When I think Orange, i think fuzzy, hairy, and intentionally "loose" sounding, without any pedals to get any of those characteristics. It's why they work so well for doom, sludge and old school sounding rock/metal.
Thats what i have grown to love about Orange. That fuzzy more open more loose style gain over that fizzy tight "modern metal" gain. Right from the amp, no "put an od in front and there you go" really needed
The best thing about Orange amps, outside of that they sound ace, is that my wife was like, ooh, that looks nice, when I bought one home instead of giving the incoming object an accusing scowl.
To me, a big part of the orange sound is how all the vintage models kept the EQ network early in the circuit (just after the first gain stage). Sure, early Marshalls were the same way, but Marshall copied the fender tone stack design (which was directly pulled from the RCA manuals), while Orange ran a slightly different variant, in which instead of the bass (and mid) running in series with the treble it runs more in parallel, with both bass and treble wipers feeding the next gain stage. But what does that matter or mean? Well in practice the 5F6-A Bassman/Fender circuit has an EQ with much cleaner segmentation. If you lower the treble, only the high frequencies from about 1-2k upwards are altered. By contrast, when you lower the treble on an OR120, the lower frequencies actually INCREASE. Now, this might not mean much since you can always "turn the bass down" to suit, but it's important to point out again that this tone stack is EARLY in the circuit. The Orange amps are known for their warm, sometimes fuzzy tone, and I think this is part of it. Unless you have the FAC and boost removing MOST of the lows, and the treble knob CRANKED, it's giving you lots of low end that feeds into the real gain stages (the OR120 has three gain stages in total). Simply put, it's actually rather difficult to get clean/tight bottom end through the circuit when cranked. As to the point about Oranges having "more mids". I think Rick and Rhett started getting to the real point when talking about the shift of the mids. Many people find Marshall amps (especially the JCM800, which has an EQ late in the circuit and a cathode follower design), to be VERY mid-heavy amps, but the mids are in a completely different frequency range. As one might expect, Matamp coming from a background of making radio amps and similar, the OR120 produces very even mids, and if you put a spectrum analyzer on it, you'll see there's little, if any, mid db boost over the low frequencies, and the mids largely follow with the lows. By comparison, Marshalls have a mid push, but it's way up around 800-1k, and if you "cut" the mids, it only has a significant impact around 600hz+. The guitar is a mid-focused instrument, and we've come to expect that emphasis from most amps, but the orange amps have a strong presentation of the 200-500hz range, which is a bit different than most. This is really where that "more mid" thing comes from. It's not "more", it's just a lot less of upper mids than we're used to, which gives it this real throaty honk that's unique. To me, that's the "orange sound".
PLEASE TURN THIS INTO A SERIES!!!! So good and so much info, love the addition of Rick to get the more vintage stuff and explain as well. Marshall sound??? Mesa??
I love an Orange! my first cabinet was an old Orange 4x12. I got it used for $100 in 1989. it painted black but it sounded good. I didn't know what it was so I traded it for a brand new Crate 4x12 a year later... huge mistake. years later in the 2000s I recorded a lot of Orange amps in studios working with bands. always loved that thick sound. never sell gear kids. you'll always regret it. just keep hoarding.
Your absolutely right I traded a 1969 Marshall super lead in the late 80s for rack gear GSP 2101 from digi tech when the rack systems were all the rage..and I'm still crying I still have all my Ibanez pedals from 1981 including the tube screamer I had all those pedals in a box in my attic and they still work
The 2 X LTD edition Musicman Stingrays I sold when times were (temporarily) tough hit me hard whenever I think about selling gear. Sell kidneys, keep gear
Brings back memories. I bought my 1962 Strat in the Orange shop around 1975. I later purchased an Orange 120w 'Graphic' amp (top amp in video) from a shop further along Charing Cross Road. It was built like a tank!
That would be an awesome episode of Short History Of....I can’t think of a much better brand to do a short history on that hasn’t already been done that has such a storied history. A Short History of Dumble would be the ultimate. But the Trainwreck and Tube screamer episodes are my favorite. I’ve been watch five watt world since the beginning and I always knew it was an intellectual notch above most other guitar content. Keith reminds me of a really cool College professor that you learn a lot from and act silly enjoy their lectures.
The first time I ever spotted Orange amps was the very first time I heard/witnessed Black Sabbath in an old video of them doing "Paranoid", after that I always associated the name with the coolest guitar sound on earth.
a common misconception though, it was back line promotional equipment the tv studio was outfitted with. Tony was, has always been exclusively Laney Amps. I got an Orange anyway. ;)
My main amp in the early 70s was a 100w (130w) Orange head with a 4x12 cab packed with Altec Speakers. This amp did not break up until turned almost all the way up. It did cut through the crowd in big clubs (I wasn't allowed on the PA system). It did have a great sound when paired with my Gibson SG or with a strat. Very reliable amp most important, it never caught on fire!
So happy you mentioned Mat. I met him back in the early 70s when I was at high school, our fledgling rock band decided we wanted to record an EP and Mat had a little studio behind Radiocraft (which was a little shop selling valves and parts for TVs and radios run mainly by his wife). The studio cost £3 per hour so we saved up (£3 was 12hrs work at my supermarket part-time supermarket job!) and recorded our epic over three evenings. We all used AC30s at the time (guitar bass and organ) and as lead player I always used my amp at full whack so I could sound like my heroes - Mat insisted we play quiet! Don't worry I'll add some reverberrration (he used to roll his Rs). Over the nine hours we could afford he recorded our efforts on a Toshiba 4 track and finally handed us each a shiny acetate cut on the machine he had in the tiny control room. He was a true gent and treated us five spotty school kids with utmost respect. I met him again a couple of years later in his workshop where he demonstrated his latest design a guitar combo which he said came in either 2X10 or 1X15 - it was the first time I'd seen an amp where you could change between clean and high gain with a footswitch, I swear to this day it's the best sound I've ever heard - you can have one for £450 he said but I'd just gone into debt spending £300 on a Fender Twin (which now lives under the stairs) so I had to refuse, what a mistake!!
I have an a OR15 I use as my main amp with an Orange 1x12 cab. I also own Fenders, Katanas and I’ve owned Marshall’ and Vox’s. Every time I’m ready to pull the trigger on a new amp I think is better or cleaner sounding I plug straight into the Orange and I wind up not buying a new amp. I play it with pedals but I truly feel it’s one of the only amps you can really play without any pedals and get a full range of tones on a single channel. If you use your guitars volume knob a lot this is the amp for you. The dynamics are incredible.
I love Orange amps, they're my favorite brand by far. Great idea for a video to talk about what exactly the Orange "sound" is though, because it's tough to pin down. When I think of it, I always think of a more gritty, fuzzy type of the typical 60's British overdrive sound. And it's almost like these amps "ghost" what you play, like a super quick delay of sorts. It's a thick, but spacious sound overall.
For me, Orange is forever tied to The Pillows. Like so many other American fans, I first heard their music in FLCL, and it blew me away with how amazing it is on its own and how integral it is to the feeing of the series. The legendary riff of Ride On Shooting Star, the determination and defiance of I Think I Can, the driven melancholy of Last Dinosaur, all of them are ingrained into my brain. I can never forget The Pillows, and Orange is one of the things that made their distinctive alt-rock shine.
Same with me man, the moment the amp was turned on I immediately heard The Pillows! Amazing music used for FLCL and great J Rock Beatles inspired sound!!
I was looking through the comments hoping someone would mention the song, and as soon as you said Wolfmother I could hear the lyrics that go with the riff...I knew I recognized it, but I'm bad with picking out songs from riffs...
