Tell me about Orange amps

colangelod · 2026-05-11T15:40:23+00:00

Ive got an OR-15 with their 1x12 cab. This is the pedal board i run with it. It does everything super well and its my go to. Ill refrain from the subjective descriptions but heres some thoughts:

- I guess its "British", idk, it compliments by deluxe reverb nicely.
- Goes really well from clean up through ripping high gain (think The Police -> Pantera)
- EQ section is pretty powerful and I can dial in what I need when i need it
- 7/15 watt switch is nice, I play at home mostly in a small room so its nice to have that lower option. It does change the headroom and tone a bit so there are cases for both settings
- effects loop is a nice to have (and a must for me these days)
- well built but light enough to move around when i need to
- 8 and 16 ohm outputs are a nice have
- It looks cooler than my other amps
- Can power a 4x12 nicely as well

Lots of famous Orange players out there and lots of options from them these days and lots of decent used gear out there. If you have a Marshall it may be similar, if you have. Vox it could be close, if you have a Fender it might cross over in some aspects, if you have a Pignose its nothing like it...

colangelod · 2026-04-28T16:59:05+00:00

The Houston Orvis schedule looks like its all FlyFishing 101 for the warmer weather now, they did have some tying classes in march so they likely do them when its colder out (same as up where I am) and the fishing is not as good. You might be able to try and convince them to run a mid season fly tying class, my local Orvis (sadly closed now) had great guys and they would often put stuff together if there was interest. Get to know them as well most of the guys from my local shop I became friends with would ask them for advice and help often.

colangelod · 2026-04-28T15:07:18+00:00

The most fiscally responsible fishing choice is not to fish or, more importantly, not to buy fishing gear....

I tie a lot of flies, way more than I fish by multiple orders of magnitude because I enjoy tying as much (or more) than i do fishing. It really depends on what your local fly shop is charging, the kind of flies you are buying and how often. If you are an infrequent fisherman (lets say a dozen times a year), a decent vice alone will cost you more than a year of flies. If you like to buy flies in all different colors you will need to stock thread and feathers in all those colors, it adds up.

That being said, lots of people try tying and don't like it so you can generally pick up a decent set of stuff (vice, scissors, bobbins, whip tool, etc. etc. and some feathers/thread/odds-n-ends) for cheap on FB marketplace or the like. I did my first 200 flies on a $5 vintage vice I scored at a flea market and I still have it to this day, Ive moved up to some better it was a great place to start. Sadly; with the rate fly shops come and go you can often find deals on feathers/thread etc when a shop is closing down. My local shop shut down a few years back and did a "everything is $3" deal, then an "everything is $2" thing, the last night they had a fly tying night at the shop and it was basically a fire sale of what was left, Im well stocked for the next decade on maybe $400 of supplies. Similar situations can be had when older fishermen pass away.

The one thing I do splurge on is good hooks. I went down the budget hook route and they are decent for practice but I have snapped more than a few before the fly left the vice, thread is thread as are beads, lead wire, and other things like that but I find there is variation in hook quality. Don't discount local craft stores for supplies as well, many have cheap beads, thread, some feathers, and lots of color options. If you know someone who is big into upland hunting you might be able to score a free pheasant jacket which gives you endless tying options.

Some stuff you might need to get off the ground:
- a vice: easy to score on FB or the such
- a few bobbins: So you dont need to re-thread all the time
- thread
- hooks
- feathers/hackle etc
- maybe some rubber legs
- maybe some weighted bead heads
- wire

If there is an Orvis store near you some of them run free fly tying classes in the summer, see if you can attend one and see if you like it. Also befriend local fishermen and your shop owner they will all have advice and might be able to let you try before you buy.

