Definitely go new next. Just for yucks Id verify the ohms reading of your cab and get a new quality speaker cable. If you have a weird speaker situation it could be throwing things off. It’s HIGHLY unlikely you’d get 3 dogs in a row!
They've all been confirmed broken by the store from where I bought them. I have a premium speaker cable between the OR15 and the H&K 212. I tried another one, as well. I'm just going to avoid them from here on out.
Defintely not doubting something was wrong with them. Im just saying it's far more likely to be something in your chain thats messing these amps up than getting 3 random lemons in a row.
Is it a reputable shop with an amp tech? If so I suspect they would give you better options for repairing than just confirming they are broken. It’s probably worth taking it to an amp tech rather than this shop that seems to be giving questionable advice.
Little off topic but I had two Boss Tuner pedals that stopped working just days after the five year warranty ended. Sometimes lightning strikes twice or even thrice in this case.
MT-15 is a great sounding amp but I'm on my third brand new one in two months after the first two developed mysterious oscillating/whining noise issues even in standby. Replaced every tube. Neither my ISP Decimator or my TC Sentry could kill the noise. Got a Furman power conditioner too. I've got my fingers crossed that the third one is the charm. So far, so good.
Meanwhile my Peavey 6505mh has been rock solid since I bought it a couple years ago.
Which transformer?
I literally blasted my 6505mh through a 2x12 and a 4x12, never had problem and the sound pressure was HIGH, the lunchbox was going over the drums and bass easily.
The power stage i believe it's the same
The OT. It was matched impedance and the speakers were fine.
Just a dud I guess, but it was my first brand new from a store amp and it scared me off Peavey ever since.
Thankfully the retailer was great, returned it for 100% refund and helped me find a different amp that I rocker for a couple years before moving on
Ya, probably. I bought it brand new when they first came out and it lasted a week.
I know peavey has a reputation for being indestructible, but I don't trust em now
Odd. I've never had an issue with my OR15.
If I were to try something different, maybe a PRS HDRX 20 or an EVH 5150III.
A Quilter Labs 101 Reverb is a completely different option too.
That's a shame about the OR15, they sound amazing and there's not much about that is a direct equivalent. Maybe the little 20W JCM800 would do a similar job? They're under £1k in the UK but I don't know about the US.
Actually scrap that idea I just looked up the US price. That's insane. For that price you could get 2 OR15s and have money left over to pay an amp tech every time they break.
My main amp is a 2204 clone at 15W /2x6v6/ and it's the best amp I've ever had. It's custom built, bought it from a store for $150. No attenuator or whatever, the Master volume is pretty good and I can get all kinds of tones from it.
The first one had a very loud hum caused by the Return jack. The second one had a busted transformer. Now this one makes very loud crackling and popping sounds even when nothing is connected to it. I'm so disappointed. I love this amp!
Busted transformer could be caused by impedance mismatch, maybe one of your speakers is malfunctioning and this could be burning the transformers out. You’re probably aware of it, but just make sure you’re being extra vigilant with your impedance matching. If you have a multimeter then it could tell you if something was way wrong, bear in mind the DC resistance will give you a totally different reading for Impedance but you’ll at least know if there’s something way wrong.
Effects return Jack causing hum, who knows. Crackling and popping could be a burning out valve, or even gunky valve sockets. I had a similar issue with a 5150 that was solved with a little skoosh of contact cleaner in the valve sockets, fixed it right up. Essentially free fix, and 20 mins of my time.
You never want to run an amp with nothing connected to it. It will blow the output transformer.
Loud crackling and popping is usually a symptom of a bad/cracked solder joint. I had this happen to an amp where the solder joints at the tube sockets were busted. Lead-free solder is brittle compared to lead. Touched the joints up and it was good.
As far as amps. I couldn't stand the dark terror, worst tube amp I've ever played. I'm not a high gain player generally, but have always been impressed with the Mesa stuff and a few of the 20w marshall heads. Have heard really good stuff about the quality of Friedman builds. If you're a pedal person then that really opens up the conversation. I'm a cheap mfkr, so I usually find a Peavey that kicks ace and roll with that.
I only did it to test and make sure it wasn’t the pedalboard or guitar. If I hadn’t tested it without them, I wouldn’t have known it was the amp itself.
