ORANGE BASS TERROR: The Review!

[Count Bassie]

Gotta love you Brits... Just got to make everything difficult eh? Upside down, wrong side of the road, always got to pronounce a word differently each time and then blame it on the Queen. You eat kidney pie and think fish n chips are a delicacy.

You did give me Zep, Floyd, Beatles, Stones, Who, Sabbath, Purple, and Maiden...

God Save the Queen.

...and Trace-Elliot. Sorry...

 

[Greevus]

and Priest and Motorhead.... damn Brits

 

[Count Bassie]

Small Faces, The Clash, The Jam, Monty Python...

And of course, Spandau Ballet...

 

[thedude77md]

Small Faces, The Clash, The Jam, Monty Python...

And of course, Spandau Ballet...

Sorry to keep the derail going, but I can never stay out of these threads without mentioning The Smiths and Joy Division.

On topic, I've had my BT a few months now and I love it more every day. I'm one of those GAS classified trolls here that trades gear left and right. I haven't even given a thought to unloading mine and don't foresee it, unless my band somehow makes it to the point that I need 1000 watts in which case I'd switch to the BT 1000! I can't fathom needed that though- this thing through a 2x12 is ungodly loud and I could run it into two of them.

I have owned and gigged, at least a few times, some dozens of times, with each of the following:

Fender Bassman 300 Pro
Fender 400 PS
At least four different all tube SVT's
Mesa Buster
LMII
GB Shuttlemax 12
Peavey Mark VI
Aguilar DB 750
Yorkville 800 watt (I forget the model name)

and probably some others I am forgetting.

IMO, this sounds better than any of them except maybe the Bassman 300 Pro, but that is even a tossup. I'll take the BT at 1/10th the weight any day. I'm still amazed at this amp.

My only gripe is the DI out- it really needs to be adjustable. Orange may be right about the output level on it, but I've found you need to crank the gain just past the point of being too hot on the DI if you want it to sound right with fuzz and OD pedals. I'm of the school of thought that those sorts of pedals lose low end unless there is significant tube output compression. I'm not sure how the BT is doing it, but it reacts to pedals like a tube power section.

 

[Lurker79]

I love this amp so much it's my favorite right now by far. I do have a microphonic preamp tube but they are so easy to swap it's kinda fun. It's turning me into a nerd. The DI is hot but whatever. Is it possible/a good idea to run another DI through the loop and pull the signal off that? At least there would be more control?

 

[Christian Waiau]

can anyone comment if this amp is "quick"? what I mean is how some tube amps get compressed in a way that make them react a bit sluggish?

I hope someone gets what i'm trying to ask lol

 

[moggieman]

So the TB reacts well with OD/Fuzzes? Anyone tried it with maybe a Sansamp BDDI?

 

[ilnickyJ]

On the topic of the DI's being hot, couldn't you just get a resistor put init? Someone mentioned this to me but i don't know if it would work

 

[Mingus Addict]

This would be a good fix for the output problem.

http://www.campfield.biz/servlet/the-1398/Whirlwind-IMP-dsh-PAD-dsh-20-PAD-In-dsh-Line/Detail

 

[countrybass007]

Haven't tried the DI on my Terror, but I did have several sound men refuse to use the DI on my SWR Silverado " cause they said it was too hot. I do know they all seem to like the DI on my Phil Jones Suitcase.

 

[NOLA Bass]

Man, I just tried a Terror with the 212 and 410. Amazing! I think my "small rig" is in for a change!!!!

 

[MN_Bass]

I tried one this weekend with a Orange 15 cab, Amazing and Ball Shaking Loud

 

[sethmileskaplan]

So. I went out and bought myself a Terror Bass head, and 410 orange cab. I bought the cabinet from a guy off of craigslist. 1000 for cab and Georgia Case Company road case. The terror bass is my first head/cabinet amplifier, and man... I'm happy. On to the specifics!

So the terror bass is real simple and all. It's got basic eq like everyone says, and has great features. The bass is not a reaaaally low bass, it just does its job. Along with the mids and treble. If you like to play pissed off music, this is the amp for you! I played an Ampeg 300-cl at guitar center one day and the gain difference is tremendous. The gain on an Ampeg all the way up is about the equivalence of the terror bass half way up. The gain reaaally pushes the speakers, and causes quiet a lot of beak up. One thing I've noticed with the D.I.: the gain knob controls the output going to through the DI, and then volume knob controls the cabinet volume. So in tested and proven theory, you can have your D.I. at a normal level, and have the cabinet as loud or quiet as you'd like. Now the gain still does have some effect on the cabinet volume, and being that the D.I. is SO hot, you really can't utilize the full gain spectrum when playing with a D.I. Big disappointment, but, orange has tried to make up for it. The tone that this little thing produces is remarkable. If you like the sound of your bass with out tons of wave changes, you'll like the amp. Volume is definitely not a problem with this little guy. I play a pretty big spectrum of places, from church, to clubs, to fairly large auditoriums, and it holds up well, D.I. or all cabinet. I don't usually run a ton of effects, but I have tried the Effects Loop, and I didn't really care for it, but I'm sure it's just fine.
The 41x0 cabinet does it's job veeery well. The road case I bought with it can be a blessing, or a haunting. The cabinet is 90 something pounds and is practically impossible to move by yourself unless you have abnormally broad shoulders. I'm not big on all the speaker configuration specifics because this is my first separate cabinet, so that's all I have to say about that.

So I have pictures, but they're macbook camera ones, so they're backwards(no I'm not a lefty), and the lighting is horrible in my basement.

 

[sethmileskaplan]

can anyone comment if this amp is "quick"? what I mean is how some tube amps get compressed in a way that make them react a bit sluggish?

I hope someone gets what i'm trying to ask lol

I gotcha. The tubes react very well. I've never had a problem with them being sluggish.

 

[Count Bassie]

That's a concise and sensible review. And now of course I can feel the awful attack of G.A.S. coming on. I'm going away until it subsides. Great, thanks Seth...

 

[rulyøngo]

Couldn't hold the G.A.S. Just ordered mine today...!

 

[tombowlus]

FYI, we have a couple more clips from the Summer NAMM Show comparing the AD200 and the Terror Bass 1000 up on our YouTube channel.

Tom.

 

[Count Bassie]

I gotcha. The tubes react very well. I've never had a problem with them being sluggish.

This would make sense, as the power section is solid-state, no?

 

[countrybass007]

Spent 8 hours gigging with my Tiny Terror rig this weekend. I have to say I am really happy with the sound I got, and it sent pleasant shock waves on the stage. Our guitarist still can't believe that "tiny" amp puts out such a big sound. The Orange OBC115 is amazing too.

 

[rulyøngo]

Just got my Bass Terror yesterday, took it to a rehersal and it sounded amazing!!! Used it with my Schroeder 410 and it reminded me a lot of my old Ampeg SVT Classic, but without the weight...... I'll try it tomorrow with a SWR Goliath jr.

Amazing amp!!!