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Orange

B

bluewine

Inactive
Sep 4, 2008
10,296
27
WI
#1
I'm a GK Guy, I use an Ultra Light combo, the one with 2. 10s at rehearsals.

For gigs I use 2 GK rb1001s, one is for back up. I usually run it through an RBX 115 with an RBX 2 10 stacked.

I have always thought Orange seemed like a very cool tube bass amp but I have never played through one and I don't know much about them except they are expensive.

Seems like when I check the specs against other brands they are way over priced.

Any Orange specialist shed ant light on Orange value?
 
#4
countrybass007 said:
My Orange Tiny Terror bass 500 does an excellent job with an Orange SP212. It's a small, light rig that produces some serious earth shaking bass. I think Orange holds it's own against any brand I've heard.
Click to expand...

100% agree... I have the same rig and it really is all I would ever want or really need in such a small package.
 
#7
Downunder my Orange AD200 cost me just over half the price of my Ampeg SVT VR. Its value is relative to the import restrictions placed on it, and it clearly costs more relative to the SVT in the states. That said, it is a great amp, tonally quite different to the SVT but it always gets compliments on sound and looks.
 
#8
bluewine said:
I'm a GK Guy, I use an Ultra Light combo, the one with 2. 10s at rehearsals.

For gigs I use 2 GK rb1001s, one is for back up. I usually run it through an RBX 115 with an RBX 2 10 stacked.

I have always thought Orange seemed like a very cool tube bass amp but I have never played through one and I don't know much about them except they are expensive.

Seems like when I check the specs against other brands they are way over priced.
Any Orange specialist shed ant light on Orange value?
Click to expand...

There are several threads addressing opinions of the relative value of the Orange AD200B. Suffice to say for around $2400 USD there are a lot of well constructed, hand built boutique quality all tube options available, and for well less than half that in the US market there are many mass produced Orange build comparable amps with a lot more features.

IMO the AD200 sounds pretty good and looks cool, albeit without a whole bunch of clean headroom.
 
#9
The orange ad200 is the best head I've ever played through. I switched from using an acoustic b200 combo amp with a single 15" and a 212 gk ultralight combo. I don't think I've touched either of those amps since I got my orange except to see how much better the tubes through my single 15" orange cab sound.
 
#10
I'd look at the Reeves Custom 225 for the same money:

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Not knocking Orange at all but that's where I would send $2500 if I was a new gear buyer. Built like Orange used to be built.
 
#12
bluewine said:
Seems like when I check the specs against other brands they are way over priced.
Click to expand...
Any new Orange amp is over-priced. Used prices vary a bit.

The vintage Matamp-era Orange amps are really great and have completely different circuits. A vintage OR200 has much more clean headroom and better build quality compared to a modern AD200.

Some people like the grindy sound of an AD200, but nobody likes to have power tube sockets soldered to a printed circuit board. That's begging for unreliability at gigs.

The newer ones are the result of a marketing ploy with brand recognition. Vintage and newer Orange share nothing in common except logo & aesthetics.

Among newer amps for similar prices, certain boutique brands are far better: Morgan, Reeves, Reinhardt, Divided by 13, Granger, etc.
 
#13
I've played a few of their modern heads in recent years and... no thanks.

For the price they want you could get something much better. You can find some decent deals on the used market on occasion, but I would highly suggest skipping on them if you were planning to buy new.
 
#14
I first played the AD200 through the Orange ported bass cabs and thought 'meh'. Then I put it through an Ampeg 8x10 and thought 'wow'. One of the best sounds I've heard and volume was definitely not an issue.
 
#15
edbass said:
There are several threads addressing opinions of the relative value of the Orange AD200B. Suffice to say for around $2400 USD there are a lot of well constructed, hand built boutique quality all tube options available, and for well less than half that in the US market there are many mass produced Orange build comparable amps with a lot more features.

IMO the AD200 sounds pretty good and looks cool, albeit without a whole bunch of clean headroom.
Click to expand...

Could you point me in the direction of the mass produced Orange build comparable tube amps that cost less than $1200?
 
#19
I just picked up an AD200 used from the classifieds, with kt88's. It nails the sound I've been hearing in my head, plug in and play. Needless to say I'm stoked. If I were to buy one new, at the retail price, I would put a bit more money into a Matamp. However, at the price I bought my Orange for, I would do it again in a heartbeat.
 

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