@@AJvsEverything Yeah, same. "when ya... ya give it to me.. you see right through me... I got the feeling of love." There were like a ton of alt-hard rock bands coming out of Australia for a minute there. Who sounded nothing like AC/DC, but tell that to journalists. The do love their narratives.
Great video. As a teenager in the late sixties and early seventies I remember Orange amps appearing for the first time at our local rock gigs in the UK. Previously it was Marshalls, Hiwatts and WEMs . . . all black and then the eye catching orange made its appearance locally round about 1973. When I hear that classic Orange tone it takes me back to that time.
Hartley Peavey founded Peavey Electronics in 1965, having built his first amplifier in 1957. Peavey Electronics is privately owned. (Wikipedia) How is it you "Americans" always forget this monster AND legendary amp manufacturer when you talk about amps? What would blues, rock and metal music be without the sound of a Peavey? How many got their early chops through a Peavey Bandit? Don't even get me started on the Classic, the 5150/6505, the XXX/JSX(3120/XXXII), the Butcher, the Windsor, the Valveking, the Vypyr, Invective, and don't let's forget aaaallllll those amazing bass amps ... ... sheesh ... I'm out of breath, ... I gotta go ... cheers from Downunder ... \m/
@ Pa HeMa: yah, I've got an early VTA-400 (Super Festival Series) monster - 200 RMS watts with 4 15" speakers in two matching Peavey cabs. Used to use it as a bass amp (wall art now...) - awesome sound! I sent a pic of it to Mr. Peavey and he sent a story about how he designed it (it has the the first intentional preamp tube overdrive) after hearing and buying an early LPB-1 single transistor boost/overdrive pedal from Mike Matthews at NAMM and taking it apart in his hotel room! He said it blew minds at the next year's NAMM show when he introduced it! G'day mate!
Thank you for showing what I've always loved about Orange amps. Their versatility. Fell in love with how they respond to pedals and the gain stages themselves having played one when I was a youngun.
From first hear i love the orange sound its almost mesmerizing,but has a darker,fuzzy tone to it kinda reminds me of an old black and white movie. I think im gonna get one as my first amp
Did you get any orange amps !? The crush get rave reviews by I didn't get along with my CR120 head and every one with their smaller cr20 and cr35 have had them blow up, burn up and pop power sections and pop caps in the pre amp section. My orange CR120 head even popped a cap in the pre amp section and I fixed it by replacing it and then sold it😅 Just gambled on an OR15 head so we'll see what happens after a good burn in😂
I have a Dual Terror head that's about 15 years old, and it's out of production and it's my favorite amp. If it died, and I couldn't repair it I don't know what I would do. Orange amps can do everything. They are extremely transparent, but at the same time they can do high gain, sparkly cleans and everything in between.
DEFINITELY! I feel like Hiwatt doesn’t get the recognition that they deserve. Like cmon, Pete Townshend, and David Gilmour (among others)? Hiwatt definitely deserves a video, no discussion...
@Rhett - You seem like a genuinely decent guy so I'm glad the YT thing is working out for you. Your natural humility is also a good counterbalance to Rick Beato's lack of it. I know he makes up for it in other ways, I just think you guys are a great compliment to each other :)
Hearing the old vintage Orange amps makes me appreciate my Tiny Terror combo amp even more for sounding so true to its origins :) Love that Orange sound!
I don't think the terror sounds like vintage orange at all, any of the terror amps ! The OR15 however sounds exactly like Vintage orange amps all the way so🫡
I have always adored the Orange drive sound. The first time I heard it was on Switchfoot's Nothing is Sound, and I just fell in love. I describe it as a super organic crunch. It's more present than a Marshall with a bit more punch and bite. Whatever it really is, it's my favorite rock sound.
Rhett, your videos are incredible. I love how you and Rick randomly seem to meet up and vibe, too. Top tier production, solid topics, and the videos are always engaging and informative. Keep up the great work, sir!
I’m a jazz guitarist and I came across a little orange crush bass amp years ago. When I lived in New York it was my go-to for restaurant gigs and clubs with no pro sound. What a tough little amp, it gave me that fat, fuzzy, loose sound I wanted without a pedalboard. Great amps.
My bass player friend grabbed one and brought it over to try out in the basement and it was 50 watts and couldn't keep up with my 50 watt marshal 😂we were like disappointed 😮
Great video as usual, Rhett, and big props to Beato for getting your classic Orange on, haha. As a fellow Orange owner, I will say this very gently, though--if you're using a 'Marshall in a box' pedal plus a boost to get that Orange sound you think you want to hear, you're not actually hearing the Orange sound. Let the pedals rest. Plug straight into an OR and through a 4x12 with V30s (doesn't even need to be an Orange cab), crank the gain, and even at moderate volume you will hear the Orange sound. I suspect Beato had you going straight in. :)
Matamp is in my hometown of Huddersfield. The Matamp Minimat is an awesome amp you have to try out to believe. They have a 16 cabinet array you can test ALL the speakers for tonal comparison. Well worth a factory visit.
Good video so far, Orange amps sound great, but more importantly, I love that Orange is leading the game in trying to make smaller and smaller giggings amps. Just bought a terror stamp and it's the best amp I've owned.
Rhett, love the series! But I keep coming back to the same thought. While each of these amps has their own unique character around gain, breakup, frequency response curves and the way EQ - the various approaches to tone control - there is a key tonal element that is missing from the discussion. The speaker(s) and cabinet you play the amp through. A Celestion Greenback vs. a JBL or Eminence goes pretty far to defining the Marshall or Fender sound as much as whether an amp is running EL34's or 6L6's. How about "What is the sound?" as another series!! Maybe do that with Rick Beato as well. I'd love to see you take a Fender, Marshall, Vox, etc and do some cabinet swaps and comparing the number and size of speakers (say 10" vs 12") 1x, 2x, 4x (ok, we'll skip the 3x Bassman(?) right now) and open back vs. closed back with a variety of Celestions, Eminence, JBL, etc. That would be really interesting. Then amp clean, preamp breakup, power tube breakup, and speaker breakup.
I run my vox ac30 and or15 in stereo. It makes a rich tone. Having medium gain on the or15 and light gain on the vox, it is my favorite tone I have found.
*Both my amps are Vox and you just can't get a better sound with on board effects that are superior to others! I also have a Vox Mini Stack that is totally sweet*
I really appreciate how much you focused on Mat Mathias...it seems he’s often overlooked and then have an actual Orange/Matampis great. I have a pair of Mat’s and nothing is like them. I wish Orange made something with that older amp sound but even the OR50 is waaaaaay different.
stumitsuko I know, like I said, I have two and used to have a third....I just think a lot of folks would like it if Orange made an old school sounding OR120....hell, they could even team up with Matamp again.
louderthangod I had a Matamp GT1 that I reluctantly had to sell, it was incredible. I’ve spent quite a few hours talking with Jeff, the owner of Matamp and I’d say it’s highly unlikely that they would team up with Orange again. The split between the companies occurred because Cliff Cooper wanted to cut corners and bring the cost of manufacturing down and Mat wouldn’t compromise on quality.
I own the Orange Rocker-32. All my favorites components are in it! 2- 10 inch speakers and EL84 tubes! Also, is got a STEREO effects loop so with one amp I can get STEREO EFFECTS or a wet dry mix by miming both speakers! Great idea and I don't always HAVE to bring my two amps the Orange combo and a Marshall combo.
Great history lesson. It brought back memories. When I was thrown out of The Netherlands in 1969 (long story), I went to London and sold my Fender Pro Reverb at the original Orange store. A little while later, I saw the original Fleetwood Mac at a high school gym in London and they were playing a wall of Orange amps.
