
Orange has unveiled a new and improved version of the AD200 bass amp – a head favoured by low-end icons including Glenn Hughes and Rush's Geddy Lee.
The £2,399/$2,799 200-watt amp features a brand new output transformer to harness double the power at 30Hz and offer players improved response at low frequencies. It's also easier to replace the valves.
As usual, Orange Amps Technical Director Ade Emsley says it best: "It now pushes more air, flaps more trouser leg — simple as that."
Each output valve in the AD200 now has its own 12-turn bias pot to enable unmatched valves to sit side by side and empower players to fit their own replacements as and when required.
"Now, any tech with a multimeter can bias the amp and match the valves into the amp," adds Emsley. "So, if you’re on the road with a band, you can go swap a worn valve for a new one, dial it in and you’re good to go.
"It’s a big improvement on the previous version," he adds, and demos the amp above. ‘It still does everything the old one does, it’s still the industry standard, but it’s now simpler, easier to use, easier to service and future-proof."
Orange's OBC810C, OBC410HC, and OBC115C cabs have also had an overhaul with Celestion Pulse XL bass speakers for "a tight, punchy low-end with a warm mid-range that’s full of presence," according to the company.
Get the MusicRadar Newsletter
Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here.
"The OBC410HC has also been modified by removing one vertical partition and strengthening the horizontal one to be lighter and tighten up low-end response," adds Orange.
More info at Andertons, Sweetwater and Orange Amps
Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.

“AI is about as close to reality as you can ever imagine”: Gene Simmons discusses the prospect of a virtual KISS and says the “future of entertainment is here”

“It meant a great deal to him and remains one of our most beloved of Jack’s treasures”: Cream legend Jack Bruce’s EB-1 violin bass to go on display at the Gibson Garage London