No love for orange amps? Recommend something else?

Instant Dan · February 08, 2014, 02:03:41 PM

RAGER summed it up perfectly, just completely different beasts. For your money and what Orange is currently selling, you could buy a used Mesa Boogie and still have money left over.

Anyway, as others mentioned, bands like The Sword (on their first album) and Elder use distortion pedals into high wattage clean amps.

TL;DR - buy an amp modeler/online amp simulation for practicing in the apartment and save the big wattage amps for band practice.

The Riffer · February 08, 2014, 02:07:04 PM

Quote from: RAGER on February 08, 2014, 01:17:40 PM
Doom/sludge/stonerrocker/golfer/club member
IMAGE! I got all the brand names.

Me too! I'm IN!, oh so IN!

Quote from: Instant Dan on February 08, 2014, 02:03:41 PM

Anyway, as others mentioned, bands like The Sword (on their first album) and Elder use distortion pedals into high wattage clean amps.

I'm in there too! Dude from Elder uses a Pharaoh..or so Ive heard.

Cursed71 · February 08, 2014, 08:37:14 PM

Fuck yeah! When I saw Elder a while back he was using a RAT, but said after the show that he wanted a Pharoah.

sanovine · February 09, 2014, 12:40:05 PM

So basically, anything goes, is that it?

I gather good tone can come from either the amp, or from a clean amp with a bunch of pedals. So in that case, isn't it a lot cheaper to change tone by varying the pedalboard? After a year or two it's just try a different fuzz or something, where you get stuck with more limited tone from the amp?

How do you go about making this kind of decision? Hours in the guitar store with the amps cranked?

everdrone · February 09, 2014, 01:22:44 PM

ya orange is a cool image, they dont make really low gain amps

the TH orange series is affordable if you like higher gain for sludge applications. they run about $1000 new, so not that bad http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/orange-amplifiers-th30h-30w-tube-guitar-amp-head

you can find em on sale; I did

christmas sales work wonders, 15% off.

liquidsmoke · February 09, 2014, 03:58:08 PM

Quote from: sanovine on February 09, 2014, 12:40:05 PM
So basically, anything goes, is that it?

I gather good tone can come from either the amp, or from a clean amp with a bunch of pedals. So in that case, isn't it a lot cheaper to change tone by varying the pedalboard? After a year or two it's just try a different fuzz or something, where you get stuck with more limited tone from the amp?

How do you go about making this kind of decision? Hours in the guitar store with the amps cranked?

Most music equipment stores are not okay with people cranking amps for hours. You generally want to ask them if it's cool if you turn up loud. Reading lots of reviews can help you cross amps off your list. In some cases a new fuzz pedal can cost as much as a used tube amp. There are a lot of tones you can't get just from an amp but the tone knobs and pickups on your guitar can help a lot.

My first tube amp was a Peavey Classic 30 combo. If I remember correctly it was capable of producing moderately loud clean tones as well as mid level distorted sounds, not enough for death metal but plenty for stoner/heavy/classic/hard rock sounds. At that time I had the US made Electro Harmonix Big Muff, a Boss Metal Zone, and I think a Pro Co Rat. I experimented a lot with these pedals, blending their distortion with the amp's distortions for mega sludgy tones and running them into the amp set more clean. These are very common pedals that you can get pretty cheap used and even sometimes new. For the sounds you are going after you might want to at least check out a Big Muff, of which there are different versions and clones made by other builders, and the Rat for which the same also applies. This is kind of stoner rock/metal 101. There are more modern boutique pedals that might be closer to your liking that folks here can recommend, I'm not very knowledgeable on most of them myself.

