# Rocktron Velocity 300 or Carvin Ts100??



## Ostia Man (Nov 28, 2010)

I need a "not very expensive/good sounding power amp", I already have a 2:90 but is heavy as hell.
So, which one is better? By better I mean louder, reliability an sound.


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## MaxOfMetal (Nov 28, 2010)

If you're looking for lighter, loud, and reliable you can't really beat the efficiency of a SS power section. I'd say the Velocity will fit the bill quite well.


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## xCaptainx (Nov 28, 2010)

I'm also keen to hear any opinions regarding the Carvin TS100. I just got a pod HD500 and it sounds great. My Kerry King JCM800 doesnt have an effects loop and I'm thinking of the Carvin poweramp + Pod HD500 combo


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## TomAwesome (Nov 28, 2010)

If you want a rugged and dependable backup, the Velocity should work nicely. It might not sound quite as good as the TS100 (or it might, depending on your own taste), but solid state has its advantages.




xCaptainx said:


> I'm also keen to hear any opinions regarding the Carvin TS100. I just got a pod HD500 and it sounds great. My Kerry King JCM800 doesnt have an effects loop and I'm thinking of the Carvin poweramp + Pod HD500 combo



I'd imagine that would sound pretty good. PODs work very well with tube power amps.


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## Inazone (Nov 28, 2010)

Someone on Harmony Central bought the Velocity to use in place of a tube amp, and ended up returning it because it just didn't come close. Granted, that's one person's opinion, but lots of solid state amps have been marketed as "just like tubes" and that's really a matter of perception. I bought a Peavey XXL after using a number of tube amps, and while it sounds great for metal, it's not the same thing. In other words, buy a Velocity if you want a solid state power amp that is built specifically for guitarists, rather than a general-purpose power amp. 

Meanwhile, I have the original Carvin T100, which the TS100 improved upon. They are somewhat more transparent than some tube power amps I've used, but still are distinctly tube. If the TS100 is the same as the T100, there will be both preamp and power tubes. I use the T100 for all of my recording, because it keeps the original preamp tone intact without coloring it.


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## Philligan (Nov 28, 2010)

Trent from After the Burial uses a Velocity 300 with his Axe Fx. He said he likes it because it's reliable and loud, but super transparent, so he doesn't have to do too much tweaking between his PA signal chain and his cab chain.

That being said, Justin uses a TS100 and says he loves it


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## xCaptainx (Nov 28, 2010)

ok so I'm going to sell my KK head and use the POD HD 500 + one of these poweramps. I'm leaning more towards the rocktron as it's single unit, SS and hell, After The Burial use it, haha. 

In theory I want to have a stereo line out setup going to my poweramp/cab and the XLR out going straight to P.A should we do show that have a grunty enough P.A. Our other guitarist uses an ENGL Fireball, Palmer DI loadbox and Mesa cab. He's using the Palmer to go D.I into p.a as well, effectively we would remove any requirement for our cabs to be mic'd, they will be for stage sound only. 

Gonna go see if I can get a flight case made that will house the Poweramp + have a removable floorboard/shelving unit I can use the HD 500 and G50 wireless. If that is tricky I'll just get a 2U flight case for rocktron (have one with a drawer for housing leads etc) and a Pedaltrain PT 2 for the Pod. 

Stoked that After the Burial are both using these poweramps, haha. They are both priced really, really well in NZ.


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## Ostia Man (Nov 28, 2010)

so, the velocity will be more reliable, and the ts100 will sound better?



xCaptainx said:


> ok so I'm going to sell my KK head and use the POD HD 500 + one of these poweramps. I'm leaning more towards the rocktron as it's single unit, SS and hell, After The Burial use it, haha.
> 
> In theory I want to have a stereo line out setup going to my poweramp/cab and the XLR out going straight to P.A should we do show that have a grunty enough P.A. Our other guitarist uses an ENGL Fireball, Palmer DI loadbox and Mesa cab. He's using the Palmer to go D.I into p.a as well, effectively we would remove any requirement for our cabs to be mic'd, they will be for stage sound only.
> 
> ...


dude, thats exactly what I wanna do 
I know you can send a signal w/cab sim(xlr) to the main board and another without cab sim to the amp. But I'm not sure if you can have dual amps for both signals... can it?


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## Inazone (Nov 29, 2010)

Ostia Man said:


> so, the velocity will be more reliable, and the ts100 will sound better?



I don't think anyone is saying that the Velocity is *more* reliable than the TS100. You won't have to concern yourself with tube replacement, though. The current Velocity 300 hasn't been out for very long, so I don't know that reliability has really been established yet. The old USA-built versions were great, but most of the newer Rocktron gear is Chinese. Just something to think about.

