Rocktron Product Reviews – Velocity 250 from Sound Check Magazine
Rocktron
Velocity 250 Power Amp
PRODUCT REVIEW
from Germany’s Sound Check Magazine,
April 1997, by Many Bachinger
Translated by Rob Terstall
Rocktron’s Velocity-Series demonstrates in a strong
way, that there need not imperatively be tubes in a guitar power amp to do the job.
More and more we can watch these parts find their rackspace
even in the racks of the most inveterate tubehead, not in the last place due to their
“high speed current feedback” technology, rendering enormeous punch and
transparency through a wide frequency spectrum. The 250 version takes up two rackspaces
and delivers a powerful 125 watts per channel into 4 ohms – that’s equivalent to about 90
watts into 8 ohms, or 50 watts still, into 16 ohms, seeming to be more than plenty. The
Velocity 250 can be bridged by a switch on its front panel, to act in mono; in this mode
delivering 250 watts into 8 ohms, respectively 170 watts into 16 ohms.
Through dual parallel speaker output jacks, it is possible
to connect two cabinets per side, as long as the minimum impedance of 4 ohms is being
watched. As there is no ventilator for the necessary air circulation in the poweramp, the
Velocity has massive cooling fins on its sides, to provide abduction of the heat.
Furthermore, vent holes in the top lid provide air circulation.
Besides two volume controls, we find a reactance and a
definition control per channel. “Reactance” duplicates the sound that happens
with the interaction between the speakers and a tube amp.
In use, this boils down to more punch and dynamics in the
lower bass region, according to the settings of the reactance pots – similar to the
loudness button on a home stereo.
To cope with the guitarist’s problem of getting lost in the
bandmix, Rocktron developed the “Definition” control. This pot controls the
amount of upper mids and treble, giving the sound plenty of cutting edge. As it is often a
problem of overlapping frequencies, whether an instrument is heard or gets lost in the
mix, this control rids the problem without having to drive the amp to its limits.
With “Reactance” and “Definition”
turned down all the way, performance is pretty much linear. The best results soundwise
occur, when these controls are in the 12 o’clock position. With the controls all the way
up, the sound gets a bit exaggerated in the bass and upper mid regions to my ear.
The input sensitivity of the Velocity 250 has been chosen
to avoid problems when connecting multi effect units. The amp has a frequency range of 20
cy. to 20 kcy., thus being able to function as a PA or monitor amp if need be. A security
circuit interupts the amp, as soon as something is wrong (like a shorted speaker lead) and
avoids costly repairs.
In use, the Velocity 250 convinces with a neutral sound,
that can be tapered to one’s own personel preferences, or to the used cabinets, with the
reactance and definition controls.
The Velocity can be mighty loud if you let it, responses
very fast and does not produce pulpy basses. Thanks to the good heat absorbtion, there are
no ventilator sounds that can be annoying, especially in the studio.
ROUND UP
Rocktron’s Velocity 250 is a very good alternative to any
tube-poweramp. It sounds great and weighs far less than a tube bolide of the same power.
It’s sturdy case makes it ideal for the road.
Article Copyright © 1997 Sound Check
Magazine.
Article edited for the Web.