@@wchristian2000 I was stopped by the police for busking in the streets of Amsterdam. My passport had fallen out of my pocket earlier, so I was arrested and tossed in jail overnight. They let me out the next day to get a new passport and get out of the country. There is much more but it is for my memoirs ;-)
Having owned all of the brands you mentioned, including many others, I am now exclusively using Orange amps. They provided me with the tone I’ve always searched for…
40 Years ago i‘d played an Orange Top on a Marshall Cabinett and it sound like Black Sabbath and LZ at best times ! Dark gain, great clean Sound and extreme Overdrive - Love this sound Man !! And what about the all time Favorit : Jazz Chorus 120 ?? One of the best Amps on this Planet!!
Nice to watch . I recorded in the Orange studio which was in basement under the shop in June 1969. I put my 61 SG Special through a OR120 head with 4x12 cab . It really rocked the room !!
I've used Orange amps (Rockerverb 50 and OR15) more than any other brands for playing live and this video is awesome with great historical information. Thanks Rhett!
What a great sounding amp!!! I've looked at these for years but had never even heard one, but thanks to this video, that issue is about to be fixed SOON!! Thanks for another great - and helpful - video.
As a bass player,I love Orange. Also enjoyed your Hiwatt and Vox videos (although it would have been nice if you would have touched on some legendary bass tones from these companies)
Went to my local music store and played the Orange CR60C and was blown away. I play a lot of pop punk kind of music with a twist and the CR60C has this creamy, mix-range tone that I’ve been looking for…like for years. Way better than my old Marshall. Good stuff. And good video man.
I love my CR60! A lot more versatile than most people give it credit for. I feel as if it gets put in a box, and people automatically assume it’s only to be used in doom metal! Lol I play a lot of 70’s-80’s rock and I feel as if it does a great job capturing that sound. For the 80’s style I use the onboard plate reverb and add a little delay with my Boss DD 3T, and man… I love it!!
@@jacobdoolittle124 I think I saw BB King playing through an Orange and I figured it couldn't be the sound for me but I never heard the distortion so I was watching some videos and then I had to check it out myself and it was awesome.
No need for orange to rerelease the or120- Matamp is still making their amps in Huddersfield, UK. Albatross by Peter Green/ Fleetwood Mac was recorded with an s2000. that clean is just mind melting for me. The current equivalent is an s3000 (they basically changed the depth selector to a potentiometer). That said, they still make fuzzy doom monsters, like the gt120! a good place to hear them being pushed is Dopesmoker by Sleep!!
I really like the Orange sound. It's like a clean open kind of sound that fits my style. I don't own one yet, but I plan to someday. Last time I was in the market for a new amp, the Orange combo's didn't quite do what I was hoping for. Might have to go for the head instead.
Save yourself the money. Just buy micro terror , and feed through clean. I love the tone, but they're not exactly versatile. No matter what you do with they're products it's always orange sounding
I went to get a Fender amp for playing at home and ended up getting an Orange Rocker 32. I like it more that any of the Fenders I tried. Both channels sound awesome and it is really well built.
I did the same, but with a Rocker 15. Best cleans of any 15 watt amp I've tried and the most versatile tube amp out there for anything between bedroom and small venue gigs. I'm a hobby player at home with not a lot of extra space so I went for the 15 over the 32. I also really like Ade Emsley and his overall design philosophy so I got a few Orange pedals based on how much I liked the amp. Very happy with all of it :)
Wow..... I once went to a jam in Hawaii where a guy had one back in 73 at Schofield Barracks. There were Marshals, Fenders, Acoustics and some others I don't remember. But that was the first and only time I evr went to a jam with one of these. So rich. What a sound. We were doing Allman Bros & Led Zep music hen. hat machne is gorgeous. Memories... Thank you for sharing!! A gorgeous sound. Thanks you!!
The closest I'll probably get to the OR120 sound is my Kuro Custom Audio R120 pedal. It is truly an amp-in-a-box, being the entire amp circuit with JFETS instead of tubes. It has an FAC and HF Drive, along with Baxandall tone stack. Gets pretty darn close to the real thing, including the clean settings. Giulio did a great job designing it, and also has his T120, which is a Matamp GT 120 in a box. Killer stuff, and no, I don't get paid to say that. Brian Mena at Menatone is one of the pioneers of designing pedals based on an entire amp, and I have several of his great pedals, but he doesn't have an Orange based pedal, which is why I turned to Giulio at Kuro. Both great guys, both make great stuff.
Great video! To me an "Orange sound" is really good cleans that cross over to really gnarly distortion. It´s just so much more agressive than a Marshall. I own thw Orange Rocker 15 (the combo) and it is awesome.
Yeah the cleans are insane...i am lucky to own a 74 OR120 and use it as an unbelievable pedal platform due to the immense cleans when you have to dial it back...it truly is an arena amp if you are to use its gain to break up with the guitar plugged straight in...immense sound
Absolutely correct in every respect, IMO. I have been listening to Orange amps since I first heard Pentangle in the very early 70s. The purity and intimacy of the sound is extraordinary. It's interesting that you concentrate on the overdrive rock sound, and yes, that is iconic, but the clean sound gave a really crystaline tone in the early days of electification of acoustic instruments. I think actually superior to the acoustic amps we are familiar with today., which are accurate, but very clinical. Orange always had a great deal of ambience.
@ 13:00 There is the Kuro T120 pedal, which is an identical preamp and Poweramp to Matamp GT120 but with Fets instead of valves. It's the the circuit from the Orange Matamp, you played. I bought it. It's's super close to the Gt120. In q blind test you could not tell.
Of course I found you through Rick, but I was immediately drawn to your playing.. your ability to take any guitar and any amp and get some of the most killer tones is incredible...as a singer/drummer and guitarist, myself, (albeit a really crappy one... lol) I really love your content!.. thanks!
This video reminds me of my first job as an electronics tech. I worked for a music store that sold Crate amps. My full time job was repairing Crate amps. They ALL blew up. I would hear guys in the store testing them all day long. Lots of Uriah Heep and AC DC. I was suicidal after a year.
I myself got an OR15 and it has its own character. The 15 watt category for me, as a hobbyist and not playing that loud is the right size. I would like to see a comparison video on how volume affects overdrive tones. Thanks a lot!
I have an OR15, it's a bit of a weird one. It sounds kinda thin in a band situation but only if you stand next to it, I recorded a jam we had and it sounded great, pretty chunky. I had seen someone else had a similar issue on the orange forums, who knows
@@spudvader I also had an OR15 that I ran through an Orange 2x12 cab. I went to a jam and the other guitar player had a 60watt combo Line 6. For some reason his guitar could scream in a way that my rig couldn't. I just couldn't get enough high-end out of it. After messing with the settings forever I was convinced that the OR15 just didn't have the capability to scream like I wanted an amp to. I decided to get another amp, and on the day I was going to trade in the OR15 I decided to play it one more time, this time through the 1x12 cab. There it was! The OR15 just didn't have the power to push the 2x12 enough which resulted in that "blanket over the cab" sound, but with the 1x12 Orange cab it screamed! However, my mind was made up to get a new amp so I still traded it in.
Funny that I always use the ‘orange’ Boss Distortion pedal to play along to 70s rock songs... I dunno I suppose it just has that sorta sound.Were Boss nodding to Orange when they brought out the DS-1 pedal?
Schematic wise.... The output stage on original Orange amps seems to be lifted from a Tweed Bandmaster 5E7. It has a split load phase inverter+fixed bias+ presence control.... The EQ is very Ampeg/Baxandall like used in B-15s to Gemini amps... The FAC is it's own thing basically being a variable bypass cap on the cathode of a preamp tube.
my favorite rig for guitar as of now has been a 4x12 with an OR 15 run through one half and a VOX Night Train ran on the other half, then ran into an AB split box. I fell in love with the blend and haven't stopped using that combo.
