Rockerverb 50 MkII

[Randy Bass]

Personally I can't stand the look of the new RV combos...look like washing machines.

Maybe this means that they will have cleaner cleans now.

I don't think they would go to front-mount controls after 40 years without a good reason. I suspect that the combos have gone to a closed-back configuration, but I have seen nothing from NAMM to confirm this so far.

[Alan The Tank Engine]

Personally I can't stand the look of the new RV combos...look like washing machines.

Maybe this means that they will have cleaner cleans now.

hahahaha

[M1K3ROCK]

lmfao. They should have changed the clean channel to the "Snuggie Channel"

[ben_allison]

LOL @ cleaner cleans.

What's wrong with the reverb? I think it's pretty good.

And why on earth if you're doing an update, not add something like a boost? Is adding a few extra components really that hard?

Oh well.

[mselego]

I wonder if the tubes sit vertical or horizontal in the combos? Maybe thats the reason for the control panel on the front. I never thought that the tubes being horizontal made much sense.

[princepudding]

the front facing controls have something to do with making the controls more accessible while gigging or so i read.

[Mono]

The reverb on the RV50 is absolutely fine. I personally really like it - it can go from understated and atmospheric through to full on surf 'verb. And it is believable across everything in between!
I reckon these MkIIs will be short lived. Snap one up now as they will not be in production long! haha

[thornicated]

i dunno...i would think that with the controls facing forward on teh combo...it'd be harder to really see what you are changing and how much...unless you've got the amp pointed upwards in such a way that you can see the controls...
i like the EL34 change too...i thought it was rather weird that the same series of amps would have different tube compliments...

as for the Thunder 30...i'll give it a go...i've been looking to get a R30, but will try this out...everyone was complaining about headroom and EQ...so they try it on a successor amp, and everyone is even more enraged...all the more reason for there to be REISSUE amps in a couple years i'm guessing!

[Orphin]

I hope that's not the only difference, in my opinion that's the single most useless "update" they could've made.

Things like:

Solo Boost/footswitchable 2nd master- incredibly easy to implement and also quite useful. Cost= $6 for an extra relay/potentiometer. You could even use a concentric pot to avoid cluttering the face plate.
Separate gain/master volume for clean channel
Lower impedance FX loop, possibly footswitchable?
Channel specific reverb controls... or a more traditional sounding reverb
Third channel.... (i know, I'm dreaming... but think about an AD-esque channel nestled between the two existing....)

What you are asking out of an amp you should look around for a Mesa instead. I think some of what is Orange trademark is to keep an amp simple and to maintain a great tone instead of multiple features.

[ironlung40]

The reverb on the RV50 is absolutely fine. I personally really like it - it can go from understated and atmospheric through to full on surf 'verb. And it is believable across everything in between!
I reckon these MkIIs will be short lived. Snap one up now as they will not be in production long! haha

I think the MKii's will be here to stay so long as the tone has not drifted from the originals. I believe they still make a rocker 50 with the 6v6's as well as the EL34's, not 100% on that though.

As far as the addition of mid control, improved reverb, and more transparent loop, I think these changes are subtle enough to not take away from what made the originals good, but at the same time enough of a change to make them more desirable than the originals. Who wouldn't want 3 band eq on the clean channel? I've heard many complaints on this. Also, a more transparent loop is always welcome, and the reverb on the old models was basically none at all or over the top based on my experience, comments on this forum, and every review I've seen. Not saying it wasn't good, but just that you had to use it on a very low setting to keep it from becoming overbearing. So, my take is once these MKii's hit the shops, no one will want the old ones if they're buying new. It may not be that people with the old ones want to upgrade though, as the changes are really not drastic.

[nmendoza]

I realize that Orange likes to keep it simple, and I wouldn't expect them to implement all of those things, however improvements to the FX loop/reverb (which it looks like they have tried to address) were needed IMHO, and if they were going to add an extra knob anyway, I think a second master volume (as an independent master for the clean channel, or better yet, one for a solo boost on the gain channel) would have been far more useful than a mid knob. Yes the amps have great tone, which drew me to them in the first place. I don't expect them to have a million mode switches to shift the voicing of each channel like a mesa, the Orange tone is what it is. However, there are a few things that could significantly improve their giggability without effecting tone at all, such as a master volume on each channel or a second master on the gain channel for solo use.

I hope that's not the only difference, in my opinion that's the single most useless "update" they could've made.

Things like:

Solo Boost/footswitchable 2nd master- incredibly easy to implement and also quite useful. Cost= $6 for an extra relay/potentiometer. You could even use a concentric pot to avoid cluttering the face plate.
Separate gain/master volume for clean channel
Lower impedance FX loop, possibly footswitchable?
Channel specific reverb controls... or a more traditional sounding reverb
Third channel.... (i know, I'm dreaming... but think about an AD-esque channel nestled between the two existing....)

What you are asking out of an amp you should look around for a Mesa instead. I think some of what is Orange trademark is to keep an amp simple and to maintain a great tone instead of multiple features.

[CD9266]

I'll just turn my head from this thread...

[Alan The Tank Engine]

i like my rockerverb the way it is... i like the lack of mid eq on the clean channel. And i was fine with the reverb. The only thing i would ever ask for is a boost switch but i have a pedal for that. i don't think doing a couple little (this is relative) things is enough to call it mkII.

[Mono]

i like my rockerverb the way it is... i like the lack of mid eq on the clean channel. And i was fine with the reverb. The only thing i would ever ask for is a boost switch but i have a pedal for that. i don't think doing a couple little (this is relative) things is enough to call it mkII.

Agreed.
I can't believe this is worth bringing out as a sequel version.

[mselego]

I realize that Orange likes to keep it simple, and I wouldn't expect them to implement all of those things, however improvements to the FX loop/reverb (which it looks like they have tried to address) were needed IMHO, and if they were going to add an extra knob anyway, I think a second master volume (as an independent master for the clean channel, or better yet, one for a solo boost on the gain channel) would have been far more useful than a mid knob. Yes the amps have great tone, which drew me to them in the first place. I don't expect them to have a million mode switches to shift the voicing of each channel like a mesa, the Orange tone is what it is. However, there are a few things that could significantly improve their giggability without effecting tone at all, such as a master volume on each channel or a second master on the gain channel for solo use.

Seriously then just get multiple single channel amps and mix it up some how.