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Wish Granted – $10k giveaway

For the fifth year running Orange Amplification is delighted to reveal it is once again granting holiday season wishes to everyone worldwide.

Previous years have seen lucky winners receive more than $10,000 worth of gear including amps, combos, cabs, headphones and more. Orange is continuing the tradition again this year by offering everything from the current Orange Product range, giving you the chance to win a truly exceptional prize.

Contestants can enter this FREE giveaway by sharing their wish with Cliff Cooper, Orange’s Founder and CEO on their Facebook page by liking, commenting or sharing any #wishgranted post – every action increases your chances! Plus, entrants can double their chances by sharing their wish on orangeamps.com. All wishes must be posted between 1st and 24th December (11.59pm GMT) 2017.

Orange will be announcing the winners on their Facebook page on 25th December, 12PM GMT 2017 so be sure to Like and Follow their page to be notified if you win. Winners will discover whether their dream has come true on Christmas Day.

This year, as an extra bonus, Orange’s online Beginner Rock Guitar Course is FREE throughout December. Signing up will give you unlimited free access to learn the guitar at your own pace which includes video, quizzes and online help from qualified teachers. It’s worth signing up now even if you plan learning guitar in the new year to take advantage of the FREE offer!

Orange, ‘Where the Magic Happens®’. Check out the 2017 Orange Christmas Wish video here https://youtu.be/bWYnL2t-j3w.

Good fortune to all who enter.

Enter the competition below and on Facebook to increase your chances of winning:

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A Choice Not A Compromise: The Case for the Rocker 15

 

Besides the cost difference, why would I buy a Rocker 15 Combo instead of a Rocker 32? Here are my top three reasons:

  • It’s more portable
  • You don’t need stereo
  • You’re focused on recording and practice

The Rocker 15 Combo is only 18” tall and weighs less than 30 pounds. Compare that to a Rocker 32 and it’s a full 40% smaller. But compare both of them to, say, a Rockerverb 50 212 Combo and you’re literally cutting your weight in half. Enormous amps are going the way of the buffalo. That’s why Orange decided to make the Rocker series with 10” speakers. If you’re looking for a small, yet super powerful, combo then the Rocker 15 is the way to go.

Since the Rocker 15 Combo has a single 10” speaker you can go ahead and assume it’s not a stereo rig like its 32 watt brother (if you can’t make that assumption then you need to read this). Is it super ultra badass that the Rocker 32 is stereo? Yes. Can you do really awesome things with your FX pedals using stereo? Yes. Is it absolutely necessary and will your friends make fun of you for NOT having a stereo rig? No (unless your friends are dicks).

What the Rocker 15 lacks in stereo, it makes up for with other cool options like dedicated wet/dry and 4 wattage settings (15, 7, 1, and .5…seriously, a ½ watt). This makes it a choice rig for recording and practice. That’s not to say that the Rocker 15 isn’t stage-ready though. It might not have the extra power of the Rocker 32, but it’s still fully capable of jumping out of the mix in a 3-4 piece band.

I haven’t found a guitarist yet who didn’t marvel at the versatility of the Rocker 15. Even the ones Orange DOESN’T bribe to say cool things about their products love it. Here’s an example:

 

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Firestone Battle of the Bands Finalists Announced

 

The Great British public are being urged to crank up the volume and appreciate the sounds of six talented unsigned acts, before voting on which ones should make the final of Firestone’s prestigious Battle of the Bands grassroots competition.

Around 300 acts have been whittled down to six and voting is now open at http://battleofthebands.firestone.eu/ for people to decide on who should take the final three slots, each of which will then be a step closer to making their big industry breakthrough. Once voting closes on November 23, the chosen acts will go onto play in the overall grand final on December 14 in Birmingham.

EL-Emcee, Sugarthief, Fire Fences, The Fleas, Super Furniture and Nuns of the Tundra are all on a journey to win the historic tyre brand’s nationwide talent contest, having beaten around 300 unsigned other artists to get to the shortlisted stage of the competition. A coveted Firestone trophy, more than £2,000 worth of Orange Amplification equipment and studio time worth £1,500 are all now within reach for the musicians.

Orange Amplification and returning partner Professional Music Technology (PMT) were faced with the tough task of judging the entries and agreeing on the six shortlisted acts.

Daniel Darby, artist relations and marketing at Orange, said: “It is so hard to make it in the music industry, so any competition that helps artists to break through is an in invaluable one. Battle of the Bands offers a real oppportunity for them, which is a brilliant.”

Professional Music Technology’s marketing manager Jake Marray said: “Battle of the Bands is such a relevant competition because it gives emerging artists and bands the chance to make a name for themselves. Many don’t have the budget for studio time and equipment can be very expensive too. Firestone have created something tangible and meaningful here.”

