Orange Amps Forum

New to the forum, and looking for advice on a Orange Head for a current band project.....think 70s/80s/90s rock covers.

Looking for advice on which head (no more than 50w) that’s gives nice cleans (does not need to be sparkly cleans) that can get a bit gritty, as well as a channel that can give mid-gain distortion without getting too fizzy and take pedals as required...Is the rockerverb50 the way to go or would the th30 or other be a better route to take?

Any advice gratefully received........

Hi , effects loop required or not ? The majority of orange Amps will cover this no problem you just need to decide on features , head / combo and budget.

Consider Rockerverb - although mk ii is not good with pedals, not sure on mk iii, voiced more modern than classic but can cover most bases.

Ad30 htc - great all round , excellent with pedals and really nice clean and classic rock tones, with ability to set clean channel with varying degrees of gain.No effects loop but effects such as chorus / delay still work well through the front.....I am biased as this is my main amp !

Rocker 30 - not made anymore but a beast of a dirty channel, not perfect though as natural channel is much quieter and volume taper goes from quiet to loud with the smallest of turns.

Thanks, it’s a head I want and will run it into a 2x12 loaded with creambacks. Effects loop not essential but could be a bonus.

What’s the main difference between the AD30HTC and the Rockerverb....does one do ‘classic’ more easily than the other? Some versatility is good but I can’t see a need for ultra modern fuzzy gain with this current project.

I may have an opportunity to get a 2006 Rockerverb mki...could this be a good option (obviously I would have to confirm by playing it) but any advise is also a help.

Ad30 TC is more classic voiced and has valve rectifier which is more classic sounding. Rockerverb is versatile but voiced with more gain although can doclassic stuff easily enough.

Ad30 has 2 independent channels each can be set clean or dirty of anywhere in-between so very versatile.

I've not played the mki RV but others on here swear by them.

Thanks, how well does the AD30 cut it a band mix? I’ve had some amps that get bit lost when played with live (despite playing with the eq mix )

Does it take boost pedals well for leads? Basically new project is a 1 guitar band (me) doing both rhythm and lead as required so what to be able to use the amp for both but boosting as required for the leads.

Digestive wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:20 pm

Thanks, how well does the AD30 cut it a band mix? I’ve had some amps that get bit lost when played with live (despite playing with the eq mix )

Does it take boost pedals well for leads? Basically new project is a 1 guitar band (me) doing both rhythm and lead as required so what to be able to use the amp for both but boosting as required for the leads.

It dominates if you want it to. It more than cuts it in a band mix, in fact, it blows away a 50 watt Marshall.

You won't need a pedal for leads if you use channel two for solos. A boost will add something if you want but isn't necessary.

Digestive wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:20 pm

Thanks, how well does the AD30 cut it a band mix? I’ve had some amps that get bit lost when played with live (despite playing with the eq mix )

Does it take boost pedals well for leads? Basically new project is a 1 guitar band (me) doing both rhythm and lead as required so what to be able to use the amp for both but boosting as required for the leads.

The only Orange amp I've owned and felt theoverdive channel did not cut through a band mix was the Rockerverb...the Ad30htc is a totally different beast...yes easily cuts through and works excellent with boosts I use an xotic ep booster and either a Suhr shiva drive or Fulltone OCD all work well as long as you don't use too much pre amp gain....12 o'clock at volume and gain gives a good crunch but still loads of room for volume boost.

Based on what I'm reading the only orange head I'd recommend is the AD30. You have the versatility in that amp to have a clean and drive channel, or two drive channels, or two clean channels. That is what I love about the head. It is loud enough to be the loudest thing in the band and is voiced with enough mids to cut well in the mix. The only problem is you have no FX loop or Solo boost.

That leads me down this road...
Have you considered a Mesa Fillmore? It's a similar concept to the AD30 (two similar channels that can be anything from clean to drive), but it has a solo boost feature and an effects loops.
You could also look into getting a Lonestar and having it modded to where the drive section can be footswitched on channel 2.

Thanks, was ideally thinking Orange to keep a ‘British’ feel to the sound.

The effects loop not essential as I would normally run a small amount of delay through the front on the amp anyway....

From a lead point of view if needed, was looking to use a ZenDrive to add a bit of flavour/boost if required or just maybe just a SHO for a kick when required.

From what I’ve heard the Rocker30 might have been an option, but these seem quite rare to come across, hence my interest in the AD30 or Rockerverb.....now think AD30 would give a bit more versatility.

Ddjembe Mutombo wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:30 pm

Based on what I'm reading the only orange head I'd recommend is the AD30. You have the versatility in that amp to have a clean and drive channel, or two drive channels, or two clean channels. That is what I love about the head. It is loud enough to be the loudest thing in the band and is voiced with enough mids to cut well in the mix. The only problem is you have no FX loop or Solo boost.

That leads me down this road...
Have you considered a Mesa Fillmore? It's a similar concept to the AD30 (two similar channels that can be anything from clean to drive), but it has a solo boost feature and an effects loops.
You could also look into getting a Lonestar and having it modded to where the drive section can be footswitched on channel 2.

You get get a solo boost with the Ad30htc such as with a Fulltone OCD....
it just depends on the amount of preamp gain you use

Digestive wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:54 pm

From what I’ve heard the Rocker30 might have been an option, but these seem quite rare to come across, hence my interest in the AD30 or Rockerverb.....now think AD30 would give a bit more versatility.

They pop up on Facebook marketplace and reverb from time to time. I just sold mine 4 months ago. AD30 definitely gives you more options. That's why I kept mine and sold my R30.

Ronnie Robinson wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:59 pm

You get get a solo boost with the Ad30htc such as with a Fulltone OCD....
it just depends on the amount of preamp gain you use

true, sounds like OP had decent saturation going. At that point you are just increasing saturation with a boost.

Thanks for the info.

Tone/gain wise is there much difference between the AD30 and the R30 (especially in light of its use for 70s/80s Rock covers)?

I’m in a position of being offered a R30 at a reasonable price and without being in a position to try both the AD30 and R30 side by side wondering if it’s worth trying..

As long as its in good working order and they are very robust just buy it and try... It's a brilliant amp and has got a beast of a dirty channel, sounds great it's a little less polite than the ad30 (in a good way) , a bit more punky sounding (think 'pretty vacant ' and tone wise your close) but still covers a lot of ground, I gigged with one for several years before switching to the ad30htc which I find more versatile.

Down side of the R30 I found Was The natural channel was much quieter than the loud dirty channel and the taper on volume pots not very linear so goes from quiet to loud with only a slight turn... But the dirty channel sounds mega.

Digestive wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 03, 2019 7:15 pm

Thanks for the info.

Tone/gain wise is there much difference between the AD30 and the R30 (especially in light of its use for 70s/80s Rock covers)?

I’m in a position of being offered a R30 at a reasonable price and without being in a position to try both the AD30 and R30 side by side wondering if it’s worth trying..

As Ronnie said, the R30 really is all about that dirty channel filth. It's raw, uncompressed, and extremely moreish.

There's no doubt the AD30 is a more adaptable classic rock amp, but if you prefer the tone of the R30, nothing really can touch that.....

Both amps can cover the same songs and territory, but they will inspire you differently.

Ideally.... you should own both.

Thanks for info...think I'm going to check out the Rocker with a view to buy (especially at the price it's being offered at)

Given no effect loops, or 2nd channel dirt channel, how are people getting a volume boost rather than gain boost with this amp? i.e can the Rocker be used for rhythm/lead easily by just running a boost as required or would this 'compress' the dirt further?