With this resurgence, popular appreciation of the unique Orange sonic imprint has
grown as well. The vintage models that established the brand are legendary for their
prodigious output, meaty crunch tones, and the fuzzy, slightly loose quality of their
gain. These idiosyncrasies have made Orange amps natural companions for guitarists
that specialize in doom, sludge, stoner, and other similar genres of bottom-heavy rock
music. They have also made the amps natural subjects for amp-in-a-box pedal designers
looking to distill that signature Orange magic into a compact stomper. Though not as
common as Fender and Marshall-styled dirt boxes, they are increasing in number, and
are a great choice for guitarists looking for British-flavored, cranked tube amp tones
that stray a bit from the norm. Here are a few of our favorites.
ORANGE BAX BANGEETAR
GUITAR PRE-EQ
Orange has finally
released its own stackin-a-box stomp, so it
only seems right to put
this one at the top of
the list. With its curious
name (which is either
the worst pedal name
of all time, or maybe
the best), the Bax
Bangeetar seems to be
a natural continuance
of
the
company’s
distinguishing vision,
as well as its tradition
of good-natured irreverence. It’s also Orange’s first guitar pedal design since the ‘60s,
so its very existence is something special, but beyond that, the Bax is just a marvelous
sounding, cleverly designed, and very useful pedal that nails the sound of a roaring
Orange stack. Its gain range is quite broad, from clean-ish boosting to full-on mayhem,
and the Baxandall parametric mid-range EQ allows for unprecedented tone sculpting
capabilities that match the Bax Bangeetar beautifully to any guitar and amp rig. It
can even be used direct to a recorder or PA system, as its CabSim output realistically
mimics the sound and response of a mic’d Orange 4x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion
G12-H30’s. This output can be used alone, or parallel to the main output, adding
further versatility to this comprehensively badass dirt box.
ToneReport.com
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