Orange AD-30 Combo

This" was" a 30 Watt, uncomfortable to carry around combo, with Master Volume and some tone controls.... more than enough. Made just before they were discontinued. Bought new at about 2006.

Went to a "boutique"place in Conn., intent on buying, and tried ,every "handwired"Amp there. When I left, I gave the guy $20 for staying so long, and using his electricity. But I bought AD-30 elsewhere.
I used for this test, one of the best guitars I have.
A 20 year old Carlo Greco handmade semi hollow. It is a single cut away, 355 type (in general), but with a solid carved arched top and back, of old figured maple. It has two original PAF pickups in it. A very gainy guitar.

After trying all of these handwired amps, I bought an Orange!
I felt it sounded in between a Marshall and a Vox.

After living with it for a while I realized, that though it had a good "Voice", it really was a Very Anemic Amplifier. One can never get the feeling that this amp is being "pushed".
In fact, other than it's anemia, it also had a permanent subtile "squeal" in there, which I tried to resolve by sending it back (UPS) and buying Groove"Over rated"Tubes.
In the end I asked Orange ,take this back, and I'll pay the difference,to buy one of those "few a year "handwired" Orange Heads, sight unseen...No such humanity there, nor business sense might I add.
So in the end, I traded it in and bought a Vox Brian May Combo, and a Marshall JTM-45/100 40th Ann. Stack ...
The AD-30 was discontinued(good riddance)and Orange lost a customer.

!

Had subtile squeal at higher volume that MFG. could not hear...

Poor.

Went out looking for "THE Amplifier " to replace the sound of the(1972) 50 watt 4x12 MKll Marshall, long ago lost .So far, just a little here, and a little there....
Have Victoria Bassman, Mesa Boogie MKlV(early one),Marshall JTM-45 (Hand made one) Stack, and Vox Brian May Combo...
All a story in themselves.

The Orange was the worst. The Vox semi-handwired reissues sound much,much better, but build is borderline.