Orange amps, one trick pony?

[dannybuoy]

6 hours ago, Bankai said:

I owned a 1st Gen TB500 and spongey sums it up nicely. I’d maybe even go so far as to say woolly. I have an AD200B now (which is for sale on this forum!) and it’s very different. That can do glass clean through to grind.

Wooly is apt. The 2nd gen OTB is supposed to be closer to the AD200B though (which I've also owned in the past), I'd like to compare them!

[Bankai]

4 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

Wooly is apt. The 2nd gen OTB is supposed to be closer to the AD200B though (which I've also owned in the past), I'd like to compare them!

Well I have one half of the equipment required to test that theory! If anyone in the Surrey area has an OTB to assist post lockdown

[40hz]

FWIW, I recorded my bands first album using the studio's AD200B and we are a seriously funky outfit. I don't use any form of fuzz or overdrive etc. I thought it was an incredible piece of kit. Smooth, incredibly punchy and present with a mid-forward voice. Walking into the room I thought I was going to get a fuzzy type, rock tone. Ended up not being the case! 

[Al Krow]

20 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

Wooly is apt. The 2nd gen OTB is supposed to be closer to the AD200B though (which I've also owned in the past), I'd like to compare them!

Interesting. Does sound like they've upped their game with the Gen 2 OTBs and these could definitely be worth a look.

I guess that rules out the 1000W OTB Gen 1 for me then. But 500W at 4 ohm = around 300W at 8 ohm [(?) given that it's not precisely linear] should hopefully be just enough head room - I do value the headroom I currently have on tap with my DG M900 A&O, not least in not having to push the amp too hard whilst keeping pace with a 5 piece rock band.

[Cat Burrito]

Just from the discussion of the Terror MK2, I previously owned the MK1, bought the attenuator that fixed it running hot, sold it, bought the MK2 and now have the AD200B as well. Incredibly I haven't lined up my Mk2 Terror Head with the AD200B. I just figured the Terror was great for pub gigs and anything bigger was the AD200B. They are quite different but with a huge crossover. I certainly think the Mk2 Terror head is a very positive step in the right direction from the original. And to be clear, I liked the original.  

[Al Krow]

46 minutes ago, Cat Burrito said:

Just from the discussion of the Terror MK2, I previously owned the MK1, bought the attenuator that fixed it running hot, sold it, bought the MK2 and now have the AD200B as well. Incredibly I haven't lined up my Mk2 Terror Head with the AD200B. I just figured the Terror was great for pub gigs and anything bigger was the AD200B. They are quite different but with a huge crossover. I certainly think the Mk2 Terror head is a very positive step in the right direction from the original. And to be clear, I liked the original.  

That's seriously "unhelpful" from a GAS perspective 😁

What's the rest of your rig / signal chain with the Terror Mk2 and does it leave you with plenty of headroom with your band or are you finding you are needing to crank it up?

Any clips of you using it live would be a bonus! 

[dannybuoy]

5 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Interesting. Does sound like they've upped their game with the Gen 2 OTBs and these could definitely be worth a look.

I guess that rules out the 1000W OTB Gen 1 for me then. But 500W at 4 ohm = around 300W at 8 ohm [(?) given that it's not precisely linear] should hopefully be just enough head room - I do value the headroom I currently have on tap with my DG M900 A&O, not least in not having to push the amp too hard whilst keeping pace with a 5 piece rock band.

The OTB 500 is the loudest 500W amp I've ever had, I think BassGearMag benched it peaking at 900W. I don't think you'd find yourself short of power and needing the 1000W version!

[bagsieblue]

2 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

The OTB 500 is the loudest 500W amp I've ever had, I think BassGearMag benched it peaking at 900W. I don't think you'd find yourself short of power and needing the 1000W version!

The 1000w version can stay cleaner for much longer though.  A lot more versatile.  Granted the 500w goes loud anyway.  If cost wasn't a factor I wouldn't see any reason to not have the 1000 over the 500.  The 1000 covers all the 500 does and more but the 500 doesn't cover what the 1000 can do.

Surprised on the 'spongy' descriptions as I describe them as 'quick'.  YMMV.

There is some truth in the one trick pony comments in these, but it's a damn good trick.  

One thing to remember , EQ on these...flat setting is bass and treble off (or almost off) mids up full ( so mids is cut only), I think with all EQ at noon and people unaware that this is not the flat settings reinforces the one trick pony thought.

The flat setting on these is a wonderful starting point.

[karlfer]

OBT 2 can do JPJ to Lemmy with a bit twiddling on rotaries and a switch, passive basses, no effects.

Versatile enough for a cover band doing from Jackie Wilson to Greenday. And wonderful punch!

Edit. Much more versatile than my Mesa Subway was (don't seem to be able to change my signature nowadays).

Edited March 9, 2021 by karlfer

[bagsieblue]

8 minutes ago, karlfer said:

 

Edit. Much more versatile than my Mesa Subway was (don't seem to be able to change my signature nowadays).

Agreed on the Subway - I found the Subway gutless!!

[Al Krow]

23 minutes ago, karlfer said:

Edit. Much more versatile than my Mesa Subway was (don't seem to be able to change my signature nowadays).

15 minutes ago, bagsieblue said:

Agreed on the Subway - I found the Subway gutless!!

I'm guessing you gents both had the Mesa D800, rather than the D800+?

[bagsieblue]

8 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I'm guessing you gents both had the Mesa D800, rather than the D800+?

Yes for me - can't see I'd be going near the D800+ after the disappointment on the D800 either.

[Al Krow]

1 minute ago, bagsieblue said:

Yes for me - can't see I'd be going near the D800+ after the disappointment on the D800 either.

Interesting one - the D800 has had a fair few comments about being "dark" and the D800+ a step up. The new Mesa range also seems to be getting a fair bit of love.

