Seeking advice - Rocker15

[Paul Epiles]

Im new here, so firstly hello to everyone!

I've been thinking about getting a Rocker15.
My only concerns is, that its clean sound on the natural channel may not be loud enough in a band situation. I've had a Tiny Terror and PPC112 which gave me the drive sound I've always wanted, but because I also need clean sounds with reverb, I sold it and got a Blues Junior III. Thought it would maybe be a compromise between good clean tone and drive sounds, like I like them.

Well, the drive sound on the Junior is good. Can get me into Zeppelin-like territory. But I would like a little bit more gain and pump. The clean sound is also good, but a little too quiet. I want to use the amp for rehearsal.

What do you think, would the Rocker15 fit my needs?

Kind regards!

[Jondog]

The natural channel itself won't overdrive, but it's designed to overdrive the power section. So your limited to the headroom of the amp which will be the same as the Tiny Terror if that gives you something to compare. I don't think it will be what you're hoping for, but only you will know for sure. You may need to look at higher wattages if you want more headroom.

[Les Paul Lover]

The rocker 15 and blues junior will be abouy as loud clean.

I don't think the rocker15 will be the solution to your problem.

[Boy_Narf]

The BJIII is super loud IME, but doesn't stay clean for long (unless miced). That said, we have played some pretty loud rehersals with an un-miced BJIII and not had any trouble keeping a clean tone. Really helps to prop the amp up, or even running it through the vocal PA at a low level can do wonders. Live will always be miced, so I'm guessing it won't be an issue.

No amp will do both perfect which is what I discovered a few years back and have been searching for that clean sound ever since.

What I suggest is to run two amps. Get the 15/TT, and a Deluxe Reverb. The Fenders are super affordable second hand, so it won't put you out much. That or a clean boost might help coax a bit more clean volume out of your BJIII. Can't guarantee it though.

Another option might be a CR60 Combo. I've not tried one, but hear great things from lots of folks. Might be worth taking a look.

[Ronnie Robinson]

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be many of the frequent posters on this forum who have found they like new Rocker 15 ..... which is a shame .

I've never tried one but think you really need to visit a dealer and try one for yourself.....however all things considered it seems to me a second hand th30 is exactly that your looking for.

[Paul Epiles]

thank you for your replies!
the general opinion seems to be, that the rocker15 will not be loud enough, clean.

to just run one amp for cleans and another one for dirt, is something that i would try in the future, when money is not that big issue. for now, unfortunately i have to limit myself to one amp.

the th30 allready caught my attention before. can it's dirty sound be compared to the tiny terrors?

the thing is, im relatively new to tube amps. i have owned so far blues deluxe reissue, tiny terror and now blues junior iii.

what ive allready experienced is, that turning up a 15w amp sounds better, than keeping a 40w one on 2.

the tiny terror with ppc112, master and volume between 12-13 o clock, tone dimed, just gave me what im looking for in drive tones. it sounded so punchy and awesome. it felt like true amp drive tone, for the first time. its engraved into my brain.

will i get anywhere close, with a th30, or may the extra wattage be keeping me from reaching that sweet spot, where the amp is working?

im just uncertain about higher wattage amps. a lot of people claim that you cant turn them up enough, to really enjoy them. on the other hand a lot of people, especially pros play bigger amps and get great tone.

[Les Paul Lover]

For what you describe, I believe the TH30 would serve you well.

Try before you buy though if you can, the shape knob on the dirty channel is different to the tone knob on the TT.

[guinefort]

Hi to all,

I own a Rocker 15 which sounds great at low volume and I believe this amp is in fact intended for either home or small studio use when volume must be kept down. For instance, I use mine on the 0.5 W setting since I am a senior citizen and I play at home. I haven't tried any TH or other more powerful Orange amps. It seem these ones would be a better fit for stage use.

[Ronnie Robinson]

thank you for your replies!
the general opinion seems to be, that the rocker15 will not be loud enough, clean.

to just run one amp for cleans and another one for dirt, is something that i would try in the future, when money is not that big issue. for now, unfortunately i have to limit myself to one amp.

the th30 allready caught my attention before. can it's dirty sound be compared to the tiny terrors?

the thing is, im relatively new to tube amps. i have owned so far blues deluxe reissue, tiny terror and now blues junior iii.

what ive allready experienced is, that turning up a 15w amp sounds better, than keeping a 40w one on 2.

the tiny terror with ppc112, master and volume between 12-13 o clock, tone dimed, just gave me what im looking for in drive tones. it sounded so punchy and awesome. it felt like true amp drive tone, for the first time. its engraved into my brain.

will i get anywhere close, with a th30, or may the extra wattage be keeping me from reaching that sweet spot, where the amp is working?

im just uncertain about higher wattage amps. a lot of people claim that you cant turn them up enough, to really enjoy them. on the other hand a lot of people, especially pros play bigger amps and get great tone.

