Orange Amps Forum

Well, last night was my first live show I did with my Rocker30 Combo.
Normally I take one of my marshalls with 4x12 cabinet with me. But yesterday I was soooooo lazy I just took my Orange Combo with me. So there I was with my Orange looking little combo between all of these black looking half stacks (I play in a metal band)
I just plugged right in, just a compressor in front that I switch on when I wanted to, but most of the time it's just my Sg standard and my Rocker30.
It went well, and afterwards the soundguy complimented me with my tone. He said it's one of the easiest amps he ever mic'ed. He said, Your tone was just right, I didn't had to put any EQ or reverb on to it.

All hail Orange for making THE ROCKER30!!!

So will I ever take another amp with me???? I don't know, I doubt it!!!!

Good stuff!

Yeah, the R.30C remains a near perfect guitar combo for my own needs. Simple, no frills, but really effective.

For live or recording use it'll really do the job. Always nice to get comments like that from a sound engineer though.


Andy.

R30 is the bomb.

Totally agree, though metal's not my genre.

Just wish I had the time to be in a band again.....not playing much as it's not the same without the gigs to work towards. Sob.

I played a support gig for the Chords on the weekend at a large-ish venue here in Melbourne using a borrowed AC30 packed with a pair of blues and after cranking it i kinda felt a little unimpressed, maybe i'm too critical but it didn't have that bottom end or clarity i've come to expect from my trusty r30. Prior to this gig i'd never had the opportunity to give an AC30 a thrashing like this and it really made me stop gassing for one and love my rocker more than ever.
(btw i replaced the v30 with a ceramic weber fc12 - its really balanced the frequency and made my natural channel shine....in a huge way!)
Is it just me or have others compared the ac30 with the r30 and come to same conclusion?
cheers!

minty wrote:I played a support gig for the Chords on the weekend at a large-ish venue here in Melbourne using a borrowed AC30 packed with a pair of blues and after cranking it i kinda felt a little unimpressed, maybe i'm too critical but it didn't have that bottom end or clarity i've come to expect from my trusty r30. Prior to this gig i'd never had the opportunity to give an AC30 a thrashing like this and it really made me stop gassing for one and love my rocker more than ever.

Is it just me or have others compared the ac30 with the r30 and come to same conclusion?
cheers!

You really can't generalise about AC30s from playing one example at gig levels. There is no 'the' AC30!

AC30s are about the most variable amps ever made - some are astonishing, others astonishingly bad. Since there have been many different AC30 variants over the years, (from many different actual manufacturers - even though they were all under the 'Vox' name!), this can be true for many eras, both vintage and newage. Some models from some periods were really bad though. One PCB built version even used to regularly catch fire - that design only lasted a year or so...
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My own original JMI era AC30 head is also easily the most variable single amp I own. I think it is probably very voltage sensitive - either that or the weather or time of the month gets to it too. Sometimes it really shines, other times it is nearly as dull as old ditchwater. But believe me, when it is good it is a tremendous sounding amp. It just isn't nearly as consistent that way as most.

IMO though good AC30s, along with a few others like Oranges, are about the most characterful sounding amps out there. They don't usually tend to have massive bottom end - it just isn't really a Vox thing. Some did have more than others though - mine for example is an AC30B version. Back then they did 'T', N' and 'B' versions = treble (not to be confused with 'top boost', mine is also a 'Top Boost' amp ), normal and bass. All of which just had a couple of capacitors value changes.

I don't really compare the R.30 to the AC30 at all. They are just too different. Can work together really well though, so don't give up on AC30s!


Andy.

a.hun wrote:I don't really compare the R.30 to the AC30 at all. They are just too different. Can work together really well though, so don't give up on AC30s!

this. AC30s can be wonderful. i played just yesterday a Handwired Mahogany UK model at my local guitar center and i was blown away. it's used too and has a halfway decent price tag, and my friend who works there can get it at cost from the guy who sold it to him. but that seriously was one incredible sound. just different from the rocker 30.

Your right Andy, i'm comparing an el84 with an el34 amp and also this was a CC2 model - probably vastly different from a vintage ac30. A friend of mine has a mid-60's model thats recently been overhauled, i'll try that one to see if my opinion changes.

in the meantime though i'll keep loving my r30

thanks guys!