New Orange Pedal Baby 100

Posted on Wed 13 February 2019 in namm-2019

The guitarists landscape is changing. Apart from a lucky few that can crank their 100 watt amplifiers to achieve their sound, most of us have found that smaller valve amps turned up sound better than big amps turned down. Increasingly we are actually running these amp clean and getting all of our sounds from a select few (or many in some people cases) pedals.

Over the past few years computer technology has really played a large role in how we achieve the sound that is in our heads. There has been a noticeable shift in the gear being sold and what guitarist expect from it.
Amp modelling has gone from being a bit of a novelty that was baked into software 10-13 years ago, to being of mild interest, to slowly becoming one of the hottest topics in the guitar industry.
Companies like Line 6, Headrush and most notably Kemper have turned the traditional gigging musicians setups on their head.

But for some of us we still prefer the classic pedalboard setup but don't want to lug a hefty valve amp about the place! Having a board with your prized pedals on, ready to gig with at a moments notice is something a lot of us dream about.

The solution can be to be plugged directly into the PA, but as many will attest, you lose the feel of playing that many of us love about the instrument.

Orange are catering to this need by introducing the Pedal Baby 100 solid state amplifier. Essentially the Pedal Baby is a neutral sounding guitar amp that plays very nicely with the new breed of gigging musician.

let's run though a few of the talking points.

CLASS A/B POWER AMP
While Class D amps are favoured for their efficiency, Class A/B amps have a certain “feel” that you can’t get any other way. The Pedal Baby 100 gives guitarists back the dynamics, punch and natural sound that is missing in modern power amps. Plus, Class A/B amps produce real power through standard guitar cabs; 100W into 8 ohms and 70W into 16 Ohms, to be precise.

CLASS A FRONT END
Inspired by valve amp design, the Pedal Baby 100 uses a Class A, single-ended front end. Forget sterile-sounding Solid State amps, the Pedal Baby 100 keeps all of your tone’s mojo, then adds a bit more.

EQ DESIGNED FOR PEDALS
Different to traditional guitar amplifiers, the EQ has been designed to be flatter and more neutral. At 12 o’clock (neutral) the EQ cuts out allowing the tone to be exactly what your pedals define. With a responsive Bass and Treble control, guitarists can tune their cabinet to get the tone they’re looking for.

PEDAL BABY: SMALL AND PORTABLE
Weighing around 3KG and powering big cabs on big stages, the Pedal Baby 100 is the perfect amp for fly dates or any guitarist travelling light. Downsize your rig, not your tone.

In the words of Ade Emsley:

'If you’re looking at flying into a festival, backline companies will often have Marshall or Orange amps. Around 80% of them will be 16 Ohms, so with the Pedal Baby, you can turn up with it and some pedals, a guitar, and you can place this on top of the cabs already on stage and have at least 70 Watts out of it clean – so you can easily do a gig with this.

If you have all your sounds dialed in on your pedal board geared up for flying rigs then is is perfect for that too. You can use this in any gigging situation, anything from small clubs to festivals. The front end is Class A and the power amp is Class AB so it’s got a good quality, natural sound and it represents accurately what you put into it.'