Orange Rockerverb 50 MkIII Neo Valve Amp Combo

When Orange put together the Rockerverb 50 MkIII combo back in 2015, they incorporated years of user feedback from previous iterations to come up with what they descibed as the “ultimate workhorse amp”. In other words, a machine could excel in all conditions — with its clean channel revoiced for more chiming tones, brighter/longer reverb, better low-end response and articulation, and Orange’s trademark “crackling” tone that has become not just a firm favourite among the heavy crowd, but also a mainstay for touring players and session aces alike.

Heavyweight Rockerverb Tone in a Lightweight Package!

The latest set of improvements sees the Rockerverb 50 MkIII combo placed on a crash diet; helping it trim down to a more manageable weight while retaining all its appealing sonic characteristics. And the result is the Rockerverb 50 MkIII Neo combo — the same beautiful amp but with an updated speaker and cabinet formation inspired by Orange’s popular PPC212V cab, making it 18% lighter than before!

The Rockerverb 50’s cabinet is now made from 15mm Baltic Birch ply, which is 3mm more slender than before but sacrificing none of the build quality that make all Orange cabinets so robust. The biggest weight saving, though, comes courtesy of the new pair of Celestion Creamback speakers that replace the V30s of old, saving almost 3kg per speaker thanks to their use of neodymium — a hugely more magnetic metal than the standard ferrite, meaning that less material is needed to achieve the same beautiful-sounding results.

Celestion Neo Creamback Speakers

Not only are the Neo Creambacks easier to carry, but they handle the Rockerverb 50’s tone even better too. Retaining all the authoritative high–mid push of the V30s, but a little darker and fuller when the tone breaks into overdrive, these UK-built speakers will make lead lines more muscular and rounded, and rhythm playing warmer and fatter than ever.

All in, it amounts to a saving of nearly 7 kg (15 lbs) compared to the original MkIII, or the equivalent of carrying a bowling ball around in the back of your combo. Take that load off, add improved tone, and the one of the best valve combo amps just got better!

Valve-Powered Versatility

The Orange Rockerverb’s twin-channel design with all the tone-shaping options imaginable, from sparkly cleans to ultra-saturation (always with outstanding clarity!), a footswitchable spring reverb with a long, glistening tail, a built-in attenuator offering maxed-out textures at neighbourhood-friendly volumes, switchable power options, and a near-transparent buffered effects loop for the pedal purist are all there like before — but now at a manageable weight that’s essential for the modern-day performer.

Key Features

• Twin-channel Class A/B 2×12″ valve amp combo.
• Lightweight Celestion Neo (Neodymium) Creamback speakers, weighing only 1.9kg each!
• Footswitchable valve-driven spring reverb.
• Valve-buffered effects loop, optimised for your ambient and modulation pedals.
• Footswitchable attenuator and selectable output wattage (50W or 25W).
• Highest-quality 15mm Baltic Birch plywood cabinet.

Specifications

• Controls: Input, Clean Channel: Volume, Bass, Treble | Dirty Channel: Gain, Bass, Mid, Treble | Reverb, Attenuator | Clean/Dirty Selector, Full/Standby/Half Power, Mains Switch
• Output Power: 50 Watts (Full Power), 25 Watts (Half Power)
• Preamp Valves: ECC83/12AX7 (x4) & ECC81/12AT7 (x2)
• Power Valves: EL34 (x2)
• Speakers: 2×12″ Celestion NEO Creamback (16 Ohms Total)
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 66.5 x 53.5 x 30.5 cm (26.18 × 21.06 × 12.01 inches)
• Weight: 31 kg (68.34 lbs)