Orange AD30 Overhaul & Upgrades

[@jameswyre6480]

This was way more interesting than it should have been. Great job and plenty of expertise on display! Love the crimp points with the resisters to keep em at a set level away from the board.

[@AnyMajorDude-et2ub]

This is the type of guy you wanna buy your second-hand amp from, someone who believes in preventative maintenance, and doesn't wait until the amp bows a phew-phew valve before sending it to get serviced. Dear Owner: If you ever wanna sell this Orange you've got a buyer right here :)

[@jimshomestudio]

Always been fond of this amplifier, now more so. Thanks Brad. 👍

[@Gman0007]

That was an excellent job of explaining a job very well done 😸. Thanks mate!

[@kbkman7742]

Oh cool. One of the first "good" amps I bought was the single channel version. They're a bit of a one trick amp, but it's a very good trick. I always thought for a pcb amp they were made with some thought too. I have read that the push on connector filament wire is a failure point

[@danielweinbaum]

Good stuff !

[@middle_pickup]

If you ever need to remove hot glue use isopropyl alcohol. It loosens the glue without leaving a trace. It also evaporates from electronics without damaging the components. Maybe you know this, but hope it helps. Cool video. I like seeing an amp's build before buying one. This one doesn't look like a bad option.

[@fredfrederici7562]

Nice job Brad , whata cool amp as well

[@Andrew-ry7iw]

Attention to detail - good job

[@tonya4157]

I'm neither a tech or electrician but I enjoy these videos and your channel. I have to say, after seeing a bunch of repairs done on Fenders and the way those boards look with all the heat discoloration and burning I may just have to try an Orange.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Thanks for watching, mate. And of course we'd love to see you as a subscriber. Orange amps are a very good choice. I may do a bit of a comparison between their models some time soon. In the meantime, check out Psionic Audio's channel for a tech's perspective on many different currently available amp models. Much more useful information than the pithy reviews we see elsewhere.

[@tonya4157]

@@BradsGuitarGarage I am subscribed. I've been watching a lot of his videos and that's how I found your channel. I realize there's going to be problems with most anything but seeing all the problems with Blues Jr's and HRDs and the way those boards look, kind of changed my mind. I was leaning towards buying a Blues Jr but a Rocker 15 is looking pretty good right now. I just need a small amp for home and the Katana just doesn't do it anymore. I had the previous version of the DSL40C but had to sell it. Was way more than I needed anyway. I thought about the DSL20CR but there's just something about paying $200 more for it than I paid for it's big brother that bothers me. lol Anyway, keep up the good work and I'll be checking out your videos. Thanks

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

The rockers are cool, but the BJR's are great long lasting amps once a tech has performed the usual upgrades and reliability mods, too. It's probably going to run you around $300-400US to get the things bulletproof, though.

[@tonya4157]

@@BradsGuitarGarage I've been giving that a lot of thought. The Jr has everything I need, I just want it to be reliable. I like the Rocker but I have no place to try one and I'm not sold on the 10" speaker. I'm used to 12s. Might be fine but who knows and I don't like returning stuff. I appreciate your input and I'll let you know what I get.

[@goodun2974]

If someone really needs to use tube shields as tube retainers, slotted (ventilated) tube shields are available, though they might be hard to find. There's also the IERC tube shields, which have a ribbed metal heatsink inside the shield, designed to minimize microphonics as well as dissipate heat. I don't know if the IERC shields are still being made, and they are a bit pricy. Tube retainers seem kind of superfluous for EL84's that are pointing upwards, but if they hang sideways or downwards they really should have some kind of tube retainer on them. Slotted tube shields might be a particularly good idea for the phase-invertor tube, or reverb driver, since those should gave some shielding around them but are likely to be the hottest running of the small preamp tubes.

[@ghostfacegrillla6272]

I love your channel👊😎

[@wethriveIn425]

Do you have to take the fuse holder and IEC socket out to get under the board, or is there another way?

[@timwatson6318]

What a great job done well. Proper technician, no sloppy shortcuts. I wonder what the postage would be from NZ. 🤘

[@goodun2974]

Murphy's Oil Soap works very well for cleaning Tolex.

[@MARBSTUDIO]

mine seems to sound a bit muddy and super bright at the same time, is there a set of tubes you could maybe recommend to tame it down some please, clean the sound up a touch.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

How can it sound muddy and bright? It sounds like you will need a repair. New tubes are not likely to fix this issue.

[@zbaby82]

Good job. I wouldn't use a cleaner like Nifti on vinyl though. The ethanol in it could degrade it.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Been doing it for decades. Not a problem. I ran tests on tolex offcuts with various cleaners years ago. Might have some photos of it somewhere.

[@ianmccutcheon6759]

I really appreciate these videos...very thorough. Just curious, what forming pliers are you using? I'm tired of using physical standoffs and might grab a pair.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Piergiacomi PNG5000

[@ianmccutcheon6759]

Awesome thanks. Used to live in Alice Springs so I'm a few stubbies short of a six pack.

[@jbolt247]

Nice job as usual. Liked extra info and attention to detail. A few questions if you don't mind :) Did you bump up the wattage on the screen stoppers, or were they originally 3 watts? Any plans on moving to KZbin for the live streams? Any updates on the Mesa DC2?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

The original screen stoppers were 4w. I installed 3w. Anything over 2w is fine in this case. I may move the livestreams here as a trial, but KZbin can be pretty toxic, where Facebook is more of a bunch of mates, so I'll see how it goes on the first few times. The last episode of the DC2 and the Triple Rec will be edited and uploaded when I get time over this weekend. Thanks for watching, by the way!

[@jaycee30865]

Agree re 2 phase inverters. Why oh why. Use the extra triodes for more gain perhaps? Footswitchably so?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

That was my thought. A good platform for modding.

[@jaycee30865]

@@BradsGuitarGarage there’s no artistic or scientific reason (like silent channel switching) this was done right? Just laziness/silly Puritanism?

[@jaycee30865]

You might wanna check out a 5r4. Less hairy, more sag. Less volume. Easier on tubes probably too (can you confirm?). Cv4004 are sonically best pre, tung sol are best el84. My experience in this kit.

[@jaycee30865]

Ah. Last thing. There are ESBs out there on this amp. Public domain. Nothing major. Might dig in and see what version you have there.

[@pedrolourenco2707]

If you don't know why there are two phase invertes on this amp, you should be working on it!!!!

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

What? Your comment is contradictory.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

But I think you were trying to be a smart arse, despite your poor language skills. So thanks for that. I really appreciate it.

[@pedrolourenco2707]

I forgot the NO: you shouldn't be working on it * - Many Orange amps are known to produce a lot of ditortion on the phase inverter tube, with a post inverter master volume. You could use one tube with more relays on channel switching, but would introduce noise and wont be a true twin channel!

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

We know it's due to the dual PPIMV's what I meant in my video was that it's not common. As far as I know it's the only amp on the market with this feature. But send me your email address and I'll be sure to ask permission to see if I'm worthy enough to work on the next amp. Thanks again for the cancerous comment.

[@pedrolourenco2707]

@@BradsGuitarGarage wrong choose of words in the video, but that's ok... I dont understand very much about electronics but i also work on (my) amps! Take care and don't take it to heart ;)