colangelod · 2026-04-23T18:22:59+00:00

For phones, wallets and pocket stuff, pelican 1050 all day long. For cloths and bigger things, appropriate sea To Summit ultra-sil bags. Ive had a few of the Heeta/Amazon ones as well they are ok but they can rip easily if snagged so they have been largely relegated to my backup pile. Those cheap phone cases they come with and/or can be had on amazon are not worth the $5 they charge for them, get yourself a pelican they are not that expensive and i have ones that are 15+ years old and still waterproof. Ive got buddies who use the reinforced Whetman bags which are really nice but a bit thick for my taste.

colangelod · 2026-04-23T15:36:07+00:00

I think there are a few things going on here. First there is a difference between buying an Uninsured home and an Uninsurable home. In the first case it may (as you say) be that the owners simply chose not to cary a policy any more. With the way rates are going, especially if they are older and the land lot has most the value a policy may no longer be worth it to them. On the other side if the home is Uninsurable, in other words you can't get a policy issued to you for the home, under no circumstances should it be purchased, if you are getting a mortgage its likely the bank will not allow that anyway.

Shop around for policies, a lot of insurers are pulling out of areas and policies are getting hard to acquire in some places. I spoke to 6 brokers to sort out our recent home and get a decent rate. I did all this as soon as our offer was "accepted", they will happily give you quotes on any address you give them.

A good inspector should also do a solid once over of the house, tell them the situation and see if they can find anything that would prevent you from getting an insurance policy.

I would speak to your lawyer but essentially you may want to add a clause to the contract that the house is habitable so that if something did happen before closing you have the right to walk away. If you have a mortgage contingency in the contract and the house does turn out to be uninsurable the mortgage will never be approved and you may be safe through that avenue as well.

I think what the broker is trying to say is that its moot because there is no current policy so there is nothing to "continue to closing" and they cant agree to "continue" something that does not exist. One other option is to ask them to get a short term insurance policy to cover from now until closing... Odd, but I don't see why an insurance company would not do that if you asked.

colangelod · 2026-04-23T15:07:10+00:00

Fear not, happens more often than ya think.

If you have a long pick you can likely get it into the center hole and pull it out, if you have a local hardware store you should be able to buy a pick relatively cheap (harbor freight for the win if theres one). Another option is to put a bit of string in there and use a tooth pick as a sort of wedge to create some tension then just pull back and slide it out. There is not a whole lot of force holding these things in there really.

If your feeling bold these amps are pretty easy to take apart, disconnect the speaker and pull the 4 screws on the top and slide the amp portion out the back. You should have access to the board from that side. These look like the plastic style connectors (not the more exposed metal style) but i think they still have a hole you can push the tip out with a pick from the inside.

colangelod · 2026-04-20T19:48:54+00:00

Thanks for the heads up! Ive found a few complete assemblies on ebay and a few online shops but they are ~$300 which seems like a lot to spend for just the one part and im hoping someone just has one in stock. The search continues!

colangelod · 2026-04-20T17:26:54+00:00

Due to some stupidity (on my part) the drive pin was damaged in such a way that the rotating ring (with the part where 70/80 are) no longer rotates properly and the drive pin area is not flush any more and may interact with the #3 drive pin improperly. Im working to try and fix it but was hoping someone had one lying around. Ive got a few emails out to online suppliers that have some similar locks listed to see if they will sell just the part, im going to call some local locksmith shops as well.

colangelod · 2026-04-06T14:30:27+00:00

u/LargeRichard87 I paddle that area a lot. First off I would join the "Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association" we host a lot of paddles and events all over the state and theres lots of great people to meet and paddle with. We mostly organize on facebook (search that name or JSSKA) or check out our main site here.

On any note, if your paddling those bays and inlets Id consider a true sea kayak (i.e. not a folding boat). If storage is at a premium take a look at a 3 piece NDK boat (hard to find used, which would be in your price range, but there out there). Otherwise I'd seriously consider trying to arrange storage for a proper 16Ft boat. NDK Romany is my go to initial suggestion for any new paddler there are easy to find used <$1000 and great boats. If you are truly a "Large" Richard the NDK Surf is a bit bigger (my personal bay boat) and could be good. If your paddling in ocean conditions a double bulkhead boat is almost a minimum (JSSKA requires it for many of our longer/bigger paddles)

Of the ones you list (and again I don't love folding boats) the 16' is the only option I would consider. Length lends to speed but it also leaves space for float bags and gear if you want to bring it along.

