Awsome solid rock tone zachoff. I love the Orange tone but don't care for a one trick pony. I'll bet a a more useable gain range makes this amp more versatile. Nice!
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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![]()
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?
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.
Ok, thanks once more, and congratulations for the great Bass Gear Magazine![]()

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
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.
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
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.