N(U)AD… Rhymes with Orange

[LCW]

Was kicking around the local Music Go Rounds (we have two decent ones around here) as my 100W EVH is in for warranty.

Wasn’t finding much but came across a couple items that both intrigued me and were decent deals…

Head (TH30) from one Music-Go-Round, cab (SC212) from the other one. Lol.

I will say that I’ve never really considered anything from Orange but this one was listed and upon seeing many favorable reviews and YouTube vids I decided to go check it out. Very VERY different sounding amp than most anything I’ve had. Closest would be a two channel recto and only for the big low end. But liked it enough to bring it home.

The EQ on these is weird AF but also intriguing at the same time. Definitely a learning curve but that’s been half the fun playing this thing for the last hour or two. SD-1 seems to pair well.

I plugged it into my Mesa 4x12 OS for a bit but way too boomy. Definitely sounds tighter and brighter through this 2x12 Marshall (UK one). It has Celestion V-types. There’s a bit of top end high frequency fizz/sizzle. If it bugs me will look at maybe some G12-M65 Creambacks which I think are the speaker of choice in many Orange cabs???

 

[guitar_player4_2_0]

I used to have a dark terror and loved it. Orange has a unique tone but for me they’re one of my favorite amps. Nice rig, congrats!

 

[Steinmetzify]

Nice man. Love the Oranges, my DD is top 2 amps for me.
HNAD!

 

[LCW]

Nice man. Love the Oranges, my DD is top 2 amps for me.
HNAD!

DD as in Dual Dark?

 

[Steinmetzify]

DD as in Dual Dark?

Yep. Monster amp, but I’ve heard great clips of the TH30 and that one might be next.

 

[LCW]

Yep. Monster amp, but I’ve heard great clips of the TH30 and that one might be next.

For grins I looked up Dual Darks on Reverb…. Whoa!!!

a) not many out there
b) quite pricey

Seems they’re the IIC+ or early 2-channel Recto of the Orange world…

 

[budda]

Most orange cabs are V30's, give those a whirl. TH30 is a solid setup .

 

[LCW]

The TH30 shit the bed barely 1 day after getting it. Disappointed to say the least, but when life throws you Oranges, you try again and make Orange Juice lol.

Luckily even though the TH30 was used I got it from a Music Go Round so easy to show them the issue for full refund.

Now… they had this little bastard in store - also “used” but looks brand spanking new (even had the gig bag). Tried it and immediately loved it… maybe even more than the TH30 although that thing did have character.

Rocker 15 Terror punches above its weight! Crazy how much a little 15W amp can pump out! And it’s got a proper T/M/B section rather than just a “shape control”.

 

[Accoun]

Damn that's unlucky. Glad to hear you're happy with the new one tho. Heard some demos and liked it a lot. I'm still shooting for an OR15 myself, but this one was the second place when I compared them.
The TH30 was always awkward to me, being full-sized but without the full EQ stack.

 

[LCW]

Damn that's unlucky. Glad to hear you're happy with the new one tho. Heard some demos and liked it a lot. I'm still shooting for an OR15 myself, but this one was the second place when I compared them.
The TH30 was always awkward to me, being full-sized but without the full EQ stack.

Unlucky but maybe lucky happenstance at the same time. I think the Rocker 15 is maybe the better amp. Less watts but it’s for home use and maybe the odd trip to my buddy’s practice space. Has a better EQ section with BMT. Less fizzy too I’ll say. Easier to carry and move. Hopefully more reliable lol.

Yeah the shape control single EQ is weird. A simple tone knob would maybe even be less confusing and weird. With the shape control, it had a very small usable range to me. Like from 11 to 1 on the clock dial. I got an EQ for the loop just for it. Don’t seem to really need that with the Rocker. So dunno…

 

[youngthrasher9]

I’ve liked most of the rockers I’ve tried (guitar centers seem to like to stock them). I really regret never having tried them with a boost up front. I think (and have heard in demos) that it would take boosting in spades. I don’t know where it went but someone had a video on YT boosting the hell out of one with a Fortin grind and it was naaassssttty.

 

[LCW]

I’ve liked most of the rockers I’ve tried (guitar centers seem to like to stock them). I really regret never having tried them with a boost up front. I think (and have heard in demos) that it would take boosting in spades. I don’t know where it went but someone had a video on YT boosting the hell out of one with a Fortin grind and it was naaassssttty.

Rocker 15 taking the SD-1 extremely well!

 

[Accoun]

Yeah the shape control single EQ is weird. A simple tone knob would maybe even be less confusing and weird.

You say? Outside of the Orange, I've been on a lookout for a cheap Joyo Zombie and I'm wondering how I would feel with the tone control it has vs a shape control and which would be more versatile.

 

[bigsimpin]

HNAD! I'm currently awaiting delivery of a Rocker 15 Terror head too!

Wanted something with warm, fat, smooth vintage tone that's different from all the high gain clarity/chuggy stuff, and from the demos it sounded like this was exactly the ticket. Love the form factor, EQ, loop and power attenuator options. It reminds me of a smoother sounding version of the Orange amps I used to hear in the store when I was younger and couldn't afford any of em.

Googled the crap out of it and apparently it takes pedals like a champ, and goes well with creambacks, G12-30H 70th anniversaries (e.g., EVH cabs) and V30s. Some other forum poster who was a huge Orange fan commented on it extensively (on TGP, iirc) had bought just about all the terror series of amps and sold them all and the Rocker 15 was the only one he kept.

 

[MFB]

You say? Outside of the Orange, I've been on a lookout for a cheap Joyo Zombie and I'm wondering how I would feel with the tone control it has vs a shape control and which would be more versatile.

I have one of the Zombie IIs and I have no problem shaping the tone with a simple one knob control. My primary amps before that WERE Orange, so I'm not stranger to it by any means, but working with the gain and tone you can get a good range of tones from it.

 

[Accoun]

Yeah. You had a Micro Dark, which has a shape control (unlike the standard Micro Terror with a tone control), right?

 

[MFB]

Yeah. You had a Micro Dark, which has a shape control (unlike the standard Micro Terror with a tone control), right?

Correct, and now with my JOYOs, my brain is so used to the TONE control I forget the Micro Dark is actually a shape control

I still have it, it's just something with the one of the pots that's out of whack so I don't get consistent signal and I've been too lazy fix it