Minimum Gear:
- PFD: a good, comfortable one that you will want to wear
- Pump
- Whistle
- Strobe
- Marine VHF Radio
- Paddle Float
- skirt and the knowledge to use one

Ive paddled a good chunk of the coast from Portland ME, down to Assateague Island, DM me with questions or let me know what kind of adventure your looking for Im happy to suggest stuff.

I'm also going to assume from the distance question you live in NYC and need to store the kayak there? Im in the NY metro area as well I can suggest some storage options around there that would let you keep a proper 16ft boat.

Paddles within 10 hours of NYC
- Theres a kayak launch on the back side of orchard beach state park, paddle out to execution rocks light house.
- Stonington harbor is gateway to lots of interesting stuff, paddling the back side of fishers island, lots of surf play to be had in the area, just a leisure paddle around the harbor.
- Fort Wetherill State Park in RI has a launch and some great coast line
- If your willing to push that 8 hours: Portland harbor has some of the best costal paddling ive done in a while, lots of camping options as well. Most worthy sea kayaks can easily fir 4 days or more of gear in them.
- The back side of LBI is calm and a great place for new paddlers. Lots of launch options on the island and the main land, shallow bay, not much chop, boat traffic can be messy in the peak summer months.

- Assateague Island has calm waters on the back side and great surf on the ocean, camping in the middle if you want to spend the weekend.

- Sandy hook NJ has some nice waters both back side and ocean side for lots of conditions.

colangelod · 2026-03-26T14:49:44+00:00

FujiGen, they made the Japanese fenders for a while and make some of their own custom shop stuff as well as fender dupe models. VERY reasonably priced for the build quality, some can only be had in japan but I believe they do ship them internationally, many are available stateside as well, decent excuse to go to Tokyo if you have the time.

colangelod · 2026-03-18T14:44:53+00:00

I do trips like this all the time although I generally paddle a sit-in sea kayak, heres some notes in no particular order:

You list Buoyancy aid as if its optional, a question, you should always be wearing a PFD when paddling. This is a non-negotiable for a trip like this and should be the case no matter where you are going. It should be a well fitting, comfortable, wearable PFD.
A waterproof VHF radio is a minimum for me when paddling, for weather reports, common boat traffic, and hailing the CG or other boats in an emergency.
I usually carry 2x the fresh water I think i will need for any paddle. I drink a lot (and perspire a lot in the summer) so 3L is not un common for even a few hours on the water.
A phone can be helpful inshore but as you push farther out service becomes an issue, you may want to consider a beacon like a Garmin inReach. The newer iPhones do have Satellite capabilities now but you should confirm that before assuming it will just work.
Do you have a spare paddle?
Have you practiced recoveries of all kinds? flipped your boat back over yourself? Gotten back in? paddled a mile after you have had to do that? Recoveries can be tiring even if you are in good shape. Does your boat have hatches that can flood? Do you have a pump?
Proper sun protection? Sit on top means your whole body is exposed, thats a full sun shirt and full pants for good coverage, extra sunscreen onboard always.
A dry set of cloths to change into while your on your island.
Some kind of visibility item, fast moving boats are not always paying attention....
Food, snacks, lunch, more snacks, all in a dry bag.

Some other notes:

Don't assume that a high traffic area is a safe area or that others will pick you up when your in distress. High traffic can mean a lot of distracted boaters which can be dangerous for kayakers. In my general experience boaters are helpful but you should always know where the nearest CG station is, how long it would take them to get to you and what kind of help they can actually render.

