Hi Guys and Girls. My first post here, but not my first post by any means, so here goes.
I have an Orange AD200 bass rig (see signature) and it sounds amazing. Everything you've ever heard about the tone from these amps is true, and maybe a little more. Yes, it sounds different (I won't say better, although I could....) to an SVT. Currently, I have NOS Rca tubes in the pre-amp (2x ECC83, 1x ECC81), and Svetlana 'S' tubes (KT88's) up the back. None of these tubes are original. The pre-amp tubes i fitted myself, but the KT88's were fitted by a tech, who claimed that the old bias was 'ok' (he checked). The original tubes were EH 6550's.
Now to my issue.
As you can probably also see in my signature, I also have a S/S amp. Although capable of driving 4 (yes 4!) 8 ohm cabs for a total of 1200W RMS, with one cab it's only putting out 300W. More than enough for most gigs i thought. That's why i bought it years ago. Oh, for anyone that thinks that S/S amps are light compared to Valves, think again. This amp weighs at least as much if not more than the Orange head. It would make a great boat anchor I'm sure.....
So....what's my point?
The Orange is reeeeeeally quiet compared to the Trace.
So quiet that even in rehearsals I have issues hearing myself over our drummer who admittedly is fairly enthusiastic, and two guitars with a Vox AC50 (an old bass head!) and an old Fender twin.
Am I having a whinge? I just thought that the Orange would be enough. I was considering purchasing the matching 15" cabinet as well, but I'm not so sure now. For reference, I've hooked both heads to both cabinets and the Orange box is definitely more efficient than the Trace box. I've called the guys at Orange HQ, and they think I'm nuts for thinking that 200W might not be enough. The Orange forum guys think I'm a sook, and to be honest I'm thinking that I might be!
My current level of observation is this:
There's probably something not quite right with my amp (duh)
I bought the amp from the USA online (the same tech re-tapped the transformer for 240V, maybe this is the cause...)
The Orange power light on the front does weird things. It flickers, goes from full on to completely off for no reason. Doesn't affect the sound, but maybe it's an indicator of something else?
There's maybe someone out there who has had something similar occur to them?
I know there's stacks of people playing with 200W valve amps (coldplay, the hives, the dude from weezer uses an old Orange OR120 which is 120W) so I find it hard to believe that 200W isn't enough. I'm a soundy as well, so I know that a 300W amp should be barely any louder! Especially when you factor in the less efficeient cabinet of the Trace.
Theories anyone? Welcoming your attentiveness for reading this far
I have an Orange AD200 bass rig (see signature) and it sounds amazing. Everything you've ever heard about the tone from these amps is true, and maybe a little more. Yes, it sounds different (I won't say better, although I could....) to an SVT. Currently, I have NOS Rca tubes in the pre-amp (2x ECC83, 1x ECC81), and Svetlana 'S' tubes (KT88's) up the back. None of these tubes are original. The pre-amp tubes i fitted myself, but the KT88's were fitted by a tech, who claimed that the old bias was 'ok' (he checked). The original tubes were EH 6550's.
Now to my issue.
As you can probably also see in my signature, I also have a S/S amp. Although capable of driving 4 (yes 4!) 8 ohm cabs for a total of 1200W RMS, with one cab it's only putting out 300W. More than enough for most gigs i thought. That's why i bought it years ago. Oh, for anyone that thinks that S/S amps are light compared to Valves, think again. This amp weighs at least as much if not more than the Orange head. It would make a great boat anchor I'm sure.....
So....what's my point?
The Orange is reeeeeeally quiet compared to the Trace.
So quiet that even in rehearsals I have issues hearing myself over our drummer who admittedly is fairly enthusiastic, and two guitars with a Vox AC50 (an old bass head!) and an old Fender twin.
Am I having a whinge? I just thought that the Orange would be enough. I was considering purchasing the matching 15" cabinet as well, but I'm not so sure now. For reference, I've hooked both heads to both cabinets and the Orange box is definitely more efficient than the Trace box. I've called the guys at Orange HQ, and they think I'm nuts for thinking that 200W might not be enough. The Orange forum guys think I'm a sook, and to be honest I'm thinking that I might be!
My current level of observation is this:
There's probably something not quite right with my amp (duh)
I bought the amp from the USA online (the same tech re-tapped the transformer for 240V, maybe this is the cause...)
The Orange power light on the front does weird things. It flickers, goes from full on to completely off for no reason. Doesn't affect the sound, but maybe it's an indicator of something else?
There's maybe someone out there who has had something similar occur to them?
I know there's stacks of people playing with 200W valve amps (coldplay, the hives, the dude from weezer uses an old Orange OR120 which is 120W) so I find it hard to believe that 200W isn't enough. I'm a soundy as well, so I know that a 300W amp should be barely any louder! Especially when you factor in the less efficeient cabinet of the Trace.
Theories anyone? Welcoming your attentiveness for reading this far
