Orange sp 212

[330ci]

Hello all,

I have happily owned an Orange SP212 bass cab for a few years now and the other day got another. There are some differences between the two, some cosmetic and also some tonal differences. Firstly, my original cab was made in England, has 2 wood blocks underneath it and has a warm and deep tone. My new one is made in China, it doesn't sound as nice. It has cheap rubber feet, the Orange badge is of a different design and the orange Tolex is a slightly lighter shade of Orange. It also has a little black silk tab hanging out the front of the speaker grille cloth which i find annoying. What is this for? Why have the wood blocks been replaced with the rubber feet when it was one of the selling points of the cab in the original design? These might be minor gripes but i wasn't aware of these changes and i wonder what the reasoning is for them?

Any info would be appreciated.

Mike.

[Randy Bass]

The ribbon on the front is a pull tab to remove the grill frame, which is necessary because the speaker is front-loaded. Your old cab should also have one, though it may be inside where you can't see it (or use it). If you've ever had to remove a grill frame with screwdrivers, you would realize the value of this feature.

I suspect that the Smart Power line's poor sales and high prices had a lot to do with moving production to China. The price of a key component - Neodymium-magnet speakers - went sky high and caused them to rethink the entire line (and discontinue the two other models).

I have no idea why your cab doesn't have skid feet the bottom, though people do occasionally complain about them on here because they are accustomed to rubber feet. My PRC-made PPC-112 had skids on it, so I know they are capable of making them. I would make my own skid feet for it even though it is annoying that they didn't put them on it at the factory.

As far as the sound is concerned, the driver is probably still an Eminence with a neo magnet, though I don't know if the specs are identical. Your old speaker has been broken-in, so there's no way the new driver will sound as warm straight out of the box. Hopefully that is the only difference and it will warm up as you break it in.

[330ci]

Thank you for your reply, that was fast! Now i understand a lot more. Its about cost saving, i guess these days its got to happen but I hope the sound is just a breaking in issue and that the drivers are the same.
The missing skid feet thing is a bit annoying as i do think it makes a difference to the cab's sound. I often play at a pub near me and its got old wooden plank floors and i love the tone i get in there and i'm sure its the wood against wood that makes the difference. Ill see if its just my imagination next time i'm there by running the cabs side by side and if Im right then I'll modify the new one.

regards Mike.

[3l3phantstomp]

I'm an original SP 212 man myself and I know what you are talking about. I was going to pick up a second one but the minute I saw the tab on the front and the new country of origin I said "No sir!" Especially considering the price didn't come down...

Keep in mind they just redesigned it to better match their new bass amp line, which is a more rack-mount style thus wider, as is the new SP212.

Also, it may be a coincidence, but to me it seemed like they switched the manufacturing of the SP212 to PRC around the same time as they came up with the combo version of the TB500+SP212.

[Randy Bass]

...Also, it may be a coincidence, but to me it seemed like they switched the manufacturing of the SP212 to PRC around the same time as they came up with the combo version of the TB500+SP212.

That's a good point and definitely not a coincidence. Once Orange decided to make the TB500 Combo, which would logically be made in China alongside the existing TB heads, they would logically start using neo drivers sourced from China. They would also be producing remarkably similar cabinetry for the combo in a different location than the SP cabs if they didn't consolidate production of the TB and SP lines in one place.

What I don't understand is why the SP cabs weren't made in China to begin with. They were designed for the PRC-made Terror Bass heads, so it's not like they were targeting the SP line to Xenophobes to begin with. The reason that the price of the cabs didn't go down when production of the SP212 moved to China is that it was necessary to move to PRC production to keep prices from going up in the first place. Pricing decisions are not made in a vacuum and the "rare earth" market is apparently quite volatile at times. It is a shame if quality suffered noticeably or if the specs were downgraded in any meaningful way (including the skid feet being axed), but leave the grill frame pull ribbon out of it. They put them on the friggin' OBC cabs for crying out loud, and they are the crumpet-eating flagship of the UK-built Orange bass line.

[3l3phantstomp]

I hear ya Randy-San! I'm not trying to fire up a Xenophobe rant by ANY means. I'm very glad my cabinet was made in England for it has stood tall and is a lifelong friend, whereas my TB500 head has been nothing but living hell but I can't quit her. Its not her fault she was designed to run at max capacity but the parts they source can't handle being run at 100%. Her builders don't even tell me what's going on anymore, they just send a label and then it re-appears one day. Service is excellent, confidence is shattered. Still I can't quit her. Four years, four services.

[Randy Bass]

My last sentence would have translated better with a smiley face after it. Anyhow, I think it is safe to say that the TB500 has been the least reliable Orange model in recent years based on gross numbers of known issues/defects reported on the Forum. I would have to place the blame with the company responsible for selecting the parts/specs/suppliers (Orange) rather than blaming the country or factory that assembles the amp. Tiny Terrors have proven very reliable even after production moved to China, so I consider the TB's problems to be more of an Engineering challenge than a workmanship issue. My TB500 was 100% reliable while I had it, but it was never pushed anywhere close to its' limits. You could always use yours as a bedroom practice amp.

[3l3phantstomp]

Bedroom practice amp...you devil! That's the hardest decision: to keep destroying with it and keep sending it back, or to have my friends who are engineers replace/upgrade/improve the things that keep failing and then repaint the thing for the warranty would most likely be toast from that. Luckily my backup is a 70's Ampeg V4b on top of a 2x15 cab so I'm not terribly depressed when it fails...until I have to load/unload for a gig ;]. Either way, when it works, it thru my SP212 makes the sound in my head when I think of bass and that is no bullshizah.

[Randy Bass]

I traded away my TB500 because it was overkill for a bedroom amp. When I pre-ordered it, I was playing bass in a band and I planned to use it at practice and gigs. By the time the TBs actually started shipping and I received mine, the band had broken up. I wasn't that sad to see it go because I had just bought a dead 1971 V4-B and had it revived, subsequently realizing that it was the best bass amp I've ever heard. The TB500 is almost as good though. I think it would be awesome to have an "upgraded" TB500 that is more reliable, but I would wait until the warranty runs out to do that.

[3l3phantstomp]

I sincerely appreciate that advice and will take it! Last blues power gig the people were lining up against the wall on my side of the stage and just bathing in the bass waves...it was amazing to see and sadly not due to the Orange-ness. Thanks for taking a moment to rap with myself, R-bass!!!

Here's a pic of the 'peg rig
http://i1241.photobucket.com/albums/gg5 ... eg624j.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Randy Bass]

Very nice.