Trying To Pick Out An Orange

[pedecamp]

Thanks everybody for your responses. I play through a Marshall 2204 which is a 1 channel amp with no fx loop, with a boost in front it pushes more gain to my tone but no volume boost, I dont know if an Orange operates the same but I would think so.

Oranges totally do not operate the same way. You'll find with the majority of Oranges that that boost does nothing - to the point that you question whether the pedal is even working - until you hook it up to a Marshall and it makes a difference....

Billy whats your take on the Thunderverb? Have you had a chance to spend some time with one?

[Les Paul Lover]

The Tv50. Is quite different.to the rockerverb, which I know you quite.liked when you tried it.


Lots of girth, quite tight, a bit more aggressive sounding then the RV50 or AD30. Lots of people have found the channel B hard to use outside of heavy metal as it's a very dark channel.

Again, that could work differently.for you and be your dream amp? Only to find out is to try it!

[msmith4432]

No fx loop shouldn't hold you back. Plenty of people (myself included) go straight into the front of our amps with perfectly good tones...

If you only want the fx loop for a lead boost then I will echo others and tell you that you don't really need an fx loop. I use a boost on my or50 and by playing around with it I can easily get the versatility of a 2 channel amp

[pedecamp]

The Tv50. Is quite different.to the rockerverb, which I know you quite.liked when you tried it.


Lots of girth, quite tight, a bit more aggressive sounding then the RV50 or AD30. Lots of people have found the channel B hard to use outside of heavy metal as it's a very dark channel.

Again, that could work differently.for you and be your dream amp? Only to find out is to try it!

I'm hoping the TV50 B channel will work out as my clean channel, most likely wont be playing heavy metal on either of the channels, hard rock probably the heaviest.

[msmith4432]

The Tv50. Is quite different.to the rockerverb, which I know you quite.liked when you tried it.


Lots of girth, quite tight, a bit more aggressive sounding then the RV50 or AD30. Lots of people have found the channel B hard to use outside of heavy metal as it's a very dark channel.

Again, that could work differently.for you and be your dream amp? Only to find out is to try it!

I'm hoping the TV50 B channel will work out as my clean channel, most likely wont be playing heavy metal on either of the channels, hard rock probably the heaviest.

I owned the tv50 for about a year. It was great on channel A, but for me b was a tough clean channel, it's just very dark

[pedecamp]

The Tv50. Is quite different.to the rockerverb, which I know you quite.liked when you tried it.


Lots of girth, quite tight, a bit more aggressive sounding then the RV50 or AD30. Lots of people have found the channel B hard to use outside of heavy metal as it's a very dark channel.

Again, that could work differently.for you and be your dream amp? Only to find out is to try it!

I'm hoping the TV50 B channel will work out as my clean channel, most likely wont be playing heavy metal on either of the channels, hard rock probably the heaviest.

I owned the tv50 for about a year. It was great on channel A, but for me b was a tough clean channel, it's just very dark

So twisting the shape knob to the extreme left doesnt help? Not that I doubt you, but I gotta get my hands on one of these and see for myself. The guy in the following videos seems to be getting some fairly decent classic tones.

Check out this video for a B channel demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAdNqs622ks" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Heres the same guy's demo of the A channel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwRUmVUDn-U" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Borderline Productions]

Unlike a Fender where you can crank the clean channel to torture levels before it distorts, the RV50 clean channel gets good power tube distortion at about 2 o'clock. From there on up you get tube compression (the same volume) with more warmth. It is relatively clean, but no Fender clean.

[pedecamp]

Unlike a Fender where you can crank the clean channel to torture levels before it distorts, the RV50 clean channel gets good power tube distortion at about 2 o'clock. From there on up you get tube compression (the same volume) with more warmth. It is relatively clean, but no Fender clean.

Which are you referring to as the clean channel A or B? I like a little grit in my clean so Fender clean isn't anything I like any way.

[merlhagstrom]

I have an OR 50, Tiny Terror and a Thunderverb 50. The Thunderverb is the best sounding amp ever created by humans. It is versatile, it is way huge sounding, thick, articulate, amazing. I can get pretty much any tone I want. The OR 50 has a great tone but unless you are playing where the sound guy has ear plugs you can't get it to break up well until it gets fairly loud. It is a beautiful tone but louder than a bass player and vocals in many situations. The Thunderverb has the magical attenuator which makes the Thunder at lower volumes giving your tubes room to melt without baking ear drums. Forget about the tone knobs, eq ect, the Thunderverbs bass, mid and treble make huge changes with just a bit of tweaking on each on A and on B the shape knob is an endless trip to tone town. JMHO.

