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line6 dt25 vs hughes and kettner switchblade 50 combo


hichembell
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Hello everyone, I am little bit confused and indecisive about the choices i have here.

Well i am a pod hd user and I like it. I play with an an instrumental band  variety of rock blues jazz and fusion. Its been a while since I bought a Laney IRT STUDIO. Well, while on its on, the laney is not as versatile as it seems , especially its high gain channel, I was able to tweak with time with the pod using the 4 cables method. I was very difficult, but at the end of the day i was able to fixe the tone suck problem and the ground noise problem as well. YET, i feel that 80 per cent of my sound comes from my hd rather than the laney. I mainly use clean and some times the crunch channel of the laney. most of my high gain stuffs comes from the pod pre amp models ( mainly the ENGL fireball model) 

 

Thus, i feel that I have invested in a piece of gear that I dont use that much and comes to my mind to change my tube amp for better sound opportunities. While the DT comes to my mind as a best friend to the HD, I have the opportunity to get a Hughes and Kettner switchblade 50 combo for a very good price ( 250 dollars). It is full tube amp four programable midi channels that can interacts with the pod via Midi...and i will still have the opportunity to use the hd models if I want.

 

I just want your opinions. How does the switchblade compete with the line 6 DT ?? I know that the DT offers the different feedback topologies and tube power amp changing stuff and all. yet, does it compete with a full analog tube circuit as far as responsiveness is concerned ?? 

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I am going on memory as I had a switchblade preamp many years ago. It was a programable analog tube pre sorta like an ADA on steroids. All I can say is H&K stuff does sound great. However, I think the DT amplifiers are quite unique on their own. I love them...The DT-50 stopped me from getting a Mark V....Basically, I can't justify the cost and I have played side by side with Mark IVs and Vs and the DT amps can hold their own with anything IMO....

 

I have the DT50 and the DT25...If you are coming from a 50 watt tube amp, I would suggest you stay in that power range....The DT25 is a great sounding amp, but can lack headroom for clean tones because it just doesn't have that much clean power...If you want dynamic like an AC30 or a Twin, the DT25 is going to struggle a little in louder situations...In live situations, I always take the DT50 over the DT25 because of the headroom...Tonally, they are pretty much the same...power amp vibe is little different. 

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So you think that DT can feels the same as a full tube analog amp (responsiveness)  ?? i'm not a purist ( I LOVE the hd 500) I Just want to do a good investment that I will not regret. I dont want to find my self deceived once again like my actual experience with the Laney IRT STUDIO. How do you compare it with the switchblade ?? im little bit lost ....I think that im little bit contaminated by the that kind of snobbish attitude that I dont like.....  in the sens its hard for me to believe that an amp can be that versatile and sound as incredible as many owners claim...to what extent does it approach the sound that it is pretending to emulate ?? I think it sounds good since the pod pre amp already sounds amazing .... yet, where is the compromise really ??

 

on the other hans : how would you describe  the clean channel of the switchblade ...is it as versatile compared to the pod for example ?? 

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It was too many years ago on the Switchblade. And it wasn't a switchblade....Sorry, it was an Access rig. That was around 1993-94 and Line 6 did not even exist yet....It was a very cool sounding preamp at the time. It was bascially the same thing as the ADA MP-1, only this one took two rack spaces and cost a good bit more as I remember. I have not heard the combo you speak of. All I can say is that I have used H&K in the past and it is great gear.

 

The DT has a tube power section. The preamp is digital. I have played the DT next to Marshalls, Boogies, Fenders and about anything else you can think of. It holds its own just fine. Like I said, saved me from getting a Mark V....Switching between class A and AB was my main interest there...

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How would you rate it ??

 

If marshall is 10/10 for example how would you rate the marshall sound in the DT ?? 

 

sorry if its kind weird questions ..I dont have the opportunity to try before to buy.

 

another question : does it take a lot of time to dial good tones ?? I'm a pod user and i have a love hate relationship with this piece of gear....some times it sound good some times bad some times i'm frustrated for not having direct results

 

level volumes on rehearsals is a big problem that i am not able to fix yet ?? is it a tweaking problem or does the pod does nt cut it in the mix in a band situation ?? 

 

do you thin the pod respects the attitude of individual guitar? with tone and volume tunings  ??

 

any other option as versatile but easier to use ?? 

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Well, the Park model is one of the best models in the HD collection IMHO...That model is a 10 and one of my favorite Marshall amps.

I was on track to get a Boogie Mark V and the DT50 kept me from doing that. What I really like about the DT amps is that they are fantastic by themselves without a POD. Sometimes, I just take by old Boss pedals and a DT or both of them....You can spin up tones on a DT as quick as you can on any conventional amp...The power amp modes might take you a few minutes to get under what they are doing. Easy to use as a standalone amp...

 

With a POD, things can get a little tweaky...It can take time to get what you want and it's not for everyone. I have really enjoyed by HD and my DT amps...

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I agree with Space. The DT amps are one of a kind and offer great tones once you get your head around what they are doing and how to manipulate them with or without the POD. It will be a sad day when they are discontinued. I am gently sniffing for a second DT25 head as a second while they are still around.

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hello guys wanted to share with you my experiece of last night : 

 

 what i can say is that, while the laney has this warmness of power tube, the pod pre amps are far more musical and sounds better than IRT pre amp. when I switched between IRT CLEAN PRE AMP and blackface pre amp in the pod via the use of 4 cables method I WAS WAAAAAAAAW WHAT THE HELL greaaat sound. 

 

Its hard for me to understand how digital piece of gear sounds better than a full tube amp...After this experience, I think the LINE6 DT 25 is the way to go...

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