Upgrading from RV50 MkI

[tayholliday]

I still have my RV50 MkI I bought irresponsibly with the bulk of my summer internship money back in 2006, and it's still my favorite amp (I also have a Mesa MkV 25). I'm playing it through a Mesa 1x12 and it sounds lovely. I never use the clean channel, just roll back the volume.

Two things though:

- Somewhere in the last decade I got tired of lifting heavy things.
- The effects loop isn't good at all. (This output impedance design flaw was confirmed by Orange. The Mesa's loop is utterly transparent.)

So I see that orange has quite a lineup of smaller amps these days. Can any get close to the sound of the RV50 MkI dirty channel? Have they fixed the effects loop design?

thanks!

[mici88]

I still have my RV50 MkI I bought irresponsibly with the bulk of my summer internship money back in 2006, and it's still my favorite amp (I also have a Mesa MkV 25). I'm playing it through a Mesa 1x12 and it sounds lovely. I never use the clean channel, just roll back the volume.

Two things though:

- Somewhere in the last decade I got tired of lifting heavy things.
- The effects loop isn't good at all. (This output impedance design flaw was confirmed by Orange. The Mesa's loop is utterly transparent.)

So I see that orange has quite a lineup of smaller amps these days. Can any get close to the sound of the RV50 MkI dirty channel? Have they fixed the effects loop design?

thanks!

Rockerverbs are heavy AF, that's true. MK1's fx loop might cause some problems, but as long as I use my old pal Boss DD6 in it (think buffer) There is no volume drop. I am not a heavy fx loop user do it was never big issue to me.

Anyways, MK1 gain is very unique, probably the best gain I've ever heard in my life. Although I've tried lots of fancy amps, I still find myself to play MK1 for most of time, because none of Orange Amps come close to RV MK1.

You might get quite similar tone with Jim Root Terror though, but do not expect anything identical.

[Arthon]

Has mici88 said, the Jim Root Terror is voiced on the RockerVerb and have a good effect loop. It's smaller but also "only" 15 watts.

The RV mk1 is a 6v6 amp; a unique setup. The JR terror wont sound exactly the same, but it will be the closer you can get in a small package.

[tayholliday]

It's funny, at one point I actually bought a RV50 MkII and returned it on account of not sounding as good to me as the Mk1. I totally forgot about that until I reviewed some of my previous posts on this forum.

Anyway, I ordered a Jim Root model. We'll see how close it is.

Thanks!

[Les Paul Lover]

Let us know your thoughts!!! I think the 6V6 of the MKI give it something different to the other EL34 iterations, though I'd love to try the MKIII.

As said the jim root is the RV dirty channel, with a 15w EL84 power section.

What pedals do you use in the loop?

I've never had any problems with mine, but I think my delay has a buffer, which probably solves the impedance issue. If you love the amp otherwise, it might be well worthwhile find a pedal with, or stand alone, buffer that makes the amp play nice with your fx.

I know for me it's transparent.

[Ronnie Robinson]

The effects loops in orange amp are now excellent and have been for a number of years so no issues there but which amp to choose is more difficult if your still really liking the tone of your Rvmki but want something smaller.

Yes you could buy a Terror type amp based on the RV but imo there is a trade off with various smaller components and the tone of your amp especially at gig volume.

You could buy a lighter cab / speaker to ease the load?

Best thing is to go to your local dealer and try a few.

[tayholliday]

What pedals do you use in the loop?

I've never had any problems with mine, but I think my delay has a buffer, which probably solves the impedance issue. If you love the amp otherwise, it might be well worthwhile find a pedal with, or stand alone, buffer that makes the amp play nice with your fx.

I know for me it's transparent.

I've had various different pedals in the loop over the years. Right now I've got an Eventide H9 Max, which has a high impedance input. I'm using short cables to minimize the capacitance. When I set the H9 to relay ("true") bypass mode, there is only a minor loss of highs vs. no loop (primarily on account of the cables). But when running in DSP bypass the tone is just ruined, as the highs are jacked way up.

The best I ever did was to use this Radial buffer pedal which had variable impedance, so I could dial it in. Still, I couldn't get it to sound as good as without anything in the loop.

If there's any chance this is just my particular amp, I could just buy another RV50MkI to test.

I'm actually thinking about getting this thing:

https://www.boss.info/us/products/waza_ ... _expander/

which would put the effects loop after the power section. Plus some great options for recording.