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Is the L2M a good replacement for mu DT25?


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Using the DT25 with my POD HD500X and I'm satisfied. Play mostly rock in a band and in what I'm hearing it is all OK.

I use the JTV59 and sometimes I want to use the acoustic part of that guitar. Over the DT25 is a definitely nogo.

Want to trade the DT25 in for a FRFR setup. Playing over a PA is not an option.

 

If I want to use a L2M instead of my DT25 I presume that the acoustic part will be OK. But what about my rocktones? I know it will be a step back because of the tube amp feel and so. But how big is that step?

 

Thank you for any reply

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I am using a Roland product as my guitar processor but I can say that I am extremely happy with the sound through my L3t's.  I owned some L2t's before for monitors but sold them when I went with IEMs for monitors.  The L2's were just as good as the L3's for guitar.  It's great for going from acoustic to electric sounds without missing a beat.  If it was me I wouldn't hesitate, but to each his own.  It would be great to try them side by side to see if you really can hear that much of a difference.

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I use a DT50 in one band and my L2's in another.  It just depends.  It's certainly not a transparent replacement.  I use totally different patches when going FRFR or direct to the board.

 

If I had my druthers, an L3 sounds a bit better than an L2, but that's more power than you'd ever need.  I've tried QSCK12's and for heavier guitar stuff, they're pretty darn good too.

 

I play my piezo equipped guitars through my DT50 as an acoustic.  It's not perfect but in a bar situation, it gets the job done.  I resisted doing it for a long time but finally tweaked up a decent patch.

 

Steve Morse uses the clean channel of his Engl amps for his acoustic guitars.   So I figured I'd give it a try.

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If you can swing it hock what you got and get a Helix an L2 (2 if you can afford it, the stereo FX sound Killer) ... I never liked the HDs' never tried the DT's I have a Eleven Rack an EPSI and the Dream stage setup (mostly used the 11r through XLR's into the M20D and plan on using the Helix the same way) and that's the bomb... just got a Helix last week and since then it's been hooked up to 2 of my L2M's with the L6 link and It totally rocks and I found a Taylor acoustic IR and with the neck pickup on my electric it totally sounds like an acoustic!

The Helix smokes my Eleven Rack too...

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It's a tough call; the DT25 is always going to be a versatile rockin' tube amp. And yeah, you have to do some hoop jumping to get the JTV to sound decent in the DT25. I love my L2t speakers - for me, at this point, the main part I am looking to upgrade is the HD500, that's where I have reached my limit. I want to get a Helix, just need to sell some gear and save some coin!

 

All that being said, what you can do, right now,, is use DTEDit to set up one set of channels on your DT amp in 'standalone' mode to be JTV acoustic friendly:

http://line6.com/support/topic/124-user-created-dt-editors/

Use the MIDI DTEdit, and make something like IV-A and IV-B have 'no amp model', and no cab model. First set them to something like the fliptop (for both), so it queues up decent power amp topology, then choose 'no amp' or whatever the option is.

Ok, then make a blank patch on the HD500, and don't assign any amp model. Just do nothing to start with, no amp model, no FX. Link to the DT25, connect your JTV. At this point you might need to increase the volume in the mixer block of the preset, and you will notice the DT master volume works, but the channel and tone stack and eq knobs should do nothing, but you should be hearing sound.

For me, it sounded about 1,000% better. Since the JTV acoustic models are intended to sound like mic'd up acoustics, they never played nice with being sent through a guitar amp preamp process.

You can get some nice effects from using boost compressors and such, and the EQ effects are useful. The key is setting the DT to which ever channel that you set up for 'no amp' model, when you connect this patch to the amp with link. It in essence, allows you to bypass the digital preamp portion, and tap directly in to the Bogner power amp section. You will find that different topologies and class a, a/b, pentode, triode, etc all have some bearing on the tone, regardless of the preamp normally paired with it.

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I think the DT adds just enough real tube to get you by but when you don't have them, the stage source or Bose just doesn't thump or cut. It is loud enough but loud like a Vetta not loud like a Marshall or Mesa. I honestly feel like you either want to have tubes or sound like your trying to make a tube sound.

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There is no reason to need an amp louder than a DT50.  If you need an amp louder than that you have a problem.

 

I done soundguy stuff for a band that used a DT25 and it's plenty loud for stage volume and sounds great through the PA.

 

If you're not going to run your amp through the PA, the 25 may be a little light depending on the room you're trying to fill and how loud the rest of your band is.  If your amps are mic'ed, who cares.  It's plenty loud enough to monitor and FOH is the sound guy's problem.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The difference is that the L2t includes a 2-channel mixer. Since you wouldn't need to use the mixer with the HD500 or Helix, both would work exactly the same.

 

However, the mixer is great value for the extra $$, and increases the flexibility of the speaker. I recommend the L2t over the L2m for that reason even if you have no immediate need for it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

took the plunge and bought a L2M today. Together with a good 110 ohm XLR cable.