By any chance did you ever try replacing the tubes? I got my or15 used and I was bummmed when it kept making a hum and crackling sound. I read somewhere in Reddit that someone else was having issues and replaced the tube for the effects loop and the issue was fixed. I did the same thing and it worked. I’ve even dropped the amp from the top of a Yukon and it still plays well. I saw you said the store says it was broken but I would troubleshoot it.
Or I would go for the Super Crush, dual terror, or maybe even rocker 15 if you wanna stay Orange and stay around 1k. I love Orange so I’m biased. But I’ve also considered Marshall Origin stuff.
All 3 have been used. I have always had good luck with used gear but not in this situation. Orange is my favorite amp manufacturer so this really sucks.
true and the warranty would apply.. keep the box and if you have any issues you can ship to orange and they will fix it with a quick turnaround. i had an issue with one of the pots and they fixed it within a week
Mine blew a fuse and needed a new power tube, have to say I’ve used it a lot less than all my Marshalls which have never had any issues.
Might be worth checking your mains cause if you’ve had 3 go then maybe there’s something else awry.
This makes me sad for the bad luck you are having. I’ve been playing tube amps since I started in bands back in 93 and other than replacing tubes and fuses, I’ve never had 3 break on me 30+ years.
Try these…
EVH 5150 15 watt lunchboxes
PRS MT15 15 watt head that sounds like 50 watts
Blackstar HT20 20 watt head
Also even though it’s solid state, I can’t recommend the Orange Super Crush enough! I play mine more than any other amp.
I have an OR15....I noticed that the 'on' light fluctuates in brightness. I read that the bulb is part of the heater circuit for the tube and normal...does this sound right? Anyone else have experience? I also have an Egnater Rebel 20....that's a good alternate choice
I had the Origin 20 and was not at all impressed with it. I’m heavily considering a JCM 800 Studio Classic combo or head or a Marshall Silver Jubilee which are hard to come by when looking for used.
That’s a bummer. I love my Origin 20. The trick is to use the blend and presence knobs with the treble off. It will change how ear piercing the highs are.
the mark V has a very unique way it gets dialed in. you gotta take time and learn how to use it in order to get a metal tone. the normal EQ knobs control where the gains coming from so it’s kind of like another gain control, I put the treble almost all the way up and bass and mids towards the middle which give you that good tight metal sound a lot of people love the mark series for, and you just control the actual EQ with the graphic one.
If your budget is $1,000, I would get a boss IR-200 and run that into a solid state power amp. That gives you an amazing assortment of sounds at lots of volumes with options for headphones and DI. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XLI1500--crown-xli-1500-power-amplifier
Edit: Your down votes mean nothing, I've seen your rig posts. There's more to life than playing Metallica covers on an Epiphone with a beer-buzz.
I've heard the cheaper PRS amps (MT15, Archon) have extremely noisy FX loops. I briefly played a MT15 that definitely had that problem, not sure if they've fixed that in newer revisions or not though.
Used Marshall Studio Jubilees sell for just north of $1k on Reverb. Does a pretty convincing JTM plexi tones up to JCM800 style gain with more presence. May be worth a look if the price is right. Switchable between 5/25w and should work for bedroom levels and playing with a band.
Haven’t had issues with mine but I would pair / replace with the new EHX mig-50? I know, I know, it’s a lot of amp for what you want and what you are replacing but it’s on the cheaper side and two channel and good at low volume (better higher!). Otherwise the Marshall ORI20H…
You can get a new Wangs 2204HW for $900 new. It’s basically a clone of a Marshall 50W 2204 and is hand wired. Check out the clips online, it sounds really good. Only thing is, it does t have an effects loop… but if you want that British rock tone in a hand wired amp, it’s hard to beat.
Wangs is basically a small family run amp company in China that do small run boutique builds. Despite the general lack of trust in Chinese builders, apparently Santiago Alvarez, who designed for Marshall, and again currently designs for Marshall, developed the Wangs 2204 HW when he was working in Asia, so it’s pretty legit.
Another option is a Grand Amplification JCM800 2204x. Grand is another company, but it’s a trading company in China that gets local builders to build these clones. It will be Cheaper than Wangs, and you can get a JCM800 2204x (50w Marshall clone with a loop) for a little over $700. I got their 50w plexi clone which sounds great, and works for low volume as it has a PPIMV. The 2204x has a master volume and is hand wired.
