Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

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Ronnie Robinson
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Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by Ronnie Robinson » Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:15 pm

Hi,
Ive not been on the forum for a while but find myself looking at getting a TH30 (Ive been using a Rocker for the last few years)

For those that gigg with the Th30 especially

1) How loud is the Amp? Are the clean and dirty channels loud enough to compete with a drummer?
2) Ive found the natural channel of the rocker not to be loud enough. How does the clean channel of the TH30 compare volume wise ?
3) What are the main issues / problems with the TH30 that users have found?
4) Whats the prefered way to get a solo boost with the TH30?
5) How good is it for classic Rock and brit indie (Oasis etc)

Cheers
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Le Chat Noir
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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by Le Chat Noir » Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:43 pm

I'm not a TH30 user but I'd say from what I've heard of them, for the music you play the TH30 will be a step backwards from the R30.

You also won't get a louder 'true' clean from any other 30 watter, the R30 is already about the loudest '30w' amp on the market (as loud or louder than most 50 watters), so perhaps you're better off looking at an amp with more wattage and more headroom if that's your main issue?
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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by Ronnie Robinson » Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:54 pm

Yep u may well be right and that is the quandary Im in .....

I would like to stay with orange .....but the Blackstar series 1 50 watt head seems to tick all the boxes and I like the idea of the inbuilt attenuator DPR. Im also thinking about the Marshall vm 2266 which sounds marvellous......
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Le Chat Noir
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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by Le Chat Noir » Fri Dec 23, 2011 1:05 pm

Ronnie Robinson wrote:Yep u may well be right and that is the quandary Im in .....

I would like to stay with orange .....but the Blackstar series 1 50 watt head seems to tick all the boxes and I like the idea of the inbuilt attenuator DPR. Im also thinking about the Marshall vm 2266 which sounds marvellous......
From what I've read if you go for a VM you may want to try the 2466 - apparently the 2266 isn't that loud for a 50 watter, so again, if clean headroom is an issue you might want a 100 watter. The Rocker 30 is definitely at least as loud as most 50 watt Marshalls.

Other options might be a used AD140 or one of the new TH100?
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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by ironlung40 » Fri Dec 23, 2011 1:35 pm

Le Chat Noir wrote:
Ronnie Robinson wrote:Yep u may well be right and that is the quandary Im in .....

I would like to stay with orange .....but the Blackstar series 1 50 watt head seems to tick all the boxes and I like the idea of the inbuilt attenuator DPR. Im also thinking about the Marshall vm 2266 which sounds marvellous......
From what I've read if you go for a VM you may want to try the 2466 - apparently the 2266 isn't that loud for a 50 watter, so again, if clean headroom is an issue you might want a 100 watter. The Rocker 30 is definitely at least as loud as most 50 watt Marshalls.

Other options might be a used AD140 or one of the new TH100?
with the VM you definitely want the 100 watter. The trick on the VM's is the RMS rating is actually based off the driven characteristics of the amp. Basically, the VM 2266 will put out 50 watts when driven, but when ran clean it only puts out approx. 36 watts or so. This has been verified by the amp's designer "Steve Dawson" So if you want the louder cleans and headroom you need the 2466 most likely. Being that the VM is a single channel amp, I think the bigger wattage would make the amp more flexible in that you would get more dynamic range as an end result of the increased headroom. When you roll you volume back for cleans they're going to be there easier, and be louder and bolder/thicker. These amps take boosts/pedals really well too, as do most marshalls, so that'll help give you added flexibility.

As far as TH30, I don't think it would have higher clean headroom than rocker, either. With the rocker's natural channel, it has no preamp gain involved. It is all power amp, so if that is not giving you the headroom you need, I don't see any other orange 30 watter giving it to you either. You need to step up in wattage, and I'd say RV50 if you don't want to stray too far from the Rocker. As far as lead boosts/breaks....with the the TH30, I'd use a volume or clean boost pedal in the effects loop for that. It should work perfectly.
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baytamusic
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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by baytamusic » Fri Dec 23, 2011 3:28 pm

I have the Rocker and tried out the TH30 combo. I like the TH30 clean channel a lot but the dirty channel is not for me. WAY too much gain on tap IMO. I think the dirt channel on the R30 is much better than the TH30. No contest.

My band is super loud and I have no problems with the clean channel volume on the R30. Mine stays clean all the way up to about 3/4 on the dial. I use a 4x12 cab though so maybe that's why.

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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by ironlung40 » Fri Dec 23, 2011 3:51 pm

baytamusic wrote:I have the Rocker and tried out the TH30 combo. I like the TH30 clean channel a lot but the dirty channel is not for me. WAY too much gain on tap IMO. I think the dirt channel on the R30 is much better than the TH30. No contest.

My band is super loud and I have no problems with the clean channel volume on the R30. Mine stays clean all the way up to about 3/4 on the dial. I use a 4x12 cab though so maybe that's why.

