Utter Disappointment with the Crush 15R

Warren · Post by **Warren** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 4:27 pm

I needed a practice amp that didnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t take up too much room. After much deliberation and testing I decided to go for a 15W Orange Crush R which I got from HW Audio.

In short..

The first unit arrived in good time but the reverb did not work.

The second unit arrived and again, I had issues with the reverb and some sort of strange humming

The thirdÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦.guess whatÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦after turning the reverb up to three, WAY to much reverb that would only stop when the thing was turned off. When turning it back on it was still there humming away.

These amps look great, IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ll give them that, but the quality of construction is quite clearly poor on this particular range. A shadow of their former glory in the 60s which is sad. IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢m playing semi-pro at the minute and am on the verge of buying something with a bit of heritage. Sadly it wonÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t have the Orange label on it.

I didnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t take a chance with another Crush, instead I got myself a 30W Marshall which IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ve had no issues with thus far.

Warren

x screaming with the sire · Post by **x screaming with the sire** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 9:43 pm

lol. You're comparing apples and Oranges...

Orange wasn't manufacturing solid state amps in the 60's. So to compare Crush amplifiers to the 60's amplifiers is like comparing Crush amplifiers to AD series amplifiers.

At a thousand dollars less, what are you expecting?

I actually had a problem with the Crush 15R. It turns out that this model has an aversion to being shipped by UPS!!! All that happened was the springs that hold the reverb tray had popped off in shipping. I put them back on and havn't had a problem since. I'm always taking it to my friend's house and play the hell out of it without any issues.

My advice? If you're buying a Crush 15R, make sure you pick it up from the store. I also have an AD30R but the reverb is a completely different unit. So there are no problems there.

Hope this helps you Warren!

Family values is another way of saying censorship.

Warren · Post by **Warren** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 11:38 am

You do have a have a some very good points there, but at the end of the day its all about reputation. I went through three of these amps and I'm not sure if it was the springs in the reverb tray, bad circuitry or what that was causing the problems. Apart from the reverb playing up I though the rest of the amp was weak to be honest. The bass, middle and treble nobs hardly affected the sound when adjusted and the overdrive when fiddled with didnt really add much either.

If Orange can't get the small things right then why would people take the chance in investing 1000's with them. I'm certainly not prepared to take the gamble with Orange anymore. But I may well be one case in a million.

ecto coolest · Post by **ecto coolest** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 4:57 am

orange crush amps are made in korea, orange AD series are not.

i can't believe you are judging a company's high end gear and entire history of amps based on problems with a practice amp. if you bought the $50 marshall micro amp (MS-4) and were disappointed with the sound or build quality, would you instantly say that a '65 marshall plexi sucks? what kind of reasoning are you using?

you get what you pay for. since you are "semi-pro", i would have thought you knew that already.

1971 OR120 (Plexi Panel, Big Pix Only)
1994 Fender Jaguar (Seymour Duncan Humbuckers, Gibson Nashville Bridge)
2002 PPC412 (British V30s)

jvande7 · Post by **jvande7** » Wed May 05, 2004 8:56 pm

just wanted to say i think this post is funny as hell. the guy complaining about orange is obviously a retard. either that or he is about 13 years old.

well done to the people who told him what was up.

irish_admiral · Post by **irish_admiral** » Thu May 06, 2004 12:57 am

Gotta agree with the other guys here. What do you expect from a 15 watt practice amp? Fender, Marshall and all other practice amp manufacturers out there have built their fair share of shockers in terms of budget amps, and some of them have screwed up on their more expensive amps too! I've owned and played through Marshalls, Fenders and Oranges, and I've found that the Orange is the most solidly built, and generally better kitted out than the others: given that it's a smaller manufacturer, this isn't wholly surprising.

