Improved reverb and scalable power make an Orange stalwart more versatile than ever.
Orange amplifiers have long attracted the worship of high gain freaks. Yes, the amps’ show-stealing visuals make them objects of desire among a wide cross section of players (not to mention great stage dressing), but it’s the massive, gooey crunch that keeps heavy players crawling to Orange like ants to the sugar jar.
In 2003 Orange launched their Rockerverb series—versatile dual-channel heads with reverb and effect loops. The third incarnation, reviewed here, is the 50-watt Rockerverb MKIII, a muscular mid-powered head with improved reverb and scalable power.
Orange On Orange
The Rockerverb is about the same size as most full-sized Orange heads (21.65" x 10.63" x 11.02") and weighs in just shy of 46 lbs. (20.75 kg). The face is adorned with the no-text graphic labels that Orange introduced in the ’70s. These icons can be confusing for the uninitiated, but they’re intuitive enough once you learn their functions.
A 12AT7/ECC81 tube and a custom transformer drive the improved reverb circuit. Another new feature is a built-in attenuator located after the master volume, providing additional control over how the Rockerverb distorts after the preamp stage. It’s a handy feature for playing at home or on smaller stages, helping retain the push/pull dynamic of high-end gain at lower levels. You can also halve the power to 25 watts via a faceplate switch.
The sturdy chassis houses a preamp section driven by four ECC83/12AX7s and two ECC81/AT7s. There are two EL34s in the power section, while a single 12AT7/ECC81 buffers the effect loop. There’s 3-band EQ for the dirty channel, and 2-band for the clean channel, marking a return to the Rockerverb MK1 configuration (MK IIs have 3-band EQ for both channels.) The speaker output can be set for 8 ohms, 16 ohms, or two 16-ohm cabs.
High-Gain Classic with New Tricks
I’m an Orange owner familiar with the Rockerverb series after years of touring with 50- and 100-watt MKIIs. I generally set these completely clean with a small dose of reverb, with a bunch of pedals at the front end. I did the same with the MKIII, running the head through a 4x12 with Celestion V30s.
At full power and with the attenuator disengaged, the MKIII’s ample headroom works well as a pedal platform. My Stratocaster sounded crisp, bright, and airy with the EQ controls at noon, and pick attack felt super-immediate. At times I found myself yearning for the MKII’s mid control, especially when I got around to playing in the context of a full, raging band. For the most part, there’s enough presence to get out in front of a band, though it would be faster and easier with a dedicated mid control.
Ratings
Pros:
Beautifully versatile. Improved reverb. Pedal-friendly.
Cons:
Attenuator can muffle clean output.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$1,999
Orange Amplification Rockerverb 50 MKIII
orangeamps.com
However, the footswitchable attenuator offsets some of that lost flexibility. You can, for example, set up a clean boost if you turn the circuit off with the attenuator threshold set higher than the master volume. (Be careful, though—too much attenuation can throw a wet blanket over your sound, especially if you run the MKIII at half power.) You can also use the attenuator on the dirty channel as a secondary master volume or third channel.
For many players, the dirty channel is the Rockerverb highlight. Running a Gibson Les Paul straight into the head was an illuminating experience. In fact, just about any guitar with decent humbuckers can make you grin like a fool when you push the gain past noon. The distortion sounds spacious, with little of the compression you get from fuzz-based gain. Touch sensitivity is excellent.
The gain control puts many overdrive flavors at your fingertips. Settings between 10 to 12 o’clock are perfect for hard rock riffage and Angus Young leads. Twist the gain up to 3 o’clock and you’ll discover why Orange amps are so popular with the metal crowd: Tones are rich, gigantic, and touch-responsive. What’s doubly remarkable is how much the Rockerverb loves pedals at these high gain levels. Turning on my ’80s RAT or an EarthQuaker Devices Hoof added discernibly different flavors of crunch to chords and character to leads, but the MKIII never sounded overloaded or excessively compressed.
I’ve always liked Rockerverb MKIIs for backline partly because of their onboard reverb. The effect didn’t sound fantastic, but it let me ditch a reverb pedal. Fortunately, the Mark III’s reverb is deeper and more full-bodied than its predecessor. You can generate longer trails, and the effect seems less prone to feedback. While the circuit lacks the range and depth of a big Fender tank, it’s a major improvement.
The Verdict
Orange amplifiers are rather expensive, and at just under $2,000, the Rockerverb MKIII is no exception. The good news is that the MKIII covers much ground for that money. Its scalable power and attenuator mean it won’t be overkill in a club, and at full power the amp is an absolute monster. It’s also an excellent pedal platform on both channels—a rarity among high-gain heads. In an amp category full of one-trick ponies, the Rockerverb MKIII stands as a versatile jack-of-all-trades.
