Reliability : Tubemeister 36 VS Orange TH30

[Ovidius]

Hello everyone
In the next 2 week i will buy my amp head+matching cabinet, after trying many amps i narrowed down my choices to the tubemeister 36 and the orange th30, i`ve tried them both in the band i play and both of them sounds amazing in the mix, so the sound is not an issue at all.
I`m more inclined to the tubemeister , the amp sounds amazing,is light to carry, is powerful and the clean channel would get my grandma wet again
Now, a guy told me that tubemeisters are not very reliable, i can`t say anything about it since is gonna be my first H&K and i don`t know how reliable is gonna be, but i haven`t found many negative feedbacks so far about this amp.
So, Any owner of a tubemeister that can give me his personal review?
And what about the Orange TH30, Orange amps are highly priced, are they worth their prices considering reliability?
Thanks for your opinions

[Surgeon]

Re: Reliability : Tubemeister 36 VS Orange TH30

I can't speak for the Tubemeister but I've owned a TH30 for over a year and still own 2 orange amps.
People worry about the TH30 because it's made in china but I never found anything wrong with that amp at all. It's very sturdy and shouldn't be causing any problem. The sleeve is as solid as anything you'll come accross and the design of the amp is, IMHO, made to be lugged around and used. Tubes and sockets are well seated, nothing moves, nice tight tolerances all around. Killer amp really. I only sold mine 'cause 3 oranges was a bit much and there was some overlap with my TV50.

As for the price, I don't think the TH30 is that expensive (being MIC) compared to the H&K no? I'd expect prices to be comarable but I could be wrong... They are a hair over 1000$ here in Canada and last I checked the tubemeister was about the same.

[Ovidius]

Re: Reliability : Tubemeister 36 VS Orange TH30

The th30 is about the same price as the H&K, my very very first choice was the thunderverb50 but that`s like 1400£,i think it`s a lot of money for a head,and i could manage to pay that, but unfortunately i wouldn`t be able to get a good cab if i go that way

[Surgeon]

Re: Reliability : Tubemeister 36 VS Orange TH30

Yeah, it is expensive new, I was lucky and scored big on a used deal... Still, the th30 is killer and deserve more props than it gets.