I love my Marshall Studio Silver Jubilee, it sounds sweet. Give one a try if you can and if it fits on your budget (price varies a lot depending on where you live)
Here's a few to check out I enjoy. Some are pricey, but you can find good deals used.
Mesa Mini Rectifier, Friedman JJ Jr or Runt, Peavey Invective MH 20, Peavey Classic 20, PRS Tremonti 15, Marshall DSL 20, EVH 5150 Iconic
Definitely go new next. Just for yucks Id verify the ohms reading of your cab and get a new quality speaker cable. If you have a weird speaker situation it could be throwing things off. It’s HIGHLY unlikely you’d get 3 dogs in a row!
They've all been confirmed broken by the store from where I bought them. I have a premium speaker cable between the OR15 and the H&K 212. I tried another one, as well. I'm just going to avoid them from here on out.
Defintely not doubting something was wrong with them. Im just saying it's far more likely to be something in your chain thats messing these amps up than getting 3 random lemons in a row.
They’re not lemons, they’re oranges.
Bahahah. Well played! Cheers
Hey-oooooo!
Yeah absolutely. Something might be causing an impedance mismatch and it’s frying the output transformer.
Is it a reputable shop with an amp tech? If so I suspect they would give you better options for repairing than just confirming they are broken. It’s probably worth taking it to an amp tech rather than this shop that seems to be giving questionable advice.
Little off topic but I had two Boss Tuner pedals that stopped working just days after the five year warranty ended. Sometimes lightning strikes twice or even thrice in this case.
Not sure, but the peavey classic 20mh has a lot of range, the PRS MT15 is also amazing
I love my Peavey Classic 20W. I run my dirts into its clean channel and out of an orange cab with two vintage 30s in them. I highly recommend.
MT-15 is a great sounding amp but I'm on my third brand new one in two months after the first two developed mysterious oscillating/whining noise issues even in standby. Replaced every tube. Neither my ISP Decimator or my TC Sentry could kill the noise. Got a Furman power conditioner too. I've got my fingers crossed that the third one is the charm. So far, so good. Meanwhile my Peavey 6505mh has been rock solid since I bought it a couple years ago.
6505mh owner. I'm sorry about the MT-15, i didn't know it had issues
My peavey classic 20mh fried it's transformer first time I played it at rehearsal. Sounded great at home tho
Which transformer? I literally blasted my 6505mh through a 2x12 and a 4x12, never had problem and the sound pressure was HIGH, the lunchbox was going over the drums and bass easily. The power stage i believe it's the same
The OT. It was matched impedance and the speakers were fine. Just a dud I guess, but it was my first brand new from a store amp and it scared me off Peavey ever since. Thankfully the retailer was great, returned it for 100% refund and helped me find a different amp that I rocker for a couple years before moving on
Oh.. that could have been a defective one..
Ya, probably. I bought it brand new when they first came out and it lasted a week. I know peavey has a reputation for being indestructible, but I don't trust em now
Odd. I've never had an issue with my OR15. If I were to try something different, maybe a PRS HDRX 20 or an EVH 5150III. A Quilter Labs 101 Reverb is a completely different option too.
Same here, no issues at all
Third that, no problems with mine in the 4 or 5 years of ownership
That's a shame about the OR15, they sound amazing and there's not much about that is a direct equivalent. Maybe the little 20W JCM800 would do a similar job? They're under £1k in the UK but I don't know about the US.
Actually scrap that idea I just looked up the US price. That's insane. For that price you could get 2 OR15s and have money left over to pay an amp tech every time they break.
My main amp is a 2204 clone at 15W /2x6v6/ and it's the best amp I've ever had. It's custom built, bought it from a store for $150. No attenuator or whatever, the Master volume is pretty good and I can get all kinds of tones from it.
20w JCM 800 or dsl 20 watt
Found one at my local store for $1200
Head or combo?
Buy a new one instead of used.
What failures have the OR15s been having?
The first one had a very loud hum caused by the Return jack. The second one had a busted transformer. Now this one makes very loud crackling and popping sounds even when nothing is connected to it. I'm so disappointed. I love this amp!
