Effects Loop on a 1975 OR120

[captaingreer]

Is the effects loop on the old Oranges (1975 OR120) wired in series or parallel from the factory?

[chrismathewsjr]

I'm fairly certain that it's parallel, designed for echos and reverbs. It has a strange mix to it that is not 100%.

[captaingreer]

Mine must have been messed with because when I pug a cable into the send it cuts off sound until I complete the circle by retuning the signal, and I agree about the ratio it is not a 100%.

[fiveightandten]

No Oranges from the 70's were made with effects loops.

It's a loop specifically designed for the 70's Orange echo/reverb units. Though it is sort of wired in parallel from the factory (as mentioned above), it's not optimal to use with modern effects.

If yours has been modified to be series, you can put it back to stock. But just because it would be going back to a parallel setup doesn't necessarily mean it would sound better. It would be less parasitic, but seeing as it wasn't designed to be used with modern effects, it may even be less optimal than what you're running now with the modified setup.

-Nick

[captaingreer]

Orange Master, are you saying that my amp is not from the 70's or that the loop in my amp is not an "effects loop" that will work with todays effects?
My model # is OR120 and the serial # is 11514, I would post a pic but when I try to, I get a feedback saying it is invalid?!?

[a.hun]

Orange Master, are you saying that my amp is not from the 70's or that the loop in my amp is not an "effects loop" that will work with todays effects?
My model # is OR120 and the serial # is 11514, I would post a pic but when I try to, I get a feedback saying it is invalid?!?

Nick is saying it isn't a normal effects loop. The amps came with a send / return for the Orange Reverb Unit. That is what it was for and the impedances etc are unfortunately all wrong for use as a modern effects loop.
http://vintageamps.com/plexiboard/viewtopic.php?t=14554" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://vintageamps.com/plexiboard/viewtopic.php?t=14622" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


To post pics here you need to have them hosted first somewhere online and link to there. Photobucket and many others offer online hosting services.


Andy.

[fiveightandten]

Orange Master, are you saying that my amp is not from the 70's or that the loop in my amp is not an "effects loop" that will work with todays effects?
My model # is OR120 and the serial # is 11514, I would post a pic but when I try to, I get a feedback saying it is invalid?!?

Andy clarified for me, but...

-Yes, your amp is from the 70's (the SN suggests a built date sometime in 1974).
-Yes, the amp *does* have a loop in it. But the loop isn't an effects loop, it's a loop that was designed for the Orange echo/reverb unit.
-You CAN use the loop with modern effects units. But it won't work optimally for that sort of thing, as that's not what it was designed for.

Hope that helps. Like Andy mentioned, get a photobucket account or something similar and you'll have no problems posting photos.

-Nick


P.S. I'm Nick. The forum just happens to call me one of the "Orange Masters" because i've been on the forums so long.

[captaingreer]

Thanks Nick, so true about that loop, I about drove myself crazy-er trying to mesh this amp with a G-system from tc electronics. Any ideas on how to get my time effects between the preamp and power amp or should I give up and put everything in front like my local amp tech. says?

[fiveightandten]

Thanks Nick, so true about that loop, I about drove myself crazy-er trying to mesh this amp with a G-system from tc electronics. Any ideas on how to get my time effects between the preamp and power amp or should I give up and put everything in front like my local amp tech. says?

It can be modified to play nice with modern effects. If i'm being honest, i'm not much of an effects guy, so I can't really give you any specifics off the top of my head. Though, if you find a good tech in your area, he should be able to do it up. It won't be cheap; clean, reversible modifications never are.

If it was me, i'd wire up a switchable effects loop on a small tag board and use an existing hole in the chassis to mount it with an L-bracket or something. The chassis is tight, so noise would definitely be an issue and a few different mounting points would have to be tried out to find the best one. But i'd likely replace the gain pot with one that has a push/pull switch so the loop could be defeated. A blend knob would be nice, but I don't condone drilling amp faceplates, and running it to the back would bring up more noise issues.

It can be done, but not without a decent amount of work if you want good results. It's not likely that you're going to find a local tech familiar with the circuit. But you may want to call around, or print out the schematic and take a ride down to talk to a few techs in your area to see what they have to say.

Schematic can be found here:
http://users.telenet.be/orangefg/OFG_SC ... post74.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

-Nick

[captaingreer]

You sure have been a great help my friend, hey I've been meaning to ask you whats up with the red car and the road cones?

[fiveightandten]

You sure have been a great help my friend, hey I've been meaning to ask you whats up with the red car and the road cones?

No problem. Talk to some techs and see what they say. You'll be looking for someone that loves what they do, as it'll be far more time consuming than what he'll be able to reasonably charge you for.

And that's me, racing my car on a SCCA autocross course. Those are marker cones. And the one laying on the ground is a pointer cone, it tells you which direction to go through the gate. Note the rubber layed down on the pavement from other cars taking the same line over and over again. This picture was taken a little early in the day, so it was still pretty light. It was also likely snapped a moment before the back end of the car rotated and the tires occupied the area you see tracks on over the pavement.

You didn't really think I was posting pictures of myself driving through road work on the turnpike, did you?

-N

[captaingreer]

No sir, not me