Review quickie: Orange Rocker 15 Terror

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