Terror bass 500 and OBC115

[Pan]

Hi Guys 

 

i need your wisdom please 

 

I have just bought the Orange terror amp 500 and the OBC115 cab

 

I am quite new to this so please go steady :0)

 

the terror amp is 500 watt and the obc115 is 400watts , on the back of the amp is a switch for 4 ohms and 8 ohms i have no idea which one i should be choosing ( i dont want to damage anything)

 

its quite confusing what option i should use- your help is appreciated

[BreadBin]

Google suggests an OBC115 is 8 ohm. It should say on the back of the cab.

Edited April 12, 2022 by BreadBin

[PigBass]

Hello Pan, I just checked the Orange website and the cab is indeed listed as 8 Ohms as Breadbin mentioned so that’s the setting you should use on the amp.

 

There is a conversation to be had about the fact that the amp can potentially deliver the full 500W into an 8 Ohm load using this setting, and the cab has a max handling limit of 400W. I’d personally not worry so much about this unless you intend to run everything at full volume. Listen to your cab, it will tell you if you’re stressing it. 
 

Cheers, Darren. 

 

EDIT I'll add a post to correct the statement about the impedance switch - I got it wrong

Edited May 1, 2022 by PigBass
I got it wrong about the impedance switch...

[Lozz196]

Yeah, those OTB amps are so loud ears will blow long before the speaker 

[T-Bay]

5 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yeah, those OTB amps are so loud ears will blow long before the speaker 

Oh yes! I have the 1000w version, you wouldn’t let your daughter marry it!

[CJPJ]

35 minutes ago, PigBass said:

There is a conversation to be had about the fact that the amp can potentially deliver the full 500W into an 8 Ohm load using this setting

What does it deliver at 4ohm - still 500W?

[PigBass]

41 minutes ago, CJPJ said:

What does it deliver at 4ohm - still 500W?

Good question CJPJ. I hv the Terror Bass Mk1 and am sure I read exactly this in the user manual. However I can’t see it in the current model online manual, so maybe it was just a bad dream 😂 . I wonder what the switch is for if it is not the case - very odd. 
 

In any case the 8 Ohm setting is correct for this cab, and apologies for any confusion caused by my poor memory. 
 

Darren. 

[Downunderwonder]

6 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Yeah, those OTB amps are so loud ears will blow long before the speaker 

You keep saying that but it isn't true.

 

People are playing at the bleeding edge every day. Some blow up their cabs way before they go deaf and some were wearing earplugs.

 

The clever ones examine with plugs just how loud and low they can get before nasty noises happen with clean tones and are wary of distortion pedals hiding the sounds of cab complaining. It's not easy to hear the difference at high volume.

[CJPJ]

8 hours ago, PigBass said:

Good question CJPJ. I hv the Terror Bass Mk1 and am sure I read exactly this in the user manual. However I can’t see it in the current model online manual, so maybe it was just a bad dream 😂 . I wonder what the switch is for if it is not the case - very odd. 

That's kind of why I asked as I used to have the original and I used with an 8ohm BF Compact and it was great but I always wondered if the switch on the back somehow added some magic that allow it the same power output at 4ohm. I'm thinking of getting a OTB again but current have a 4ohm (actually 5.2ohm technically) cab 🤨

[Lozz196]

3 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

You keep saying that but it isn't true.

 

People are playing at the bleeding edge every day. Some blow up their cabs way before they go deaf and some were wearing earplugs.

 

The clever ones examine with plugs just how loud and low they can get before nasty noises happen with clean tones and are wary of distortion pedals hiding the sounds of cab complaining. It's not easy to hear the difference at high volume.

I honestly can`t believe that someone could have one of those OTBs at full pelt, having had one it was amazingly loud, I`d expect walls to melt and floors to liquify if running one at full volume. How anyone could use one at that kind of volume is just beyond me. 

[T-Bay]

33 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I honestly can`t believe that someone could have one of those OTBs at full pelt, having had one it was amazingly loud, I`d expect walls to melt and floors to liquify if running one at full volume. How anyone could use one at that kind of volume is just beyond me. 

+1 I have never run mine at more that halfway at ANY gig and that was outside. I know mine is the 1000w one but I have used a 500w one and it was very similar. I cannot imagine a venue big enough to need the volume but that relied on the band to fill the space with sound themselves. 

[Downunderwonder]

41 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I honestly can`t believe that someone could have one of those OTBs at full pelt, having had one it was amazingly loud, I`d expect walls to melt and floors to liquify if running one at full volume. How anyone could use one at that kind of volume is just beyond me. 

