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Hello everybody, I’m Simone Vignola bassist and songwriter from Italy. Today, I’m here with my best travelling partner – This Orange Amplifier that I use both in live and studio sessions. You just listened to “Naufrago” It is my last album’s title track.

I’m playing these songs live just with bass and vocals as an evolution of my solo project which gives me the opportunity to play by myself with bass and vocals along with a complete background sound, the sound I can build thanks to this amplifier. Actually, the head I’m using is the new Terror Bass, a very new model which kind of looks like the Terror Bass 1000s little sister that I used during the last period.

A simple amplifier is what I need, I can control bass, mids and high in an easy and vintage way simply with a little knob. Just volume and gain and I can reach without any other additional gear a sound that seems already compressed and controllable even when I play with my loop station.

Obviously, my followers know that my style is funky oriented and Orange is often considered a rock amplifier but now we’ll try to change this point of view like transforming a cap into a hat and so the transformation of a rock amplifier into a funky one. I’m very very happy to talk about this.

Moreover here we have the isobaric 2×12 cabinet. There are two 12″ front facing speakers in an isobaric way. An excellent product that gives us a full low range covering but also a nice presence for slapping and for those techniques I like to use, so it gives me a great sound support. And today, this amplifier supports the Bellavista’s horse too. It was part of this video.

Goodbye everybody with another song called “Love Song.” A kiss.

Sarah Jane, take us back to the beginning – what triggered your interest in music?
Sarah Jane: I come from a musical household where my dad would experiment with home made hi-fi speakers and play bands such as The Beatles, Beach Boys, Johnny Cash and Dylan, as well as church and choral music. My mum, brother and sisters were also into music and would dabble in guitar, piano and singing. When high school came around, my older brother introduced me to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Doors, and it was around this time I bought one of my first records which was Hendrix live. After that I just wanted to play guitar like him, he was a huge inspiration! Strawberry Fields was also a mind blowing experience when I first heard it.

When I was around 18 I started playing my brother’s Les Paul and I stuck with guitar for about three years on and off, before switching to bass, mostly just because I found it more fun to play, and as we all know, bass is obviously the most important part of a bands sound… After about a year of practice, I joined my first band ‘The Morticians’. I never had any formal lessons as I A. couldn’t afford them and B. I preferred to develop my own style mainly playing by ear, using some tabs and watching videos of The Who, Black Sabbath and jamming with my own band. My advise to beginners would be to play what you want – the whole beauty of rock ’n’ roll is that there is no rules, so ignore the idiots trying to tell you otherwise. Do whatever you need to do to develop the style and sound that suits your own music, whether that is playing with others in a band or having lessons and learning covers, whatever you feel the most beneficial.

You mention your first band The Morticias, how did your current band Gorilla come to life?
Sarah Jane: When The Morticians split around 1999 guitarist Johnny and I decided to get another drummer and keep going as Gorilla, and we’ve been going ever since with different drummers. We’re currently on number 15 – they get worn out! Our latest victim Ryan is great, and has given us a new lease of life and inspiration, we’ve always just wanted to play music inspired by the bands we love ourselves, such as The Who, Black Sabbath, Grand Funk Railroad, Budgie, Blue Cheer, The Beatles, Jethro Tull, Mountain – you know, basically heavy 60s and 70s rock, which still remains our main influences. In the beginning we just scored as many gigs as we could until we got lucky and spotted by the bassist from Melvins who pitched us to a Swedish punk rock label who ended up releasing our first LP. We’ve released three full length LPs, one split LP and a single, with another album in the works.

Gorilla at London’s Dublin Castle in 2002 – Vintage Orange 1974 OR120 Amp with old Orange 4×12

Wow, drummer number 15! In true Spinal Tap spirit. What can you tell us about the upcoming album?
Sarah Jane: We’re heading to a new studio called North Down Sound in Folkestone which has lots of analogue equipment and is run and engineered by a friend called Mole, he loves the old vintage valve sounds and equipment. Musically you can expect maximum riffage, high energy rock ’n’ roll, basic ‘full on f*ck the safety net’ hell ride, in other words, business as usual Gorilla style! It will be released in June on Heavy Psych Sounds so keep an eye at our social media for updates and announcements.

