artifex_adrift's Punk Amp Rig

I started out chasing a few deals on the 120w and 60w versions of the Laney Ironheart, and backed out because I realized I mostly gravitate towards amps in the15w range. It's not the 90s anymore, and I don't need a gigantic wall of sound behind me, because:

A) Competing with the entire band at those volumes from the backline makes you sound like gravel in a blender.

B) Most venues have modern house systems that allow you to mic a great lower-watt setup that has amazing tone that translates to the entire room.

The features of the larger class Ironhearts were really enticing, but when I had the opportunity to jump on a mint 15w version for nearly half the price, I couldn't say no. Especially since this amp is discontinued, I figured it would be a good idea to grab one before it was too late. It complements my existing pool of amps in this power class, but has an unmatched tonal range.

It's a single channel amp, which works for me because I'm not into the clean/distortion/clean/distortion foot-rocking grunge stuff. I like to shred, so this beast being dialed in just where I like it gives me such a dynamic, responsive feel to my playing. The 'Tone' and 'Dynamics' settings help clean up your preferred EQ settings for treble-mid-bass. It's not as flat and gerneric sounding that way, you really get a truly unique sound characteristic just from balancing these two knobs to find your perfect response zone.

The pre-boost setting is actually really great, the fact that it is footswitchable gives you that option if you just need to bump the push on the gain for leads or just a little extra crunch. I can say the onboard reverb isn't bad, in fact it can get really deep and washy, but given that I already have my favorite reverb effects I like to run through the FX loops of my amps, I keep it dialed down to a modest "room" setting just for some depth to the sound so it's not so flat sounding. It's a personal preference, but if that's what you like it's there.

So overall, I'm definitely impressed with this amp. Laney makes killer equipment, and the Laney Ironheart IRT15H2 (also 1w input so you can really crank it in the bedroom) not only met but exceeds my expectations.

With the stock tubes replaced with a matched trio of Electro-Harmonix gold-pin 12AX7 pre-amp tubes and Tungsol EL84s in the power stage, this amp is a 15 watt fireball. I play a lot of really heavy music, and this amp has been an absolute monster with my tube setup. Running through a pair of Celestion cream backs in a closed-cab, this amp has a 16 ton punch without the tapering sizzle that tends to give these types of amps a bad name. Orange has a truly unique amp on their hands with this one, and I am glad to fire this thing up on a regular basis. Whether I want to dial up some scorching leads or dial back the gain and get some silky tones, this amp has been a straight go-to for me.