Orange Amplifiers Thunderverb 50 Series TH50HTC 50W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black

The 50W Orange Thunderverb 50 twin channel tube amp head offers class A/B performance with a foot-switchable attenuator, tube FX loop, and tube-driven reverb. The Tunderverb 50 tube amp head sports 2 clean/crunch/lead channels each with 3 gain stages. Channel A has the same 3-band EQ as the lead channel used on the Orange Rockerverb amps. Channel B has a shape control that scoops the mids and increases the bass and treble when turned up.

The Orange Thunderverb 50 amp head's footswitchable attenuator is great for those really loud lead breaks.

If you like the sound of the Thunderverb 200, but prefer the convenience of a smaller cranked 50W power amp, then the Orange Thunderverb 50 tube amp is for you.

Check the drop-down menu to the right to select colors and/or other options.

Channel A controls: gain, shape, volume Channel B controls: gain, bass, middle, treble, volume. Attenuator control: foot-switchable for both channels. Reverb control: foot-switchable for both channels. Foot-switchable attenuator Output: 50W RMS, 16ohms Tubes: 2 X EL34, 4 x ECC83/12AX7 2 x ECC81/12AT7 Speaker impedance: 1 x 16ohm, 2 x 8ohm Dimensions: 21-3/4"W x 10"H x 11"D

Custom Guitar's Friend Gold Coverage

Gold Coverage goes above and beyond the manufacturer's warranty to protect your gear from unexpected breakdowns, accidental damage from handling and failures. This plan covers your product for one, two, three or up to five years from your date of purchase, costs just pennies per day and gives you a complete "no-worry" solution for protecting your investment.

Gold Coverage Includes:

Unexpected and unintentional spills, drops and cracks Normal wear and tear Power surges Dust, internal heat and humidity

Other plan features include:

For products over $200, No Lemon Policy applies. If it fails for the same defect 3 times, it is replaced on the 4th breakdown. (Does not apply to failures due to drops, spills, and cracks) For products under $200 experiencing the above failures, a Custom Guitar's Friend gift card will be issued for the full price of the product + tax. Shipping fees covered if required for repair or replacement Plans are transferable in the event merchandise is sold Plans are renewable on new gear

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Term for New Gear begins on date of purchase but does not replace the store return policy or manufacturer coverage.

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I'm not the guy that gives 5 stars because I have a new toy and like it because it's new. I've been playing this amp for three months and I think I know it well enough to review. Also, sometimes I read reviews and think of things that may sway an opinion. I'm going to try to make this review useful by adding what I'm playing and the gear I'm using:

I'm comparing the TV50 & the Orange PPC212 closed back to two other amps that I own: A 74 Marshall Lead 50 (with a Lee Jackson mod) with a Marshall 1960a and a new Mesa Dual Rectifier with its related 4x12. Each has great tone, but I'm using the TV as my go-to amp now. The Mesa is really a high gain amp, which –when played through an A/B/Y with the orange, seemed thin. The Orange articulates the playing better, and this can be a good thing or a bad thing. If you're a sloppy player, maybe the Mesa is the way to go since compared to the Orange, the notes seemed to blend more while riffing. The Mesa is way more versitle too. Not just because of the gain control, but each channel has dedicated eq, gain, volume and presence. This can work against it, because I've owned dual recs for fifteen years and always found them a bit difficult to dial in. Against the Marshall, the tone seemed richer and more robust. The overtones are so prominent that it almost sounds like two amps. The Marshall sounds great, and it has a more punchy tone, but I like the Orange because it seems more balanced and it's easier to dial in. Without the mod, the Orange has more gain than the Marshall, and the clean tone seems a bit darker, but not dark in the muddy sense.

If it helps - I'm playing a blues-based, kind of grimy rock through it. I'm using a Les Paul, a Strat (sss) and an ES335. Each sounds good through this amp, but I have to admit, I like the Strat tone way better out of the Marshall – it's almost magical. The Gibsons sound monstrous through the Orange. I am not sure I'd like it for a metal band, but I haven't tried to get the gain that high yet. It definitely doesn't have the gain of the Mesa or the low-end punch. I never used the Strat in the Mesa, but we all know that the Gibsons sounded huge through that thing. If you're a blues player, through a dot through a TV50 and you'll be hooked.

The TV reacts very well to adjustment to volume and tone knobs. It cleans up remarkably when using the volume knob, especially considering that I'm playing two-humbucker guitars most of the time. In fact, I use both channels dirty, and use a volume pedal to go control the level of distortion, from super clean to crunchy to as dirty as the gain knob is set. In all, this amp is very dynamic.

I like the attenuator for pressing the volume to get the tubes hot while not blowing out the room. The attenuator works like a power breaker. Basically, you can crank the volume knobs to get tube break up, and use the attenuator to keep the ouput volume at room-level. Some people say you can use it to get a volume boost for solo's but I haven't tried that yet. I find that the volume difference is too great to be useful. My room level, even with a band, is way lower than where I'm leaving my volume knobs set. If I lower the volume knobs, I lose some of that tone I'm looking for.