Both Daniel and Jake were part of a panel charged with whittling all of the entries down to six and they were fulsome in their praise of the quality of music on show.

“Each act is very authentic,” said Daniel. “The levels of self-belief when we were going through the entries was really noticeable. We were looking for acts who were doing things a bit differently and the final six certainly do this. This, combined with their passion and enthusiasm, has made for a very strong shortlist to vote on.”

Firestone’s brand manager Stuart Attfield said: “It has been a really uplifting experience to meet and listen to the shortlisted acts, all of whom have underlined why Firestone is so committed to music and promoting grass roots talent.

“Back in 1928, Founder, Harvey Firestone, brought together musicians and music-lovers on the Voice of Firestone, which gave known and unknown musicians a platform to perform on and an audience to perform for. This show was the first sponsored radio programme and quickly became the most successful entertainment broadcast of its time.

“Just as its tyres support drivers on the road, Firestone supports these rising talents on their Road to the main stage.”

“There is a diverse mix of talent with different styles coming to the fore. We believe that these six acts are the strongest that we have come across since launching Battle of the Bands in 2015 and we wish them all the very best of luck as they aim to make the final.”

The journeys that all six artists have been on with Firestone to get this far have been brought to life and can be also be viewed at battleofthebands.firestone.eu. Meanwhile, votes can also be cast on the same website.

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Battle of the Bands: Women in music.

We’re approaching the half way mark in this year’s Firestone ‘Battle of the Bands’, a competition where grassroots musicians are given the opportunity to be seen and heard – bands that may not have ever played outside their own garage, basement, or rehearsal studio. We are giving bands of all genres, ages and gender an opportunity to play in front of industry people and musicians who have been where you are now, trying to make it out there. For now though, we want to give some airtime to women in music.

As much as we wish we could just ignore the whole gender divide in the music industry -and every other industry, for that matter, statistics prove time after time that the music industry is very much a ‘man’s world’, both on and off stage, and no matter how much we want that to change, it won’t – unless more females stand up and make it happen.

Let’s take a look back at females that have played important roles in music over the last couple of decades:

Brody Dalle Homme



Australian born artist Brody Dalle moved to Los Angeles at 18 where she started punk band The Distillers, a band that gained huge commercial success and encouraged girls all over the world to pick up the guitar and scream their hearts out. After three albums, the band dismantled and Dalle went on to pursue her solo career. In 2017 she’s happily married to Queens of the Stone Age Frontman Josh Homme whom she’s got three children with, and she keeps making music under her own name.

Rosalie Cunningham



After the disbanding of her former band Ipso Facto, Rosalie Cunningham went on to form 70’s influenced psychedelic band Purson, who’s debut album ‘The Circle and the Blue door’ gained critical acclaim and ended was ranked number 15 on Metal Hammer’s list of the 50 best albums in 2013. Armed with a Gibson Les Paul, Cunningham and the band toured relentlessly, supporting bands such as Kiss, Electric Wizard and Pentagram. The band announced their split earlier this year, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that Rosalie will yet again come back with a vengeance.

Zel Baterista


Vodun drummer Zel is an absolute powerhouse of a drummer and technical as few. Her band Vodun is African tribal inspired stoner psychedelic rock, and consists of a soul singer and guitarist, as well as Zel on drums. Known for the bands energetic and somewhat different live shows including face paint, costumes and flaming cymbals, Zel really is a breath of fresh air, and can knock you out of your boots any day of the week.

Alison Mosshart


Alison Mosshart first gained fame with garage rock two piece The Kills alongside guitarist and singer Jamie Hince. Sharing vocals, the band toured excessively using just a drum machine for beats, and gained international fame. While touring with The Raconteurs, Jack White lost his voice and Alison ended up filling in on vocals for some shows, igniting some musical spark between Jack and Alison. The two ended up jamming alongside Raconteurs bassist Jack Lawrence and QOTSA guitarist Dean Fertita, and not long after a supergroup was born in the form of The Dead Weather. Alison’s raspy voice and energetic live performances, makes her the epitome of rock ’n’ roll, and she might just be one of the biggest females we’ve got in rock today.



Paz Lenchantin


Multi instrumentalist Paz Lenchantin has had her fingers in all the pies – from playing bass in her own band The Entrance Band, playing violin on QOTSA’s ‘Songs for the Deaf’ album, playing with A Perfect Circle, and becoming a permanent member of the Pixies in 2016 after being their touring bassist since 2014. Paz performances are spellbinding and her musical craftsmanship really is astonishing. She is a world class bassist, and while playing with The Entrance Band she almost functions as a second lead guitarist with her melodic way of playing.

