Valve Amp (Orange/Matamp) into a Barefaced Compact

[danweb22]

Hi,

Never had a valve amp before, tried an Orange AD200b and was very impressed.

I see it puts out 200w (into 4 or 8ohms is that right?) and I was wondering whether anyone has tried it through a Barefaced Compact?

I only have the one compact so would the AD200b be powerful enough to drive it? Enough gigging volume? (5 piece rock covers)

Also same question with the Matamp GT200

Cheers!

[Mr. Foxen]

Matamp GT200 will be enough into a Compact. The Orange has a theme of sounding amazing if its your first big valve amp. They aren;t even close to a Matamp. The output is the same as long as the impedance switch is in the right place, but there are a few accounts of the Orange AD200 not making its stated output when tested, might have beeen fixed on the new ones though.

[Musicman20]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Try both amps first. I have personally tried a few different all tube amps, like the normal Ampeg CL and VR, and luckily they had an Orange AD200 Mk3 on hand to A/B them.[/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The Orange, IMO, ticked all the boxes. It just seemed to be a much more 'exciting' tone compared to the Ampeg, which sounded quite dull, and was when Ampeg had problems with their Vietnamese untis. [/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I have heard of Matamps superior build, but its is down to personal taste. Each unit is usually built around that customers needs, so some won't sound like what you want. I tried out a bands Matamp (GT200 I presume) and the drive on it definitely wasn't for me, but it did sound good, and looked superb. There is a youtube clip with a demo just of the GT200, and that again didn't excite me in terms of dirt/tube grind. I pretty much know for a fact that if I went to Matamp, which I might do in the future, they could build it so that drive is SPOT on.[/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]In terms of volume, they are all loud. I used my AD200b Mk3 with an Orange OBC115 and NOTHING else with a P bass with an extremely heavy hardcore band, and it sounded stunning. The whole band said 'that low end is insane'....it just buzz sawed through the mix (because I cranked the gain to 2/3) and also provided a fat pillow to the quite 'toppy' sounding guitars.[/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]This makes me want to go home and play it....[/font]

Edited February 6, 2012 by Musicman20

[bertbass]

Just to confuse you a bit more. Mywatt 200, It's a Hiwatt clone and seriously good. http://weber-amps.de/en/index.html

[Wooks79]

My matamp gt200 sounds awesome into my barefaced compact, no problems driving it at all.

[danweb22]

Thanks for all the advice, really need to hear a GT200 to compare I suppose

[umph]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1328483604' post='1528007']
Matamp GT200 will be enough into a Compact. The Orange has a theme of sounding amazing if its your first big valve amp. They aren;t even close to a Matamp. The output is the same as long as the impedance switch is in the right place, but there are a few accounts of the Orange AD200 not making its stated output when tested, might have beeen fixed on the new ones though.
[/quote]

nah they use a transformer with the wrong primary so it only does about 160W

[Mr. Foxen]

Apparently new ones have different transformer, which could be the fix.

[umph]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1328620832' post='1530080']
Apparently new ones have different transformer, which could be the fix.
[/quote]

nah still totally have 2k primarys

[Noisyjon]

I run 1 or 2 Compacts off my MEsa/Boogie Bass 400+ and no problems, ever!

[tayste_2000]

I've used a compact with a GT200 and it sounds fine, will likely be loud enough to play with a band (depends on how loud your band is)

Only issue is the compact will vibrate a GT200 considerably when on top, to the point where is could fall off (size of compact stood upright won't sit a GT200 properly so it's wood on wood and the vibrations transfer more easily)

[danweb22]

[quote name='tayste_2000' timestamp='1328634670' post='1530440']
I've used a compact with a GT200 and it sounds fine, will likely be loud enough to play with a band (depends on how loud your band is)

Only issue is the compact will vibrate a GT200 considerably when on top, to the point where is could fall off (size of compact stood upright won't sit a GT200 properly so it's wood on wood and the vibrations transfer more easily)
[/quote]

Hmmm yeah I noticed the GT200 width was a bit wider than the top of the compact! Could be a problem! Mind you the Orange is similar width is it not?

[Mr. Foxen]

Stick Compact on its side, it has no HF driver to get upset.

[Wooks79]

Aye, turn on its side, perfect size, and still has rubber feet on its side! I posted a pic of mine once, see if I can find it again...

[danweb22]

Would the GT200 not have rubber feet? Can't see the difference in having it on top of the compact normally or with the compact on it's side as it will still in contact with wood either way?

[Wooks79]

Here's my 'on its side pic' as promised...

Edited February 7, 2012 by Wooks79

[Prime_BASS]

Personally I prefer the Orange aswell like MM20.

Mainly for it's simplicity, very plug and go and it breaks up the way I like. Unfortunatly it lacks the power unless you are running a few speakers.

[danweb22]

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1328651588' post='1530809']
Personally I prefer the Orange aswell like MM20.

Mainly for it's simplicity, very plug and go and it breaks up the way I like. Unfortunatly it lacks the power unless you are running a few speakers.
[/quote]

This is what I was worried about, I don't want to get anymore speakers really

[danweb22]

[quote name='Wooks79' timestamp='1328646136' post='1530686']
Here's my 'on its side pic' as promised...


[/quote]

I like the look of that flightcase! Where did you get that from if you don't mind me asking?

[Wooks79]

I got it from castle cases, it's the 2nd case I've got from Them, and have been really impressed both times. Would recommend them highly!