Narrowing down amp choice

[GoobyGoober]

Hey guys, I'm in the market for an Orange amp.
I'll have to make a couple of trips outside town in order to test different Orange amps, and I'd like to narrow down my choice beforehand so I know where to go and what to look for.

I want a powerful, sludgy amp with plenty gain on tap and a roaring bottom end. The kind that makes windows quake and your stomach churn.
The lightest I'll be playing is stuff like Sabbath. Heaviest is stuff like Acid Bath and Sleep.
Tone I'm really looking to nail is the likes of Kyuss, Boris and Torche.

I don't need clean tones so a clean channel is optional. I only clean up with the volume knob, so good responsiveness to dynamics is a plus
Reverb and FX Loop are also optional. I don't like running reverb before mixing and I don't need an FX Loop as the only thing I'll be running is an Eau Claire Thunder in front of the amp.

Thanks guys!

[msmith4432]

Not familiar with some of those bands but sounds like a thunderverb 50 could work well

[Ronnie Robinson]

or the Th100

Welcome to the forum

[irish_admiral]

Thunder or Rocker series

[Dave666]

Rocer30
OR50

[Jondog]

Thunderverb

[jesperbc]

The TH100 has tons of gain on tap, but the shape knob and the lack of an EQ section, might require an EQ or fuzz pedal to get a thick sludgy distortion.

Someone wrote a review of the Thunderverb 50 or 200 somewhere here on the forum, and described is a dark sounding amp, which in my mind would fit perfectly with a sludge band.

Otherwise the Rockerverb seems the good allround choice.

[OrangeJuicer]

Rockerverb 50

[0000]

Thunderverb 200.

[terminate_user]

I would say if you want density ala sleep, go with either the Thunderverb 200 or the OR100. If you want Torche like tones, get the TH 30 or Rockerverb 50/100. If you want Boris, buy one of everything Orange makes!

[Jondog]

Thunderverb 200.

This does all you are looking for. Shakes walls, sludgy.

[GoobyGoober]

So, the consensus is the following series:

Thunder/Thunderverb
Rockerverb
OR

I'll still have to make two trips, but it's certainly a break from the 4 trips I would have to take were I to try the entire line!

Judging from the faceplate, I played a Rockerverb amp a few years back. It's what drew my attention to the Orange brand in the first place, although at the time I was playing a Vox AC30 which fit my band better.
Now I can finally get rid of the Vox and explore Orange!

A question: what's the difference between the Thunder and RV series? From my cursory search, it seems like they would be very similar amps.

[Jondog]

So, the consensus is the following series:

Thunder/Thunderverb
Rockerverb
OR

I'll still have to make two trips, but it's certainly a break from the 4 trips I would have to take were I to try the entire line!

Judging from the faceplate, I played a Rockerverb amp a few years back. It's what drew my attention to the Orange brand in the first place, although at the time I was playing a Vox AC30 which fit my band better.
Now I can finally get rid of the Vox and explore Orange!

A question: what's the difference between the Thunder and RV series? From my cursory search, it seems like they would be very similar amps.

They're quite different. The RV has a dirty and clean channel each with full EQ. Thunderverb is a bit darker sounding amp with two dirty channels, one with the usual fmv EQ and one with the shape control EQ. Both amps have reverb, but the Thunderverb adds an attenuator function.
http://youtu.be/_DcQRcA03eU

[ironlung40]

I wouldn't go with the TV200 just because of the ohms and speaker choices. If I had one, I'd run it in 100 watt mode all the time as I don't have a high powered cab, so that might still be an option.

I'd go with the RV100 or maybe the new OR100 but I haven't played it. I did not like the TH30, and I haven't played a TH100, so no recommendation there. But, I would stay in the 100 watt camp if it were me, for that kind of music. If the OR100 has any likeness to the OR50, it would probably hit the doomy fuzziness tone better than anything else, and at 100 watts it would have more arse than the OR50. The OR50 does all of that music well, but I think it would benefit from being a 100 watter. I know with the OR50, no pedals are needed to cover any of that stuff, and do it well.

[0000]

I wouldn't go with the TV200 just because of the ohms and speaker choices. If I had one, I'd run it in 100 watt mode all the time as I don't have a high powered cab, so that might still be an option.

You don't think running a Thunderverb 200w head into the regular Orange 4x12 cab with a "Power Handling - 240w" would be alright? Obviously you would not be maxing the amp out. Probably never even going past 11 o clock, even for show volumes.