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. And if you're paying out $100 for a practice amp, you can't expect something that is great. Orange might have decided that they want a piece of the pie in the practice amp market. Can you blame them? If you're a 14 year-old who wants to look cool you're probably going to go get a gimmick, and if that gimmick comes in a bright colour with an amusing name, then there you go!

Give it a rest.

This is pretty funny.

Don't tell me the best way, just tell me the cheapest way...

ecto coolest · Post by **ecto coolest** » Thu May 06, 2004 5:48 am

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>well done to the people who told him what was up.
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

thanks.

1971 OR120 (Plexi Panel, Big Pix Only)
1994 Fender Jaguar (Seymour Duncan Humbuckers, Gibson Nashville Bridge)
2002 PPC412 (British V30s)

heyes_ra · Post by **heyes_ra** » Thu May 06, 2004 11:00 pm

Believe me mate, you'll be back on Oranges once you've sampled the AD series!!

PS: Where are you from? I take it that because you went to HW Audio you are from Bolton. I live in Westhoughton.

Rob
www.industry-of-sound.co.uk

Edited by - heyes_ra on 06 May 2004 23:01:10

Edited by - heyes_ra on 06 May 2004 23:01:59

irish_admiral · Post by **irish_admiral** » Fri May 07, 2004 12:23 am

Yeah, HW audio should be OK. The other sound gear I've had from them has always been fine.

Don't tell me the best way, just tell me the cheapest way...

irish_admiral · Post by **irish_admiral** » Fri May 07, 2004 12:25 am

Ditto on the comment above on the AD series... Marshall just doesn't hold a candle to it... i've tried them both. Certainly the newer Marshalls don't. The only way you're ever going to get that good a tone is if you find and shell out big time for a really old one. And then the tone is different. Good, but different.

Don't tell me the best way, just tell me the cheapest way...

Iron Man · Post by **Iron Man** » Fri May 07, 2004 11:49 pm

so marshall doesn't hold a candle to orange's wind is that it?

realize that ears, style, axe choice and techinque play a role in how your amp sounds and screw any amp's hyped cheap marketing techniques i.e. bright orange tolex covering...circa 1968

lesson 1:
tone in a vacuum is sucked out air

lesson 2:
marshall is not inferior to orange, only different (i.e. get off marshall's ass)

lesson 3: orange is a poor man's matamp, with half the tone of the original.

take 6 and call me in the morning.

User · Post by **User** » Fri May 07, 2004 11:53 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote> lesson 3: orange is a poor man's matamp, with half the tone of the original.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Question! (in that crappy song way, which i cant remember the name of at the moment or who did it!)
Have you actually looked at the prices of MatamPs?

Dave

irish_admiral · Post by **irish_admiral** » Sun May 09, 2004 4:02 pm

No offence Iron Man, just an opinion! I like the old Marshalls, I don't like the new ones, and I am a poor man, so Orange is currently all I can afford! Give the financially challenged a break, eh?

Don't tell me the best way, just tell me the cheapest way...

Meole · Post by **Meole** » Sun May 09, 2004 4:30 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Have you actually looked at the prices of MatamPs?
Dave
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Where did you see prices?

Edited by - meole on 09 May 2004 16:58:00

User · Post by **User** » Sun May 09, 2004 6:01 pm

Meole, sorry they donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t actually post prices (well they have a price on a few models @ http://www.matamp.co.uk), because everythingÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s custom (just phone them up)! But basically you can get a MatamP for around Ã‚Â£700 to Ã‚Â£900 that is made to your specification! thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s from 30w to 120w. So really you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have to be a particularly rich man to afford one (in comparison of people buying orange heads)!
ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s my point!

In fact I am seriously thinking about selling my AD30TCH and getting a MatamP GTL which should be 120w, but I want it customised to 60w, and switchable down to 30w, inc a effects loop and two gain settings. ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s going to be around Ã‚Â£750 inc vat.

Dave

Edited by - User on 09 May 2004 18:01:26

Utter Disappointment with the Crush 15R

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