(Don't get me wrong, I love Rocktron gear, but I think of the Velocity 300 as "Version 1.0" and want to see what people are saying about it a year from now before buying one myself.)


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## TMM (Nov 29, 2010)

Having owned both, I'd say the TS100 sounds (a lot) better, but the Velocity isn't bad. Both will be reliable, but the TS will obviously be a little more fragile, and have an upkeep cost. I wouldn't base your decision on weight; the Velocity is plenty heavy, even being SS and 1U.


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## S-O (Nov 29, 2010)

I am curious how does the 2:90 sound? I am thinking of getting one, that or if a 2/50/2 pops up for a price i can manage.

The otehr alternative was a TS100 or Carvin DCM 1000.

Are you doing this for a pod or axe-fx or what?


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## Ostia Man (Nov 30, 2010)

^ my plans is to use this for cover gigs in small bars, with a pod hd.


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## ST3MOCON (Nov 30, 2010)

the rocktron would probably be great because its a single rack space and its going to be reliable. i plan on getting the rocktron 300 power amp for my pod x3 live too lol


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## Rick (Nov 30, 2010)

Philligan said:


> That being said, Justin uses a TS100 and says he loves it



Obviously, Justin doesn't know what he's talking about.


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## Leon (Nov 30, 2010)

TUBES.


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## xCaptainx (Nov 30, 2010)

Ostia Man said:


> ^ my plans is to use this for cover gigs in small bars, with a pod hd.


 
I'm doing the same ^_^ I'm selling my jcm800 and soldano cab (dont need to sell the cab but I want something with V30's if I ever use it) 

there is a new TS100 poweramp in NZ, and a second hand one for half the price. I'm going to get a second hand one, get a 2U Rack case for it and a Pedaltrain PT2 with flight case to hold the pod HD, G50 wireless and have space for another other pedals I might want to put on, or a second expression pedal.


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## xCaptainx (Nov 30, 2010)

the more I read up, the more I am inclined to go towards the Rocktron. I'm reading and hearing a lot of reliability issues with the Carvin, heck there is one on our local ebay like site that is being sold as faulty. 

There is a brand new Rocktron Velocity just around the corner from me. Once my head sells, I might pick it up over the carvin. 

That being said, if both guitarist from After The Burial use both, I cant really go wrong with either, haha. But yeah, I'm thinking the Velocity, especially as I want to DI and have a very transparent live stage sound.


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## xCaptainx (Dec 1, 2010)

ok this is going to be a stupid question, but the most stupid question is the one you don't ask, so here we go. 

What type of cable should I use to go from the preamp (HD500) to the poweramp? (standard guitar leads or speaker cables. I'm guessing standard guitar leads, I'll still use my speaker cables to go to the cabinet itself obviously. 

Also is there going to be an issue with using a 'long' guitar lead? in theory I want the HD500 on my pedalboard out the front of stage (makes sense, after all I still need to use the expression pedal on it!) so the lead will go back to my poweramp/cabinet setup behind me.


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## JPhoenix19 (Dec 1, 2010)

xCaptainx said:


> ok this is going to be a stupid question, but the most stupid question is the one you don't ask, so here we go.
> 
> What type of cable should I use to go from the preamp (HD500) to the poweramp? (standard guitar leads or speaker cables. I'm guessing standard guitar leads, I'll still use my speaker cables to go to the cabinet itself obviously.
> 
> Also is there going to be an issue with using a 'long' guitar lead? in theory I want the HD500 on my pedalboard out the front of stage (makes sense, after all I still need to use the expression pedal on it!) so the lead will go back to my poweramp/cabinet setup behind me.



you'll want to use a standard mono instrument cable. I forget the exact math, but if your cable is super-long you'll loose a bit of high end. I think you'll be fine with a 20-footer, though.


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## xCaptainx (Dec 1, 2010)

Thanks


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## Sang-Drax (Dec 2, 2010)

FWIW, my Pod X3L works 1,000% better when running through a tube poweramp section than through an ss one.


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## xCaptainx (Dec 3, 2010)

got the rocktron but having issues with it. In bridge/mono mode, channel one doesnt work at all. If I go stereo, I can hear everything out of channel two, but not channel 1. Very frustrating. I cant find anything on google so I might have to take it back. gah  which is a shame cause it sounds great, haha.


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## Ostia Man (Dec 3, 2010)

^
did you buy new or used?


