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I only tried it because the Jim root terror is one of the best high gain practice amps I've ever heard, unlike the dark terror which I really did not like at all - fizzy and bright and not nice.
Not sure how similar circuit wise they are but..
Interestingly the power amp is 2-EL34 cathode biased, which is neither like old Oranges or Marshalls, or many other amps at all in fact. From memory it's even more unusual in that the bias is separate rather than common, which is more typical of a hi-fi design.
"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
I thought that was pretty unusual as well - I've not come across anything else running EL34s in cathode biased "class A" mode. I had to look up the specs in a few different places to convince myself it really didn't need biasing. The HT-20 is a bit freaky as well, sort of cathode biased (class AB though I think) but still needs the bias set - dunno what's going on there. I haven't looked what's in my Rocker yet, but it sounds fine (I think they usually came with JJs as stock from what I can find on the web).
"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
Thanks @ICBM - I think my wording was a bit ambiguous. What I meant to say was that I haven't heard of any other amp running EL34s with cathode bias which claim to be running in class A. I know cathode/fixed bias and class A/AB are not the same thing (and that real class A operation can't really exist in a guitar amp - something to do with it having to be perfectly linear and not being allowed to clip isn't it?). It would be possible to have a push-pull class A amp though wouldn't it - or does it have to be single ended?
Anyway, guitar amps that claim to be class A are usually running EL84s and cathode biased from what I've noticed.
And ones that run EL34s are usually fixed (adjustable) bias and stated as class AB.
So the cathode biased, "class A", EL34 combination in the Rocker seems doubly odd to me.
Yes, you can have push-pull Class A - in fact, the definition is only really useful there. In a single-ended, if it's biased correctly it will always be Class A - that doesn't stop a lot of guitar amps not being though! You certainly can have Class A in a guitar amp, but for anything other than strictly clean sounds it's a bit pointless because the definition only applies to undistorted signals! Although you can still have a (preamp or pedal) distorted signal that is them amplified cleanly by a true Class A power stage.
"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
That is an incredible sounding clean amp, or as a rock amp, or as a clean platform. It's stunning to hear - one of the only amps that I thought sounded a bit magic.
"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
Cleaned the inside out today - extremely dusty, wouldn't be surprised if the back's never been off. So I suspect the valves may be as supplied stock...
Power valves are JJ EL34 as expected, but preamps are some unbranded ones, two marked E83CC (?) and one ECC83. Any idea what they are @ICBM or other techy people?
"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
Used the Rocker 30 "in anger" for the first time at band practice on Tuesday. Absolutely superb! The dirt channel is just the sound I was after, and extremely touch-sensitive (my HT-20 is much more compressed and forgiving of sloppy picking!) which once I get used to it will be really useful. And the gain control is a much more sensible range for me - I find myself running it around half way up, whereas I was balancing the HT gain right at the bottom of the scale for my tastes, even with a lower gain preamp valve fitted.
But the clean ("natural") channel is the big surprise. It seems like people either love or hate the single gain stage, single knob simplicity of it, but I have to say it works perfectly for my playing - really nice warm yet clear sound (I've tried it with humbuckers and P90s so far, both sound excellent), with enough headroom for me (some people complain it's not enough, but works for me) and breaks up at "out of the house" volume easily enough with a heavy hand or a bit of boost. Couldn't be happier.
So, I need to concentrate on my picking/strumming strength consistency (which is no bad thing) after getting a bit lazy while using the Blackstar, but I'm happy enough to take the Rocker to our gig next week (must remember to put it on my insurance cover)
Massive thanks to people who steered me in the Rocker 30 direction - I've been a big Orange fan for ages but it was one I hadn't tried, so I sort of bought it semi-blind (should that be deaf?) going by people's comparisons with other Oranges I had experienced. Spot on, I think I did the right thing
I think that if there was a Top Ten of discontinued modern amps which shouldn't have been, this one would be pretty high up on it.
Along with the Trem-o-verb, of course .
"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