Fender Bassman Pro 300 vs Orange AD200b

[KnockoutDerek]

Which head is better? The Fender Bassman 300 Pro or the Orange AD200B? Thoughts?

[rodl2005]

Different, not better.
The Fender's a monster. Possibly the loudest 300w tube amp out. It's got a heap of eq possibilities too.
The Orange is less power & volume & more of a one trick pony, but a damn fine trick, damn fine!
My opinions only.

[carbonfold]

+1 to what rodl2005 said and I have owned two AD200B and two Bassman 300 Pros.


IMO, they just two different animals. The AD200B has that "ratty" tone and the Bassman 300 Pro will have more ablities to dial up several tones, more power on tap and will be punchier. The Bassman 300 Pro is not exactly the ratty tone as the AD200B but with some time, you can dial it to be ratty if you like. But honestly, the Bassman 300 Pro will be a more solid round and punchy tone in general.

I personally love the AD200B because the 200w rating sits really nice with pushing the amp and getting the tubey goodness without killing everyone in the room (but it will if you have enough cabs). But and a big BUT, the AD200B will sound like a........ Orange AD200B and no hinding it. Not a bad thing, it is just it's thing.

I currently run my Bassman 300 Pro as a primary because it has WAY more ablities in dialing up different tones and I have plenty of headroom from it.

Also on a side note, the Bassman 300 Pro has a good reliablity name as well as the Orange AD200B. So really it boils down to taste and the best thing would be to try them both. However, if you don't know how to properly dial up a EQ, a compressor and play with both channels (which is on the Bassman), you may fall back to the AD200B since it is rather simple to dial up.

The AD200B tone stack is super easy but a little different than how you may play with some. On all tone knobs (treb / mid / bass) the tone stack is rolled off from 10 (all the way up). So, IMO I work it backwards. Start with all three at 10 and roll back until I get my sweet spot.

[P-oddz]

It's like comparing Fenders to Oranges (see what I did there).

Carbon pretty much nailed it, I think - but I would add that the Orange is not necessarily a ratty tone, but definitely capable of one. With lower gain settings, it definitely always has a bit of hair present (it is THE Orange tone), but to my ears is a bit creamier. And depending on what cab you pair it with (I'm using an OBC115), IMO it's capable of quite a lot of punch. And very precise punch at that.

As usual - if you can - your best best is to listen for yourself. Also very worth noting (IMO) are the Super Bassman 300s if you're looking at Fender tube heads.

[Tim1]

+1 to everyone. I have owned an AD200 and gigged a 300Pro. While the 300 Pro is a more versatile head I (and this is totally subjective) would go for the Orange every time. It is a beautifully seductive amp, sits wonderfully in an onstage mix (guitarists love it IME) and is basically plug and play with nary a bad tone in it. The 300 Pro takes a little work to find your tone, but it is very loud. I always found the AD200 had plenty of headroom and clean tone, especially when used with a passive bass.
Now the new Fender Super Bassman 300 is another story, totally different to the 300Pro. I bought a Super Bassman 300 and sold my AD200 and my SVT.... go figure (however, I remain on the lookout for a vintage SVT to go with it ).