Amp Help! Orange Terror Bass 500

[CEJones]

Alright I’m at a loss. I was playing my terror bass today and heard a sound similar to the jack popping out of the bass and now the amp won’t make any sound. The indicator light is on when I power it up but no sound. I can also hear the faint *pop* sound from the cab when the amp is turned on. I plugged a passive bass directly into the instrument jack to rule out any pedals or anything and nothing.

I play quietly but I like the grit so I usually play with the master volume at a 2 or 3 and the gain turned up between 50-75%. I have the volume on my compressor pedal turned down so I can achieve the overdrive without getting too loud. Did I blow something? The amp hasn’t been moved, gigged, or even turned up to compete with a full band. I’ve only had it for about 3 months and average only like 3-4 hours of practice a week. Help please!

 

[Wasnex]

Alright I’m at a loss. I was playing my terror bass today and heard a sound similar to the jack popping out of the bass and now the amp won’t make any sound. The indicator light is on when I power it up but no sound. I can also hear the faint *pop* sound from the cab when the amp is turned on. I plugged a passive bass directly into the instrument jack to rule out any pedals or anything and nothing.

I play quietly but I like the grit so I usually play with the master volume at a 2 or 3 and the gain turned up between 50-75%. I have the volume on my compressor pedal turned down so I can achieve the overdrive without getting too loud. Did I blow something? The amp hasn’t been moved, gigged, or even turned up to compete with a full band. I’ve only had it for about 3 months and average only like 3-4 hours of practice a week. Help please!

Did you buy the amp new 3 months ago? If yes, It should be covered by warranty.

The first thing to do is check all of your cables and the battery on your bass. If you have another instrument, try it out to make sure the problem is not the bass.

There are only a few things on the amp you can check. One is the effects loop. One of the jacks in the effects loop is switching, which can cause problem in older amps. You can try plugging your bass straight into the effect return. I believe this puts the signal on the Volume control so you basically bypass the preamp. Also the Effects Loop is most likely line level so your bass will not provide a hot enough signal to drive the Send to full volume.

You could also try jumpering the Effects loop with a short cable. This bypasses the switch in the loop.

About the only other thing I would consider is checking the tubes. If you have the series II amp, the amp has one 12AX7 and one 12AT7. One of the tubes may have come unseated, or may be bad. You can try removing and replacing the tubes. Also if you have spares you could sub in new tubes.

The original TB amps had two 12AX7 tubes.

Good luck.

 

[CEJones]

Did you buy the amp new 3 months ago? If yes, It should be covered by warranty.

The first thing to do is check all of your cables and the battery on your bass. If you have another instrument, try it out to make sure the problem is not the bass.

There are only a few things on the amp you can check. One is the effects loop. One of the jacks in the effects loop is switching, which can cause problem in older amps. You can try plugging your bass straight into the effect return. I believe this puts the signal on the Volume control so you basically bypass the preamp. Also the Effects Loop is most likely line level so your bass will not provide a hot enough signal to drive the Send to full volume.

You could also try jumpering the Effects loop with a short cable. This bypasses the switch in the loop.

About the only other thing I would consider is checking the tubes. If you have the series II amp, the amp has one 12AX7 and one 12AT7. One of the tubes may have come unseated, or may be bad. You can try removing and replacing the tubes. Also if you have spares you could sub in new tubes.

The original TB amps had two 12AX7 tubes.

Good luck.

Ok so I’ve been fiddling around and taking the thing apart so I can see the tubes. How are they supposed to come out? I tried gently pulling up on them but they didn’t budge. I plugged my bass into the effects return and after dialing the volume I could hear the sound. So I’m assuming the issue is in the preamp. Have I been abusing it? I thought tubes lasted years?

 

[Wasnex]

Ok so I’ve been fiddling around and taking the thing apart so I can see the tubes. How are they supposed to come out? I tried gently pulling up on them but they didn’t budge. I plugged my bass into the effects return and after dialing the volume I could hear the sound. So I’m assuming the issue is in the preamp. Have I been abusing it? I thought tubes lasted years?

I have not seen the inside of one of these amps, so I don't know if there are any tube retainers. If there are no tube retainers, you can firmly grasp the tube and gently rock side to side it while pulling. No need to use a lot of strength.

If there are tube retainers you need to figure out how to remove or disengage them.

Small signal tubes do usually last for a long time, but random failures are not uncommon. It's also possible the problem is not tube related. You can do a visual inspection to make sure no internal connectors have come loose. Be careful about touching components as dangerous voltages may exist within the chassis.

It does not sound like you have been using the amp. The preamp is designed to be driven into distortion.

 

[Sascha Erni]

Ok so I’ve been fiddling around and taking the thing apart so I can see the tubes. How are they supposed to come out? I tried gently pulling up on them but they didn’t budge. I plugged my bass into the effects return and after dialing the volume I could hear the sound. So I’m assuming the issue is in the preamp. Have I been abusing it? I thought tubes lasted years?

The Terror Bass’s tubes come with retainers, those metal sleeves with two screws each and a spring on top (on the inside). You need to remove them first, then you can wiggle the tubes out as described by Wasnex.

FWIW, my Terror Bass came with microphonic tubes, no idea whether due to a transport mishap (the box did have a slight dent after all), or bad tubes during assembly. I replaced both of them with TAD RT080 7025WA. No issues since.

 

[BassikBrad]

Probably too late now as you may have got it fixed.
There are two fuses in the bottom, pre amp section, remove bottom cover & inspect.
Upper middle of photo. They maybe power supply fuses, I don't know.

 

[Downunderwonder]

You need to answer the questions as they come up.

If it is an amp from a few years ago it may have developed the bad batch of capacitors fault condition, power supply cap goes pop. Look for disintegration of small thumb sized vertically mounted capacitor.

It's tech time either way.