Rocker 30 - My First Orange (and questions!)

[Powerslave]

Hi Everyone

My first post here, after lurking for a couple of weeks ....

I started my hunt for a new amp back in August, and finally had a chance to check-out a couple of Orange amps at the start of this month. I was totally blown away by the Rocker 30 - the classic rock tone I was looking for - and so the "last in the shop" had to come home with me (combo version, no heads left).

I was going to ask about a lead boost but, from searching this forum, I have found many similar posts and so I will be working my way through those

One downside recently came to light. Just last week, I transported the amp to a shop to trial a new guitar. It was the first time I'd carried the amp any distance (from car park to shop, about 150 metres). My back is still recovering! Crikey, it's heavy - too heavy for my aging back.

So, I've been giving some thought to whether or not I should try and get head / cab whilst there are still a few available in the UK. Not wild about probably losing a bomb of money on my combo (either poor p/x, or e-bay sale). Also, as I would probably have to get the Orange 1x12 cab (prefer to have "matching" kit) I'm a bit worried that I might end up with a totally different animal - going from open to close back. Any thoughts, advice from those with more experience (I've only ever had a combo)?

Finally, I was quite baffled to discover (from visiting this fine forum) that the Rocker 30 had gone end-of-life. Does anyone here think that it might re-emerge (say at NAMM 2011) with a few extra bells and whistles (from clean EQ, reverb, effects loop) or has it gone for good? I did A/B the Rocker against a Rockerverb Mkii 50 combo, but preferred the dirty channel of the Rocker. However, I don't think that I understood enough about the mkii to make it a fair / equal comparison. I might return to this again.

Ta!

[OU818]

I play the Rocker 30 through a closed back 1x12 and it sounds awesome. I also use it for a second band through a Mesa vertical 2x12 half closed back and really, besides the obvious volume and dispersion, it doesn't change the nature of the Rocker.

If you get curious about tubes I can really recommend JJ KT77s. Especially if you are using single coils or P90s. Those tubes snarl better than anything ice used before. They love humbuckers too but they really come to life with p90s.

[Randy Bass]

You won't get much sympathy from the guys on here that have AD30 and RV50 (2x12) combos . I don't think it's worth it to get rid of the combo over the weight. I have the R30 head and PPC212 and both are heavy enough, though the 1x12 isn't so bad. You would throw away a lot of money by making the switch. You would be better off buying a road case for the combo so that you can safely roll it down the sidewalk.

[bodhi2600]

i'm using a RK30 head and orange 2x12ob cab. great sound. easy to carry...

[David Verb]

You won't get much sympathy from the guys on here that have AD30 and RV50 (2x12) combos . I don't think it's worth it to get rid of the combo over the weight. I have the R30 head and PPC212 and both are heavy enough, though the 1x12 isn't so bad. You would throw away a lot of money by making the switch. You would be better off buying a road case for the combo so that you can safely roll it down the sidewalk.

+1 on the road case.

[jason41224]

road case is definetly the way to go. and either way, you're not losing weight by getting a head and cab, you're just increasing the amount of trips you have to take. if you love the rocker, keep the rocker.

and congrats on that by the way. i believe i got one of the very last head's available about two months ago. i haven't found any around since.

[a.hun]

Valve amps are heavy. Fact of life. So are Orange cabs - they are always really sturdily built.

For a 1x12 combo the R.30C is a bit on the heavy side, but there are far worse. The Orange 1x12 cab will be a bit lighter, but still on the heavy side to carry any distance if (like me) you have back issues. And the heads (if you can still find one) definitely aren't featherweight either.

(Yeah, I know some of you probably lift the bigger cabs / combos solo without batting an eyelid, but I promise that won't last long into your fifth decade...)

Powerslave, if you love the combo you should keep it! Just grab something to help you shift it and you'll be fine.

When I bought my own R.30C I brought it home on the tram using a small 4 wheel dolly. (Bit of wood, four strong castor wheels, came out of a DIY place. A long webbing strap (or two) threaded under under it and sideways through the amps top handle - not over the control knobs - holds things together nicely.)

I also have a lightweight collapsible luggage cart. Used that to ferry (literally) a heavy and expensive amp head here from Scotland in its soft cover and my big holdall. No problem at all - just let the wheels do the work!
http://www.braucke.com/index.php?id=165&L=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I move my own gear and live three floors up so the weight is always make or break for me. (I recently bought a great 2x12 bass cab which only weighs 20kilos - a good bit less than the R.30C! ) I find good padded covers and a dolly / cart are totally fine for my own use. I don't tour, just gig occasionally so I don't worry about flightcases. IMO those are mainly for when other people may be moving (/ potentially abusing) your gear as they add a lot of weight when they actually do need lifted.

