We will cover some history basics but if you are interested in even more details there are two books I would highly recommend reading. “The Book of Orange” and “Matamp at 60”
Cliff Cooper opened the Orange Music Shop in London on September 2nd, 1968. He started off selling second hand or used equipment as the big brands didn’t want to supply his store at the time. That was until one day when Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac was in the Orange Shop. Cliff managed a deal to supply Fleetwood Mac with equipment for their upcoming U.S. Tour. He phoned Mat Mathias of Matamp to build the equipment needed. Mat agreed as long as they displayed Orange/Matamp on them. Matamp became a sub contractor for Orange in the Fall of 1968 and by August 1969 Cooper Mathias Ltd was officially formed. The partnership was truly something special and produced some amazing, high quality pieces of music equipment. Mat Mathias built amplifiers with an extremely high craftsmanship and attention to detail that immediately stands out when you see inside one of his builds. Unfortunately, these high caliber amps took time to build and Matamps production was too slow for the rate at which Orange was growing. Orange had scaled into more than a store and equipment manufacturer. Orange also consisted of a Recording Studio and Record Label. They also offered Music Publishing and were even a Band Agency! Cliff has a talent for business, his marketing and rebranding of products was huge for him, and it is truly impressive how fast Orange grew in a short period of time. So, in 1971 it was decided that the partnership would come to an end. Each went their own way, but the partnership didn’t officially dissolve until about 1975.
So, what does this mean?
Oranges amplifiers built by Matamp from 1968-1971 will have the Orange/Matamp Logo and have been built in Huddersfield. Cabinets of this time period will also have the Orange/Matamp logo.
By the end of 1971 after the split of the two companies, Orange was already building their own amplifiers. They started building them in late 1970 at a small facility called Shorts Gardens in London but still sub contracting to Matamp as well. Orange was also sub contracting to HH Electronics and Howell’s Radio during this time period. They were helping Matamp to keep up with production on the ORST50 and OR100s. These amps built by HH and Howell’s would be sent to Matamp for inspection before being sent to Orange in London. About 100 fifty watt amps and 400 hundred watt amps where outsourced to HH and Howell’s Radio. So a total of about 500 Orange | Matamp amplifiers were not actually build by Matamp in Huddersfield.
The first guitar amplifier models Orange designed without Matamp were the GRO50/100 and ORS50/100. From what I’ve seen the GRO50/100 models look to be built by Matamp. The ORS50/100 along with the PA120/SL120 look to be the first amps built by Orange. The ORS50/100s are probably the rarest models to come by as they were produced for a very short period of time and to a very high quality. After the small run of ORS50/100s Orange released the more popular OR80/120. The first cabinets made after the split had an Orange “Voice of the World” logo and following that was the more traditional two piece design with the Orange badge underneath the crest badge. In 1973, Orange moved to the Bexleyheath factory in Kent where they were able to further increase production.
Although Orange had their own amp designs and facility, from 1972-1975 Matamp would continue to produce some amplifiers and other equipment for Orange in Huddersfield. There is always the chance of a build after this time period as well, you never know what you might find. During this time amplifiers built by Matamp would no longer have Matamp as part of the Orange logo except some OR200s, PA200s, and Slave200s might still have an Orange/Matamp logo, while others said Orange.
The OR/PA/SL-80/120s could be built by either company. There are several indicators that you can look for inside an Orange amp from 1972-1975 that would indicate it was built by Matamp versus one of the Orange factories. If you are really lucky you might have one that is signed by Mat himself which would be a dead give away where it was built! Another marking often found is D.K. Dixie Kidd was a guitar player that helped Mat at Matamp. Things you can look for are: They have a 3 digit serial number. The serial number will be scribed or written instead of stamped on the back of the chassis in the normal location we are used to seeing it. Often the serial number is also written somewhere else on the chassis and usually on the tops of the power caps (if original). The model on the back of the chassis will read OR50/100 instead of OR80/120 or SL100 instead of SL120. The brand of transformers used, sometime they have black covers but not always. The output transformer will be located slightly more forward on the chassis keeping the power and output transformer in line versus offset like Oranges chassis’. Matamp used Pennine mains or power transformers that gave you 110v/118v/220/240v options while Orange used Parmeko transformers that gave you 115v/200v/220v/240v options. Depending who built it at Matamp the wiring inside is sometimes done very neatly and precise. For more information on identifying Orange vs Matamp builds, check out our Technical Information section.
During this era from 68-75 I believe Matamp Built most all of the PA/DJ equipment with the exceptions being the PA120 & SL120s, Orange made plenty of those as well.
From what I have seen in the market, it’s safe to say that most pieces of vintage (60s-70s) Orange equipment that was built by Matamp tend to carry good collector or resale value.
Fun Fact: Did you know Matamp stands for Mat and Tony amps. In the early days of Matamp Mat Mathias worked with Tony Emerson.
Fun Fact: In the real early 70’s Orange also used HH Electronics and Howell’s Radio as sub contractors to build ORST50 and OR100 amplifiers. I also see HH parts in my 1970 solid state Slave 100. HH might of helped build early Orange solid state amplifiers as well.
