Hey everyone + Rocker 30 transformer question

[digiTED]

Hey good folks of Forum of the Orange

I just joined up and am also new to using Orange amps, so HELLO from San Francisco!

I just got my first Orange (after years of admiring their huge tone), a mint 2010 Rocker 30 1x12.

Still learning its sweet spots and have just started some speaker and tube swapping to dial it in for my use (fat cleans and edge tones mostly). Just popped a Celestion Gold in there and ditched the Rubys from V1 and V2 (Tung-Sol RIs at the moment).

In perusing this forum before my registration cleared, I came across a few threads discussing the transformers in the Rocker 30s as well as a Mercury Magnetics replacement.

Mine has Demeters with manufacturing dates from 2010. Any thoughts? Are these problematic? My amp looks like it's had almost no use, so I doubt I'll have issues for some time if at all, but I would like to be aware of known issues moving forward.

Thanks a ton and see you around cyberspace!

Ted

[Jondog]

Demeters are excellent quality transformers, really not worth swapping them unless they need replacing in which case Mercury Magnetics would be my first choice.

[a.hun]

Hey good folks of Forum of the Orange

I just joined up and am also new to using Orange amps, so HELLO from San Francisco!

I just got my first Orange (after years of admiring their huge tone), a mint 2010 Rocker 30 1x12.

Still learning its sweet spots and have just started some speaker and tube swapping to dial it in for my use (fat cleans and edge tones mostly). Just popped a Celestion Gold in there and ditched the Rubys from V1 and V2 (Tung-Sol RIs at the moment).

In perusing this forum before my registration cleared, I came across a few threads discussing the transformers in the Rocker 30s as well as a Mercury Magnetics replacement.

Mine has Demeters with manufacturing dates from 2010. Any thoughts? Are these problematic? My amp looks like it's had almost no use, so I doubt I'll have issues for some time if at all, but I would like to be aware of known issues moving forward.

Thanks a ton and see you around cyberspace!

Ted

Hi Ted. Welcome here.

No worries - the Demeters are good! It was some earlier transformers which weren't quite as nice, but the Demeters were designed specifically to sound close to the posh Mercury Magnetics fitted to some US built Oranges for a short while. Once they had the Demeters they changed over to them. I have the R.30C too (mine's an '06 with Demeters) and they work very well.

There have been very few issues here with the R.30. It was a well designed and well built amp. An amp tech mate of mine who also used to do reviews for one of the UK guitar rags was pretty impressed with the R.30's build quality. His review model had clearly been dropped hard (transformer mountings bent out of line), but the amp was still 100% AOK. With one small reservation he gave it a 5 star rating for build where he'd give modern Marshalls for example 4 stars.

Just too bad the amps sound like a steaming pile of poop smells.*












*NOT

Like I said, welcome to the forum. Have fun with your amp. They don't make them any more and they are missed here. (Well, not so much by those of us who grabbed one in the first place!)


Andy.

[Jondog]

Just too bad the amps sound like a steaming pile of poop smells.*












*NOT

Like I said, welcome to the forum. Have fun with your amp. They don't make them any more and they are missed here. (Well, not so much by those of us who grabbed one in the first place!)


Andy.

I just gasped, then felt relieved

[digiTED]

thx guys! I see, hear and smell absolutely nothing like poo with my R30

I've been looking for a reasonably priced Class A el34 rig that has both rich, character-ful cleans and get get out toward vintage Orange OD tones. I'm thinking the R30 will do it with some tube swaps. So far so good!

I played with a guy many years ago who used a vintage OR80 into a vintage PPC 412 with a Firebird. Unbelievably good edge to crunch tones with lots of chime and sustain. Getting as close to the memory of that tone with my R30 is goal!

[a.hun]

thx guys! I see, hear and smell absolutely nothing like poo with my R30

I've been looking for a reasonably priced Class A el34 rig that has both rich, character-ful cleans and get get out toward vintage Orange OD tones. I'm thinking the R30 will do it with some tube swaps. So far so good!

I played with a guy many years ago who used a vintage OR80 into a vintage PPC 412 with a Firebird. Unbelievably good edge to crunch tones with lots of chime and sustain. Getting as close to the memory of that tone with my R30 is goal!

You chose the right amp then!

I've said quite a few times here that the R.30 is undoubtedly the modern era production Orange model which gets closest to the feel and sound of my own '78 OR120.

Don't worry about it too much but it isn't really a true class A amp, any more than most of the ones people call 'class A' amps are. (Things like Vox AC30s I mean! ) I know Orange say otherwise but in fact technically it is a hot running cathode biased class AB amp - and all the better for it IMO.


Andy.

[Thinline_slim]

Welcome!

[macg1]

Demeters are excellent quality transformers, really not worth swapping them unless they need replacing in which case Mercury Magnetics would be my first choice.

Mmmmm... so how would I find out if my R30 head has Demeters in it? is there a sticker on the outside or do i have to open the chassis?

[digiTED]

I just slid my chassis out as I was swapped preamp tubes anyway. Here are some pix:

[TESLA_EL34]

Stock is fine!

[jockeapa]

Welcome and congrats to one of the finest 1x12 combos ever made!

I had mine for a year now, still amazed how great it sounds, and got an extra cab (1x12 PPC) to add slightly more bottom end.