NAD Orange Rockerverb 50 MKIII

[Mr. Satchmo]

I am so excited to finally bring this home with me! I've been saving for a while to get a nice Orange head. In the past. I've owned the Dark terror and Tiny terror and loved the amps but I really felt I needed a good clean channel and a good overdriven channel because I couldn't do both at the same time with the lunch box heads. I was originally going to get the Dual dark because of the attenuator and when this came out I tried it and immediately fell in love. I also got a TC electronic Nova Delay and at this point, all I need for my live rig is the delay, a boost pedal and the footswitch which means less for me to carry! I was so impressed by the beautiful cleans and the reverb. I also love the attenuator because now I can set my tone and when I play at smaller venues, I turn it down with the attenuator and don't lose my sustain, and response that I want at full volume.

I didn't buy another cab because it still sounds huge with the 1x12 I already have and I couldn't justify another $700 ish for a 2x12 that I can't fit in my house at the moment. I will eventually get a second 1x12.

 

[Ippon]

Sweet!

 

[dr_n00b]

I always loved the elegant layout. Plug and play goodness.
And the crunch medium gain orange tone is to die for.
Heard nothing bad about this model specifically. Only praise.
Let it rip brother!

 

[Gridlock]

Congrats, my favorite Orange amp.
Enjoy.

 

[cristi tanasescu]

looks great and more important, it sounds awesome!!!


Long time die hard Orange Amps fan here..

 

[jimmer_5]

Congratulations! I love my Rockerverb 50 MKII, and I just sold my Jim Root Terror (Tiny Terror with a Rockerverb Preamp). I really want to play a Rockerverb MKIII to hear what they've done with the clean channel. I actually really enjoy the Rockerverb 50 MKII clean channel, but I really want to hear the new cleans on the MKIII. If it's voiced closer to Fender Territory, it might make the MKIII kind of a "best of both worlds" amp.

The OD channel is supposed to be basically the same on the MKII and MKIII, and that's a good thing. It's big, beefy, and thick. I can get smooth high gain leads and aggresive rhythm all day (darn it it's 9:50 PM here and the baby is asleep - all this talk is making me want to plug in and crank it up!)

The reverb on the MKII is supposed to be better than the original MKI, but I hear the MKIII is a big improvement over both. The MKII still performs best at lower settings.

Also, the US made PPC212 closed back cab is very much worth having, but buy one used. $500 or less is a decent price, $450 is a great price. It's got huge bottom end, and really improves the bass response of all my amps.

Good luck with your new amp - I think you're going to love it.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Thanks guys! I got to play it live tonight and I was blown away! I loved the Dark terror but this amp was by far clearer, I could hear every note in a chord even with high gain. I loved the cleans and ran that channel at 1:00 so on the bridge pickup it had a tiny bit of hair on it. even with the PPC112, It still sounds full and huge. I will definitely look at the Open back 212. This amp is so good that I am going to sell my Dark Terror and use that money to fund the open back cab. I had no idea how I was going to boos my overdrive channel so I also read up a bit and ran my boosta grande in the effects loop and it was amazing. I also love that I can practice by using that attenuator at home!

 

[jimmer_5]

Your experience sounds very similar to mine. I had a Jim Root Terror and loved the tone, but wanted a good clean channel for versatility. I got the Rockerverb MKII, and discovered that it had remarkable clarity, even with high gain. Enough that I decided to sell the Jim Root Terror. What would you compare the clean channel to?

 

[cherrysunburst00]

YAY!!! OUTSTANDING, I'm VERY HAPPY for you Did you get it from the city of your new digs, or did you get it from the place everyone knows & LOVES (H's) in your old 'hood?

LONG may you enjoy this beast!!

 

[Steve_F]

Awesome! I LOVE my Orange amps!

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

YAY!!! OUTSTANDING, I'm VERY HAPPY for you Did you get it from the city of your new digs, or did you get it from the place everyone knows & LOVES (H's) in your old 'hood?

LONG may you enjoy this beast!!

I got it from good ol' Hubs, I always drive over there to get my guitars worked on and to buy stuff from them, I don't trust anyone else haha.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Your experience sounds very similar to mine. I had a Jim Root Terror and loved the tone, but wanted a good clean channel for versatility. I got the Rockerverb MKII, and discovered that it had remarkable clarity, even with high gain. Enough that I decided to sell the Jim Root Terror. What would you compare the clean channel to?

I don't really know what to compare it to, it's not exactly a fender clean, but it's a nice glassy clean that has a lot of character and depth to it. I used to own a blackstar HT-20 and it had boutique amp cleans, and this sounds much better than that. I like to run the clean to the point that it starts to break up a little bit on the bridge pickup and it's fantastic because it doesn't sound thin like other orange cleans. When someone hears an orange drive channel, they know it's an orange, I think after this amp, people will know what an orange clean is like. It has its own tone

 

[cherrysunburst00]

I got it from good ol' Hubs, I always drive over there to get my guitars worked on and to buy stuff from them, I don't trust anyone else haha.

