Orange Bass Rigs

lattekid22 · #1 01-30-2013, 09:29 PM

So,

I always overlooked the 'Orange' company when looking for cabs or heads, but I sat down and played an Orange rig today. And it KILLED!! I was shocked because of the size. I'm actually in the market for a smaller, transportable cab. I played on the Orange BT500H Terror Bass 500 Bass Amp Head and the Orange SmartPower SP212 Isobaric Bass Cabinet.

I'm seriously thinking about getting this 212 cab, but I want to know: have y'all used or heard these for bass?? What was/is your take on it??

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zachoff · #2 01-30-2013, 09:34 PM

The head is rad. I've never tried the cab. If I buy another amp, the 500 will be it.

rodl2005 · #3 01-30-2013, 09:56 PM

Love both the AD200 tube head & the BT500 Terror Bass amp.

The cabs- liked the OBC115(pretty much an EVTL606) didn't really like the isobaric 212 & 210's I tried.

Seemed heavy & not that loud for what a normal 212, 210 would be.

chaosMK · #4 01-31-2013, 02:10 AM

The heads are cool. I'd pass on the cab.

**CL400Peavey** · #5 01-31-2013, 05:57 AM

The amp is great, the cab doesnt do it for me. You get two heavy speakers in a small box, that has the same SPL as a 112.

geddyfan · #6 01-31-2013, 06:25 AM

Ive been giggin with mine for about 2 years. The iso 212 cab imo handles a 5 string better than most small cabinets and the terror head is plenty loud for most of my gigs, old school tone for sure if thats ur thing

punisher911 · #7 01-31-2013, 07:22 AM

I love my TB500. Even more so now that I yanked the chinese 12AX7s for some JJs. However, everytime I try those iso cabs, they just seem muddy.

iualum · #8 01-31-2013, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CL400Peavey

The amp is great, the cab doesnt do it for me. You get two heavy speakers in a small box, that has the same SPL as a 112.

Agreed.

Lazarus.Bird · #9 01-31-2013, 08:32 AM

Can't recommend the Terror Bass head enough! I love mine!

mpdd · #10 01-31-2013, 09:46 AM

two obc 115s work really well with an old school tube head like my mesa d180, the 410 kills with the ad200, never tried an isobaric or a terror though

klejst · #11 01-31-2013, 10:27 AM

I have heard a lot of good things about Orange's bass heads and I have always wanted a TB500 too, but from what I have seen many call the Orange cabs to be meh and overpriced.

mpdd · #12 01-31-2013, 10:47 AM

when i bought the obc115 everybody was raving about it, suddenly it became heavy, expensive, and average sounding according to a lot of people, a pair of them is exactly what i need for punk rock and drone music with my d180, nobody has ever told me at a show that my tone was muddy, muffled, or generic

P-oddz · #13 01-31-2013, 10:49 AM

The AD200B is a great amp. Great tone - warm and wooly to downright snarly.
The Terror Bass was on my short list of amps to check out before the AD200B fell into my lap. They sound like they've got a pretty good tone, (shy of the all valve head) but to be honest, I also read/heard some bad stories about the build quality and reliability of the Terror Bass heads specifically. And FWIW, my guitarist who works at a big music store out here said he saw a number of returns of those heads.

I can't speak for their isobaric cabs (other than I like the idea of them), but I can say for sure (along with MPDD) that I think the OBC115 is a great cab. It has an extremely tight low end response and a very fast reaction for a 15" speaker, IMO.

Jirishman · #14 01-31-2013, 11:12 AM

Maybe I got lucky, but I've been using my TB500 for nearly two years, with lots of gigs & practices in between, and it's never failed me.
In comparison with all the other class D heads I've tried, the TB500 has the warmest, most 'tube-like' sounding tone. It can be quite punchy too, capable of putting out clean, growl and fuzz. It's built like a tank.
Only gripe I have with it is that I wish the EQ was more useful (replacing stock preamp tubes helps). The only amp I've enjoyed more has been the AD200.

zfunkman · #15 01-31-2013, 11:19 AM

I play through two 15" Bag Ends. I had an old SWR SM-400 that finally took a dump for good. In looking at a replacement I tried out the TB 1000 head. It turns out the TB1000 is a little more than I need for my Bag Ends but I love the way it sounded so I ordered me a TB 500 and looking forward to next week when it comes in. I also love the smiplicity -volume, gain, bass, trebble, mid. PERIOD

P-oddz · #16 01-31-2013, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jirishman

Maybe I got lucky, but I've been using my TB500 for nearly two years, with lots of gigs & practices in between, and it's never failed me.
In comparison with all the other class D heads I've tried, the TB500 has the warmest, most 'tube-like' sounding tone. It can be quite punchy too, capable of putting out clean, growl and fuzz. It's built like a tank.
Only gripe I have with it is that I wish the EQ was more useful (replacing stock preamp tubes helps). The only amp I've enjoyed more has been the AD200.

Good to hear it's been holding up. And obviously like everything you read on the net with users' experience, you have to take it with a slight grain of salt.

As far as the EQ flexibility, I actually run a Tone Hammer before my AD200B and really like it (I owned the TH prior to my Orange amp purchase). The Orange tone is great and I was really surprised at how close to "neutral" I set my amp and thought it sounded delicious, but I really enjoy the little bit of extra flexibility the TH offers in carving out specific frequencies that a simple Bass/Mid/Treble setup might not be capable of. YMMV.

Jirishman · #17 01-31-2013, 12:39 PM

Quote:

As far as the EQ flexibility, I actually run a Tone Hammer before my AD200B and really like it (I owned the TH prior to my Orange amp purchase). The Orange tone is great and I was really surprised at how close to "neutral" I set my amp and thought it sounded delicious, but I really enjoy the little bit of extra flexibility the TH offers in carving out specific frequencies that a simple Bass/Mid/Treble setup might not be capable of. YMMV.

Agreed - a couple choice pedals in front of an Orange really make them shine. It doesn't even have to be an all out EQ pedal either. I use Fulltone Fatboost to punch up the mids and as a clean volume boost, really excellent combo.

Kopfjaeger · #18 01-31-2013, 02:30 PM

Love my TB500 as well! So if I pull out the factory 12AX7's and replace them with JJ 12AX7's it will sound better?? Or are we talking about a set of different value pre amp tubes??

It was going to be either the Tonehammer or the TB500. I doubt I would have gone wrong either way.

Sepp

Jirishman · #19 01-31-2013, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Love my TB500 as well! So if I pull out the factory 12AX7's and replace them with JJ 12AX7's it will sound better?? Or are we talking about a set of different value pre amp tubes??

The JJ's are a great place to start for sure. It doesn't completely reinvent the amp, but it does open up the EQ slightly. The best thing about swapping the tubes is a much more usable gain knob - the amp doesn't break up as quick, and to me the fuzz is better than the stock tubes.

punisher911 · #20 01-31-2013, 03:48 PM

I will say the DI has been too hot and just never seems to work for me. Even when my buddy tried to record us, the DI was too overbearing no matter what he tried. That's fine by me though because I like to use a few pedals and I'd rather have my cab mic'd.

As for reliability? Not sure. I got mine used from GC with not clue to it's age. I've had it for 3 months now with no issues. Changing the tubes definitely made a difference with the eq.