sound of orange?

webrocker · Post by **webrocker** » Tue Jun 03, 2003 9:37 am

hi...

writing about sound is like writing about good wine... rather stupid.
But I need some kind of reference... I have a 74/75 OR120 head, which I serviced and recapped, because I thought it sounded rather "thin".

As a comparision, I had a Fender Showman top, which, played with the same setup and the same cabinet, had tons of more lowend and a "round", "complete" sound. Whereas the Orange's sound was more mid/treble and less bass.

The new tubes and caps opened up the sound of the amp, but still: it lacks bass, esp when played at moderate levels. if the amp s pushed, i.e. the volume is past 12 o'clock, the amp suddenly increases the low-end and the overall sound gets more ballanced.

What I am now wondering about, maybe is the "normal" sound of Orange-Amps more on the mid/treble side than, say, the old Fender Showman.
The sound/amp itself when heard in the band context is very definite and cuts through the mix - but for my taste it sounds way to "harsh". I'm using a Fender Jazzmaster mainly with the neck pickup, and it sounds shrill with the Orange, whereas it sounds warm/round with the Fender and even the Laney LC30 seems to have more low-end-potential than the Orange (still talking of rehearsal volume-levels - i.e. 10 to 11 o'clock volume on the Orange).
Sorry for the long post, any input is apreciated.

Tom

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rock. on.

Post by **bclaire** » Tue Jun 03, 2003 11:56 am

That's weird. The Showman ought to be thinner than the Orange IMHO. Do you have the FAC turned all the way to the left? My Oranges are hugely fat-sounding and I usually have the FAC one notch to the right from all the way to the left (if that makes any sense in my up-all-too-early morning...)

My original 70's head is that way but my 90's head always is all the way to the left with the FAC as I look at them both.

Not that I'm a tube guru but what do you have in it? Billy

Post by **bclaire** » Tue Jun 03, 2003 11:59 am

Actually, now that I reread your post I realise you're talking about a non-master volume head. That's probably it- you need to push the power amp section on these things to get the full round fat I think. I hate to suggest modding an amp but maybe you should try an attenuator of some kind: Weber MASS, Marshall Powerbrake or SE-100 sepaker emulator or other such things. That will allow you to run the amp hotter but not kill small animals, children, and the front row of your shows. Billy

webrocker · Post by **webrocker** » Tue Jun 03, 2003 1:00 pm

yeah,
I have the FAC to it's leftmost position and the bass dialed in nearly full.
as you wrote, I noticed that the amp gets to sound mighty if it is dialed beyond 12 o'clock.
So nothing wrong with my amp... just the characteristics of the Orange, right?
thx
Tom

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rock. on.

ecto coolest · Post by **ecto coolest** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 3:22 am

ive got a '71-'72 non-master or120 and it is not shrill at all. i have the bass at zero with the FAC at the second from the left position and it sounds huge at 10-11 o'clock. are you using a 4x12? i play mine through a new orange 4x12 with V30s and have NO problems getting bass out of it even with the bass set to zero.

i had a 40 watt fender all tube 1x12 combo and it sounded shrill compared to the orange...go figure.

webrocker · Post by **webrocker** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 8:54 pm

Hi,

I play it through a Orange 4x12 (with G75H) I think it's a mid-90ies cabinet.
I removed the bright-cap at the volume-pot, which improved the low-end alot.

The tone quest is on...

Tom

--------------
rock. on.

sound of orange?

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