Darkglass Exponent 500 Bass Amplifier Head
Darkglass Electronics started with a craving for a clean head. A device that is “out of the box” is an amplifier without added effects. Uncomplicated, intuitive, and for everyone to be able to unveil the layer of sophistication that better serves their projects and skills. The Exponent 500 is a new concept that, once connected, turns into a multi-effect, with fully programmable and presettable signal chains with all the components a professional bassist requires.
FRONT PANEL FEATURES
Input
Use this jack to connect your instrument via a standard ¼” mono cable.
Quick-Pots
There are five Quick-Pots on Exponent⁵⁰⁰’s front panel (A, B, C, D and E).
By default, these pots are mapped to the Amp EQ’s four frequency bands and a preset-specific control.
In the Darkglass Suite, you can freely bind the Quick-Pots to your selection of any five controls from the effects in your signal chain.
Master
Use this knob to control the overall volume of the amplifier.
Preset
Pressing the preset button changes through presets 1 to 5 and a bypass signal. The current preset is shown with a single LED next to the preset number.
When Exponent⁵⁰⁰ is bypassed, all preset LEDs show a dim white color.
Long-press the preset button to start Bluetooth pairing. All preset LEDs will breathe white while pairing is active.
Mute
Pressing the mute button toggles mute on the physical outputs.
When Exponent⁵⁰⁰ is muted, all preset LEDs will illuminate with a dim red color.
BACK PANEL FEATURES
Speaker Output
Use this connector to connect the amplifier to your cabinet. The SpeakON Combo jack allows for SpeakON or ¼” speaker cable operation. The minimum load impedance is 4 Ω. Exponent⁵⁰⁰ can be operated without a cabinet.
WARNING: Do not use an instrument cable with this jack. Using an instrument cable can damage your amplifier.
Effects send
Use this output to send the signal to your outboard gear.
Effects return
Use this input for the signal from your outboard gear.
Headphone Output
The 1/4″ stereo headphone output handles headphones with an impedance of 16 – 600 Ω. Connect your headphones and control the output level with the master volume. The headphone output has an output impedance of <1 Ω and a maximum output level of 13.3 dBu (3.6 Vrms).
XLR direct output
Direct output signal unaffected by master volume. The maximum output level before clipping is 2.2 dBu (1 Vrms).
Ground Lift
Use this control to lift the ground of the XLR output. If you are experiencing ground noise in your DI signal, try changing this control.
MIDI In
Standard DIN connector. Use the 7-pin MIDI connector only with the Darkglass MIDI footswitch, and use a 5-pin connector with other MIDI equipment.
USB
The USB-C port unlocks Exponent⁵⁰⁰’s USB audio interface capabilities and allows for software updates via the Darkglass Suite. USB MIDI In/Out is also supported.
AC Socket
Connect mains power to the amplifier. There is a voltage selector for 100-120 / 200-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Fully digital audio processing
- Can be operated without a cabinet
- 500 watt amplification, voltage selector for 100-120 /200-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz
- ¼” instrument input
- Input impedance: 1 MΩ
- Maximum input level at minimum gain before clipping: 19.5 dBu (7.3 Vrms)
- Input gain potentiometer
- 40 dB of gain
- Six digitally read potentiometers
- Five Quick-Pots and the master volume
- USB-C
- MIDI in/out
- Audio interface
- 4 input channels and 4 output channels
- 48 kHz or 44.1 kHz sample rate
- Bluetooth (BLE and A2DP)
- MIDI input
- 7-pin DIN connector only with Darkglass MIDI footswitch
- 5-pin DIN connector with other MIDI equipment
- Effects loop
- Maximum send level before clipping: 12.8 dBu (3.4 Vrms)
- Maximum return level before clipping: 12.8 dBu (3.4 Vrms)
- Headphone output
- Maximum output level before clipping: 13.3 dBu (3.6 Vrms)
- Output impedance: <1 Ω
- Speaker output
- speakON / ¼” combo jack
- Minimum load impedance: 4 Ω
- XLR direct out, unaffected by master volume
- Maximum output level before clipping: 2.2 dBu (1 Vrms)
- Chromatic tuner, notes between A0 and A#5
- Fan cooling, 1600 to 3800 RPM
SIZE & WEIGHT
- Width: 21 cm / 8.3″
- Length: 17.5 cm/ 6.9″
- Height: 6 cm / 2.4″
- Weight: 1.65 kg / 3.64 lb
DARKGLASS SUITE
Exponent⁵⁰⁰ comes preloaded with five versatile factory presets. Using Exponent⁵⁰⁰ with the Darkglass Suite isn’t necessary, but we recommend it!
Darkglass Suite unlocks the full potential of Exponent⁵⁰⁰ by providing an interface to interact and modify the signal chain running on each preset.
Use the iOS or Android versions of the Darkglass Suite to create, edit, share, and apply presets. Please make sure your Darkglass Suite version is 4.3.0 or newer!
Bananas At Large Inc
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About Shipping and Delivery We utilize legitimate bonded and licensed shipping carriers only (UPS, Fed Ex, USPS etc). We are not the shipping company and therefore cannot be held responsible for faults that lay with the shipping company. By placing orders with us you agree to be present to receive packages sent to you. Bananas cannot be held responsible for lost packages once they are logged as delivered by the shipping company. Once a package is logged as delivered by the shipping company the customer is responsible for any issues related to the delivery of the package at that point. Packaging and Shipping Information Due to conditions beyond our control (weather, shipper's handling etc.) some boxes that products originally come in cannot be re-used to ship out to customers. In those rare cases we will remove and inspect all items and repackage them in acceptable boxing to make it safe to you. All items are still considered brand new, under full warranty and fall under our same guarantees. Note: Bananas recycles unused boxes when possible.
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