Orange Rocker 30 for Classic Rock and Blues?

[Gridlock]

AC/DC, Zeppelin, and Blues type music.

I already have a TT combo and thinking of returning the TT to step up to a Rocker 30.

30 watts is plenty for my needs. Looking for Orange tone to complement my Marshall and Fender amps.

1) Is the Orange Rocker 30 amp the amp that I am looking for?

2) Difference between Rocker 30 and a Rockerverb 50, other than wattage, reverb, and more $$$'s?

Thanks,
Gridlock

[Iceman63]

I have a Dual Terror, which is a higher wattage, two channel Tiny Terror basically. I recently picked up a mint Rocker 30 head. The Rocker is a bit tighter on the bottom....little less sag than the Dual. But I actually like the Dual Terror more, so I'm keeping it, and will sell the Rocker...not in a big hurry to, but will see what happens. That said, the rocker will do classic rock IMO. It does have a slightly different character than the Terrors.

[a.hun]

Hi again Gridlock.

Lot of posts on the R.30 here if you do a search. I'll just link to a few of my own thoughts on it for you to start. (You may have to wade through some old software forum code - sorry about that!)

http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?t=3664" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?t=13446" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?t=18679" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?t=32642" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.p ... 37#p561237" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.p ... ct#p588204" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hoe that helps. Hope you find one to try yourself sometime soon.


Andy.

[Gridlock]

Hi again Gridlock.

Lot of posts on the R.30 here if you do a search. I'll just link to a few of my own thoughts on it for you to start. (You may have to wade through some old software forum code - sorry about that!)

http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?t=3664" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?t=13446" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?t=18679" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?t=32642" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.p ... 37#p561237" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.p ... ct#p588204" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hoe that helps. Hope you find one to try yourself sometime soon.


Andy.

Thank Andy, good information.

I just returned my TT Combo and bought a Rocker 30 Combo. Guess that I need to change my signature already.

I got a full refund on the TT and got a good price on the R30. Ordered from another store and should arrive mid week.

Thanks again and I'll post my thoughts once I receive the amp.

Grid

[snickerpuss]

Hey, duder. I just spent four hours in the shop yesterday putting a Rocker 30 combo through the paces. I've got to say it's phenomenal for classic rock. Humbuckers bust that thing up and growl like no one's business, and single coils give oodles of headroom, but you crank the master and the gain for that crispy "Dancing Days" style Page grit. I found it rather similar to a Hiwatt in terms of feel, as it had this really crisp hi-fi sound to it where you could really control the breakup with the pick attack. Play the solo from Eminence front and you'll see what I mean. Put an overdrive in front of it and hit it with humbuckers and you'll have no problem hitting that 80s "heavy" metal Unchained and Ratt style overdrive.

I didn't find it to be great for blues. A little weird to say after claiming the Rocker does Zeppelin quite well, but for my style of blues, I just couldn't find the tone. The amp's responsiveness just doesn't have that sag to it, and the breakup isn't greasy at all. Now, if there's any kind of music of music I think cannot be restrained by the medium of the model of amp and guitar, it's blues, but for my style it didn't inspire me into blues territory.

The Rocker sounds way different than the Rockerverb. The rockerverb I played had a really glassy clean with a lot more bottom end and less pronounced mids. The drive channel on the verb is fuzzier and has a million more gain on tap. I found the rockerverb a lot more versatile but less interesting and unique than the Rocker. Verb is better for blues and and the Rocker was made for AC/DC Led Zeppelin The Who territory.

Then again, the Rockerverb may be a more different amp than the Rocker to your other models. What Fenders and Marshalls do you use?

[Gridlock]

Hey, duder. I just spent four hours in the shop yesterday putting a Rocker 30 combo through the paces. I've got to say it's phenomenal for classic rock. Humbuckers bust that thing up and growl like no one's business, and single coils give oodles of headroom, but you crank the master and the gain for that crispy "Dancing Days" style Page grit. I found it rather similar to a Hiwatt in terms of feel, as it had this really crisp hi-fi sound to it where you could really control the breakup with the pick attack. Play the solo from Eminence front and you'll see what I mean. Put an overdrive in front of it and hit it with humbuckers and you'll have no problem hitting that 80s "heavy" metal Unchained and Ratt style overdrive.

I didn't find it to be great for blues. A little weird to say after claiming the Rocker does Zeppelin quite well, but for my style of blues, I just couldn't find the tone. The amp's responsiveness just doesn't have that sag to it, and the breakup isn't greasy at all. Now, if there's any kind of music of music I think cannot be restrained by the medium of the model of amp and guitar, it's blues, but for my style it didn't inspire me into blues territory.

The Rocker sounds way different than the Rockerverb. The rockerverb I played had a really glassy clean with a lot more bottom end and less pronounced mids. The drive channel on the verb is fuzzier and has a million more gain on tap. I found the rockerverb a lot more versatile but less interesting and unique than the Rocker. Verb is better for blues and and the Rocker was made for AC/DC Led Zeppelin The Who territory.

Then again, the Rockerverb may be a more different amp than the Rocker to your other models. What Fenders and Marshalls do you use?