Connected the Helix via the Line 6 link and am very dissapointed. 

I must be doing something wrong.

The digital clipping is back on the mandarin and brittish amps. All the others are sounding harsh and far away from all the sounds I am hearing from other Helix users. Bought the Glenn delaunne patches and only the 5150 patch is comming a bit nearer but is still souding like a cheap transistor amp

My POD 500x and the DT25 amp sounding much better. This combination helix/l2m should at a minimum sound the same

So, what am I doing wrong?

(FW loaded again, stock patches via the headphone OK, NOK with the lm2)

Someone having an idea? I am running out....

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just got a Helix last week and since then it's been hooked up to 2 of my L2M's with the L6 link and It totally rocks

 

What kind of L6Link routing options does the Helix have at the moment? I was hoping it would have, or eventually be capable of something comparable to the M20d

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took the plunge and bought a L2M today. Together with a good 110 ohm XLR cable.

Connected the Helix via the Line 6 link and am very dissapointed. 

I must be doing something wrong.

The digital clipping is back on the mandarin and brittish amps. All the others are sounding harsh and far away from all the sounds I am hearing from other Helix users. Bought the Glenn delaunne patches and only the 5150 patch is comming a bit nearer but is still souding like a cheap transistor amp

My POD 500x and the DT25 amp sounding much better. This combination helix/l2m should at a minimum sound the same

So, what am I doing wrong?

(FW loaded again, stock patches via the headphone OK, NOK with the lm2)

Someone having an idea? I am running out....

did you set it to Pa / Reference? 

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What kind of L6Link routing options does the Helix have at the moment? I was hoping it would have, or eventually be capable of something comparable to the M20d

I saw where you started a topic on this but I haven't looked to see if there was any option for that... for that mater I am not sure what you are talking about on the M20D

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I saw where you started a topic on this but I haven't looked to see if there was any option for that... for that mater I am not sure what you are talking about on the M20D

The M20d can transmit six mono signals through L6link to six different stagesource speakers. 1.)Main left, 2.)Main right, 3.,4.,5.,6.)Monitors 1-4.

 

If you sent six analog signals from Helix to M20d, you would be able to route those different signals to different speakers in the l6link chain.

 

M20d + Helix l6link example:

 

Send six different analog outputs from Helix to six input channels on M20d. Looper only, wet left, wet right, dry amp 1, dry amp2.. On the m20d, pan one signal left, the other right, bring those two up in the m20d main mix. The other four, leave down in m20d main mix, but assign one each to the four monitor sends.

 

Manually configure the m20d to send each signal to it's own speaker. Taking that futhur, manually set each speaker to the mode you want. You could send Helix preamp only to a speaker set to electric guitar mode, for example.

 

My guess to my question is "maybe", with possible future firmware update. L6link clearly already has the ability, as do the stagesource speakers.

 

Whether they can code Helix to be able, remains to be seen. HD500 focused it's link options more on the DT integration, but I could see Helix making better use of the multiple speaker l6link ability, since it's routing options are so much more robust than the HD..

 

Glad I didn't sell my M20d, and psyched for my Helix to get here in the next month or two so I can try some of these ideas myself :)

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took the plunge and bought a L2M today. Together with a good 110 ohm XLR cable.

Connected the Helix via the Line 6 link and am very dissapointed. 

I must be doing something wrong.

The digital clipping is back on the mandarin and brittish amps. All the others are sounding harsh and far away from all the sounds I am hearing from other Helix users. Bought the Glenn delaunne patches and only the 5150 patch is comming a bit nearer but is still souding like a cheap transistor amp

My POD 500x and the DT25 amp sounding much better. This combination helix/l2m should at a minimum sound the same

So, what am I doing wrong?

(FW loaded again, stock patches via the headphone OK, NOK with the lm2)

Someone having an idea? I am running out....

Not sure what you're doing wrong.  I can only say that I've tried the exact stuff that you've tried.

 

Like the PODHD through my DT50.  Through the L2's it's OK.  Through L3's it's better.

 

The Helix through L2/L3 sounds and feels awesome.  All I do is make sure that the speakers are set to PA/Reference.

 

Make sure your speakers are set in the 50% detent.  Start with Helix volume at zero and then bring it up.

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  • 3 weeks later...

someone else told me in another forum to cut down the high freq to 3 KHz in the global EQ.

So global EQ on and adjust that parameter to 3 Khz and.........wow....sound improved a lot!!!!

Through headphones the rock tones don't sound fizzy and digital but more as....rock tones.

Here is a happy person

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With the POD through L2's I really noticed the amp resonance function.  For most hi gain amps I would start with the resonance at zero and then bring it up...usually VERY little and with many patches I just left it at zero.

 

That seems to clean up the 3-4k range messiness that bothered me with the L2/POD combo.

 

Or you can just work the EQ.

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