Orange AD 140TC Head

140 watts RMS
Channel 1 / Channel 2 - Clean thru Distortion
Preamp Valves - 4x 12AX7
Power Valves - 4x EL34
Channel 1 Controls - Gain, Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
Channel 2 Controls - Gain, Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
Speaker Outputs - 2x 8ohm and 1x 16ohm

Very simple setup, all you need, nothing you don't.

My style is very much rooted in modern progressive bands like The Fall of Troy/ The Mars Volta/ Tera Melos/ Coheed & Caambria. This amp handles all these sounds wonderfully.
I am using it with a Modern Orange 4x12 Cab with vintage 30s and an origional '70s Orange 4x12 Cab with "Greenbacks".
For the purpose of testing the amp, i'm running my guitars straight into the amp using Monster Cables. Having said this, the amp reacts very well to all my effects.
Generally speaking the sound of this amp is very unique, but still manages to have a very "british" sound to it, not unlike old Marshalls, but is voiced with more middle making it alot fuller and darker sounding, aswell as giving it alot more presence to cut through the mix of the band. You'll have no need for another guitarist with one of these things :]
Channel one has less gain and has a little more middle.
Channel two has more gain, more treble and a little less bass.
At lower gain settings the sound is very clear and warm amd puts out a great jazz amp with a ES-135 with outstanding replication of the guitar's unplugged acoustic sound. It's very crisp (i hate it when jazz guys roll down the tone on their guitar!!), but still very warm and woody. With my Fender Mustang it's got lots of twang and spank and i can see why many country guys would want one of these for a loud clean sound.
With the gain turned up, channel one really starts to shine!! It breaks up really well and could facilitate anything from blues and hot jazz to hard rock with tonnes of note clarity and lets every little nuance of you playing come out through the overdrive.
Channel two is also very cool, it's very full and driven hard it has that really agressive quality that Omar had in At the Drive-In and is famous for in the Mars Volta, especially with the Mustang. The overdrive itself never gets too saturated, or to the point that it's out of hand and always sounds super tight, even when cranked :]
Whatsmore, this amp really shows off the tone of whatever guitar you plug into it.
This is my favourite thing about this amp; I've got a Les Paul Standard Doublecut Plus which has a chambered body, and i can actually here this quality in the guitar through the amp, even when it's overdriven, haha :D
I just can't get enough of this amp. No matter what guitar you've plugged into it, the sound can immedately be identified as THAT specific guitar.
Sound quality is just top notch and screams TONE!!

I play it hard and it's been Gigged quite abit for the past year or so and it's still running strong. i replaced the origional valves with Harma's, so i'm a little more confident in it's reliability because of how tough these valves are, but it's also improved the sound alot, having said that, the amp is still amazing even with the standard valves, this was purely a personal preference i think.Very reliable amp but i still wouldn't play without a back up... You never know...

Never had to deal with them???

I have been playing guitar for over 2 years, and have played bass for 7, though the last 2 don't really count as much since i switched and sold most of my basses, haha :b
I also have an '70s Orange Overdrive 120 head that i use as a backup as well as the origional matching cabinet with the 4x12in Celestion "Greenbacks". Though these are mainly usued for playing jazz as it's breakup sweetspot, where i set it, is at a higher volume than that of the AD and the sound generally has more of a vintage vibe to it.

I play a Gibson Les Paul Standard Doublecut Plus in Rootbeer, Gibson SG-X in Canary Yellow, Gibson Les Paul Doublecut Faded in TV Yellow, Gibson SG Classic (the reissue with p-90s) in Classic Cherry, Gibson SG Standard in Natural Burst, Gibson ES-135 in Sunburst, '70s Gibson Marauder in Natural Maple, Gibson Les Paul Studio in Natural Swamp Ash and a Fender '65 Mustang Reissue in Vintage White.
Ernie-Ball Regular Slinky Strings (10's).
Dunlop Tortex 0.60 Plectra.
Dunlop Stubby 2.00/ Big Stubby 3.00 Plectra(for Jazz and Bebop stuff).
My pedalboard consists of;
an Ernie Ball Volume Jr. - Boss TU2 - Dunlop Bass Wah - EH Big Muff Pi - Ibanez TS9DX - Boss PH2 - Digitech Whammy 4 - Maxon AD 999 - Boss DD3 - Boss DD6 - Boss DD5 with FS2 extension - Line6 FM4 with expression pedal - Line6 DL4 with expression pedal - Boss NS2 - Morley Little Alligator.

