By Darren Carless

Technology these days allows us to do all kinds of weird and wonderful things. We can put the kettle to boil before getting out of bed or control the heating in our homes whilst out and about via our mobile phone (no idea why you would really need to do either personally but each to their own). Technology it seems has worked its way into every corner of our lives and the world of the guitar player hasn’t escaped its influence either.

As guitar players we can now alter the characteristics of our guitars without doing anything physical to the guitar itself (e.g. Fender’s American Deluxe Stratocaster Plus with sound card). We can even change the voice of our pedals by downloading a new one (e.g. TC Electronics Toneprint) without too much hassle but is it all as fantastic as it seems or have we just been blinded by science?

This question does not apply to cell phones. We should never wish for the return of old cell phones

Travel back even only a few decades and your average guitarist had zero or very little access to anything that could be deemed hi-tech (by today’s standards anyway) but they were still able to conjure up tones and sounds that modern guitar players use as the benchmark for everything else and deem to be ‘classic’. So why is it that in our pursuit of our dream sound or perfect setup we place so much importance on what a bit of kit can do in addition to what its predecessors were able to do?

Don’t get me wrong…technology allows us to do some great things when it comes to music. Without advances in technology solid state amplifiers wouldn’t be as available which could’ve meant that a lot of guitarists would be without an amplifier (and the world is a sadder place with even one less guitar player). Modeling Amplifiers (which give many people access to sounds / tones and possibilities that otherwise they would never have had) wouldn’t exist. We wouldn’t have access to the wide range of effects that many of us employ so easily today (delay / echo pedals used to be a hell of a lot bigger and very expensive). Even the world of recording has been turned on its head with the invention of software such as Pro-tools and Logic, and with technology becoming ever more affordable recording no longer needs to be a massive expense and can be done from the comfort of your own home. You can even check your own valves at home now with devices such as Orange’s VT1000 valve tester which would have been un-thought of even only 10 or so years ago.

VT1000 Valve Tester

But bearing all of this in mind, if technology is now the ‘norm’ and a very important consideration when it comes to choosing a new guitar or amplifier; how come we still crave the inventions of yesteryear more? A whole host of effects pedals pride themselves on being analogue (hell some manufacturers even produce full tape delays such as those used in the 60’s). The holy-grail as far as many guitar players are concerned when it comes to amplifiers is a valve amplifier and not a modern solid-state technological wonder. If you buy a guitar, in general terms, the older it gets the more expensive it gets but it’s only a block of wood (we’re only saying this for emphasis) and it can’t even tune itself. Even many of the professionals seek the glory of the past and insist on vintage parts being used in their signature products in an attempt to emulate their heroes.

Fulltone’s Tube Tape Echo: a modern take on a vintage classic

So is it just a case that technology can sometimes go too far and in fact makes things more complicated than they need to be? Many people are old fashioned when it comes to their gear and like things to do what it says on the tin. For instance if you buy a Gibson Les Paul surely you want it to sound like a Gibson Les Paul, so does it need to have coil splitting pickups or a boost switch? For some they may be a really useful addition but are they a necessity?

If Gibson made a Guitar Hero controller…

The question is do we really need all of the things that technology can offer us when it comes to music (and we’re not talking about manufacturing processes or materials). When a lot of the music that we love today was created they didn’t have any of the technology we have today but they were still able to craft some of the most breathtaking and endearing music ever heard…and it’s still listened to today and held in as high a regard. So next time you’re thinking of picking up a new piece of gear that has the latest technological improvements ask yourself do you really need it to have that extra knob or switch or do you just need it to do its job?

By Chris Corfield

As you know, Orange is blessed with a rich heritage. And, as with any company out there in the public realm, we have had to observe a range of myths, mistruths and misunderstandings about our history. Well, we simply won’t stand for it any longer. You guys deserve the truth. So, we’ve collected a small sample of some of the tallest tales out there (and totally haven’t made them up for the purposes of a blog) and we ask you to hear us out as we put things straight.

1. Company History
The history of this company is interesting enough that it doesn’t need embellishing, yet that hasn’t stopped some people speculating that we were in fact borne out of a lost bet between two warring Viking families in the 10th century.

