ColonelForbin

Yeah, I feel positive about any and all gear that advances the world of music! I love my L6 gear, it's awesome, but that doesn't stop me from finding inspiration from Kemper, or any other thing. Keep the groove going, find the melody, and always remember that the one is where you think it is.

It's worth noting, that to achieve the dual amp stereo routing that the HD500 can do, you would need TWO Kempers... The Kemper for all it's wizardry, can only do one profile at a time...Plus I suppose you would need two of the new $600 Kemper remote foot controllers; which are on a waiting list to get one - though it cannot currently control things like FX parameters - delay rate, feedback, reverb decay, etc. Another feature we take for granted on the HD500. So, in addition to the $1,200 for two Kemper remotes, you'd need to also get a MIDI controller, and deal with programming it accordingly. For me, I have too much invested in my dual amp Line6 rig as it is, to worry about spending $5,000+ on a dual amp / dual Kemper rig.. I suppose, I could run my Line6 rig as is (JTV59, HD500x, two DT25's) and also send the JTV 1/4" out the Kemper, into my pair of L2t's. I currently run the XLR outs from the DT amps to a mixer, then to the L2t's, for home recording, when I want to jam at full volume, but still want isolated, dual amp model recording signals.. I like how the HD500 + DT25 creates something that goes beyond what either device can do by itself. The DT amps are both the solution for sound amplification, AND an integral part of the tone creation. The XLR signal coming from the DT's sounds stellar. Fewer options than programming the HD500 and every single 'studio/direct' detail - but the trade off is, amazing real tube tone, while still preserving the isolated XLR direct signal. To get that in stereo, you need two DT's; but that's still a lot less than two Kemper's. I also really like how the JTV integrates into the system; splitting the mags and models, for example, is my new thing. I love the sound of the variax mags through one amp model, into one DT, and the variax models into another amp model, and it's own DT. Balancing those sounds is killer, it just sounds stellar - both live from the amps, and through the XLR recording signal. A JTV is no slouch on price either - but, for the price of two Kemper's to get dual amp models, you could buy an HD500x, a JTV, two DT25's, and still have $500 left over. I imagine Kemper + Stagesource sounds pretty stellar though! :) Get a pair of L3t's dialed in... OR even the L2t's, those little guys are loud and punchy, with really tight low end. Annoying fan noise... but that doesn't really matter if everything is going direct.

Not sure if this info has been addressed yet; HD500x owner intending to buy the full set of model packs when they come along later this month, and I typically use my DT25's linked to the HD, so not a big deal but here's the question: Will people who buy the model packs be able to load the new HD preamps onto the DT amps? From what I recall, the added option to update the DT preamps with the full catalog of HD amp models came as a DT firmware update, so I would guess the answer is "maybe in the future".. Thanks!

You probably don't want to hear this, but Zzounds is showing April 17th for the Firehawk!... http://www.zzounds.com/item--LINFIREHAWKFX

I am guessing it's not registering the L2 speaker mode, because the DT is in there. Try going HD to L2, and leave the DT out, and see if it will save the speaker mode that way. I just stick with the two DT's for the HD output, and run the output of the DT's into the L2's

Nearly silent is how they should sound; just a little bit of something. Got my DT25's back from the shop, finally got to test drive them properly yesterday (after the visit to the chiropractor to fix my back from when I tweaked it loading the amps in the car to get new tubes...) Anyway, JTV59 - vdi - to HD500x, linked to the two DT25's. I split the mags and models into two amp models. Basic fx; compressor and drive. Sounds sweet. I like the subtle slight difference between the mags and the models when they are side by side like that. Each gets it's own amp, so it's pretty easy to balance the volume difference between the mags and the models. Also makes for cool electric + acoustic when I switch to acoustic models. Overall, liking what I am hearing. Played at reasonably decent volumes; was practicing for a recording session, had the mixes going from mixer to the L2t's, and I played along with the two DT25's. Another 'L2T' sidenote, those little speakers really can crank when set vertical and used like left/right mains. At least, for home use, they sound quite tight.. WIth the band, we typically use them as floor monitors, so the sound perception is quite different. I imagine they would make nice mid-field reference monitors for doing mixing and playback. Plenty of low end, for a single 10" speaker, they get quite loud. Anyway, back to the DT's, I will keep tabs on how these EH tubes do; treating yesterday as basically day one. Still need to get a replacement for that bad EH 12ax7, but as is, it's got a nearly new 'stock' chinese tube in one and the new EH 12ax7 in the other. Near as I can tell, noise floor is minimal. To be honest - and further discussion of it would land in another part of the forum - the L2t's I have next to the DT's make more 'noise'. The fan turning on and off in those L2's is quite a bit louder than any noise floor of the DT25's..Though, when playing, I don't notice any noise from any of it, so it's largely a matter of microphone bleed during quite passages, or in some specific recording context - and in the home rig, I just run the two XLR's from the DT's into the mixer, and don't bother mic'ing them.