This amp is just rediculously amazing. since i picked it up it last year, i've never been able to play it without a big stupid grin across my face. it's just great fun to play.
It's taken a long time to put this setup together (plus alot of saving, haha!!) but this amp is without a doubt the one thing i'm the most proud of.

Best amp ever :]

This amp is a straight forward two channel amp without any bells or whistles. Powered by 4 EL34's, it is rated at 140 watts, but it probably only produces 100 clean watts. I think the 140 watt rating is more of a marketing thing than anything, because every other amp with 4 el34's only produces 100 watts. No reverb, no fx loop, just two channels each with their own gain, master volume, bass, trebel, and mid knobs. I like how simple it is and I think that is why it sounds so good. I kind of wish there was an fx loop, but i'm willing to sacrifice that for the tone of this amp. My only problem with orange is that they don't include a footswitch with their amps.

This amp has the best tone out of any amp I have played to date. It has enough gain for rock or hard rock, but it's not voiced to play metal. This amp has a thick tone, but with lots of clarity, and even with lots of gain you can still here every note. Clean there is infinite headroom if you want, but both channels are capable of producing a lot of distortion and any tone in between. Channel two has a little more gain and is a little brighter sounding. I was a little worried about being able to push the amp to where it sounds good at reasonable volume levels because of the 140 watt rating, but I've came to the conclusion that it's only producing 100 clean watts, and it's not even loud for a 100 watt amp. That being said, it has more volume than you would ever need and you can push the amp to where it sounds good at reasonable volume levels.

This is my second orange amp, and I've never had a problem with either of them. Seems really solid, and I trust things that are built in the UK.

Never dealt with them, but I've heard good things.

I have been playing for 11 years, I have played tons of amps from orange, marshall, mesa boogie, vox, and soldano. This amp is just a tone machine. Every sound that comes out of it is top notch. If it was stolen I would definitely buy another one. Then only thing I wish it had is an fx loop, but the simplicity of this amp is what makes it sound so good in my opinion.

The best thing about this head is that its simple! it provides the stuff you need and cuts the crap you dont! even reverb...whats the point? buy your own reverb pedal and add your own flavor..2 channels..i always use the 2nd cause its a little more "tubey"..the ONE thing i would change about it is put an effects loop on the back...thats a preference though..SIMPLE IS BEST!

Beautiful and British...the clean is loud and you can get anything from super super clean to stupid overdrive! great versatility..great tubes

I have tripped out a few times thinkin the tubes were goin cause it was playin quietly..but ill be honest and probably would be that i had something not hooked up right..ive had it a year and gig every week with it..never let me down.

Havnt delt with them..ive heard they're easy to deal with.

Overall, AMAZING VERSATILE SOUND..BRITISH MADE like EVERYTHING SHOULD BE..beautiful tube sound..loud as hell..looks beautfiul..i play it through the orange 2x12..perfect..a 4x12 would actually peel skin off something..i dont write reviews usually but im so happy with this thing..if you dont need the extra watts..i would settle for an orange combo..but this thing is the best for small or huge venues..perfect live amp...just add an effects loop to hide some constantly on pedals and this thing would be PERFECT..it pretty much is

If you know what your buying then you shouldnt slate it because of the features. so no fx loop. 2 channels. foot switch. thats it.

ok well.....
I brought this amp on the premiss that its gonna me F***ing loud and have a very individual sound.
im a huge at the drive-in/marsvolta/fall of troy fan. and im in a band that tinkers on those boarders. quite mid heavy. with the rite guitar you can go from from light blusey clean to progressive punk chugg very easily.
id heard, oh my god its the LOUDEST AMP in the world. well its not! i was quite worried it would be too loud.
I played a ad30tc combo in a shop and was insanely loud on like 2! but, its never the same when your playing in a band or gig as in a shop. so i usually just get things and hope for the best.
so i brought it with the orange 2x12 so it wouldnt be overpowering .
Use a Gibson customised sg (one humber taken out and the gibson one replaced with a riogrande crunch box)in whole step down tuning.
i play it at practice about 12-1 oclock and its preety sweet, cuts through nice and clear. i had a dsl 50 and 4x14 marshall and at the same number volume diald in it was similar. so dont be affraid if you like to make noise its not going to kill you.

