Official Orange Club II

[Sascha Erni]

Regarding the 210 mini – is this a regional thing, or an older design? I have never seen one here in Switzerland, neither available nor in person, but I’ve only started to seriously looking into Orange gear (like, get some) last year.

 

[Iommian]

Regarding the 210 mini – is this a regional thing, or an older design? I have never seen one here in Switzerland, neither available nor in person, but I’ve only started to seriously looking into Orange gear (like, get some) last year.

It's a discontinued line, I believe from 2015. I do wish that they would reissue it as it's really a great cab and I would definitely buy another. I'm not sure though as to it's previous availability, mine is US made. Maybe they were not big sellers at the time?

 

[kbakerde]

For other AD200 users:

I've been looking around and have a hard time finding a straight answer on what is flat for the EQ. Is it the 2-10-2 Fender Bassman style, or is "flat" all EQ points at full up?

Second question is on the gain. I don't think I like the pre-amp overdrive of the amp. This goes for the limited time I had the Terror Bass 500 as well. I think ideally I'd keep the gain around 9 oclock or so, and certainly no higher than noon. Am I giving up too much power/volume keeping the gain that low? Or should I use the trick of diming the Master and using the Gain as my output volume? I cannot see ever needing to go past noon in that scenario.

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

For other AD200 users:

I've been looking around and have a hard time finding a straight answer on what is flat for the EQ. Is it the 2-10-2 Fender Bassman style, or is "flat" all EQ points at full up?

Second question is on the gain. I don't think I like the pre-amp overdrive of the amp. This goes for the limited time I had the Terror Bass 500 as well. I think ideally I'd keep the gain around 9 oclock or so, and certainly no higher than noon. Am I giving up too much power/volume keeping the gain that low? Or should I use the trick of diming the Master and using the Gain as my output volume? I cannot see ever needing to go past noon in that scenario.

I don't know if the AD200B has ever been reviewed in Bass Gear Magazine (as I'm way, way behind in my reading). If it has been, they typically show the control settings for "flat".

I found this unofficial schematic for the preamp. It suggests to my eye that it's more Fender like (or Marshall like) than not.

 

[theNecatoR]

For other AD200 users:

I've been looking around and have a hard time finding a straight answer on what is flat for the EQ. Is it the 2-10-2 Fender Bassman style, or is "flat" all EQ points at full up?

Second question is on the gain. I don't think I like the pre-amp overdrive of the amp. This goes for the limited time I had the Terror Bass 500 as well. I think ideally I'd keep the gain around 9 oclock or so, and certainly no higher than noon. Am I giving up too much power/volume keeping the gain that low? Or should I use the trick of diming the Master and using the Gain as my output volume? I cannot see ever needing to go past noon in that scenario.

I don't know if the AD200B has ever been reviewed in Bass Gear Magazine (as I'm way, way behind in my reading). If it has been, they typically show the control settings for "flat".

I found this unofficial schematic for the preamp. It suggests to my eye that it's more Fender like (or Marshall like) than not.

It is a long time ago that I read the review with a spectrometer, I don't even remember if it was Bass Gear. But I do remember the AD200B having a mid-scooped curve at noon. Flat was more 7 o'clock, Noon, 7 o'clock.
I'll try and find the article in the week.

 

[theNecatoR]

For other AD200 users:

I've been looking around and have a hard time finding a straight answer on what is flat for the EQ. Is it the 2-10-2 Fender Bassman style, or is "flat" all EQ points at full up?

Second question is on the gain. I don't think I like the pre-amp overdrive of the amp. This goes for the limited time I had the Terror Bass 500 as well. I think ideally I'd keep the gain around 9 oclock or so, and certainly no higher than noon. Am I giving up too much power/volume keeping the gain that low? Or should I use the trick of diming the Master and using the Gain as my output volume? I cannot see ever needing to go past noon in that scenario.

I don't know if the AD200B has ever been reviewed in Bass Gear Magazine (as I'm way, way behind in my reading). If it has been, they typically show the control settings for "flat".

I found this unofficial schematic for the preamp. It suggests to my eye that it's more Fender like (or Marshall like) than not.

Page 49:

https://bassgearmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Issue13.pdf

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Page 49:

https://bassgearmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Issue13.pdf

Thanks!!! So it appears that flat is about 0 - 10 - 2.

