Orange Rockerverb 100 VS AD140. Advice?

[a.hun]

Does anybody have an answer on my wiring question? Are all the AD140's handwired?

Bit late, but no, the single channel AD140 Lead was Custom Shop hand wired. The Twin Channel AD140s were PCB based, though that doesn't tell you how much was done by hand.

So I currently have a rocker 30 and an open back 2x12. I know orange is the sound for me, but I'm looking for something a little meaner.

Meaner? Don't know many meaner sounding Orange amps than the R.30.

Not to throw a wrench in (but throwing a wrench in), but have you thought about an Overdrive 80/120? I have an OD120 and absolutely love it. One channel, and while there is a lot of gain on tap if you want it, it stays vintage sounding throughout the dial. Plus, it's only one channel - but using a boost, or volume pedal, or picking dynamics, etc can help you get a wide variety of tones out of it. It's a very responsive amp - as I think all Oranges really are, actually, but I feel like it's extra responsive to how you pick/strum.

The ORs were meaner. (I own both amps, my OD120 since 1980, an R.30 since 2007.) Wouldn't have said the vintage OR has 'a lot of' gain on tap - they will get great dirty rock sounds when pushed but are pretty low gain amps by todays standards. However...

Honestly. It all comes down to the size of stadium you plan on playing at.

Yep. Thing about the old OR amps is thay don't really sound that good at all until you get them wound up some. At which point you are talking VERY loud. And the master volume on the MV 'Overdrive' models really isn't that great at all. You can take a bit of volume off keeping decent sounds, but don't expect good sounds with the MV below maybe 7 / 10. As I say these amps do need pushed to sound great = way too loud for most stages these days. They are a genuine '70s throwback designed for the time when stage volumes were normally way higher than now. FWIW I use mine for bass on gigs, not for guitar.

Od120 looks sick. They are all hand wired too?

No - all OD and OR amps from the 1970's and 1990's were PCB designs, and very well-made ones at that.

Yep PCB, but as were basically all amps back then also hand made!

Congratulations on the AD140! Not as aggressive sounding as the R.30 or old OR amps, but should sound much better at more moderate volumes than the latter. If you find the AD doesn't have the mean edge of the R.30 though you might eventually want to think old OR plus a good attenuator...


Andy.

[ironlung40]

Hmm. Both bands I dig the tone of most are using the AD series. Nobody I listen to uses the Thunderverb though. Seems like its a more evil metel styled amp, which I do NOT want. I think I want to get the AD140. Does anybody have an answer on my wiring question? Are all the AD140's handwired? Also, anything you guys DIDN'T dig about the ad140? I know its not as modern sounding, but I dont necessarily need a modern tone.

The RV is more modern sounding than the TV and can get equally heavy, infact the RV probably has more gain. The dude from slipknot uses RV100's and you don't get much more metal than them. If I wanted to play some metal, I'd pull my RV out.
Like Jason said, if you don't need a clean channel then at least try the TV. It's an overall better amp IMO, not being biased because I have both. You also get the attenuator with the TV which is a great feature.

OT: what movie is your signature pic from?


My vote goes to the AD140 over the RV or TV. It's tough to be 2 channels that can be set up dirty or clean. The tone ain't half bad either.

[Santucci218]

Updates on the AD140? I'm looking into them as well....need some feedback esp. compared to the Rocker 30.

Hey man! Having owned both for a good amount of time, I will say hands down the AD140 is the last name in amps for me. My R30 was no joke, but it was more modern sounding, with clean cleans. The AD140 is a whole different beast. A nice warm clean sound with some hair to it. A ton of bass from those huge Mercury Magnetic Transformers. And I dig el34's the most for sure. Anyways, it can get stupid loud, but still sounds killer at bedroom levels. Every time I turn it on the warmth and dynamics make me grin. I always use channel one myself with some slight breakup, and an overdrive pedal to push it to distortion. I dont really play metal anymore, so I dont really care for a tight high gain amp. The AD140 has a good amount of gain on both channels. Channel 2 having more, and being a little bit tighter to play on. That being said, it gets a little fizzy when you really crank the gain, so I rarely use it. Also, with no fx loop, i like to leave the gain lower as to not mess up my reverb and delay's. Then I use an overdrive/distortion pedal to push it a bit more before the delay and verb pedals to get more gain if needed.

If you have any specific questions about the AD140 or R30 lemme know.

[everdrone]

I have a tv50, it is my fav. both channels can be set up for clean or dirty, takes fuzz pedals well, has a built in attenuator, is really loud and powerful and handles downtuning well.

versatile dirt king

[StevenJM]

I'm really wondering if I'd prefer the 140 over my AD30.

I really like the AD30, but I had it pretty cranked at practice tonight and might need a little more volume.

[Belzebuth]

I had it pretty cranked at practice tonight and might need a little more volume.

an extra cab/ more efficient speakers could be the answer...

[StevenJM]

Possibly. I like keeping my rig on the small side. But a 4x12 might be my best option for this guy.

It was plenty loud, but if I need a little extra juice at a gig, it won't have it.

[jamison162]

Possibly. I like keeping my rig on the small side. But a 4x12 might be my best option for this guy.

It was plenty loud, but if I need a little extra juice at a gig, it won't have it.

If you need a little more power, put a solid state rectifier in for the GZ34, they run about $10 and won't wear out.

http://tubedepot.com/ssr.html