A padded cover will protect tough gear like amps and cabs pretty well against small accidental knocks. And if shifting your own gear yourself you'll be doing your best to avoid any bigger knocks!!!

Flight cases give good protection but guarantee nothing. For example plenty of Gibson headstock breaks have happened to guitars safely inside cases which were themselves totally undamaged!

I have seen a great many broken gisbon headstocks that occurred while the gtr was in it's case. Most cases do not protect against "whiplash".

So have I - very often with no damage to the case. The inertia of the head itself combined with the string tension can be enough.

(We had a thread on Gibson headstock breaks not long ago. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=42351&hilit=headstock" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Similarly wheeling a well flightcased valve amp / combo across a rough surface (cobbles, bad tarmac or even a sidewalk with biggish gaps between the paving stones) can still easily mean valve or other vibrational damage. A flightcase will clearly do more than a cover but won't actually prevent potential internal damage if valve gear is really roughly handled or dropped. Nothing will!

Best is to make sure that however it is protected your gear is well handled either by moving it yourself or by having GOOD roadies. And using the right moving tools makes it a lot easier.


Andy.

[Ronnie Robinson]

Congrats on your Rocker 30 purchase

I also have the combo and its a great Amp. I think only you know whether u can afford to change the Combo for a head and Cab but either way u will still get a great sound and good build and reliability.

A couple of things I think to consider....
-If the combo really is too heavy then maybe u dont have much choice and u should change it
-How often are u going to be carrying the Combo around? Are u gigging? Lifting the Amp up stairs can be a pain but will other band members be able to help?
-I know the weight of the Combo can be a bit of a shock but in Combo's,

I have no idea in the wisdom of ending the production of the Rocker but its replacement is the Thunder 30 - quite a different beastie

In any case Enjoy

[Powerslave]

First up, I'd like to say a big "Thank you" to all the people who've taken the time to read / respond to my first post. As this is an "Orange enthusiasts" website, I was expecting responses along the line - "have both, and then start thinking about which Orange amp to add to your collection next!"

I'm not gigging yet but, now I'm in a band, I'm hopeful gigs will come next year.

Also, it would be nice to have the "easy" choice of taking my amp upstairs for practise on my own. At the moment, it lives downstairs for jamming / rehearsals (once per week) and I don't really have the opportunity to use it at other times (family insist on watching tat on the TV!). My sympathies with those people with even heavier gear.

I was browsing the Orange website and noticed that some of the amps have a switch for class A / 30w operation (down from Class A/B and 50w). It's a shame that the new Rockerverbs don't do this (there may be good technical reasons why this can't be done, I wouldn't know) as that would have given me, at least in my mind, exactly what I was looking for in terms of extra features beyond my R30 (reverb, clean EQ and effects loop). The R30 just sounded so much sweeter next to the R50 when I A/B'd them in the store (and I can't imagine ever being able to really push 50w into the sweet spot). The combination of class A and EL34s just seems to have give me the core tone that I was looking for, so I hope that we haven't seen the last of the R30 in the longer term.

Ta!

[baytamusic]

First up, I'd like to say a big "Thank you" to all the people who've taken the time to read / respond to my first post. As this is an "Orange enthusiasts" website, I was expecting responses along the line - "have both, and then start thinking about which Orange amp to add to your collection next!"

I'm not gigging yet but, now I'm in a band, I'm hopeful gigs will come next year.

Also, it would be nice to have the "easy" choice of taking my amp upstairs for practise on my own. At the moment, it lives downstairs for jamming / rehearsals (once per week) and I don't really have the opportunity to use it at other times (family insist on watching tat on the TV!). My sympathies with those people with even heavier gear.

I was browsing the Orange website and noticed that some of the amps have a switch for class A / 30w operation (down from Class A/B and 50w). It's a shame that the new Rockerverbs don't do this (there may be good technical reasons why this can't be done, I wouldn't know) as that would have given me, at least in my mind, exactly what I was looking for in terms of extra features beyond my R30 (reverb, clean EQ and effects loop). The R30 just sounded so much sweeter next to the R50 when I A/B'd them in the store (and I can't imagine ever being able to really push 50w into the sweet spot). The combination of class A and EL34s just seems to have give me the core tone that I was looking for, so I hope that we haven't seen the last of the R30 in the longer term.

Ta!

I had an AD50 which has this option of switching from 30w A or 50w A/B. Trust me on this, there is absolutely no difference in volume. It just sounds a little different. I personally prefered A/B on that amp. It sounded less mushy.

[Van Cleef]

i have an r30 combo and a ppc112 with an old greenback in it - i can do one in each hand over short distances... it's far better than lugging my old JCM around - but ya gotta do what ya gotta do

our keys guy has got a motionsound wedge shaped stereo amp - - - it makes a fender twin seem like a throw pillow