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The Orange Sound
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:40 pm
by bfitz
I was milling thru a bunch of youtube video's and watched Rhett Schull's (hope i spelled that right) video posing the question of 'what is the Orange Sound'. Nice video well recorded and some really kick ass tones. He shows us his Orange AD30 Single Channel Head and then demo's another YouTuber's (cant remember his name) Orange Matamp 120, an Orange OR120 non master volume an Orange Overdrive which has a master volume. They all sound mega and at the end concludes that the vintage Oranges give you 'the Orange sound' where you had to try and emulate the sound with an AD30 or other modern Orange amps.
In my mind (I've played lots of modern orange tube amps but never a vintage one. Only YouTube or at a gig one time) the modern Orange amps carry the 'flavour' of their predecessors in that they have a really distinct midrange, they border on fuzz territory when they are wound up and they really cut thru the mix. I know the heavier amps (dual dark, TH100, and Thunderverbs) are all voiced for hi-gain kinda stuff but they still have that midrange thing that I would have attributed to the older amps too.
I have owned a fair few Orange amps at this stage and I think they all have had that orange thing, its not marshall its not fender or anything else...its definitely Orange. Any thoughts?? how do the modern amps pitch up against the older ones?
Re: The Orange Sound
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 2:13 pm
by Jondog
I’ve never had the pleasure to play an actual vintage Orange. Just several amp sims (which sound really good), heard plenty of demos, plus knowing how they sound with certain bands I’ve listened to. It’s definitely it’s own sound which is the known Orange sound, but the modern amps have their own sound too, which at this point I would call the Orange sound as well. I’ve looked over many schematics of Orange amps and all the modern ones share a similar voicing adjusted for tightness and gain, tone stacks behave differently, but they are all similar. None are really close to a vintage Orange in design. I’ve always felt the modern Orange amps sit somewhere between a Marshall, Vox and an overdriven Fender. I’ve been able to coax all this tones out of my Rocker, Terrors or close to it. Rockerverb was very versatile.
Re: The Orange Sound
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 3:58 pm
by bclaire
I have a 1978 OR80M, a 2000's OR80M reissue, and several modern Oranges.
(AD30TC, AD140TC, OR15, Tiny Terror, Micro Terror, etc.)
The vintage Oranges have a distinctive sound - I've heard people say "like a Marshall on steroids" but it's more than that - it's definitely a unique sound that has a lot of definition and powerful sound behind it.
Some of the modern Oranges capture that vibe; for example, I use my AD30TC's pretty much exclusively. They nail a version of that vintage Orange sound but with two channels. You can make that solo channel soar with a 'similar to the first channel' sound but with more gain and oomph. I want to say that the AD's are truer to the vintage Orange sound than the other modern Oranges which can get higher gain and appeal to the player that is looking for primarily that.
The so-called 'stoner' players who use the vintage Oranges aren't just using the straight amps (I think) because they're not going to get that high-gain sound out of them. I could be wrong but that's my opinion. You'd need reinforcement with some sort of pedals or something still.
I've never liked any of the modern Oranges with the clean channel - particularly ones with just a volume knob for the clean channel. They're for the player that relies on a pedalboard for their sounds and that clean channel is a perfect platform for them. Not me. I like the straight sound of the AD30TC's without any effects and there are many times when I bypass any effects to just have the straight amp - which I can adjust gainand EQ's because it has that capability.
As much as I want to love my OR15 I don't. Single channel, so I have to rely on a pedal to get a solo sound and I'm just not happy with it yet. I'm going to keep trying but ultimately, I would want a twin channel 15 watt - an AD15TC.
My 2¢
Re: The Orange Sound
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2021 1:46 pm
by Jondog
bclaire wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 3:58 pm
I have a 1978 OR80M, a 2000's OR80M reissue, and several modern Oranges.
(AD30TC, AD140TC, OR15, Tiny Terror, Micro Terror, etc.)
The vintage Oranges have a distinctive sound - I've heard people say "like a Marshall on steroids" but it's more than that - it's definitely a unique sound that has a lot of definition and powerful sound behind it.
Some of the modern Oranges capture that vibe; for example, I use my AD30TC's pretty much exclusively. They nail a version of that vintage Orange sound but with two channels. You can make that solo channel soar with a 'similar to the first channel' sound but with more gain and oomph. I want to say that the AD's are truer to the vintage Orange sound than the other modern Oranges which can get higher gain and appeal to the player that is looking for primarily that.
