Tell me about Orange Amps...

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bikerdude2

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Are they thick in a Bogner XTC way, or am I all wrong?
 
bikerdude2":2zg8oi8w said:
Are they thick in a Bogner XTC way, or am I all wrong?


Think of a bigger sounding Marshall. I'm mainly talking about the older ones that I've played though. I have no idea about the newest ones. When I think Orange, I'm thinking of Matamp and along those lines.
 
Oranges are really thick and complex, but I wouldn't compare them with an XTC. That would be, well, like comparing apples and Oranges.

With the limited playing time I've had on each, I look at the XTC a lot like a modified Marshall: It has that inherent midrange emphasis and tightness with some added gain/saturation. The Oranges, while very complex, are like a darker Marshall and feel a bit more "chewy" like the signal has more give.

That's at least how my ears/hands notice the differences.
 
Darker and looser than a marshall. Overpriced. And orange.
 
They are thick. They tend to be more dark. I wouldn't compare them to a Marshall. They have their own mean growl to them. The older ones were really raw and deep. The newer ones are similar, but more versatile. The clean on them is great, especially the Rockerverb with the reverb. The sound great, but they are a bit overpriced. They have had their share of reliability issues.

I'd check out some bands that use them to get an idea. They are used in all different genres of music. A lot of indie rock guys use them and get a real chimey tone out of them while still having a meaty growl to them. Stoner band use them a lot for a deeper sludge tone. I'm pretty sure Stone Sour and Slipknot are using them to get their tones on their newer stuff. They get some good metal and rock tones out of them.
 
Orange amps are great. The Rocker 30 and Rockerverb series are more dark than your usual British sounding amps. They are still great though and harmonically very rich sounding. The gain is very grainy, which is the best way to describe it IMO. I love all Orange amps. The AD series amps are very crunchy and brighter than the Rocker or Rockerverb. The Thuderverb is another great Orange amp that is darker in flavor as well. It can also be used as a bass amp.

Personally, I like their Tiny Terror and Dual Terror amps a lot. They are low wattage and pump out a lot of volume. Great sounding amps.

They are overpriced though in the American market, compared to what you get from other amp companies like Mesa or Rivera. I never liked Orange's customer service center in Georgia (they don't always reply to their customer's messages, which I know from personal experience), or the fact that their amps don't come with manuals and footswitch pedals. Its a bit crazy to charge $2200 for a two-channel, 100-watt amp head that doesn't include a footswitch or dust cover!

If you go with Orange, check out Humbucker Music. They are Orange's biggest online dealer and have excellent deals on new Orange amps.
 
If you buy an Orange amp, get one in the orange tolex. You can buy black and the limited edition white tolex, but you will lose resale value. At least that has been what I've gathered from my own Orange experiences and through past Googling I've done.
 
I think they are a little pricey for what they are, but I've played a couple rockerverbs and loved them. The cleans are really nice and the reverb is killer although it can be a bit much if you turn it up to high. Chewy and dark is a good description, good compression for leads too, still sounds pretty big though. I think Down is playing through rockerverb's now as well but I'm not sure.
 
My singer and rhythm guitarist for my band both play rocker 50's. they sound great and are as most people have put it darker sounding. they really compliment my mark V's brightness when playing live.
 
Love the cabs, hate the amps. It's not the darkness I dislike, but rather the mid Q on the ones I've tried. Muddy and inarticulate. The reverb sweep is a joke as well. Even if you do like the sound, they are way overpriced for the build quality. This of course is all my opinion.
 
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