For 2025, Orange has expanded on its compact Pedal Child launched a couple of years again with a brand new trio – the Twin Child, Acquire Child, and Tour Child. All 100-watt amps with solid-state Class A/B output phases, Jfet preamp phases (one other type of solid-state), and two footswitchable channels, they’re housed in 12″ x 3.25″ x 7.5″ metallic packing containers and weigh just a little underneath eight kilos. Whereas providing particular person modus operandi, they share a number of options – buffered results loop, twin speaker outs, and XLR DI out.

The Twin Child 100’s two channels every carry controls for Acquire, Quantity, Presence, Bass, Center, and Treble. Channel A – voiced to emulate the Orange Rockerverb – provides a Tubby swap to spice up lows, whereas Channel B – voiced for gritty clean-to-crunch tones – has a Tight swap to liven its sound at decrease acquire ranges. Break up right into a extra traditional rhythm/lead dichotomy, the Acquire Child 100 has a less complicated Clear channel with simply Quantity, Bass, and Treble, and Comp, tapping a built-in VCA compressor. Its Soiled channel piles on Acquire, Quantity, Presence, Bass, Center, and Treble, plus FS Quantity (footswitchable for a second output stage/solo), and Tight swap. The Tour Child 100 carries the very same controls in its Clear and Soiled channels, minus the Tight swap, although it’s voiced to more-classic overdrive tones versus the up to date high-gain of the Acquire Child.

Examined with an ES-355 and Telecaster into 1×12″ and a pair of×12″ cabs, every revealed some overlap in sonics, however with a number of distinct persona traits. We in the end most popular the Acquire Child total, with the Tour Child a detailed second. The pair’s comparable Clear channels profit immensely from the built-in Comp, which provides swell, depth, and dynamics to the Twin’s in any other case somewhat linear and solid-state-sounding Channel A. And whereas the Acquire’s Soiled Channel dishes out sizzle and saturation aplenty with Tight engaged, its up place delivered an expressive, full-bodied overdrive with sometimes mid-rich Orange leanings that yielded our favourite enjoying tones of your entire trio, with Tour Child’s Soiled (Tight up) a detailed second.

In the end, there’s rather a lot to love in every. And whereas they won’t knock more-exalted all-tube fashions off their perch, the Child vary represents an enormous bundle of energy and tone at an affordable value. – Dave Hunter

This text initially appeared in VG’s March 2025 subject. All copyrights are by the creator and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.