Do you remember your first ever encounter with Orange?
Sarah Jane:
I first saw Orange gear when watching Beatclub Videos where the Orange amps just looked and sounded awesome, all the bands I loved seemed to use them too, so I just knew nothing else would do!

What’s your own history and experience with Orange?
Sarah Jane:
My first piece of Orange equipment I owned was a hard wired (no kettle lead) Early OR120 I purchased in 2001 from a friend for £250. I didn’t know how to date this amp so phoned the Orange Factory and spoke to a very nice bloke called Jeff, who had apparently worked there from the early days of Orange. After I got the amp I needed a cab to go with it, and luckily my guitarist from GORILLA,  Johnny, had a ‘spare’ 4 x12 which sounded amazing paired with it. The cab had it’s original Celestion speakers and was actually 15 ohms! The cab was previously owned by NWOBHM band, May West, and the logo was sprayed on the bottom. I had a standby switch fitted onto the back of the amp to preserve the valves as it didn’t have one.

The second Orange amp I acquired was sold to me from a friend for £100 in the same year, a late 70’s graphic model. This amp didn’t sound as good as my early OR120. Jeff told me that this could be because they had ‘drop mounted transformers’, which apparently were not as good as the early amps.

Sarah Jane with her 70s Hustler.

In 2003 I was walking past my local music shop and spotted in the window a flash of orange colour underneath a Peavey Flag. I went in to see what it was and spoke to the owner, who underneath the Flag dug out a brand new Bass Hustler Combo. He explained to me that this had been in the shop when his dad ran it in the 70s. The Combo wasn’t for sale it was being used to display tambourines and the Peavey Flag, but of course I asked how much he’d want for me to take it off his hands. I was delighted but tried not to look too happy when he asked just £50 for it! I call that a bargain!

I now own a new Orange Bass Terror which is 300 watts, an excellent amp to gig with, very Loud, and i can can actually lift it! I also used a Crush Bass 100 for a gig last summer, and I want one! I was surprised how great this combo actually was, I’ve used a hell of a lot of different combos before and I can honestly say this was the best modern bass combo I’ve tried. I was expecting to be totally drowned out by the drummer and the guitar amp but the Crush totally held it’s own. For something that is pretty small I was totally shocked how loud it was, and the quality of bass tone. I would totally recommend this amp for small gigs and practicing.

Sarah Jane playing a Bass Crush 100 as Gorilla plays a The Jonesing Jams gig at Blondies.

If you strip your record collection from the obvious rock ’n’ roll and artists mentioned above, what would remain?
Sarah Jane: My taste is actually quite varied and stretches from everything from 1940s blues and classical music to sixties garage and old school hip hop, particularly gangster! Lots of psych such as The Pretty Things, Zombies and Quicksilver Messenger Service to most of the 60’s San Francisco bands, Beach Boys and folk.

Despite ladies like yourself rock ’n’ roll is still very much a man’s world, what’s your experiences as a woman in such a male dominated genre?
Sarah Jane: Sadly some males in the industry, in record and music shops are still very intimidated by female musicians, and I’ve heard all the usual stupid and sexist remarks such as ‘You can actually play!’, ‘You play like a man!’, or ‘You’re really good for a girl!’, as well as having to deal with people’s surprised faces when I show my knowledge of guitars, amps or bands I like. I’ve also been ignored by male staff in music stores while they talk to my male partner – I just think it’s a bit sad that those old prejudices and attitudes are still around, maybe they’re scared of being shown up by a girl? Luckily it doesn’t bother me that much, and when it does I’m also lucky to say I’ve been blessed with a good aim and swift right hook, don’t let the bastards grind ya down! That said, most of the time people I meet are very positive about me and the music I play.

Follow Gorilla on Facebook // Instagram // Bandcamp

My name is Johnny and I play bass in the ‘Twilight Sad’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38V41KJqu_k

I’d been searching for a bass amp, that I’ve really loved for years and years and when I first got hold of the AD200 which was probably about eight years ago or so, that was the first time I had heard an amp and thought “That’s the amp!”

So my bass rig just now is a 2X15 bass cab, with two celestions in it and then the AD200. But I have the OB1-500 just as a backup just now, in America I use two OB1-500’s one’s the main and ones the back up. But I’m thinking of experimenting slightly in using one for my main tone and using the other to switch on for my boost sections.

