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Orange build quality disappointment


Uberkate
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I bought an Orange Rocker 30 combo roughly three years ago, expecting it to be built like a tank. It was second hand but in like new condition, only having been used in the previous owner's house for noodling.

I found external things started breaking down a lot quicker than I was expecting :( I use it fairly regularly for gigs and practises and it's been on one weekend tour - hardly heavy duty use.

Few knobs have gone off the top (need to screw 'em back on), the rubber handle has split on one edge, so that the metal strap underneath is exposed, and at the last gig I played the bloody badge came off the front!

Of course they're all things that can be easily repaired or replaced but it's really annoying and disappointing. You have to expect a bit of wear and tear but it just seems ridiculous to me that an internationally renowned amp company can't make their rubber handle straps last. You should at least be able to lift the thing up and down without the strap tearing! Or screw their knobs on properly...

Anyone else found this / wanna have a moan?

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Knobs with grubscrews always work loose - screw them back on and put a little blob of clear nail varnish in the screw hole.

Rubber handles have broken like this since ever they were invented, but they're dead cheap and take only minutes to replace.

These items have been superseded by more modern equivalents, but any manufacturer making amps to reflect a certain era, as Orange do, have their choices kinda limited. :)

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As far as I know they're not the same company that made the original Orange amps.

I think it was Music Ground bought up a load of the old names (Hiwatt is another example) & started churning out visually similar but inferior products featuring the name.

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[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1410377110' post='2548819']
Knobs with grubscrews always work loose - screw them back on and put a little blob of clear nail varnish in the screw hole.

[/quote]

If I were you, I'd put the nail varnish in the holes [i][b]before [/b][/i]you screw them back on.

No need to thank me ...

More seriously, I wouldn't use nail varnish. What you want (IMHO) is http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/pipe-thread-sealants/0514509/?origin=PSF_435926|alt

I was in Angel Music in Denmark Street last year when I was deciding whether to have a custom Matamp made for me, or buy a vintage Orange AD200. The AD200 they had in there was in an awkward place and I didn't want to risk my back by reaching for it, so I asked the assistant to pick it up.

Which he did.

At which point both screws/bolts ripped clean through the top and the 27Kg amplifier fell about two feet onto the floor.

I decided not to buy it.

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[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1410511630' post='2550139']
If I were you, I'd put the nail varnish in the holes [i][b]before [/b][/i]you screw them back on.

No need to thank me ...

More seriously, I wouldn't use nail varnish. What you want (IMHO) is http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/pipe-thread-sealants/0514509/?origin=PSF_435926|alt
[/quote]

You're totally right.

I was trying to keep it simple because those little grub screws can be a right sod to get back in once you've taken them out. :)

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