Orange Guitar Amps

[Huntlabs]

Got an Orange AD30HTC head I'm thinking about buying, $550-600 max. Anyone have one? Are the Orange amps good? I haven't had a chance to plug it in yet....

I've already got a couple of good amps, Rivera, Fender SuperReverb, Fender Pro Junior, Polytone... Do I need another amp???

[soundguy]

you dont need another amp, but I have like 30 and used to be a total crack whore for guitar amps, I feel your pain.

Those amps are interesting. If you know old orange designs, you'll be bummed, those things are totally new designs. Its basically an AC 30 circuit with a wierder EQ, they are dark and gritty, but its a classic EL84 class a circuit. Orange NEVER made anything like that. They are built on PCB's and are really shitty, dont spend too much, all the ones Ive recorded have all been falling apart... If you dont have an AC30 or a Marshall Bluesbreaker, its worth buying for that idea although it has its own sound, kinda like a shitty pissed off version of either of those two amps, in a cool way. tighten all the nuts on the pots when you get it. You'll be glad you did that.

dave

[t morgan]

I haven't used this amp, but I've heard their bass amps and they are great! I'm sure this amp sounds great, too..and it's looks like you could use an AC30 sounding amp.

[Huntlabs]

F you guys are fast!

The only thing close to an AC30 is the Marshal side of the Rivera. That has EL34's and is 55 Watts. Gets a great Marshall sound and a good clean / or crunchy Fender sound. Love playing live with that amp...

I agree I don't need another amp. But does a crack head need another hit of crack? WTF.... I'll go check it out. It's on a 30 day hold at a store nearby...

[JustinHedrick]

Orange amps can be summed up with one word i think, balls.

If you would like a perfect representation of what old orange amps sound like, pick up You'd Prefer an Astronaut by HUM. hmmm....orange.

justin

[ulriggribbons]

Hummm..... For my ears, I recommend Downward is Heavenward. Of course, actual milage may vary.

I've got some Orange OR-120 amps in the works. Like the orange amps. Believe it or not, this will be an OR-120 someday


The original line were made by Matamp, for Orange. I read somewhere that the newer ones are made in the Trace Elliot factory.

Regards

ju

[drumsound]

I just heard one of the new half-stacks yesterday. I thought it sounded really cool and I wish I had some money and more space...

[Zoltar]

is this one of the new ones? I have one of the old ones, and I can only say it sounds better the louder it gets. This is a problem for recording.

The other thing is that the cabinet is heavy. like 150lbs or something. damn. I like it though.

[pedrohead]

i actually have the ad30r which is the 2x12 combo of the head your looking at.

first of all, if you've found one for $600, that's a heck of a deal. those things don't often come cheap.

but i like my ad30r a lot. i can't use it for everything, but for that mid-heavy british kind of tone (especially with the gain cranked) it really works well for me with telecasters and hollow bodies.

i find the eq kind of useless though.

[Uncle Dub]

Like the guy said above, if you want a nice tubey old school orange sound, go look at MatAmp, Mat Mathias did the original Orange amps, and the company are still turning out awesome sounding products. http://www.matamp.co.uk and http://www.matamp.com, http://blackamps.com/, http://greenamps.com/.

I love the idea of their open door policy.

At Matamp we welcome the chance to meet our customers and operate an open door policy at our factory in Yorkshire. If you want to drop by and try our equipment, you are more than welcome. All we ask is that you ring first to let us know you are coming.

[Huntlabs]

I appreciate the suggestions about MatAmp but I'm not really shopping for a new guitar amp. I just have a shot at this particular head for that particular price. It seems that it might be a good addition to my amp collection.

Unlike crack I'll at least have the amp when I'm done using it. But I've been a bit gear crazy lately. An AKG414XLS for $650, an AT4033 for $250, a lucid AD9624 for $640 and I'm waiting for my STO-2 pair to show up. All were new. Prices were so good I couldn't say no. I'm a sucker for a deal and 12 month financing. WTF, it's only money. Right?

[Coco]

I haven't used this amp, but I've heard their bass amps and they are great! I'm sure this amp sounds great, too..and it's looks like you could use an AC30 sounding amp.

I have the Ad200 bass amp and it sounds great. It is a custom shop hand wired model, no pc boards. I need a cab for it though. I know, not much help regarding the guitar amp.