Cliff Cooper opened the Orange Musical Instrument Shop in London, England in 1968 and is still running things. I have carried Orange Amplifification products over the years and like many other European makers their American distribution has been a bit “dodgy” at times, but I always admired the product.
We currently carry the full line of Orange products, but I personally prefer amp and speaker enclosures to combo units. Their professional combos weigh about twice that of a Fender Twin Reverb and that is heavy enough in my opinion. If there is a better sounding stack out there at any price I have yet to hear it.
When I got my first stack in I set it up and it sounded great with any guitar. However, I noticed that all I got was the amp, no paperwork and no manual. That didn’t much bother me as I tend to play older gear and that paperwork has usually been gone for decades, but this was new and some of us do at times consult owners manuals when all else fails. I called Orange about this evident oversight. I was told to stand in from of the amp. Look at the orange band with the symbols on it. If I couldn’t understand the symbols I should not purchase the amp. That simple.
In no time at all, Vaughn English, a good friend and local rocker purchased my first half stack. Understandably, Vaughn loved it and still does. A week or so later Vaughn came into the shop one evening with the head reporting that it was making bad noises. I assured him that I would take care of the problem. I called Orange the next day, they asked me to ask Vaughn to bring it home and call them direct. An engineer explained to Vaughn that anyone intelligent to purchase an Orange Amplifier is intelligent to repair one. Vaughn did as instructed and hasn’t had a problem since. He has also purchased a lot more Oranges! This is clearly no ordinary company.
Around here folks have been going crazy over the new Tiny Terrors. Fifteen watts of great class “A” tube sound beats one hundred watts of bad sound any day! Plus, they look really cool. We just got in their new Thunderverb. You decide how much power you are putting out with an attenuator. We don’t have the two hundred watt model in stock, but if you need one for that Fenway park gig, let us know!