Orange Rockerverb 100 questions.

[twistofcain]

Yesterday I bought a brand new Orange Rockerverb 100 (MK I) to befriend my PPC412 cab. I have a Maxon OD808 Overdrive, and an MXR 10 Band EQ. I've just been keeping the Overdrive on the whole time, with the gain around 5 or 6, Treble at about 4:00, Mids at about 3:00, and Bass around 2:00. And I've just begun to mess with my EQ pedal, which brings me to my first question...

For those of you who use an EQ in the loop of your Rockerverbs, what settings do you use? And are there any Frequencies I might want to try boosting or cutting? I know this is something I'll have to mess with and get my "Own" sound, but I wouldn't mind some ideas or recommendations.

For those of you using effects, specifically delay, where do you run your effects/delays? Up front or in the loop?

And I think this is my last question... I've only put the amp up to like 9:00ish and so far it sounds pretty good, considering the style of amp it is. Being the 100 watt model, and having only put the volume up to about 9:00, should I expect the tone to get better as I start to hit 1:00-3:00 and at what volume does it start to break up nicely and "do its thing"? I'll be really excited if the amp is like my old marshall jcm900 and just gets better and better as I crank it up more.

I think that's about it, feel free to recommend some settings, pedals, pickups, etc. to help get the best out of the amp.

The reason I seem so clueless, is because I really am haha. I fell in love with the sound of the Rockerverbs watching youtube clips, and seeing bands use them live. But for three years and up until about a month ago I was using a Peavey 6505+, which I traded along with some rack gear for an ENGL Savage 120, which I sold to help pay for the Rockerverb. I haven't really played a tube sounding amp since I owned my JCM900 about 3 years ago, cause both the Peavey and the ENGL had no real warmth to them, and didn't have much of a true tube feel. So playing through an amp like this is pretty new to me. Oranges are definitely a beast of their own.

And before you tell me that the Rockerverb isn't really a classic, traditional, Orange amp, and that it's more high gain... I already know, but I find that it's a good bridge between mid gain, and high gain, and keeps a nice tube warmth even at higher gain settings. Even though it's higher gain, I sure hope it's still an amp that will break up nicely at higher volumes.

Thanks guys! I'll be hanging around the forums for a while I think, seems like a pretty solid place.

[wrath]

of course, the more you crank it the better it gets...although rockerverb is capable of delivering great sounds at lower volumes...that's why it's such a great amp.

[Ddjembe Mutombo]

I wouldn't even use the EQ pedal. I can get the exact tone I want out of my Rocker 30 and AD 30. To me it seems like you are boosting too many frequencies. For my rocker 30 I have bass, treble, mids and gain at 1 o'clock.

As for effects... effects such as delay, reverb, and modulations go through the effects loops. drives and wahs and such go up front. This is the most common sense way to do things since you don't really want to overdrive your delay, reverb, etc.

Why did you buy the 100 watt version? I honestly don't like playing my oranges unless I can push the power section a little. That was the reason I sold my Triamp MKII to get the two oranges, I was just flat out sick of a clean power section.

[Randy Bass]

I thought this was going to be Orange Rockerverb 100 questions - I only counted 5 .

The first recommendation that I would make (with any amp) is to spend a fair amount of time playing without pedals so that you get a good feel for what the amp actually sounds like. You might be surprised at how good the RV100 sounds without a lot of signal perversions and diode clipping going on. Or maybe not . Anyhow, the Master Volume is very usable on the RV and should cover just about all of your gain requirements at any volume while maintaining the warmth for which Oranges are known.

You will be really excited that your amp sounds better the more the volume increases (like your JCM900 did), but you'll be even more excited when you realize that your RV sounds way better than the JCM900 at any volume!

[Ddjembe Mutombo]

I used to own a JCM 900 and after a certain level it started sounding worse...

[thenetsux]

As for effects... effects such as delay, reverb, and modulations go through the effects loops. drives and wahs and such go up front. This is the most common sense way to do things since you don't really want to overdrive your delay, reverb, etc.

With my AD140 I run all effects (delay, etc) up front because there is no other option, but I love the way it sounds. I'd recommend trying both and seeing what you like best.

Why did you buy the 100 watt version? I honestly don't like playing my oranges unless I can push the power section a little. That was the reason I sold my Triamp MKII to get the two oranges, I was just flat out sick of a clean power section.

