A recent family wedding triggered my idea for this post, my uncle was getting married and when there’s a Swain family do and because there’s a lot of muso’s in the family, we always have live music. My unc’ passed down his 1976 vintage Fender Telecaster, to me about 13 years ago so I took it along to let the old chap have a burn on it again.

Anyway, I was setting up my dad’s Vox amp and realised what a bad interface existed compared to my other amp: an Orange. This post covers two of my favourite topics: user-experience and guitar amps.

The Vox AC30

Now I thought this problem was huge and really obvious, I own a Vox myself but at some point in its history it was converted from separates into a combo and the owner of the time corrected this flaw. I had a look at the Vox siteand found that’s it’s the same across the AC30 range. What is this flaw you ask, well the top-down controls are back to front.

I’ve no problem with top-down controls, the amps look great from the front with the vintage netting and logo. What I do have a problem with is trying to use the controls. You’re playing a gig and you approach the amp to tweak your sound and the controls are upside down, without 0-1 markings (how do you know if you're at 11?) and poorly labelled. The poor labelling is only confounded further by the fact the text is upside down and add to that low light levels at gigs... There’s also the confusing high/low inputs on the far right, controlled themselves by an unnecessary silver toggle switch. I still can’t work this out and have no desire to either.

I guess if you’ve a roadie and a large enough stage that they can get behind the amp, then great. Most people don’t have either of those so not the best layout. I wonder if Vox have considered this, I’m sure they did so I’m not sure why it’s like this. It definitely causes confusion to my dad, so much so that I have the Vox at home and he uses my Orange now when he plays live.

The Orange OTR 120

www.orangeamps.com

I got this amplifier when I was 17, at the height of the brit-pop craze and when the 120 was the only amplifier Orange manufactured, you can’t get them anymore direct but I’m sure there’s some around somewhere. My heroes - Noel Gallagher and Gaz Coombes - were playing them, and I loved the sound.

The layout of this amp is slightly different, for one it’s made of separates. By separates I mean an amplifier and speaker cabinet as opposed to a combo which is an amplifier and speaker in one (like the Vox).

So, as you can see, the controls are easily accessible whilst playing. They’re also lovely and chunky, clearly labelled with monotone text and images. The important controls like volume and gain, along with the FAC control which controls the overall tone, are the largest dials. The individual filters, bass, treble and middle, are smaller but no less controllable. The input system is more clearly labelled than the Vox’s with a simple Hi/Lo and it also has an effects loop send and return, also clearly accessible.

I’m not sure why something as obvious as an upside control panel on the Vox has never being replaced. I wonder if it’s a branding thing? Anyway, maybe one day I’ll find out but in this instance it’s meant that the AC30 has being replaced by the Orange, all because of the interface.