NAD - Orange CR120C w/ LOTS OF PICS

[waswell]

All I can say is WOW am I impressed !!!!

Build Quality:
This amp is built like a tank and it's heavy. It is manufactured in PRC but don't let that stop you. The Orange quality shines through and through. I noticed the pilot light is an orange bulb consisting of 4 individual LED's. Lights up great but different than the single clear incandescant. The carry handles are metal not plastic.

Looks:
Pure Orange. Orange vinyl and wheat cloth are just beautiful. Love the large logos. Can't tell any difference in looks between this and any UK version.

Sound:
At first the amp sounded withdrawn and had no presence. Almost muffled and held back. The reason was simple - the speaker was not broke in yet. Once I followed Celestions break-in suggestions this amp took on a different tone. She opened up and became articulate. The clean channel is warm and getting better everyday although it hasn't hit tube level warm yet. The gain channel is a beast. From slightly overdriven to full on distortion - orange style that is. No metal tones in this amp. Voice of the World speakers (2 x 8 ohm) sound GREAT and will not be replaced.

Here are my settings using a Fender American Strat (shell pink) with 57/62 pups:

Clean volume 7
Clean bass 7
Clean treble 6
***************
Dirty gain 5
Dirty bass 6
Dirty middle 7
Dirty treble 6
Dirty volume 8
Reverb 2 spring
***************
Master volume 5

Is the tube version of this SS Rockerverb worth the extra $1500+ dollars? Not in my book which is why I took a chance on buying one. I am NOT disappointed either. I'm not a professional player but I am a tube snob. I love everything about tubes but this CR120C meets my needs in both tone and the Orange look.

I think Orange did a FANTASTIC job with this newest version but you must take the time to learn the controls and give the speaker a break-in period.

[jace1]

Good to hear you are enjoying your new amp. I am loving my CR60C, I've had mine for 1 week now. These amps are awesome and its sounding better as the days go on just like you said. Did yours come with a cover or did you buy it separately?

[Les Paul Lover]

LED pilot light? Now that is a good innovation...!!!!

What amps can you compare it to?

[waswell]

Good to hear you are enjoying your new amp. I am loving my CR60C, I've had mine for 1 week now. These amps are awesome and its sounding better as the days go on just like you said. Did yours come with a cover or did you buy it separately?

The cover was purchased separately from Orange USA. I would call them since the CR120C was not listed in their cover section.

Glad to know others are enjoying their SS combos as well. I think Orange has a real winner here and I am glad I got one before the Christmas rush.

Take care.

[waswell]

LED pilot light? Now that is a good innovation...!!!!

What amps can you compare it to?

I currently own a Fender "Smokey" Blues Deluxe with a single 12" Celestion UK Creamback. It's a 40 watt tube dual channel amp. The CR120C cleans are almost on par with the BDRI but aren't as warm yet. Once the speaker is fully broke in I anticipate it will be close if not equal. The dirty channel on the CR120C is better IMHO or maybe it's just what I'm looking for in a crunch sound.

I've owned an Orange Rocker 30 and a Tiny Terror 12" Combo. Both were sold for different reasons but sold nonetheless. This CR120C is a keeper. FYI - I don't like the tone of EL84's.

To my ears this amp is comparable to the Fender Supersonic 60 Combo with a Vintage 30. I loved that amp but it had to be cranked for it to sing. Living in an apartment made it impossible to enjoy without the neighbors complaining.

[mattg]

LED pilot light? Now that is a good innovation...!!!!

What amps can you compare it to?

I currently own a Fender "Smokey" Blues Deluxe with a single 12" Celestion UK Creamback. It's a 40 watt tube dual channel amp. The CR120C cleans are almost on par with the BDRI but aren't as warm yet. Once the speaker is fully broke in I anticipate it will be close if not equal. The dirty channel on the CR120C is better IMHO or maybe it's just what I'm looking for in a crunch sound.

I've owned an Orange Rocker 30 and a Tiny Terror 12" Combo. Both were sold for different reasons but sold nonetheless. This CR120C is a keeper. FYI - I don't like the tone of EL84's.

