Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Orange Amps General Forum

Moderator: bclaire

Post Reply
OU818
Orange Master
Posts: 2332
Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2009 7:55 am
Location: Melbourne, AUS

Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Post by OU818 » Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:02 am

So I've been in the Hiwatt camp for a bit now and have decided that this is my main stay amp. That being said, I have a serious desire to check out a Retro 50 for a different flavour.

I was just reading an interview with the guitarist from Red Coats and he managed to seal the deal with his love of the Retro. He also stated that it handles fuzz pedals really well.

Can anybody attest to how it handles other distortions compared to say a Rockerverb 50? I always found the RV50 left a lot to be desired with it's ability to do anything other than its own distortion.
Orange Gear:
AD200B MkIII
OBC810

Non-Orange:
Bergantino NXT212
Bergantino Forte D
Woogie Lessie
Laney DBV-410

Basses:
Ernie Ball Stingray 4H
Rickenbacker 4003
Gibson Midtown Signature
Gibson Thunderbird
Gibson Nikki Sixx Thunderbird
Gibson Les Paul Bass

dreamdistortion
Tiny Terror
Posts: 65
Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 10:21 pm

Re: Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Post by dreamdistortion » Thu Jan 10, 2013 6:03 am

I love the Retro. It's full of tones, from sweet, chimey cleans to snarling overdrive. Handles dirt pedals with aplomb, as well. I've been feeding a Big Cheese and Barber LTD into it. Souns killer, even with the amp set to deliver some grit.

I was actually able to compare the Retro directly with a "pix only" OR120 tonight. The Retro sounded like a scaled-down version of the 120. I was pretty damn surprised. The vintage head had more balls and a little extra magic happening in the midrange, but they were quite similar. Can't go wrong with the retro, IMO.

SirJackdeFuzz
Orange Hero
Posts: 355
Joined: Mon Dec 25, 2006 11:37 pm
Location: South Africa

Re: Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Post by SirJackdeFuzz » Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:23 am

Does Orange still make the Retro 50 ?

For some sad reason, i can nOT find it on their site :(
SG, Tele & LP Jr -->Radial Twin City ABY box, split into Orange Thunderverb 50 & block letter Peavey 5150

a.hun
Duke of Orange
Posts: 9765
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2002 1:05 am
Location: Amsterdam, Hollandland.nl

Re: Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Post by a.hun » Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:18 pm

SirJackdeFuzz wrote:Does Orange still make the Retro 50 ?

For some sad reason, i can nOT find it on their site :(
Nope, just recently discontinued in favour of the Custom Shop 50.

Probably be a couple still out there in the shops though so try a quick Google / whatever


Andy.
aNDyH. :wink:

Ever tried to outstare a mirror?

In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap, and much more difficult to find!

SirJackdeFuzz
Orange Hero
Posts: 355
Joined: Mon Dec 25, 2006 11:37 pm
Location: South Africa

Re: Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Post by SirJackdeFuzz » Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:12 pm

a.hun wrote:
SirJackdeFuzz wrote:Does Orange still make the Retro 50 ?

For some sad reason, i can nOT find it on their site :(
Nope, just recently discontinued in favour of the Custom Shop 50.

Probably be a couple still out there in the shops though so try a quick Google / whatever


Andy.


BUGGER . . . thanks for the info Andy !
SG, Tele & LP Jr -->Radial Twin City ABY box, split into Orange Thunderverb 50 & block letter Peavey 5150

ironlung40
Orange Master
Posts: 2851
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:10 pm
Location: USA (in the south)

Re: Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Post by ironlung40 » Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:47 pm

I've got one that I have thought about selling more times than I've played it in the last year.

I've whittled my orange amp collection down to an OR120, TThw, R30, and the retro. I actually sold the retro a while back to a close friend but bought it back from him because he needed the money (lost his day job)

The retro is a cool amp, but I just find myself always gravitating toward the OR120 over it. The retro is more controllable and imitates the OR120, but I always enjoy the OR more. I've tried to stick with the retro and even the r30, over the OR120 due to the manageability of the volume, but for my ear, they just lack something that the OR has for me. I could probably just own the OR120 and not miss the others. I only play them whenever I'm bored of the same gear, and then it is just noodling.

I'm glad that I have no interest in the new offerings Orange has out right now. because this shiz is expensive.

I am most likely going to sell the TThw and the R30 pretty soon as well. I think the OR120 has covered all of the Orange ground that I need.

Good luck on finding a retro. They made plenty of them, so they are not really that rare. I've seen used ones pop up a lot, and I've seen them for sale at humbucker music recently.
Sincerely,
Ironlung40
OR120 Pix/text
Tiny Terror HW
Rocker 30 combo
Rockververb 100 MKII
Thunderverb 200
Gibson SG 61 RI
Image

OrangePaul
Orange Master
Posts: 2785
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 12:21 am
Location: UK

Re: Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Post by OrangePaul » Fri Mar 01, 2013 5:15 pm

ironlung40 wrote:I've got one that I have thought about selling more times than I've played it in the last year.

