Orange Amplification OPC review

On that note, the OPC comes with a wealth of audio production, processing and tutorial software, primarily targeted at guitarists. Video lessons are provided by the LickLibrary app, which covers the basics of everything from power chords to the blues. Also supplied is Acoustica’s Mixcraft, which lets you assemble samples to create backings or fully fledged pieces of music, as well as allowing you to record your own; Toontrack Solo and the EZ Drummer patch library, which allow you to create rhythm tracks and PreSonus Studio One Artist, a full multi-track Digital Audio Workstation environment for recording, editing and MIDI composition. It integrates with the AmpliTube 3 digital effects rack to provide you with a comprehensive library of guitar effects and makes it blissfully simple to just noodle and record whatever you get up to, so no moment of inspiration need be lost. AmpliTube can also be used as a stand-alone effects rack if you just want to plug in and play – you can even buy extra custom effects modules for it from the likes of Fender and Jet City.

The heavy-duty aluminium case is shielded to prevent any of the PC’s components from interfering with the speakers or your recording. It’s a little hard to open, though – you’ll need to locate two concealed screws and remove two others with an Allen key.

The OPC has an Intel Core i5-2500K processor and 6GB of memory fitted to a Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3 mini-ITX motherboard; it got an overall score of 101 in our benchmark tests, which is exactly what we’d expect from this processor. There’s only one expansion slot – a PCI-E x16 slot, which allows you to add a graphics card. You’ll be limited by both the size of the case’s internal bay and the 400W power supply, but you should still be able to improve on the gaming performance of the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 on-chip graphics processing. The latter will handle older 3D games such as Portal at low resolutions, but achieved a frame rate of just 16.9fps in our 720p Dirt3 test. There are four SATA ports on the motherboard, and only two are used by the 500GB hard disk and DVD drive, but there’s no space to fit any others. Both memory slots are also occupied.

The PC weighs just under 11kg and has a sturdy amp-style handle that makes it easy to carry around. The keyboard and mouse are unremarkable but comfortable to use – the keyboard has flat, widely spaced keys and is comfortable to use in limited space. The optical mouse is rather small and doesn’t work well on some surfaces but it’s comfortable. Wireless peripherals could be a useful upgrade if you want to play some distance away from the PC without having to come back to use the keyboard or mouse, though.

If you already have a computer that you’re perfectly happy with, you’d be better off checking out Propellerhead’s Balance audio production sound card (review soon), which provides inputs, outputs and a copy of the amazing Reason Essentials Digital Audio Workstation software. However, if you’re a musician in need of a PC, recording studio, amp and live effects rack, the OPC is a perfect one-stop shop.