Orange

[Devon8822]

I keep seeing these Orange cabs being used with boogie and other heads all the time live. Why are these so popular, how do they sound?

[RSVampire]

I think they are popular because they are just cheaper than Mesa cabs.

ha ha ha

I love the way the Mesa cabs sound but come on man $800+ for a 4x12 cab is a bit rediculous!

[elcid]

Orange cabs definitely arent cheap, but they are awesome.
Have you priced them or are you just guessing?

[reguv760]

... they're relatively in the same price range (new or used) though Orange cabs usually are a little bit pricier than a Mesa 4x12's in the same condition/same speakers.
I suspect that Orange cabs are a slightly "thicker" than Mesa's; even then, I personally think cause of the orange tolex :P
Now if Mesa offered orange Rectifiers or Mark IV/V's... hah!

Reg

[kotornut]

I was in a band with a guy who used to run his dual rec through an orange cab. He, at first, had a marshall cab and the orange was an improvement IMO. But he honestly bought it 'cause it was orange and this was a few years back at the start of the Orange resurgance. However, when we compared it to my Mesa cab I thought the Mesa cab was more defined and tighter, the Orange cab had a more open sound. Percussive playing and fast passages were more defined witht he mesa cab, large full chord sounds were better with the orange. All in all there wasn't a huge difference though.


Now that friend playes a Rockerverb through the cab and I guess he's happy. But he was a constantly gear changing type of guy. I'm a find what I love and stick to it guy. So you never knew how he felt about his gear and for how long, sometimes he would only have something for a month or two.

[Darin]

I don't like the Orange amps....at all, if you just sitting in front of it. But they do sound good mic'd through a PA. Kinda like a some Mesa stuff.

[kotornut]

Originally Posted by Darin

I don't like the Orange amps....at all, if you just sitting in front of it. But they do sound good mic'd through a PA. Kinda like a some Mesa stuff.

I'm a Mesa man deep down inside even though I no longer have one or can afford one. I had one for nearly 10 years and it never ever had any problems, it always sounded killer, people playing a lot of other popular ams asked how I got my tone and were alwyas complementary, I never needed a backup even thoug I gigged 3 times a month. Beautiful amp, I loved it. Single Rectifier first generation.

The Oranges, eh well not terrible but I think they are a bit gimicky. I know some people use them just for the color. Some sound pretty good but you can do just as well through a lot of other amps for less.

[elcid]

My Orange is awesome. If you need to look at something in terms of gimmicky or not, almost everything has it's gimmick, it's up to the user to see past it. I've had 2 Mesas and would never buy another one.

[Darin]

I've had 3 Mesa's and spent time with Orange amps a the local store. The Orange I liked the best was thew Tiny Terror, just because it had low level usable gain. But all the other Orange amps, though they rocked pretty hard and had a great bite to them. Just did nothing for me int he way of noddling around. The older Mesa stuff was noddle friendly, but the newer stuff doesn't seem to be as well suited for shredders.

[kotornut]

Originally Posted by elcid

My Orange is awesome. If you need to look at something in terms of gimmicky or not, almost everything has it's gimmick, it's up to the user to see past it. I've had 2 Mesas and would never buy another one.

Fair enough, to each his own. But I'm not into the Orange sound at all, and I don't have to be.