5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Good folk of the Sound Table.

Would you swap your early 90's Peavey 5150 [block letter] for a 1973 Orange OR120 (in good condition for a 4.5 decade old non master volume amp) ?

Is that insanity or just a mid-life crisis ?

Would you keep your 5150, or got for the more simple circuit of the OR120 ?

All help/in-sight will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Depends on what it is you need the amp to do.
Are you a high gain player? If so, the Orange would need help doing that.
Personally, I’d probably stick to the 5150.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Do you like tight high-gain metal amps or loud clean amps that need pedals?

I have four vintage Matamps that are essentially the same as that Orange, and I love them, but the one that doesn't have Master Volume on it is punishingly loud.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Do you like tight high-gain metal amps or loud clean amps that need pedals?

I have four vintage Matamps that are essentially the same as that Orange, and I love them, but the one that doesn't have Master Volume on it is punishingly loud.

I am looking for an amp that can sound extremely close to the now discontinued, Retro 50.
I do not think there is a single one in this god-forsaken country, so an OR120 is probably the next best thing ?

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

I have one of these. It’s been my #1 for the last 4-5 years.
https://reverb.com/p/orange-ad50-custom-shop-head

This is also a great one. Looks like there’s 4 of them on Reverb.
https://reverb.com/item/2256189-orange-custom-shop-50-brand-new-handwired

 

[Adieu]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

5150

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Modern Oranges like the one you mentioned have more in common with the 5150 than the OR120.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Modern Oranges like the one you mentioned have more in common with the 5150 than the OR120.

Oh W :bigeyes: W . . . i thought that the Retro 50 (hand wired) was at least a throw-back to the golden age of the 70's-era Oranges.

The clips on youtube also sounded very promising. More Led Zeppelin, than Lamb Of God.

Would you say the OR120 will be 'louder' than my Laney Klipp ?
( - through the same cab)

Much Appreciated.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Tweaked and recorded both amps during the last few years a couple of times for other bands and I'd say, without hesitation, I'd keep the 5150.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Oh W :bigeyes: W . . . i thought that the Retro 50 (hand wired) was at least a throw-back to the golden age of the 70's-era Oranges.

The clips on youtube also sounded very promising. More Led Zeppelin, than Lamb Of God.

Would you say the OR120 will be 'louder' than my Laney Klipp ?
( - through the same cab)

Much Appreciated.

I can't comment on the Laney as ive never had a Klipp next to any of my Orange / Matamps. I can tell you that with no master volume and 120 watts you won't get those Zeppelin tones until you're blisteringly loud. I love playing blisteringly loud and use my non-master volume as often as possible, but if overdrive is your goal I'd suggest you keep the 5150 and track down a master volume Orange.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Depends on type of music -I used to tour sometimes with an OR120 -must admit -it's a bit harsh to my ears compared to my Fenders, Marshall JCM800s and Traynor YBA1.

It's a very loud and pretty good amp -but for certain types of music the 5150 is sort of the gold standard whereas the OR120 can't really say that.

It definitely has a distinct things that are great -so I wouldn't dismiss the OR120 outright -

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Depends on type of music -I used to tour sometimes with an OR120 -must admit -it's a bit harsh to my ears compared to my Fenders, Marshall JCM800s and Traynor YBA1.

It's a very loud and pretty good amp -but for certain types of music the 5150 is sort of the gold standard whereas the OR120 can't really say that.

It definitely has a distinct things that are great -so I wouldn't dismiss the OR120 outright -

The OR120 is the holy grail of 70s punk and 90s doom but they require a ton of volume to achieve that sound. I have never gigged with my non-master head without making enemies with the sound guy, so I mostly use it for bass and use the master volume heads for gigs.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Can a GOOD amp tech mod an OR120, to a master volume model ?

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Can a GOOD amp tech mod an OR120, to a master volume model ?

Yes, it’s an easy mod for a tech.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Yes, it’s an easy mod for a tech.

Thanks . . . that is good news.

Will it then be the equivalent of an OR80 Overdrive, but in a 120 format ?

 

[Gtrjunior]

5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

Thanks . . . that is good news.

Will it then be the equivalent of an OR80 Overdrive, but in a 120 format ?

Idk about the OR80. I’m not really an Orange amp guy.

But I can tell you that you’ll be able to crank up the volume to get “the sound” and then use the master volume to bring it down to a usable level.
It’s called a post phase inverter master volume (ppimv). They sell kits with all of the parts included together for you in the kit.
I had it done to my JCM 800. It works awesome.

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

The OR80 and 120 are literally the same amp except that the 120 has 4 el34 and the 80 has 2. You can add 2 extra tube sockets to the 80 and turn it into the 120 as the transformers are even the same... so you can pull a pair and run this as an or80 if need. Just halve the impedence.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

I tend to get concerned when somebody wants to buy a vintage amp and mod it. There are already modded ones, and stock ones with master volumes. I know your location makes some of them harder to get but I'd personally prefer to spend more for the amp I want than to spend money to hurt the value of my cool collectible thing yknow?

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

I tend to get concerned when somebody wants to buy a vintage amp and mod it. There are already modded ones, and stock ones with master volumes. I know your location makes some of them harder to get but I'd personally prefer to spend more for the amp I want than to spend money to hurt the value of my cool collectible thing yknow?

I totally understand.
My location, like you've mentioned is a huge pain in the arse though
I have NEVER seen a master volume Orange (vintage 70's or even the early 90's) for sale in this country, nor have i ever heard of any one owning one.
Hell, i a the only person i know who owns a Laney AOR over here.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: 5150 or an early 70's Orange OR120 ?

The OR120 is the holy grail of 70s punk and 90s doom but they require a ton of volume to achieve that sound. I have never gigged with my non-master head without making enemies with the sound guy, so I mostly use it for bass and use the master volume heads for gigs.

As someone who listens to more 70s punk than anybody -and engineered a lot of 90s doom -I disagree -as the holy grail -I mean.

it's a very good amp -but it's not the best for either IMO.