Watch the Review Demo:
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Peterson StroboStomp Mini Pedal Tuner
The StroboStomp Mini delivers the unmatched 0.1 cent tuning accuracy of all authentic Peterson Strobe Tuners in a mini pedal tuner format. We designed StroboStomp Mini around the most requested features from our customers: a mini form factor, and top mounted jacks. |
This four-in-one effects box is a one-stop shop for Frusciante fans, but it’s also loaded with classic-rock swagger.
Great, lively preamp sounds. Combines two modulation flavors with big personalities. One-stop shop for classic-rock tones. Good value.
Big. Preamp can’t be disengaged. At some settings, flanger effect leaves a little to be desired.
$440
JFX Deluxe Modulation Ensemble
jfxpedals.com
When I think of guitarists with iconic, difficult-to-replicate guitar tones, I don’t think of John Frusciante. I always figured it was easy to get close enough to his clean tones with a Strat and any garden-variety tube amp, and in some ways, it is. (To me, anyway.) But to really nail his tone is a trickier thing.
That’s a task that Jordan Fresque—the namesake builder behind Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario’s JFX Pedals—has committed significant time and energy into tackling. His Empyrean is a five-in-one box dedicated to Frusciante’s drive and dirt tones, encompassing fuzz, boost, and preamp effects. And his four-in-one, all-analog Deluxe Modulation Ensemble reviewed here is another instant Frusciante machine.
The Frusciante Formula
Half of the pedal is based off of the Boss CE-1, the first chorus pedal created. The CE-1 is renowned as much for its modulation as for its preamp circuit, which Boss recently treated to its own pedal in the BP-1W. The other half—and the pedal’s obvious aesthetic inspiration—is the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress, an analog flanger introduced in the late ’70s. Frusciante fans have clamored over the guitarist’s use of the CE-1 for decades. The Chili Peppers 6-stringer reportedly began using one in the early ’90s for his chorus and vibrato tones, and the preamp naturally warmed his Strat’s profile. Various forum heads claim John dug into the Electric Mistress on tracks like “This Is the Place” off of 2002’s By the Way. The Deluxe Modulation Ensemble aims to give you the keys to these sounds in one stomp.
JFX describes the DME as “compact,” which is a bit of a stretch. Compared to the sizes of the original pedals its based on? Sure, it’s smaller. But it’s wider and deeper than two standard-sized pedals on a board, even accounting for cabling. But quibbles around space aside, the DME is a nice-looking box that’s instantly recognizable as an Electric Mistress homage. (Though I wish it kept that pedal’s brushed-aluminum finish). The knobs for the Mistress-style as well as the authentic Boss and EHX graphics are great touches.
The flanger side features a footswitch, knobs for range, rate, and color, and a toggle to flip between normal function and EHX’s filter matrix mode, which freezes the flange effect in one spot along its sweep. The CE-1-inspired side sports two footswitches—one to engage the effect, and one to flip between chorus and vibrato—plus an intensity knob for the chorus, depth and rate knobs for the vibrato, and gain knob for the always-on preamp section. The DME can be set to high- or low-input mode by a small toggle switch, and high boosts the gain and volume significantly. A suite of three LED lights tell you what’s on and what’s not, and Fresque even added the CE-1’s red peak level LED to let you know when you’re getting into drive territory.
The effects are wired in series, but they’re independent circuits, and Fresque built an effects loop between them. The DME can run in stereo, too, if you really want to blast off.
I Like Dirt
The DME’s preamp is faithful to the original in that it requires a buffered unit before it in the chain to maintain its treble and clarity. With that need satisfied, the DME’s preamp boots into action without any engaging—it’s a literal always-on effect. To be honest, after I set it to low input and cranked it, I forgot all about Frusciante and went to town on classic-rock riffs. It souped up my Vox AC10 with groove and breadth, smoothing out tinny overtones and thickening lead lines, though higher-gain settings lost some low-end character and overall mojo.
The chorus nails the wonky Frusciante wobble on “Aquatic Moth Dance” and the watery outro on “Under the Bridge,” and the vibrato mode took me right through his chording on 2022’s “Black Summer.” On the flanger side, I had the most fun in the filter matrix mode, tweaking the color knob for slightly different metallic, clanging tones, each with lots of character.
