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Analogue or Digital – Does it Even Matter?

When our marketing director asked me to write a blog post comparing analogue vs digital amps, I have to admit that the first thing I did was to turn around to see if he was talking to somebody behind me. Here at Orange there are a number of very skilled musicians, many of whom are seriously into their rigs and can not only play but also understand the technical side of said rigs.  

I do not fall into this category.

Don’t get me wrong – I love playing but the thing is, I’m one of those people who have to work really hard to be mediocre and I’m really not interested in all the bells and whistles, I just want to plug in and play.

First thing I needed to do was find out what the difference is, so I had a chat with our techs. After they realised a primary (elementary) school level explanation was required, we began to make progress and I can summarise thusly:

Analogue guitar amps have a solid state, (transistors, resistors, capacitors etc.) or valve pre-amp that produces the tone and a solid state or valve power amp, which amplifies the signal and drives the speaker.

Digital guitar amps, use digital algorithms (complicated mathematics) to produce the tone and a solid state power amp to amplify the signal and drive the speaker. Digital amps therefore can theoretically reproduce any sound you want. It’s just a case of rearranging the order of the 1s and 0s in the signal. Brilliant!

So why would anyone want an analogue amp? Surely, digital is better. My digital TV is miles better than the old analogue signal I used to get from my RF antenna. (If you don’t remember those, ask your parents.) Before anyone starts, I realise reception and broadcast quality are different things, I’m just making an analogy. No pun intended.

Well, it would appear in this case digital isn’t necessarily better.

If you think about it, the signal going into your amp from your guitar is analogue – it has to be, it’s the sound of a string vibrating. The sound coming OUT of the speaker is analogue, again it has to be. We don’t have digital processors in our ear’oles so we need a soundwave in the air to vibrate our ear drum. So what’s the point of converting an analogue signal to digital and back again? Surely that means that analogue gives you what a digital amp is trying to emulate?

These thought experiments are all well and good but there’s no substitute for giving them a try, so I did. I’m not going to name the amps I tried, that’s not the point of this post – as I said at the beginning, I don’t have any strong feelings either way but I did have fun with both amps.

The digital amp was a bit daunting at first. Lots of knobs and lots of settings but once I sussed out what I was doing, I was able to dial in a load of different sounds and had a jolly old time making some wonderful noises much to the chagrin of the neighbours. The convenience of the digital amp cannot be overstated. I could see how something like that would appeal to gigging musicians hugely. There’s your tone, (or any other you may happen to need) right there in a box. Beats having to cart a load of heavy gear around. Awesome! How can analogue compete?

Pretty well as it turns out. As much as I enjoyed the digital amp listening to the analogue amp made me realise that the digital amp was quite sterile – on reflection, it was almost as if the amp was dictating things.  

I was wracking my brains try to think of a way to explain what I meant by that and the only thing I could come up with was to imagine a beautiful room full of expensive furniture but everything is white. The analogue amp coloured some of the bits in.

I’m no amp reviewer, so I can’t use a load of flowery words but it seemed to me that the analogue amp was as idiosyncratic as my playing. There was a relationship between what I was trying to do and what came out of the amp, that didn’t seem to be the case with digital. Also, I was able to just plug my guitar in and play. No messing around, no working anything out just instant fun.

I’m really not any wiser as to what’s better, all I know is what I prefer and I preferred the analogue amp although I can totally see why people would want to go for digital. The convenience and the ability to have everything right there in one place is very desirable, it just isn’t for me.

As mediocre a player as I am, music is more about how it makes you feel than it is about the technical side of things and for me the analogue amp had feeling. But hey, I’m not trying to convince anyone. What do you think?

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Interview: Mike Vennart from Vennart.

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!

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How would you use the Pedal Baby 100?

So the dust has settled from last weeks announcements from Orange and we hope you were equally surprised and excited by what we have been busy working on for the past two years. A lot of time and effort goes into researching and developing products we believe you as our fans are going to love. One of these products is the Pedal Baby 100 and i’m sure there are plenty of questions about this compact amplifier. It’s a slight departure we feel from what Orange is primarily known for, so we thought it would help to show how the Pedal Baby can be used.

