Rocker 32

[Jabberwocky]

Hey guys. Not been on here in a while, hope yez are all still enjoying Orange coloured music!

Just wondering if anyone has road tested the new Rocker 32 combo yet?
My band is getting busier by the week and I am heartily sick of humping my R30 head and PPC212 from house to car, car to gig, gig to car and back again. Starting to like the idea of a combo, and given that the R30C is out of production, the 32 looks a good alternative. Looks like Orange have listened to the customer too, and introduced stereo effects loop, half power cut switch, yet have left the Natural and Dirty channels much as they were on the R30. I reckon the 2 x 10 inch driver configuration will sound wicked too!

Will be going to try one out but always nice to get feedback from someone who already has!

[caldurham]

i don't know if you've seen this yet but this is probably the single best review of the rocker 32 you're going to find online. it's over an hour long but he shows a lot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo9tx6E7_J4

[Jabberwocky]

Thanks dude.....hadn't seen that one so will check it out.....

[pedecamp]

I wonder how the public has received the new Rockers, if they are being bought in any great numbers since their release this year. I haven't had a chance to try one but on paper they look really good other than they haven't released a head version.

[Bensnake]

Here's another vid made by member thejay. Some cool stereo fx included.

https://youtu.be/K1vGGFa1ATk

[thejay]

Here's another vid made by member thejay. Some cool stereo fx included.

https://youtu.be/K1vGGFa1ATk

Thanks man!

[Jabberwocky]

Ah well, I went, I tried, and I walked out of the shop without a Rocker 32 which was a little disappointing!
The package was everything I had hoped for, compact, lightweight, loud and built to the usual solid Orange quality standard......however.......

My criteria for buying an amp is very simple. If I love the sound within the first few chords and riffs, then the amp is mine. Which is exactly what happened when I bought the Rocker 30 head. (also happened with the Rockerverb 50, but couldn't afford it!)
Sadly to my ears at least, the Rocker 32 did not add up to £829 worth of love.

Tested this puppy with my own Strat, started through the Natch channel, mid and bridge which is my go-to rhythm setting. Very nice Orange clean, but there was a certain edgy harshness to the sound I just did not like. It almost sounded like I was on bridge pup. Cranked it a bit and got that nice power amp breakup, but the sound still just did not light my fire. Flicked through all the pup combos and was no more pleased so switched to the filthy channel.

Sound was much better, probably because I could dial out some of the 'hard edge' to the sound, but after another 15 minutes putting it through its paces, the sound still did not get me reaching for the credit card. All the way through there was just this thin boxiness to the sound which put me off big time, possibly due to the smaller 10 inch drivers. I guess I was expecting a portable version of my Rocker 30 with sound to match, which is maybe an unfair comparison as I play the R30 through a well broken in PPC 212 OB.

The amp took effects well, and it is good to see that Orange have added some pretty decent FX loop options. Again, even with some effects I was left with a rather empty feeling playing through this amp, and if I don't feel the mojo, my audience certainly isn't going to either, so it was time to walk away.

Unfortunately not a positive review, but then this is just my opinion, and what the 32 sounded like to my ears. The things I didn't love about the sound, the next man might love.

After the trial, I went home and fired up the R30. After a few chords and riffs I knew for sure I had made the right decision, so I am going to address my portability issue by buying a PPC112 and swapping out the driver for one of the broken in ones from my PPC 212 and possibly converting it to OB. That leaves me with the sound I love and less back pain!

[Les Paul Lover]

I guess the harshness you heard is probably mostly down to non broken in speakers. Hard to tell for sure though. 10" speaker have very different qualities too, usually brighter.

I know I had similar experiences with the R30 and AD30 when I tried them new in shops with new V30 speakers.

I thought the AD30 would have my name written all over it and was bery disappointed at how harsh it sounded.

A few years later, I bought a really cheap AD30 via eBay, and it sounded fantastic.
Similar thing with a R30, won an auction for a silly price, was all set to flip it and make a few pennies, until I plugged it through my well broken in PPC212.

Totally different experience to those
I tried in shops. Ive kept the R30.

[thejay]

I would agree, that harshness experienced was probably the speakers not broken in at that point. 10s are different animals than 12s... V30s are harsh when not broken in as well but get some broken in and they are great, obviously.

[Jabberwocky]

Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate the harshness was probably due to speakers that need a bit of breaking in, and that I could have lived with. It was more the thin boxy sound that put me off springing the hefty price tag for the 32. I suspect it was the 2 x 10 configuration that was just a little too bright and thin for my preferred sound.
If Orange ever bring out a head version of this one I would definitely be tempted, simply on the basis of the effects loop and the half power setting, both of which are very useful features but sadly not features of the Rocker 30. Run through a PPC212 or 412 I'll bet the 32 is as much a beast as the Rocker!

[Les Paul Lover]

If Orange have voiced the 10" anywhere near the 10" celestion G10N40, is have great reservations too to be honest, broken in or not.

I had that speaker in my AD5, and whilst it brought about some beautiful cleans, and a great tight cutting (high mids and treble very pronounced) crunch, I preferred it through a V30.

I must say the G10N40 recorded better than the V30 in my (meagre) experience.

[Tubeman]

Hello everyone new ORANGE owner Rocker 32. Really liking the amp love the stereo loop. Even on half power this thing will peel paint. Funny story [well mabey not funny] I went to my local Guitar Center to check one out. The salesman set me up turns it on and nothing No sound at all. So after watching 2 salesman try to change the fuse [comical to say the least] after about 1/2 an hour I walked out. Went back a few weeks later and finally played one and bought it. Hopefully not a bad sign. But they did not have the manual. Orange does not have a manual online. Not that I need one but it should come with the amp. I have no love for Guitar Center but that is another story. I'll post more after I break the speakers in. Gotta go break in speakers & peel paint.

[Ronnie Robinson]

Hi welcome to the forum. Don't worry it's normal having no Manual when buying an Orange amp!

Enjoy the amp!

[Gordy G]

Take this for what it's worth,which is not much,i'm not an Orange expert,but what the op is describing is pretty much what i hear with my R30C,but i bought it when it was a few years old & i still suspect there is something wrong with it,but as it stands at the moment,i would not buy it as a new amp,but there is something about the way it delivers that has me hooked on Orange & i'm hoping that the incoming JRT will handle gigs while i get the R30C,checked out & hopefully sorted out.

[pedecamp]

Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate the harshness was probably due to speakers that need a bit of breaking in, and that I could have lived with. It was more the thin boxy sound that put me off springing the hefty price tag for the 32. I suspect it was the 2 x 10 configuration that was just a little too bright and thin for my preferred sound.
If Orange ever bring out a head version of this one I would definitely be tempted, simply on the basis of the effects loop and the half power setting, both of which are very useful features but sadly not features of the Rocker 30. Run through a PPC212 or 412 I'll bet the 32 is as much a beast as the Rocker!

Yes Orange needs to release head versions of the R15 and R32.