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TH30 or not...
Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:49 pm
by Arthon
Need advice...
I have a Rocker 15 that do pretty much what I want it to do in my band, recording, rehearsal and gigs when the amp is miced. I use it thru a 4x10 Orange cab for more a large sound spectrum. I also have a Tiny Terror HW, but I dont use it often since I need the effect loop for reverb, delay and echo.
But... I need more volume/presence when we are doing unmiced gig. I am in a 5 pieces band and my 15 watts dont stand-out enough for the audience. I hear myself correctly on stage, but the audience dont. There is a great deal on a TH30 head near me. It's nice, but I dont need a 4 stage gain (I dont play metal or even Hard rock). I heard great things about the old Rocker 30. Should I try to find one used? It's made in UK but doesnt have a effect loop. Since I have the 4x10 cab, I will be playing the head thu it. I would have thought about the Rocker 32 if they made a head version; I dont need another Orange combo. I want a Orange, to keep a certain constancy in my sound.
What do you think? Or maybe someone will say that going from a 15 watts to a 30 watts wont help me get heard more in a unmiced gig.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 9:50 pm
by Sootio
Hard to say. Going from 15 watts to 30 watts is definitely louder, but is it loud enough? Borrow another cab and run your TT in stereo with your main amp. See how that goes.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2018 8:38 am
by Ronnie Robinson
The Th30 is one amp that polorises people's opinions on this forum.
Can you try it before you buy? that is the only way to see if it's suitable.
I have the terror version of the rocker 15 it's a really good amp and loud ....my ad30htc is a little louder but not by a huge amount. Can larger gigs not be miced up?
The Rocker 30 is a good sounding Amp with a loud dirty channel, similar to the rocker 15 but with a bit more aggressive classic rock punky tone.The natural channel is a bit quieter , I've not compared them but I can't see the natural channel on the Rocker 30 being much if any louder than the natural channel on my rocker 15 terror.. Maybe I'm wrong.
You could also consider the efficiency of your speakers this can make quite a difference but if you're already using something like V30s they are really efficient already or tweaking your eq or maybe using using less pre-amp gain... Although maybe you don't use too much anyway.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 2:13 pm
by Arthon
Running my amps in stereo is a good idea, but it makes a large rig for a bar gig. Since we are a 5 pieces bands (2 guitars, keyboard, bass, drum), we are usually packed on stage. But it could do a cool wet/dry setting.
The Rocker 30 is probably the amp I need since I play Indie Rock most of the time. I dont use the clean channel in my band with my Rocker 15, so the quietenness of the Rocker 30 clean channel is not a problem. But it's only available used and I can have a good deal on the TH30. I will try it tomorrow at the shop . The thing is I wont be able to test it on a gig situation in the shop
. Maybe I could put lesser gain pre amp tube to tame the gain...
Or,
Maybe I could buy a ppc112 and use it with my Rocker 15 instead of the ppc410. A V30 have probably more punch and presence then my 4 x10 10" speakers.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 2:22 pm
by mici88
Sootio wrote: ↑Fri Dec 28, 2018 9:50 pm
Hard to say. Going from 15 watts to 30 watts is definitely louder, but is it loud enough? Borrow another cab and run your TT in stereo with your main amp. See how that goes.
Double the watts =/= double the volume! All you'll get is a bit more headroom, but I don't think there's gonna be a significant volume benefit. Maybe 3-5 dBs.
As for OP. I had TH30 for a year and sold it eventually. Now another year has passed with Rockerverb MK1 and that's an Orange real-deal, as I call it. Here are my observations about TH30:
pros
-switchable wattage - 7/15/30, in general it's nice-to-have because sometimes you might want to drive your amp a little faster without being too loud
-very decent fx loop - no volume drop issues, takes true-bypass and buffers well
-great clean channel, has a lot of chime
cons
-fizzy gain - do not expect smooth overdrive like RV, OR...
-huge volume mismatch between channels (for example vol on 12:00 on clean channel is very, very loud or even too loud, whereas 12:00 on dirty channel is not enough)
-shape knob - I found only one usable setting and it was somewhere around 11 and 12 o'clock, rest was either too mushy or too shrilly.
I'm not saying it's a bad amp, but
Ronnie Robinson wrote: ↑Sat Dec 29, 2018 8:38 am
The Th30 is one amp that polorises people's opinions on this forum.
is very true statement. Some folks love it, some hate it, I'd place myself in a "TH30 would be the last Orange tube amp I'd would choose".
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 3:08 pm
by Sootio
mici88 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 30, 2018 2:22 pm
Sootio wrote: ↑Fri Dec 28, 2018 9:50 pm
Hard to say. Going from 15 watts to 30 watts is definitely louder, but is it loud enough? Borrow another cab and run your TT in stereo with your main amp. See how that goes.
Double the watts =/= double the volume! All you'll get is a bit more headroom, but I don't think there's gonna be a significant volume benefit. Maybe 3-5 dBs.
