Orange Crush Bass 50 Quiet!

[Golightly]

Hi all, took delivery of an Orange Crush Bass 50 last week and with all eq set to noon and blend/ gain off the volume is not that impressive with the bass volume and amp volume at max. I'm playing in a room that's about 12 by 9 feet in size. Am I expecting to much from 50W?

 

[Cat Burrito]

50w solid state bass is not that loud but I have the Vox practice amp (VX50) that when cranked up, it keeps up with a drummer and a guitarist in a 3 piece rock n roll band. Are you playing alone or with musicians?

[Golightly]

Alone!

It gets louder when the eq and blend are used obviously, I just expected it to be reasonably loud flat.

 

 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Golightly

[Cat Burrito]

Orange is my main brand of choice and you usually have to dial in a bit of the gain to get any response from the volume. You should however be getting a lot of volume from it for what you are using it for.

[Golightly]

That's what I thought, not sure where to go next!

[Marty McFly]

Golightly....I have the same problem. I did a trade and I really didn't test the amp. It looked brand new.

My meter said the speaker was 12 and a half ohms so I got a new speaker from Orange from Georgia. Turns out I needed to clean the contacts on my meter the old speaker IS 4 ohms LOL

Like you with everything flat I can run it at 10 and it's not that loud at all. It's pretty bad when your Fender Rumble 25 watt with an 8in speaker is about the same volume. I don't know what's happening I took it apart and I'm just looking around but I don't see anything. Are they just quiet with everything at noon? It seems like a 15 watt amp.

20210212_110343.heic

Edited February 12, 2021 by Marty McFly

[BassmanPaul]

Turn up the gain control.

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Two points to make here. First, the tone controls make a big difference in the output. 6dB of bass boost is equivalent to boosting power by a factor of four. According to Orange the bass EQ is capable of +/-15dB. That means with the bass control flat and the volume full you might not be getting 50w. Depending on the output level of your bass you might be getting 5w or less. Second, the difference between an amp at 25 watts and an amp at 50 watts is 3dB. 3dB is audible, but just. All else being equal if you want to sound twice as loud as 25w you'll need 250w.

[BassmanPaul]

Bill, what's the use of clouding the issue with facts? LOL

 

[Marty McFly]

I understand all that Bill. A 100 watt amp is only a 'tiny' bit louder than a 50. One watt per channel on the power meters of a stereo amp is a loud.

But even at that, I have owned 160 guitars and a boat load of amps both bass and guitar....this is pretty anemic.

And why would I want to add gain for volume? 

This is a pretty weak amp.

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

With the controls at noon maybe. So turn them up, that's what they're there for!

[Marty McFly]

Ok I TURNED THEM UP Bill. Maybe I expect too much. I may have to remember its a practice amp......

I appreciate your responses!

[Lozz196]

It sounds to me like a problem, I have an Ashdown 15 watt combo with an eight inch integral speaker and with all eq at noon it’s too loud to have on max volume with a passive Jazz bass, wouldn’t be considerate of my neighbours. It’s in my spare room, approx 10ft x 10ft.

[BassAdder60]

My Ampeg BA110 40w is nearly loud enough to play with a drummer !

For large room home practice my volume is about 2 to 3 and it’s got a lot more in the tank 

Sounds odd that a 50w is quiet at home unless it’s not 50w RMS rated 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

My 50w '65 Bassman was loud enough to gig, but never without the bass control on 10, and if it had gone to 11 I'd have done so.

[Stub Mandrel]

On 21/01/2020 at 11:26, Golightly said:

Hi all, took delivery of an Orange Crush Bass 50 last week and with all eq set to noon and blend/ gain off the volume is not that impressive with the bass volume and amp volume at max. I'm playing in a room that's about 12 by 9 feet in size. Am I expecting to much from 50W?

 

Two thoughts... you haven't got the 6dB pad button pressed down? That will make it sound like a 12W amp.

Second, to get a decent level of output you need the gain set high. Roll the blend control back to get a cleaner sound, not the gain.

These are tricky amps to understand, I was put off when I tried one in PMT but it was because I didn't understand how the gain and blend controls interact.

[openeyes]

Happened to me after buying a new one. Then I changed my 9V battery in the active bass and worked like a charm again

Edited July 6, 2021 by openeyes

[Leonidaslost]

Hey Guys. Just to say I got my Orange Crush 50 to replace my First version of an Ampeg BA-112. The Ampeg (50 watt) developed that common problem of crackling which nobody (incl Ampeg who are not interested) seems able to fix. The Orange is not in the same ballpark as the Ampeg ( when it was working). The Ampeg is way louder and is obviously a bass amp - it has that depth which the Orange does not. I have used the Ampeg to gig at small venues but mainly for practice. The Orange could be used for guitar and will do for a bass practice amp but it is not a serious bass amp. I use a USA P bass and Marcus Miller Jazz bass through mine. It's ok for learning tho.

[agedhorse]

Turn the gain/volume up!

[Bolo]

Gain is the level of the signal going into the EQ section and then on to the power section. If you turn that down there's nearly no signal for the power stage to amplify. 

So turn up the gain to the point of breakup (drive) that sounds best to your ears, then turn up the volume to the desired loudness, then adjust the EQ to fix any acoustic issues.

 

Otherwise it's like driving a car with a clamp on the fuel line.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Bolo