Glenn Hughes

Glenn Hughes is rock royalty, with a vocal and bass-playing technique that has defined generations. From his early days with Trapeze to the Deep Purple years, Hughes’s soaring vocals and bass lines became cornerstones of hard rock. He later shaped new ground with solo work and collaborations in Black Country Communion, Sabbath and more. As an Orange signature artist, he now has two pieces of gear bearing his name: the Glenn Hughes Signature O-Bass and the Glenn Hughes Crush Bass 50 combo. It’s a rare, purple-coloured salute reserved for legends, and Hughes wears it perfectly.

Hughes’s signature O-Bass features a Seymour Duncan SPB-1 pickup and distinctive chequerboard binding for bold visual character.

The Glenn Hughes version of Crush Bass 50 is a limited edition combo amp in purple with a unique plaque.

Hughes is officially honoured by Orange as the only artist with signature gear in both instrument and amp departments.

His dual role as vocalist and bassist makes him a rare hybrid — frontman and backbone in one.

IN MORE DETAIL

Glenn Hughes’s trajectory reads like rock history. Born in Staffordshire, he first gained notice as a powerhouse vocalist and bassist for Trapeze before being recruited by Deep Purple in 1973. His blend of soulful vocals and muscular bass playing helped push Purple into funk-inflected territory.

After his Purple era, Hughes embarked on a bold solo path, fusing rock, soul, R&B, and collaborating with heavyweights like Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi. More recently, his work with Black Country Communion and The Dead Daisies cemented his reputation as a still-vital force. In recognition of his impact and his long association with Orange, we have released the Glenn Hughes Signature O-Bass (a variant of our O-Bass with purple finish, chequerboard binding and a Seymour Duncan SPB-1 pickup) and the Glenn Hughes Limited Edition Crush Bass 50 combo, both capturing his tone, spirit and ongoing legacy. These signature products aren’t just tributes — they’re tools for players to channel the “Voice of Rock.”

Tone you can plug into

Having signature gear means Glenn Hughes’s sound is baked into Orange’s hardware. The Glenn Hughes Signature O-Bass injects his tonal fingerprint into a player’s rig: warm low mids from the SPB-1 pickup that's unique to this edition and a growl that’s immediately recognisable. Complementing this is the Glenn Hughes Crush Bass 50, a 50-Watt combo with parametric mid control and Blend/Gain options for extra grit, designed to deliver Hughes’ punchy low end even in compact setups. This equipment lets you approach his tone not as a replica, but a starting point to develop your own voice.

A Legacy Woven Into Orange DNA

Orange doesn’t hand out signature status lightly. The fact that Hughes has a signature bass and a signature amp highlights how deep (and deeply purple) his partnership runs. It affirms his position not only as a legend of rock but also as a living contributor to the Orange story, particularly in Orange’s initial heyday of the 1970s. His artistry is tied directly to the gear, as a symbolic and functional bridge between legacy and modern play.

Inspiration Meets Accessibility

Part of what makes Glenn Hughes so inspiring is that his musicianship spans extremes: soulful singing, intricate bass lines, genre-shifting collaborations. Yet his signature gear is built for real players, not just showpieces. The O-Bass is playable, balanced and bold. The Crush Bass 50 is powerful yet compact, versatile yet characterful. That duality mirrors his career: deeply expressive, yet always accessible. By putting his name on working tools, Orange makes his legacy tangible to anyone serious about bass and tone.