Featuring Colin Norfield, John ‘JJ’ James And Mick Dines
The colourful history of Orange Amplification is celebrated in three new videos featuring legendary front of house sound engineer Colin Norfield, renowned sound engineer John ‘JJ’ James and respected cabinet designer Mick Dines.
In the 70’s Orange Amplification created Orange Hire to provide the PA and backline for the big outdoor festivals such as Reading and the Isle of White. Bass player Colin Norfield was the perfect man to manage this enterprise. From this he went on to become one of the iconic pro-audio specialists of our time. The list of prestigious tours he has worked on include Diana Ross, Toto, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd, Zucchero and his relationship with David Gilmour has lasted more than five decades.
A mainly self-taught tinkerer and rule breaker, John ‘JJ’ James was responsible for designing most of the company’s products through to 1979 including the innovative ‘Pics Only’ amp synonymous with the brand. When the Bexley Heath factory closed in 1979, James began working with Brain Hatt, chief engineer at Orange Studios before going on to spend more than forty years ‘stage left’ for world class gigs including Eric Clapton, Queen + Adam Lambert, Joe Satriani, Robbie Williams and many more.
Mick Dines, has worked for Orange Amplification from 1968 to the present day and was the General Manager of Orange Amplification during the 70’s. He used his experience as a touring bass player to make the company’s cabinets solid and robust. He also introduced the characteristic ‘Basketweave’ front, the material which helped define the distinctive ‘Orange ‘ tone. Dines’ knowledge of the bass guitar was instrumental in the company’s move into the bass amp market with the introduction of the fabled 2×15” Reflector Cabinet using the most up to date parabola design featuring two massive 15” back to back speakers to maximise volume.
The entertaining and informative videos explore a time when these experts in their field were ‘just doing stuff’ that ‘nobody had thought of’ and ‘we made it kinda work’ .
To view the Colin Norfield video please go to https://youtu.be/Srvoi9hfp8g, the John ‘JJ’ James video https://youtu.be/Fmp6ctbBy9o and the Mick Dines video https://youtu.be/ahlJ9Teedbw. To find out more about Orange Amplification history please go to https://orangeamps.com/history/
About Orange Amplification
Orange Amplification has been a pioneering force in guitar and bass amplification since 1968. They have built a reputation of delivering innovative technology, always built with uncompromising attention to detail and quality. Known as the best British guitar amplifier manufacturer for both design and build, they dominate the world’s stages and studios. Orange are rightfully proud of their heritage, a story that began in the late 1960’s. The world’s greatest rock icons, including Jimmy Page, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Fleetwood Mac, Oasis, Madonna, Jim Root and Geddy Lee are proud to stand in front of the unmistakable iconic brand and rely upon its unique tone.
PLEASE DONATE
If you find this content helpful, please consider a donation. Thank you!
dshowmusic.com