Channel one: Has less treble and sounds a bit thicker. nice for quiet/ slow rythm sections but still gives you good dynamics. marshally but with less bass.

Channel two: Bit more trebble great for those little widdles or dynamic chorus's. it has enough gain for hard rock deffo!!!

all my fx i run through include: Boss blues driver-digitech bass compressor-digitech whammy-boss super phaser-ehx big muff-dan electro (mini) octaver-boss tuner-line 6 fm4-ehx small clone-ehx poly chorus-dan electro(mini) delay- boss noise suppressor-line 6 dm4.

all sound great through the amp!

This amp is a great grounding for layering my fx and fukking things up a bit.

its not very noisy. as much as any amp ive heard.

LOOKS SUPER DUPER TOO!!!!

I play nainly in whole step down or drop c. but we DONT play metal.
sort of prog punk psyc pop rock. and theres not really any loos of clarity, stays nice and punchy and crisp.

Well ive only had it about a week. and ive giged with it and had a practice. mega heavy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so much more than my marshall( which i sold)
ONE BIG PROBLE!!! ill explain below.........

Heres where it begins!. i brought this from the internet in an atempst to get a good deal.
when it arrived i took it out plugged it in rite ohms etc. and bbbbbbbbooooooooooobbbbbbbbbb. one big noise light turned on then off.!!!!!!!CRAP!!!!!! id been given a 110v american amp in a 240v british packaging!!!!! well anoyed. when i asked them to replace it they told me it had been discontinuied. I was told orange could fix it and return it, i wanted this amp so i agreed.

the good thing is, it came back woking perfectly and they threw in a cover tfo the head.! woow!.

Cheers orange

GREAT AMP FOR COVERING VARIOUS STYLES NOT AS LIMITED AS PEOPLE SAY AS LONG AS YOU KNOW HOW TO USE IT AND LIKE YOUR FX.
ILL PROBABLY DO ANOTHER REVIEW AFTER IVE USED IT SOME MORE. SO FAR IM HAPPY WITH IT.

Not much to speak of. It's got the stuff you need, and not a lot you don't.

The amp sounds alright clean, but kick in a little gain and it just sounds horrible. Mids and highs sound very rich, very pristine, but venture below middle C, and it loses all definition and punch. Could be the tubes, or maybe it's just a bum amp, but it went back the next day. Tried using it in the studio (hard rock sounds with just a little whiff of metal) with a Gibson SG, an ES335-tpe hollow body and a Les Paul Studio to no avail. Ended up moving the amp to the corner where it could prop open the door while we brought some decent gear in.

Seems solidly built, but alas, I'll never know...

After hearing all the raves and believing the hype, it was a huge disappointment to actually plug this thing in and listen to its weak delivery. Ended up switching to a Bad Cat Trem Cat, another pricey one, but at least it delivers.

I play hardcore/indie/experimental/rock kind of music and this amp can definately be tweaked to cover it all.
Basic two channel tube amp; one for clean one for dirty, but you turn the gain up a bit on the 'clean' channel and get a nice dirty sound out of it aswell. It all depends what your after; you can have 2 dirty channels slightly different and switch between them. Perosnally i mostly use one nicely clean channel and the other channel with the gain at about 2oclock. Occasionally ill put up the gain a tad on the clean channel to get a bit of a grittier sound when i pick harder.
Unfortunately theres no effects loop which would be nice.. but i still run effects through the leads with no problems at all.
Personally im glad it doesnt have a reverb channel, thats what rockerverbs are for ;)
I use this amp at band practices where it is easily loud enough to rise over the drummer, and also play gigs where it sounds great.
Just as a side note, although it is a AD140, its probably not AS loud as you imagine. Ive heard 100watt marshalls just as loud. Saying that, its still pretty damn loud and will cover any job.

