Open Box Orange Amplifiers OR Series OR15H 15W Compact Tube Guitar Amp Head Level 1

Most Liked Positive Review

Workhorse with class and distinction!

I like this amp so much, I made an account here just to review it! I see Orange as the red headed middle step child of classic amp brands, and this head has the attitude to prove it! There are so many tones, overdrive/crunch to nearly clean, that can be coaxed from this thing, it's like having an all tube analog modeler of classic amp tones, no exaggerating at all. More gain than any vintage design, yet set up right, you'd swear it was a vintage single channel amp of some kind, cranked and it sounds like a hot rodded vintage amp modded out by a master amp tech from the golden days. As vintage flavored as this amp can get, it's not a reissue, and this is really it's biggest advantage. Without the constraints of trying to nail a very particular sound that other brands have built their reputation on, Orange is free to design and release amps that just work for the needs of modern players. This amp sounds really good with modern production tubes which, in a classic reissue circuit, can often leave a lot to be desired if you've ever played a classic amp design with old glass in it. This makes this amp a really incredible value for someone looking for vintage tones, but adds the versatility of a more modern amp with tons of gain on tap. The gain structure is flat out brilliant. Set the master up high, and the gain lower for some very vintage crunch and lead tones, set the master low and the gain high for modded vintage amp singing lead and heavy crunch riffs. This thing covers the Beatles to Zep, Steely Dan to the Ramones, it's nuts. With some experimentation, you can set it up to go from clean(ish) to crunch/lead by using just your volume and tone controls, or go from crunch to searing lead sounds. Pro players back in the day loved amps that could do this if you read some gear interviews, and many a classic amp was modded to achieve it, here you get it right out of the box without even having to change out the tubes! Amazing! You may find you don't even need that old od box you're used to using once you get a handle on how your volume/tone controls on your guitar can work in tandem with the gain structure of this amp. The fx loop is really good too! Perhaps this bit is even the secret to the amps incredible control over preamp and power amp distortion, as the tube buffered fx loop is always in the circuit, it gives great control over the preamp and power amp gain sound. Add your modulation and echo here and you won't be disappointed! High gain settings may not work so great with reverb in the loop, but I honestly think reverb rarely sounds good in high gain amps myself, unless all the gain is in the preamp, which is a sound I'm rarely fond of, but in this thing it actually sounds ok! The 7 watt mode and very well designed preamp gain allow you to get great tones at low volumes but adding an attenuator will give you all the vintage tones you could need at any volume. It's really great that you don't absolutely need one for good low volume sounds though! I really could write all day about this head, it's so great! If you have some old glass, pop it in and the amp sounds even more authentically vintage but honestly, you don't even need it to massively enjoy this amp!