You've added an item to the cart! ×

12828323_932070776907373_54997276472173009_o

Photo: Andy Watson

How did you get into music in the first place?
I grew up surrounded by music and the people playing it, my grandmother played and my dad played the saxophone. It was something I just naturally gravitated towards from a very young age, and it didn’t go away. I think you either have it in you or you dont, and for me it was just something I stuck with.

Was there any specific bands or artists that led you onto the path of playing the music you do?
My dad listened to a lot of classic rock, which definitely turned me onto guitar based music, and then at 11 I found bands like Nirvana, Slipknot and Smashing Pumpkins, and from that ventured off down a few different paths that led me to where I am today.

What records are you currently listening to?
I’ve kind of been kicking it old school, and I’ve actually been listening to a lot of Marilyn Manson recently, ‘Disposable Teens’, that kind of era. I’m also a die hard Placebo fan, so they’re always on rotation.

Did you always know that this is what you would end up doing?
I never knew, but I always hoped.

Do you feel like you have been faced with certain challenges being a female musician within a genre that is predominantly male dominated?
You definitely get the occasional sexism and mistreatment, or people thinking you dont know your own gear or what you’re talking about because you’re female, if that happens I tend to just hit them back, prove them wrong and shut them down.

How long have you been using Orange?
It hasn’t been too long actually, I’ve only been using it a few months but so far it’s been really great.

What’s your set-up?
I’ve got an OB1-500 head and the new O Bass.

You guys have had a busy year, how is the rest of the year looking?
We were away the first four months of the year and you get so used to this weird lifestyle on the road, so as soon as you come back you dont really know what to do with yourself. We’re heading back out on tour later this year as we’ll be touring Europe with Turnover, we haven’t been to Europe since January so I’m really looking forward to that!

13112496_10153852776966743_239655813_oPhoto by Keira Anee.

Since the birth of The Wytches in 2011, the Brighton based psych surf rock band has built up a solid following both within and outside the UK. Bassist Dan Rumsey has been an official Orange ambassador just over a year, and was more than happy to sit down with Orange for a chat.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself ?
I live in Brighton right on the sea with my wife and my dog. It’s the best place in the world to live. Well so far anyway.

What got you into music and playing in the first place?
Well, I guess I got into it late, really. I heard bands like the Offspring, Green Day through my older brother. I remember thinking how different and exciting this music sounded to anything I’d heard before. So I slowly got all the Offspring back catalogue then looked into similar bands to them like Dead Kennedys and The Vandals and the list went on. I discovered new bands by looking up those bands influences. I was heavily into that kind of punk rock for a long time and still am. When I found Alkaline Trio and AFI though; I was done, I could have died happy. I wanted to be like these bands so I got my dad to get me a guitar and taught myself, then when my first band came along they needed a bass player so i got one of those instead. The first instrument I learned was the drumkit though but that was when I first started school and had to choose something.

Can you tell us a bit about your history and experience with Orange?
I think the first time I ever saw an Orange amp was onstage at a show, i can’t remember who now though. I remember how striking they looked. Then I first heard one properly when I was in a band where the guitarist had a tiny terror. I always thought they must be special because not many people had them. My first Orange amp was a practice bass amp which I ended up using in some pretty big venues actually. But eventually I had to upgrade so used other makes which I borrowed until I was able to become an ambassador for Orange. They were always the go to amp for me though wherever possible.

What’s your current set up?
I play an American standard Fender Jazz bass in black through an Orange 1000 watt Bass terror head; into an Orange 810 cab also in black.

Can you name five albums you’re currently listening to?
Lucette: Black is the colour
Fairport convention: Unhalfbricking
Bill Ryder Jones: West Kirby County Primary
Nick Cave and the bad seeds: Let Love In
Joanna Newsom: YS

What do you do when you’re not touring and recording, any hobbies?
I run a small illustration business called Oh So Grim. I draw stupid drawings of weird people and animals and basically try to sell it to people. I write my own music too, so I don’t really stop with the creative stuff. If I do I, feel really guilty that I’ve wasted a day, same if I watch TV for too long, then I have to go and even it out with at least some guitar practice.

Monolord Screen Shot - 2

Monolord’s Mika & Thomas talk Orange at Desertfest 2016


Thomas: Hi my name is Thomas. I play guitar and sing in Monolord.

Mika: Hi my name is Mika and I play the bass in Monolord.

When was your first experience of Orange amps?

Mika: My first memory of Orange amps is from 23 years ago when i was just a small kid learning to play guitars. I was with my best friend. We were learning how to play guitar together. His farther had a huge stack of amps and guitars. Of course he had orange there.