Like i said before you can tweak the amp to your desired channel settings. The clean channel does however stay very nicely clean at high volumes.
The clean channel IS the best clean ive ever heard on any amp. It sounds REAL unlike some other amps, and the low end is amazing. Im using this amp on a PPC412 cab, which also helps.
Even on the dirty channel, it keeps its low end, and if you turn the mid up it pulls it above other instruments such as drums and bass.
When i was purchasing i was also trying it with other cabs. Sounds terrible when put with a mesa 4x12, when put with a marhsall it has a more 'open' sound, and with the Orange cab the sound is very focused and direct.
THIS AMP SOUNDS AMAZING.

Gigged a couple times, and practiced with it every weekend for about a year. Havnt had any issues with it at all.
Of course id gig without a backup... whos rich enough to have 2 AD140's!

Never had any issues so never delt with customer suppport.

If this amp was stolen or lost id probably cry forever
When purchasing id looked at various marshalls, a few mesa's, and some other amps, but this one definately stood out.
Ive been playing guitar for maybe 5 years now and previosuly used a JCM900. The Orange just has something that other amps dont have.
The only thing else i could ask for with this amp would be an effects loop. But thats it.
Its Beautiful.

made recently, the heas is perfect for doom metal/sludge (what i use it for), love this head to death

warmest heaviest sound of any amp. the only competitor would be sunn O)))

never had a problem

never used it

killer head. if you can save up a grand, or however much the guy on ebay is selling it, BUY IT!

This amp was made in 2003, and had sat at Long & McQuade for the past 2 years. I had purchased the matching cabinet (PPC412) to use with my Mesa/Boogie F-100 head, but I got tired of that amp. Then one morning, I decided to watch a whole bunch of At The Drive-In live footage, and in doing so, I was inspired to try out the AD140. I play a mix of post-hardcore, indie rock and screamo. I see that most people who post on here are all about 70's rock, or blues (which is all good, but there's never anyone who writes reviews who plays the same style of music as me).

This amp has 2 channels. Channel 1 is probably the most beautiful clean channel I have ever heard. Turn up the gain a bit, and it breaks up a bit when you strum hard). Channel 2 is a great dirty tone. True, you can have this channel as clean, but i usually crank the gain to almost full. It's a very mid heavy distortion. The PPC412 is the bassiest cabinet I've ever played, but it's not a farty, low end. It's very focused and tight.

The staff at Long & McQuade are great, and they gave me the footswitch and the slip cover for free. The only real feature aside from seperate EQ's for each channel, is the channel switch function with the footswitch. Any generic footswitch will work with this head, but I like having the Orange one. As far as features I wish it had, there aren't really any. I mean, an effects loop would be nice to run my Decimator through, but this amp is pretty quiet, and I use Seymour Duncans, which have a hum cancelling feature.

I use this amp at our jam spot, and at shows. It has more power than I need. This is an all tube head with 4 x EL34 for power, and 4 x 12AX7's in the pre-amp. One thing I wish the AD140 had was an option to use a different type of tube in the power amp section, like 6L6's, or 5881's, but hey, the EL34's are great as it is.

As I stated above, this amp has an amazing clean channel. I like this head because you can go (using channel 1 or 2) from a country twang, to a full bodied clean, to a slight breakup indie rock, to a darker crunch for blues or grunge, to a full blown high gain signal for everything that would call for it.

Like most tube amps, this amp sounds better the louder you turn it up. Orange claims that you have limitless headroom for your clean channel, and they aren't lying.

The guitars I'm currently using with this amp are a 2005 Gibson SG with a Seymour Duncan SH-5 in the bridge, stock in the neck position. I also play a Fender Telecaster Limited Edition Koa with Seymour Duncan APTR-1, APTL-1 pickups.

Everyone has commented on how heavy this amp is. Everyone is right. I've only had the amp for a couple weeks, but I doubt its going to break down, and even if it does, it comes with a 2 year warranty. Not only would I "gig" without a backup, I dont even have a backup. Haha. Seriously...who has backup amps?

Haven't dealt with them yet. 2 year warranty.

I've been playing guitar long enough to know the sound that I'm looking for. As far as other gear I own, I own a Line6 DL4, Line6 MM4, and a Boss TU-2. If this amp were stolen I would definitely get another one, or else one of those rocketverb's.