When I saw Orange were starting to do pedals, I absolutely love pedals! I was like I need to get these and try these immediately because I know they are going to be built like tanks and they are going to be pure. There is like no messing about they are going to do what they are supposed to do. So when I had the Two Stroke it immediately made the Rusty Box redundant. The Orange Two Stroke which I keep on all the time, it just gets the whole tone and crisps everything up and makes everything a lot brighter, everything comes through a lot better.

The first thing I would do to say to any bass player was, if you are looking for a bass amp, go Orange immediately! If you are using anything else right now, probably get rid of it and go Orange because it sounds amazing. It’s just the classic bass tone, I won’t go anywhere else now, that’s what I need thats what I want, its solid, it’s never let me down.

Michael Karsh of Lawrence – ©David Nardiello Photography

My name is Michael Karsh, I am the bass player for the band Lawrence.

A big part of our live act is that we really love what we’re doing and we love to have a good time. My role is to just be the low end that can simultaneously compliment a song and elevate it into a place of really high intensity, in your face funk/soul/jazzy fusion kind of stuff.

So currently I’m using the 4-Stroke 500 Watt amplifier and I’m using the OBC410 and it is a true monster and it’s been a lot of fun to play. I very much try to have a sound that’s very rooted in old funk and soul, kinda like the classic Jamerson and Motown sound but I also like to have a bit more edge and punch to bring it into the modern age so I get all of that with the 4-stroke and the 410 and I feel that I’ve never sounded better with it than any other rig and probably that makes me play a little better because I’m just happier with how it sounds.

I definitely subconsciously saw them, (Orange Amps) all throughout my childhood when watching videos of my heroes playing from the 70s. Jimmy Page and Geddy Lee. Just seeing those amplifiers in the back definitely made an imprint on my mind. As I grew up and got more into equipment I would see them kind of along my musical journey pop up in many interesting places. It was like, “Oh, Wolfmother’s got that thing I remember that guy had,” and “Oh, Ler’s from Primus has got three interesting ones on stage that I haven’t seen before.” I just kinda saw them pop up everywhere and always had them in the back of my mind as a cool look and cool sound.

Hearing myself onstage is I feel, like the unspoken battle of the musician. My band personally has 8 people onstage so we’re all battling to hear each other, hear ourselves and there’s this cacophonous noise happening all the time, so honestly the advantage the OBC410 has given me is just clarity. I can dial it in so perfectly that wherever I go, I’m hearing myself exactly as I want to. Just everything is coming out so crystal clear. So the 410 gives me a good balance of midrange and low end that I hadn’t really found anywhere else. Using backline and borrowing gear, playing festivals I’ve played with these massive stacks like two storeys high and every variation. It doesn’t have that same sort of touch and clarity that the 410 has. It’s pretty interesting, I don’t know how that works, I don’t know how you guys did it but yeah, that’s been the biggest benefit by far.

Grutle has been an endorsed artist with Orange amps for nearly four years now and has been using the AD200 and OBC810 around the world with Metal band ‘Enslaved’. When he heard news the Terror Bass was being relaunched he had to have a go.

Grutle: Good afternoon! This is Grutle Kjellson from Norwegian hard rock band ‘Enslaved’ and I want to talk a bit about this little gift I just got from Orange, it’s a reissue of their Terror Bass. It’s a 500 watt model, it’s a very powerful unit that weighs only about I think it’s a little more than 4 1/2 kilos (10/1 pounds). Which is pretty amazing for such a powerful unit.

It’s very simple, there’s on/off, standby, there’s a volume, treble, middle and bass, and gain. There is a clean and pad switch, the clean switch gives a bit more headroom and the pad switch is a active and passive switch. If you turn this switch down like I have, it’s for active basses and takes some input sensitivity off, about 6dB. There’s of course a balanced output, there’s an effects loop, it’s a very nice portable solution.

It’s a little bit difficult if you travel around a lot like we do. Try to get an AD200 amp onboard, it’s totally impossible it weighs a tonne. This is like not much bigger than a lunchbox, at least not for a guy like me, an ogre!

