anyone with an orange ad-30 head/combo

[mavsbball]

Anyone who has an orange ad-30 head or combo, how does it compare to a vox ac-30? How loud is it and how is the bite and sound of the amp? thanks

[i love sharin foo]

Anyone who has an orange ad-30 head or combo, how does it compare to a vox ac-30? How loud is it and how is the bite and sound of the amp? thanks

I had an AD30 and I do have an AC30CC. I used the AD30 through an Orange 2x12 with V30s. The Orange was pretty mushy and flat sounding compared to the AC30. The CC series Voxes (at least the AC30s) are REALLY versatile. In contrast, the controls on the Orange had much less range and was pretty limited overall. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Oranges, but for me, the AD30 was not a good amp. YMMV however. I think the EL34s of the AD140 make it a better sounding amp. 140 watts aren't that much louder than 30 either. But you do get a much wider range of poweramp gain so you can get more varied sounds from it. I would choose the AC30 over the AD30 and better than both in my very biased opinion is an old Overdrive 120.

Justin

[i love sharin foo]

To answer your main questions too...

The AC30 is generally a good bit tighter and toothier than the aD30. But the AC30 has way, way more options so you can  tailer it to what you want/need.  Both are pretty loud amps. The master volume on the AD30 is a lot touchier though. It's hard to zero in on a gain/ volume level. The AC30 in contrast is much easier to use in that regard.

Justin

[williamh]

the ad30 was my go to amp for quite some time.  It's just a great sounding amp.  Only reason i sold mine was that I started using pedals for my overdrive sounds instead of the amp, and I needed a better clean foundation.  I will probably own one again someday though, as they sound great. 

[mezcalhead]

The Orange was pretty mushy and flat sounding compared to the AC30.

FWIW I tried out an Orange AD15 before I bought my Korg RI Vox AC15 and I found the Vox much more sparkly and alive .. the Orange might have been a better bet if I was going for a stoner-type heavy sound I guess.

[Just A Dude 2o8]

Orange sucks..I had just bought an ad30 (for a very good deal) and hated it soo much..i sold it the next day..worst tone i ever heard.  I think the new Oranges are extremely overrated...pieces of shit..

[mynameisjonas]

Orange sucks..I had just bought an ad30 (for a very good deal) and hated it soo much..i sold it the next day..worst tone i ever heard.  I think the new Oranges are extremely overrated...pieces of shit..

can't say i love the AD series either, but "pieces of shit" is taking it a bit far, and the tiny terror is just fantastic. that's just my opinion though.

[Just A Dude 2o8]

nah they are pieces of shit..open one up..everything is clipped together..not even soldered..and the other guitar player in my band has one..has a shit load of problems with the volume going in and out...it would be different if they werent soo expensive..but i think for the price they go for..they are pieces of shit....but...i have heard very good things about the tiny terror..have yet to try one though...

[williamh]

I owned and gigged an ad30htc for about 2 years.  Never had any of those problems you're describing, and I wouldn't call it anywhere near a piece of shit.  One of the best overdrive sounds I've ever used.  Only issue I had with it was the lack of clean headroom.

[chrisjedijane]

Yep, I've used a couple of other peoples' AD30s at gigs, and I always liked the tone a lot. And the Tiny Terror is great - I used one last week for recording and it sounded fantastic.

[skottissue]

I own a Tiny Terror and I think it is great for the money.  Around the same time I bought it I was looking for an amp for my girlfriend and chose an AC15 (new) and a 1x12 extension cab.  Both are really good amps for the money.  Of course both are made overseas so repairs could be difficult/expensive but they sound very good.  If I had a grand for an amp today I would probably by a Reeves head and a cab from avatarspeakers.com