Joan Jett


From forming her first band at the tender age at 16, Joan Jett gained international fame with he band The Runaways from an early age. The band recorded five albums and toured and opened up for bands such as The Ramones, Cheap Trick and Van Halen. After the Runaways ended, she felt lost as ‘her baby had died’ and eventually ended up forming Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, and band that’s still together this day today. Joan Jett is pretty much a living legend.

Liz Buckingham



Since joining Electric Wizard on guitar more than a decade ago, Liz Buckingham has proven herself to be one of the queens of doom, a genre that’s more males than any other. Buckingham’s riffs are heavier than hell, and her presence is so refreshing in a sea of bearded blokes.

Heather McKay

Photo: Marty Moffatt / Planet Rockstock

The Amorettes is an all female rock n roll three piece from Scotland, and they have been making a name for themselves over the last couple of years touring with bands such as Europe, Danko Jones and Black Stone Cherry. Bassist Heather McKay is the youngest one in the bunch, and also happens to be an Orange endorsee! The band’s sound has been described as “Airbourne fronted by Joan Jett, and a “Female Motorhead” – do we need to say more…?

 

Nita Strauss


Californian based guitarist Nita Strauss descends from Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, and her claim to fame was as the guitarist in the all female Iron Maiden tribute band the Iron Maidens. As of 2014, Strauss took over as Alice Cooper’s touring guitarist, and she’s been touring excessively ever since.

Despite all of the artists above being from different genres and generations, they share their passion for their profession, and the mutual understanding that music speaks for itself, no matter gender, sex, or race. Help us make this year’s Firestone Battle of the Bands one of the best ever – let’s celebrate diversity and come together for music.

 

 

We are a partner in this year’s Firestone Battle of the Bands, a competition that gives unsigned acts the chance to showcase their musical talents and be in with a chance of winning a great set of prizes. Entries are now closed but 6 spotlighted artists have been chosen by us and campaign partner PMT and a public vote to choose the 3 finalists opens on Monday 13th November.

Keep an eye on our social media and Firestone’s Facebook, vote, share and #BeHeard

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Interview – Jose Rios of Anderson Paak and the Free Nationals and Orange Amps.

Jose: What’s up everybody, my name is Jose Rios of the Free Nationals, Anderson Paak we out here, 24 Carat Gold tour with Bruno Mars and I’m here with Orange Amps.

My first memory of Orange Amps, I was digging through Youtube and I was watching a Stevie Wonder clip and I noticed him using one of your guys cabinets. I was like wait this guy is a keyboard player, found out it was guitar amp, did my research and looked at the Rockerverb 50 and that was the one I wanted.

My current rig is a 410 celestion cab with a Rockerverb 50 MKIII head. I usually keep the bass around 7 o’clock, treble around 5 and there is no mid on that one. Volume is usually around 4, I do clean, I always drive the clean channel. All my effects is on the pedalboard I use.

The Rockerverb helps a lot because its got a lot of power, I’m playing really big arenas and festivals, so I need the push, I need to get on top of everything. It helps me because we have our rock moments in the set and a lot of metal guys and it has a nice creamy tone when I dial it in right. It helps a lot man, I love it.

Its cool to be a part of the roster, Stevie was the seller for me. I’m into Soul music, Hip Hop, Funk, so that was the seller for me. I know there is a lot of Metal guys who use it, which is pretty cool, I love the aggression of the Metal people, the energy. Its cool to be a part of the roster.

 

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Thou Shalt Not…

THOU SHALT NOT…

They’re not exactly cast in stone like the real commandments and you’re not going to be struck down by lightning or whatever it is that happens if you should break them but there are some things that should never happen when it comes to playing in a band (even though we all know that they do).

 

…enough said.

 

FORGET THE NAME OF THE CLIENT OR THE REASON FOR THE SHOW

We play a lot of shows so some could say the odd mix up is inevitable.  To get the name of the person wrong isn’t so bad (you can always blame the drummer) but to turn up somewhere and be expecting to play a wedding party and find out you’ve got it wrong and it’s actually a funeral is a stretch to far (we may even be stretching the example a little too far here as well but go with it).  If the band doesn’t have that person who is anal enough to record every minute detail (you know the type…spreadsheets etc.) you need to come up with some way of ensuring you know what’s going on.

Is your memory as good as Dory’s?