I've never had a headroom issue with the natural channel on the rocker 30 either, but I also have a 4x12. What I have found is balancing the dirty channel and the natural channel can be a bit tricky sometimes. My solution, is to use an mxr microamp turned on all the time. This gives the natural channel a higher or more balanced output to the dirty channel, with the dirty channel, you just readjust your gain level to compensate for the increased signal that the microamp is sending to it, and it works out great. Maybe, to the OP, you should try this if you haven't already. You may find that you don't need another amp. I would also think that maximum speaker efficiency would help to, so go with 4x12 if you haven't already.
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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by jason41224 » Fri Dec 23, 2011 5:15 pm

clean volume doesn't seem to be an issue on the TH30. but there is a way to coax a little more headroom out of the R30. for me, on the R30 i have a boost (in my case, a compressor set low with the gain maxed) that i leave on all the time and it does seem to help. it's also kinda handy cause then i can take it off sometimes on my dirty channel and get a nice "3rd channel" that's gain-wise somewhere between my clean and dirty channels.
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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by indianDYsummer » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:28 pm

jason41224 wrote:clean volume doesn't seem to be an issue on the TH30. but there is a way to coax a little more headroom out of the R30. for me, on the R30 i have a boost (in my case, a compressor set low with the gain maxed) that i leave on all the time and it does seem to help. it's also kinda handy cause then i can take it off sometimes on my dirty channel and get a nice "3rd channel" that's gain-wise somewhere between my clean and dirty channels.
That's basically what I do except with a MXR Micro Amp. Been thinking about getting a Zvex super duper 2 in 1, but will probs just add a SHO since the Micro Amp is maybe more transparent.

My R30 "cleans" (note, there's a little hair but its more or less dependent on pick attack) keep up well with a silverface Fender Bandmaster Reverb. What I like about the R30 is that I can get the natural channel to range from clean to pretty darn crunchy just by how hard I wail on the strings. Can't really do that with the Fender, it's clean until your ears bleed.

Anyways, IMO the R30 cleans can get pretty loud, you just need to use some transparent pedal finesse to coax them out.
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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by baytamusic » Fri Dec 23, 2011 11:26 pm

jason41224 wrote:clean volume doesn't seem to be an issue on the TH30. but there is a way to coax a little more headroom out of the R30. for me, on the R30 i have a boost (in my case, a compressor set low with the gain maxed) that i leave on all the time and it does seem to help. it's also kinda handy cause then i can take it off sometimes on my dirty channel and get a nice "3rd channel" that's gain-wise somewhere between my clean and dirty channels.
Man, good idea. I quit using my Micro Amp a while ago, but just yesterday I was commenting that I wish I had a third channel sometimes. I'm going to try this to see if I can get three foot switchable levels of overdrive!

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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by Memmo » Fri Dec 23, 2011 11:57 pm

ditto on the Rocker's clean channel having enough juice - my drummer and bassist are animals and the clean at 3 - 4 o'clock gets thru, no problem

when I first got the amp and played it at home alone, I didn't think it would do the trick - but it does, a-la-plenty!

maybe it's the hot h-buckers in my LP, maybe

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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by ironlung40 » Sat Dec 24, 2011 12:26 am

Memmo wrote:ditto on the Rocker's clean channel having enough juice - my drummer and bassist are animals and the clean at 3 - 4 o'clock gets thru, no problem

when I first got the amp and played it at home alone, I didn't think it would do the trick - but it does, a-la-plenty!

maybe it's the hot h-buckers in my LP, maybe
Yeah, at home, it doesn't sound as loud next to my 100 watters, but I've played out with a loud group before and could hear myself fine with no monitors.
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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by whiteyanderson » Sat Dec 24, 2011 1:50 am

The Blackstar's are not without their issues. The other guy I play with has TWO Blackstar Series One 200's and one of them had issues brand new out of the box. Had to return it 2 times to get a good one. The other one was used so at least he knew it was working when he bought it. Blackstar is very secretive and even simple issues, they will not help you with, they will simply refer you to an "Authorized" service center. They will not even provide certain info to some certified techs.

The Ht-5 I had was a nice enough sounding amp for what it was, but out of the box, the footswitch pooped out in like 3 days. BS referred me KORG USA and it took FIVE months to get a replacement. It arrived AFTER I had already sold the thing.

That said, the Series One's do sound nice. But if you have an issue and are in a pinch, it's prayer time. A roll of the dice if your tech is not in their network. I think they have a lot of potential as amp makers, they just need to get a grip on their customer service.
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Re: Advice re TH30 and how it compares to Rocker 30

Post by jason41224 » Sat Dec 24, 2011 9:21 am

baytamusic wrote:
jason41224 wrote:clean volume doesn't seem to be an issue on the TH30. but there is a way to coax a little more headroom out of the R30. for me, on the R30 i have a boost (in my case, a compressor set low with the gain maxed) that i leave on all the time and it does seem to help. it's also kinda handy cause then i can take it off sometimes on my dirty channel and get a nice "3rd channel" that's gain-wise somewhere between my clean and dirty channels.
Man, good idea. I quit using my Micro Amp a while ago, but just yesterday I was commenting that I wish I had a third channel sometimes. I'm going to try this to see if I can get three foot switchable levels of overdrive!
hey, it works for me! it also helps that i'm using a compressor, i guess. when i turn it off, not only do i have less gain to start out with, i have a lot more room to clean things up with my pick attack. give it a shot
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