[pedecamp]

I have an OR 50, Tiny Terror and a Thunderverb 50. The Thunderverb is the best sounding amp ever created by humans. It is versatile, it is way huge sounding, thick, articulate, amazing. I can get pretty much any tone I want. The OR 50 has a great tone but unless you are playing where the sound guy has ear plugs you can't get it to break up well until it gets fairly loud. It is a beautiful tone but louder than a bass player and vocals in many situations. The Thunderverb has the magical attenuator which makes the Thunder at lower volumes giving your tubes room to melt without baking ear drums. Forget about the tone knobs, eq ect, the Thunderverbs bass, mid and treble make huge changes with just a bit of tweaking on each on A and on B the shape knob is an endless trip to tone town. JMHO.

Great report, thanks!

[pedecamp]

Here's an update on my amp search. I got a chance to play a Thunderverb 50 the other week and loved the tone and its features, still I felt the lack of an eq on the B channel was limiting but I was able to dial in some useable cleanish tones the way I like, its great having a gain dial on both channels. The A channel was perfect but the B channel was just a bit on the darker side than I like but I feel I could fix this with the right tube swap and possible bias change. The built in attenuator almost seemed like an unnecessary feature, I could get great tones at any volume with the attenuator turned off. What the attenuator was good for since it's foot switchable is to use it for solo boosts which worked out really well, no need for a boost in the loop! This particular amp was in pretty rough shape and the tubes were making crackle pop sounds so I didn't buy it and will keep a look out for another. I really like this amp!

[Les Paul Lover]

Well, that was some perfectly acceptable necrobumping....

Glad you got to try it, there's nothing like hands on experience to see if it'll work for you.

Not sure that you'll achieve a brighter and less dark B channel without actually changing components in the signal chain and tone control of channel B to be honest. I'm not sure you'll achieve that at all with power tube biasing, I doubt it seriously - you could get it cooler or warmer sounding, but you won't change the voicing of that channel.

Preamp valves could work to a degree, but I think the main thing, unless you plan on modding it, is to accept the channel B as what it is.

[DiabloS]

Here's an update on my amp search. I got a chance to play a Thunderverb 50 the other week and loved the tone and its features, still I felt the lack of an eq on the B channel was limiting but I was able to dial in some useable cleanish tones the way I like, its great having a gain dial on both channels. The A channel was perfect but the B channel was just a bit on the darker side than I like but I feel I could fix this with the right tube swap and possible bias change. The built in attenuator almost seemed like an unnecessary feature, I could get great tones at any volume with the attenuator turned off. What the attenuator was good for since it's foot switchable is to use it for solo boosts which worked out really well, no need for a boost in the loop! This particular amp was in pretty rough shape and the tubes were making crackle pop sounds so I didn't buy it and will keep a look out for another. I really like this amp!

The Thunderverb 50 is an awesome amp that sounds great at any volume. I started using the attenuator as a lead boost by switching it off too. I still find it useful to use the attenuator at home too just because you don't get as big of a jump in volume when setting your channel volume. It makes it much easier to find a sweet spot.

I'll second what Les Paul Lover said about channel B though, it's a very dark channel in nature and those little changes in tubes, etc. aren't going to drastically change that. Other than an EQ pedal, the only thing I've found that works well enough to brighten it up is to get a good OD pedal that has a good EQ section on it (preferably separate Treble, Mid, Bass instead of just a tone knob) so you can dial it in better than by just using the shape knob. The Xotic BB Preamp with Mid Boost as the ability to boost or cut frequencies and it works pretty well with Orange amps.

[kpunk56]

I just dont understand.... why would anyone need pedals with an orange ... ha ha, seriously, they sound fine in the front end of the amps.

Effects loop is not needed.

[pedecamp]

Well, that was some perfectly acceptable necrobumping....

Glad you got to try it, there's nothing like hands on experience to see if it'll work for you.

Not sure that you'll achieve a brighter and less dark B channel without actually changing components in the signal chain and tone control of channel B to be honest. I'm not sure you'll achieve that at all with power tube biasing, I doubt it seriously - you could get it cooler or warmer sounding, but you won't change the voicing of that channel.

Preamp valves could work to a degree, but I think the main thing, unless you plan on modding it, is to accept the channel B as what it is.

The Thunderverb 50 is an awesome amp that sounds great at any volume. I started using the attenuator as a lead boost by switching it off too. I still find it useful to use the attenuator at home too just because you don't get as big of a jump in volume when setting your channel volume. It makes it much easier to find a sweet spot.

I'll second what Les Paul Lover said about channel B though, it's a very dark channel in nature and those little changes in tubes, etc. aren't going to drastically change that. Other than an EQ pedal, the only thing I've found that works well enough to brighten it up is to get a good OD pedal that has a good EQ section on it (preferably separate Treble, Mid, Bass instead of just a tone knob) so you can dial it in better than by just using the shape knob. The Xotic BB Preamp with Mid Boost as the ability to boost or cut frequencies and it works pretty well with Orange amps.

I gotta get one in my hands at home to play with then I'll see what can be done if anything with the B channel. It could just be a preconception of what I think it should be, I may end up liking it the way it is when I get used to it and learn how to work with it. A as the dirty channel and B as the clean, I'm hoping to use no pedals at all with this amp.