I’m a want to be Guitarist stuck in the intermediate to beginner mode 😔.. but I’m really glad I found this channel I’m really learning a lot about amps and gear thank you so much for your talent and know how! Keep up the good work cheers and may God bless you!....e
Love Orange Amp tones. I can’t afford the real Orange amps but I do use Amplitude software with Orange amp sims. They do get pretty close. Great video Rhett and Rick! Great bass playing too!
I’m convinced that guitar players who want to play bass correctly have to engage a different part of the brain to pull it off. Some can, some can’t. But the ones who can? I hate those guys.
@@DemoDick1 yes the drummer side .I started on guitar got the basics moved to drums ,then when a buddys band needed a bass player I said i'll do it .I found that early foundation really helped mold what kind of bassest I am.
Amazing video. Matamp series 3000 is probably the coolest amp I've owned. Such a great sound. If you wanna hear the early fleetwood Mac sound , that's the amp 👍
Great in-depth video thanks for sharing this. However, when you said "I think pairing a good OD with a good EQ can get pretty close to the Orange Sound" I thought you were joking. Orange Sound 8:58 vs Home Brew 17:34 Hmmm....🤔
I have a '74 Overdrive, awesome machine and shifts some serious air. BTW, I use it for bass! Bought in '82 and 'retired' a few years ago but it still gets dug out every now and then to burn the dust off the valves and blow the dust off the shelves :-D
I remember a freind buying a mid 70's one used, and he set it up next to my Marshal JCM 900 Full stack, and it blew away the Marshal in sheer volume. I read the tag in the back 200W! Daaang, and it's not as if that much power was needed, as it cut through a mix like a hot knife through butter, with the mids being so strong. I thought it may be a good Idea to make a pedal that instead of switching the channels on one amp, switched from one amp to another (the Marshal to the Orange), and using the Orange for leads. Well, money wasn't necessarily abundant, and that plan never came to fruition, but hey we can dream. Yep, them Oranges sure ain't no lemons!
Totally! The first time I ever saw Clutch, my friends and I stood in front of the stage right in front of his amp. He had a full stack Orange (two cabs on the floor). To say that it was monstrous and loud isn't doing it justice. It was just about the coolest guitar sound I had ever heard. To this day, I think nothing quite sounds like an Orange.
A Orange 120 PA Head makes a great guitar head as well as does an old Marshall PA Head. Original Heads from 60's-70's have International voltage selector.on the back.
@0:56 Small omission of amp brands with "signature sounds": MESA/Boogie.......although they have 3-4 signature sounds (Mark I, II+C/JP2C, Dual Rec, Lonestar). That aside, this is a fantastic demonstration of the famous Orange sound. Given the expansive Beato amp collection (like the Petersen Museum of amps!), I would love to have heard some old Marshalls to help those of use who (until this video was produced) didn't understand the differences between a Plexi Marshall (which I assumed Page always played) vs those Orange heads.
I'm so glad you're making a video about these amps. I've seen them around for years but I've never really understood what their "Sound" was.
"Him" who? "Them" who?
@@Bacardi_shake he's trying to...
@@guitaristssuck8979 tim too ? Whim whoo ?
@@whatyoumakeofit6635 lol
@@guitaristssuck8979 dude does being an asshole make you feel better? Its obvious what he meant
Great view video! Especially the amps from my studio :)
you've got the good stuff rick!
I’ve got dibs on the Matamp
@@RhettShull doom away, friend
Hello Rick! Was wondering what was going on!
👍🇦🇺
@@RhettShull How bout what is the musicman amp sound?
When I think Orange, i think fuzzy, hairy, and intentionally "loose" sounding, without any pedals to get any of those characteristics. It's why they work so well for doom, sludge and old school sounding rock/metal.
Matt Pike's guitar is what I think Orange sounds like
"Crackly and flabby" is the term that comes to my mind. This is in a good way of course.
I think they're more throaty and vocal compared to Marshalls.
The same to me. It is horrible how undefined they are. Always fizzy and overpriced.
Thats what i have grown to love about Orange. That fuzzy more open more loose style gain over that fizzy tight "modern metal" gain. Right from the amp, no "put an od in front and there you go" really needed
The best thing about Orange amps, outside of that they sound ace, is that my wife was like, ooh, that looks nice, when I bought one home instead of giving the incoming object an accusing scowl.
Just bought my orange amp (bass 25) and I'm loving it. The looks and the nice fuzz tone is to die for (I may have a new addiction).
I bought my wife a Orange practice amplifier. She loves it. I steal it occasionally and now I'm gonna buy one. Lol!!
Haha. Now I have to try this. For science of course :D
Lol. Good to know
You can buy both micro terrors too because "it's so cute you have matching amps on your speaker!" And too be fair it is
To me, a big part of the orange sound is how all the vintage models kept the EQ network early in the circuit (just after the first gain stage). Sure, early Marshalls were the same way, but Marshall copied the fender tone stack design (which was directly pulled from the RCA manuals), while Orange ran a slightly different variant, in which instead of the bass (and mid) running in series with the treble it runs more in parallel, with both bass and treble wipers feeding the next gain stage.
But what does that matter or mean? Well in practice the 5F6-A Bassman/Fender circuit has an EQ with much cleaner segmentation. If you lower the treble, only the high frequencies from about 1-2k upwards are altered. By contrast, when you lower the treble on an OR120, the lower frequencies actually INCREASE. Now, this might not mean much since you can always "turn the bass down" to suit, but it's important to point out again that this tone stack is EARLY in the circuit. The Orange amps are known for their warm, sometimes fuzzy tone, and I think this is part of it. Unless you have the FAC and boost removing MOST of the lows, and the treble knob CRANKED, it's giving you lots of low end that feeds into the real gain stages (the OR120 has three gain stages in total). Simply put, it's actually rather difficult to get clean/tight bottom end through the circuit when cranked.
As to the point about Oranges having "more mids". I think Rick and Rhett started getting to the real point when talking about the shift of the mids. Many people find Marshall amps (especially the JCM800, which has an EQ late in the circuit and a cathode follower design), to be VERY mid-heavy amps, but the mids are in a completely different frequency range.
As one might expect, Matamp coming from a background of making radio amps and similar, the OR120 produces very even mids, and if you put a spectrum analyzer on it, you'll see there's little, if any, mid db boost over the low frequencies, and the mids largely follow with the lows. By comparison, Marshalls have a mid push, but it's way up around 800-1k, and if you "cut" the mids, it only has a significant impact around 600hz+.
The guitar is a mid-focused instrument, and we've come to expect that emphasis from most amps, but the orange amps have a strong presentation of the 200-500hz range, which is a bit different than most. This is really where that "more mid" thing comes from. It's not "more", it's just a lot less of upper mids than we're used to, which gives it this real throaty honk that's unique. To me, that's the "orange sound".
Well it is more on the 200W ones!! Those will take the curls out of your hair when cranked! (
Great write up on the history here
That classic throaty mids of the Doom Metal scene 😋
This is the greatest comment I've ever read on youtube
This is the smartest thing I've ever heard in the amp community
4:36 Wild Rick Beato appears and starts turning up the knobs
This comment made me FF to it. Ha!
Would be funny to see a whole series where Rick Beato shows up randomly at studios and gigs and turns up knobs. :)
😂😂😂
Dick Beatoff
lol I saw him, took me by complete surprise lol
PLEASE TURN THIS INTO A SERIES!!!! So good and so much info, love the addition of Rick to get the more vintage stuff and explain as well. Marshall sound??? Mesa??
I would eat that shit right up too
+1 to this please!