Why was the Pedal Baby created?

The Pedal Baby was designed to give guitar players the feel of an analogue amplifier incorporated into their small, touring rig. Orange is one of the most recognisable amplifier companies in the guitar amp market and we have spent most of our 50+ years building high watt, heavy amplifiers.  We understand though that some guitar players just want to arrive with a pedal board to the gig, or use their favourite profiles on their digital modeller. So the Pedal Baby was created to allow players to bring a compact, lightweight source of neutral, clean power. Meaning whatever you use it with, you can rely on it to bring your rig to life.

So hopefully that has give you a window into why we designed the Pedal Baby but now it’s probably best to give you some more information on the Pedal Baby, so here is a quick run down of the features.

What is the Pedal Baby 100?

The Pedal Baby is a 100 watt Class A/B neutral power amplifier, it is built for the road, fly dates and anything the modern musician can throw at it. Its lightweight, small and able to push out up to 100 Watts into 8 Ohms! The front panel has EQ controls, so you can fine tune your treble and bass setting quickly and easily.

So now you have a quick overview, here are a few ways you can use this new piece of kit:

If you are the type of player who spends days building the “perfect” pedal board and can’t wait to take your “work of art” out into the gigging scene, then the Pedal Baby could be perfect for you. You’ve got your perfect pedal setup but your stage sound is still missing something? Well the Pedal Baby can give a transparent power source and lift all your pedals sound, you don’t have to rely on the venues amplifier, which lets face it, is always in need of TLC.

We know there are plenty of players who don’t want to play big heavy valve amps and want all their effects and amps in a rack mountable solution. The Pedal Baby can be used with your Kemper, Positive Grid Bias Rack, Fractal or any other modellers to power your rigs.  All your patches and profiles you have spent weeks preparing and fine tuning will sound the best they possibly can with the Pedal Baby powering them.

Picture the scene, you grab your profiler rig and rush to the venue only to find the cabinet you were not expecting. Its got too much bottom end and makes your profiler sound rubbish. This wouldn’t happen with Pedal Baby, too much bottom end no issue! Use the front panel EQ to dial the bass frequencies back and when it sounds good, you are set. The Pedal Baby’s EQ settings are dialed in for guitars, so are the perfect controls to use with your guitar effects.

Any more questions?

So there is a quick overview of the Pedal Baby 100 and some of its applications. We shall leave you with the product video which sees John “Denzil” Dines going through the features and we hope you get to check out our new amplifier.

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Analog Ambassadors

Some guitarists are purists. Like Orange, they refuse to ever “go digital.” We like those guitarists. They are our bread and butter. We share with them an affinity for analogue tone. Digital hardware, be damned.

Why won’t they make the switch? After all, digital promises fewer repair headaches and a plethora of tonal options. The reason they’re sticking with analogue is that it sounds better. There’s no way around it, folks. What vinyl is to MP3s, analogue amps are to digital modelers. Analogue offers a level of presence and warmth in one’s tone that just can’t be achieved with a digital signal.

We’ve compiled a short list of Orange Ambassadors that are all-analogue, all the time. Check out their own reasoning behind staying true to their tone:

Scott Holiday of Rival Sons
“In this day and age we’ve all messed around with digital amps…and the technology is pretty good now! Almost like the real thing even! The only problem is..It’s NOT the real thing. And the real thing wins…every time. That’s why digital platforms are imitating it..Because nothing will ever beat the sound and feel of valves/tube amps/analog circuitry. There’s almost a living breathing quality to a great tube amp…an immediacy…an almost human quality in responsiveness. I’m not saying ‘reject technology’ or to not appreciate it…I do! And I implement said technology within my rig. What I’m saying is: nothing will ever beat the sound of a great tube/analog amplifier.”

Ken Rose of Hero Jr.
“I am one of those ‘freaks’ that can feel analog reacting with my body. In most cases I prefer analog because it feels like the amplifier and the effects and the tape, or whatever is analog, is directly connected to my expression and creativity. I am not dissing digital by any means, as I use it daily, but I personally feel an aural and auditory kinship with analog.”