For amps, that $1,000 Orange sounds like an okay idea if you think 30 watts would be loud enough for you. With pedals it's hard for me to imagine a Fender Bassman or clone or Marshall JTM/'Plexi'/JMP/etc or clone doing you wrong. If you do enough Google searching and research you might be able to get lucky and hit the nail on the head with your first purchase. If I was you I'd probably get a used high gain Peavey amp that has a clean channel, despite that this is not really a super common amp used by people that are going for the type of sound you want, and some type of thick fuzz pedal. I have an Analog Man Dark Peppermint Fuzz but I bought it to do more exaggerated '60s fuzz sounds, not so much for 'stoner' sounds per say.

dogfood · February 10, 2014, 01:32:23 AM

too much?

Les Paul, 1970's Custom, see volute, most likely T Tops, some tape echo, shit tons of EH fuzz, and big orange amps. Mostly what I'm hearing here is the EH Fuzz.

Nash Kato from Urge Overkill played live and recorded with an old Orange untill stolen in Philly...fuck you Bobby Clarke...while recording, I want to say Exit The Dragon, I was high when I had the conversation in 90something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aqif69-Hn4

BrianDamage · February 10, 2014, 10:45:09 AM

I just got back from hell aka guitar center and checked out the new solid state head from Orange. CR120 I believe is what it is named. The only thing I could see the dirty channel being useful for is as a lead tone but the clean channel dimed with a p90 equipped guitar sounds exactly like early Black Sabbath. I actually like the tone better than the modern era tube amps from orange. I am apparently lame or something I guess.

Edited due to stonery forgetfulness to add : I had to fuck with the eq for quite a while to find that tone but it is in there.

dunwichamps · February 10, 2014, 03:38:38 PM

Quote from: The Riffer on February 08, 2014, 02:07:04 PM
Quote from: RAGER on February 08, 2014, 01:17:40 PM
Doom/sludge/stonerrocker/golfer/club member
IMAGE! I got all the brand names.
Me too! I'm IN!, oh so IN!

Quote from: Instant Dan on February 08, 2014, 02:03:41 PM

Anyway, as others mentioned, bands like The Sword (on their first album) and Elder use distortion pedals into high wattage clean amps.

I'm in there too! Dude from Elder uses a Pharaoh..or so Ive heard.

yes he does. Saw them right before he took a trip to Europe to teach in Germany and he was rocking a white and black pharaoh.

RacerX · February 22, 2014, 02:33:21 PM

I'll just leave this here...

Mr. Foxen · February 22, 2014, 03:06:33 PM

Quote from: dogfood on February 10, 2014, 01:32:23 AM

Mostly what I'm hearing here is the EH Fuzz.

Well, its not the amps what with them not being plugged in.

RAGER · February 22, 2014, 04:29:27 PM

Yeah no shit. What does she think she's at the Stupor Bowl.

sanovine · February 23, 2014, 09:45:38 AM

I just built a copy of a Pharaoh and am loving it.

VOLVO))) · February 23, 2014, 11:35:32 AM

fxloops.

everdrone · February 23, 2014, 12:46:25 PM

I recommend orange

citrus, vitamin C. stop the scurvy! My current rig, sounds great for SLUDGE:

Instant Dan · February 23, 2014, 01:42:41 PM

A noise decimator?!

Jake · February 23, 2014, 01:47:13 PM

When that Pharoah is on GE+SI mode, it can be a noisy little fella. I know others who "Decimate" them too.

RAGER · February 23, 2014, 05:35:26 PM

Pussies. Gawd dammm that thing gives a rich creamy dripping sound for leads on the verge of insanity. Love my pharaoh.

everdrone · February 23, 2014, 07:28:50 PM

lol

there is such a thing on a pedal as an off button!!!

I use it only for certain things and ya that decimator gets the most hate, a lot of hatas want me to justify my spending habitz but I dont botha, I just rock on!!!

also fyi to themz that I use all premium monster cables / cords and premium furman to increase my tonez

Lumpy · February 23, 2014, 07:47:12 PM

With a noise gate, you don't have to be near your pedalboard to stop shrieking, you just have to damp your strings.

sanovine · February 25, 2014, 03:33:28 AM

Here's my DIY pharaoh, with gold leaf sun on it.