Review: The OPC musician's computer/amp from Orange Amps
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Front of the the box containing the OPC review unit
Rear of the the box containing the OPC review unit
View of the rear of the OPC showing numerous connectivity options, as well as the four EQ controls on the top
Contents of the box: the OPC, wired keyboard and mouse, power cables, Quick start guide and USB extension cable
The OPC is about the same height as my guitar flight case
The OPC setup and ready for switch on - boot up is very quick and the unit is ready to play in only a little more time than a computer-free amp
Orange's choice of wallpaper was quite a surprise, to say the least
The OPC is not just for guitar players, the vocal input welcomed my green bullet with open arms
There's no dedicated vocal processing application on the OPC but users can monitor performance through either of the Digital Audio Workstation packages
The inclusion of two HDMI ports facilitate the connection of the OPC to a big screen TV
Mixcraft 5 as viewed on a big screen TV
The big screen TV certainly helped with the mixing process in Studio One
Using the OPC' slot-loading DVD re-writer to line up some video entertainment for the family
Five USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, one eSATA port, two HDMI ports, Gigabit Ethernet and 7.1 audio jacks are just some of the OPC's connectivity options
The OPC offers surprisingly volumous output from its stereo speakers when assisted by the onboard software, not enough to fill a concert hall without a little help from a PA system but enough to give my Marshall practice amp a run for its money
Screenshot of the AmpliTube 3 screen
The suite includes a huge number of amp setups to choose from, and control freaks will appreciate being able to swap around amp and speaker configurations, being able to choose the kind of microphone setup, and room or studio settings
Users are offered either rack-mounted or pedal-based effect simulations
Users are offered either rack-mounted or pedal-based effect simulations
Despite claims on the website that this multi-track recording, mixing, mastering and release software is painfully easy to use, I admit to being somewhat daunted and a little overwhelmed by its professional, clean design
Artists who want to control every aspect of the creative process will appreciate the kind of control Studio One offers
The Studio One suite comes pre-installed with a vast selection of plugins, effects and instruments
The Studio One suite comes pre-installed with a vast selection of plugins, effects and instruments
One of the virtual instruments available in Studio One
Mixcraft 5 offered a more familiar working environment for the reviewer, and as such was easier to use
Calling up an effect from the huge bank on offer
Some of the virtual instruments that can be used to create rich backing tracks without a musician in sight
Mixcraft 5 offers similar virtual backing track creation possibilities as Studio One, with musical notation or visual representation of an instrument loop timeline and a huge variety of instruments available
The reviewer's somewhat feeble attempt at creating a backing track - it gets easier with practice
EZ drummer Lite comes with a good selection of pre-recorded percussion patterns
With the Lite version, only the snare, one Tom, the kick drum, hi-hat and crash were available to play with in the software itself
An inbuilt mixer allows users to set each instrument's output level
The various playback and recording audio options available on the OPC
The OPC PSU filter added between the computers PSU and amplifier, using the PCI-E power supply from the PSU it filters the signal at the power stage rather than at the software stage
The OPC Sound Card - Orange's solution to getting a cleaner guitar signal and eliminating latency while providing more recording options for vocals/keyboard/bass etc. - it is optimized for this computer configuration
The first OPC prototype made by Charlie Cooper while he was at university - before he started working for Orange Amplifiers
The first OPC prototype was made to prove that a computer can be fitted into an Orange case, to make something different and beautiful
The second OPC prototype suffered badly from excessive noise from hard drive/fans, latency, and computer noise reaching the speakers and recordings
OPC prototype number eight, not too different from the production model - in this image the technical wireframe has been placed over the image to help show what's inside
Article Summary
The first OPC from Orange Amps was made available in August 2010 and we've been closely following its development ever since. The bundled musician-related software has remained pretty much the same since launch but the musician's computer was given a serious hardware upgrade towards the close of 2011, and it's the new Core i7 system which I've been getting to know over the past few weeks. I've also managed to discuss some of the finer details with the driving force behind the OPC, and its lead developer, Charlie Cooper.
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