Andreas Kisser of Sepultura
“Analogue sound is the truth, is what the digital world tries to emulate but never gets quite there. I only use the sound of the amp, straight to the guitar, no distortion pedals. That way I can feel the real sound of the guitar, the wood, the pick-up and the strings. Analogue is where the evolution of a musician is, you break your limits and create something new.”

Tim Sult of Clutch
“I prefer the warmth and depth of an analogue tone. It makes the wood of the guitar and cabinets sound more like a living being.”

Danko Jones
“Lately, I’ve seen bands playing live without real amps. I mean, wtf? If you’re a rock band and you’re not playing through real live amps during a show, it’s not a rock show.”

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Tremolo, where have you heard it before?

So Orange has released a new guitar amplifier, you are shocked right, an amp company releasing an amplifier! But the TremLord is something a little different for Orange. 

The centrepiece of the amplifier is an all valve Tremolo, this is Orange’s take on the 1950’s amplifiers that used this effect to such acclaim.

This made me think one; what is tremolo and where will I have heard it before.

First, what is Tremolo?

Tremolo is simply put a modulation effect, it changes the volume of your signal at certain speed and depth. This is not to be confused with vibrato, which changes the pitch of the signal.

On the TremLord you can set two different speeds of tremolo and also the depth of the modulation. This means it’s perfect for use live with a footswitch.

Uses of Tremolo in Songs

Otis Redding – “A Change is Gonna Come”

This is the song that made me explore songs using tremolo, Otis Redding’s version of “A Change is Gonna Come” is a fantastic example. After the opening horn section the unmistakable tremolo guitar chords float in, which then stay throughout the whole song.

After this I dived headlong into finding more interesting and diverse song that used this effect, trying to find examples from across the musical spectrum and also the past 60 years.

Radiohead – “Bones”

Hearing “The Bends” for the first time I remember the raking sound of the tremolo on “Bones” being one of my favourite parts. It felt like the start of the band moving their sound away from the grunge sound of the first album. I chose a live version as it shows Jonny Greenwood using the effect throughout the song. 

Rage Against the Machine – Guerilla Radio

Tom Morello is known for his unique use of effects and I think this was one of the first Rage Against the Machine songs I ever heard,  I remember struggling to understand what that sound was! Heavily leaning on his trusty boss tremolo pedal the track has become a mainstay of the bands live performances and as the live footage shows it’s no wonder why. 

Rolling Stones – “Gimme Shelter”

The lilting almost glassy sounding guitar intro to the track could be one of the most famous uses of the effect. This stone cold classic was released in 1969, sometimes I feel it gets forgotten about, as people remember “satisfactions” fuzzy tones more. But this for me is the Rolling Stones in a song and the guitar makes it.

The Smiths – “How soon is now?”

This couldn’t not be on the list, its so in your face the Tremolo effect. One of The Smiths most famous songs, this was actually originally a B-Side of the 1984 single “William, it was really nothing”. The original demo for the song was called “Swamp” which hardly surprising when you hear the song.

One thing I noticed while going through this is how many great songs that use this effect, I could have provided another 30-40 songs easily. So if you have any songs that you think I may have forgotten, please comment in the comments and I look forward to delving into even more tremolo songs!

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Interview: Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick.

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!

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Interview: Palisades

Palisades is an American rock band with 4 albums and a slew of international festival dates under their belt. We caught up with them this past Summer in the UK for an interview. For more information about the band check out Palisades online here.

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Content Creation & Artist Relations Ella Stormark’s 2018 Top Picks

As 2018 is coming to an end I think we’re all reflecting on the year just gone, whether it’s good or bad. For me, 2018’s been great. I’ve achieved some goals I’m super stoked about, like my first ever on camera interview with Matt Pike which went surprisingly okay despite the week prior spent sleepless knowing I’d be ON camera for once, and not just behind it. I also got to interview Glenn Hughes which was pretty unreal, having been raised on Deep Purple as a kid. I’ve also seen some incredible bands and artists I’ve been dreaming of for years, some which left me crying to the point of dehydration, although this could also have to do with the fact that it was 34 degrees outside… Without further ado, my top picks of 2018.