The shape knob is easy to use, and it's settings from one side to the next are very dynamic. Basically turned all the way down, it scoops the mids while if you turn it all the way up, it punches the mids and suppresses lows and highs. I can get great tone from it, but I have it stuck in my head that I am giving up custom settings of individual EQ knobs. Don't get me wrong, I don't know if I can get a better tone by replacing the shape with an EQ, but my mind is just stuck on the idea.

The reverb sounds good, but it's only useful in a very small amount. Once the knob goes past 8:00, it gets overwhelming to me. The cool thing is that the reverb, along with the attenuator can be activated via a footswitch. I bough an aftermarket footswitch with three swtiches for the channels, the attenuator and the reverb.

The amp takes pedals very well. I haven't used the effects loop, but I am running a clean boost, a wah, an overdrive a delay and a compressor. Some amps don't work well with pedals and I have not found that to be the case with this one. In fact, it seems to marry the overdrive pedals and blend it's tone with them perfectly. I've used a tube screamer and a TC MojoMojo. They both complement the TV nicely. I currently run the TC on my board.

Conclusion: More articulate than the boogie, more richness than the Marshall but not so much better that I'd give up the Marshall just to play an Orange. Dynamic, not as versitile than the Boogie, but covers a lot of different styles.
Orange Amplifiers Thunderverb 50 Series TH50HTC 50W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black
.Let me just outline my original plan for obtaining this amp -
I wanted to find another amp to pair with my Engl Blackmore head and run in stereo, simultaneously. The Engl is naturally bright, aggressive and compressed. My idea was to find another amp that was a little darker and more muscular, something a bit more punchy and articulate, yet still organic and versatile - something that would sit in the mix well. I'm not a high-gainer, I like crunchy Marshall-esque sound but fell in love with the Engl primarily for its improvements over the basic Marshall setup. The Thunderverb seemed to be the ideal candidate since I'd loved it every time I had played through it.

After trying both out, I've decided to go with the TV50 over the 200. The 200 just sounds and feels dull and lifeless to me in the power section which obviously affects the pre amp, making the gain a little more sterile and artificial sounding. Not to mention the price difference, secondhand availability and practicality of running it through the cabs I already have, rather than having to buy the high powered Orange 4x12, which I don't particularly like the sound of anyway. But I can heartily recommend the TV50 to anyone searching for something a little bit unique. Its overall gain structure is brilliant. Just notching the gain up from 12:00 to 1:00 thickens the sound dramatically, taking it from classic rock crunch to muscular 800 territory. Fantastically versatile with features to die for. As you can tell, I like it!

Either way, it produces really smooth top end, huge yet defined bottom end and powerful mids. And it took my Tube Screamer and fuzz pedals incredibly well. I think it'll sit really nicely with my Engl.
Orange Amplifiers Thunderverb 50 Series TH50HTC 50W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black
.This amp has a great sound and is surprisingly versatile depite having just 10 knobs. You can get classic clean sounds out of this amp by rolling of the gain but where it really shines is when its distorted. This is the best amp if you're a distortion lover like myself. It has a nice thick distortion that really doesn't need any other effects to make it great. Unless your a country player who needs a perfectly clean sound then this does the job nicely of producing a good clean sound. I've owned most of the high end amps and played them all, this is the best out there. Two things that are unique to this amp are its attenuator which drives the tubes even harder at lower volumes and the shape knob on the second channel which has the ability to go from clean to crazy with the turn of one knob. The attenuator is great if you like the sound of a big tube amp at lower volumes without sacraficing tone. I had the rockerverb 50 combo and it was great but I traded it for the thunderverb 50 because it just had more umph for metal and crazy leads.
Orange Amplifiers Thunderverb 50 Series TH50HTC 50W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black
.Hello,The Orange name says it all to me. It's the visual look that caught me, but it's the sound that kept me forever. The clean tones are warm. The dirty tones are rough. The RV50 is the most expensive thing I own. I was given money for college and bought this amp. Music over school. Orange over anything else.
Orange Amplifiers Thunderverb 50 Series TH50HTC 50W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black
.The gain channel is great. It's not too fuzzy, it's not too muddy, it's just a british roar. Throaty.

The attenuator is great for solo boosts when you turn it off via footswitch.

If you play live rock and roll this is a great amp. It just gets the job done. If it were destroyed or stolen I'd buy another.
Orange Amplifiers Thunderverb 50 Series TH50HTC 50W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black
.THIS AMP BROKE DO TO POOR WORKMANSHIP THE SOLDERING JOINTS FEEL APART, ORANGE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE WORST I HAVE EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH , DO NOT BUY, YOU ARE PAYING $2500.00 FOR GARBAGE, BUY THE EVH 5150 lll
Orange Amplifiers Thunderverb 50 Series TH50HTC 50W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black
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