Getting closer! We're past the "in like a Lion" of March, we've crossed the St Patrick's day mid-point, and we're now on to the part of March that goes "out like a lamb (at least here the weather is decidedly nicer - the snow finally all melted!) :) I suppose I am mostly excited about the HD500x firmware / model pack update; then next, still reasonably curious about the Variax standard. Intrigued by the new wireless system, but not in any hurry to go buy one; still sticking with the VDI cable for the time being.

Thanks for the response! That makes sense, seems fair enough. There are still a bunch of new HD models to look forward to and the new bass amps are going to be sweet!!

I am fine with the price; it is what it is, and I would buy the full bundle so I get the bass amps too. In particular, I am most interested to know if all the new additions will feature 'pre' only versions for use with the DT amps - or will that just be the full-HD models only.

Sweet! Many options.. You could set it up with the DT in the center, and route the "dry" amp model to the DT, and send the left and right stereo to the two L2's! I ended up getting a second DT25 combo for my rig, and lately have been building my patches to use dual amp models, panned hard left and right, with the JTV vdi split of the mags and models into the two amp models. Fewer overall unique effects; but makes for interesting overlap of tones. Especially, using a wah on one side, with no wah on the other. Or turning both wahs on at the same time, and setting them to one EXP pedal. I create two copies of the signal path, basically each gets a wah pedal, a compressor, and an overdrive or distortion type effect; which uses 6 of the 8 FX blocks. Then in the post-mixer section, I add the FX loop block to a stereo Zoom pedal. (props to Radatats for the DSP suggestion!) Since the Zoom has a stereo noise gate, it goes before any chorus / delay / reverb effects. Then sometimes I put a stereo or ping pong delay last in the chain; and that makes 8 FX. I set the wah's to turn on/off with FS 2 & 3, comps and drives FS 5-8. FX loop FS1 and ping-pong delay FS4. I also like setting them up in a wet/dry configuration, rather than stereo - dual mono basically. I can see how it would be pretty cool to have four of them! Two for the 'wet' stereo, and two for the 'dry' amp model sends.

Yes; that's another part of this thing that I messed up - I bought my JJ's tubes from the tubestore.com; who it turns out are in Canada, so the returns process is interesting to say the least! Anyhow, to get credit for returning the JJ's with no restock fee, I had to buy the EH tubes, which basically equaled out in total cost, with a few extra $$ wasted on the shipping.. Next time, at least now I know what to do.. :)

Maybe hold out for a sale on the JTV's, or a deal on the new Variax Standard?... Depending on finances, you can split it into 8 payments from some place like Zzounds (which is exactly how I bought my JTV59!); or in three payments from Sweetwater - bigger chunks, but Sweetwater offers a two-year warranty which is pretty cool.) You figure, the new Variax Standard will be $800; that's 8 payments of $100 from Zzounds, (or from Sweetwater, three payments of $267..) http://www.zzounds.com/item--LINVARIAXSTD?siid=174229 The thing to keep in mind, is the JTV and the new 'Standard' both have standard magnetic pickups; and as a result give you some killer additional options, when used with an HD500. And, that they function as a regular guitar beyond the Variax portion is of value as well. You run the VDI cable to the HD500, and you can split your magnetic pickups from the models / piezo, and route them through separate amp models, and/or in stereo. Ultimately, the JTV is probably a slightly nicer guitar build quality - compare the two point tremelo on the JTV69 vs the 6 screw trem on the Standard. But the price gap has become somewhat negligible; will be interesting to see if sellers do any kind of sales or deals on JTV's down the line, depending on how the new Standard sells.

Yes, it should be - dual mono just makes it easier to mess with in your software. When the HD500 is the ASIO soundcard, in Reaper when you arm the tracks, you should be able to choose either a stereo pair, or just mono left and/or mono right. The reason I say to do it that way, is maybe when you mix it, you want to pan them center, but possibly increase or decrease one signal volume, or maybe you want to only pan them partially, say 40% left / 40% right. Not sure what that does with phasing and such - let you ears decide if it makes it sound better or worse! In theory as long as the two signals are different in enough, IE, one is detuned or one is slightly delayed (both tricks that Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eddie Van Halen used)

Yes, should be pretty straight forward. Make a two amp model patch, make both amp models approximately the same, and pan them hard left and right in the mixer block. Put the pre amp model FX you intend to use on both before the amp models. Make sure if you use any FX after the amp models to put them before the mixer block. The mixer block needs to be the last thing (before the looper), thus preserving the left / right panning. You could try some basic tricks like, use a delay set to 100% mix on one of the amp models, after the model before the mixer, and set the time to the shortest possible amount. You can do a similar trick using a pitch shifter, by adjusting the pitch up or down a few cents. Anything to take the same basic sound and make it slightly different. Record the two outputs from the HD500 as dual mono, rather than as a stereo file. Others will likely have some other good ideas for what you can do to fatten up the sound. But that's the basic concept. I run dual amp models into dual amps, same basic concept. One note, you can place stereo effects after the mixer block If you place mono effects after the mixer block, it sums the stereo signal to mono, which defeats the purpose of panning hard left and right.

