Tisca wrote: ↑Wed Nov 28, 2018 5:21 pm
There's a 1974 for sale locally, non-pics only. Was there any internal differences with the pics only and non-pics versions?
First yt review I watched said it's not a great pedal platform. Not sure if he meant because there's no effects loop.
Which vintage ones are popular with stoner/doom players?
There were a number of circuit variations over the years, namely in the phase inverter and the tone stack. It can be difficult to determine exactly when things changed, and difficult to date a given amp. But generally, after they started naming the amps "OR-120" or "OR-80", things didn't change that much. The earlier 70's circuits have a bit more clean power and are a bit more punchy sounding, but with a smoother less fuzzy sound. The later amps break up earlier and have a more aggressive sounding overdrive, but are a bit looser sounding in their attack. Middle era amps, say '73 to '74 or so could be anyone's guess in terms of how they're wired. But the changes are small, and it's very easy to modify an amp to the early or later circuits if you prefer one over the other.
The 90's amps are identical to the late 70's circuits. They're ALL fantastic sounding amps. I have a soft spot for the 90's models, as they sound great, the build quality was more consistent, the wiring was neater, and they tend to sell for cheaper than the 70's units. They also tend to have less junk going on inside. Many of the 70's amps have modifications, and poor quality repairs they've gained over the years. You see that sort of thing less in the 90's amps, simply because they're newer. The transformers from the 90's amps were at nice, and that's about the only downfall they have over 70's units.
To answer your question, I personally don't think they are a great pedal platform, for a few reasons:
-Despite being very loud, they don't have a lot of clean headroom to work with if you want to start from a clean sound. This reduces their ability to sound good with modulation type effects as well.
-They have HUGE amounts of low end. So any dirt pedals tend to sound thin compared to the amp's natural sound.
-They have a ton of texture, especially when overdriven, and have a lot of midrange. Amps with a lot of fuzzy type texture, like an Orange, tend to sound messy when you mix that with the texture of an overdrive pedal.
It's not to say an OR-120 sounds *bad* with pedals. I use mine with them and it sounds just fine. They just don't sound particularly good with pedals. I have amps that blend extremely well with overdrive pedals and you can't even tell a pedal is being used. My old Oranges aren't one of those amps. I *do* like the sound of a Klon in front of my OR-80. But that's about it for dirt pedals.
And lastly, any of them are popular with stoner/doom players. They can all get that job done...be it at high volume with the natural overdrive of the amp.
-Nick