Orange Rocker 15 Terror
The Rocker
15 Terror is a family member of lunch box-sized, low wattage amp heads, by
Orange. As the model citation implies, it’s a 15W full tube amp head with a signature
British tone that some players swear by. It offers two channels – clean &
overdrive & the ability to function at half power.
Unlike its
other Terror siblings, this one has 3-band EQ & a rear loop feature. The former
means you get more precision when tweaking your amp tones with the treble,
midrange & bass tweaks all isolated unlike a universal tone control of the
other Terror models. The rear loop here means, effects that work well post
pre-amp like delay especially, has a dedicated outlet unlike the other Terror
models where you plug modulation effects before the pre-amp & might sound
underwhelming / dysfunctional when in overdrive mode (ie. the amp’s OD
channel).
Likes
- 3 band EQ
for isolated frequencies adjustments
- Rear FX
Loop feature – crucial if you wish for a dedicated modulation effects
performance
- Smooth treble
response, one of the best for overdriven voicing, does not affect clarity
- Responsive knobs
- Volume presence
that adds significantly to overdrive performance
- Impressive compatibility
with external distortion / fuzz pedals
- Impressive clean
tones despite no controls for further voicing adjustments, good complement to external pedal / effects
- Differentiated
tone between full power & half power, giving the player an ‘extra’ voicing
option
- Earthed power
supply cable included
Dislikes
- Bare bones
clean channel – absolutely no avenues to sculp tone
- Underwhelming
overdrive, lacking in intensity despite being maxed out
- Amp handle –
permanent fixture on top, not collapsible
Conclusion
The Orange overdrive
tone is for those of us who think that Marshall would have sounded more acceptable
if it’s not too excessive in its treble response. Also, the Orange has that
smooth overdrive voicing that works very well when you add an external
distortion / fuzz unit; the reason Doom Metal fiends deem the Orange as a go-to
reference when it comes to tone that matters. The default overdrive, to say the
least, is underwhelming per se, until the volume control is used to add
intensity to overall proceedings. However, the trade-off here is that volume
addition messes up your tone & further EQ tweaks are required. If you swear
by amp overdrive plus pedal supplements, I would dare say the Orange is a
better avenue for this co-existence compared to Marshall & Vox, in
Brit-voice territory, of course. Last but not least, clean tones are simply there.
Bland, to say the least, due to the absence of EQ access but it holds something
for those of us using multi-FX units. It’s actually one of the best flat
response voicing to slave for external effects but then again, we don’t pay
good money for the Rocker 15 Terror for this intention.
Overall rating: 80%
Orange: Rocker 15 Terror (storage / carry bag included)
Availability: Davis GMC
List: $690
Pics: Orange amps