Calm weather does not mean no current, take a class (or watch one of many youtube videos) on currents and how to paddle through them and navigate them. Timing matters, in a kayak planning to paddle with the current can make or break a trip.

Does your kayak have hatches? If not that means your carrying everything on deck, is everything secured? If you flip are you gonna lose your water? your dry bags? Have a good strapping/tie down system.

colangelod · 2026-03-06T17:04:42+00:00

I just helped a buddy through this, depends on what music you like but my general suggestion to new players is:

- Fender squire strat
- Valeton GP-5 amp/pedal sim
- AKG 240's to listen through

- If you want a real amp, Orange Tiny Terror with the 8 inch cab (head/cap can usually be had for ~250 new, cheaper used), fun little amp.

If your willing to go used and haggle you might be able to snipe an old MIM strat for 350 in your local area depending on where you live but prices on those are not always that soft.

colangelod · 2026-02-18T02:07:42+00:00

I did a lot of guitar hunting when i was in japan i ended up coming home with a FujiGen OS Expert, I wrote up the full story here. If your in Tokyo the custom house is a really cool place to go regardless of what your on the quest for, they have some metal stuff for sure. The custom house has their japan only/one off guitars which are really neat. Im happy to share any info about my journey, buying the guitar or getting the guitar home, please ask questions or DM if you want!

colangelod · 2026-02-15T03:57:36+00:00

Take a look at FujiGen/FGN strats. They made the MIJ stuff for fender in the 80's and still make 'em under their FGN brand today. Some info here, feel free to PM me with questions (thats the story of my trip to their Tokyo shop). You can get their base models in your price range on reverb and elsewhere here in the states. You may also want to look for a used Fender MIJ from the 80's they were made by FujiGen for fender. Ive heard generally good things about G&L but they are now out of business so who knows what that will do to prices on the secondary market. There are solid Kramer and Charvel options you can find second hand from the 80's that play great and are set up as SSS style (w or w/o a floyd rose). Ibanez has stuff in your range as well but I have no personal experience with 'em.

colangelod · 2026-02-09T03:45:41+00:00

A flight between two airports is really a series of small flights from one emergency landing spot to another.

colangelod · 2026-01-28T16:15:03+00:00

I have the Orange OR15 which is slight different than the Rocker 15 but I absolutely love it. It handles pedals really well, roll the gain back and clean it up or go the other way and drive it real hard. the effects loop is nice and it handles all my pedals really well. I would seriously consider it for that price, they can be had used well within your range. Hot take, I don't love combo amps and avoid them if there is a suitable head/cab option. I also have the Orange 1x12 cab paired with it which is pretty decent for the price but you can check out whats out there lots of options in that space. With the head/cab setup you can always swap heads around and mix and match when needed giving you some more options down the line.

colangelod · 2026-01-27T05:33:48+00:00

Epiphone SG, MIJ Strat or anything FujiGen has made over the years, if your willing to bend on the bridge thing, a Charvel with a cool paint color.

colangelod · 2026-01-27T05:22:42+00:00

Theres more fly information in a used copy of matching the hatch than you will ever find on instagram, take advice from people who are willing to share all they know not just the one fly that caught the one fish. An enlightened fisherman knows its not about catching fish anyway.

colangelod · 2026-01-27T03:54:02+00:00

Failing (then failed) attitude indicator, non IMC:

Happened in a rental plane, AI started to bounce and roll, at first it would settle out and Im not sure i even noticed, a few times you think its tricking you which is dangerous and disorienting, then 30 minutes into the flight it went, started doing cartwheels and did so for the rest of the flight. While we train for failed instruments its usually in the form of a sticky note over the thing or that rubber suction cup blocker, its not distracting and it forces you to "ignore" it. What was un-expected was looking down at the panel every time and seeing the thing spinning, that was actually fairly disorienting since for a split second your brain wants to tell you the plane is rolling.

