Orange TH100?

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Mechanical Birds
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Orange TH100?

Post by Mechanical Birds » Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:18 am

Anybody got one? I’m surprised how much cheaper they are than other Orange stuff.

I applied for a GC Credit card just to see and got approved for a decent credit line. Navigating what brands qualify for financing is dumb as hell with it. They do list the brands, but none of it is shit I remotely care about and the 37% interest it carries otherwise is pretty criminal.

I just sold my main big boy amp and figure using a little bit of the money for something else isn’t a bad idea. So what’s up with these things? I like good cleans, thick breakup, noticing mids - the amp I just sold was a Sunn model T if that helps narrow down what I might like. Thanks in advance!

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by JSett » Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:50 am

Mechanical Birds wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:18 am
Anybody got one? I’m surprised how much cheaper they are than other Orange stuff.

I applied for a GC Credit card just to see and got approved for a decent credit line. Navigating what brands qualify for financing is dumb as hell with it. They do list the brands, but none of it is shit I remotely care about and the 37% interest it carries otherwise is pretty criminal.

I just sold my main big boy amp and figure using a little bit of the money for something else isn’t a bad idea. So what’s up with these things? I like good cleans, thick breakup, noticing mids - the amp I just sold was a Sunn model T if that helps narrow down what I might like. Thanks in advance!
I had an Orange Thunder head for a while, I wasn't much of a fan. Its overdrive was too smooth and modern for my tastes. I bought it as a backup for my old 74 OR120 - which has that beautiful ugly overdrive that people who like Sunn/Matamp/etc seem to love.

I don't know what they go for where you are but here in the UK they're usually about £1000-1200 Vs the Model TS that are, when they come up, more like £3500-4000

If you're looking to replace the Model T and stay in the sonic realm it occupied I think an Orange TH, as lovely as they are, won't cut it for you.
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by Mechanical Birds » Tue Jan 11, 2022 1:35 am

Found more info and seems like it’s their take on a Mesa or something so yeah, I’m good I think /:

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by Dr Tony Balls » Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:35 am

johnnysomersett wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:50 am
I had an Orange Thunder head for a while, I wasn't much of a fan. Its overdrive was too smooth and modern for my tastes. I bought it as a backup for my old 74 OR120 - which has that beautiful ugly overdrive that people who like Sunn/Matamp/etc seem to love.
FWIW, hardly any of the modern Orange amps capture the same circuit of the original units. There have been a few but they're mostly the hand-wired really pricey ones. It's a shame, tbh.
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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by JSett » Tue Jan 11, 2022 8:11 am

Dr Tony Balls wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:35 am
johnnysomersett wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:50 am
I had an Orange Thunder head for a while, I wasn't much of a fan. Its overdrive was too smooth and modern for my tastes. I bought it as a backup for my old 74 OR120 - which has that beautiful ugly overdrive that people who like Sunn/Matamp/etc seem to love.
FWIW, hardly any of the modern Orange amps capture the same circuit of the original units. There have been a few but they're mostly the hand-wired really pricey ones. It's a shame, tbh.
It is a shame, for sure. I went into my OR120 more than a few times to keep it maintained and it wasn't a complicated circuit, there's surely a market for them with the popularity of doom/stoner/desert rock etc so it seems weird not to just put one out there, even if they only make a small amount a year.
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by i love sharin foo » Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:15 am

For a more old school Orange tone, a fresh Matamp GT120 is the way to go IMHO. I run mine alongside an old Orange Overdrive 120. The new GT120MV isn’t a straight up clone and doesn’t cop the exact tone but they certainly share a good bit of DNA. They’re wired on turret boards now for easier servicing and are setup to bias each output tube separately. The old PCB Oranges aren’t terrible to work on but I much prefer turrets myself.
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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by JSett » Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:33 am

i love sharin foo wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:15 am
For a more old school Orange tone, a fresh Matamp GT120 is the way to go IMHO. I run mine alongside an old Orange Overdrive 120. The new GT120MV isn’t a straight up clone and doesn’t cop the exact tone but they certainly share a good bit of DNA. They’re wired on turret boards now for easier servicing and are setup to bias each output tube separately. The old PCB Oranges aren’t terrible to work on but I much prefer turrets myself.
Turrets will always be easier, but at least the old PCB Oranges have nice big, easy to read components and plenty of space between them. I just looked on Google at the TH100 guts - no thanks, looks like a nightmare to troubleshoot/repair.

I don't know if that's even a consideration for OP, not everyone works on their own amps.

Matamp GT120 would be just as good, if not better, than an OR120. Slightly different flavour but definitely still in the same sonic world.
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by hexes » Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:13 pm

i’m not an anti-pcb snob (ampeg did it right. V4 etc can survive a nuclear blast). that said, my buddy’s orange AD30TC is constantly having problems with the traces on the board feeding the power tubes and heater circuit. PCB mounted tube sockets are not a great idea.

so definitely I would steer clear if your repair budget is not big, and you don’t get inside your own gear.

There’s a rockerverb at work that sounds good for the polished modern thing, but it is nothing like my old OR120. The Matamps are the jam.