The (totally false) story goes that Bjorn, a noble warrior from Oslo, created a device in his shed (Vikings definitely had sheds, right?) which would summon forth a range a low-end frequencies so powerful it would negate the need for all that needless pillaging. Villages would be cleared and riches amassed without all the bloodshed. We’ve all heard of brown noise, and the supposed bowel-loosening powers it has. It’s used in crowd control situations to make thousands of people at a time need the toilet. Well, yeah. That was his plan. See, Bjorn was a kindly soul who begrudged his fellow warriors’ lust for violence and sought a peaceful alternative. The only problem was his neighbour, Tor, thought this was absurd and belittled Bjorn’s invention.

The two decided a wager was the only way to settle things and, with Tor full to the brim with wild boar and mead, Bjorn engaged his fledgling machine. Unfortunately, with the device still in its prototype stage, there was no evacuation forthcoming from Tor and the bet was lost. As payback, it was decreed that any successful builds in the future must bear the name of Tor’s favourite post-slaughter citrus snack.

Today’s brown note-inducing technology has improved greatly

Clearly, this is nonsense. Orange was created in the UK in the 1960s by a man called Cliff. No Vikings, no bets, and certainly no brown noise.

2. Frequencies of choice
It’s often said an Orange Amp can coax a world of musical frequencies entirely of its own making. What’s perhaps less known, if you believe the internet, is the rare power contained precisely within the 481.276 Hz range, famously accessible only through an Orange.

Legend has it that amphibious alpha-male villain The Kraken is not only real, but it attacked a small fishing village in Eastern Europe in the early 1980s. Residents of the village were, understandably, quite shocked at its appearance and tried a host of tactics to send it away. After little success using rudimentary small weapons and stern language, a local guitar player arrived with his trusty OR120. After locating the golden 481.276 HZ frequency, a stoutly delivered G Major chord was all that was required to rid the people of this foul beast.

We’re British so we are legally obligated to use this meme at least once a year.

Great story. Not true.

3. Origins of the shape knob
The shape knob, found on our Thunderverb, TH and Terror amps, has an interesting back story if you believe certain tales.

Apparently Orange originally intended them to physically change the shape of the amps on which they were installed in order for them to squeeze into small spaces. A quick turn of the knob would enable the amp to switch between landscape and portrait mode, or even reduce it to around 37% of its original dimensions. This, they thought, would give them an advantage on smaller stages and offer working musicians a clear benefit when it came to packing up their vans and cars after a show.

After years of research and countless millions spent on structural engineering and mechanical design, the company realised this was blatantly a ridiculous idea and shelved it. It was only when the initial Terror range was planned that Orange’s designers remembered they had a job lot of ‘shape’ knobs sat in the warehouse and set about finding a way to incorporate them with their new EQ system.

Sadly, this is not true either.

4. Orange hates pedals
You may have seen our recent entry into the pedal market with the Bax Bangeetar. Took us long enough but we got there. We’re right at your feet now. Why did it take so long? We’ve heard speculation it’s because Orange hates guitar pedals, believing them to be tiny little boxes of hate sucking away at our glorious tone. Simply not true.

No ridiculous back story, no crazy urban myths. The reason it took us so long to get a pedal out is simply because we wanted to do it right. Sorry if that’s boring, but it’s true.

5. Pics only
We’ll round off this informative list with a classic. You may already know our early amps gained fame for the lack of writing on the front. The intuitively-named Pics Only models used small hieroglyphic-style etchings to signify each control, and people got by just fine. So much so, we brought them back with the OR50 and OR15.

There has been plenty of forum-chatter over why we took this bold design choice back in the day. Classic British sense of humour? Doodles by the work experience kid? Or, our personal favourite, nobody who works at Orange can read or write? Think about it guys, they’re engineers. These guys are so clever they have to wrap their heads up at night so the knowledge doesn’t tumble out their ears as they sleep.

No, unfortunately, the truth is much more utilitarian. The reason why we use pictures on the front of our amps is so that everyone can understand the knobs without language barriers. Orange is, after all, the “Voice of the World.”

We hope you’re not too let down by the information listed above. Nothing like letting the facts get in the way of a good story, but the truth is we make exceptional amplifiers, and have done for almost 50 years. No Vikings, no foul sea-beasts, no shape-shifting and definitely no illiterate engineers. And, in this age of right-to-reply, it’s only fair we got a chance to put things straight.