Deciding on an Orange amp

[Sparrows]

Hey guys! So, I’ve had an OR50, a Rockerverb 100 mk3, and a CR120. I liked the voicing on the OR50 but found it to be very muddy... tried tubescreamers, but they thinned out the sound a bunch. Sold the OR50 got a CR120. I actually liked the tightness of the CR120 and it could do the Stoner tone I’m looking for very well... but it sounded sterile, especially for the solos. Figured I should try the real thing and saved up and bought a Rockerverb 100 mk iii. The Rockerverb also sounded tighter than the OR50 and warmer than the CR120 but it always sounded soo damn aggressive. And scooped? Couldn’t get a strong mid range tone out of it.. it was like the amp was pissed off lol and thats not the vibe I’m going for. Couldn’t get it to mojo the right way. Right now I’ve got a Laney GH50L and there’s nothing really “wrong” with it, but it just doesn’t have the Orange Mojo... that Stoner Groove tone the OR50 and the CR120 have. btw I’ve been playing all these amps through the same PPC412 black cab. Sexy af. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction. Thank you!!

[steamboat]

The first thing I do with an amp if I was digging it but wasn't 100% satisfied with the tone is check the tubes with a tester or just re tube it if you don't have a tester. You have to give the amp a chance and experiment with different tubes as well. Finding the right tubes to run in the pre-amp can make a world of difference in my opinion. Also an example, When i bought my AD50 custom shop brand new I plugged it in and thought it sounded pretty good. but I'm a paranoid dude so i checked all the tubes any way with my tester and found one pre amp tube to be bad, a brand new tube was bad. I swapped it out and it sounded even better after that. So had I not checked the tubes I may have never experienced what the amp should have or had the potential to sound like. Anyways my opinion is try different tubes or ask around as to what people are running with that amp. Chances are if your feeling a certian way about the tone someone else did too but maybe they found a tube combination that was able to shape the sound a bit. For example you said your rockerverb always sounded angry, you could try a set of power tubes with a later distortion break up rating as well as a different pre amp tube to try to counter that a bit.

As for the muddy tone on the OR50, you could try different tubes or maybe run a compressor pedal to help squeeze and balance the tones. I like to use a compressor with my AD series amps sometimes to tighten the tone and add a little brightness.

[afjungemann]

I am not sure what your version of “scooped” is but the RV is not a scooped amp. I am not sure what your eq is at but unless you roll the mids out completely, I can’t think of a reason other than an amp issue that it would sound scooped.

One thing that threw me off at first was that what I thought sounded good on an orange amp for settings are eq settings that would likely sound dumpy on another amp. Ade mentioned in a few interviews that you should dial it in without worrying about traditional amp settings. Just go for good sound.

I roll out a lot of bass and push the mids a lot with the treble to taste depending on guitar.

[Sparrows]

So, for all these amps, I did try every which way kind of setting.. and on the OR50 I rolled the tubes twice. But, there is an inherent character and response to each of these amps. I don’t think you can get an OR50 for example to sound like the CR120 or the RV100. I guess my question would be, is there and orange amp with vintage voicing like the OR50, but with that isn’t muddy, and has more bite and articulation? Would the Rocker 30 be more in that direction? Or should I get a CR120 and stick a tube eq in the fx loop to wet the tone a bit? What about the DT30? I’m even looking at the Micro Terror at this point...

[Boy_Narf]

I think the Orange 30 watt Amos are the special ones. Try them all out if you can. The 100's always have too much low mid mud for me and the 50's don't always break up enough at lower volumes. The 30's are near perfect. Don't let the made in PRC scare you away. Give them all a fair shot.

I would suggest any of the past and current 30 watt models. What kind music are you playing?

[Sparrows]

We’re a stoner tone riff rock band.. sorta like Early Sabbath tone but with Corrosion of Conformity’s Albatross feel? Kinda nasty, sexy riffs with a female lead singer. I’m coming to this forum cuz where I live there aren’t many Orange amps I can try. And even then, never full volume. I’d have to mail order them one by one. Lol

[Ronnie Robinson]

How high are you driving the amps? I'm surprised the or50 sounded muddy..... And IMHO tubescreamer type overdrive don't really suit orange amps a OCD or ep booster is much better suited.

Also surprised to hear u thought the RV was scooped

I think you should check out the or15 ...theres loads on utube

[Les Paul Lover]

We’re a stoner tone riff rock band.. sorta like Early Sabbath tone but with Corrosion of Conformity’s Albatross feel? Kinda nasty, sexy riffs with a female lead singer. I’m coming to this forum cuz where I live there aren’t many Orange amps I can try. And even then, never full volume. I’d have to mail order them one by one. Lol

For stoner or fuzzy OD that cuts through the mix, the discontinued R30 is brilliant. The older model witj 2 EL34.

If that amp can't cut through the mix, nothing will.

[lunchbox]

...

[adkguy07]

I believe that a lot of comments that I've read in various forums tell me that Sparrows is not a one when trying to decide which amp is the right one for them. They spend untold amounts of money trying to find the perfect amp, but never seem to locate one that ticks all of their check marks.

I did not know which Orange amp would suit my style of play and choice of music. After much research and reading, I narrowed it down to just two Orange models that fit my preferences but also were in within my budget. I finally chose the Dark Terror over an OR15. Most of my reasons for selecting this amp,were based on practicality and not a whim or two. The Dark Terror has that Orange attitude that I wanted (an amp that can be pis***ed off one minute and smoothed out the next). I figure that I got the right Orange amp for my needs and one to concentrate my time and skills on rather than have umpteen Orange amps and never really getting to know any of them.


adkguy07