Orange Music Electronic Company is an English amplifier manufacturing company. The amplifiers have a distinctive sound and bright orange Tolex-like covering their heads and speaker cabinets. History 1960s Orange was founded in 1968 by musician and electronics designer Clifford Cooper of London, and opened premises at 3 New Compton Street in London's West End. Initially, Cooper used only the basement as a professional recording studio. The original studio featured an IBC mixing console originally owned by Joe Meek, producer of The Millionaires. Because the studio failed to meet its business costs, on September 2, 1968 the ground floor premises were opened as a music shop. In order to cover wage costs for the business, Cooper sold his own electronic musical equipment. Difficulties in obtaining stock meant that the new Orange shop at first dealt only in second hand equipment. Many musicians around that time preferred older, used, or beaten-up guitars as they were considered to be of better quality and have more character than the new ones available. The Orange shop was the first to cater for this market. The difficulties faced in stocking the shop led Cooper to design Orange's own amplifiers. In late autumn of 1968, Huddersfield based company Radio Craft, owned by Mat Mathias, was appointed to produce the first Orange-branded amplifiers. Whilst in London, Orange shop salesman Mick Dines became closely involved with the design of Orange cabinets. Because Dines was a touring musician, he understood how road travel strained equipment and lead to breakdown. Dines ensured that durability was at the forefront of the Orange design, with features such as the basketweave grillecloth. Additionally, wooden skids provided strength and improved the sound dramatically by acoustically coupling the cabinet to the stage or wooden floor. It is a common misconception that the earliest Orange amplifiers were jointly produced by Orange and Matamp, the brand name that Mathias used on his own design of amplifiers. This was not the case. Radio Craft produced hi-fi guitar amplifiers which, whilst ideal for bass guitar, produced a tone far too clean and flat for electric lead guitars. Early Orange Matamp amplifiers were built by Radio Craft to Cooper's specification to provide a new generation of guitarists with the sustain they demanded. The front end was modified and Cooper changed the chassis from lightweight aluminium to enamelled steel. The Orange logo was designed to be clearly visible on stage. When the