Chris Hurley
Power User
My velocity 300 arrived today and I've had a chance to spend about an hour with it and the Axe-II. I bought the '300 because I wanted a rackmount poweramp to drive guitar cabinets and I have 1U to put it in. I've been using a Sure Electronics 100Wx2 power amp board which when mounted in a small chassis and combined with a 150W laptop power supply weighs basically nothing. I've also got a pair of EH 22 Calibers that I sometimes use and I have previously used an SLA-2 and a Carvin DCM200L.
The selling points of the Velocity 300 are:
* 1u
* Useful Resonance and Presence controls (called Reactance and Definition)
* Relative low cost
* Relative weight
After about an hour, I find that the Velocity works very well with guitar cabinets. The tone controls are very, very handy for guitar applications because it allows you to easily adjust and add some depth or clarity to your tone depending on your situation. Playing hard rock, I love the sound of that reactance control but I would imagine that when playing with a band I could dial it back since the bass guitar lives there anyway and I might as well let the amp run cooler from not having to deal with the extra power requirements of the low end.
How does it compare?
Much more enjoyable than I remember the SLA being from the start. The SLA can be tamed with EQ but the binding post outputs stink for guitar cabinets. This amp is heavy like I remember the SLA being but it is managable.
I don't still have the Carvin, but I'm virtually positive that if I put it head-to-head with the Velocity that I'd find the velocity to be more useful and enjoyable from the extra power and tone controls. The big advantages of the carvin are extreme lightweight and cost.
Compared to the Class-D amps that I have, the Velocity mostly offers the convenience of the tone controls and extra power. The EH power amps have a bright switch that can give just the right amount of extra clarity for certain situations but its on or off. There's no option for the low end other than to menu dive. Within its power limits, the EH amps sound every bit as good as the velocity. The Sure Electronics board is similarly loud in practice and sounds roughly equivalent but it has no tone or volume options at all unless you count tiny switches on the board.
For guitarists that are using guitar cabs, I think the Velocity is worth your time. I can't speak to its reliability yet because I've just got it and I don't know if I'll keep it. For someone playing guitar cabs at home at less than bone-crunching volumes, I continue to recommend the EH poweramps, especially if you can find them for less than normal price.
Another item came in the mail today too- Vox Tonelab ST. FAIL.
The selling points of the Velocity 300 are:
* 1u
* Useful Resonance and Presence controls (called Reactance and Definition)
* Relative low cost
* Relative weight
After about an hour, I find that the Velocity works very well with guitar cabinets. The tone controls are very, very handy for guitar applications because it allows you to easily adjust and add some depth or clarity to your tone depending on your situation. Playing hard rock, I love the sound of that reactance control but I would imagine that when playing with a band I could dial it back since the bass guitar lives there anyway and I might as well let the amp run cooler from not having to deal with the extra power requirements of the low end.
How does it compare?
Much more enjoyable than I remember the SLA being from the start. The SLA can be tamed with EQ but the binding post outputs stink for guitar cabinets. This amp is heavy like I remember the SLA being but it is managable.
I don't still have the Carvin, but I'm virtually positive that if I put it head-to-head with the Velocity that I'd find the velocity to be more useful and enjoyable from the extra power and tone controls. The big advantages of the carvin are extreme lightweight and cost.
Compared to the Class-D amps that I have, the Velocity mostly offers the convenience of the tone controls and extra power. The EH power amps have a bright switch that can give just the right amount of extra clarity for certain situations but its on or off. There's no option for the low end other than to menu dive. Within its power limits, the EH amps sound every bit as good as the velocity. The Sure Electronics board is similarly loud in practice and sounds roughly equivalent but it has no tone or volume options at all unless you count tiny switches on the board.
For guitarists that are using guitar cabs, I think the Velocity is worth your time. I can't speak to its reliability yet because I've just got it and I don't know if I'll keep it. For someone playing guitar cabs at home at less than bone-crunching volumes, I continue to recommend the EH poweramps, especially if you can find them for less than normal price.
Another item came in the mail today too- Vox Tonelab ST. FAIL.