Orange Crush 20RT settings
Two channels sharing one EQ: Clean has only its Volume, Dirty has Gain and Volume, and Treble, Middle, Bass and Reverb work on both. Orange describes it as the Crush 20 with onboard reverb and a chromatic tuner added.
⚡ Match a tone on this amp- Clean/Dirty
- Dirty Volume
- Treble
- Middle
- Bass
- Gain
- Clean Volume
- Reverb
- Tuner
How do you dial in a specific tone on an Orange Crush 20RT?
Solid-state amps hold their voicing steady across the volume range, which makes the Orange Crush 20RT far more predictable to dial in than a valve amp and is exactly why some of the most aggressive rhythm tones ever recorded came off solid-state heads. The trade is headroom before the EQ starts to sound brittle, so on this amp the treble control does more damage than the gain control does.
Name the song you are chasing and Tonelify returns the settings for this exact guitar amp, not the settings the original artist used. Those are two different things: the recording was made on gear most players do not own.
Settings for this amp only ever use controls it actually has, because its front panel is stored in our gear database. You will not be told to set a knob that is not on the amp.
Starting settings on the Orange Crush 20RT
Positions on a 0 to 10 scale, with 5 at twelve o'clock. They are where to begin, not Orange's numbers: pick the channel first, then move one control at a time from here.
Clean
Clean channel, Clean Volume to taste, Bass 5, Middle 5, Treble 6, Reverb about 3. The EQ and Reverb are shared with the Dirty channel, so whatever you set here also shapes the dirty sound: set the EQ for the channel you play most, then balance the other with its own Volume.
- Clean Volume to taste
- Bass 5
- Middle 5
- Treble 6
- Reverb about 3
Blues and edge of breakup
Clean channel with Clean Volume high, 6 to 8, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 5, Reverb about 3. Orange's manual says higher Clean Volume settings produce natural overdrive and breakup, so on this channel the Volume knob is also the drive control. It gets loud, so this is a setting for a room where you can turn up.
- Clean Volume 6 to 8
- Bass 5
- Middle 6
- Treble 5
- Reverb about 3
Crunch and classic rock
Dirty channel, Gain 4 to 5, Bass 5, Middle 6 to 7, Treble 6, Reverb about 2, with Dirty Volume set to match the Clean channel. Orange's manual says to raise Middle for a fatter tone, especially with thin-sounding pickups, and the midrange is where classic rock sits.
- Gain 4 to 5
- Bass 5
- Middle 6 to 7
- Treble 6
- Reverb about 2
Metal
Dirty channel, Gain 7 to 8, Bass 6, Middle 4 to 5, Treble 6, Reverb off or 1. Orange's manual suggests reducing Middle at higher Gain for a scooped modern tone. Go easy on that with a band: the scoop that sounds huge on its own is the part that disappears under drums and bass, so stop at about 4 rather than 0.
- Gain 7 to 8
- Bass 6
- Middle 4 to 5
- Treble 6
- Reverb off or 1
What controls does the Orange Crush 20RT have?
The Orange Crush 20RT has 9 controls on its front panel: Clean/Dirty switch, Dirty Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Gain, Clean Volume, Reverb and Tuner button.
Orange Crush 20RT specifications
- Power
- 20W
- Speaker
- 1x8" Orange Voice of the World
- Channels
- Clean, Dirty
- Front panel
- Clean/Dirty switch, Dirty Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Gain, Clean Volume, Reverb, Tuner button
- Released
- 2015
What the Orange Crush 20RT panel means when you dial it in
20W through a 1x8" Orange Voice of the World. At that rating it is built for practice and small rooms rather than for keeping up with a drummer. There is no presence control on this panel, so everything above the treble band has to come from the treble control and the guitar's own tone knob. A setting copied from an amp with presence has to be rebalanced here. Drive and volume have separate knobs, so the amp can sound driven at a volume that is liveable. Where a tone sits between the two is part of the answer, not a detail. Reverb is onboard, so a tone that needs it does not need a pedal in the chain. 2 channels, Clean and Dirty, and a setting only means something once the channel it belongs to is named.
Orange Crush 20RT questions
Is the Orange Crush 20RT the same as the Crush 20?
No. Orange launched both at NAMM in January 2015, and the RT versions add onboard reverb and an integrated chromatic tuner. Orange describes the 20RT as building on the Crush 20 with those two additions, with the same footswitchable Clean and Dirty channels. The panel on this page is the 20RT's, checked against its own manual; the plain Crush 20's panel was not checked here.
Does the Crush 20RT have separate EQ for each channel?
No. There is one Treble, Middle and Bass and one Reverb, and they work on both channels. Each channel has its own Volume, and only the Dirty channel has Gain. A clean sound and a dirty sound therefore share the same EQ: set it for the channel you use most, and balance the two with their Volume knobs.
Why is there no sound from the Dirty channel on my Crush 20RT?
Check the Gain knob first. Orange's manual notes that with the Dirty channel's Gain at zero, no sound is heard on that channel, so raise Gain and then set the level with Dirty Volume. If the channel switch itself does nothing, check the footswitch jack on the back: the front panel switch is disengaged while a footswitch is connected.
How do you switch channels on the Crush 20RT with a footswitch?
Plug a latching footswitch, such as Orange's FS-1, into the Channel jack on the back. The front panel switch stops working while it is connected, and the FS-1's LED lights when the Clean channel is selected.
How does the tuner on the Crush 20RT work?
Press its On/Off button. A red LED shows the note, a green # lights as well for a sharp, and the arrows show whether the string is too low or too high; tune until the green OK LED lights. Orange suggests turning the Volume to zero for silent tuning.
Can you use headphones or record with the Crush 20RT?
Yes. The Phones output has cabinet simulation and, per Orange, can also feed a mixer or recording console. The Aux In takes a music player, but Orange notes that its audio is summed to mono and is not affected by the amp's controls.
What are the best Orange Crush 20RT settings for metal?
Dirty channel, Gain 7 to 8, Bass 6, Middle 4 to 5, Treble 6 and little or no Reverb. Orange's manual suggests reducing Middle at higher Gain for a scooped modern tone; keep it near 4 if you play with a band. These are starting points rather than Orange's numbers.
Does Tonelify support the Orange Crush 20RT?
Yes, and its front panel is stored, so settings only ever reference controls this guitar amp has: Clean/Dirty switch, Dirty Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Gain, Clean Volume, Reverb, Tuner button. You will not be told to set a knob that is not there.
Sources
Panel, specifications and dates checked against these on .
- Orange: Crush 20RT manual, V1.0 (PDF copy)
- Guitar.com: NAMM 2015, Orange launch new Crush amplifiers
- Orange's Crush 20RT description and specifications, as listed by Guitars on Main
Orange's own site could not be opened when this page was checked, so the manual and specifications above are Orange's documents as hosted elsewhere. Where Orange's current manual differs, it takes precedence.