The th30 can switch to 15 or 7 watts, slightly different character in tone to the TT but one to try at your local dealer maybe.

[goodguy]

Just got a Rocker 15 and love it. I didn't like it when I tried it in the store but took a chance, got it home and compared it to my other amps.
I have a BJRIII with mods (Cannibus Rex, Hammond Choke and Transformer, FT Caps).. The BJR is going to be louder than the Rocker (I tested clean and all out - the BJR will also give the impression of louder due to the speaker size and sharper highs) - that being said, my BJR is modded with a better transformer and caps so it might be louder than yours?

I have a Marshall Class 5, Fender Supersonic 22, Vox AC10, Fender Bassman 59, Marshall 2466 Vintage Modern and a few others.

The Rocker 15 for home, studio and smaller gigs is the perfect amp. The natural (clean channel) is better IMO than the BJR (articulate, sustains, not too shrill, really reacts to your playing and is fun to play ...). The Rocker dirty channel is great in that it goes from where the clean channel leaves off all the way up to higher gain tones without being too fizzy (definitely will go to higher gain tones than the BJR). For vintage rock, it is great too. Note: The Natural channel will break up (with Humbuckers) around 2:30 - 3:00 on the dial.

If you need that extra volume, the Rocker 32 would probably fit the bill better. If you are mic'ing it, the Rocker 15 should be fine. If you need that deep air movement, you probably need a bit more watts and 12 speakers.

I never was interested in Orange amps but took a chance on the Rocker and soooooo glad I did - Orange fanboy now!

[NB__England]

I now gig a Rocker 15 and run it through a PPC 2x12 open back cab.
I mic up always', the volume spread is there in the PA if needed.
My experience is this, I use a tele in our first set and noticed last night that when I hit chords quite hard there is some breakup, which I don't really want, this is with the volume at about 2 pm on the natural channel. I use a RAT for distortion and am getting some nice growl.
For our second set I use an Epi Les Paul through the Orange Dirt Channel, sounds good to me with plenty of volume on stage.
My conclusions are that I will buy another 2x12 cab to sit on the one I have. Yep, overkill but will look feckin cool. I will look into the TH30 head in order to get the clean that I want at gig volumes and the 2 band eq would be useful and also I will be able to take the Rocker as a backup.
I've come from Fender and very happy with this diversion, definately no buyers remorse.
Up the Orange !!!

Btw, I wasn't too keen on the Rocker in the shop but bought it anyway. WTF?

[scottjpsmith]

Have you looked into the Dual Terror? 30 watt two channel Tiny Terror. Sounds like it would be perfect for your situation.

[Paul Epiles]

@goodguy: i think your blues junior might be louder because of the cannabis rex and the transformer.

you wrote the rocker15's natural channel beginns to get dirty at 2-3 o clock on the dial. how loud is the amp by then? any chance to keep up with a drummer?

[beninma]

I'm another Rocker 15 Owner, I am very very happy with mine, but I also am just using it at home for practice right now.

I'm not sure I'd necessarily agree it is breaking up so early on the volume dial, but I don't have tons of experience cranking it, and it's hard to say just how clean someone wants it at high volume. I use mine in the 3-4 range on the clean channel most of the time (with a Tele).

There is plenty of room to play around with clean sounds on the dirty channel as well, you can just use volume with less gain there. I would probably guess the dirty channel isn't as loud as the clean channel though.

The clean channel is clean enough/good enough IMO that I think it even sounds OK with an acoustic electric guitar.

If I was in a situation where I thought my Rocker 15 wasn't loud enough I would be really likely to go look into the Rocker 32.

[shpongled]

to those of you who have played through both a rocker 15 and a cr60/cr120, how would you say they compare for the just-starting-to-break-up type tones, at both low volume levels and higher levels?

these two seem to be priced fairly similarly around here, so i'd be considering both of them for both quieter practice and louder playing.