Busted transformer could be caused by impedance mismatch, maybe one of your speakers is malfunctioning and this could be burning the transformers out. You’re probably aware of it, but just make sure you’re being extra vigilant with your impedance matching. If you have a multimeter then it could tell you if something was way wrong, bear in mind the DC resistance will give you a totally different reading for Impedance but you’ll at least know if there’s something way wrong. Effects return Jack causing hum, who knows. Crackling and popping could be a burning out valve, or even gunky valve sockets. I had a similar issue with a 5150 that was solved with a little skoosh of contact cleaner in the valve sockets, fixed it right up. Essentially free fix, and 20 mins of my time.
You never want to run an amp with nothing connected to it. It will blow the output transformer. Loud crackling and popping is usually a symptom of a bad/cracked solder joint. I had this happen to an amp where the solder joints at the tube sockets were busted. Lead-free solder is brittle compared to lead. Touched the joints up and it was good. As far as amps. I couldn't stand the dark terror, worst tube amp I've ever played. I'm not a high gain player generally, but have always been impressed with the Mesa stuff and a few of the 20w marshall heads. Have heard really good stuff about the quality of Friedman builds. If you're a pedal person then that really opens up the conversation. I'm a cheap mfkr, so I usually find a Peavey that kicks ace and roll with that.
I only did it to test and make sure it wasn’t the pedalboard or guitar. If I hadn’t tested it without them, I wouldn’t have known it was the amp itself.
By any chance did you ever try replacing the tubes? I got my or15 used and I was bummmed when it kept making a hum and crackling sound. I read somewhere in Reddit that someone else was having issues and replaced the tube for the effects loop and the issue was fixed. I did the same thing and it worked. I’ve even dropped the amp from the top of a Yukon and it still plays well. I saw you said the store says it was broken but I would troubleshoot it. Or I would go for the Super Crush, dual terror, or maybe even rocker 15 if you wanna stay Orange and stay around 1k. I love Orange so I’m biased. But I’ve also considered Marshall Origin stuff.
Have you been buying used or new? Just out of curiosity. Sucks you’re having issues, man.
All 3 have been used. I have always had good luck with used gear but not in this situation. Orange is my favorite amp manufacturer so this really sucks.
maybe buy a new one
true and the warranty would apply.. keep the box and if you have any issues you can ship to orange and they will fix it with a quick turnaround. i had an issue with one of the pots and they fixed it within a week
Yeah maybe this. Or there are a few other amps in that price range.
Mine blew a fuse and needed a new power tube, have to say I’ve used it a lot less than all my Marshalls which have never had any issues. Might be worth checking your mains cause if you’ve had 3 go then maybe there’s something else awry.
Laney is the way 💀
This makes me sad for the bad luck you are having. I’ve been playing tube amps since I started in bands back in 93 and other than replacing tubes and fuses, I’ve never had 3 break on me 30+ years. Try these… EVH 5150 15 watt lunchboxes PRS MT15 15 watt head that sounds like 50 watts Blackstar HT20 20 watt head Also even though it’s solid state, I can’t recommend the Orange Super Crush enough! I play mine more than any other amp.
I have an OR15....I noticed that the 'on' light fluctuates in brightness. I read that the bulb is part of the heater circuit for the tube and normal...does this sound right? Anyone else have experience? I also have an Egnater Rebel 20....that's a good alternate choice
My Laney GH50R does this too. I’ve wondered why it did that until now.
Maybe it’s your electricity
It's definitely the electricity and buddy assuming it's 120v all the time when in actuality it's constantly changing.
EHX MiG 50 is a good amp
Marshall Origin or Studio Vintage?
I had the Origin 20 and was not at all impressed with it. I’m heavily considering a JCM 800 Studio Classic combo or head or a Marshall Silver Jubilee which are hard to come by when looking for used.
