Choosing the right Orange amplifier can be difficult...

[rangerofheaven]

Hello everyone! I am a somewhat recent convert into the world of Orange amps. I have had a Rocker 30 for close to a year now.

While it has served me well, I am looking for something a little bit different to complement my playing style. I recently picked up an OR50 that sounds incredible but I am still a little unsure if it's the one for me. I play indie/post-punk/post-metal kind of stuff. At the Drive-in, Mars Volta, Isis, Mastodon, Pixies, Sonic Youth range of sounds.

The Rocker sounded great until I decided that the Telecaster was the right guitar for me. Then the Rocker started to sound a little thin and lacking. I was already fed up with the way it handled effects and the Natural Channel just didn't work for me.

The OR50 handles effects much better, and the voicing is much more vintage which is to my liking. It sounds a little bit bigger and ballsier to my ear, which is what I'm looking for to complement the thinner sound of the telecaster. It can be difficult to dial in the right tone though...the H.F. Drive control is a bit of a mystery to me, sometimes I run it all the way cranked and it sounds killer and sometimes that's way too much. The gain knob can get a little fuzzy and muddy past 12'oclock as well.

I have considered an AD30 for quite sometime and just never had a chance to hear one in person. I really like the idea of the two nearly identically voiced channels that you can set up different ways, it seems it could be incredibly versatile. I have heard that it sounds great with a telecaster as well. It seems to be vintage voiced, maybe even more so than the OR50. I'm hesitant because I've never had an EL84 amp and unsure if I would vibe with it long term.

I'm open to any suggestions, but I'd prefer to stay Orange. I've tried Marshalls and AC30s and they just sound thin and transparent, and I'm not much of a Fender guy. I like the idea of the twang and chime of a telecaster played through a darker voiced ballsy amp. Also I play in a louder band, my bassist has a 1000w head and 4x12 cab that just kills so I'd like to stay 30w and up.

Basically what I'm looking for is: decent effect handling. Nothing crazy, just to be able to use a loop pedal without it sounding like garbage and some mild delay, chorus, trem and modulation stuff.
Vintage voicing seems to vibe with me much better than modern voicing.
Cleans are not essential to me. Hairy cleans are what I like best, that nice break up and crunchy tone without being balls to the wall.
A nice prickly and full-bodied barking overdrive. I would really like fullness and ballsiness but not so much that notes become melded together. A more note-separated crunch with a big low end and biting top end

You guys are always a ton of help! thanks

[MikeD]

tried the RV?

[misterfolkertsma]

Well, considering Omar from ATDI and Mars Volta has mainly played through a RV: http://youtu.be/pSmVGQFgglU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bensnake]

I would check out the RV50, the OR100 and the new Dual Dark. Maybe the TV50 as well. You have to play them to know what's best to your ears and needs.

[Orangesoda]

I think the thinness of your sound with your tele can be fixed with different pups. I've never had problems with the sound of pedals through my Rocker 30 whether it's distortion, fuzz, delay, chorus, phasers, comps etc. Still sounds big and beefy to me. I love the way my tele sounds through my Rocker.

[Jondog]

+1 on the pickups. If I may suggest some for yor tele, the GFS Fatbody tele pickups. I think you'll be impressed, and they're cheap in price, great build quality!. I know the thinness you are talking about. Sound amazing on my Rocker PERIOD. I'll never change them. I have a 52 re-issue Hot Rod Tele, the stock bridge pickup was thin and bright. These pickups made the guitar sound bigger and ballsier any guitar I've owned.
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Alnico-Fatb ... _p_75.html


http://www.guitarfetish.com/Alnico-Fatb ... _p_76.html

[Les Paul Lover]

Can I go sideways a bit and ask how long it's been since you got new power valves? Are your humbuckers guitars still sounding as fat as before too?

And you might be a teleman , but have you considered P90?