I have no problem pushing my AD140. There is nothing wrong with being loud.

[puzonides]

Just like others, try your pedals in the loop and in front. I have DL4 delay in my loop because sounds better there.
But I had EQ in there for a couple of days and didn't like it. Then I put it in front and it works perfectly. I use it just to eq clean channel.
I run it through 412 MESA CAB and it sounds huge at low and high volumes.

[ianwrecked]

I have all my effects in front. I just like it that way. No 60 cycle noise, either.

[thenetsux]

I used to own a JCM 900 and after a certain level it started sounding worse...

I was borrowing one before I bought my AD140 and it sounded bad at all volumes. So fortunate to have my Orange.

[twistofcain]

thanks guys!

I'm really stoked to hear it'll keep sounding better at higher volumes. I was a little frightened when I noticed how good it sounded at a relatively low volume. The whole point of going Orange for me, was the real tube tone, and the versatility in the Rockerverb. I'm so sick of solid state sounding, high gain amps with no real soul or feel to them. It'll be nice to hear the thing really sing when I crank it up to jam and play shows.

I got the 100 for headroom, and balls. I've got a really loud drummer, and found myself turning my 6505+ up to 5 or 6 when we jammed, and the room we jam in isn't huge. The clean channel has no master gain control, so having headroom for clean tones is definitely important too. And higher wattage amps seem to have more balls to me, I like a heavy sound, even at lower gain levels.

I also like having the different tube options. I want to try 6550's in this thing eventually, even if I don't like them... It's worth a shot, I really want to make this thing my own.

As for the effects, I know you generally want to keep effects in the loop, but if it sounds decent up front... I wanna try that, saves time setting up, and saves cables.

And I'll definitely stop using the EQ and Overdrive for a while and get a good idea of what it sounds like. I haven't really used the EQ a lot with it yet, but i haven't shut the overdrive off at all. I think I'll just unplug my pedalboard completely for a while... and just really get to know the amp.

[Ddjembe Mutombo]

yeah, i switched to my two oranges too. I used to own a h&k triamp mkII and duotone and a marshall 6100. I had a whole slew of amps before that and none of them really had that honk... They all were great sounding amps but I grew tired of them after time. I still wish I had my mesa f-30. That was a solid amp.

[misterMagoo]

Ya know it's funny...

When I tried out a Rockerverb 50, I played with the eq a bunch, to hear the range of tones. I liked it a lot (obviously). When I bought it and put it in my jam room, I basically had all the tone controls at 12 o'clock, found the volume and gain settings I needed to be at and started playing. The sound was so good that I forgot to even play around with the tone knobs anymore!

As for the effects loop, I haven't even tried it out yet. I used to run my Mesa Boogie with my tuner, wah and distortions up front, and then the rest of my pedals in the loop (usually anyway), but I only had one delay then. I have 2 delays now, and I use delay often. I don't run my amp at the real high gain settings it offers. In fact, my preferred sound on the dirty channel is MV at 1:00 and Gain at 11:00, maybe a tad higher if necessary. At these settings, my delays are totally useable up front. However, they probably sound better through the loop. I just love to take my memory man from the end of the chain and put it at the beginning, and then enjoy the sonic mayhem of feedback oscillation ran through a whammy pedal and into another delay! I don't know how that would be affected if I split my board and ran through the loop...

I guess it all comes down to experimentation, and what you like most. I don't think you will be restricted either way, you just have to learn how to make it work.

[dbsens03]

I know this thread is a bit old, but I just picked up a RV100 MKII today along with a PPC412 and I must say I love it! Sounds great at all volumes so far. I used to be a Mesa Roadster player and that thing also sounded fantastic. Had the tube warmth we all want, great cleans and 'verb. But the day I brought that amp home I was glad. Today, with this new amp, I am bloody thrilled. This is an incredible amp and so far, everything I've wanted in an amp (minus the lack of casters on the cab). I was planning on buying a Mesa Mark V, and I still may at some point. but this amp blew me away within the first 60 seconds as I demoed it at the store. Kudos to Orange for making awesome stuff. I have yet to toy with effects either up front of in the loop. That is for tomorrow!

[Randy Bass]

Congrats on the new amp! Just get a dolly for your Orange cab, or better yet, a live-in road case with casters.

[dbsens03]

Ya, I was thinking about the live in case. and Thanks! I love it!