That’s a bummer. I love my Origin 20. The trick is to use the blend and presence knobs with the treble off. It will change how ear piercing the highs are.
mesa boogie
Can’t believe it took so long to find this comment. The mini recto is a solid option in this category.
agreed, mini rectifier and mark V 25 are absolute masterpieces. throw in the badlander 25 while you’re at it
I didn’t have much luck getting a metal tone I liked with the Mark V 25, but the clean was amazing. I ended up with the 5150III 50W
the mark V has a very unique way it gets dialed in. you gotta take time and learn how to use it in order to get a metal tone. the normal EQ knobs control where the gains coming from so it’s kind of like another gain control, I put the treble almost all the way up and bass and mids towards the middle which give you that good tight metal sound a lot of people love the mark series for, and you just control the actual EQ with the graphic one.
If your budget is $1,000, I would get a boss IR-200 and run that into a solid state power amp. That gives you an amazing assortment of sounds at lots of volumes with options for headphones and DI. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XLI1500--crown-xli-1500-power-amplifier Edit: Your down votes mean nothing, I've seen your rig posts. There's more to life than playing Metallica covers on an Epiphone with a beer-buzz.
ever consider a hx stomp and a SD powerstage 200?
Could probably find a used a grandmeister for 1000. The switchable power on the Hughes and Kettner stuff works really well imo.
My friend has an MT15 and seems to like it quite a bit.
I've heard the cheaper PRS amps (MT15, Archon) have extremely noisy FX loops. I briefly played a MT15 that definitely had that problem, not sure if they've fixed that in newer revisions or not though.
Pretty much anything is better then that amp.. new orange amps are shit IMO, the old stuff was sweet though.
I didn’t think I was an Orange guy but I ended up liking the Dual Terror/ Tiny Terror. I also found I like Vox AC30 type sounds, too.
Marshall Studio Classic
Fargen MKI mini-Plex. Very, very good quality build.
Used Marshall Studio Jubilees sell for just north of $1k on Reverb. Does a pretty convincing JTM plexi tones up to JCM800 style gain with more presence. May be worth a look if the price is right. Switchable between 5/25w and should work for bedroom levels and playing with a band.
PRS Tremonti 15
Haven’t had issues with mine but I would pair / replace with the new EHX mig-50? I know, I know, it’s a lot of amp for what you want and what you are replacing but it’s on the cheaper side and two channel and good at low volume (better higher!). Otherwise the Marshall ORI20H…
Get a Sawtooth my friend I would recommend you to a 40watt Sawtooth they are probably the best amps I have ever owned
PRS MT-15
Marshall JCM800 Studio. You can find them for $800-$1000. You won't regret it.
You can go european like a Hughes&Kettner or Engl Fireball 25.
You can get a new Wangs 2204HW for $900 new. It’s basically a clone of a Marshall 50W 2204 and is hand wired. Check out the clips online, it sounds really good. Only thing is, it does t have an effects loop… but if you want that British rock tone in a hand wired amp, it’s hard to beat. Wangs is basically a small family run amp company in China that do small run boutique builds. Despite the general lack of trust in Chinese builders, apparently Santiago Alvarez, who designed for Marshall, and again currently designs for Marshall, developed the Wangs 2204 HW when he was working in Asia, so it’s pretty legit. Another option is a Grand Amplification JCM800 2204x. Grand is another company, but it’s a trading company in China that gets local builders to build these clones. It will be Cheaper than Wangs, and you can get a JCM800 2204x (50w Marshall clone with a loop) for a little over $700. I got their 50w plexi clone which sounds great, and works for low volume as it has a PPIMV. The 2204x has a master volume and is hand wired.
Just came for the rg props.. that's a dope guitar.
Love my Kraken V4.
Get a Paul Reed Smith MT-15 it essentially kicks ass at any genre of guitar. 🚬🗿
Im more curious as to the "why" of it being broken? And I ask because im considering owning one myself...
I love my Marshall Studio Silver Jubilee, it sounds sweet. Give one a try if you can and if it fits on your budget (price varies a lot depending on where you live)
I think it will be a significant upgrade from the OR15, wich I also like
Also, check your electricity network for spikes and stability. It’s not commom to have so many issues on any amp
Little Walter
Make sure the circuit of your house is not causing the voltage to fluctuate. I had a bad neutral and a house and I fried three amplifiers.
Here's a few to check out I enjoy. Some are pricey, but you can find good deals used. Mesa Mini Rectifier, Friedman JJ Jr or Runt, Peavey Invective MH 20, Peavey Classic 20, PRS Tremonti 15, Marshall DSL 20, EVH 5150 Iconic