Ditto on that. Only buy elsewhere when they are not dealers. Been buying from them since '81

 

[Liam]

I don't really know what to compare it to, it's not exactly a fender clean, but it's a nice glassy clean that has a lot of character and depth to it. I used to own a blackstar HT-20 and it had boutique amp cleans, and this sounds much better than that. I like to run the clean to the point that it starts to break up a little bit on the bridge pickup and it's fantastic because it doesn't sound thin like other orange cleans. When someone hears an orange drive channel, they know it's an orange, I think after this amp, people will know what an orange clean is like. It has its own tone

The MkII is a little reminiscent of the cherry panel Vox AC30 (pre-Top Boost version)- just a little brighter. I'm hoping the MkIII might go further into Vox AC30 Top Boost territory, with maybe just a little less of the harmonic overtones.

Liam

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

The MkII is a little reminiscent of the cherry panel Vox AC30 (pre-Top Boost version)- just a little brighter. I'm hoping the MkIII might go further into Vox AC30 Top Boost territory, with maybe just a little less of the harmonic overtones.

Liam

If you end up with the Orange, I think you'll be pleased. It doesn't have a bad tone in it, I've tried haha. I really think it's the best Orange offers at the moment, and I really hope this clean ends up on a lot of their newer amps.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Ditto on that. Only buy elsewhere when they are not dealers. Been buying from them since '81

Awesome!

I've bought three orange amps from them, and he's always given me the best deals!

I think I may sell my dark terror or trade it in to him to fund a 2x12 Open back

 

[Liam]

If you end up with the Orange, I think you'll be pleased. It doesn't have a bad tone in it, I've tried haha. I really think it's the best Orange offers at the moment, and I really hope this clean ends up on a lot of their newer amps.

Well I went down to the shop today with the intention of AB'ing the Rockerverb 50 MkIII with the MkII. After about an hour of seeing what the MKIII could do, I decided there wasn't a great deal to be learnt from an AB test. I like the MkIII in every way, so I bought it without listening to the MkII again.

I think at least one of the guys working in the shop is going to end up with one as well - they hadn't tried the MkIII (had to open the cardboard box it had come in just this morning while I waited). Must be great to make such a quick and decisive sale, but I'm betting they wish they'd had some more time to play around with it themselves.

I'm starting to wish I had a few more rock gigs in the diary. I'm going to be using it for mainly quieter stuff for the next few months, which it will be great for, but it's definitely at its best when its moving some air.

Liam

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Well I went down to the shop today with the intention of AB'ing the Rockerverb 50 MkIII with the MkII. After about an hour of seeing what the MKIII could do, I decided there wasn't a great deal to be learnt from an AB test. I like the MkIII in every way, so I bought it without listening to the MkII again.

I think at least one of the guys working in the shop is going to end up with one as well - they hadn't tried the MkIII (had to open the cardboard box it had come in just this morning while I waited). Must be great to make such a quick and decisive sale, but I'm betting they wish they'd had some more time to play around with it themselves.

I'm starting to wish I had a few more rock gigs in the diary. I'm going to be using it for mainly quieter stuff for the next few months, which it will be great for, but it's definitely at its best when its moving some air.

Liam

Congrats Liam! Enjoy your new amp!

 

[Liam]

Fettzau,

Thanks so much for the encouragement in this and the other thread.

I was originally hoping to come away simply with a good sounding channel switching amp (my standards for good sounding are quite high ). I know what I have ended up with is quite a bit more than I was looking for. The clean channel is sublime, the dirty channel has a LOT of gain available, but doesn't punish you for only using a little of it. Separate EQ for each channel is something I really wanted, but I have never found an amp with such incredibly well thought out and easy to use tone controls. The frequency centres are absolutely perfect, and although the controls are kind of sensitive, it's really easy to dial in exactly what you are looking for.

I think Orange took a really good channel switching amp (in the MkII), and instead of just improving the clean channel and the reverb, they must have just decided to go to town and make them the best, most unique, and most fabulous sounding they possibly could. Made it a pretty easy decision for me!

Liam

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Fettzau,

Thanks so much for the encouragement in this and the other thread.

I was originally hoping to come away simply with a good sounding channel switching amp (my standards for good sounding are quite high ). I know what I have ended up with is quite a bit more than I was looking for. The clean channel is sublime, the dirty channel has a LOT of gain available, but doesn't punish you for only using a little of it. Separate EQ for each channel is something I really wanted, but I have never found an amp with such incredibly well thought out and easy to use tone controls. The frequency centres are absolutely perfect, and although the controls are kind of sensitive, it's really easy to dial in exactly what you are looking for.

I think Orange took a really good channel switching amp (in the MkII), and instead of just improving the clean channel and the reverb, they must have just decided to go to town and make them the best, most unique, and most fabulous sounding they possibly could. Made it a pretty easy decision for me!

Liam

I'm glad that you got to try it out and see how great of an amp it was. I love the built in reverb a lot because it's very subtle when turned up so it doesn't swallow the notes if that makes sense.

They did a fantastic job at making two channels that are both great!
Most importantly I love how simple it is to dial in a great tone for any music style.

What cabinet are you going to run in with? One of your vintage Marshall cabs?