches between Class A or Class A/B operation (see our Top of the Class box out that explains the difference) as well as offering a choice of full power pentode or half power triode modes. The digital aspect sees the HD modelling automatically reconfigure the preamp and tone stack to match the selected
target amplifier but the analogue circuitry also cleverly adjusts itself to reflect the right kind of setup for the chosen amp type. Straight off the bat the DT50 seems to sound and feel more immediately convincing than a typical 100% digital modelling setup, Line 6 typically high standards notwithstanding.
Channel hopping The DT50s two channel format feels very easy to use. Rather than being divided into ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ channels in the manner of a conventional guitar amplifier, the preamp’s digital modelling section lets the user decide what type of setup they want by assigning any one of the four amp voices to either channel. To test how user-friendly the DT50 is we left the manual unopened in its little polythene wallet and simply used the four-way toggle on the front of the amp to choose a voice for each channel, assigning it to channel with the ‘A & B’ channel select switch in the amp’s Master control section. Simple-as-pie! The DT50 is no more difficult to set up than any conventional amplifier and one might even say that it definitely feels more versatile. Both channels have an identical control array, with nice big chunky knobs and a very posh looking backlit control panel that makes onstage monitoring of
This type of attention to detail also plays a major role in the DT50’s impressive projection and clarity, the twin Celestion drivers contribute their silkiness and warmth that seems to fill a room with apparently little effort and the amp’s volume leaves no doubt that it is a very effective tool for a gigging musician. We also like the fact that of Line 6 HD technology seems to blend so seamlessly with Reinhold Bogner’s high quality analogue circuit, there really isn’t much tangible sense that you are playing through a modelling amplifier but this might also be down to the fact that there are no presets, effects or any discernable traces of the usual techno-paraphernalia that we have come to associate with the whole digital modelling issue. There is a low powered mode that reduces the amp’s output by around 50% to 25
option. However, for more general purposes the more powerful Pentode mode definitely has the edge over its more specialized opposite number. The four voices offer a very usable choice of starting points that makes perfect sense to most guitarists looking for a solid platform to establish their own sounds. The Fender-based American Clean voice sounds very powerful and is noticeably different to its brasher sounding British counterpart, as you’d expect it’s a bit like having two different amps sat behind you but when everything is dialled in properly the results sound more luxurious than awkward. The high gain voice delivers the typically fierce ‘tread plate’ style modern distortion that Line 6 has always emulated so well and when backed off a tad it also makes a perfectly serviceable overdrive channel and a decent foil to any of the three more vintage- flavoured voices. PM
SHOULD I BUY ONE?
The DT50 amp is an impressive demonstration that Line 6 HD digital technology and a well designed old school tube amp circuit can work together. It feels very intuitive to use and even if you are not a fan of the whole modelling issue per se but still appreciate a well made amplifier then the DT50 might come as a pleasant surprise. Bear in mind that the price reflects this amp’s build quality and if you aspire to a boutique style amp with a twist then there isn’t much to compete. Besides nailing certain important classic guitar amplifier’s unique characters to a ‘T’, the DT50s versatility also means that it could also represent many guitarists idea of the illusive all-singing- all-dancing amp of their dreams.
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