My Quest For An Orange: Help needed.

GeneralElectric · #1 06-09-2010, 01:11 PM

So I've been gassing for an Orange amp now for quite awhile. A few years ago I saw Eddie Spaghetti play with the Supersuckers with this giant orange colored amp behind him. It was convenient that the amps also had ORANGE emblazoned across the front in big letters. These amps have been gaining in popularity now for awhile. It seems to me that Orange is filling Ampeg's old shoes as THE bass amp company.

I had the opportunity to play through the AD200 a few years ago, very briefly, and I liked the simple controls and the great raunchy rock tone I got from it. For some strange reason, it reminds me of HiWatt.

I'm a P-bass player. I own other basses, but any day of the week you happen to catch me, I'm probably playing a P-bass strung up with either flats or rounds. I play country, rock, folk, and R&B. My gig amp right now is a B25B into an Ampeg SVT115EN cabinet. This set up serves me well enough just fine, but I just wanna try something different. I also own an Aguilar which I'll be selling, along with some other things, to fund this.

I recently saw Tom Bowlus' little clip comparing several amps: including the Orange AD200B and the Tiny Terror Bass 500. They sounded pretty similar but the AD200B had a bit of oomph, roundness, and squishy pull that that the Tiny Terror lacked. However, Tom himself said that these weren't recorded under the strictest conditions.

I'm looking for someone who has played both amps. Preferably through some Orange cabs as I'd like to buy some to match (how could I not have a bright orange head and not have matching cabs!) What are your opinions on each? I plan on buying used and the tiny terror is about a third of the the cost of the AD200. Is it worth the price difference?

I'm leaning towards the more expensive AD200B because I've played through a lot of amps and I've always liked playing through tube amps the best (Ampegs, Mesas, Fenders, Marshall, etc) Volume isn't really an issue for me because I don't really play that loud now. I mean, c'mon, I play a 55 watt tube amp...

GeneralElectric · #2 06-10-2010, 02:33 PM

heath_r_91 · #3 06-10-2010, 02:37 PM

I'd go with the Orange AD200B. I have mine and there isn't one thing I would change about it. While I haven't heard the Bass Terror, I don't think you can improve on perfection.

Deluge Of Sound · #4 06-10-2010, 03:24 PM

While I haven't used the AD200B much beyond demo'ing it, I do use an OR120 through a OBC115.

I consider both the head and the cab to be absolutely top notch. I've used the cab without the OR, but it really comes into its own with it. Personally, I don't think the new Orange heads hold a candle to the old ones, but I certainly can't say anything bad about it/

GeneralElectric · #5 06-10-2010, 04:59 PM

What are the old Orange tube heads?

I played a really old low wattage bass head of theirs once. I think it was around 30 watts. It sounded good enough but not enough to wow me.

Deluge Of Sound · #6 06-10-2010, 05:12 PM

Lots of information to be found here:
http://users.telenet.be/orangefg/

Basically, the further ahead in time you go, the farther the circuit gets from the old Matamp circuit (which is my all time favorite-sounding amplifier)

Musicman20 · #7 06-10-2010, 05:56 PM

Don't worry about the current old school moaning about Orange. They are really great amps/cabs! IMO one of the nicest all tube amps out there.

jordie65 · #8 06-10-2010, 06:14 PM

mine got delivered to the store i ordered it from today. when i go to pick it up ill do another quick comparison with the terror bass and get back to you but what i found last time is the terror had the tone of the AD200B but just couldn't match the fullness and depth of the AD. i went into the store fully ready to buy the terror if it matched the AD but ended up ordering in an AD (they only had the floor model left and it was a bit scuffed)

jordie65 · #9 06-10-2010, 10:35 PM

ok got home a few hours ago and have been playing since. didn't get to a/b with the terror again but this thing is great. with the gain at about noon i get some really nice grit and then with the master on about 1 and a half the volume in my room was uncomfortably loud. the tone is just...thick! compared to my shuttlemax 12 (a great amp still) it feels like there is a tonne of bricks behind every note. obviously im still in my honeymoon phase but ill report in after my bands show tomorrow night and let you know

JimmyM · #10 06-10-2010, 11:42 PM

i wouldn't say orange amps are supplanting ampeg as king tube, but man, they sure have been gaining in popularity. back in the day, most of us considered orange amps to be a bit ratty sounding. but now that ratty is in, orange is really getting popular.

tony_clifton · #11 06-11-2010, 02:37 AM

In my opinion Orange is nothing like Hiwatt. Somebody posted a camcorder movie of a TB, AD200 and Reeves bass amp and I prefer the Oranges over the Reeves/Hiwatt. Not that the latter is a bad amp, I bet it's design and built quality are way ahead of the Orange amps, but the Oranges were more 'my cup of tea'. Darker, less 'perfect'.

Musicman20 · #12 06-11-2010, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jordie65

ok got home a few hours ago and have been playing since. didn't get to a/b with the terror again but this thing is great. with the gain at about noon i get some really nice grit and then with the master on about 1 and a half the volume in my room was uncomfortably loud. the tone is just...thick! compared to my shuttlemax 12 (a great amp still) it feels like there is a tonne of bricks behind every note. obviously im still in my honeymoon phase but ill report in after my bands show tomorrow night and let you know

Thats exactly what I thought with the tone. Thick and HUGE. The nicest tube grit Ive ever heard.