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## HarryLikesProg (Dec 4, 2010)

xCaptainx said:


> got the rocktron but having issues with it. In bridge/mono mode, channel one doesnt work at all. If I go stereo, I can hear everything out of channel two, but not channel 1. Very frustrating. I cant find anything on google so I might have to take it back. gah  which is a shame cause it sounds great, haha.


 
 are you sure you hooked it up right? you might have mixed up one of the inputs/outputs. have a good read of the back panel i think.


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## HarryLikesProg (Dec 4, 2010)

i sold my carvin ts100 because it was heavy, bulky and fragile, which is not great when you are gigging a lot. i was using it with a mesa boogie studio preamp, and it sounded organic, punchy and mid rangey, but alas, it was just too impractical. it also draws a lot of power from the wall but i guess it is a tube poweramp. i needed something that wasnt gonna make me paranoid all the time.

i then bought a rocktron velocity 300 1unit and i absolutely love it. 
- its neat
- its lighter
- only 1 unit 
- requires less juice to run from the wall
- voltage selector so you can buy internationally
- smaller in terms of depth
- extremely reliable 
- definition and reactance controls really compliment the preamp 
- definition is pretty much presence and reactance adds more depth and body
- has tighter bass, balanced mids and smooth highs 
- very quiet, no more feedback at high volumes.

overall i believe the rocktron is a much more versatile unit that sounds better than the carvin. in terms of practicality, rocktron has achieved their goal and destroys all else on the market. as far as sound goes, they have really altered my opinion of what i believe solid state power can do. it sounds natural, powerful and pure. having owned both, my opinion is to buy the rocktron. however both are fantastic for the price.


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## xCaptainx (Dec 4, 2010)

HarryLikesProg said:


> are you sure you hooked it up right? you might have mixed up one of the inputs/outputs. have a good read of the back panel i think.



Spent the last few hours with it and three
Different cabs. Nothing at all through channel one. I did buy it new so im going back to the shop in the morning to see if i can get any help, or repair/replacement


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## Ostia Man (Dec 8, 2010)

If its new you sould get it replace not repaired
I was also leaning towards the rocktron but now with you experience I'm not shure.


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## xCaptainx (Dec 8, 2010)

don't let this put you off, the distro has been amazing and are getting it sorted asap. I found a previous thread where someone had a similar experience, it sounds like it's a faulty output transistor, it seems pretty easy. I should have it back in a few days, it's no big dramas and is all under warrantee. I've only found ONE random ss.org thread about a Rocktron V300 fault. The same cant be said for Carvin. 

Says nothing about the build quality, all the other reviews I've seen of the carvin mention shoddy qualitiy, shoddy build etc. 

I shall have it back and fully operational very soon ^_^ it sounded HUGE through channel two btw, haha.


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## Ostia Man (Dec 8, 2010)

cool, back to the velocity mind set haha
or ts100 if found really cheap.


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## xCaptainx (Dec 8, 2010)

sweet  just do what I did and try and google Rocktron Velocity 300 faults. I found nothing. Then do the same for Carvin TS100 haha.


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## capoeiraesp (Dec 20, 2010)

How have your experiences been with the pod and rocktron?


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## xCaptainx (Dec 20, 2010)

I'll post the PM I sent you  
I've been using the HD500 and the rocktron at band practise over the last 2 weeks and I love it! I used to have a Vetta (our other guitarist in one band has a vetta, my other bands guitarist has a engl fireball) 

the HD/rocktron combo stacks up really well and holds it own against both! The fireball pre, with cabinet off, and the HD set to 'stack power amp' mode is awesome. My tone sounds A LOT better than the vetta (I tweaked bulbs periphery pod XT patch to work through the vetta) 

funnily enough we're actually tracking with it right now! We're doing an 8 track album and using the HD500/rocktron setup + doing as DI for reamping later. We're all very stoked with the HD500/rocktron tone we are getting so we're going to reamp with that once the tracks are complete. I'll post some audio examples once it's all done! might not be for a few months however. 

I cant recommend it enough man, I love the fact that I only have one lead running from my floorboard to my poweramp, plus it's 1U, I have a 1U flight case and it's very tidy and not heavy at all.


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## Ostia Man (Dec 20, 2010)

^ is it loud as an 100 Watt tube amp? or somewhere near.
I have a deal pending on a carvin ts100, but if it doesnt run I'll get the velocity.


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## xCaptainx (Dec 20, 2010)

it sounds louder than my previous vetta. I'm putting it up against an engl fireball this thursday


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## Ostia Man (Dec 20, 2010)

let us know please.


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## capoeiraesp (Dec 20, 2010)

Thanks for your info captain!
I'm pretty impressed with the pod hd thus far.


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