OR 120

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 4:38 pm

Any idea of manufacture date for a OR 120 serial # 12657 and a 300 watt 4x12 cab # 707. Thanks

ceddyluv82 · Post by **ceddyluv82** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 6:20 pm

Frank we can help you date your amp if you give us some pics! What sucks about vintage oranges is the serial numbers do not mean anything. Post up some pics and the experts here will tell you what it is. ( im not the expert LOL)

Andy H. · Post by **Andy H.** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 7:27 pm

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">What sucks about vintage oranges is the serial numbers do not mean anything.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Used to be true, but this seems to be a workable timeline for amp serial nos:

http://www.geocities.com/diytech_ct//timeline.html

Makes your a 1975 amp Frank. No idea about the cab, sorry.

Andy.

Rally Car · Post by **Rally Car** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 3:29 am

The chart on that web site is the best way to date a pix and text head right now. Some of the old orange heads have date codes on the capicitors which is also a good way. As for the cab the serial number seems low for a 1970's cab unless it has the orange/matamp logo on the front. If it has the original speakers you can use those to date the cab but it sounds like a 1990's cab to me, just from the serial number. Is the serial number written with ink or stamped into a metal plate? If it is written with ink it is a 1990's cab.

shzbard · Post by **shzbard** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:15 pm

Another way to tell if it's vintage or reissue is the logo.
If the logo has a g like the one at the top left of this page, then it's a reissue. If it has a g without a tail, it's a vintage.. As far as I know.

sim0n · Post by **sim0n** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:11 pm

Hello Orange People,
My old OR120 has a different serial number on the badge [61609] to that of the one that's stamped on the metal [13235]. Could it be a hybrid of old & new? The logo on the front has the old ORANGE logo - but the one on the badge has the new style G... Still sounds great though! Will try and post some photos...
Bye for now.

Andy H. · Post by **Andy H.** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:33 pm

Hi sim0n. Welcome.

No I think that it was perfectly normal to have different backplate and chassis serial numbers. No idea why though.

Also I just checked the backplate 'badge' on my '70s amp and it definitely has the letterscript as above left with the tail for the 'G'. So I'm not quite sure where shzbard got that idea, but it's definitely not only on reissues - no worries.

Did you follow the timeline link above? From it your amp seems to be from 1976.

We love pics here, so yes please post some when able.

Andy.

sim0n · Post by **sim0n** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:36 pm

let's see if this works...

Andy H. · Post by **Andy H.** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:53 pm

Hey excellent. I'm two and a half thousand odd posts down the line, and I've still never been able to post pics myself... (Why does photobucket hate me so much? I'm not thick but I can't seem to get registered there. Stuff it!)

Anyway, that's a great looking old Orange. It's clearly seen some use, but I actually prefer that to something which looks as if it has sat in a cubpoard unused since it was made.

Any idea what / who the 'SMP' stands for?

Andy.

sim0n · Post by **sim0n** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:11 pm

Thanks Andy, the SMP was/is me, seemed like a good idea at the time

christco · Post by **christco** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 7:29 am

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by shzbard
 Another way to tell if it's vintage or reissue is the logo.
If the logo has a g like the one at the top left of this page, then it's a reissue. If it has a g without a tail, it's a vintage.. As far as I know.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Wrong...my reissue has no tail. The easiest way to tell and old OR from a new at a glance is that the A and N in Orange are different; on the reissue they are skinny, the vintage ones look like sim0n's pics in this thread...also as you can see on sim0n's amp the outlines around the knobs; not there in a reissue. The reissues also have a Union Jack on the chassis and a three-digit serial number...although some of the early Orange Matamps had three-digit serials also...

sim0n · Post by **sim0n** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 7:59 am

thanks christco - I bought it in about 1990 for Ã‚Â£100 - bargain!

christco · Post by **christco** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 3:33 pm

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by sim0n
 thanks christco - I bought it in about 1990 for Ã‚Â£100 - bargain!

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Oh, yeah, that was a deal and a half. A friend of mine that's a few years older than me (I'm 31) told me that you used to see Oranges around Detroit in the eighties in the $200-$300 range, fairly regularly. Everyone wanted a JCM800, and no one wanted the "ugly" Oranges; no good for thrash or hair metal...

Andy H. · Post by **Andy H.** » Thu Jul 14, 2005 7:03 am

Looking at the for sale columns in old guitar mags, the prices for old Oranges and Hiwatts have certainly shot way up. Why why why didn't I get a nice Hiwatt head when they were affordable? (Actually the main reason was that there was a guy where I lived who always pounced on them and bought them all up. I believe he has dozens of them stashed away...)

Oranges in particular used to go for peanuts though - true enough.

Andy.

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