something isn't right here

rival empire · Post by **rival empire** » Wed May 19, 2004 2:26 am

Finally got my Orange AD30H in the other day and I am totally disappointed. Its not at all as I remember it in the store. It was very creamy and full and all notes shone through clearly. Now its just a mess, can't make out any distinction.
I'm playing it with a Gibson SG through a Marshall 4x12 with Vintage 30's in it. I have no idea what is going on here. Its not at all what I was in store for.

Meole · Post by **Meole** » Wed May 19, 2004 2:52 am

Are the speakers in the cab wired properly? Maybe out of phase.

Marsradio · Post by **Marsradio** » Wed May 19, 2004 3:01 am

Did you play your guitar on it in the store, and what kind of cabnet did you play it on in the store. Both could make a big difference in the sound your getting, plus the size of your room comparitizly to the store where you tried it and other small things.

macahan · Post by **macahan** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:42 am

i bet it's the cab... atleast if you tried with an orange in the store.. orange cabs sound great.. best cab out there..

my ad200 sounds amazing..

littlefred · Post by **littlefred** » Wed May 19, 2004 12:33 pm

Are you sure that you've matched the impedance correctly? You can end up with a thin trebly sound otherwise... Could be worth checking. I doubt whether the choice of cab could change your sound that drastically. Sounds like there's something really wrong if it sounds that bad.

Joe

rival empire · Post by **rival empire** » Wed May 19, 2004 4:50 pm

the guitar i used at the store was not mine, but another SG - the closest match they had at the store. I did play through an orange 2x12 at the store, but it just had celestions in it, while mine has v30's so i expected more of what i liked out of the amp. impedence matches up fine, don't have a selector on my cab - its a limited edition slash and has 3 settings based on how you plug it in. speakers are in great condition.
i managed to get a decent tone out of it, not near what i had in mind nor expected from the test run at the store - but the biggest problem is that there is no definition of notes. any accents get lost, no clarity at all.
this is a terribly depressing situation as the store accepts no returns - so it looks like i'm going to have to resell the amp.
i had been looking forward to this purchase for ages, and this is the biggest musical letdown i have ever experienced.

grgurich · Post by **grgurich** » Wed May 19, 2004 4:57 pm

I think you're jumping the gun re your thinking that you have to immediately sell the amp. First, why won't the store take it back? Did you buy it secondhand? Even if you did, don't they, or someone else nearby, have a service tech, i.e., someone who can look at the amp? And are you sure that your cab is totallly in good working order? Have you tried running another head through it? The bottom line here is, I think you have a lot of options. Hell, a valve could have gone bad between the time you bought it and the time you brought it home.

JG

spoonie g · Post by **spoonie g** » Wed May 19, 2004 5:17 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
the guitar i used at the store was not mine, but another SG - the closest match they had at the store. I did play through an orange 2x12 at the store, but it just had celestions in it, while mine has v30's so i expected more of what i liked out of the amp. impedence matches up fine, don't have a selector on my cab - its a limited edition slash and has 3 settings based on how you plug it in. speakers are in great condition.
i managed to get a decent tone out of it, not near what i had in mind nor expected from the test run at the store - but the biggest problem is that there is no definition of notes. any accents get lost, no clarity at all.
this is a terribly depressing situation as the store accepts no returns - so it looks like i'm going to have to resell the amp.
i had been looking forward to this purchase for ages, and this is the biggest musical letdown i have ever experienced.

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

The store won't take returns? Did you pay by credit card? If so, you could possibly get your money back.

Kelsey · Post by **Kelsey** » Wed May 19, 2004 5:17 pm

I haven't used an AD30 head, so take this for whatever it's worth. Start with the gain low and master volume where you want it to see whether you get the note definition and articulation that you want, then bring up the gain to see how it sounds. Do the same thing alternately with the tone controls. If the AD30 is anything like the AD15, then the gain, master vol, and tone controls are very interactive and very sensitive to differences in guitar pickup output. It takes some real tweaking and experimentation to dial it in for each guitar. I can only imagine the difference that changes in speaker configuration must cause.

rival empire · Post by **rival empire** » Wed May 19, 2004 5:52 pm

yea, speakers in cabinet are in great working order - i just sold my jcm 2000 dsl100 that sat on top of it not a month or two ago and it sounded superb. i love the cab's tone. as far as tweaking eq's with drive and vol. i've done a lot of that, and while i can get a decent tone - there is no definition or note clarity. any accents are lost.
while tube damage may be a reason - i didn't notice any problem, they're all burning well and lighting up evenly.
the store takes no returns - only exchanges. however its quite a boutique type store and orange is about the cheapest amp they carry.
and yes i did pay by credit card. not sure how that would help to get any money back.
and yes, i'm not wanting to jump the gun too soon - just exploring options quickly so i can have some game plans ready.

grgurich · Post by **grgurich** » Wed May 19, 2004 7:03 pm

Kelsey's right about an Orange amp's controls being very interactive. I have an AD 15/12, and there's a wide range of sounds you can get out of it, depending not only on the master and gain, but on the EQ controls as well. In fact, on mine, if you turn all the EQs totally off, i.e., all the way left, you get no sound whatsoever.

Finally, okay, you bought the amp new, so it's under warranty, which means if there's any defects, or something has broken, Orange will fix it one way or another. I just can't imagine that this amp, which sounded so good to you in the store, now sounds so bad at home without there being something fixable happening.

JG

Edited by - grgurich on 19 May 2004 19:04:40

Post by **bclaire** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:04 pm

It isn't a loose tube by any chance? Did you check to make sure they're all seated snugly in their sockets?

Billy

rival empire · Post by **rival empire** » Wed May 19, 2004 9:57 pm

yea - bclaire that was my first thought - and i did notice one sitting a bit sideways, thought it might be it, but it seems to be lighting up just fine, i'll look into it a bit more closely. the tone i can get is not terrible, after a bit of tweaking - but it took forever to get decent tone. but there really is no definition at all.
i didn't think the tube would burn bright if it wasn't sitting in there right, i'll mess with that one tube a little more and see if i can draw any further conclusions.

just to clarify - no one else has any clarity issues? all your notes shine through beautifully? they did for me in-store, so this is a bit of a shock to me.

something isn't right here

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