Rocktron Velocity 100 power amp

[jgcable]

I have one. Its the model that has the 2 volume controls in the front. One left and one right. I am using it with a Marshall JMP1 preamp and into a Marshall 1960A 4 x 12 cab in stereo mode.

Here is what I don't get.....
I love reading reviews online. Especially from good music forums. The overwhelming review of the Velocity 100 is its great for home use or small shows but for large shows its underpowered. Then... the threads start popping up about tube power amps and 300 watt power amps etc...
I have a Carvin DCM1000S which is 500 watts per side stereo. Yea... its powerful but its not 3 times louder than the Velocity 100. Not even close. I would say at full volume it might be 10% louder.
Anyway... let me get to my point..
I play in a VERY loud 80's metal band. We rehearse entirely too loud. When we play large shows everything is mic'd. Sometimes we do small shows and we only use the PA for vocals and keyboards.
What I find with my Velocity 100 1RMS Solid State power amp is it has plenty of power for any size show. With my band.. not mic'd, through my 4 x 12 cab I have the left and right volumes on 4 and the JMP1 master volume on 5. That's REALLY loud and perfect to keep up with my very loud metal band live. I think what many people experience is not that the Velocity 100 is underpowered but rather... they aren't using an efficient speaker system or preamp.

[markD]

Gain staging is also an issue for a lot of people. It took me a long time to get that I needed to adjust my preamp volumes appropriately and just use the power amp to boost that volume to where I needed it to be.

There is also the "SS wattage is weaker than tube wattage" concept. I find a TON of people will chime in and comment on (even review, sometimes) products they don't actually use or JUST got and haven't figured out how to use properly.

The ONLY guitar power amp I ever found WAY underpowered was the Marshall Valvestate 80/80.

[jgcable]

Gain staging is also an issue for a lot of people. It took me a long time to get that I needed to adjust my preamp volumes appropriately and just use the power amp to boost that volume to where I needed it to be.

There is also the "SS wattage is weaker than tube wattage" concept. I find a TON of people will chime in and comment on (even review, sometimes) products they don't actually use or JUST got and haven't figured out how to use properly.

The ONLY guitar power amp I ever found WAY underpowered was the Marshall Valvestate 80/80.

I have had a few power amps that were underpowered too but I am not 100% sure if it was the power amp or my set up. I agree... preamp volume is very important. Its just like stomp box volume or level. Just about any stomp box distortion or overdrive pedal needs to be at least 50% on the volume. Many players don't know how important the relationship is between power amp, preamp and stomp box levels (or volumes).

[catzodellamarina]

I had an ADA MicroFet 100. Sounded great at home. I used a Peavey Rockmaster with both pre's outputs maxed but gains were usually 1/2. It was drowned out when I played in a band. I was in one band were the other guitarist had a KMD head. I was MIA.

I currently have a MosValve 962 with the old Rockmaster as a backup live amp. Those are easy to use, inexpensive, rugged amps, but their wattage config is confusing. You cannot "bridge" with cables or a switch to get 160 w. You must run true stereo to utilize wattage of both channels. The RM is mono so I am running the 962 mono and you only get 80 watts out of it. Sounds a little weak when live.

[metalhobo]

I have one. Its the model that has the 2 volume controls in the front. One left and one right. I am using it with a Marshall JMP1 preamp and into a Marshall 1960A 4 x 12 cab in stereo mode.

Here is what I don't get.....
I love reading reviews online. Especially from good music forums. The overwhelming review of the Velocity 100 is its great for home use or small shows but for large shows its underpowered. Then... the threads start popping up about tube power amps and 300 watt power amps etc...
I have a Carvin DCM1000S which is 500 watts per side stereo. Yea... its powerful but its not 3 times louder than the Velocity 100. Not even close. I would say at full volume it might be 10% louder.
Anyway... let me get to my point..
I play in a VERY loud 80's metal band. We rehearse entirely too loud. When we play large shows everything is mic'd. Sometimes we do small shows and we only use the PA for vocals and keyboards.
What I find with my Velocity 100 1RMS Solid State power amp is it has plenty of power for any size show. With my band.. not mic'd, through my 4 x 12 cab I have the left and right volumes on 4 and the JMP1 master volume on 5. That's REALLY loud and perfect to keep up with my very loud metal band live. I think what many people experience is not that the Velocity 100 is underpowered but rather... they aren't using an efficient speaker system or preamp.

That's funny they would say that, because playing large shows is pretty much when you're guaranteed a mic on your cab that's going to the PA, so in that scenario your output power becomes completely irrelevant. The sound guy may even tell you to turn down so what's coming out of your speaker doesn't compete with the FOH mix.

And remember that twice the power doesn't mean twice as loud. Your ears don't work that way. Perceived volume is logarithmic (hence why we consider dB a useful measure). Every time you double the power the SPL only increases by 3 dB.

[metalhobo]

There is also the "SS wattage is weaker than tube wattage" concept. I find a TON of people will chime in and comment on (even review, sometimes) products they don't actually use or JUST got and haven't figured out how to use properly.

While that is often true in regards to how the power rating maps to SPL due to the fact that you can push a tube power stage well past the point of distortion and it will still get louder, people often forget that for a given speaker, the ratio of electrical power in / acoustical power out (i.e. the speaker efficiency) is constant, no matter what amp is behind it.

[jgcable]

I wonder why the Velocity power amps (designed for guitar use) sound so good for guitar? Whats the difference?

[Robotechnology]

Hello jgcable, how are things? I used a Velocity 120 for gigs with a 2x12 and a 2:90 for gigs with a 4x12. Did I have the indicated volume higher on the Rocktron than the Mesa? Yes but, it never went past 1 o'clock. I like you never found my 120 underpowered so much so that I bought a second as a backup. Cheers!

[jgcable]

Hello jgcable, how are things? I used a Velocity 120 for gigs with a 2x12 and a 2:90 for gigs with a 4x12. Did I have the indicated volume higher on the Rocktron than the Mesa? Yes but, it never went past 1 o'clock. I like you never found my 120 underpowered so much so that I bought a second as a backup. Cheers!

I have tested my Marshall 9200 which is the heaviest power amp in the world... against my Carvin DCM10001 which is a 1000 watt stereo power amp against my little single rack space Velocity 100. Unless my next gig is an outdoor arena where I am not mic'd.... the Velocity is fine. I leave the Velocity channels 3/4 up and with my Marshall JMP1 preamp on 3 its loud enough to compete with a heavy pounding metal drummer. At 5 I would be thrown out of the club and put in jail.

[Bert]

I used to use a velocity 150 (the old HEAVY mofos...) with a JMP-1 back in the 90s. Hella loud... great sounding rig. No problem peeling paint off the walls when I needed to.