Motorpsycho, Roadburn Festival

When I think of my musical highlights from this year, Motorpsycho’s always the band that first pops to mind. The only band granted a full two hours at the festival, famously known for their intense psychedelic build ups that keeps building and building and never releasing, until you literally can’t take it anymore. Their performance was nothing but spectacular and mesmerising, and just a pure masterpiece of performance and perfection beginning to end. My dear fellow Norwegian vikings, even eight months down the line I’m stunned their performance.

Hawkwind, Desertfest London & Hawkwind with Arthur Brown and a Symphony orchestra, London Palladium

I never ever in a million years thought I’d get to see Hawkwind at the Roundhouse, but I did. Having spent the entire Desertfest weekend carrying around our precious Orange camera which probably could cover my rent for several months – hence guarding it with my life, I finally got to clock out and hand over the precious belongings just in time for Hawkwind’s set at the legendary Roundhouse – time to party. I’ll admit I was somewhat apprehensive seeing young guys Haz Wheaton on bass, purely because he had long hair and played a Rick, and had some similarities with a young Lemmy – did this guy get the job because of his Lemmy look? It didn’t take long before I realised how much of a dick I was for even thinking that, as Haz literally stole the show, alongside the female dancer dressed as a cat, obviously. Hawkwind did certainly take me on a journey through to different dimensions, just as I hoped they would having listened to Space Rituals religiously. I left the venue buzzing with excitement, if Hawkwind could be this rad in 2018,  I can’t even imagine seeing them in they 70s heyday, with naked Stacia on stage and everyone off their shit on acid – a feast for all senses I imagine.

Photo via Youtube

I’m pretty used to dingy basement venues and sticky floors, so when my boyfriend surprised me with front row tickets to see Hawkwind at the Palladium with a symphony orchestra and Arthur Brown on vocals, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor – they sell champagne popsicles! I’ve come a long way from lukewarm lager… Anyway, Hawkwind, round two (This time without Haz who’s ventured onto Electric Wizard) – I’m not quite sure how to describe it, as weird and cosmic as the above, but with A SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND ARTHUR BROWN DANCING AND GUESTING ON VOCALS! It was spectacular, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before – the orchestra adding a whole new world of layers to something that’s already so unique made this evening pretty amazing, even more so with a grateful Dave Brock telling the story about how he once as a young kid was busking outside the Palladium, and got fined for doing so – little did he know that years down the line he’d be inside playing with an orchestra.

Roger Waters, British Summertime Hyde Park

I was 13 when my dad got me Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” for Christmas with a note saying it was time I got my shit together and started listening to some proper music. Around this time, I also saw Roger Water’s “In The Flesh” DVD for the first time, and this was so different to everything I knew from before, it was music with a message, composed in such strange and spectacular ways. From that point, I started digging deeper into the Pink Floyd catalogue, and started dreaming of seeing Roger Waters play. When he was announced to play Hyde Park this summer, it didn’t take long before I got tickets and started to counting down the days, to what also happened to be one of the hottest days of summer. When Roger Waters took to the stage I was nothing but an emotional mess, with 15 years of anticipation and excitement finally getting to flourish. They opened up with “Speak to Me”, and I burst out crying, crying to the point of nearly having to hold my breath so I wouldn’t start sobbing. Following that, was “Breathe”, “One of these Days”, “Time”, “Great Gig in the Sky” and a bunch of other songs from Pink Floyd’s peak as well as Waters’s solo albums – I did not stop for a second. I cried constantly for an hour until they stopped and took a break before the second act. As it began, I was at it again. Hearing all these songs written all those years ago with such important messages relevant today was the most powerful musical experience I’ve ever had. I felt drained at the end of it, the sweet release of finally having seen one of my heroes, and overwhelmed by the feelings released while doing so.

George Clinton’s Parliament & Funkadelic, The Roundhouse

Photographer unknown – Funkadelic way back when.