GeneralElectric · #13 06-11-2010, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

i wouldn't say orange amps are supplanting ampeg as king tube, but man, they sure have been gaining in popularity. back in the day, most of us considered orange amps to be a bit ratty sounding. but now that ratty is in, orange is really getting popular.

It might just be, but Ampeg's name hasn't been doing so well these days, but they might just turn it around with their heritage series. I currently play Ampeg (I have an old B25 and an early Blueline SVT with a 1x15 and 8x10 cabs respectively) and I like the sound. I sold a USA Ampeg SVT-VR and its anemic sound didn't agree with me. I like their current production cabs (with the exception of the 810) but their heads just don't do it for me.

I haven't had hands on time with a full orange set up yet which is what I'd like to try.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tony_clifton

In my opinion Orange is nothing like Hiwatt. Somebody posted a camcorder movie of a TB, AD200 and Reeves bass amp and I prefer the Oranges over the Reeves/Hiwatt. Not that the latter is a bad amp, I bet it's design and built quality are way ahead of the Orange amps, but the Oranges were more 'my cup of tea'. Darker, less 'perfect'.

I saw the Tom Bowlus camcorder special as well, which sparked the GAS.

I greatly preferred the Orange AD200 over the other amps in the shoot out.

An uncle of mine is a bass player and I've played his hundred watt Hi-Watt before. It cranked really easy and had a raunchy tone similar to what I remember the Orange sounding like. Thick, gritty, and with plenty of punch.

johnk_10 · #14 06-12-2010, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

........... I sold a USA Ampeg SVT-VR and its anemic sound didn't agree with me................

hmmmmm. my SVT is anything but anemic, and it actually sounds identical to my '69 SVT, which makes me think that something wasn't up to snuff with yours.

Sartori · #15 06-12-2010, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tony_clifton

In my opinion Orange is nothing like Hiwatt. Somebody posted a camcorder movie of a TB, AD200 and Reeves bass amp and I prefer the Oranges over the Reeves/Hiwatt. Not that the latter is a bad amp, I bet it's design and built quality are way ahead of the Orange amps, but the Oranges were more 'my cup of tea'. Darker, less 'perfect'.

From what I've heard on here, Hiwatts are known for staying relatively clean at pretty high volumes, whereas Oranges are... well... not.

GeneralElectric · #16 06-12-2010, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnk_10

hmmmmm. my SVT is anything but anemic, and it actually sounds identical to my '69 SVT, which makes me think that something wasn't up to snuff with yours.

I bought the VR awhile back I believe it was an 02 SLM era SVT. It had a tendency to rattle tubes to death and the amp didn't thump. No amount of EQing could get a nice thick bass sound, it always sounded like someone took the balls out of it and it couldn't cut through a mix. I believe I had Sovteks in it when I had it. I gave Ampeg the old heave ho in my mind afterwards after owning a bunch of their heads and cabs. (Still own a pair of cabs from them, but I don't plan on buying anything soon)

A few months ago I got an Ampeg B25B and I was in tone heaven. A few weeks ago I got an SVT Blueline (1970, untouched with manual, hand tags, etc) for $1,000 off of a guy who bought it in the 70s to gig with but never got around to it. Its a great sounding amp and has a very thick grinding bass tone which I love, but its loud as hell and twice as heavy. Its sitting in my friend's basement on a flat back SVT cab that I found for $100 at a flea market last year. That VR and the other Ampeg heads I've used and owned almost put me off of Ampeg forever.

GeneralElectric · #17 06-12-2010, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sartori

From what I've heard on here, Hiwatts are known for staying relatively clean at pretty high volumes, whereas Oranges are... well... not.

Oranges have a high gain, I think, which causes the early break up. The HiWatt I had started getting some grit around noon to 1 oclock and then anything past that was ballsy distortion. One of my attractions to Orange is that I don't need to crank the thing and blow out my ear drums when I want some nice tube grit. Plus it'll afford me some headroom which I'll probably never get around to using.

Sartori · #18 06-12-2010, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

Oranges have a high gain, I think, which causes the early break up. The HiWatt I had started getting some grit around noon to 1 oclock and then anything past that was ballsy distortion. One of my attractions to Orange is that I don't need to crank the thing and blow out my ear drums when I want some nice tube grit. Plus it'll afford me some headroom which I'll probably never get around to using.

Yeah, given my tonal tastes, Orange would probably be better for me as well.

Musicman20 · #19 06-12-2010, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

Oranges have a high gain, I think, which causes the early break up. The HiWatt I had started getting some grit around noon to 1 oclock and then anything past that was ballsy distortion. One of my attractions to Orange is that I don't need to crank the thing and blow out my ear drums when I want some nice tube grit. Plus it'll afford me some headroom which I'll probably never get around to using.

Thats what works so well with Orange. The GAIN control is excellent.

Crank it to around 2/3, and the grit is just amazing. I couldn't believe it when I first heard it. Then you can have your volume at a level you require without being at ridiculously loud volumes.

jasper383 · #20 06-12-2010, 05:14 AM

Is there nowhere in NYC that you can try them?