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iamqman « Latest and Greatest »
Published on 10/29/11 at 15:18I had been waiting a while to try out the Orange amps since they claim they are the Marshall killer. I was a Marshall guy so I needed to be convinced what they claim was true. So I went down to the shop to try it out. The first thing I noticed was that it did sound very good. But I thought to myself which Marshall are they claiming to beat....Plexi, 800, 2000, 900....maybe it was the MG series to which I would completely agree with them on. Perhaps they beat the 900 series or maybe even a unmodified 800. Maybe not that far since the 800 is a classic in rock music. Well it did sound very excellent! This is the latest version of this model and the best in my opinion. Not much has really changed but the great sounding Orange tone is all there.
One cool thing that this amp does top any Marshall in the ability to change different power tube from EL34, 6L6s, KT88s, or 6550s which makes this a very cool feature. Being able to tailor your power tube section to your liking is very beneficial. Marshall has dropped the ball on something like this.
UTILIZATION
50W
4 ECC83 preamp tubes
4 EL34 power tubes
Accepts EL34, 6L6, KT88, or 6550 power tubes
Clean channel controls: Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
Dirty channel: Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble
Reverb
FX loop
SOUNDS
I used this amp with a Les Paul and a fender Strat. I was able to get some good Zeppelin tones and dial up some Angus Young setting pretty easily. The attack was something I noticed very quickly. It had a touch response similar but more dynamic than a Marshall. It had that midrange but was different in that it felt a little more comfortable if I played sloppy than I would with a Plexi amp. I think it was a little more forgiving and a hair more saggy which would constitute the forgiveness of the amp. I pretty much stayed on the gain channel but occasionally switch over for some smooth warm cleans.
OVERALL OPINION
I love the vintage vibe it had and the better clean channel than say a JCM 2000. I was able to get a very good tone that could play in a band setting very well or record with. I would recommend this amp to anyone looking for something different than a Marshall that wants to get a good OD channel and a smooth clean channel all in one amp. It is priced a bit high for where i think it is worth, but then so is a reissue JCM 800. I would pick this amp up on the used market since they hold a good value and seem very road worthy. I was impressed with this amp. I think it had many attributes that put it above some Marshall amps.
One cool thing that this amp does top any Marshall in the ability to change different power tube from EL34, 6L6s, KT88s, or 6550s which makes this a very cool feature. Being able to tailor your power tube section to your liking is very beneficial. Marshall has dropped the ball on something like this.
UTILIZATION
50W
4 ECC83 preamp tubes
4 EL34 power tubes
Accepts EL34, 6L6, KT88, or 6550 power tubes
Clean channel controls: Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
Dirty channel: Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble
Reverb
FX loop
SOUNDS
I used this amp with a Les Paul and a fender Strat. I was able to get some good Zeppelin tones and dial up some Angus Young setting pretty easily. The attack was something I noticed very quickly. It had a touch response similar but more dynamic than a Marshall. It had that midrange but was different in that it felt a little more comfortable if I played sloppy than I would with a Plexi amp. I think it was a little more forgiving and a hair more saggy which would constitute the forgiveness of the amp. I pretty much stayed on the gain channel but occasionally switch over for some smooth warm cleans.
OVERALL OPINION
I love the vintage vibe it had and the better clean channel than say a JCM 2000. I was able to get a very good tone that could play in a band setting very well or record with. I would recommend this amp to anyone looking for something different than a Marshall that wants to get a good OD channel and a smooth clean channel all in one amp. It is priced a bit high for where i think it is worth, but then so is a reissue JCM 800. I would pick this amp up on the used market since they hold a good value and seem very road worthy. I was impressed with this amp. I think it had many attributes that put it above some Marshall amps.