To my ears this amp is comparable to the Fender Supersonic 60 Combo with a Vintage 30. I loved that amp but it had to be cranked for it to sing. Living in an apartment made it impossible to enjoy without the neighbors complaining.

High praise indeed. Getting closer and closer to just buying this amp by the day as I haven't really got a giggable amp at the moment just a 15 watt vox vavletronix. I'm starting to play a few pubs and stuff. Has it got much volume?

[waswell]

High praise indeed. Getting closer and closer to just buying this amp by the day as I haven't really got a giggable amp at the moment just a 15 watt vox vavletronix. I'm starting to play a few pubs and stuff. Has it got much volume?

The volume is extremely loud although you do have to crank the volume knobs to get at the 120 watts. You should have no problem playing pubs.

I think you will be well pleased if you decide to pull the trigger.

Keep us posted on your quest.

[jace1]

Good to hear you are enjoying your new amp. I am loving my CR60C, I've had mine for 1 week now. These amps are awesome and its sounding better as the days go on just like you said. Did yours come with a cover or did you buy it separately?

The cover was purchased separately from Orange USA. I would call them since the CR120C was not listed in their cover section.

Glad to know others are enjoying their SS combos as well. I think Orange has a real winner here and I am glad I got one before the Christmas rush.

Take care.

Cool thanks for the info, I will give them a call. This amp is a winner for sure, its the best sounding SS I have ever played.

[fossil]

Orange's don't do Metal? I've recorded 2 CD with Orange ( Rockerverb 50 and OR100) amps. Orange's do Metal just fine!
http://www.killritual.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jace1]

This amp can do metal, I have the CR60C and I get some great metal tones that are nice and thick sounding. He can correct me if I'm wrong but I think what he meant by his comment is that it doesn't have those thin buzzy metal tones that other ss amps have.

[waswell]

This amp can do metal, I have the CR60C and I get some great metal tones that are nice and thick sounding. He can correct me if I'm wrong but I think what he meant by his comment is that it doesn't have those thin buzzy metal tones that other ss amps have.

I should have said no super high distortion metal. Thanks for the clarification as my comment was too generic.

I personally didn't buy my Orange for metal. I wanted that beautiful crunch Oranges' are known for.

Take care and enjoy that CR60C

[Vertikal]

Hi, Waswell. Have you had the opportunity to plug and play your CR120C through a cabinet yet, a 2x12 or even a 4x12?

[Sergeantsnowball]

Hey. Since the OP hasn't used the forums in a while and I'd rather not let your question go unanswered, I figured I'd chime in and let you know that the CR60, 120 and the head all use exactly the same internal PCB, with the CR60 having some of the poweramp circuit cut off to lower the wattage. That said, the 60-watt sounds great through my 412s (I ran through my Marshall with bluebacks, and the Orange PPC with V30s). As expected the amp maintains its tonal characteristics, but the larger cabinet re-distributes the low end and gives it more growl.

Pretty much exactly what you'd expect the bigger cab to do.

[FrankTheThird]

Hey Guys, brand new here, I actually joined because I'm looking at purchasing either the 60 or 120c, right now I'm strictly bedroom but god willing I have the skill to perform live one day, so I wanted to know if I should just get the 60c, or could I get the one 120c use at home and when I'm ready and skilled enough I'll be able to gig with it. If it so happens you guys think both should be out of the question, should I just get a smaller Crush 20 or 35dx and go bigger when I'm ready. any input and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Sergeantsnowball]

Both of the new Crush amps are excellent for that purpose, and for a bedroom amp of that sort of quality, they're quite reasonable priced too. I suppose you could go with the 120 even if it's just going to be sitting around at the house, but it's going to take up a bit more room and probably has a lot more power than you're ever going to need to make use of.

The 60-watt's a little more compact and suitable for home usage, with enough power for gigs when you get there, but if you want the larger amp be my guest. Either one will do the job perfectly.