Description

The Exponent 500 is a 500-watt amp head developed by Darkglass, allowing for the integration of digital effects and five presets that can be loaded via smartphone and controlled via MIDI.

At Darkglass, they have always wanted a clean amp head. A device that was "out of the box," an amplifier without added effects. Not complicated, intuitive, and allowing everyone to set the level of sophistication that best suits their projects and abilities. The Exponent 500 is a new concept that, once connected, transforms into a multi-effect unit, with fully programmable and pre-set signal chains including all the components a professional bassist needs.  

Darkglass Suite

Exponent⁵⁰⁰ comes preloaded with five versatile factory presets. Using Exponent⁵⁰⁰ with Darkglass Suite is not necessary, but highly recommended.
Darkglass Suite unlocks the full potential of Exponent⁵⁰⁰ by providing an interface to interact with 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. Make sure your Darkglass Suite version is 4.3.0 or newer!

Front Panel Features  

Input
Use this jack to connect your instrument via a standard ¼” mono cable.
 
Quick-pots
There are five Quick-Pots (A, B, C, D, and E) on the front panel of the Exponent⁵⁰⁰.
By default, these pots are mapped to the four frequency bands of the Amp EQ and a specific preset control.
In the Darkglass Suite, you can freely map the Quick-Pots to any five effect controls present in the signal chain.  
Master
Use this knob to control the overall volume of the amplifier.
 
Preset
Pressing the preset button cycles through presets 1 through 5 and bypass. The active preset is indicated by a single LED next to the preset number.
When Exponent⁵⁰⁰ is in bypass, all preset LEDs show a dim white color.
Long-press the preset button to initiate Bluetooth pairing. All preset LEDs turn white while pairing is active.  
Mute
Pressing the Mute button activates the physical output mute.
When Exponent⁵⁰⁰ is muted, all preset LEDs glow a soft red.

-    Integration of digital effects and five presets that can be loaded via smartphone and controlled via MIDI.
-    Darkglass Suite unlocks the full potential of Exponent⁵⁰⁰ by providing an interface to interact with and modify the signal chain running on each preset.
Power:    500 Watts
Minimum load:     4 Ohms
Width (cm):     21x17.5x6
Weight (kg):     1.65  

Rear Panel Features  

Speaker Outputs
Use this connector to connect the amplifier to your cabinet. The combo SpeakON jack allows operation with SpeakON or ¼” speaker cables. The minimum load impedance is 4 Ω. Exponent⁵⁰⁰ can be used without a cabinet.
WARNING: Do not use an instrument cable with this jack. Using an instrument cable may damage the amplifier.

Effects send
Use this output to send the signal to external equipment.

Effects Return
Use this input for the signal coming from external equipment.  
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. 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 experience ground hum in the 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 the USB audio interface capabilities of Exponent⁵⁰⁰ and allows you to update the software via the Darkglass Suite. USB MIDI input and output are also supported.