The so-called 'stoner' players who use the vintage Oranges aren't just using the straight amps (I think) because they're not going to get that high-gain sound out of them. I could be wrong but that's my opinion. You'd need reinforcement with some sort of pedals or something still.
I've never liked any of the modern Oranges with the clean channel - particularly ones with just a volume knob for the clean channel. They're for the player that relies on a pedalboard for their sounds and that clean channel is a perfect platform for them. Not me. I like the straight sound of the AD30TC's without any effects and there are many times when I bypass any effects to just have the straight amp - which I can adjust gainand EQ's because it has that capability.
As much as I want to love my OR15 I don't. Single channel, so I have to rely on a pedal to get a solo sound and I'm just not happy with it yet. I'm going to keep trying but ultimately, I would want a twin channel 15 watt - an AD15TC.
My 2¢
Good to hear your opinion. I also somewhat agree with you on the Orange clean channels. They’re good but not great on their own in comparison to say a Fender or Vox clean sound. As much as I love my Rocker, I really don’t use the Natural channel that much, unless I’m doing exactly what you say and running a pedal into it, which it’s actually great for. It does sound nice cranked up with a tele though! I’d love to get my hands on an OR15 to mess with, but they’re a bit pricey to buy for experimental purposes.
Re: The Orange Sound
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2021 10:43 pm
by bclaire
Jondog wrote: ↑Mon Apr 12, 2021 1:46 pm
I really don’t use the Natural channel that much
I feel like I've seen this written from everyone who owns one....
Re: The Orange Sound
Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:01 am
by Jondog
bclaire wrote: ↑Mon Apr 12, 2021 10:43 pm
Jondog wrote: ↑Mon Apr 12, 2021 1:46 pm
I really don’t use the Natural channel that much
I feel like I've seen this written from everyone who owns one....
I’m really interested in knowing more about how the amp came to be, it is pretty interesting. It’s like it started as an OR50 and was modified. I do like having the Natural channel and find it useful, but really I play the amp like a single channel amp mostly and I can get nice clean sounds from the dirty channel.
Re: The Orange Sound
Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2021 10:03 pm
by bfitz
I did the same when I had one but in the end I just found the rocker 30 to be a bit too wild for my liking. It definitely has that orange character tho....just wild.
The AD30 definitely has a vintage vibe going on. Classic sounds all over the place and you can get the tubes cooking a bit too which is always good!
Re: The Orange Sound
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:13 pm
by Jondog
bfitz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 10:03 pm
I did the same when I had one but in the end I just found the rocker 30 to be a bit too wild for my liking. It definitely has that orange character tho....just wild.
The AD30 definitely has a vintage vibe going on. Classic sounds all over the place and you can get the tubes cooking a bit too which is always good!
It can get really raw sounding, but I’ve mentioned before, I keep the gain dialed back and it’s really nice and versatile, usually between 12-1:00. I can clean up with the volume knob there and boost into high gain with an overdrive or boost. Takes fuzz pedals really well there too. It’s got a vintage sound to it. Not too bright, and lots of body. I need to play an AD30 again to refresh my memory of it, I know its an awesome amp, I remember that!
Re: The Orange Sound
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 3:00 pm
by Sootio
I love all Orange amps. They all share the same DNA. Just find one with the features you want. My TH30 is still the best piece of gear I've ever had. I think the OR15 is great fun, but it's a different playing experience. I'll never part with either one of those amps.
Re: The Orange Sound
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 7:41 am
by groundmeat
bclaire wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 3:58 pm
As much as I want to love my OR15 I don't. Single channel, so I have to rely on a pedal to get a solo sound and I'm just not happy with it yet.
I tried one out in stores a couple times and I didn't like it either. Even through an Orange 4x12 v30 cab, no matter where I set the eq, it always sounded small and puny. The midrange in particular was obnoxious. That's kinda how most EL84 powered amps sound to me though. The old Marshall DSL15 heads had a "decent" sound, it approximated the sound of its big brother DSL100 fairly well, but did have a less than pleasant midrange. But to me,
ALL the DSL's sound small and puny compared to more expensive amps. I dunno if the DSL is supposed to be similar to the old JCM2000's, but to my recollection, the JCM2000's sound WAY better, like they aren't related at all.
The TH30 has EL84's I think, and to me it sounded EONS better than the OR15. If you can get past the single knob EQ, you might like it better too.