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by Dr Tony Balls » Tue Jan 11, 2022 1:11 pm

johnnysomersett wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 8:11 am
Dr Tony Balls wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:35 am
johnnysomersett wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:50 am
I had an Orange Thunder head for a while, I wasn't much of a fan. Its overdrive was too smooth and modern for my tastes. I bought it as a backup for my old 74 OR120 - which has that beautiful ugly overdrive that people who like Sunn/Matamp/etc seem to love.
FWIW, hardly any of the modern Orange amps capture the same circuit of the original units. There have been a few but they're mostly the hand-wired really pricey ones. It's a shame, tbh.
It is a shame, for sure. I went into my OR120 more than a few times to keep it maintained and it wasn't a complicated circuit, there's surely a market for them with the popularity of doom/stoner/desert rock etc so it seems weird not to just put one out there, even if they only make a small amount a year.
It's probably the same reason that Marshall doesnt make an affordable, normal-ass, 1987/1959.


i love sharin foo wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:15 am
The old PCB Oranges aren’t terrible to work on but I much prefer turrets myself.
PCBs are fine but turrets or anything that you can unsolder from the top of the board will always be easier to work on. But any decent amp shouldnt need to be worked on any more than every 20 years or more.


I've built a few Orange-stlye over the years. A totally great and unique circuit that I wish was more readily available. This is the most recent one of mine:

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by Arthon » Wed Jan 12, 2022 9:13 am

It's been a few years that modern Oranges are my main amps. Never had a single problem with them. I dont do touring, but I have played some gig with them, use them nearly each day, and they never failed me. Now, I have a AD30tc at my rehearsal and a Tiny Terror (HardWired edition) at home.

The AD30TC is where my tone is at the moment. A more beafy AC30.

Didnt like the TH30 or the Rockerverb, although the Rockerverb is a great amp; to modern for me. I would like to try a Rocker 30 (discontinued).

I would also like to try a old Orange or a Matamp, but there are quite rare here.
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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by øøøøøøø » Wed Jan 12, 2022 6:02 pm

The OR50 is the one modern Orange I like. I really like it. I never found myself too inspired by the other ones. I’d really like one of the vintage ones but they’re $$$ relative to how much I’d use them, and way overpowered for anything I’d need

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by rbrcbr » Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:41 am

Mechanical Birds wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:18 am
I applied for a GC Credit card just to see and got approved for a decent credit line. Navigating what brands qualify for financing is dumb as hell with it. They do list the brands, but none of it is shit I remotely care about and the 37% interest it carries otherwise is pretty criminal.
I don't have an orange, but here's a pro tip re: GC financing - if you find something you want, as long as there's something on the bill that qualifies for the financing due to brand name, and the total of the bill extends past the minimum promotional balance, you can get the 48 months or whatever on the non promotional thing as it applies to the entire ticket. This works for used gear too, as long as there is a new item that would fall under the promotion.

Ex: You want an Orange AD30, but it doesn't qualify. Say all Fender products over $400 are eligible for 24 month financing - buy a pack of Fender strings so that the brand "coding" is tied to the ticket. The computer sees that your total is over $400, you get 24 month financing on your amp purchase, and you had to eat a pack of strings.

Source: I've done this numerous times, including buying a pack of Fender strings to push a used J45 6 month financing into 48 month financing, and on accident, bought a Shure mic and got the promo financing on my used Magnatone amp.

Financing is the only way i've been able to reasonably afford the stuff I do, but it is a rabbit hole and you gotta be really careful to not miss payments or that insane interest rate will kick in. Hope that helps!

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by Mechanical Birds » Wed Jan 19, 2022 9:47 pm

Oh fuck yeah that helps that’s awesome! Might do some irresponsible shit and get a vintage guitar that way lol thank you for the tip!

Am I understanding right in just get whatever cheap thing that has the special financing on the same order as the thing I want that doesn’t have the financing offered? Simple enough sounding for sure!

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by rbrcbr » Wed Jan 19, 2022 10:31 pm

Mechanical Birds wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 9:47 pm
Oh fuck yeah that helps that’s awesome! Might do some irresponsible shit and get a vintage guitar that way lol thank you for the tip!

Am I understanding right in just get whatever cheap thing that has the special financing on the same order as the thing I want that doesn’t have the financing offered? Simple enough sounding for sure!
That's one way into vintage lmao, if you can find something within your credit line hahaha.

Yeah as far as I'm aware. Right now of the few things that qualifies for 24 month promo financing is Martin brand stuff over $1499...so throw a pack of Martin strings in with that 65 Jag and see what happens:

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Re: Orange TH100?

Post by Mechanical Birds » Fri Jan 21, 2022 12:19 pm

$262 a month for a vintage Fender sounds way more palatable than $6500 all at once. I’ve had this pipe dream for a while where I’d just donate plasma twice a week for a year and use the money for something like that. Haven’t donated since I was like 18 or something and definitely remember how hard it was to try and make sure you’re there the two times every week you’re allowed to do it so that probably has like 0% chance of happening but I could live with a monthly installment thing like that

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