As guitarist and a vocalist, I do lots of different types of gigs: at times I’m playing electric guitar and singing in a rock, jazz, or country band, entertaining a large crowd. At other times I’m playing solo acoustic guitar in a restaurant, or doing the singer/songwriter thing at a local coffee house, often working with one or two other musicians. When working with a band, I usually just bring my guitar gear, and rely on the large-scale main PA for sound reinforcement. However, the smaller gigs often require me to bring a small PA along with my guitar stuff. Most of the time, the rooms and stages are small, and bringing all this gear is overkill. And with fewer bodies to help move the gear, setting up and tearing down is not much fun. Roland has addressed this dilemma with a cool, versatile product called the SA-300 Stage Amplifier. I recently got the opportunity to try out the SA-300 on a couple of small gigs, and I was more than a little impressed.

The Lowdown

The SA-300 is a 350-watt, four-channel amplification system that functions as a portable PA and/or stage amplifier for vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboard, V-Accordion, or any other instrument that requires full-range amplification. It’s actually two separate components: an upper unit houses all the amplification/mixing functions and provides stereo sound via two 6.5-inch coaxial speakers, while a bottom subwoofer unit houses a 12-inch speaker. The units can be stacked, or the upper unit can be mounted on a standard speaker stand if desired.

Hauling around heavy gear is the bane of the working musician, and Roland’s engineers have addressed this issue in spades with the SA-300. Using newly developed amplifier technology and speakers with lightweight neodymium magnets, the weight is drastically reduced over previous designs, to the tune of 26 pounds for the upper unit and an amazing 24 pounds for the subwoofer! And for those gigs where you need an ultra portable amp—and don’t need the low frequency sound reinforcement—the upper unit can even be used by itself. My back is thanking Roland already…

When used as a PA system, the SA-300 is unique in that it’s designed to be placed behind the performer. Normally, you’d want to place PA speakers in front of any microphones to minimize feedback. Unfortunately, this necessitates the use of a separate monitoring system if you want to be able to hear your performance onstage. To get around this, the SA-300 incorporates special anti-feedback circuitry on two of its mic channels to automatically detect and eliminate feedback while you’re performing. This allows you to place the system behind you, so both you and the audience can hear the sound—eliminating the need for hauling around a separate monitoring system.

Making Connections

The rear-panel of the upper unit contains all the SA-300’s jacks. There are four channels, and each has XLR and ¼-inch jacks to accommodate either a balanced microphone or line level source. The line inputs are stereo or mono; for a mono instrument, just connect to the left input. Channels 3 and 4 also offer switchable phantom power for their XLR mic inputs, as well as RCA inputs for connecting a CD or MP3 player.

XLR and ¼-inch LINE OUT jacks are provided to send the SA-300’s signal to an external source such as a recording device or a larger PA system. The STEREO LINK jacks allow you to incorporate a second SA-300 to create an integrated eight-channel stereo system. Footswitch jacks allow for foot control of the effects and special functions. By incorporating optional FS-5U or FS-5L footswitches, you can turn the reverb/delay effect on and off, or mute the speaker output for silent connection of instruments. Alternately, you can connect an optional EV-5 expression pedal for hands-free control of the SA-300’s master volume. A second footswitch jack allows you to engage the Anti-Feedback function with your foot. Rounding out the rear-panel connectors, there’s a speaker jack for connecting the subwoofer unit.

Mixing it Up

The mixing controls are found on the upper unit’s top panel. Each of the four channels has its own dedicated set of controls: an input select switch for choosing which jacks are used (MIC or LINE), a volume control, and a reverb level control. (A quick note: the channels’ one-knob effects controls are an ingenious design. Turning the knob clockwise actually increases both the amount and space of the effect at the same time. The result is extremely natural sounding, and super-easy to dial in.) Channels 1 and 2 offer extra controls for some special vocal microphone features. First, the reverb knob can be used to apply a delay effect instead of reverb. Second, there’s a switch to add a Voice Enhancer effect to the MIC signal if desired. The Voice Enhancer is a special equalization curve that adds presence in the vocal range, making the voice stand out better in some situations. Finally, Channels 1 and 2 include controls for the Anti-Feedback circuitry discussed earlier.

The top panel’s MASTER section has controls that affect the SA-300’s overall signal. There’s a master volume, of course, and a three-band equalizer for shaping the signal. The LOW BOOST switch allows you to kick in a little extra low end if needed, while the WIDE switch adds a stereo image-widening effect. Left and right level meters let you keep an eye on the output signal, and a PHONES jack (with a dedicated level knob) gives you the ability to monitor via headphones if desired.

In Use

I got the opportunity to use the SA-300 in a couple of different playing situations. First up was a duo gig at a local coffee house. My duo partner played keyboards, I played both acoustic and electric guitar, and we both sang. With the SA-300’s small size and light weight, carry-in was painless. Set up was equally easy—I just placed the upper unit on top of the sub, connected them together with a single cable, and hooked the upper unit to an AC source. I ran my guitars through my BOSS GT-8 and then into a pair of line inputs, while my partner ran his Fantom-X keyboard into another line input pair. We hooked our mics to the XLR inputs on Channels 1 and 2, and we were ready to go—almost.

We’d placed the SA-300 behind and between us, so that we could monitor our performance. To eliminate any mic feedback, I switched in the Anti-Feedback function on our mic channels. A brief calibration was necessary; for each mic, I held the ANTI-FEEDBACK SWEEP button for about one second to calibrate the Anti-Feedback circuitry to the room and the mic position. Each time, the SA-300 sounded a short series of test tones, and then the calibration was complete. Hey, that was easy!

Both my partner and I were very happy performing with the SA-300 during our two-hour set. We could hear ourselves well, and the SA-300 filled the room with ease. The sound quality was great, and the subwoofer added a real richness, especially when bass notes and low drum sounds were played on the Fantom-X (I even engaged the LOW BOOST switch for some extra thump). The reverb and delay effects were just right for our vocals, and easy to dial in with the one-knob controls. And the Anti-Feedback circuit must’ve worked—we were cranking at a good volume, and there was no mic feedback! Best of all, load-out was painless and sweat-free.

The next chance I got to put the SA-300 through its paces was at a solo acoustic guitar gig, playing background music at a restaurant. At this venue, space is at a premium, and high volume and deep bass isn’t necessary. For easy setup, I opted to use the SA-300’s upper unit by itself. My acoustic guitar has a built-in preamp, so I decided to leave the GT-8 at home, too, and plug direct into a line input. The SA-300 performed nicely; the built-in reverb sounded sweet on my guitar, and I was able to easily tweak the tone as needed with the master equalizer. Carry-in and carry-out was one trip each way—guitar case in one hand and the SA-300 upper in the other. Gotta love that!

A Versatile Performer

For me, the SA-300’s a keeper. Using it is a breeze, and the sound quality is superb. Best of all, it’s drastically reduced the amount (and weight) of gear I need to take with me to play at small-to-medium sized venues. I love the fact that I can use the upper unit separately if I want, and also that I can seamlessly expand with a second SA-300 if I ever need more sound coverage. Take a trip to your Roland dealer and check out the SA-300—you’ll find it’s a versatile and great-sounding performer.