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ORANGE BASS TERROR: The Review!

The newer heads have the gain and DI fixed and I have to agree the sp212 cab is a fabulous match for this head.
Very small rig with massive sound and tone.No problem getting heard at all.
It,s also the coolest running amp I ,ve ever had,never even gets warm.
I never thought about these amps till I tried one with the matching cab and couldn,t get it out the shop quick enough-well pleased
 
I've seen a few posts about the gain and DI being "fixed" on these. I had one a year ago, returned it, but recently bought a used one (currently in transit). I really liked it when I had it and am a looking forward to having one again.

The question is, what was broken on the one I liked so much? Was it just people complaining about a hot DI? Hope the character is still intact.
 
The newer heads have the gain and DI fixed and I have to agree the sp212 cab is a fabulous match for this head.
Very small rig with massive sound and tone.No problem getting heard at all.
It,s also the coolest running amp I ,ve ever had,never even gets warm.
I never thought about these amps till I tried one with the matching cab and couldn,t get it out the shop quick enough-well pleased

I am thinking in buying a sp212 for my TB, but I dont know if it is worth to spend the extra cash and purchase the sp410. Anybody knows if there is a big difference? Currently I am running it through an Ampeg SVT 410HLF and I am happy with the air it moves, I would like to follow moving same air, so my options are OBC 115 -probably much less air moving- and both sp´s (212 or 410). Any advice? Thanks :-)
 
I am thinking in buying a sp212 for my TB, but I dont know if it is worth to spend the extra cash and purchase the sp410. Anybody knows if there is a big difference? Currently I am running it through an Ampeg SVT 410HLF and I am happy with the air it moves, I would like to follow moving same air, so my options are OBC 115 -probably much less air moving- and both sp´s (212 or 410). Any advice? Thanks :-)

There is a lot of similarity in tone, and they move a roughly similar amount of air. The SP410 gets the nod, but not by much. I would base your decision more on the form factor of the cabs.
 
There is a lot of similarity in tone, and they move a roughly similar amount of air. The SP410 gets the nod, but not by much. I would base your decision more on the form factor of the cabs.

Thank you so much for the advice. Sorry but with the form factor of the cabs you mean to base the decision in the shape, size and weight of them in order to carry them or put them on stage with more comfort?
 
Thank you so much for the advice. Sorry but with the form factor of the cabs you mean to base the decision in the shape, size and weight of them in order to carry them or put them on stage with more comfort?

Yup. The SP410 is as wide as a standard 4x10, but not very tall or deep, and the SP212 is actually smaller than many 1x12's.
 
Just FYI, I did a partial trade for a Terror bass 500 about a year ago. I changed the power supply caps myself once I found out it could be an issue. It looks like mine is the original version of the head.

After my first gig with the amp I found I had the Hot DI problem. Meaning the mixing board couldn't handle the signal it was so hot. I emailed Orange to see if maybe they could tell me what the mod was to fix the DI Level and they just sent me a prepaid shipping label, took it back, fixed and shipped back at no cost to me. Turnaround was about 1.5 weeks. No questions asked. The DI was fixed on production amps in the past few years.

Still use and still love the amp. I would have gotten rid of it after the power supply capacitor issue, but I just love it too much. Sounds good on it's own but really shows it full potential in a live setting.

For the record I use an Orange OBC115 reloaded with a Kappalite 3015 on top of a Fender Pro115 loaded with an Eminence Beta 15. I know something will go terribly wrong as a result of mismatched drivers, but it just sounds too good to alter it.
 
So I've been reconnected with the OBT500 for about a month now, but only really started playing through it today.

I bought it off ebay for a steal and the packaging was the worst I've ever seen -- it was in the carry bag, but in a reused box with only enough bubble wrap to cover back-top-front and no other protection. When I got it, I plugged it in and played only a little bit to make sure it wasn't totally busted. Seemed to work fine. Starting to feel like I paid what it was worth :atoz:

I dunno. I'm not quite as enamored so far. I remember this thing being able to really slam down low and aggressive in the upper mids/highs. I did some tube swapping this afternoon to see if I could get any more out it (two pairs of NOS 12AU7's, JJ 12AX7's, misc other tubes on hand). With every tube combo I tried, the bass and treble were nearly non-responsive. I do not remember them being like this. Mid and gain both had a wide range, though.

Are bass and treble both run off the same tube? I wonder if something with one of the tubes circuit's is busted.
 
So I've been reconnected with the OBT500 for about a month now, but only really started playing through it today.

I bought it off ebay for a steal and the packaging was the worst I've ever seen -- it was in the carry bag, but in a reused box with only enough bubble wrap to cover back-top-front and no other protection. When I got it, I plugged it in and played only a little bit to make sure it wasn't totally busted. Seemed to work fine. Starting to feel like I paid what it was worth :atoz:

I dunno. I'm not quite as enamored so far. I remember this thing being able to really slam down low and aggressive in the upper mids/highs. I did some tube swapping this afternoon to see if I could get any more out it (two pairs of NOS 12AU7's, JJ 12AX7's, misc other tubes on hand). With every tube combo I tried, the bass and treble were nearly non-responsive. I do not remember them being like this. Mid and gain both had a wide range, though.

Are bass and treble both run off the same tube? I wonder if something with one of the tubes circuit's is busted.

The eqs are somewhat subdued compared to other amps I've used. For a test, try turning all three eqs completely down. If they're functioning correctly you won't hear anything.
 
The eqs are somewhat subdued compared to other amps I've used. For a test, try turning all three eqs completely down. If they're functioning correctly you won't hear anything.


I did check that and it did go silent.

I'm noticing more and more how a lot of amps have a strong voice and the EQ only does so much. I just remember a different voice, I guess. :/
 
So I've been reconnected with the OBT500 for about a month now, but only really started playing through it today.

I bought it off ebay for a steal and the packaging was the worst I've ever seen -- it was in the carry bag, but in a reused box with only enough bubble wrap to cover back-top-front and no other protection. When I got it, I plugged it in and played only a little bit to make sure it wasn't totally busted. Seemed to work fine. Starting to feel like I paid what it was worth :atoz:

I dunno. I'm not quite as enamored so far. I remember this thing being able to really slam down low and aggressive in the upper mids/highs. I did some tube swapping this afternoon to see if I could get any more out it (two pairs of NOS 12AU7's, JJ 12AX7's, misc other tubes on hand). With every tube combo I tried, the bass and treble were nearly non-responsive. I do not remember them being like this. Mid and gain both had a wide range, though.

Are bass and treble both run off the same tube? I wonder if something with one of the tubes circuit's is busted.

While the Orange tone stack is definitely on the more subtle side, you should definitely notice changes. Check out the frequency sweeps of the tone controls in ourLink Removed and see if your unit seems to be performing consistent with the charts.
 
While the Orange tone stack is definitely on the more subtle side, you should definitely notice changes. Check out the frequency sweeps of the tone controls in ourLink Removed and see if your unit seems to be performing consistent with the charts.

If anyone hasn't read the review, I would recommend it. Thanks for making a bass mag worth reading Tom. I look forward to the next issue the minute I finish reading each current issue.

The tubes on the Terror bass makes a big difference. At least it did in my case. V1 is the gain, and V2 is the tone stack from what I understand. But even stock the pre made a very noticeable difference when used. So V2 (furthest from the input jack) would be the tube to look at. Though if mid seems to be working right and the bass and treble are not at all I would think it'd be the circuit.

As Tom said the pre is on the subtle side, but not that subtle. The only thing I crank is the treble. Bass is usually off and the mid control is my room compensation knob.