I don’t think he’d do the scooped mid thrash sounds of the mesa mark series which is “the sound”
I love an Orange! my first cabinet was an old Orange 4x12. I got it used for $100 in 1989. it painted black but it sounded good. I didn't know what it was so I traded it for a brand new Crate 4x12 a year later... huge mistake.
years later in the 2000s I recorded a lot of Orange amps in studios working with bands. always loved that thick sound.
never sell gear kids. you'll always regret it. just keep hoarding.
Your absolutely right I traded a 1969 Marshall super lead in the late 80s for rack gear GSP 2101 from digi tech when the rack systems were all the rage..and I'm still crying I still have all my Ibanez pedals from 1981 including the tube screamer I had all those pedals in a box in my attic and they still work
The 2 X LTD edition Musicman Stingrays I sold when times were (temporarily) tough hit me hard whenever I think about selling gear. Sell kidneys, keep gear
Surprising I read your message now I am keeping my Orange Amp its loud using my 4x12 Marshall vintage cab
Brings back memories. I bought my 1962 Strat in the Orange shop around 1975. I later purchased an Orange 120w 'Graphic' amp (top amp in video) from a shop further along Charing Cross Road. It was built like a tank!
I also bought a graphic 120 from them in '74 and still have it and it still works perfectly!
Man you got got some great guitar sounds here! Very interesting.
Well, there goes your "Orange Amps: A Short History" :)
That would be an awesome episode of Short History Of....I can’t think of a much better brand to do a short history on that hasn’t already been done that has such a storied history. A Short History of Dumble would be the ultimate. But the Trainwreck and Tube screamer episodes are my favorite. I’ve been watch five watt world since the beginning and I always knew it was an intellectual notch above most other guitar content. Keith reminds me of a really cool College professor that you learn a lot from and act silly enjoy their lectures.
I love the fact that this is kinda becoming a series
It’s definitely becoming a series
Rhett Shull hell yeah!
@@RhettShull oh fuxk yea lets go
@@RhettShull Yeaah
@@RhettShull lol
Orange amps sound like they're giving you a big warm hug, while also flipping you off
This comment wins
What a soyboy thing to say
@@michaelcraig9449 tf does that mean
@@michaelcraig9449Oh look, a clown throwing around the term “soy boy” for no apparent reason. Not a surprise coming from a chunker who wears fedoras.
The first time I ever spotted Orange amps was the very first time I heard/witnessed Black Sabbath in an old video of them doing "Paranoid", after that I always associated the name with the coolest guitar sound on earth.
a common misconception though, it was back line promotional equipment the tv studio was outfitted with. Tony was, has always been exclusively Laney Amps. I got an Orange anyway. ;)
Yea sadly tony has said several times they never played orange amps live
Theres a video of tony playing an orange pre sabbath in the band earth. He was played the clip and went oh, i guess ive used them a bit. Debunked
My main amp in the early 70s was a 100w (130w) Orange head with a 4x12 cab packed with Altec Speakers. This amp did not break up until turned almost all the way up. It did cut through the crowd in big clubs (I wasn't allowed on the PA system). It did have a great sound when paired with my Gibson SG or with a strat. Very reliable amp most important, it never caught on fire!
So happy you mentioned Mat. I met him back in the early 70s when I was at high school, our fledgling rock band decided we wanted to record an EP and Mat had a little studio behind Radiocraft (which was a little shop selling valves and parts for TVs and radios run mainly by his wife). The studio cost £3 per hour so we saved up (£3 was 12hrs work at my supermarket part-time supermarket job!) and recorded our epic over three evenings. We all used AC30s at the time (guitar bass and organ) and as lead player I always used my amp at full whack so I could sound like my heroes - Mat insisted we play quiet! Don't worry I'll add some reverberrration (he used to roll his Rs). Over the nine hours we could afford he recorded our efforts on a Toshiba 4 track and finally handed us each a shiny acetate cut on the machine he had in the tiny control room. He was a true gent and treated us five spotty school kids with utmost respect. I met him again a couple of years later in his workshop where he demonstrated his latest design a guitar combo which he said came in either 2X10 or 1X15 - it was the first time I'd seen an amp where you could change between clean and high gain with a footswitch, I swear to this day it's the best sound I've ever heard - you can have one for £450 he said but I'd just gone into debt spending £300 on a Fender Twin (which now lives under the stairs) so I had to refuse, what a mistake!!
Awesome story, thanks for sharing.
You’re such a great storyteller Rhett. Truly. You and Rick are getting me through this pandemic. Keep it up!
John Ashmore tack on Tom Bukovac and it really doesn’t feel all that bad staying in and laying low
I have an a OR15 I use as my main amp with an Orange 1x12 cab. I also own Fenders, Katanas and I’ve owned Marshall’ and Vox’s. Every time I’m ready to pull the trigger on a new amp I think is better or cleaner sounding I plug straight into the Orange and I wind up not buying a new amp. I play it with pedals but I truly feel it’s one of the only amps you can really play without any pedals and get a full range of tones on a single channel. If you use your guitars volume knob a lot this is the amp for you. The dynamics are incredible.
Indeed! Nicely said!
I love Orange amps, they're my favorite brand by far. Great idea for a video to talk about what exactly the Orange "sound" is though, because it's tough to pin down. When I think of it, I always think of a more gritty, fuzzy type of the typical 60's British overdrive sound. And it's almost like these amps "ghost" what you play, like a super quick delay of sorts. It's a thick, but spacious sound overall.
Spot on comment!
For me, Orange is forever tied to The Pillows. Like so many other American fans, I first heard their music in FLCL, and it blew me away with how amazing it is on its own and how integral it is to the feeing of the series. The legendary riff of Ride On Shooting Star, the determination and defiance of I Think I Can, the driven melancholy of Last Dinosaur, all of them are ingrained into my brain. I can never forget The Pillows, and Orange is one of the things that made their distinctive alt-rock shine.
Same with me man, the moment the amp was turned on I immediately heard The Pillows! Amazing music used for FLCL and great J Rock Beatles inspired sound!!
Rhett is such a good guitarist, you could plug him into an 80s solid state Crate and it would sound good
Orange are quiet popular in japanese rock (not jrock). progband "toe" uses Orange too. Well oranges are popular throughout prog bads
Orange amps and Wolfmother riffs! That’s all you need. 😆
I was looking through the comments hoping someone would mention the song, and as soon as you said Wolfmother I could hear the lyrics that go with the riff...I knew I recognized it, but I'm bad with picking out songs from riffs...
Ah, THAT'S what he was playing. Thank you.
@@AJvsEverything Yeah, same. "when ya... ya give it to me.. you see right through me... I got the feeling of love." There were like a ton of alt-hard rock bands coming out of Australia for a minute there. Who sounded nothing like AC/DC, but tell that to journalists. The do love their narratives.
Great video. As a teenager in the late sixties and early seventies I remember Orange amps appearing for the first time at our local rock gigs in the UK. Previously it was Marshalls, Hiwatts and WEMs . . . all black and then the eye catching orange made its appearance locally round about 1973. When I hear that classic Orange tone it takes me back to that time.
Hartley Peavey founded Peavey Electronics in 1965, having built his first amplifier in 1957. Peavey Electronics is privately owned. (Wikipedia) How is it you "Americans" always forget this monster AND legendary amp manufacturer when you talk about amps?
What would blues, rock and metal music be without the sound of a Peavey? How many got their early chops through a Peavey Bandit? Don't even get me started on the Classic, the 5150/6505, the XXX/JSX(3120/XXXII), the Butcher, the Windsor, the Valveking, the Vypyr, Invective, and don't let's forget aaaallllll those amazing bass amps ... ... sheesh ... I'm out of breath, ... I gotta go ... cheers from Downunder ... \m/
You forgot the Mace which really put Peavey in the spotlight in the 1970's. Lots of Southern Rock bands used the Mace.