 

[Ronnie Robinson]

Another proud owner of an Orange Amp....this time the Little Bass thing ....

 

[Lammchop93]

is it just me, or would other people be interested in a 50 watt version of the AD200B? I was just thinking Orange should make their version of the Ampeg PF50, that is all tube. it would be a killer home/studio amp

 

[Ronnie Robinson]

Would there be a market for such ? It would likely be quite expensive and between the bass terror and the LBT these cover a lot of ground. The LBT also seems to be a very good recording amp.

 

[theNecatoR]

is it just me, or would other people be interested in a 50 watt version of the AD200B? I was just thinking Orange should make their version of the Ampeg PF50, that is all tube. it would be a killer home/studio amp

Would there be a market for such ? It would likely be quite expensive and between the bass terror and the LBT these cover a lot of ground. The LBT also seems to be a very good recording amp.

Well there were the AD50, the Retro 50, AD30H (and to a lesser extent the AD30R and AD15 combos), and there's the AD30HTC. I haven't analyzed the schematics, but their architecture should be very close to the AD200B. So I guess a couple of capacitors and changing the transformer wiring and you're there.

 

[Sascha Erni]

Thanks!!! So it appears that flat is about 0 - 10 - 2.

That's what I was told by Orange after asking about the Terror Bass, which apparently has a very similar (if not identical) tone section. They said (1-2)-10-(2-3), so 0-10-2 seems about right as a general rule of thumb.

 

[kbakerde]

is it just me, or would other people be interested in a 50 watt version of the AD200B? I was just thinking Orange should make their version of the Ampeg PF50, that is all tube. it would be a killer home/studio amp

I think instead of a 50w version, I think an updated version of the head with 2 ohms capable, Speakons, and XLR and switch to go from 200 to 50 or whatever would be better. But, part of their selling point is simplicity without a complicated signal path.

 

[Lammchop93]

I think instead of a 50w version, I think an updated version of the head with 2 ohms capable, Speakons, and XLR and switch to go from 200 to 50 or whatever would be better. But, part of their selling point is simplicity without a complicated signal path.

I don’t think any of those things complicate a circuit. That’s just adding modern features. None of that affects the simple preamp circuit. I’m not an expert of tube amps by any means, but couldn’t you reduce the wattage by simply removing a couple of the power tubes? A switch would just bypass a set number of tubes to cut the wattage by 1/2 for 100 watts, or even 3/4 if you wanted 50 watts.

 

[kbakerde]

Thanks!!! So it appears that flat is about 0 - 10 - 2.

That's what I was told by Orange after asking about the Terror Bass, which apparently has a very similar (if not identical) tone section. They said (1-2)-10-(2-3), so 0-10-2 seems about right as a general rule of thumb.

thanks guys. So I got my amp back from the tech after bias and cleaning. It still sounds like the same amp, just better. Last night was band rehearsal, and it sounded a lot better than before. Here are the differences:

1. I used my own cabinet, custom 2x12 with Faitals
2. I started from true flat and tweaked from there
3. I dimed the master and used gain to control the volume

The sound I got was cleaner, fuller and punchier than before. I think as long as I keep the gain below noon, I keep the fuzz away, and I really like the sound.

 

[theNecatoR]

I think instead of a 50w version, I think an updated version of the head with 2 ohms capable, Speakons, and XLR and switch to go from 200 to 50 or whatever would be better. But, part of their selling point is simplicity without a complicated signal path.

I now must add 2Ohm capability, speakons and a headroom/bedroom switch to my dream amp.

 

[BassGreaser]

I just placed an order for a new AD200B and it should be here tomorrow!

 

[BassGreaser]

I think part of their selling point is simplicity without a complicated signal path.

This is exactly why I chose the AD200B instead of an Ampeg V4B or SVT.

passive tone stack (like the Bassman 135 I use to gig) an extremely simple design.

 

[kbakerde]

View attachment 4038321 I just placed an order for a new AD200B and it should be here tomorrow!

Were you on the wait list for the black from Sweetwater?

 

[kbakerde]

This is exactly why I chose the AD200B instead of an Ampeg V4B or SVT.

passive tone stack (like the Bassman 135 I use to gig) an extremely simple design.

My AD200 is replacing a Bassman 135