Yeah, the DT25 linked to an HD500 is a cool setup, I prefer it to going "full range" in studio/direct mode. I used an HD500 for a few years without the DT25; from 2010-2014, then early last year added the JTV59 and DT25 to my rig. Love it. Added a second DT25 earlier this year. Love them! How I see it, is the DT25 makes it simpler, not more complex. With the DT25 you are removing certain "tweaking" variables, that you would be adjusting if you were sticking with studio/direct. For home use, it's a bit of a toss up. I still prefer the DT25 at home vs running direct to the mixer or to headphones; but that kind of volume isn't always practical.. And no doubt, the DT25 is plenty loud. Reason I say it simplifies it is, the DT25 when linked to the HD500 sets the HD500 into combo/poweramp mode, which disables the microphone sims, and also deactivates a couple of other settings. Essentially, you will choose the amp model from the "PRE" versions - meaning preamp only. Then the DT25 will configure the power amp to match the settings / data sent over via the Link. I also like that if you have to adjust the tone or volume knobs on the DT, it adjusts those parameters on the HD500. Certainly easier to reach the top of the amp, vs down to the floorboard. In terms of "silent" practice, you can still use the DT25 - in low volume mode, with the amp set to standy, the XLR out from the DT25 is still active. Anyway, if you can get a good deal, take a closer look for sure! Be mindful of the footswitch condition on the HD500 if it's used. Mine are just starting to go out on me and act up some - over time they break and stop working properly. Hence the new FS design in the HD500x..

The looper playback is mono; that can also cause a change in your tone. As the others suggested, check to see if you are in PRE or POST mode- is the looper icon at the start of the signal chain?: or at the end? Also, the looper playback has it's own volume control, check to see that it's set to 100%, or all the way up.

Yeah, I would say it's safe to look at non-EH alternates to the 12AX7 slot in the DT25's - considering the "stock" tube that Line6 provides is a Chinese 12AX7B.

Yeah, I had a few minutes of "Oh, Lollipop, I have to take this thing BACK TO THE SHOP AGAIN?!?"!"... Tech said they jammed on them both and everything was working fine before I picked 'em up. I suppose the car ride home could have tweaked an already faulty tube; or maybe it wasn't seating properly, I dunno. Will have to compare them and see if there is any tonal difference between the DT25 with a 'stock' Chinese 12AX7 and the other DT25 with the new Russian EH 12AX7...

Got my DT25's back yesterday from the second visit to the shop - had them take out the JJ;s and put in EH tubes. Got them home, and one amp wouldn't make a sound!! The other was fine. Tried L6Link, and a 1/4" cord, etc. Ended up pulling out the new EH 12AX7 and putting the stock Chinese 12AX7 back in, and that fixed the problem!!

Any idea how it will factor into the Link outputs to DT amps?

100% agree. And so does my lower/middle back! I totally tweaked my back loading the DT25 into the car yesterday.. It's manageable in weight, but don't underestimate the density; that little thing is heavy! And +1 to it's plenty loud too :)

"The Wall of Sound was comprised of 586 JBL speakers and 54 Electrovoice tweeters powered by 48 MacIntosh 2300 Amps (48 X 600 = 28,800 Watts of continuous (RMS) power."

I'm tired of my morning commute driving in an automobile; I am going to have Scotty beam me up! Or, I am going to go to work as a 3D hologram. Comparing a car to a faster car isn't quite it; it's like comparing a car to a spaceship that can make a perfect cup of tea, you know, like Zaphod Beeblebrox with Ford Prefect in the Heart of Gold! That being said, I still can't get a Kemper to do what my Line6 gear can do, period, doesn't matter what it costs. A Kemper can't link to a DT amp and cause it to reconfigure it's power amp. A Kemper can't take a VDI connection from a Variax and split the magnetic and models into different signal paths. A Kemper is awesome, and does some amazing and cool things; however, same can be said of the HD500, DT25/50, JTV, etc. What's most important, above all else, is finding musical inspiration. Fingers, gear, tubes, tones, amps, pedals, strings, picks, mics, ears, blood, sweat and tears. You have to LOVE what you do, regardless of HOW you do it. If you are inspired, your music will be inspired. Find inspiration in any way you can, whenever you can.

When you used the HD500 in this manner, did you have it in studio/direct mode - or combo/poweramp? Big difference in sound... I have used it in a similar manner in the past; into the FX return on a solid state Fender. If you want to hear the full studio/direct tonal range, that's not the best way to go about doing it, but if you are trying to get to the sound of the amp in the room with you sound, then it works pretty well - but only in combo/poweramp mode - which disables the mic model and the room. For studio/direct, get a full range flat response speaker system, you need a tweeter to make it sound good. Now, how that relates to the other non-HD500(x) products - the FX100 does not appear to have those same output mode controls, but I don't know for sure what other options it has to allow for non mic model signals. As for the Firehawk, no manual, no clue what output mode options it will offer.