Shh, they're still affordable!
@ Pa HeMa: yah, I've got an early VTA-400 (Super Festival Series) monster - 200 RMS watts with 4 15" speakers in two matching Peavey cabs. Used to use it as a bass amp (wall art now...) - awesome sound! I sent a pic of it to Mr. Peavey and he sent a story about how he designed it (it has the the first intentional preamp tube overdrive) after hearing and buying an early LPB-1 single transistor boost/overdrive pedal from Mike Matthews at NAMM and taking it apart in his hotel room! He said it blew minds at the next year's NAMM show when he introduced it! G'day mate!
we don't talk about peavey because peavey is a league of it's own.
I've been using Peavy for years. Currently using a 6505+
Thank you for showing what I've always loved about Orange amps. Their versatility. Fell in love with how they respond to pedals and the gain stages themselves having played one when I was a youngun.
From first hear i love the orange sound its almost mesmerizing,but has a darker,fuzzy tone to it kinda reminds me of an old black and white movie. I think im gonna get one as my first amp
Did you get any orange amps !?
The crush get rave reviews by I didn't get along with my CR120 head and every one with their smaller cr20 and cr35 have had them blow up, burn up and pop power sections and pop caps in the pre amp section. My orange CR120 head even popped a cap in the pre amp section and I fixed it by replacing it and then sold it😅
Just gambled on an OR15 head so we'll see what happens after a good burn in😂
I have a Dual Terror head that's about 15 years old, and it's out of production and it's my favorite amp. If it died, and I couldn't repair it I don't know what I would do. Orange amps can do everything. They are extremely transparent, but at the same time they can do high gain, sparkly cleans and everything in between.
"I've got my Orange Crush" - R.E.M.
First Song I played on my crush 120H ;)
Does the song use an Orange amp ?
That's R.E.M's "Bullet the Blue Sky" -- the last good song they did.
Also WAY into this becoming a series. That Hiwatt on the rack gets me thinking about a potential future episode...
DEFINITELY! I feel like Hiwatt doesn’t get the recognition that they deserve. Like cmon, Pete Townshend, and David Gilmour (among others)? Hiwatt definitely deserves a video, no discussion...
EP.33 "What is the Kemper Sound?"
Absolutely hiwatt rocks hard!
+1 on the Hiwatt
i want a sovtek amp episode.
Orange Amps have definitely become a mainstay in the line of guitar amps of this age! Really glad to see you go more in depth to this!
@Rhett - You seem like a genuinely decent guy so I'm glad the YT thing is working out for you. Your natural humility is also a good counterbalance to Rick Beato's lack of it. I know he makes up for it in other ways, I just think you guys are a great compliment to each other :)
Hearing the old vintage Orange amps makes me appreciate my Tiny Terror combo amp even more for sounding so true to its origins :) Love that Orange sound!
Are the Tiny Terrors most similar to the vintage stuff? Do you know if any other modern models come close to the vintage sound?
@@TwinCitiesOxygen AD30
@@TwinCitiesOxygen I'd say the OR15 more than the Terror. I love my Terror, but it's a bit dark and doesn't quite have the same clarity.
I don't think the terror sounds like vintage orange at all, any of the terror amps !
The OR15 however sounds exactly like Vintage orange amps all the way so🫡
I have always adored the Orange drive sound. The first time I heard it was on Switchfoot's Nothing is Sound, and I just fell in love. I describe it as a super organic crunch. It's more present than a Marshall with a bit more punch and bite. Whatever it really is, it's my favorite rock sound.
That is my favorite album of all time!
Switch foot? WOW
Rhett, your videos are incredible. I love how you and Rick randomly seem to meet up and vibe, too. Top tier production, solid topics, and the videos are always engaging and informative. Keep up the great work, sir!
I’m a jazz guitarist and I came across a little orange crush bass amp years ago. When I lived in New York it was my go-to for restaurant gigs and clubs with no pro sound. What a tough little amp, it gave me that fat, fuzzy, loose sound I wanted without a pedalboard. Great amps.
Got mine a little bit ago and just got my Warwick back from getting some hardware work and a setup done. Can't wait to jam.
My bass player friend grabbed one and brought it over to try out in the basement and it was 50 watts and couldn't keep up with my 50 watt marshal 😂we were like disappointed 😮
Great video as usual, Rhett, and big props to Beato for getting your classic Orange on, haha.
As a fellow Orange owner, I will say this very gently, though--if you're using a 'Marshall in a box' pedal plus a boost to get that Orange sound you think you want to hear, you're not actually hearing the Orange sound. Let the pedals rest. Plug straight into an OR and through a 4x12 with V30s (doesn't even need to be an Orange cab), crank the gain, and even at moderate volume you will hear the Orange sound. I suspect Beato had you going straight in. :)
Matamp is in my hometown of Huddersfield. The Matamp Minimat is an awesome amp you have to try out to believe. They have a 16 cabinet array you can test ALL the speakers for tonal comparison. Well worth a factory visit.
Good video so far, Orange amps sound great, but more importantly, I love that Orange is leading the game in trying to make smaller and smaller giggings amps. Just bought a terror stamp and it's the best amp I've owned.
Rhett, love the series! But I keep coming back to the same thought. While each of these amps has their own unique character around gain, breakup, frequency response curves and the way EQ - the various approaches to tone control - there is a key tonal element that is missing from the discussion. The speaker(s) and cabinet you play the amp through. A Celestion Greenback vs. a JBL or Eminence goes pretty far to defining the Marshall or Fender sound as much as whether an amp is running EL34's or 6L6's.
How about "What is the sound?" as another series!! Maybe do that with Rick Beato as well.
I'd love to see you take a Fender, Marshall, Vox, etc and do some cabinet swaps and comparing the number and size of speakers (say 10" vs 12") 1x, 2x, 4x (ok, we'll skip the 3x Bassman(?) right now) and open back vs. closed back with a variety of Celestions, Eminence, JBL, etc. That would be really interesting. Then amp clean, preamp breakup, power tube breakup, and speaker breakup.
what is "vox" sound mighty be good next on this series
I would like to hear how a Vox could be optimized as well!
I run my vox ac30 and or15 in stereo. It makes a rich tone. Having medium gain on the or15 and light gain on the vox, it is my favorite tone I have found.
*Both my amps are Vox and you just can't get a better sound with on board effects that are superior to others! I also have a Vox Mini Stack that is totally sweet*
Mighty??
I always found Vox too heavy on the high frequencies. I prefer fender amps myself.
I really appreciate how much you focused on Mat Mathias...it seems he’s often overlooked and then have an actual Orange/Matampis great. I have a pair of Mat’s and nothing is like them. I wish Orange made something with that older amp sound but even the OR50 is waaaaaay different.
Matamp is the answer if you want that original old Orange sound. They still make them 100% by hand just outside Huddersfield, UK.
stumitsuko I know, like I said, I have two and used to have a third....I just think a lot of folks would like it if Orange made an old school sounding OR120....hell, they could even team up with Matamp again.
louderthangod I had a Matamp GT1 that I reluctantly had to sell, it was incredible. I’ve spent quite a few hours talking with Jeff, the owner of Matamp and I’d say it’s highly unlikely that they would team up with Orange again. The split between the companies occurred because Cliff Cooper wanted to cut corners and bring the cost of manufacturing down and Mat wouldn’t compromise on quality.
I've got a old Orange rocker verb 50 combo sounds great ,quality amp's.
I own the Orange Rocker-32. All my favorites components are in it! 2- 10 inch speakers and EL84 tubes! Also, is got a STEREO effects loop so with one amp I can get STEREO EFFECTS or a wet dry mix by miming both speakers! Great idea and I don't always HAVE to bring my two amps the Orange combo and a Marshall combo.
