OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

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mandala-studio
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OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by mandala-studio » Sat May 19, 2018 11:41 am

Hi guys,

I got offered a 1973 OR120PA in a trade, and I'm wondering what differences there are between the regular OR120 and the PA version. Is the preamp section the same? Is the power amp the same? Will it sound different? I'm asking this because I know Fender PA's had quite different preamps from the regular silverface amps..

bclaire
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Re: OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by bclaire » Sat May 19, 2018 1:05 pm

Cool! Welcome to the forum. If you look at the 1973 catalog scans I put up in serial numbers:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4674

you'll see the specifications. It looks like all tube, no solidstate preamp like other ones have had. If you think about it, these are the first master volume amps. Probably sounds really good....

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Re: OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by bclaire » Sat May 19, 2018 1:07 pm

Quick look

Image

Gladmarr
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Re: OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by Gladmarr » Sat May 19, 2018 1:33 pm

The PA front end is definitely more rare than the standard OR120, but the PA front end is also not designed to match with guitar. It might sound better with bass, but it’s most likely made to be used with a microphone. If you’re really thinking of using it with a guitar, try it out before you commit. You could probably have one channel desired iternally so it sound better for guitar.

mandala-studio
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Re: OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by mandala-studio » Sat May 19, 2018 1:34 pm

It's exactly the four inputs model! Has anyone ever had experience with one of these?

mandala-studio
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Re: OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by mandala-studio » Sat May 19, 2018 1:35 pm

Gladmarr wrote:
Sat May 19, 2018 1:33 pm
The PA front end is definitely more rare than the standard OR120, but the PA front end is also not designed to match with guitar. It might sound better with bass, but it’s most likely made to be used with a microphone. If you’re really thinking of using it with a guitar, try it out before you commit. You could probably have one channel desired iternally so it sound better for guitar.
Thanks, that's exactly what I'm wondering about

Jondog
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Re: OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by Jondog » Sat May 19, 2018 2:15 pm

Very cool! I think it would be neat to mod it for guitar if it could be done non-invasively.
Image

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Re: OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by bclaire » Sat May 19, 2018 2:59 pm

My money is on no mods needed....

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Re: OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by Gladmarr » Sun May 20, 2018 4:03 am

mandala-studio wrote:
Sat May 19, 2018 1:34 pm
It's exactly the four inputs model! Has anyone ever had experience with one of these?
This?
Image

mandala-studio
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Re: OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by mandala-studio » Sun May 20, 2018 7:43 am

Gladmarr wrote:
Sun May 20, 2018 4:03 am
mandala-studio wrote:
Sat May 19, 2018 1:34 pm
It's exactly the four inputs model! Has anyone ever had experience with one of these?
This?
Image
Yep, that model indeed

Gladmarr
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Re: OR120PA - different from regular OR120?

Post by Gladmarr » Tue May 22, 2018 9:35 pm

I’m thinking Benny might be right. It almost appears there’s a four input passive mixer going right into the front of a normal OR120 without an FAC knob. Might be just as easy as only using one input.

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