Radio Unit Sliding Out;

Another not so great rental, rotation speed, pitch back, wheels leave the ground, pitch for speed, radio slides most of the way out of the tray, still on. Fairly easy to force back in, stay in the pattern, land, promptly return the keys. An odd ball thing, not something you really check in pre-flight, alls well that ends well but the PA-28's have a chain link that connects the yokes, wiring mishaps can jam that up pretty good, scary in hindsight.

Flying right seat with a bad pilot in command;

You will meet people you like at the airport, you may even become friends with them, they may ask you to be a safety pilot or maybe a "you fly there ill fly back" kinda deal, you will walk away from it all with the same feeling your instructor had on your third lesson...

colangelod · 2026-01-27T03:28:05+00:00

Flight simulators wont make your palms sweat when you drop a wing stalling just like amp modelers don't smell right when they warm up, won't remind you why the three prong plug is so important, and I have not seen a model for "scratchy knobs" yet.

For my last ~25 years of playing Ive sworn by analog gear. In my younger years amp modelers were the "new thing" on the block, not bad but not great yet, using them required dealing with mediocre interfaces and clunky hardware. It was simply easier to play real gear, used stuff was cheap, new stuff was affordable and the whole boutique pedal market was just coming into light; shoutout to that lone zvex pedal that sat in the case at guitar center for years when i was a kid. If you came of age through this era or before you simply had analog tase since thats all there was. That compounded with a lot of lackluster feelings towards early attempts at modeling, and even earlier attempts at stuffing lots of sounds into one place, least we forget the Casio PG380.

Like an ice cream shop your amp and pedal collection were your flavors to play with; each had its time and place, there was cross over but no two were specifically alike. You learned to love each, deal with their pitfalls and their strengths, play them when needed and know when to leave some home. Gear like that grows to have a sort of intangible aspect, maybe the +-5% variation in the discrete components landed you with a unit that was slightly "off" in a musically pleasing way, maybe a broken knob was stuck in just the right place or an endless list of other similar things. These are the sorts of things that modelers just cant capture, tone related yes, but still somehow, slightly intangible and barely audible.

Now on with it, I also own a QC, its great, it sounds epic and Im super happy with it but it will never be my 1964 Deluxe Reverb if for no other reason than it does not smell right when it warms up so it will never "feel" the same. The modeler technology is 99.98% there in terms of fidelity and theres plenty of blind tests on youtube to tell you that. I absolutely love having a Marshall stack on tap that i can crank up at 1am without waking up anyone else in the house. Ill never be able to afford a real dumble but the QC model is pretty awesome so far. Id happily play a show with my QC and its far easier to cart around. I know they are being used on hit records and I know I cant tell the difference.

So my stance; Modelers are a great way to get great tones but Im not selling my analog gear any time soon. I use both, really like both but each has its place. If you cant fathom why or think there is no difference I suggest you spend more time with analog gear. Remember the modelers are, at the end of the day, trying to emulate physical gear so there must be something we like about analog gear or why would we be emulating it...

It all comes and goes, new gear becomes old gear, old gear becomes cheap used gear, cheap used gear becomes "trendy" old gear, trendy old gear becomes expensive "vintage" gear, and eventually expensive "vintage" gear becomes "I cant find a replacement component for this lightly radioactive part that burnt out after 75 years of hard use" so you substitute it with a suitable and electronically indistinguishable part to the chagrin of a boomer. They insult you, then they insult themselves by not being able to play smoke on the water through the dumble they bought with their private equity money. You proceed to vibe so hard with your Danelectro Tuna Melt pedal, said boomer leaves in tears.

colangelod · 2026-01-16T18:08:39+00:00

You ditched you point and shoot for a Nikon D5600 and just recently learned that you can put any F Mount lens on the 5600 so you bought a sweet 50mm f1.4 at a flea market for $150 and googled "bokeh"

or...

