Tough choice : Orange OB1-300 or Terror Bass 500

[coreyfyfe]

I saw some sound person talking about how when you set the eq with the "frown" mid cut it sounds great but in a live mix it'll get your bass lost,I can't prove this as I'm not gigging.

The opposite, when you have a “smile” eq, in other words a mid-cut, it can be easy to get lost in the mix. A frown eq would be a relative mid boost with cuts to the highs and lows which should stand out more in the mix.

With the classic fender style tonestack as used on the terror and AD200 there is an inherent mid scoop. Depending on the context of the mix and cabs used this can work or not work for you. I find layering scooped sounds - like a jazz bass, certain distortions, etc - with a scooped sounding amp and very colored cab gets you a result that is really hit or miss depending on the band and room. Couple that with a limited eq range like on the fender passive tone stack and you may end up in a situation where you’re just totally lost in the mix and there’s no way to correct it.

In this instance as @Wasnex pointed out above an ampeg style eq which has more range of adjustment, or the typical solid state active eq like on the OB-1, may work better for that player.

 

[sloppy_phil]

@coreyfyfe is definitely onto something when it comes to matching these heads with the proper cabs. I think not enough focus is put on how important a cab is to live sound; it is literally the component converting all that electrical current into noise! Given the lack of flexible mid-EQ on the Terror, I've found that it sounds best paired with mid-forward cabinets, and can really suffer when plugged into a naturally-scooped one. For example, up here in Canada, a lot of "standard" backline around the place tends to be Traynor, and those are such scooped out cabs I can't use my Terror with them. Similar experience with the "Classic" line from Ampeg. Ugh! Crushing volume and absolutely no cut/presence. Not a great combo IMHO.

That said, running the Terror through Markbass cabs has been absolutely brilliant; those things have a baked-in mid hump that isn't going anywhere, which isn't awesome for really flat amps, but is perfect for my needs. I always have room to futz with the EQ in any venue, since the inherent characteristics of amp and cab offset each other so well.

 

[kevmac]

TE="coreyfyfe, post: 26939390, member: 103688"]The opposite, when you have a “smile” eq, in other words a mid-cut, it can be easy to get lost in the mix. A frown eq would be a relative mid boost with cuts to the highs and lows which should stand out more in the mix.

With the classic fender style tonestack as used on the terror and AD200 there is an inherent mid scoop. Depending on the context of the mix and cabs used this can work or not work for you. I find layering scooped sounds - like a jazz bass, certain distortions, etc - with a scooped sounding amp and very colored cab gets you a result that is really hit or miss depending on the band and room. Couple that with a limited eq range like on the fender passive tone stack and you may end up in a situation where you’re just totally lost in the mix and there’s no way to correct it.

In this instance as @Wasnex pointed out above an ampeg style eq which has more range of adjustment, or the typical solid state active eq like on the OB-1, may work better for that player.[/QUOTE]
You are of course correct.And I had a brain malfunction when I posted.I meant to say "smile"shape EQ instead of "frown". Thanks for the correction and the additional info.

 

[coreyfyfe]

@coreyfyfe is definitely onto something when it comes to matching these heads with the proper cabs. I think not enough focus is put on how important a cab is to live sound; it is literally the component converting all that electrical current into noise! Given the lack of flexible mid-EQ on the Terror, I've found that it sounds best paired with mid-forward cabinets, and can really suffer when plugged into a naturally-scooped one. For example, up here in Canada, a lot of "standard" backline around the place tends to be Traynor, and those are such scooped out cabs I can't use my Terror with them. Similar experience with the "Classic" line from Ampeg. Ugh! Crushing volume and absolutely no cut/presence. Not a great combo IMHO.

That said, running the Terror through Markbass cabs has been absolutely brilliant; those things have a baked-in mid hump that isn't going anywhere, which isn't awesome for really flat amps, but is perfect for my needs. I always have room to futz with the EQ in any venue, since the inherent characteristics of amp and cab offset each other so well.

I went through that first with my science mother (hiwatt inspired) having played ampeg amps for years. The classic _x10 cabs just didn’t work well with that amp. I’ve got all small/compact 212 or 210 cabs now which are more mid forward to neutral than strongly colored line an 810 and I find the stronger voiced amps pair well with those.

 

[jeremie dazin]

@coreyfyfe is definitely onto something when it comes to matching these heads with the proper cabs. I think not enough focus is put on how important a cab is to live sound; it is literally the component converting all that electrical current into noise! Given the lack of flexible mid-EQ on the Terror, I've found that it sounds best paired with mid-forward cabinets, and can really suffer when plugged into a naturally-scooped one. For example, up here in Canada, a lot of "standard" backline around the place tends to be Traynor, and those are such scooped out cabs I can't use my Terror with them. Similar experience with the "Classic" line from Ampeg. Ugh! Crushing volume and absolutely no cut/presence. Not a great combo IMHO.