If you're hmm'ing an haaaw'ing about buying one of these amps, you're a smart man (or woman). They are expensive. Take it home, try it out in your element with your own gear. It's only common sense. If this amp isn't for you, then it isn't for you. Luckily, it's for me. :]

2003 Orange AD140TC. I play indie and rock, nothing overly distorted. Just british crunch with lots of low end. This amp got the job done for me. 2 channels - crunch and more crunch. Slight difference between the two but still noticeable. If I could change anything with it, I probably would have sacrificed one of the channels for a reverb, or a clean and a reverb. Not a big deal though, and I learned to tailor my sound to the amp. Really awesome amp. Hand wiring point to point would be nice too, but then this would cost $3500.

This is heavy british crunch with lots of low end. No metal here. Just good crunchy rock. Good for stoner rock, indie, rock, etc. I used a Gibson Les Paul goldtop '56 reissue with P-90s through this, a Gibson Les Paul '55 with P-90s, and a Gretsch Jet Firebird. All sounded excellent. I can't tell you how many people drooled over my setup, all over the country. I kept the gain rolled up pretty high, and I often played with the volume 3/4 of the way up. That's how we got the reputation as the loudest band in town...something I was quite proud of. :) But, you should understand that Orange are not really meant to be versatile -- they do one or two sounds really well, and that's it. For me, it was perfect.

I toured for 3 years with that thing -- throwing it in/out of the van, crowd (and our drummer) spilling beer and sitting beers on it, getting dropped, etc...held up excellently, and that thing was HEAVY. Still, toward the end of my ownership of it, it started blowing fuses. It was probably just a bad tube, but I sold it, so I don't know.

Great people, they put me on their artist price list.

I've been playing for about 16 years. I now have an original '65 Vox AC50. It's just not the same. I miss my orange. Probably going to get another one here pretty soon. I'll go with a different model this time though. I might hang on to the AC50. don't know. I miss the crunch I could get without pedals.

Also, something to note...when I retubed this amp once, I had it biased and I was with the guy. He measured it and said it only puts out about 80-85 Watts. So, it's not really pumping out 140 Watts. Our other guitar player was playing through a peavy 5150 combo, and it was easily as loud as my orange...just so you know.

look at the other reviews... a rating of one in versatility should come hand in hand with the greatest amp in the world.

Okay I'll just start off by saying that yes, this is the best amplifier of all time... Of course you don't think that I have the right to say such a grandiose statement...but when it comes to cutting through the mix against another guitar and bass with the greatest rock lead sound youve ever heard than this is it. I play blues influenced rock and roll, I have played this amp against a marshall dsl jcm2000, marshall jcm 800, marshall plexis, a hiwatt dr 103, a sound city 120R, mesa triple rectifier... you get the idea - supposedly fucking huge amps! unfortunately for you all of these amps basically pale in comparison to the ROAR of this baby. My Custom shop strat with custom hot single coil pickups as well as a p90 fitted custom strat sound like a t-rex with the most unbelievably powerful bass response I have ever heard. If you find those other amps to be adequate, it is probably because you play metal or some other bullshit... or have never played with two guitars and had to cut through the mids. It is also the loudest amp I have ever heard without the shitty shitty shitty mesa shit scooped shit tone that hurts your ears when its turned up to one. So we've covered its ass kickin abilities in general terms but to be more specific the clean channel sounds better than any fender Ive heard which is fairly unbelievable. I use a pickup booster solely without any bullshit tone-altering distortion pedals. The amp blows my ass off each and everytime I choose to play it above the other many so-called "great amps" I own.

No problems whatsoever I play everyday.

nope

I own marshalls, fenders, hiwatt, soundcitys, It blows those all out of the fucking water. I play or am influenced in the vein of Jimmy page, Pete Townshend, Jimi hendrix. I would certainly buy it again considering its the only amp I would ever play with live. I wish it was also a beer brewer. I'll now mention that I'm seventeen which will probably discredit all that I've said in this review for most of you but I promise I KNOW guitar equipment but above all... I KNOW music so feel at ease if you buy this amp.
no my parents did not buy all that equipment - I would have thought so too but I paid for it all with money that i earned WORKING.