I’ve had this for a couple of months now and i’m really satisfied with it. Our sound guy actually told me that i’m not allowed to use anything else, so i even use this on tours. So let’s take a listen to it.

This is Phil Shouse with the Rock N Roll Residency, Gene Simmons band, and the Ace Frehley band.

What does rock mean to you?

It means everything to me. It’s my job, my livelihood and my lifestyle. Rock isn’t anything without the roll. Anyone can rock but the roll is the hard part.

Why does Orange work for rock?

Orange amps are my favorite amps for rock for a couple of reasons. One, they look great. Two, they are built for it. The amps I play are the Custom Shop 50, the AD30, and the Tiny Terror. Their forte isn’t getting super clean, just clean enough with some hair on it. They take pedals well. With the CS50 you can crank the f*ck out if it, dime it, and then use it as a one channel amp and use your volume knob with it. It’s the best amp I’ve found for doing that.

What do you like about the CS50 in particular?

What I like about the CS50 in particular is that it has 6 knobs. When I look at an amp and it has 37 knobs on the front I think ‘I’m not going to use 30 of those.’ You don’t really need that many. When you know how to set an amp correctly, like this one with a single channel, you don’t need more than one channel, you don’t need any pedals. You can use the guitar for boosting and solos so I prefer a one channel amp over a two channel amp.

What settings do you use on the CS50?

I’m going to set the gain kind of low and the volume high. The gain acts as a volume knob so I like to get the volume loud and then move the gain down from there as needed. I normally like the presence past 3 o’clock and then put the EQ on 12 o’clock. Since it’s an Orange cabinet I’ll turn the bass down and then add back in some more mid and treble. That way when my guitar is at 5 for rhythm and when I dime it it’s gonna have plenty of bite and cut through the mix.

What bands do you like that use Orange?

One of my favorite bands that uses Orange amps is SLEEP. If we’re gonna talk about Matt Pike and SLEEP I’m gonna need way more weed. Can you make that happen? Other bands I like that use Orange are Blackberry Smoke and the Raelyn Nelson Band.

Hey my name is Pepper Keenan and I play guitar and sing in a band called Corrosion of Conformity and I highly love my Orange amps!

Clearly when I think of Orange I think of the 60’s,70’s coolness factor of Orange amps. They were unobtainable things when I was a kid and I knew if I ever could reach out to that, get to that level that would be an amp that I would love.

The first time I tried out the Orange Thunderverb 50 I was actually at the NAMM show in California, I plugged into that thing and it was just instantly, raked a G chord and it was a classy sounding, right out of the gate, no pedals, real deal amp. You could feel it, you could tell and the simplicity was what I liked with it the most. The tone, you could tell somebody had put some thought into it, it felt like a handwired amp.

It’s done extremely well, I would put it against anybody. The way I play guitar, it really gives back what you lean into it with, its top of the line amplifier. It’s designed well but the shape knob got me, I don’t even know what the shape knob does but I know if i turn it this way it sounds like “Master of Puppets” and if i turn it this way it sounds like Tom Petty.

They ain’t broke yet! They are consistent, once I had that thing, I kind of felt like prior, the other amps I was using I kind of felt I was getting ripped off! Something was missing. The sustain, the whole nine yards, it really articulates what I think i am as a guitar player.

For me the way an amp is with Orange, the analogue thing about it, you open up an Orange amps and it’s just a bunch of wires, tubes and there isn’t much to it but its done well. I do think there is a degree of that era of amp making that goes with the sound of the rock that you are playing. Even so far as some of the pedals you use go in line with that amp. In terms of sounding real and like bands that I dig, that’s it, it’s got it.

I have been Orange amps for a very long time and i think without a doubt it is one of the most quality made amplifiers out there. And if you need something to get your point across, there ain’t nothing better than an Orange amp. You can ask just about anybody!

Sean: Hello I’m Sean and I play guitar in the band Shame.

Josh: My name is Josh and I play bass.

Eddie: I’m Eddie from Shame, I play guitar.

Sean: On the amp I pretty much only use the natural channel, if i’m not using in combination with another amp I will probably use the dirty channel, just to give it a bit more drive. But I usually get that from my pedals, I like a clean tone as a base.