In contrast, the Mesa M6 is the best amp I've had, bar none, but it's 25 lbs and am still looking for a portable hybrid that might deliver some similar valvey goodness - OBT2  does sound promising along with the new GK FusionS series.

[bagsieblue]

4 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Interesting one - the D800 has had a fair few comments about being "dark" and the D800+ a step up. The new Mesa range also seems to be getting a fair bit of love.

In contrast, the Mesa M6 is the best amp I've had, bar none, but it's 25 lbs and am still looking for a portable hybrid that might deliver some similar valvey goodness - OBT2  does sound promising along with the new GK FusionS series.

Gutless and anaemic is my view on the D800.

I've a Mesa Walkabout that destroyed the D800 through the same cabs, Barefaced...EAD Foundation, Bill Fitz Maurice.

[Cat Burrito]

7 hours ago, Al Krow said:

That's seriously "unhelpful" from a GAS perspective 😁

What's the rest of your rig / signal chain with the Terror Mk2 and does it leave you with plenty of headroom with your band or are you finding you are needing to crank it up?

Any clips of you using it live would be a bonus! 

No effects, just bass into amp. I don't crank it and I play with some pretty loud players. 

I am on my tablet so struggling to hear bass on a good YouTube clip but any live 2019 clip of Last Great Dreamers will be me with that set up if it's UK (Europe we had a supplied backline). 

[Al Krow]

I'm slightly bemused that the manuals are silent on what the EQ centre frequencies for the bass, mid and treble are, unless I've missed them somewhere?

[dannybuoy]

It’s not like a normal active EQ - the adjustments are very subtle but affect a wide band of frequencies, so I find the centre points to be largely irrelevant. BassGearMag measured the v1 EQ with various graphs here but they now charge $2 to read the issue:

https://www.bassgearmag.com/product/issue-6-bass-gear-magzine-digital/

They reviewed the AD200 also and I expect they would’ve measured that one too:

https://www.bassgearmag.com/product/issue-13-bass-gear-magzine-digital/

[karlfer]

9 hours ago, Al Krow said:

I'm guessing you gents both had the Mesa D800, rather than the D800+?

Yes.

Different folk, different requirements.

I did 2 gigs with a new band the weekend before lockdown.

The Mesa was trouser flapping good with a clean sound, but that was it. I really couldn't get that gnarly bit of fuzz going on for some of the numbers.

OBT, click the switch, drop the bass volume a tad. A second to do.

[Paul C]

It was this demo that I felt showed how good this head is. U probably seen it by now but just in case

https://youtu.be/c4SMM28jblQ

 

 

 

 

 

[Al Krow]

12 minutes ago, Paul C said:

It was this demo that I felt showed how good this head is. U probably seen it by now but just in case

https://youtu.be/c4SMM28jblQ

Very useful and at [0.55] he notes that "Ade Emsley, head designer, put the preamp of the AD200 into the Mk2".

Have they changed the EQ settings so we now have both boost and cut? Our own Dan Veall at [7.45] is suggesting that flat is at noon with the Mk2, which is quite different to comments about the Mk1.

Orange Terror Bass | Review - YouTube

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, karlfer said:

Yes.

Different folk, different requirements.

I did 2 gigs with a new band the weekend before lockdown.

The Mesa was trouser flapping good with a clean sound, but that was it. I really couldn't get that gnarly bit of fuzz going on for some of the numbers.

OBT, click the switch, drop the bass volume a tad. A second to do.

But tbf you could easily to do the same with a drive pedal of your choice and potentially even quicker i.e. no adjustments on the amp and just engage the pedal.

With an amp with built in drive / grit there's always the risk that it doesn't deliver exactly what you're always after in terms of grit (certainly can be true for the DG M900 series) but seems to me that OBT does as well as most, and you still always have the pedal option to bring to the party.

[Paul C]

2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Very useful and at [0.55] he notes that "Ade Emsley, head designer, put the preamp of the AD200 into the Mk2".

Have they changed the EQ settings so we now have both boost and cut? Our own Dan Veall at [7.45] is suggesting that flat is at noon with the Mk2, which is quite different to comments about the Mk1.

Orange Terror Bass | Review - YouTube

Hi Al yeah not sure on the science of the EQ to be honest. On this demo he pretty much keeps each dial middled. It's not mentioned at all in the manual. I checked. 

My friend had the mark one version of the head and she let me borrow it for a while. It was good but it just started to overdrive too soon for me...it was just too wild... and I prefer to add drive with pedals esp as the gigs we play, I normally play through the venue's provided backline so can't rely on the backline having any reliable overdrive capability. Some folks I'm sure will love that aspect of the MK1 I'm sure.

Horses for courses.

 

 

 

[Nibody]

I had a terror Bass 500 for a few years. Yes, they are one trick ponies - they do that trick pretty damn good, but it is only one trick.The EQ section was (to me) pretty redundant for what tonal shaping options it gave.

[Lozz196]

I had one for a while for the valvey sound & weight, but used a Sansamp for the eq as I couldn’t get what I wanted from it at the time.

[krispn]

If it’s a fender style design it likely similar to BMT 2-10-2 with some boost on the BT and cut only on the mids. Also a fender style is in and around 40-400-4k but with a  broader band boost then in other amps. If it’s a bax type there sslightly more interactivity but as ever using eyes over ears isn’t the best way to set eq.
I’d have thought the DG AO would have been an already light weight head with a more flexible EQ and switchable drive. The newer OBT1000 are a tad more versatile than the 500w but it’s still a ‘one sound’ head and any tonal changes would require tweaking between songs. A decent pedal would give an options drive but if your covers band is anything like mine one sound with a touch of drive when needed should cover most gigs? 

Edited March 10, 2021 by krispn