The limiting factor is the cab!

[Lozz196]

14 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

The limiting factor is the cab!

Definitely, I had my OTB through a Marshall VBC 412 and anymore than 10 o`clock on both volume & gain and the rest of the band simply couldn`t be heard in our rehearsal room. Not a case of just the bass being too loud, they literally couldn`t be heard at all, frightening little things the OTBs.

[Downunderwonder]

10 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Definitely, I had my OTB through a Marshall VBC 412 and anymore than 10 o`clock on both volume & gain and the rest of the band simply couldn`t be heard in our rehearsal room. Not a case of just the bass being too loud, they literally couldn`t be heard at all, frightening little things the OTBs.

So you weren't stretching the cab. What makes you so certain the OP or any other band isn't loud enough that a 115 is going to be pushed to the limit?

[Lozz196]

I’m not, I just wonder how anyones ears can take that much volume, I think mine would detach themselves and run for cover. 

[Bankai]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I honestly can`t believe that someone could have one of those OTBs at full pelt, having had one it was amazingly loud, I`d expect walls to melt and floors to liquify if running one at full volume. How anyone could use one at that kind of volume is just beyond me. 

I had to run my OTB at full pelt to even have a chance of being heard. I was using an SPC210 though. Point is, with a poor cab then you will have to crank the OTB!

[Pan]

If i run at 8ohms then its only 250watts @ 4ohms its 500 watt ? but the cab is 400 watt handling

 

my head hurts !!

[Bankai]

4 minutes ago, Pan said:

If i run at 8ohms then its only 250watts @ 4ohms its 500 watt ? but the cab is 400 watt handling

 

my head hurts !!

On the OTB it will output 500W into 8 ohms or 4 ohms, depending on the setting you choose.

 

However, if you select 4 ohms and then give it an 8 ohm nominal load (I.e your OBC115), then it will fire out only 250W at maximum. As the OTB has a solid state power amp it’ll be able to handle that load mismatch fine.

 

Alternatively, use it in 8 Ohms mode and just don’t turn it all the way up. 8/10 maximum maybe! 

[Pan]

I see thanks guys much love  

[Downunderwonder]

10 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I’m not, I just wonder how anyones ears can take that much volume, I think mine would detach themselves and run for cover. 

If you aren't certain you should knock off telling people to have at their cabs in future. 

[Lozz196]

Not sure I understand the above. 
 

But I do know I’d rather not get into an argument, the forum has been relatively nice and peaceful recently so I don’t want to change that.

[Downunderwonder]

10 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Not sure I understand the above. 
 

But I do know I’d rather not get into an argument, the forum has been relatively nice and peaceful recently so I don’t want to change that.

I'll give you an example.

 

If I had followed your advice when I was a beginner my 165w into 8 ohm 250w Trace amp would have destroyed my 300w Trace cab.

 

So please quit with the advice to ''just play it'' because it will be ''too loud already'' before damage occurs. It's wrong.

[Lozz196]

I’m sorry I don’t understand why 165 watts into a 300 watt cab would have destroyed it.

 

But I’m also sorry as I haven’t made myself clear, I wasn’t advocating put full power into anything and just strum away and possibly damage gear, far from it. What I meant was that a lot of gear is so powerful nowadays that the potential to damage it before damaging both the users and their band mates hearing can be doubtful, so exercising caution and don’t go above the threshold where damage (possibly permanent damage) can occur is advisable. We read too many instances of people on here with tinnitus/hearing loss. You’ve made a good point and one I’ll remember as I can see how my words could have been misconstrued.

[Stub Mandrel]

23 hours ago, CJPJ said:

What does it deliver at 4ohm - still 500W?

 

Yes, the 4/8 switch changes the output voltage level to give 500w into either impedance.

[CJPJ]

@Lozz196 I understood the underlying point you were making which was more generally around how loud a rig can get before it's actually damaging your ears - notwithstanding @Downunderwonder point that its quite possible to over-extend a cab well before the ears are damaged depending on the capacity of the cab and the power of the amp which I think @Lozz196 clearly understands.

 

I wanted to bring this back to OP as I've been doing some research the OTB is definiely only 250w into 8ohm and the OBC is rated at 400w at 8ohm so you will definately have headroom on the cab and won't get the full power out of the OTB unless you add another OBC.

Edited April 13, 2022 by CJPJ
OTB, OBC...too many TLAs