Eddie: Live I’m using the Tiny Terror channel but when we have been in our rehearsal studio i’ve been using the Fat channel and I have been experimenting with that. For me it’s a lot more accessible than a lot of other amps because i’m not really into the whole EQ’s on amps thing, I have an EQ pedal. I prefer to work from my pedal board rather than the control settings of my amp and for me Orange really works great for that because it’s quite simple.

Sean: I would say the Rocker 32 is a base for it because you already get a full, round sound from just that one channel.

Sean uses the Rocker 32

Eddie: I think Orange amps are almost built for those guitars in a way, I think it really helps capture every element of it and really pushes the sound well. I am now playing a Telecaster with humbuckers, so I think having two Orange amps with guitars with humbuckers sounds really good. Obviously the differences in our pedal setups, there is a distinction when there needs to be a distinction but also our guitars can blend when they need to, which is a very important part of our sound.

Sean: This amp is perfect for me, as its just got one knob, just the one!

Josh: The controls of this amp are very easy to use, there is just a bass, mid, treble, which I like. I never really mess around with graphic EQ’s and stuff like that, so it’s perfect for me.

Josh uses the Terror Bass

Eddie: The simplicity was a really big, factor for me, they also just look like really iconic amps, it’s the sort of thing you associate with big stage shows. It’s just really iconic british tone.

Sean: One of the best things is its size because its only like this big and its really light. I’ve never been a big believer in needing a massive amp or a massive stack to get a good sound. I think simple is usually best for me. I say it translates really well, we have used it all across this year, like we used it on the main stage at Reading and that’s possibly the biggest stage you can play really, and then to smaller club shows in the UK and it’s just great.

I’d say for me Orange is all about the tone because there was a period when I destroyed my fuel tank on my pedal board when we were rehearsing for this tour. So we were just playing and this amp doesn’t have reverb and i was just playing through the clean channel with absolutely nothing on it and it just sounded brilliant. So I would say the tone, it’s the kind of amp, I mean I put pedals through it but it’s the kind of amp that you wouldn’t need to put anything through it to make it sound amazing.

I think I had always been scared, I kind of stick to what I knew, never really try anything else. But then we came in and played through it, it just sounded so much better, instantaneously. I think it is the simplistic aspect but also Orange does have a legacy, especially from Britpop in the 90’s.

Eddie: To be honest i’d always associated it for some reason with heavy bands and it might be just a visual thing with the amps being mostly really big cabs. I think the connotations of the name like Tiny Terror stuff conjures images of really heavy, hard rock bands. Since trying them, the versatility of the Orange equipment was definitely opened up more to me a lot more. I wasn’t expecting them to be able to offer a really nice warm clean tone but also handle gain really well, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Alright, I’m Mike Vennart and I play guitar for my own band Vennart and I play guitar for Biffy Clyro.

I look for articulation more than anything, I think it is fair to say when your playing through an amp or when you are trying any instrument or anything like that. If it brings the best out of you then it is a source of inspiration. What I need personally on a very specific level is a clean sound that is articulate, defined, really crystal clear, really brings the most out of each individual note attack but will then act as a great foundation for pedals.

Check out the full video.

What’s great about the amps I use with Orange is the distortion is a very thick distortion, you get a very warm, full articulate sound. But the clean is of equal importance for me. So there is an awful lot of things that I need but with Orange they are incredibly simple. This one has got six knobs on it and yet for such little control, it does so much, it does everything i need it to do.

This guitar in particular is a weird beast because you have this big hard rock humbucker at the back and this really vintage sounding single coil at the front. With that there is a lot of sounds in there and with a lot of amps, they can’t really cope with this mismatched idea. But the Orange, I play everything from really detuned heavy riffs to really spangly, jangly wiry clean stuff that I love and I need an amp that can cut it and do those different things. To be honest most of the amps I have tried can’t.

I decided that the Retro 50 was the amp for me after I went to see Pavement several times over the period of a year, as I am a big Pavement fan. Everytime I came away saying “What is that guitar sound?” Not only was the clean full and very precise but it was nicely broken up and it took the pedals great, it was just huge. So I did my research and I think that was when I pressed go on contacting Orange and saying I need this amp in my life. And that was nearly ten years ago and like i said I have never entertained the idea of getting anything else, as its just perfect, the best!

