Yep, true. I do love the dirty channel which can do everything from clean on up really well I find. If it was the only channel it would still be a great amp. But I love the Natural channel at least as much and wouldn't change a single thing about it myself - to me it is very close to pure Orange perfection.Les Paul Lover wrote:And some users have found the clean channel to be able to match the dirty channel volume but only when using a clean boost type pedal.
So it can match the dirty channel volume with outside help.
If it did have EQ I'd just superglue everything exactly where it is. And the very low gain is the channel's special secret. Crank it past the point where it starts getting dirty and all of that overdrive is pure power stage overdrive. The single preamp gain stage simply won't distort with any normal pickups, and the pure power stage overdrive gives a very different feel from any preamp overdrive. It is much more touch responsive, you really feel it working with you as you play. Of course things are reasonably loud by then, but not as loud as you can get with the Dirty channel. So...
Sure on it's own it'll never get as loud as the Dirty channel. But, because there is still some unused clean headroom there, simply hitting the Normal channel with a bit more input signal will take it up some meaning higher actual output. Yes, a clean boost (eg. the MXR Micro Amp several of us use) will get you greater actual clean and dirty volume levels and can allow you to easily match the two channels for maximum volumes too.
I simply set the clean boost into the Normal channel to where I am getting the level I want and then I'll back off the dirty channel gain (/ or master) a little to compensate. (This doesn't really limit the maximum volume I can get with the Dirty channel but it does actually increase that with the Natural one. I can either match volumes or get the required amount of boost I might want when channel switching.
Personally I love setting things so the two channels are pretty much equal in volume so that I can switch between them at will. I can switch basically inaudibly either way even during the sustain of a note [*] and all you'll really notice is that the next note played is clean instead of driven (or the other way round). It is strange but true: if the levels match at the moment you switch you don't really notice the fact that it has suddenly gone clean or dirty - very cool! Since the channel tonalities never seem to jar however you EQ the Dirty channel, if you match the levels well you then have two channels which totally compliment each other rather than sounding as if they are in two completely different amps. Makes the two apparently very different channels perfect partners for live use!
[* Because the Normal channel has such low gain notes do die off much quicker there. My own trick to fine tune the levels is to set things so that if I channel switch from dirty to clean just a second or so into a normal note decay the levels at that moment are identical. That also gives slightly higher actual maximum output from the clean channel - for the note attacks. But because we hear dirty sounds as a bit louder than clean sounds at identical actual output power levels the clean and dirty channels will then basically sound as if they are maxing out at the same level.]
You can of course set the Dirty channel to sound louder than the clean if you want, (or vice versa), just balance things to taste. And of course depending on how you set the input boost you can then have four different volume / drive levels, boost on and off for each channel.
These are just a couple of the tricks I like using with the R.30, but you can find your own. Some actually use the Normal channel with drive pedals for all their dirty sounds and use the 'Dirty' channel clean. There are plenty of options, and I don't see any good reason to dislike using something like a clean boost. After all you aren't changing the tonalities at all, only the input gain. Very very useful with that amp!
Andy.