That said, running the Terror through Markbass cabs has been absolutely brilliant; those things have a baked-in mid hump that isn't going anywhere, which isn't awesome for really flat amps, but is perfect for my needs. I always have room to futz with the EQ in any venue, since the inherent characteristics of amp and cab offset each other so well.

owning both (Ampeg 4x10, even if it's not a classic series.) and a markbass cab (2x10) i'd try it with both. My main concern is about power : Ampeg cab runs on 4ohm while the MB is 8ohms.

 

[sloppy_phil]

owning both (Ampeg 4x10, even if it's not a classic series.) and a markbass cab (2x10) i'd try it with both. My main concern is about power : Ampeg cab runs on 4ohm while the MB is 8ohms.

Gotcha. Glad you can try a couple different options and see how it works for you!

Is this the v2 Terror, or the OG? If it's the latter, the amp puts out 500w at either 4 or 8ohm. If it's the v2, you may lose some clean headroom going from 500 down to 350, but I don't think you'll see a big loss of output or anything like that

 

[jeremie dazin]

Gotcha. Glad you can try a couple different options and see how it works for you!

Is this the v2 Terror, or the OG? If it's the latter, the amp puts out 500w at either 4 or 8ohm. If it's the v2, you may lose some clean headroom going from 500 down to 350, but I don't think you'll see a big loss of output or anything like that

Yes it's the V2, current owner says it's down to 250w on 8 Ohms. I'd try with both, might try to sell both cabs to get a MB 410 if the sounds is cool. My back will thank me, since the Ampeg 4x10 weight like tons.

 

[sloppy_phil]

Oh, my mistake, it is 250w. Just let your ears decide! I think it would still be fine at the lower power; I also have a Mesa D-350 and have used it with no problem at 8ohm (175w for that amp) when playing gigs. These shows have had PA support, which I am sure helped, but there hasn't been a huge difference between my volume at either 8 or 4ohm thus far with that amp. I suspect the Terror would respond similarly.

Sorry, but I have no experience with the OB1!

 

[jeremie dazin]

No problem mate, thanks a lot for trying to help me figuring out what would be the best option for me ! I highly appreciate that !

 

[jeremie dazin]

Hey there ! Just got the OBT500 brand new. Can't figure out because people disagree on this point so i'm asking that to anyone who has an OBT500 : I don't have any cabs at home, they're in the studio, all i have home is my audio interface. is it safe to plug the D.I output in my A.I without a cab loaded to the Bass Terror ? Some people refeers to the manual saying it's not possible, some says that since it's an Hybrid class D amp, it won't cause any problem, assuming they've been doing this for years without damaging the head, so i'm asking you here, has anyone ever experienced that and can assure me it's gonna be harmless for the amp ? Thanks (Sorry for being off topic but i didn't felt like creating a new topic just for that particular question.)

 

[coreyfyfe]

Hey there ! Just got the OBT500 brand new. Can't figure out because people disagree on this point so i'm asking that to anyone who has an OBT500 : I don't have any cabs at home, they're in the studio, all i have home is my audio interface. is it safe to plug the D.I output in my A.I without a cab loaded to the Bass Terror ? Some people refeers to the manual saying it's not possible, some says that since it's an Hybrid class D amp, it won't cause any problem, assuming they've been doing this for years without damaging the head, so i'm asking you here, has anyone ever experienced that and can assure me it's gonna be harmless for the amp ? Thanks (Sorry for being off topic but i didn't felt like creating a new topic just for that particular question.)

With a solid state amp it should be harmless and I believe some others here have confirmed this with orange tech support. The manual, like some of oranges others, seems to carry over language from their tube amps which doesn’t really apply to the solid state output stage of this amp. I recall discussion that there may be some difference between the v1 terror bass with the switchable output stage and the v2 without.

An email to orange would clear things up fairly quickly and easily.

a few collected threads with responses from orange:

These say yes it’s safe to run without a load
Use Terror Bass as preamp?

Replacing an Orange Terror Bass Amp (the final comment here confirms a difference between v1 and v2 terror amps)

These say no
Bass Terror amp without a cab... - Orange Amps Forum

 

[lildrgn]

WRT running DI w/o cab on Terror Bass v2, I have done it without issues. I also contacted Orange tech support (and read through all the threads here on TB) and got multiple confirmations that you can run via DI sans cabinet.

 

[jeremie dazin]

thanks for the answers, i played all night long and it plays like a charm, i freaking love it, can't wait to use it in rehearshal !

 

[FunkHead]

I just demoed the Terror Bass 500 through my Barefaced Big Twin 3. Holy crap this amp is loud!

I have my studio set up as loud as my band with a loud drummer and it keeps up with all knobs < 1/3 of the way up.

It also sounds great without having to fiddle with the knobs. Plenty of Bass! Plenty of Mids! Plenty of highs! Those who have complained about not being heard with their band either have a defective amp or a crap speaker. Plain and simple!

 

[FunkHead]

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[jeremie dazin]

Damn that cab seems huge! I thought about buying a subway TT a while ago

 

[Wicked G]

I've owned the Terror Bass 500 since the second version came out, about 3 years ago, and have gigged it many times.

I have never been lost in the mix and have used it with different cabs and basses. I'll be using mine again tonight.