One of the more interesting and cost-effective sim racing products to launch recently is the new Turtle Beach VelocityOne Multi-Shift.
Prices at £119.99 ($129.99), it allows you to choose between three different modes to use the Multi-Shift as a H-pattern gear shifter with seven speeds plus reverse, a sequential shifter, or a handbrake. Plus it also features a high and low range gear button to offer up to 14 gears if you’re driving in truck sims or off-road titles.
The unit itself uses hall-effect magnetic sensors and comes with an integrated desk clamp, or threaded inserts and mounting screws to fix it to your sim rig, with the choice of a 1m USB-C to USB-C VelocityOne Race Pass-Through cable if you have a matching wheelbase, or a 2.5m USB-C to USB-A PC connection cable if you want to use it in conjunction with other equipment. If you do have a Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race set-up, then it’s also compatible with Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles.
What’s interesting is the switch on the side of the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Multi-Shift, which allows you to move between H-gate mode or sequential mode quickly and easily. That’s been possible with some other shifters, like the Thrustmaster TH8A for a fairly similar price, but with the later you need to swap the shifter plate. And it’s possible to use and modify it as a handbrake, but it’s not officially supported or guaranteed to work when you’ve remapped everything. By contract the VelocityOne MultiShift will swap to handbrake mode with the press of a button, if you’re already in the sequential mode. And you also get the High/Low range gear button as well.
And to underline the versatility, the Multi-Shift comes with both a high and long shaft, and both H-Gate and Sequential gear knobs, or you can swap in your own. So you can use the longer shaft for a sequential shifter and handbrake, and then swap to the short-throw option when you’re driving a classic manual car.
Obviously you can’t have a shifter and handbrake running on the same unit at the same time, but there’s always the option for a second one, and if used with the VelocityOne Race, you’ll get input from each one on the VelocityOne RMD screen.
I’m actually considering purchasing a VelocityOne Multi-Shift for my own sim rig. A manual shifter and handbrake were fairly low priorities for me at first, but having finally picked up a Thrustmaster TH8S, I’ve realised how much more immersive it makes driving manual cars. And I’d planned on moving to a TH8A and separate handbrake, but that’s going to cost more than £200. The cost and space saving are both big benefits, and if I’m driving modern rally or rallycross cars, then using the paddle shifts on my wheelbase is fine with the Multi-Shift in handbrake mode.
The cheaper TH8S just offers H-pattern shifting, although home-made mods can allow it to work as a basic sequential option, and the Logitech Driving Force shifter is very similar. The SHH shifter and other options tend to be somehwere between the TH8S and Driving Force in terms of price, and again, don’t tend to offer a dedicated handbrake option as well.
If you’re looking at getting a shifter or handbrake, then it’s definitely worth checking out. The Turtle Beach VelocityOne Multi-Shift is available to order through the official site, and Amazon, and will also soon be available through all your standard sim racing and electroncis retails like Currys, etc.
And why not check out all the hardware and accessories available to work with your sim rig and wheelbase, including shifters, brakes, button boxes and more, here.
Leave a Reply