I've whittled my orange amp collection down to an OR120, TThw, R30, and the retro. I actually sold the retro a while back to a close friend but bought it back from him because he needed the money (lost his day job)

The retro is a cool amp, but I just find myself always gravitating toward the OR120 over it. The retro is more controllable and imitates the OR120, but I always enjoy the OR more. I've tried to stick with the retro and even the r30, over the OR120 due to the manageability of the volume, but for my ear, they just lack something that the OR has for me. I could probably just own the OR120 and not miss the others. I only play them whenever I'm bored of the same gear, and then it is just noodling.

I'm glad that I have no interest in the new offerings Orange has out right now. because this shiz is expensive.

I am most likely going to sell the TThw and the R30 pretty soon as well. I think the OR120 has covered all of the Orange ground that I need.

Good luck on finding a retro. They made plenty of them, so they are not really that rare. I've seen used ones pop up a lot, and I've seen them for sale at humbucker music recently.
Wont you hold on to the TTHW for the times when you want to save your ears a bit? Still waiting for my review on the TT hardwired :lol:

Edit: I've since read your post on the TT thread... I didn't realise you still had a master volume fitted to your OR
Paul.

Image

ironlung40
Orange Master
Posts: 2851
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:10 pm
Location: USA (in the south)

Re: Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Post by ironlung40 » Sat Mar 02, 2013 1:58 am

OrangePaul wrote:
ironlung40 wrote:I've got one that I have thought about selling more times than I've played it in the last year.

I've whittled my orange amp collection down to an OR120, TThw, R30, and the retro. I actually sold the retro a while back to a close friend but bought it back from him because he needed the money (lost his day job)

The retro is a cool amp, but I just find myself always gravitating toward the OR120 over it. The retro is more controllable and imitates the OR120, but I always enjoy the OR more. I've tried to stick with the retro and even the r30, over the OR120 due to the manageability of the volume, but for my ear, they just lack something that the OR has for me. I could probably just own the OR120 and not miss the others. I only play them whenever I'm bored of the same gear, and then it is just noodling.

I'm glad that I have no interest in the new offerings Orange has out right now. because this shiz is expensive.

I am most likely going to sell the TThw and the R30 pretty soon as well. I think the OR120 has covered all of the Orange ground that I need.

Good luck on finding a retro. They made plenty of them, so they are not really that rare. I've seen used ones pop up a lot, and I've seen them for sale at humbucker music recently.
Wont you hold on to the TTHW for the times when you want to save your ears a bit? Still waiting for my review on the TT hardwired :lol:

Edit: I've since read your post on the TT thread... I didn't realise you still had a master volume fitted to your OR
Yep, I had it re-installed...not because I wanted to, but because I began playing out a few times a month and needed to choke it back a bit. I didn't like the idea of running an attenuator on the amp and it was due a service anyway, so I had installed. If you ever want some very tidy work done that is completely reversible, give John Mcneece a call at Mcneece music near Atlanta, GA.
I still like these amps without a MV the best though. I'd love to own an OR100 and a 200 for some studio project stuff I'm wanting to begin work on. It amazes me how wicked these amps sound all while not having a lot of gain....I normally push my OR with a Fulltone Bass Boost Non-mosfet model. I use it in the compcut setting to just get the amp grinding some.

As far as saving my ears, that is what plugs are for. The TT just does not have the ass that I need for the type of music I'm playing. My sound is really just a straight up rock sound, but with enough clean headroom to pull off some good thick throaty hairy cleanish sounds kinda like Graveyard, but then with full volume on guitar it goes into a Stream of Sorrow type sound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7_pLTNs2OE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Sincerely,
Ironlung40
OR120 Pix/text
Tiny Terror HW
Rocker 30 combo
Rockververb 100 MKII
Thunderverb 200
Gibson SG 61 RI
Image

OrangePaul
Orange Master
Posts: 2785
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 12:21 am
Location: UK

Re: Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Post by OrangePaul » Sat Mar 02, 2013 7:35 pm

I guess that's almost a review... Thanks Iron :lol:

Good to hear you're getting out there with your OR too 8)
On the mastervolume thing I will no doubt be trying one myself at some point too.
Paul.

Image

ironlung40
Orange Master
Posts: 2851
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:10 pm
Location: USA (in the south)

Re: Starting to GAS for a Retro 50

Post by ironlung40 » Sat Mar 02, 2013 7:46 pm

OrangePaul wrote:I guess that's almost a review... Thanks Iron :lol:

Good to hear you're getting out there with your OR too 8)
On the mastervolume thing I will no doubt be trying one myself at some point too.
Sorry i just dont have alot too add really other than a 15 watt amp really has no comparison to a 120 watt . The tt definifely has a sprinkle of vingage orange flavoring, but it has 0 headroom and the headroom and dynamic response is what makes the OR120/80 amps so special imo.

The tt sounds good recorded in a mix though, but in a room in person the or120 just feels right to me. It inspires me differently too.
Sincerely,
Ironlung40
OR120 Pix/text
Tiny Terror HW
Rocker 30 combo
Rockververb 100 MKII
Thunderverb 200
Gibson SG 61 RI
Image

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 171 guests