Bon avec toutes ces histoires de qualité, je suis retombé sur l'essai du Rétro 50 et de L'AD50 Custom Shop paru dans le Guitarist mag anglais.
Bon comme je suis un peu motivé je vais recopier cet article ... C'est en anglais et j'ai pas le courage de traduire !
C'est partit ( ce sera surement mon plus long post ! )
" It would seem that Orange are doing a fair impression of London's double-decker buses at the moment: they keep you waiting and then two turn up at once ! Last time it was a pair of it's new twin channel heads, the AD30TC and AD140TC, this time we're lucky enough to have the first look of two new offerings from Orange's Denmark Street Custom SHop.
The AD50 and the Retro 50 look identical at first glance - indeed, both share an all new power stage based on two EL34 valves. However, when you look closer you can see the differences. As Damon Waller, OMEC's Internationel sales manager explained: " The AD50 slots in below the AD140 for players who want the modern Orange sound in a more versatile and eardrum-friendly package. For us " modern "doens't mean the scooped-out middle tone that many other amp builders are using today, it's basically a higher-gain version of the original seventies amps, and that's where the Retro 50 come in. The Retro fills the gap left by the demise of the OTR series and addresses the demand for the original Orange tone. It has less gain than the AD50, but compared to the seventies amps it's more versatile, with master volume and a footswitchable tone circuit bypass ( both shared bu the AD50 ), which gives the gain an extra boost for soloing. "
We've become used to exemplary build quality from Orange - more so now than ever before - and the standard of construction for both these head is typical. Orange Custom SHop amps are hand-builds using tagboards with point to point wiring, and only two or three leave the shop each week.
The distinctive cabinet shape is coveredto perfection, and when you lift the heavy steel chassis out by the inside pair of chrome grab handles you can see why the shop's output is so small. The attention to detail is nothing short of obsessive, all the fittings are held in place by aerospatialtype locking nuts, and the wiring is executed to a standard taht has to be seen close-up to be appreciated. Few manufacturers have the luxury of time and skill to produce work like this and the relatively low component count and simple design are two reasons why Orange can afford to go the extra mile. It's always been part of the brand's mystique and appeal: rugged simplicity means there basically nothing that can go wrong inside an amp like this apart from the valves themselves, and it's also why Orange amp sounds the way it's does.
Many designers will agree that valves work best in simple circuit - some of the noise and gain mismatch problem's that modern multi-channel valve designs often pass off as ' characteristics ' are a result of pushing limits too far; it takes considerable skill to make a complex modern valve amp that works well. The clarity of tone and response that come from keeping things simple is partly why olders amps now attract higher prices. Thankfully we don't have the grumble about manufacturers 'not making 'em like that any more', because Orange's latest are no different in quality to those coveted seventies originals. If anything, they're better, with modern components such as low-noise close-tolerance metal film resistor and double-ganged pots keeping things more consistent from one amplifier to the next.
On the side of the chassis, tucked out of harm's way, is a mains voltage selector - and it's a nice touch to see designer Adrian Emsley's signature inside both amps along with the date they were completed. We wouldn't normally recommend folks to open up an amp and peer inside, but to do so with one of these heads imparts a warm feeling of satisfaction and reassurance. You know you've just bought something rather special that's going to last a long, long time.
Let's tahke a quick tour of both amp's front and rear panel. The rear panels are identical, with a trio of speaker outlets and a toogle switch to change the power amp from class AB to Class A operation. Both front panels have control for gain and master volume, and below the single input jack there's a socket for a standard latching footswitch. On both amps this takes the tone circuitry out of the signal path, wich results in a significant gain boost. It's not commonly know that a lot of front-end gain is lost at this point - one mod taht many techs use to beef up an amp's gain is to double or even quadruple the values of the tone pots to reduce the EQ circuit loss. Taking it out altogether is another option - and perfectly in keeping with Orange's ' less is more ' philosophy.
The tone circuit is one area where the two heads differ. The Retro 50 has a conventional set of bass, mid and treble knobs, while the AD50 combines treble and bass with a presence control. On the Retro 50, the tone contral are wired to cut the signal completely when they're all zeroed, and consequently act as gain control too. The best way to approach this kind of tone stack is to gradually bring up the controls from zero, baalncing them with gain and master until you find the sound you're after.
The AD50 tone circuit is interesting. With bass full up the mid-range is scooped out a little, and you can hear a phase reversal effect happening as the treble control is rotated through the halfway point. There are all kinds of subtle colours lurking here and the presence knob works to remove upper mid range, fine tunning high frequency response.
Both amps share the same power stage - a pair of EL34 valaves which can be switched from Class AB into Class A mode. This reduces the output down to around 30 watts, and adds a lot of extra harmonic warmth. The best effect from both mode happen when these amps are wound up - with effort you can maje them sound good at bedroom level but that's not wgat the were designed for. The real Orange magic is all about making the power stage work hard, and combining power and preamp distortion, there is where all the best sounds are to be had, and the best fun too.
SOUNDS:
With amins and standby on, there's just the merest hiss from the speakers let you know the amp is working; mains hum virtually zero in Class AB mode, and still way below what many amp manufacturers pass off as normal for Class A.
Both amps have that Orange familly sound that combines a fat mid-range with a rounded treble and places them squarely in vintage brit territory.
For players who learned their chops from listening to the likes of Peter Green or Paul Kossoff, plugging into their heads is like taking a trip down memory lane as any lick from yesterday is squeezed through the speaker with superlative touch sensitivity and totally authentic sound. Now, digital chips can try their best to emulate this sound, but when you experience the reak thing you'll realize just how wide the gap still is.
The AD50's addball tone circuit is great fun. It's a deceptively simple layout with a wide range, and sounds equally good with single coils or humbuckers. There's a slight fizz to the highs at low volume levels, but this transform into a easily controlled agressive bite as the master volume goes up to more realistic settings. There's more than enough gain for most playing style and using the footswitch to defeat the tone circuit adds a significant boost that can with a little compromise, be used as a rhythm/solo function. On both amps the amount of boost varies depending on where the tone controls are set. The AD50 presence control is left in circuit when you use the bypass, so you will still be able to control the high end response.
AS the gain and master go up, all sorts od different distortion colours appear and merge to create a stunning tone; the " sweet spot " is a very wide on the AD50, and most players are going to find their ideal Orange sound in theresomewhere. The Retro 50 tone differed more tahn we wereexepting in taht is has less gain and lacks some of the AD50 agression but it has the sound: a perfect vintage blend of tone and distortion which is there from the moment you plug in.
The Retro sound good with single coils but the tone coming from a Les Paul or anything similar has to be heard to be believed - simply awesome ! You can come very close ti this with the AD50 bit it takes a while to get the balance right. The Retro tone circuit serves to fine tune the soundrather than alter things to any great extend and it's just perfect right from the start.
VERDICT
So, faced with suck a delectableduo, which one would we choose?
The AD50 ectra gain and slighty more agressive sound is more in tune with Orange contemporary users, while the Retro is one for blues/rock purist out ther, looking for an amp which can perfectly recreate the classic late 60/70 vibe that made the brand famous. "
Voilà ça c'est du post !
