Trace Elliot Velocette Twin

Stereo Output - 2 EL84s (15 watts) per Channel, 2 Celestion Vintage 10s (1 Speaker per Channel), Stereo Reverb, Series or Parallel Effects Loop, Volume (pull for gain boost) Tone and Reverb Controls, Footswitchable Gain Reverb and Effects Loop. The reverb and effects loop are solid state, the dry guitar signal is all tube.
This amp is everthing I need and nothing I don't. It's got the makings of an AC-30, but the tone is much fuller at low volumes than most AC-30s that I've heard. The stereo reverb is awesome. The gain boost adds another stage of gain to your signal. They could have given you drive and level pots, but I think the went for simplicity and used fixed resistors to set the drive and level controls. Unfortunately, you need to have the amp set at one particular volume for this to really work out for you. I.E. If you're playing at low volumes, the gain boost is really just a volume boost. I haven't used the effects loop since my sound is pretty dry except for reverb. This amp is pretty much a one trick pony, but I like it that way.

The Velocette works great with everything I've plugged into it (SG, Tele, LP Special w/P90s). I'm really impressed with the richness of the sound at low volumes. Also, the volume pot is not too sensitive in it's lower settings. I.E. The amp doesn't reach is max output when the volume is set to three. When you turn it up, it's got that classic EL84 overdrive, and I love the Celestion Vintage 10 speakers! The reverb is very assertive. The gain boost adds a smooth rich tone. Almost Santana like.

This worries me a little. I've heard that Velocette output transformers are known to fry. The construction does not impress me either. The chassis is only 2-sided. The first time I pulled it out, I didn't realize that the chassis was not folded over on the far end. Imagine my reaction when I realized I was dragging the chassis out as the filter caps were bottoming out against the cab. Pretty lame. There's a few cut traces on the PCB. Another thing -- they fused the heater winding with fast blow fuses. I had to replace them with slow blows. I thought that you weren't supposed to fuse the heaters since you risk applying the B+ to cold tubes. If the heater voltage shorts out, let it take out the main AC fuse. Again, pretty lame. On the plus side, the cabinet seems to be built really well. The knobs are and the handles are nice, too. Oh yeah, the knobs protrude out beyond the cabinet. Very lame. It's too early to tell how reliable the sound will be and how durable the amp will be over the years.

So-so. I've emailed them a couple times, and they responded quickly, but they don't always follow up to the point where the issue is taken care of. I'm sure if I nagged them some more I'd get better results.

Overall, I totally dig this amp. I looks cool, it sounds great. I would definitely buy one again for the same price. Gibson has taken over the Velocette product line and the prices have skyrocketed. For $600, I don't expect it to be handbuilt and indestructible. I highly recommend snatching up the Trace Elliots if you can.