Orange Amplification
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orange Amplification is a British electric guitar and PA amplifier manufacturing company, famous for its distinctive bright orange tolex covering on amplifier heads and speaker cabinets. It was founded in 1968 by Clifford Cooper of London. Orange amps and P.A. (public address) were made by Clifford Cooper. Orange started as a recording studio which featured an IBC mixing console originally owned by Joe Meek, as he was recorded by him in the mid-60s with his band The Millionaires.
From 1995 until 2006, Cliff Cooper made Orange amplifiers in England, with the exception of the small Crush Practice Combo amps, which are made in Korea. The completion of a new manufacturing plant in the United States signifies that only the US-distributed Oranges cabinets are made in the States, while valve amps are still manufactured in England.
Orange amplifiers are primarily high-gain valve (or vacuum tube in North America) amp heads, designed to be coupled with a matching speaker cabinet. Their most popular guitar amplifiers were the OR120, usually referred to as the "graphic" model for its use of graphics instead of text to indicate each knob's function, and the later OD120 overdrive model which was equipped with a master volume control. Most guitar amps were based on output circuitry which used the EL34 tubes popular among British manufacturers like Marshall Amplifiers and Hiwatt, and were available in the separate amp head and speaker cabinet format.
In the 1970s, Orange also made 'hybrid' PA amps that coupled a solid state mixer stage with a tube (valve) power stage. In recent years, Orange has also produced guitar combo amps (speaker and amplifier in one assembly), as well as amplifiers for bass guitar and other audio products.
Orange Amps have been used and endorsed by many rock guitarists, including Ryan Siegel and Keith Allen of The Rivalry, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Thomas Erak of The Fall of Troy, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta, Wata, guitarist for Boris, Tim Young, guitarist of The Youngs, Zony Mash and David Sylvian, Cody Votolato, guitarist for The Blood Brothers, Jim Ward and Keeley Davis of Sparta, Matt Sharp of Weezer, Jeremiah Cooper of The Awesome Miami, The Edge of U2, Andy Dunlop of Travis, Ryan Jarman of The Cribs, Tom Linton of Jimmy Eat World, James Bowman of Against Me!, Jake Hawley of The New Transit Direction, Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, Bryant Williamson of Cinemechanica, Stu G of Delirious and Noel Gallagher of Oasis.
In the late 90's and early 00's, Orange also made a range of very successful all-tube combos, such as the AD 15/12 and the AD 30R. The AD 15/12, a Class A, single speaker, 15 watt model, is now out of production and highly sought after.
[edit] Crush Series
Orange also offers a line of small practice amps called the Crush Amps. There are both guitar and bass amps that range from about 10 watts to 35 watts. The bass amps have a black grille and the guitars have a light yellowish color. This is the same throughout guitar amps as well. The crush is perfect for band practice with silent revenge or just having a garage jam.