Great history lesson. It brought back memories. When I was thrown out of The Netherlands in 1969 (long story), I went to London and sold my Fender Pro Reverb at the original Orange store. A little while later, I saw the original Fleetwood Mac at a high school gym in London and they were playing a wall of Orange amps.
PLEASE tell more of this story
@@wchristian2000 I was stopped by the police for busking in the streets of Amsterdam. My passport had fallen out of my pocket earlier, so I was arrested and tossed in jail overnight. They let me out the next day to get a new passport and get out of the country. There is much more but it is for my memoirs ;-)
Having owned all of the brands you mentioned, including many others, I am now exclusively using Orange amps. They provided me with the tone I’ve always searched for…
40 Years ago i‘d played an Orange Top on a Marshall Cabinett and it sound like Black Sabbath and LZ at best times ! Dark gain, great clean Sound and extreme Overdrive - Love this sound Man !! And what about the all time Favorit : Jazz Chorus 120 ??
One of the best Amps on this Planet!!
Nice to watch . I recorded in the Orange studio which was in basement under the shop in June 1969. I put my 61 SG Special through a OR120 head with 4x12 cab . It really rocked the room !!
I just bought there little tiny practice amp and I'm in LOVE with the orange sound. A tele with an Orange amp is a match made in heaven
I've used Orange amps (Rockerverb 50 and OR15) more than any other brands for playing live and this video is awesome with great historical information. Thanks Rhett!
How does the OR15 sounds at low volumes ? Is it appartment friendly or not really ?
"Slabo day" at the beginning. excellent taste Rhett! R.I.P Peter Green.
I was going through the comments just to make sure someone mentioned the legend... so thank you.
I was in a trance through the entire video from the playing, tones, explanation.....Great video!
What a great sounding amp!!! I've looked at these for years but had never even heard one, but thanks to this video, that issue is about to be fixed SOON!! Thanks for another great - and helpful - video.
As a bass player,I love Orange. Also enjoyed your Hiwatt and Vox videos (although it would have been nice if you would have touched on some legendary bass tones from these companies)
Orange is absolutely a legendary tone. I’d take Orange over Marshall any day.
Went to my local music store and played the Orange CR60C and was blown away. I play a lot of pop punk kind of music with a twist and the CR60C has this creamy, mix-range tone that I’ve been looking for…like for years. Way better than my old Marshall. Good stuff. And good video man.
I love my CR60! A lot more versatile than most people give it credit for. I feel as if it gets put in a box, and people automatically assume it’s only to be used in doom metal! Lol
I play a lot of 70’s-80’s rock and I feel as if it does a great job capturing that sound. For the 80’s style I use the onboard plate reverb and add a little delay with my Boss DD 3T, and man… I love it!!
@@jacobdoolittle124 I think I saw BB King playing through an Orange and I figured it couldn't be the sound for me but I never heard the distortion so I was watching some videos and then I had to check it out myself and it was awesome.
that section starting around 8:30 sounds so fn perfect. The git, the amp, the recording, siiick video dude.
That jam is vibey as hell. Great tone all around
Rhett great call on the Peter Green Slabo Day tune!
No need for orange to rerelease the or120- Matamp is still making their amps in Huddersfield, UK.
Albatross by Peter Green/ Fleetwood Mac was recorded with an s2000. that clean is just mind melting for me. The current equivalent is an s3000 (they basically changed the depth selector to a potentiometer).
That said, they still make fuzzy doom monsters, like the gt120! a good place to hear them being pushed is Dopesmoker by Sleep!!
I really like the Orange sound. It's like a clean open kind of sound that fits my style. I don't own one yet, but I plan to someday. Last time I was in the market for a new amp, the Orange combo's didn't quite do what I was hoping for. Might have to go for the head instead.
Save yourself the money. Just buy micro terror , and feed through clean. I love the tone, but they're not exactly versatile. No matter what you do with they're products it's always orange sounding
"You should have gone for the head." -Thanos
A huge thanks for explaining amps' sounds. I have had only rough idea of what different amps actually differ in for years
I did own an OR120 in 1984 which was build about 1973. It was my first tube amp.
Thank you for making this series, Rhett.
I went to get a Fender amp for playing at home and ended up getting an Orange Rocker 32. I like it more that any of the Fenders I tried. Both channels sound awesome and it is really well built.
I did the same, but with a Rocker 15. Best cleans of any 15 watt amp I've tried and the most versatile tube amp out there for anything between bedroom and small venue gigs. I'm a hobby player at home with not a lot of extra space so I went for the 15 over the 32. I also really like Ade Emsley and his overall design philosophy so I got a few Orange pedals based on how much I liked the amp. Very happy with all of it :)
I think rhett's channel success speaks for itself but boy, such quality. Love your videos and mainly the tone quality of everything you record!
Having a blast with a 20RT. It's got flavor that I haven't had before at such an affordable price. Plus it's just beautiful.
Wow..... I once went to a jam in Hawaii where a guy had one back in 73 at Schofield Barracks. There were Marshals, Fenders, Acoustics and some others I don't remember. But that was the first and only time I evr went to a jam with one of these. So rich. What a sound. We were doing Allman Bros & Led Zep music hen. hat machne is gorgeous. Memories... Thank you for sharing!! A gorgeous sound. Thanks you!!
The closest I'll probably get to the OR120 sound is my Kuro Custom Audio R120 pedal. It is truly an amp-in-a-box, being the entire amp circuit with JFETS instead of tubes. It has an FAC and HF Drive, along with Baxandall tone stack. Gets pretty darn close to the real thing, including the clean settings. Giulio did a great job designing it, and also has his T120, which is a Matamp GT 120 in a box. Killer stuff, and no, I don't get paid to say that. Brian Mena at Menatone is one of the pioneers of designing pedals based on an entire amp, and I have several of his great pedals, but he doesn't have an Orange based pedal, which is why I turned to Giulio at Kuro. Both great guys, both make great stuff.
Great video! To me an "Orange sound" is really good cleans that cross over to really gnarly distortion. It´s just so much more agressive than a Marshall. I own thw Orange Rocker 15 (the combo) and it is awesome.
Yeah the cleans are insane...i am lucky to own a 74 OR120 and use it as an unbelievable pedal platform due to the immense cleans when you have to dial it back...it truly is an arena amp if you are to use its gain to break up with the guitar plugged straight in...immense sound
Orange and Ampeg are my personal favorites. Also as for achieving the sound may I recommend the Rockerverb mkIII which is very versatile.
Absolutely correct in every respect, IMO. I have been listening to Orange amps since I first heard Pentangle in the very early 70s. The purity and intimacy of the sound is extraordinary. It's interesting that you concentrate on the overdrive rock sound, and yes, that is iconic, but the clean sound gave a really crystaline tone in the early days of electification of acoustic instruments. I think actually superior to the acoustic amps we are familiar with today., which are accurate, but very clinical. Orange always had a great deal of ambience.
@ 13:00 There is the Kuro T120 pedal, which is an identical preamp and Poweramp to Matamp GT120 but with Fets instead of valves. It's the the circuit from the Orange Matamp, you played. I bought it. It's's super close to the Gt120. In q blind test you could not tell.
Orange Dual Dark 50, best amp I have ever played.
Orange "cleans" will surprise the heck out of even the most diehard Fender nut....like me.
I approve this message.
@SplinterCellRocks Oranges are good for you.
Even i don't want to agree...
It's the truth. I was totally baffled when tested an Orange amp clean.
The clean tones are the whole reason I bought the ad30 twin channel. Beautiful clarity
There is a UA-camr named Mary Spender (I think that's her last name), she uses orange amps exclusively She gets wonderful clean tones from her amps.