As for OP. I had TH30 for a year and sold it eventually. Now another year has passed with Rockerverb MK1 and that's an Orange real-deal, as I call it. Here are my observations about TH30:
pros
-switchable wattage - 7/15/30, in general it's nice-to-have because sometimes you might want to drive your amp a little faster without being too loud
-very decent fx loop - no volume drop issues, takes true-bypass and buffers well
-great clean channel, has a lot of chime
cons
-fizzy gain - do not expect smooth overdrive like RV, OR...
-huge volume mismatch between channels (for example vol on 12:00 on clean channel is very, very loud or even too loud, whereas 12:00 on dirty channel is not enough)
-shape knob - I found only one usable setting and it was somewhere around 11 and 12 o'clock, rest was either too mushy or too shrilly.
I'm not saying it's a bad amp, but
Ronnie Robinson wrote: ↑Sat Dec 29, 2018 8:38 am
The Th30 is one amp that polorises people's opinions on this forum.
is very true statement. Some folks love it, some hate it, I'd place myself in a "TH30 would be the last Orange tube amp I'd would choose".
When you have the clean channel at noon, you're very close to max volume of the amp. I just gets dirtier from there, but you can still have dirty channel louder by a good bit if you turn up the gain. That's not how I use the amp, though. I find the whole left side of the shape knob quite usable, and by keeping the gain below noon, the drive is very smooth. It's not the most intuitive amp out there, though. It just didn't suit your needs.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 3:13 pm
by Arthon
mici88 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 30, 2018 2:22 pm
is very true statement. Some folks love it, some hate it, I'd place myself in a "TH30 would be the last Orange tube amp I'd would choose".
Nice to know! I really like the drive on my TT and my Rocker 15, so the TH30 is probably not for me. I once played in a band with a guitarist that had a Rockerverb. Nice amp, but too loud and dirty for me.
Like I have said, I dont really need more volume, but more presence for the audience to hear me. I dont play really distorded and I dont cut my mids (around 11 on the knob). I thought a 30 watts amp would give me that presence.
On the plus side, the effect loop is nice. I use alot of delay, verb and echo in my band. Those effects doesnt sound good in front of a Orange amp. In front of my Fender, that sound great, but a Orange needs a effect loop.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:15 pm
by Sootio
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 5:28 pm
by Arthon
Nice video. They all seem very similar to me. All of them get that Orange Crunch.
The one I prefer is the OR80, ad30 second but I think the Th30 dont sound that bad. I actually prefer it to the Rockereverb.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:15 pm
by Sootio
Arthon wrote: ↑Sun Dec 30, 2018 5:28 pm
Nice video. They all seem very similar to me. All of them get that Orange Crunch.
The one I prefer is the OR80, ad30 second but I think the Th30 dont sound that bad. I actually prefer it to the Rockereverb.
They all sound just fine to me.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:26 pm
by Arthon
Sootio wrote: ↑Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:15 pm
Arthon wrote: ↑Sun Dec 30, 2018 5:28 pm
Nice video. They all seem very similar to me. All of them get that Orange Crunch.
The one I prefer is the OR80, ad30 second but I think the Th30 dont sound that bad. I actually prefer it to the Rockereverb.
They all sound just fine to me.
Exactly! It makes me want to try the TH30
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:57 pm
by Sootio
Arthon wrote: ↑Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:26 pm
Sootio wrote: ↑Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:15 pm
Arthon wrote: ↑Sun Dec 30, 2018 5:28 pm
Nice video. They all seem very similar to me. All of them get that Orange Crunch.
The one I prefer is the OR80, ad30 second but I think the Th30 dont sound that bad. I actually prefer it to the Rockereverb.
They all sound just fine to me.
Exactly! It makes me want to try the TH30
From your description of what you're playing, I think you'd like it a lot. I use mine pretty much in the same way as the video and I promise you that is a very accurate representation.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 1:20 pm
by pedecamp
Save up for a 50 watt amp to be on the safe side or if you need it right away get one on a payment plan.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:08 pm
by Arthon
pedecamp wrote: ↑Thu Jan 03, 2019 1:20 pm
Save up for a 50 watt amp to be on the safe side or if you need it right away get one on a payment plan.
The difference of volume between a 30 watts and 50 watts is not even 3db. It's quite marginal, but a 50 watts will have more headroom. I am ok 95% of my playing time with a 15 watts amp, so a 50 watts is overkill for me.
Re: TH30 or not...
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:55 pm
by pedecamp
Arthon wrote: ↑Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:08 pm
pedecamp wrote: ↑Thu Jan 03, 2019 1:20 pm
Save up for a 50 watt amp to be on the safe side or if you need it right away get one on a payment plan.
The difference of volume between a 30 watts and 50 watts is not even 3db. It's quite marginal, but a 50 watts will have more headroom. I am ok 95% of my playing time with a 15 watts amp, so a 50 watts is overkill for me.
The difference between 50 and 100 watts is 3db, doesn't seem like much, only you know what you need so go for the 30 if that's what you need. I play a 50 watt TV50 at home volume and its not overkill at all.