When i’m out on tour with Biffy, i’m using the OR100 because it is a split channel amp. It has a really pumping distortion channel and again the clean channel takes pedals really well. I use a lot of fuzz, big muffs, delays and stuff like that, it does it all, it’s a really good amp.

The primary thing about using the vertical 2X12, in an ideal world we would all want a wall of Orange amps behind us. But the places that I play in my band Vennart, they are all quite small anyway and its not needed to have an awful lot of volume on stage. Nevertheless, I tried this thing out, not only does it sound huge and it’s perfectly loud enough, it’s incredibly light so it’s actually quite a pleasure to load in and out of these absolute toilets that I play. I just love it, it sounds great!

I think it is recognisable the way that Orange has been since the late 60’s, early 70’s up until the present day. It hasn’t dabbled in anything other than what it is, it is a tool for guitar players. It’s not trying to be anything that it isn’t, so you don’t have any of these digital components and scrolling menus. When you play through one of these it’s an inspiring thing to actually put your heart into and it brings the best in your playing. I don’t really get that feeling with digital products myself.

I’m absolutely delighted to be an Orange ambassador because I don’t know, there is something inherently attractive about having one of these things onstage behind you. I love the logo, I’ve got an Orange tattoo, by the way! I’ve got this exact symbol on the back of my neck! They are just cool, I hate using that word cool. Somethings are cool,something aren’t cool and there is no tangible explanation for what makes something as cool as it is. This is the shit!

I’m Tom Petersson, bass player for the group Cheap Trick. I’m here in London, England at Sixty Sixty Sounds, Denmark Street.

I came with our guitar player Rick Nielsen, he and I came to London in 1968. We went to Cliff Cooper’s shop, Orange music which is around here somewhere! I don’t know where the exact location was and he was just starting to build Orange amps in the back room. 

Once the british invasion hit that kind of took over everybody’s lives at the time, it just kept going on and on, and people are still listening to it, its amazing!

We first saw Orange amps being used by Fleetwood Mac, they came over in ’69 in the US and they had the big giant bass rig. Peter Green and Danny Kirwan the tone they had was killer, I love to have the feel of the air being pushed like 412 cabinets. I’ve always liked the sound of tube amps, i’ve never liked transistors, it never had the right warmth to it and distortion. We’ve never used pedals for distortion, it’s all totally the amp being pushed to its maximum. I love the sound of the amp sounding like its about ready to blow up, like Jeff Beck is that perfect example of just great tone. Of course it’s in his hands, so it is different in that way but its just that sound and that warmth and that real distortion that you can’t get from transistor. You can’t match the sound of tube amps.

What I like about Orange is the quality of the gear and just the tone, it’s got that warm tube sound and you can push it. If you back off it will clear off a bit, it will be relatively clean and if you dig into it, it breaks up great. So you have got a lot of room with getting your own sound, with muting and it brings all the subtleties out in your playing. Something about the sound about the analogue amps is unbeatable.


Something about the sound about the analogue amps is unbeatable.

For us reliability is a big key and you don’t need amps breaking down. Having vintage amps is a pain, you can’t replace them, they get busted up traveling and the Orange gear just covers all the bases really.  You can get it anywhere and they just have great sound, they really are unbeatable.

I use an AD50 guitar head running a 412 orange cabinet and an AD200 bass head running a 412 orange cabinet and that is it!

I play a 12 string bass, my rig is really the same for a 4 string as a 12 string bass. Its that same guitar sound, your just really adding in the high, it’s a bit like a 12 string guitar playing along with a bass. When I switch over sometimes to a T-Bird or a Fender Precision, they both have that grand piano sound which is great. So you get that great guitar distortion and they have great low end. It’s really basically the same sound, the twelve string is a bit bigger because they’re are high strings going on. Get the great guitar sound and then just add bottom, nothing to it.

The main reason we keep going or most musicians, is that you don’t have a back up plan, it’s not like I can fall back on my lucrative dentistry career! I have been doing this since i was 14 years old and started playing in clubs since I was 15 and it’s really all we know. It’s what we love to do and I can’t imagine stopping. You are not thinking anything, you are playing for the love of it, there is mainly no money in it. You just do it because you love it, we have kept going and there is no reason to stop, yet!