The above is the most I’ve opened up emotionally in about 28 years, so let’s dive right back into this with George Clinton’s Parliament & Funkadelic, one of the craziest, most fun gigs I’ve ever been to. I’m a sucker for old Funkadelic and the Eddie Hazel and Bootsy Collins era and was quite curious to see the band without them – modern Parliament and Funkadelic with a bunch of unfamiliar faces, and ya know what? It was incredible. A mix of soul, funk and even modern heavy hip hop, it felt like going to a party at George Clinton’s house, with him being some sort of jazzy-outfit funk king thriving on his throne, making sure every single person there were dancing. But then again, if someone were to make British people get loose, who else could take such a task upon himself than mister Clinton? “Free your mind, and your ass will follow”, a wise man once said, and I’m glad to see the message gets through, even in times like these when things are falling to shits – we could all do with some more funk in our lives.

Fantastic Negrito, Dingwalls

Photographer unknown – Photo via Fantastic Negrito’s Facebook Page

Fantastic Negrito kind of seemed to appear out of nowhere, releasing the spectacular “The Last Days of Oakland” in 2017, and swiftly following up with “Please Don’t be Dead” in 2018. However, he’s got quite an interesting and inspiring background, being one of fifteen siblings with a strict Muslim father and selling drugs and carrying guns at a young age, to teaching himself how to play music after hearing that’s what Prince did. He got a record deal in the 90s, but got dropped after nearly a fatal injury that left him in a coma for nearly two weeks. Years later, shortly before he passed, Chris Cornell took him under his wing and he was back with a bang – and now to the performance. Fantastic Negrito is a storyteller like no one I have ever seen, preaching and howling while struttin’ and dancing, teaching peace and love to the grooviest funk beats –  I never saw James Brown, but from what I’ve heard I feel confident saying Fantastic Negrito could have given him a run for his money – King Charisma, to say the least.

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Interview: Danko Jones

Let’s dive right in and talk about your history with Orange – do your remember your first ever encounter with the brand, whether it was playing it yourself or seeing someone else play one?

Danko: Yeah I totally remember, and the reason is why I play Orange. We went on tour with The Supersuckers, and the only way we could do that was if we could use their gear, and I used Ron’s Orange head, and I remember thinking “Holy fuck, this is just the best head I’ve ever played!”. That’s how I started with Orange, before that I’d seen other use it and I’d always liked it, but I was playing a variety of amps so it wasn’t until playing through Ron’s that Orange was really put on the map for me. When I then got the opportunity to work with Orange myself that just made sense.

You guys are known for touring relentle-
Danko: I mean – yes, yes we do, or at least have done that, and I guess we’ve been on the road a fair bit this year as well even though for me it feels like an off year. We opened up for Skindred in the UK at the start of the year, came back for festivals, made an album, and now we’re here again. The off years are always the year we make the albums, although looking back at it now it doesn’t really take us much off the road at all.

When constantly on the road, how does a day in the life of Danko Jones normally look like?
Danko: You know, not that exciting to be honest. On a day like today, I pretty much just hang around near the venue. I need sleep for my voice, so that’s about it, lots of down time. The best thing is to not think about it too much, and especially when it comes to playing the show; the moment I start thinking about things, I fuck it up on stage. There’s also this banter between the band and the audience that you just can’t plan, I’ve seen bands do that, script their set – and whenever someone shouts something at them from the crowd, they have no reply and there’s just no way of bouncing back form it. Have the songs rehearsed and that’s it, whatever happens happens. The best thing to do most days is to just go at it with a blank head and brain. So many bands these days have backing tracks and vocals and everything just seems so pre-programmed that there’s little room for spontaneity, and I think the audience picks up on that. I don’t mind if the show goes off the track, cause at least it shows the audience that they’re getting whatever we can serve them on the night, and there is something to be said for that. We go out there pretty low key, play the songs, and see where they take us.