[Ronnie Robinson]

Basically what I'm looking for is: decent effect handling. Nothing crazy, just to be able to use a loop pedal without it sounding like garbage and some mild delay, chorus, trem and modulation stuff.
Vintage voicing seems to vibe with me much better than modern voicing.
Cleans are not essential to me. Hairy cleans are what I like best, that nice break up and crunchy tone without being balls to the wall.
..........

Well you've pretty much described the AD30tc there .....

[rangerofheaven]

I'm actually in the process of selecting some different pickups for the tele. A friend recommend Lollar which from the clips sound really nice. I was trying to get a fat-punchy sound out of the neck and a twangy chime from the bridge. Still not sure which I'll go for, I'll look into the GFS for sure.

As for the RV series, I've played them and although they sound nice, the tone is a little too modern for me and I don't have a ton of use for the dedicated clean channel.

Also about Omar Rodriguez of Mars Volta, the switch to the RV50 is pretty recent, he used to play an OR120 in At the Drive-in and an AD140 for a lot of the Mars Volta stuff. That's why I was looking at the OR50 and AD30.

Can anyone compare the Rocker 30, OR50, and AD30, who's played all of them? Having played the first two I'd like to know how the AD30 sounds in comparison, since I can't find one to play near me.

[sobra]

Maybe you like that el84 chime. That can go well with a brighter guitar like a tele. The OR50 can be a little harsh at times but if you dial it in right, has some great cleans and dirt both. It's got a lot of character. You might check Doppler playing a strat through it with a BB preamp.

Personally I know you are moving away from this, but I do like the rockerverb for a tele. If you don't dial the gain in too high, maybe just to noon, and master volume at noon, it's got more of a vintage vibe, especially if you play around with tubes and speakers. Check out JamisonB162 scumback dirty on youtube through a stone age cabinet. I think he's got don mare bakelites. The tele seems to complement the natural darkness, thickness of the RV. The mark I may be a better fit given the 6v6 tubes for a tele too.

[Ronnie Robinson]

Well Ive never owed an OR50 but I'll try to compare the Rocker with the AD30 htc.....

The AD30 is more dynamic responds really well to playing dynamics and handles pedals a lot better. You wont get much of a loud really clean sound especially with humbuckers but you will get hairy cleans. Both channels do go from cleans to dirty although channel 2 has more treble and a bit more gain, although it is not a high gain amp both channels will chrunch up nicely for classic stuff. The Rocker has more gain and is more punky sounding if you like and more in your face. The AD30s volume pots are much more linear the the R30 dirty volume pot which seems to go from quiet to deafening with a 2 mm movement. The Ad30 really sounds better at loud volume ....I know you can say this about valve amps but it really does make a heck of a difference, it also likes to be really warmed up, the change in tone from first switching on to say, 15 minutes later can be quite different, more so than any other Amp I've had.

[rangerofheaven]

Thanks for all the thoughts you guys! After playing around with an EQ pedal in front of the OR50 and thinking it over, I think I'm going to stick with it because it really is a great sounding amp. I honestly think I just need to change out the pickups in my tele and find the right speaker configuration to get the best out of the beast.

I guess I'll just have to pine after the AD30 for a bit longer haha

[ragincajun1919]

May I suggest Bareknuckle Pickups Piledriver set for your tele?

[Phlowen]

Thanks for all the thoughts you guys! After playing around with an EQ pedal in front of the OR50 and thinking it over, I think I'm going to stick with it because it really is a great sounding amp. I honestly think I just need to change out the pickups in my tele and find the right speaker configuration to get the best out of the beast.

I guess I'll just have to pine after the AD30 for a bit longer haha

Is this a Fender telecaster? Have you tried a G&L? Totally different experience. I love G&L single coils compared to Fender's. Also, I use both a RV50 and TH30 with my G&L Tele, and it gets thick, huge, and ballsy, while still letting me be chimey and shimmering if I want. I love it.

Let us know what you end up settling with if you happen to change up your pickups or speakers!