Of course I found you through Rick, but I was immediately drawn to your playing.. your ability to take any guitar and any amp and get some of the most killer tones is incredible...as a singer/drummer and guitarist, myself, (albeit a really crappy one... lol) I really love your content!.. thanks!
My first amp was an orange and i love them. Love their clean tones
This video reminds me of my first job as an electronics tech. I worked for a music store that sold Crate amps. My full time job was repairing Crate amps. They ALL blew up. I would hear guys in the store testing them all day long. Lots of Uriah Heep and AC DC. I was suicidal after a year.
I myself got an OR15 and it has its own character. The 15 watt category for me, as a hobbyist and not playing that loud is the right size. I would like to see a comparison video on how volume affects overdrive tones. Thanks a lot!
plus 1 on the OR15. Switchable to 7watt and an effects loop. It's a great buy
@@kewlbug I'm looking at a Rocker Terror, can take it down to 0.5 watt so my neighbours won't kill me.
I have an OR15, it's a bit of a weird one. It sounds kinda thin in a band situation but only if you stand next to it, I recorded a jam we had and it sounded great, pretty chunky. I had seen someone else had a similar issue on the orange forums, who knows
@@spudvader I also had an OR15 that I ran through an Orange 2x12 cab. I went to a jam and the other guitar player had a 60watt combo Line 6. For some reason his guitar could scream in a way that my rig couldn't. I just couldn't get enough high-end out of it. After messing with the settings forever I was convinced that the OR15 just didn't have the capability to scream like I wanted an amp to. I decided to get another amp, and on the day I was going to trade in the OR15 I decided to play it one more time, this time through the 1x12 cab. There it was!
The OR15 just didn't have the power to push the 2x12 enough which resulted in that "blanket over the cab" sound, but with the 1x12 Orange cab it screamed! However, my mind was made up to get a new amp so I still traded it in.
I changed the speaker out of my or15 to a greenback and it got less flubby when pushed.
I think you and Rick are really underestimating how much gain an AC30 has
Absolutely! They won’t do metal, but they can do anything from zeppelin to AC/DC or even Van Halen!
@@alexbitzan8747 hard to believe an ac30 was used on STP- Core,stooge's raw power& even paranoid.
exactly. just listen to the band Uzeda
Alex Bitzan honestly they can do metal if you have active pickups and the right bassist
You went up in my estimation the moment I recognised Slabo Day.
And I already rated you.
Very Peter Green-like guitarsound (and playing) during the first part of the video! Well done!!
7:20 the amazing playing starts, and doesn't stop! Great video and playing
Great Peter Green invocation at 7:20. Were these what powered "Then Play On?" One of the best, and unique, sounding guitar albums ever.
10 gold stars for playing Peter Green ❤️
Funny that I always use the ‘orange’ Boss Distortion pedal to play along to 70s rock songs... I dunno I suppose it just has that sorta sound.Were Boss nodding to Orange when they brought out the DS-1 pedal?
Schematic wise....
The output stage on original Orange amps seems to be lifted from a Tweed Bandmaster 5E7. It has a split load phase inverter+fixed bias+ presence control.... The EQ is very Ampeg/Baxandall like used in B-15s to Gemini amps... The FAC is it's own thing basically being a variable bypass cap on the cathode of a preamp tube.
my favorite rig for guitar as of now has been a 4x12 with an OR 15 run through one half and a VOX Night Train ran on the other half, then ran into an AB split box. I fell in love with the blend and haven't stopped using that combo.
The Vox "sparkle" fills in some of the mids and highs that are so distinct in a Vox and "missing" in and Orange.
Thanks for making this, Rhett - such great insight into this topic like no other video on youtube
Matamp's still around, and building amps. You know those Green amps? They aren't "some copy" they are the real deal, they are matamp's "reissue" line.
Aren't they pricey as hell tho??? As in seriously drain the pockets for one?
I’m a want to be Guitarist stuck in the intermediate to beginner mode 😔.. but I’m really glad I found this channel I’m really learning a lot about amps and gear thank you so much for your talent and know how! Keep up the good work cheers and may God bless you!....e
gear wont make you a better player
Orange really has the top end sparkle of a Vox and the low end growl and smoothness of a Marshall. Gotta get my hands on an orange some day…
I just can not fathom how much I learned from Rick’s videos. And I am glad I found your channel too.
Love Orange Amp tones. I can’t afford the real Orange amps but I do use Amplitude software with Orange amp sims. They do get pretty close.
Great video Rhett and Rick! Great bass playing too!
The bass playing was great man! Idiomatic and really didn't seem like a guitar player playing bass!
As a bass player I agree. Not every guitar player can play bass well. Rhett does.
That’s the best compliment I’ve gotten in a long time, thank you!
Yea I was pleasantly surprised he wasnt playing with a pick.
I’m convinced that guitar players who want to play bass correctly have to engage a different part of the brain to pull it off. Some can, some can’t. But the ones who can? I hate those guys.
@@DemoDick1 yes the drummer side .I started on guitar got the basics moved to drums ,then when a buddys band needed a bass player I said i'll do it .I found that early foundation really helped mold what kind of bassest I am.
Amazing video. Matamp series 3000 is probably the coolest amp I've owned. Such a great sound. If you wanna hear the early fleetwood Mac sound , that's the amp 👍
Great in-depth video thanks for sharing this. However, when you said "I think pairing a good OD with a good EQ can get pretty close to the Orange Sound" I thought you were joking. Orange Sound 8:58 vs Home Brew 17:34 Hmmm....🤔
I have a '74 Overdrive, awesome machine and shifts some serious air. BTW, I use it for bass! Bought in '82 and 'retired' a few years ago but it still gets dug out every now and then to burn the dust off the valves and blow the dust off the shelves :-D
The Orange sound, to me, is the sound of an EHX Big Muff into an amp with tons of low end 😆. Doooooooooom
Close enough
Yes, except the existence of a mid-range
Nice pfp
@@saintrhoads3375 so an sd1/ts9 into a big muff. Gotcha.
@@pahwraith or a deluxe muff 😂
I remember a freind buying a mid 70's one used, and he set it up next to my Marshal JCM 900 Full stack, and it blew away the Marshal in sheer volume. I read the tag in the back 200W! Daaang, and it's not as if that much power was needed, as it cut through a mix like a hot knife through butter, with the mids being so strong.
I thought it may be a good Idea to make a pedal that instead of switching the channels on one amp, switched from one amp to another (the Marshal to the Orange), and using the Orange for leads. Well, money wasn't necessarily abundant, and that plan never came to fruition, but hey we can dream.
Yep, them Oranges sure ain't no lemons!
I can't tell much difference in volume but the headroom is a substantial amount.
Tim Sult of Clutch plays Oranges. His tone = !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tim is so underrated
Totally! The first time I ever saw Clutch, my friends and I stood in front of the stage right in front of his amp. He had a full stack Orange (two cabs on the floor). To say that it was monstrous and loud isn't doing it justice. It was just about the coolest guitar sound I had ever heard. To this day, I think nothing quite sounds like an Orange.
A Orange 120 PA Head makes a great guitar head as well as does an old Marshall PA Head. Original Heads from 60's-70's have International voltage selector.on the back.
@0:56 Small omission of amp brands with "signature sounds": MESA/Boogie.......although they have 3-4 signature sounds (Mark I, II+C/JP2C, Dual Rec, Lonestar).
That aside, this is a fantastic demonstration of the famous Orange sound. Given the expansive Beato amp collection (like the Petersen Museum of amps!), I would love to have heard some old Marshalls to help those of use who (until this video was produced) didn't understand the differences between a Plexi Marshall (which I assumed Page always played) vs those Orange heads.