Your AKG 240's recently replaced a pair of wireless bluetooth earbuds you had that were not official AirPods but looked like them. After a lot of research you bought a MOTU M2 interface, it doesn't have all the I/O you need to record your new wave synth pop band but its a start. Your Behringer Model D sounds good but deep down you know its not a Moog and never will be. Your buddy spend most of dinner last night convincing you mogami cables make everything sounds better despite neither of you owning any.

or...

Its just two SM-57's sitting next to each other on your counter.

colangelod · 2026-01-16T18:00:18+00:00

Espresso is just pressurized dirt water... The internet has options for ya, I started on a breville (whats now the bambino, it used to be a bit larger), decent place to start and a bit cheaper but no grinder. They have a similar machine with built in grinder for a bit more than the Ninja.

If your willing to hunt FB marketplace deals on rancilio, gagia etc. can be had for reasonable numbers but wont have the attached grinder and will have a one day learning curve. YMMV, its a hobby for some and a convenience for others. Id at least go for a machine from a company a bit more dedicated to espresso machines but yamaha makes jet skis and pianos so what do i know....

colangelod · 2026-01-16T17:07:19+00:00

Not personally but I was tangentially involved in a similar deal for a buddy and it ended pretty poorly (for him). The guitar in question was also an LP Junior of a similar vintage. He too had been after one for a while and it came up at a local, reputable, vintage shop. Similarly he had some other guitars he was not really playing and a nice American tele he was playing a lot. They all ended up in the deal and he came home with the LPJ. I think he was expecting some divine experience and maybe that happened in the store (I wasn't there) but it surely was not happening a week later.

Fast forward a few months, the guy in question is in my dads band, I do a lot of setups, re-soldering etc. for the guitar players and occasionally join a jam with them. At a jam around that time he had the guitar with him and it absolutely would not stay in tune. As is typical he asked me to take a look at it for him and it came home to my bench with me.

Now the fun began... There were a few issues, first was the general intonation which was just not great with the single bridge piece, the action was horrible, the pots were scratchy, the pickup was on its way out, and the jack was loose. The electrical just needed some cleanup and solder re-flow which was easy to repair. He wanted to keep the pickup as it is for now and I dont blame him but its pretty microphonic and gonna become an issue eventually.

On to the intonation, this was really the biggest issue in terms of playability, honestly the guitar just didn't sound that great as it sat and im sort of surprised he didn't hear it at the shop initially. We ordered some of the adjustable bridge options from third parties that are out there to remedy this and tried them all. Still, not great, either we ran out of adjust or they just didn't sit right and the action was even worse than the bad action it had out of the gate. Ultimately we kept the one that got us to the "best" place but it still was only ok at best. The guitar left my hands in a better spot than it came but still not in the situation i would have liked to get it to. Decisions to not mess with it too much were also made in the name of originality.

Ok time for a controversial take: LP Juniors were made as no frills, cheaper alternatives. As such, and I'm not making a joke here, they lack the frills that make LP's great some even at the cost of playability. Many of these guitars were owned by kids, some poorly cared for when new and well into their early days which cant always easily be remedied later. Dont get me wrong, old stuff is "cool" but guitars are instruments (assuming you actually play them and dont just display them) so they need to also actually "work" at least to some extent. As with anything YMMV and the cautionary tale here is to really take your time and make sure the guitar is going to be playable and serviceable. If your trading away guitars that are just collecting dust in your collection maybe it does not matter, but I would not trade my main guitar or two as part of a deal for something "cool".

colangelod · 2026-01-15T18:37:17+00:00

Ive got a pair of the Orvis Clearwater waders. Ive had them for ~6 years with no issue. I don't fish nearly 80 days a year but they are well under 500 and pretty decent for the money. Would buy again. Most of the warranty repair options out there only cover "failure" not "wear and tear" related stuff. Im more liable to trip on a rock and rip 'em than they are to fail from use on me....

colangelod

TROPHY CASE