My main amps are a 50 watt Marshall JMP Master Volume, a 50 watt Marshall 1987x, a Blackface Fender Vibrolux Reverb, and a Silverface Fender Twin Reverb (full blackface mod). Been a Marshall guy from day one and just got into Fenders a couple of years ago doing the Texas Blues thing.

Hoping the Orange amp gives me a little more variety. Plus I have a 30 day return policy if I don't like it.

[OrangePaul]

Congrats..

From some of the demo's I've heard of the Rocker 30 I would say it's the closest amp to the 'classic Marshall' sound that Orange have done. Still with its own 'Orange flavour' of course and a great amp in its own right.

[a.hun]

Hey, duder. I just spent four hours in the shop yesterday putting a Rocker 30 combo through the paces. I've got to say it's phenomenal for classic rock. Humbuckers bust that thing up and growl like no one's business, and single coils give oodles of headroom, but you crank the master and the gain for that crispy "Dancing Days" style Page grit. I found it rather similar to a Hiwatt in terms of feel, as it had this really crisp hi-fi sound to it where you could really control the breakup with the pick attack. Play the solo from Eminence front and you'll see what I mean. Put an overdrive in front of it and hit it with humbuckers and you'll have no problem hitting that 80s "heavy" metal Unchained and Ratt style overdrive.

I didn't find it to be great for blues. A little weird to say after claiming the Rocker does Zeppelin quite well, but for my style of blues, I just couldn't find the tone. The amp's responsiveness just doesn't have that sag to it, and the breakup isn't greasy at all. Now, if there's any kind of music of music I think cannot be restrained by the medium of the model of amp and guitar, it's blues, but for my style it didn't inspire me into blues territory.

The Rocker sounds way different than the Rockerverb. The rockerverb I played had a really glassy clean with a lot more bottom end and less pronounced mids. The drive channel on the verb is fuzzier and has a million more gain on tap. I found the rockerverb a lot more versatile but less interesting and unique than the Rocker. Verb is better for blues and and the Rocker was made for AC/DC Led Zeppelin The Who territory.

Then again, the Rockerverb may be a more different amp than the Rocker to your other models. What Fenders and Marshalls do you use?

All fair comment IMO. The 'Hiwatt' comparison in terms of 'feel' is dead right. This amp is also among the least compressed ever made, so yes for 'feel' blues you might want to bung a decent compressor in front. That done it becomes a lot more squishy, a lot less 'in your face'. At least you can always add compression - impossible to remove from a more compressed amp of course. Obviously I like amps with this sort of 'direct drive' feel, but they certainly aren't for everybody.

Sure it doesn't have the gain levels of the RV available, but still has plenty for almost all situations, and most importantly all of it is useable. I can't think of another amp with the same sort of dynamics at its higher gain levels. Pretty unique really.


Andy.

[Ronnie Robinson]

AC/DC, Zeppelin, and Blues type music.

I already have a TT combo and thinking of returning the TT to step up to a Rocker 30.

30 watts is plenty for my needs. Looking for Orange tone to complement my Marshall and Fender amps.

1) Is the Orange Rocker 30 amp the amp that I am looking for?

2) Difference between Rocker 30 and a Rockerverb 50, other than wattage, reverb, and more $$$'s?

Thanks,
Gridlock

Both R30 and RV50 are great for that, mixed with a nice LP or SG. Both are Orange sounding but different -R30 a bit more rawkness / punky sounding and dont think that the dirty channel on the R30 is quiter than the RV50 ....its not ...and dont be suprised if the Volume taper on the R30 goes from quiet to very loud by being moved about a millimetre!

[Gridlock]

Thanks guys. Hope to pickup the amp towards the end of the week. I've got 30 days to decide if it is what I want. I've tried some of the RV heads at GC and they sounded really nice. Hoping that the R30 sounds similar.

[Les Paul Lover]

Thanks guys. Hope to pickup the amp towards the end of the week. I've got 30 days to decide if it is what I want. I've tried some of the RV heads at GC and they sounded really nice. Hoping that the R30 sounds similar.

The R30 clean channel is quite similar, but that's about it.
The RV50 dirty channel is smoother, warmer, and really quite compressed. Still can bark with authority, don't get me wrong, but very different to the uncompressed R30, with its raw and more aggressive sounding dirty channel.

I actually don't know why orange called them rocker and rockerverb, i think it's misleading. Still, both are great amps!!!

And the R30 combo is a great light weightish gigging solution, Loud enough to keep up with most band settings, and even unmiced for small medium gigs.

[Ddjembe Mutombo]

The Rocker 30 is a good amp for loud rock. It doesn't get too compressed when you overdrive it properly so it's attack cuts through the mix just as well as the body. I wouldn't use it for blues.

[ironlung40]

I loved the R30 for blues, but I don't play SRV type blues, I play Graveyard type blues and it rawked for that, but for the typical generic (not generic in a bad sense) blues, maybe the rocker is a tad too dark, imo.

[sidvicious]

for blues, particulary cranked master volume white-boy blues, try an ac30. taylor made for it, it seems. single coil and humbuckers. it does a terrific job.

also, since you're marshall fans, try the sl5 for the same thing, if you haven't.

just a thought.