 

FORGET WHAT YOU’RE SINGING OR PLAYING

Unlike our rock god icons we don’t have the privilege of sophisticated prompts (they wouldn’t fit on half of the stages us lesser mortals have the honour of playing on anyway) so unless you’re one of these people who surfs the internet for the correct words and / or chords etc. and then prints them out or writes them down it’s up to you to remember how the song goes.  This is one of the not so serious mess ups that can happen and can be a source of great amusement especially for your band mates…after all how often does the crowd pick up on the mistakes we make.  Plus everyone loves it when the singer does their best Kenny impression and mumbles ‘…mphmmphh mphhmm mpphmmp…’ into the mic instead of ‘…sweet child o’ mine…’.

 

Don’t be like the White Rabbit.

BE UBER LATE OR TURN UP AT THE WRONG VENUE

As a musician you get certain privileges but turning up really late or even to the wrong venue (yes it’s been done people) is not one of them.  Now obviously everyone has the odd spinal tap moment and gets lost in the labyrinth that is the venue (after all they’re all so big) but as a working band a big chunk of your reputation will be linked to your punctuality and turning up to shows when you say you will.

 

…even happens to Storm-Troopers apparently…

 

FORGET YOUR GEAR

Once you’ve been around the block a few times and clocked up a few years (decades even) playing it’s a pretty fair assumption that you will have experienced just about anything that could go wrong.  This writer has been playing for a long time and in all those years has never suffered any catastrophic issues when it comes to lapses of memory re essential gear by myself or a member of my band until recently that is…and now it’s happened twice (thankfully I wasn’t to blame on either occasion).  How the guitarist quite managed to forget his guitar the one time and then his amp on a separate occasion (which resulted in a one and a half hour round trip to get it) is still a mystery but it happened.  Happy to report that despite the problems the show still went on as planned and surprisingly even started on time.

 

…there may be gremlins in the system if too much beer flows…

 

GET SMASHED

Yeah, yeah, yeah…we know the saying goes sex, drugs and rock n roll for a reason and to be truthful this one comes with a bit of caveat but it still rings true whether you’re Slash or the local rock legend.  Getting smashed and then ‘trying’ to play is a big no no.  We’ve all been there in some shape or form; ‘…it’s a show let’s have a good time…’ or ‘…ooh the bar is free…’ or ‘…somebodies brought beer…’ but we all know how it ends…forgotten parts, the fifth fret looks like the ninth fret, the false confidence (‘I’ve always wanted to try that tapping part and I’m feeling good’), falling off the stage etc etc etc.  Yes enjoy yourself but don’t make an idiot of yourself or your fellow bandmates.  If you’re in a ‘working’ band it may be the end of your tenure as your bandmates go all ‘apprentice-esque’ on you, point the finger and say ‘you’re fired’ or you might not get any more bookings at that venue or worse word might spread about your antics and you not get any bookings at all…ok we’re being a bit OTT but it could happen.

 

 

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Interview – Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Orange Amps.

Kirk: Hey i’m Kirk Windstein from the band Crowbar out of New Orleans.

I started using the Crush 120’s, I ran into Alex at a show in Atlanta and we kind of reconnected again. Because when I left “Down” I had always used Randall solid state with Crowbar from the 80’s, Dimebag turned me on to them when Phil Anselmo joined Pantera in 87′, I used them ever since with Crowbar.

He was like: “good to see you again”

When I sent him the email saying i was leaving “Down” and I wasn’t going to be using Orange but thank you for everything and I still love the product.

So he is like: “I’ve got something you might dig”

I’m like: “What’s that?”

He goes: “We make a solid state amp now, how about I send you one?”

I said: “Sure”

So I’m like I can’t wait to get this thing to the rehearsal room, so I got it there and within two or three minutes I was like this is definitely what I’m looking for.

The thing is, up and till, when Dime turned me on to the Randall was right around the time we started to drop tuning, about 1988 Crowbar were tuning to B standard or drop A, way before the seven string came into popularity. I couldn’t get a good tone out of any tube amp but the Randall solid state got the bottom end was so much tighter and wasn’t so broken up, so I was sold on the solid state thing. When I tried the Orange Crush 120 I was blown away by how much even with our tuning it sounds like a tube amp, its got warmth that a normal solid state amp doesn’t have, it’s a better version of what I have been looking for.

I’m very old school, I don’t use an effects loop or anything, I actually just use of course a tuner. I use, I know they suck, everybody always asks me why I use it, I use a metal zone but I use it as a clean boost. So my level is on ten, my overdrive is on zero, so I’m getting no saturation from it, the EQ is at 12 o’clock. So the pedal, I’m not really using any EQ or gain, it just kind of gives it a little clean boost, it tightens it up. As far as my settings, i’m still working them out, I have my bass on eight, my treble on about four and a half and my mids on about four. It’s still a work in progress!