You mentioned off years are album years, do you still write when you’re on the road or do you save that for when you’re back at home?
Danko: No, we allow enough time at home to do the writing then. We spent some time this time last year as well as before and after summer digging deep into writing, and with those sort of writing sessions we were able to figure out what we wanted, and pick 11 or 12 favourites to go on the album. Ever since Rich Knox (drums) joined the band, I haven’t felt nervous before any of the releases, more than anything I’ve been excited and impatient for people to hear what we have been working on, which means I’m confident about the songs. This album we’re due to release is another one of those. I’ll admit there’s been some albums previously where I’ve been slightly nervous whether people would like it or not, and whenever I’ve had those sorts of doubts, those are always the albums that have had mixed reviews. I’ve always liked it, but it might not appeal to everyone else. The last two albums we put out, Fire Music (2015) and Wild Cat (2017) I wasn’t even nervous, and the reviews were really good, and our new album is just as good as both of them, if not better.

To dive back into Orange for this last question, what’s your setup for tonight?
Danko: I’ve got a Rockerverb 50 head, and you know what, I’m not a gear head, I’m a creature of habit – whatever I find and like, that’s what I stick with. I can’t give you any specks of what it is I like about the head, it just have to sound like this (makes riff noise), which is a sound I’ve been making since I was seven. If it sounds like that, great. I don’t go searching for new products, and usually if I switch to something else or try something new, that will have to be presented and put in front of me. To me, amps aren’t precious possessions or collectables, they are the tools of my trade, the tools I need to do my job, and I gotta be honest, Orange is the best tools I’ve ever used.

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Our interview with Giannis and Giorgos from 1000 Mods.

Giannis: Hello, I am Giannis and I’m the guitar player from 1000 Mods.

Giorgos: I am Giorgos, I play for 1000 Mods and the reason I started playing guitar is because of Black Sabbath.

Giannis: The reason why I started playing guitar is because some of the first bands I ever listened to were MC5 and Motorhead.

Giorgos: We knew each other from a very young age. With Lampros, the drummer, we knew each other since we were three years old. After meeting Giannis later on, we started a few bands and we had a few music groups. Under the name 1000 Mods in 2006 we started recording albums.

After a few shows in the Corinthia region and a few festivals, we moved into the Athens music scene, as we wanted to play there and meet different bands. There was a really good music scene there which we became a part of, which as you know there is now a lot of recognition about this scene in Europe. I think all bands either from Greece or coming to play in Greece have only good things to say about it.

Giannis: The first band that I ever saw in a music video playing Orange, were MC5 and then in more modern times, Slipknot. The first Orange amp I ever played with, was an OR-120 and sometime in the middle of 2005, I bought a second one, an Orange 50 Watt Rockerverb.

Giorgos: The first experiences I had, was the Black Sabbath music videos, Paranoid and Iron Man. I remember a very good story when I bought Holy Mountain by Sleep they had written οn the back cover, if I am not mistaken that they were looking for Orange amps and wanted to buy them etc and this made a great impression on me.

I remember a funny story was when we went to Athens to various guitar stores and music stores and we went to a shop that was selling Orange at the time to try a Rockerverb 50 or 100. I remember when we put it on, we turned up the amp
too much inside the store causing some strings from an acoustic guitar to break!

Anyway, when we listened to Orange we realised that this is where the sound is. As the store employee told us, it has a very good “honest” mids and a great headroom and that’s how we started being involved with Orange and buying Orange. I remember buying a Rockerverb 50 then Giannis got an old Orange OR-120 which we used live and from then on we continued experimenting with our sound and with Orange in general, because we loved it. Soon after, Orange started to become more popular, where we were playing, there were Orange and generally we all started playing on stage with Orange and many other music bands, were using Orange amps.

Giannis: From Orange, that is a very fundamental part of my sound I am using an Orange OR-120 1970 and an Orange Rockerverb 100 which are the very base of my sound and I consider them as a part that I can’t replace.

Generally I do a blend of sounds from the two Oranges, where the low and mid frequencies are coming from the old one and from the modern I get the high frequencies that I desperately need.

Giorgos: As we moved forward, we tried different sounds with other amps as well and blended them and about a year ago, it was a great honour for us, to have Charlie coming to Desertfest in London and suggesting us to collaborate and be a part of the Orange roster and become Orange ambassadors.

This period we are on our second round of promotion of our album “Repeated Exposure to…” and in the future we hope to start working on some new material hopefully in the middle of 2019.

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