AD30 Tube Layout Diagram

[2xspade]

Hi fellow Orangers!
Now I am looking for the tube layout / diagram for my newly purchased Orange AD30!
Yes, I did see the first topic on this forum has that exact information, but there seemed to be some disagreement on which one was correct so I was hoping someone could give me the verified one here and maybe explain which tube does what for someone still trying to learn the basics.

I am also looking for speaker recommendations for a 2 x 12 cab so if we want to talk about speakers and stuff that'd be cool too!

Thanks much!

[Jondog]

Which model? Single channel, single channel with reverb or twin channel

[bclaire]

Speakers: Celestion Vintage 30's pair up with Orange really well.

[2xspade]

It is the dual channel ad30

v30s sound great!

anyone experiment with g12h vs g12m?

[fiveightandten]

It is the dual channel ad30

v30s sound great!

anyone experiment with g12h vs g12m?

V30s: Efficient, present, tight, very prominent upper midrange. Balanced highs and lows. This is a very tight speaker that takes a ton of abuse without getting loose or breaking up. If you like very present upper midrange that snarls its way through a mix, this is your speaker. 100dB sensitivity makes for a lot of volume. The only thing they don’t do extremely well are cleans. They have too much midrange and are too tight to produce a really great clean tone, But you can make nice sounds with them, cleans included. A good all around speaker, and the AD30 was voiced around these, so you can’t go wrong. The only caveat is some people don’t like the prominent upper mid spike.

G12M30 (greenback) - warm, woody, soft attack, grainy textured breakup. These compress and break up easily for a ceramic speaker. They blur the high end when pushed, which some see as “sweet”, “smooth”, or “warm”, but others view as a lack of clarity. They’re loose (also read as “touch sensitive”) and without a lot of low end. Breakup adds a distinct grainy texture to the tone that’s somewhat unique to this style speaker, and pleasing to fans of the type. Opponents sometimes say they’re fizzy when pushed. At 97dB, they put out less volume and break up much quicker than the other 2 speakers you mentioned, which have larger magnets. This is “the sound” for some people. If you want to crank your AD30 for a warm classic, touch sensitive natural classic overdrive, this is a good choice. If you want tight overdrive, look elsewhere.

G12M65 (Creamback): If you want the warmth and soft top end of the greenback, with less compression and more power handling, this is your speaker. The midrange character exists in a different range, and they don’t add the same coloration when pushed, but it’s in a similar vein.

G12H30: This speaker produces the most low end of the bunch. It’s tight, and has clear highs, at the expense of being a bit more strident in the top end than the others. Midrange is more subdued, and they have more of a countoured response. Clean tones will outpace the greenback and V30 to most people’s ears, but you pay for that with less midrange and an arguably less forgiving sound when overdriven. If you want big tight lows with a clear and present top end, and aren’t concerned with midrange, this is a good choice. Efficiency is on par with the V30, and pumps out more volume than a greenback.


I’d also strongly suggest looking into the Avatar A25, which I’ve found yields a fantastic sound with my AD30. They’re warm, detailed, balanced, have ample midrange, high efficiency, and classic AlNiCo compression. They have a unique pleasing cardboardy texture somewhat similar to a greenback, but without the fizz that can sometimes come with those. Lots of character, no harshness, fizziness, or unpleasant artifacts. Great speaker.

Mixing speakers is also an option to get the coloration and response of different drivers. Choose carefully though, as speakers with different sensitivities can yield one overpowering the other (for better or worse). You can also get phasing and cancellations between different speakers (for better or worse). I like mixing an AlNiCo with a Ceramic (Greenback + Blue, V30 + A25, etc.). Great balance for cleans and pushed overdrive.

Hope that helps.