Re: I fear that Orange will suffer a decline...
Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 7:03 pm
Spot on. The OR-120 is a fantastic amp, and IMO one of the best sounding circuits ever invented for a guitar amp. But it's an absolute dinosaur in today's gigging world, and brutally loud. It's woefully impractical for most guitarists playing these days. I've been struggling with attenuation and other means of controlling the volume of mine for years, in an effort to actually use the damned thing!a.hun wrote:I'm with Nick - I've also long suspected that Orange simply don't have the rights to build the old OR80 / 120 amp models. Indeed just a theory, but I think it is pretty likely right.
Doesn't really matter TBH. They were designed and built in the days of massive stage volume levels, and were very very successful at that. Massively loud guitar amps, even the OR80s. However they just don't sound that good until cranked a fair bit. (And also need really good power valves for good performance and reliability!) They simply aren't really very practical guitar amps these days IMO.
Lower wattage amps like 30 - 50 watters are PLENTY loud enough for almost all stages now, and very few people who buy bigger amps get to push them properly very often. At least though most modern 100 watters (and many other vintage ones, but not the Oranges) will sound fairly decent at lower volume levels. Master volume circuits (and things like attenuators) are much more effective now than the really primitive MV on my '78 Overdrive. But then I almost always used that amp for bass. Truly great tones for bass, but pitiful clean headroom, so too loud for guitar but not really loud enough for bass compared to other '100 watters'. These days they are (IMO anyway) just glorious anachronisms...
Orange have simply moved with the times, but, as always, have done it in their own sweet way. I like the fact that they can take a look backwards while still moving forwards. The new Rockers (15 / 32) are an example, and I’d love (but can’t really justify) a new R.15 in black. Not going to sell my old R.30C for it though – no way! If you want something close to the old ORs in character and response, but actually practical to use properly, that remains the amp for me! (Though TBH for what I'm doing these days the R.15 would be even more practical!)
What I think Orange have always done best is to come up with amps which are different but really effective, often with very simple controls – just the way I like it. But I have no beef with them going in different directions to suit guitarist with different needs. And they have even practically created new markets, eg the TT lunchbox thing. They weren’t the very first to come up with that style of amp, THD for one had them earlier, and my old 70’s 10W TOA PA amp fits the bill too. But they certainly made the whole thing popular, just look at all the other amp companies doing it now!
It'll always seem a bit strange when they discontinue great models, but it is also totally natural. Orange are a pretty sussed and successful company these days, and will always have to make commercial decisions. There will be new models coming along no doubt, though probably not as direct replacements for the discontinued ones. Because they just don’t work that way, and more power to them for that I’d say!
Andy.
It's a glorious sound when they're wide open. But most of us just can't do that anymore. Orange is making amps that people want and can use in 2017. As much as I prefer the older ones, they just aren't as practical.
-Nick