Many musicians are familiar with amplifiers made by the Orange company. Orange was founded in London in 1968 and became well known for high quality amps covered in a signature orange Tolex. They are still making amplifiers today.
Most people who have seen my Orange kit had no idea they made drums. The fact of the matter is Orange actually never made drums. By the 1970s, Orange had evolved beyond making amps. They were also offering guitars, microphones, and sound systems. The slogan in their catalogs read, “Orange-The Voice of the World.” It was decided the company needed to expand further and offer a line of drums. To this end, a deal was struck with the Jacques Capelle company to produce drums under the Orange name. Capalle was founded in Paris in 1908 and was already well known for their uniquely designed bass drum pedals and hi-hats, which are still very desirable among collectors.
Orange branded drums and hardware became available in the mid-1970s. Steve Upton of Wishbone Ash played an Orange kit around this time. They were imported into the U.S. by ProMark on a very limited basis. Only a couple of configurations were available and finishes included red, yellow, silver, orange and black. By the early 1980s, Orange had introduced their Turbo line which featured “square-sized” power toms and floor toms. Ridiculously deep bass drums were available in 20-, 22-, and 24-inch diameters all with a depth of 32 inches. Shortly thereafter, Orange drums faded away.
My kit is cataloged as the “big model” with a 14x24 inch bass drum, 9x13 and 10x14 inch mounted toms, and a 16x18 inch floor tom all finished with a yellow wrap. The drums feature fairly thin, mahogany ply shells with no reinforcement rings and slightly rounded bearing edges. Overall, the build quality is very good and the drums sound fantastic. The tom mount is a rather distinctive design, but actually work rather well and is fairly adjustable.
Since only a small number of Orange drums were imported into the U.S, they are quite rare today. This kit is the only one that I have seen in person. They are unique, well made, sound great, and are lots of fun to play.