Thomas: I think it must of been at an old beat club concert with black sabbath. They had their classic paranoid video, I think that’s the first time I saw an Orange amp.

Mika: The first time I played an orange amp I was about 20. I was with my friends at a rehearsal.

Thomas: When I was about 25 I bought my first Orange amp for recording an album in my old band.

What is your current set up?

Mika: Right now I have an 8 x 10 speaker cab and an OB1500 amp which I’m very happy about it has a lot of power in that. I had to try the OB1500 because of how good it sounded in previews. Now I am looking at getting another 8 x 10 speaker cabinet and an AD200.

Thomas: I have the OR100H. with a high powered 400W cab. Then I have two old cabs, one is from 79 and the other from around 2006. I have an old modified slave head from 73 that was modified a while back. They had put a Matamp face plate on it but now I have found an old Orange face plate that was from 73 as well. So now it’s back to a normal Orange again. It’s reliable, built like a tank! And if you play a smaller club or a bigger club it doesn’t matter, it still works and sounds great.

Thomas: We have been working really hard to get our sound that we can use together, not only sound great separately but to sound great together
Mika: We have gone through quite a lot of gear

Thomas: Ye but now it seems like we have found our thing. It sounds good on stage but we like that it even sounds good out side the stage.

Mika: I get all excited about it every time I get out the amps!

Thomas: ye like ooooo (excited expression)

Mika: Like a giggling small boy

Thomas: Like Mr Burns eeeexcellent (strums fingers together)

Mika: For my main sound I just use one fuzz pedal but of course I combine it with some effects here and there. But basically the main sound is one fuzz pedal straight to the amp and its perfect with the OB1500, you can really turn up the gain there!

Thomas: Ye the sound is more or less the guitar, a fuzz pedal and the amp. It’s nothing more really, I have some delay and flange and phaser just to broaden the sound a little more.
Of course we were really really happy when we talked to Alex in Atlanta and we also visited the office outside London. When we became ambassadors I felt … well it was like a dream!
To be able to use Orange I’m really thrilled about it!

Mika: Ye I’m stoked about it!

Orange has redesigned their entire entry-level bass combo range with the introduction of the Orange Crush Bass Series. Key upgrades include a parametric EQ circuit across the series, inspired by the Orange 4 Stroke series bass amps, allowing bassists to fine tune these amps to any musical style with much greater control. Their analogue circuitry, newly-designed speakers and ported cabinetry ensure all three of these elegant combos deliver bold and punchy lows. In addition to a handy onboard tuner, the Headphone output on all models features CabSim filtering to emulate the response of Orange’s stage-ready OBC bass cabinets – optimised for direct recording or silent practice. The Crush Bass 50 and 100 are a nod to Orange’s OB1 Series amps with their unique interactive Gain and Blend controls. These create enormous ‘bi-amp’ style tones by adding harmonics and variable levels of grit to the core bass sound, perfect for earthy 70s vintage tones and savage distorted anarchy without losing the important low end.

The Crush Bass 25 (RRP £149) might be the smallest in the range, but its character is fat and composed with a surprising low end thump. Its highly responsive active EQ, with parametric mid control, allows bassists to dial in a huge range of sounds, making it the perfect miniature rig for players on which to hone their tone.

The Crush Bass 50, (RRP £229) combines the essentials of a portable practice rig with all the tone and features ordinarily reserved for the professionals. Also featuring an active parametric EQ, this 50 Watt rig produces warm modern cleans but is capable of much more besides, thanks to the amp’s gain and blend circuit. From vintage grind all the way up to full-on distorted mayhem, this footswitchable feature combined with the effects loop, adds limitless tonal possibilities.

The Crush Bass 100 (RRP £369) is seriously versatile in both sound and application with enough power for smaller venues. The high-end engineering techniques used in its design are key to its immensely forceful and detailed tone. The introduction of discrete components in the 100 Watt output stage, rather than common integrated ones, means the amp has additional levels of clarity across the entire sound spectrum. Coupled with all the functionality of the Crush Bass 50, the Crush Bass 100 also adds a balanced output for live use.

