Laney AOR Pro Tube 50w combo

[javert]

lol about the whole "I'm not Ron" thing. I really laughed out load reading this...

Guy: Ron, bla bla bla
Not Ron: I'm not Ron...
Guy: Ron, you know, bla bla bla
Not Ron: Dude, ...

[javert]

.. but from what you're saying, it sounds like a great amp

[DonP]

Correction!!! Its running a pair of 6V6's so I guess its actually an AOR 30 combo. It has the original Fane speaker and this amp is as close to mint as you could possibly get.

John,

The AOR 50 seriously weighs twice as much. The cabinet is oversized, the chassis heavy duty, the transformers (3) all double in size. It's a real back-breaker.

I first (and last) played an AOR 30 combo at some shop on Sunset Blvd. when they first came out (1989?). I remember it like when I played a Silver Jubilee the first time, a positive experience.

[Rupe]

I had the AOR 100 head back in the 80's and loved it. I A/B'd it against a 2203 and Laney absolutely smoked it in every meaningful way. They're one of the best bargains going for classic metal tone IMO. The 30 was a great amp as well...had a surprisingly tight bottom end for 6V6's (although I played the 2x12 version that they called a 1/4 stack...never tried the 1x12).

[jgcable]

lol about the whole "I'm not Ron" thing. I really laughed out load reading this...

Guy: Ron, bla bla bla
Not Ron: I'm not Ron...
Guy: Ron, you know, bla bla bla
Not Ron: Dude, ...

Yep.. got it. Ron??? WTF!!!!!

[Racerx2k]

LOL! Just getting back to this thread. Yeah, I'm not Ron. Just happened to pick a similar user name. BUT, I DO know a bit about these amps. Yes, v4 is the PI. you will most likely get the most bang for your buck, swapping tubes in the v1 and v2 positions, as well as trying different flavors of power tubes. My 50 watt head thrives on JJs in the power section. Seems to like EH and JJ pres in v1 and/or v2. And, as you are probably already aware by now, you have to work pre 1 and 2 volume pots, to get the gain and tonality you're looking for. One's darker, one's brighter. I've actually modded mine to get it just right. series I amps like mine have a bass boost that is too strong. I modded mine to give it a more respectable boost, more like the Series II, plus added a resonance control, for added bottom shaping. A few other minor tweakings, here and there.

[DonP]

I'll probably add a resonance control to my head. The chassis has the hole behind the cover plate where the reverb goes in the combo chassis (they share chassis's like Marshalls, just flipped upside down).

One thing I really like about these is that the speaker is sealed like a cab making it sound better IMO, and that protects the tubes.

Also John, who recommended a Laney in the "I need a small tube combo" thread LOL!

I know these amps can be had for cheap, but I'm not selling mine for anything less than what it's worth to me.

[jgcable]

I got this AOR ProTube 30 combo cheap but there is no chance of me getting rid of it cheap. Its the perfect 1 x 12 combo. Not too heavy but made really well, like you said it has a closed sealed speaker inclosure so it REALLY thumps and even though its not a traditional channel switcher the footswitchable boost which actually turns a preamp stage on and off is just about the same thing. Very similar to the old Mesa Studio 22 controls to me. Great clean tone, outstanding organic heavy tone and the bass that this amp puts out is incredible. I don't have the push/pull pot on the bass control even activated and I have the bass set on 3 and it still thumps.
It also has a very non intrusive quality sounding reverb.
I replaced V1-V2-V3 with Electro Harmonix 12AX7EH and the PI with a GT 12AX7T. The 2 6V6's in it are black tubes and they look original and I would guess they are because this amp has never been taken apart. I probably need to replace them too but I am having too much fun jamming on it.
Regarding the original Fane 1 x 12 speaker. Its the first time I ever played through one. Its a really great speaker.
Cleans up nice, breaks up fairly early and can handle a fair amount of bass before it starts sounding muddy.
I have been dialing in all kinds of tones for the last few days. Its simple to dial in and the preamp controls are very reactive and interactive. Its a unique feature.
For the player who needs a small tube combo running a 1 x 12 speaker for home practice, recording or small gigs this is the perfect amp. With no pedals it can do anything from clean to blues to classic rock to 80's+ metal no problem. If you scoop the mids and bring up the bass a little and dime out the presence you could even do modern metal. This is a very versatile amp. Anybody looking for a hot rodded JCM800 would be very happy with this amp.
There is alot of mention of RATT tone regarding this amp. I agree although I think that Warren and Robbin used alot of amps in the studio including that infamous Marshall that would be traded back between Warren and George Lynch. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't use Soldano too.
What this amp does do very well is nail the overall 80's metal tone.
Like I said in an earlier post, these little 1 x 12 30w all tube combo's are jems and can be picked up in the high 3's to low 4's. They are worth every penny.

[jgcable]

Sorry about that Racerx2k John...

[jgcable]

BTW... is there any where I can get the little knob caps for this amp? My amp is missing all but 2 of them. They are just little caps that snap over the end of the knobs.

[Rupe]

There is alot of mention of RATT tone regarding this amp. I agree although I think that Warren and Robbin used alot of amps in the studio including that infamous Marshall that would be traded back between Warren and George Lynch. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't use Soldano too.

The infamous Marshall as used on "Lay It Down" belonged to Warren...he would not let George borrow it. George even tried to steal it at one point when he was at Warren's house for Warren's kid's b-day party but he got the wrong one. There was never any sharing of amps between those two that I've ever heard about.

For the "golden era" of Lynch tone (ULAK & BFTA) George did use Marshalls for the majority of the work but not Warren's. For ULAK, he used some old Super Leads, and for BFTA he used the famous purple Plexi from Aspen Pittman's collection, along with the red one and a few others.

Details here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20031219041025/georgelynch.com/rigs/studiorigs/studio.html

[DonP]

I bought my Laney AOR 50 head in 1990 at a shop on Sunset Blvd. He said it came from Ratt. Yeah right I thought. Salesmen will say anything to make a sale.

[plon]

BTW... is there any where I can get the little knob caps for this amp? My amp is missing all but 2 of them. They are just little caps that snap over the end of the knobs.

How many do you need? I have some extras. PM me.

[thebigz]

Since we have a thread on a new AOR50 here, I figure I'll just jump in, as I finally got mine! Great condition, even for something new, and this is an 80's child!

Problem is, I can't get it to work. Initially when I put the tubes in I did it wrong and didn't line up the centering pin, as you can see in the first picture. I got that fixed, but still nothing!

If I plug a guitar into the line in on back, it comes through fine. If I touch the reverb bar, it comes through the speaker fine. The power tubes get nice and warm/hot, same with the preamp tubes. I have no idea what is going on. Here are a couple pictures, am I missing anything simple here?

This is when the tubes were installed wrong, but nothing else has changed.



It is turned on in this picture, and I have the tubes right now.

[Racerx2k]

If it is getting sound when you run straight into the line in, I'd have to say the power amp sectino is fine and that it's the preamp section. Make sure your pre tubes are all seated. Just out of curiosity, if you run a jumper cable in the loop, is there still no sound? Had a problem with a Marshall combo like that, years ago.