The Orange Amp Field Guide Introduction

The Orange Amp Field Guide

This site was intended to be a collection of any Orange info found around the web and donated by Orange owners.
CAUTION: THE INFO PRESENTED HERE IS NOT GUARANTEED TO BE 100% CORRECT!!!

NEWS
05/10/2010Added AD30TC schematic + test issue pdf
(test issue contains change notes for some other types too)
27/05/2008Changed Series 2 combo into Reverb Master, pictures thanks to Jerry Haussler
30/01/2008Added AD5 pictures and info, thanks to Bruce Cobby
30/01/2008Added Slave 120 pictures, thanks to Dirk K.
20/01/2008Added Rockerverb 50 schematics, shared by Sooner&Joseph Hargreaves
13/03/2007Orange Reverb Unit pics (solid state)
04/03/2007Orange Matamp ST pictures, thanks to Andreas (Zurich)
04/03/2007AD50 Custom: corrected info, thanks to Chris Harvey
04/03/2007AD50 Retro: corrected info and added user manual, thanks to Chris Harvey
27/02/2005Dating info for pics and text amps!!!
updates on AD5, AD140B, AD200B, O120 SeriesII, Super Bass, OR135,...
17/12/2004OFG was offline a few days, but now back with a new URL!
21/09/2004Added AD30 (+AD30R) schematic, shared by Joseph Hargreaves
18/05/2004Added AD140TC schematic, shared by Joel(Spoonie G) and Sooner
17/05/2004Added Reverb Unit (solid state), schematic drawn by Ben Hickmott
05/05/2004Added AD15 schematic shared by R. Dennerline and Sooner
05/04/2004Added three GRO schematics from Ben Hickmott
15/03/2004Urgent need to mention Inofficial Orange Picture Gallery again, apparently my previous link was wrong?

Matamp and Orange...

Since there is not too many info to be found on Orange amplifiers around the www (not even on the official Orange website!), I decided to put a site together myself.
I am not an amp tech or a collector, I was just curious about these orange things... I would like to thank anyone who already has supplied me with info. Orange data, schematics and pictures are always welcome.

The Orange website is nice, but it does not contain info on discontinued (vintage) models and it hasn't been updated too much.
The Official Orange page (said to be updated soon...)

As most of you will probably know Matamp and Orange are closely related. The Matamp sites also have some historical info on the Matamp/Orange era. Therefore I would like to point you out to the official Matamp websites.
Matamp UK Matamp US Greenamps Blackamps (***NEW!***)

Orange models

The Orange range has evolved from the oldest 4xEL34 non-master volume amps (described as Graphic amps) to the current range that has types from a 1xEL84 amp that puts out 5 Watts to a 200 Watts Bass amp with 4x6550 tubes.
I have tried to put them in the Orange Amp Field Guide, with some technical data and some pics for each model.

First there were the so called Graphic Amps. They got this name because the first models had only images and no text to describe the knob functions. They were the first Oranges to come out in the late 60s and early 70s.
In 1976 the Overdrive Amps were introduced. They were Graphic amps equipped with a Master Volume. There were no other major differences.
Some time later on (???) there was an update to the Overdrive Series II. Most of the models (all?) until this time were available as head or combo.

The Orange factory had a temporary closedown (some time around the disco era ? ;-) ). But production was restarted in the early 90s. The Graphics were fitted with Standby switches and a few new models were developed. Although new... The "new" OTR series (since half 90s) are said to be Overdrives with only some small changes. (If anyone has ever compared them, please let me know whether it's true or not.)
In November '98 the "Class A" combo's were launched. However they are most likely not really Class A in the electrical meaning of the word since they are push-pull amps. This range of amps consists of brand new 2xEL84 and 4xEL84 amps that are considered to be worth their money (and they're not exactly cheap). The AD5 (April 2000) is probably the only real "Class A" amp.
For info on Class A amplification check here and here at www.aikenamps.com
New in January 2001 were two twin channel amps: the AD30TC combo and AD140TC head. Somewhat more exclusive is the custom AD140 Lead that features point-to-point wiring. At that Orange also introduced the Orange Crush series. This is a solid state budget amp range.

At www.proguitar.de I saw an announcement for a "RETRO 50" amp that would be introduced shortly...

3/3/2002