Orange Rocker 15

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andypandyp Frets: 332
Hi folks.

Just throwing this out there to see how folk find the Orange Rocker 15. I am increasingly liking what I see of these online and am contemplating one as a "step up" from my current DSL5. It looks like a worthwhile upgrade and the array of features seem to suit what I am looking for.

It's home use by a learner / progressing level player (me) for classic rock, some blues and some clean - lower gain stuff. I'd like the option of going up the gain scale sometimes though, but I have a couple of pedals if I want to try my hand at some metal etc. It seems to fit the bill for all these things and the flexibility of the power modes look brilliant and the drive channel looks much more usable right through the range than the DSL. I find the DSL gain channel is over the top at anything beyond a quarter, but I still like it at the settings I use and the clean channel sounds great when I can open it up, so I'll be keeping the Marshall rather than replacing it.

Has anyone got one of these Rockers? How do they sound? I'm not really after dark tones, I seem to like the 70s style mid type sound, I'm mostly playing AC/DC, Led Zep, Free... the Usual Suspects I guess. Are there any issues with them? Does it need upgrades to get the best from or anything like that?

I'm not ready to buy yet, but with the Christmas holidays coming up I might manage to go for a test drive of one while I'm off work and they may even pop up in the sales, so I'm planning ahead a wee bit.

Cheers.

Andy
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Comments

  • @andyp ; I'll try and help. 

    I've owned and gigged my R15 for the last 9 months and really enjoy it. 

    The dirty channel goes from tame to pretty filthy - so will cover blues to classic rock, and rolling back the guitar volume will yield some pretty usable "rock" cleans.

    I don't use the amp's clean channel so cannot comment on this but all the reviews I digested prior to purchase indicated that this channel was pretty good (but not fender clean). 

    I set/use mine on the dirty channel at "just breaking" then use the guitar volume/tone and various combinations of boost, OD and distortion  pedals for any extra grit and colour that I need. 

    I've never used the power scaling options so unable to offer any help here.

    I've had no issues with mine, and not felt the need to upgrade anything,  the stock speaker is nay bad.  

    Mine came with a full compliment of JJ valves for all positions and being cathode biased means you can DIY drop in a new set of matched EL84's when needed. 

    I bought an official cover from Orange which was bloody good value at around £15. 

    I  haven't found the amp to be dark - and the eq section on the dirty channel is pretty effective for fine tuning but, one man's dark... YMMV.. etc..

    Overall I've been very pleased and it's made both my ENGL and TSA15 amps redundant, I probably won't buy another amp until i can afford a MESA or Friedman. 
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  • andypandyp Frets: 332
    Thanks @paulphoenix that's really useful and is pretty much how it had been coming across in the reviews that's I've seen / read.

    I don't really like Fender style super clean so that side of things sounds fine too. One issue I've had with the DSL is that the gain channel doesn't seem to work very well with pedals so that issue seems to be solved with the Orange too based on what you've said above. I think overall, I'd get a lot more options and flexibility from the Rocker 15 than the DSL. I won't really be able to make use of the 15 watt mode and probably not the 7 either, but maybe eventually I'll start playing louder or want to play with other folk outside of learning in the house. Now I know more about what I want from my guitar gear and the style I play etc. I think the Orange covers all of it with enough room to go more metally, which I would like to do.

    Hmmm. It does sounds like a level up from the DSL5. I don't have the cash yet but could probably find it if I had to... Probably worth some test drives over the Christmas break or after New Year.

    Cheers!
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  • pmbombpmbomb Frets: 1169
    I have one. I can't give you knowledgeable facts as I'm no amp expert save it dirts up quickly and sounds much better to me in the practice studio at a decent clip than it does at bedroom volume. It's not really a bedroom amp, bedroom-ability is more a pleasant side feature.

    If you want it loud, man it can be. 

    I'm in Surrey should you fancy a try out and be nearby.

    I'm just getting a basic pedal board together and aim to use it in the same way as @paulphoenix - Paul is that just before 12 o'clock on dirty? What pedals are you using for what?

    FX loop jack access inside the back is a bit awkward but it's not a show-stopper.
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  • pmbombpmbomb Frets: 1169
    haha I see we discussed it here. http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/137572/

    I'm getting Dec 2017 and Dec 2018 mixed up. Not a recent thread!
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    The guitarist in my band has the Brent Hinds Terror, which is essentially a higher-gain version of the Rocker 15 head.

    I wouldn't say it's dark - not compared to quite a lot of modern amps seem to be, and it definitely has a 70s classic-rock sound. As you've already worked out it's not a 'clean-clean' amp even on the clean channel, especially once it gets wound up a bit - it always has a bit of grit to it. It's loud when cranked, but not overpoweringly so - usable at a small gig, and maybe not quite enough for some... he prefers his Rocker 30 live, but the 15 records better for some reason.

    The 'bedroom' mode is useful but is not a true power reduction (unlike the 7.5W mode), so you're only getting the preamp overdrive when you use it.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • pmbombpmbomb Frets: 1169
    yeah dark's not the word, but I wouldn't call it bright. solid?

    that's handy to know re the modes, thanks.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    pmbomb said:
    yeah dark's not the word, but I wouldn't call it bright. solid?
    Thick and quite chunky, I would say :).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • pmbombpmbomb Frets: 1169
    that works.
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  • andypandyp Frets: 332
    Hey, no problem @pmbomb ;

    I bought one back at the end of 2017, I was just thinking last night that it was around a year ago I bought that amp. I love it. There's only one thing that I'm not 100% happy with, which is how dark it goes when you turn the gain up. I can't seem to EQ that out, but if I use my Tumnus pedal it seems to sort it. It's a very "British" sound to me, but quite different to a Marshall... which is probably why I'm not so keen why it goes dark like that.

    I was fiddling with the EQ again last night and if I turn the treble right up it does stop it being quite so thick sounding but I need to play with it more. (I'm hearing AC/DC as the sound I want).
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  • pmbombpmbomb Frets: 1169
    yeah I'm on the same page. what I want for my default tone is the intro riff of Highway to Hell.
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  • andypandyp Frets: 332
    Totally. :)

    I think rather than "Dark", I'm going to call it "Thick".
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  • pmbombpmbomb Frets: 1169
    anyone got the footswitch? I was thinking of getting one for fast access to clean tones.
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  • I've owned the brent hinds terror and the tiny teror  and I reckon either would fit the bill.
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  • andypandyp Frets: 332
    I got the footswitch with mine. It takes a standard cable (not like my Marshall which is hard-wired into the pedal) so you can vary the length of cable you need. It's bloody big though for what it is, but is pretty solid. I'm not exactly hard on my gear though as it's all bedroom use in socks or old man slippers. :)

    You have to have the amp set to the Dirty channel and then use the footswitch to flip back and forwards between the channels.
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  • pmbomb said:

    I'm just getting a basic pedal board together and aim to use it in the same way as @paulphoenix - Paul is that just before 12 o'clock on dirty? What pedals are you using for what?



    I only ever used the R15 as a single channel amp on the dirty channel. No footswitch needed. 

    I think I set the gain between 12-1o'clock (I say think - as I haven't used the amp much since getting my Friedman Mini Shirley last summer).

    My drive section for the last 15 months has been tumnus>gain changer>angry charlie> timmy  and I mix and match these with the ol' guitar volume knob to get the gain and volume levels I need for my covers band. 





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