For me using the Orange 4X12’s its the wood, the Baltic birch, the rear mounted vintage Celestion 30’s which is pretty much the only speaker I like to use. It’s the same idea as the Marshall and Boogie and everything else, I just think it is a better made cabinet. Even our sound guy in States was saying when we were talking about the Orange cabinets:

“Man, I should have never fucking got rid of mine, it’s like the best sounding cabinet!”

To me it just is, when you pick the cabinet up, you can just tell, it’s just fucking heavy, not just sounding no pun intended! But its just a lot heavier duty, the handles are metal, everything isn’t plastic and trying to cut corners. Its just a very well made product and that shows in the tone you get out of it.

 

 

 

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Interview – Hank and Nate from Lionize and Orange Amps.

Hank : Hey what’s up everybody I’m Hank, from Lionize, I play the bass.

Nate: I’m Nate from Lionize, I play the guitar, and we are here at our Black  Heart in Camden Town, London.

Hank: We are in our van, outside of that place.

Nate: We are in an alley in Camden.

Hank: We are in an alley in Camden, which is very homey!

Nate: It smells good.

Amp wise for me its two things and two things only. Its tone and reliability, if the amp sounds great but shits out every three gigs, its for the garbage pile.

Hank: And he is very good at that. Its very good at getting things, thinking they are going to be great and deciding they are awful.

Nate: One show even and soundcheck.

Hank: This my favourite amp ever and now i’m selling it!

Nate: But I have consistently had Orange as part of my rig since about 2011-2012.

My rig on this current tour, is the same rig as the home US tour, minus a speaker cabinet. Its an Orange OR50 going into a PPC112, thats AB’d with a 1976 Marshall JMP 212 Combo.

Hank: My rig on this run, I’m playing an Ampeg SVT Classic through the OB15 and OB410.

Nate: OBC!

Hank: OBC!

Nate: I always have an Orange cab in my rig, for specifically in guitar speaking for the low and mid. There is no low end resonance like an Orange 412, even the 112 is shockingly vibrant and resonant. They are quite heavy but I think once that wood connects with the floor, that’s how you get that sound. So gladly lug it up any set of stairs.

Hank: I go back to Orange simply because it adds an element of grit for me bass playing wise. Its add some dirt in a way that other cabs dont.

Nate: Different bands measure success on a spectrum, for some its money. Some its…

Hank: Lobster and hookers.

Nate: Lobster and hookers. But I think for a band like us because we are such fans of music and looking at the web site and seeing our name on same list as Stevie Wonder and Jimmy Page and Geddy Lee and Billy Gibbons. We are going to go along and say that’s a pretty nice notch on the old success…

Hank: Belt?

Nate: Belt!

Hank: Headboard?

Nate: Headboard! We measure success in headboard notches! Thats one of them! And Lobsters and Hookers!

 

 

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Interview – Tim Sult of Clutch

Tim Sult: Tim Sult from Clutch here, i don’t remember the first time I saw an Orange amp but I definitely remember the first time I heard an Orange amp. That was when I saw Sleep play live, when we were recording our first album, that would have been in 1993.

When we were on tour, probably the year after that in 1994, I found an old Orange amp, in a music store in Colorado for $600, so I bought that. It was an old OR120, I was just using it for everything, I just used to turn it up as loud as it would go, that was all I did with it for a while, until I blew it up! Which happened many times!

We have different gear over here in Europe than we do in the U.S. but over here I have got a 40th anniversary OR50 up on stage, I love that thing. At home I found two, old Orange combos, two 70’s combos. I believe they are both OR120 overdrive combos and I have been playing those in the U.S. and those are phenomenal, it would be great if you could clone those old Oranges.

For me I like a clean tone, with just a little bit extra, I don’t really have much luck going with a really overdrivey tone. I usually think it sounds a bit better, more Clutch like if it is a little more clean. So thats what I like about the OR’s they have a big, clean sound, that you can add overdrive into.

For some reason the Orange cabs always seem like they have a little more life than any other cabs that I own, so that is definitely my favourite part about the Orange cabinets. They seem to have more top end and more bottom end, than any of the other cabinets I have.

I usually don’t use a huge amount of effects, I use a phaser, I have a Electro Harmonix Micro Pog, octave thing I always like to use, and I use a wah.  I always run my effects through the front of the amp, I have never used any kind of effects loop. If you have a good sounding amp, thats 95% of the battle right there, I think my thing with Orange is to let the amp itself make the tone and not make the pedals themselves make the tone.

With the next album, we have been writing for a good long time, I am definitely going to be trying to work in as much Orange stuff as humanly possible!

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