Orange Amps Forum

I love that power amp distortion on my Rv50(sadly I have Mk2 and not Mk3 which has power brake built in). However, I can get it only when the volume is above 6/10 and that is insanely loud. So do you have any experience with additional power brakes? Should I get one?

They don't make them anymore but if you can find a Marshall SE-100 you will be very happy.

there's a Marshall SE-100 on Reverb right now.

i am currently looking for a reactive load box/attenuator.

been looking at the fryette, suhr, universal audio and two notes products.

two notes has some very good attenuator/load boxes with the small torpedo captors. they also have some very good rack mount units that do it all pretty much.

fryette has a reactive load box that allows you to switch between 4, 8, or 16 ohms amongst many other features.

i am leaning more towards the two notes products but still watching youtube videos and reading reviews.

If I get one, and run the amp every day at let's say 7/10 volume, how often should I change the power tubes? Is there any danger to the amp if I don't change them and the tube fails?

I use a Jet City jettenuator with my RV50 and R30.

High attenuation does remove high end and dynamics, but it works a really treat to take these beasts at home. Works really nicely live too.... because then you can really crank the amp and you only need a little attenuation to bring it back to loud band settings, matching the drummer.

It's pretty inexpensive as far as attenuator go, and does 4, 8 16 ohms, line out and xlr out. I believe it can work as a load box too, though I've never tried that.

I bought mine with an amp and cab and thought I'd flip it, but it was to good toilet go. I use mine almost all the time now.

caldurham wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 20, 2018 4:35 pm

there's a Marshall SE-100 on Reverb right now.

i am currently looking for a reactive load box/attenuator.

The SE-100 is an attenuator as well as a speaker emulator. Very versatile.

People that have them tend to hold onto them.

The Power Station V2 is still king if you want the best. But it's pricey, and somewhat cumbersome compared to other options. It has tubes and requires power if you want to use it as more than a load box. The strong point is that it sounds consistently good over pretty much any volume, whereas cheaper resistive units degrade the sound more the more you attenuate.

If you only need to shave off a small amount of volume I would save yourself a lot of money and go with a resistive unit. Take your pick based on features and price. They all kill the top end a bit, and they all compress the sound and degrade the quality more as you lower the output.

All that being said, a Rockerverb is not an amp I would bother attenuating. The sound of this amp is very pre-amp based, and the master volume is extremely effective. It's not like an old non-MV Marshall, or an OR-120. You can get the amp to sound good at reasonable volumes.

First and foremost, use an amp that's correctly powered for your purposes. If that's not an option, you can attenuate. But it's not always necessary, and there are plenty of downfalls with attenuation.

-Nick

Les Paul Lover wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 20, 2018 6:59 pm

I bought mine with an amp and cab and thought I'd flip it, but it was to good toilet go. I use mine almost all the time now.

Don't flush it, it'll clog.

megalithic wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 01, 2018 9:40 am

Les Paul Lover wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 20, 2018 6:59 pm

I bought mine with an amp and cab and thought I'd flip it, but it was to good toilet go. I use mine almost all the time now.

Don't flush it, it'll clog.

I would usually go and correct that, but I might just let that autocorrect fault there....