The Verdict
If you’re a Frusciante freak, the Deluxe Modulation Ensemble will get you within spitting distance of many of his most revered tonal combinations. If you’re not, it’s still a wickedly versatile modulation multitool with a sweet preamp that’ll give your rig instant charisma. It ain’t cheap, and it ain’t small, but JFX has squeezed an impressive amount of value into this stomp
MayFly’s Le Habanero Boost and Fuzz pedal, designed with input from Trevor May and Lucas Haneman, offers a wide range of tonal options from clean to scream. Responsive to player touch and guitar volume, stack the Boost and Fuzz for endless sustain and harmonics. Perfect for exploring your inner David Gilmour.
MayFly’s Trevor May and LH Express’ Lucas Haneman have been cooking upsomething real good. Le Habanero is a dual boost and fuzz pedal specifically designed to be very responsive tothe player’s picking hand and the guitar’s volume control. With Lucas’ input, the pedal was specifically tweakedto give a ton of tonal options, from clean to scream, by just using your fingers. It heats up your tone with a tastyboost, scorching lead tones with the fuzz, tantalizing tastes of extreme heat when boost and fuzz are combined.
The boost side is designed to ride the edge between clean and grit. Keep the drive below 12 o’clock for cleanboost but with active treble and bass controls, or push the gain for clear/clean sustain with great note definition.
The fuzz side is tuned to match the tonality of the boost side and offers a load of sustain and harmonics. The fuzz features a unique two-pole filter circuit and deep switch to help match it with single coils or humbuckers.
Stacking the Boost and Fuzz gives you even more. Want to explore your inner David Gilmour? Switch both onand turn up the volume! Want to switch to Little Wing? Turn the volume back down.
- Combination Boost and Fuzz pedal, designed to work well together.
- Very responsive to guitar volume and player’s touch.
- Use Boost and Fuzz independently, or stack them.
- Boost features Treble, Bass, Volume, and Drive controls.
- Fuzz features a two pole Tone filter, Deep switch, Fuzz and Volume controls.
- Stack them to create endless sustain and plenty of harmonics.
- Wide form factor for better footswitch control live.
- Full bypass using relays, with Mayfly’s Failsafe circuitry.
- Suggested Pairing: add a dash of Le Habanaro to spice up a MayFly Sunrise guitar amp simulator!
MAP price: $185
For more information, please visit mayflyaudio.com.
Introducing: the Mayfly Le Habanero!! - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Darkglass introduces the Luminal Booster Ultra for bass guitar, combining the Harmonic Booster with adjustable frequency range parallel compression, 6-band EQ, gain reduction meter, and 7 custom Impulse Responses. With versatile controls, including a +/- 20dB BOOST and CHARACTER selection, this pedal offers precision and unmatched tonal control for bass players.
Darkglass introduces the Luminal Booster Ultra for bass guitar. The Luminal Booster Ultra combines the rich tone of Darkglass’ Harmonic Booster with the unmatched control of an adjustable frequency range parallel compression, 6-band EQ, gain reduction meter, and the choice to load seven custom Impulse Responses via USB.
The layout of the pedal is straight forward. Across the top, from left to right, is an adjustable lowpass FILTER knob for the compressed signal, a COMP knob to adjust the amount of compression applied, a BLEND knob to blend between the clean and compressed signal, and LEVEL knob to adjust the level of the compressor after the blend control. Added controls include a +/- 20dB BOOST, a CHARACTER control to allow selection between seven Impulse Responses, a MID GAIN +/- 20dB, and MID FREQUENCY from 250Hz to 2.5kHz.
The 6-band EQ uses faders for precision control. The bass Low shelf is +/- 13dB at 80Hz, the mid bands are +/- 13dB at 250Hz, 500Hz, 1.5kHz, and 3kHz. The treble is a high shelf of +/- 13dB at 5 kHz. The EQ is flanked by a MASTER fader of +/- 12dB to set the overall volume of the unit.
Input and outputs provide a player with maximum versatility. Traditional ¼” input and outputs are complimented by and 3.5mm AUX IN for practicing with backing tracks via a smartphone or laptop, a stereo headphone out, a balanced XLR direct out, USB C to connect to PC/Mac to utilizing the desktop version of the Darkglass Suite of available Impulses Responses or custom / third party impulses, and a 9V DC adapter input. A ground lift and Cab Sim round out the feature of the unit.
"This marks our entry into new sonic territories, in our search to connect with jazz and clean-tone bass players on a deeper level,” says Marcos Barilatti, Managing Director of Darkglass Electronics. “With the Luminal Booster Ultra, we've created the ultimate tool for bass players across all genres, delivering precision, versatility, and unmatched tonal control.”
Street Price is $499
For more information, please visit darkglass.com.