Crush Bass 25 Crush Bass 50 Crush Bass 100
Features Active 3 Band EQ Active 3 Band EQ Active 3 Band EQ
Parametric Mid Control Parametric Mid Control Parametric Mid Control
CabSim Loaded Headphone Input CabSim Loaded Headphone Input CabSim Loaded Headphone Input
Aux In Aux In Aux In
Footswitchable Bi-Amp Inspired Blend & Gain Controls Footswitchable Bi-Amp Inspired Blend & Gain Controls
Buffered Effects Loop Balanced Output Buffered Effects Loop
Controls 6DB Pad Switch 6DB Pad Switch 6DB Pad Switch
Bass Bass Bass
Frequency Frequency Frequency
Middle Middle Middle
Treble Treble Treble
Volume Volume Volume
Integrated Chromatic Tuner Integrated Chromatic Tuner Integrated Chromatic Tuner
Finish Orange or Black

Basketweave Vinyl

Orange or Black

Basketweave Vinyl

Orange or Black

Basketweave Vinyl

Output Power 25 Watts 50 Watts 100 Watts
Speaker 8” 12” 15”
Dimensions 32.5 x 36.5 x 23.5 cm

(12.8 x 14.37 x 9.25”)

43 x 48.5 x 27.5 cm

(16.93 x 19.09 x 10.83”)

51 x 55 x 35.5 cm

(20.28 x 21.65 x 13.98”)

Weight 8.3Kg (18.26lb) 14.15Kg (31.85lb) 24.25Kg (53.46b)

To find out more about Orange Bass gear please go to https://orangeamps.com/bass-gear/

 

 Richard-Turner-Blackberry-Smoke (1)

Can you please tell us about your history with Orange?
I always wanted an Orange amp because Black Sabbath was playing them, and they were pretty hard to find in the States back in the day. We also played that NAMM show in Anaheim for Orange’s, I think it was their 40th anniversary, and we met all of the Orange people, and obviously the backline was all Orange, and I told them “I’d like to take this home with me.” and they said “Ok”, and I was like “Oh, that’s very, very nice of you!”, and I’ve been using Orange ever since.

What’s your set up then?
I had an old 15inch cabinet and a 4×10, and the MK3 200 watt head, which I love – it’s never given me any problems. After a while I needed something bigger, so I asked for the 1000 watt Tiny Terror head and an 8×10 cabinet and I’ve been playing them all over the US.

A lot of people that normally wouldn’t listen to country or southern rock still listen to Blackberry Smoke, why do you think that is?
We all come from different backgrounds, back in the day Brit and I were in a metal band called Nihilist, so we’re a band that can play a wide spectrum of music, and it boils down to good versus bad. When people say Blackberry Smoke is a country rock band that turns a lot of people off. I wouldn’t call The Eagles or The Rolling Stones country rock bands, but they both definitely did country rock-ish music at one point or another, outstanding country rock music. They also both did dance and pop music as well, and that’s why they’re both so good and still in business, they just appeal to such a wide variety of people as they instead of sticking a specific genre they stick to playing good music, whether that’s country, rock or something else. Another band like that is Motörhead. It’s a shame that so many bands get tossed around the genre machine and never manages to come out of it.

How is it being in a band that’s known to “always be on tour”?
We played less shows in 2015 than we did in 2014 and the year before that. In 2013 we played 255 shows, and when you tour like that over many years it does become a lot. We’ve started to cut back a bit because everyone’s got small children, except for Brandon. Which we know of, he might be making some children as we speak…

After more than four decades in the industry, you’re now getting the highest acknowledgement there is in rock ’n’ roll by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – how does that feel?
We are thrilled to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s hard to imagine that it’s really happening.

You’re notoriously known for your 12 string bass and at times you’ve almost had a function as second lead guitarist, how did the idea about the 12 string bass come about?
I had the idea for the 12 string bass back in 1973. Our friends Paul Hamer and Jol Danzig were starting the Hamer Guitar Company and by 1977 I was able to talk them into making me one.


Can you tell us a bit about your history and experiences with Orange?
Our guitarist Rick Nielsen and I went to London in 1968 and met Cliff Cooper at his Orange Music shop where he was just starting to make Orange Amplifiers. Rick ended up buying one of his 2×12 combos at the time which he still uses on stage. 

What’s you’re current set up – guitars, pedals and amps?
My current live rig is an AD50 Custom Shop head running an Orange 4×12 cabinet and an AD200B MK3 head running another Orange 4×12 cabinet. I don’t use any effects or pedals.

As mentioned earlier, you’ve all been doing this for a very long time, will this be your last album, or do you have any plans of recording yet another one? How does the future look like for Cheap Trick?
We are releasing a new LP, “Bang, Zoom, Crazy, Hello” April 1st on Big Machine Records. After that, our plan is to release a new record every year. We’ve almost completed our follow up record!