Orange Terror Bass is "old school", but not for the reason you might expect!

[Sparky Mark]

Having opened my newly acquired OTB MK2, I was (pleasantly) surprised to find not one single surface mount technology component on any of the printed circuit board assemblies. Orange has designed its own 500 watt class D power stage and used through hole components throughout its build.

Before the experts chime in about increased reliability and the other numerous advantages of SMT, I know already, it's just a feeling of nostalgia from when I designed my first PCBA's back in the 1980's. I had no idea any mainstream amp manufacturer (I think Orange just about qualifies) was still building 100% through hole products.

 

 

Edited August 3 by Sparky Mark

[DJ '65]

Cool, I’m thinking about getting one of these as I enjoy using my Dual Terror from time to time.

[Sparky Mark]

10 minutes ago, DJ '65 said:

Cool, I’m thinking about getting one of these as I enjoy using my Dual Terror from time to time.

I should add that mine was bought second hand and dates from 2018. I cannot guarantee that Orange still makes them like this, but I think it's very likely. 

[DJ '65]

Is yours a MK1 or MK2?

[Sparky Mark]

39 minutes ago, DJ '65 said:

Is yours a MK1 or MK2?

It's a MK2. (It's printed on the PCB's if you zoom in). 

[DJ '65]

Ah… yes I see it now thanks! 😎

[Sparky Mark]

I was curious why the OTB has an impedance selection switch on the back panel? I found a Bass Gear Magazine (Issue 6) review of the OTB MK1 that explains why.  A very interesting feature of the OTB is that its output power into 4 and 8 ohms is 500 watts for both loads, unlike most solid state amps that give lower maximum output into higher impedance loads. So this is truly a 500 watt head, even with a single 8 ohm cab. Clever!

 

 

Edited August 4 by Sparky Mark

[Happy Jack]

I had two of these back when they first came out (the first one got nicked) - God that seems like a long time ago. 😂

 

I seem to recall that I wrote one of the first reviews on Basschat and described it as a one-trick pony, but really very good at that one trick.

 

And then I did an instructional on how to re-valve it (for electrickery numpties like myself) to try to make the gain a bit more manageable ... the early Mk.I versions were almost unusable at anything less than high volume.

 

[Sparky Mark]

3 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

I had two of these back when they first came out (the first one got nicked) - God that seems like a long time ago. 😂

 

I seem to recall that I wrote one of the first reviews on Basschat and described it as a one-trick pony, but really very good at that one trick.

 

And then I did an instructional on how to re-valve it (for electrickery numpties like myself) to try to make the gain a bit more manageable ... the early Mk.I versions were almost unusable at anything less than high volume.

 

Whenever I've heard them at pub gigs I thought they sounded pretty good and quite similar to the AD200B, which is often accused of having the same limitation.

With the passive tone stack set with mids full up, bass and treble fully off, this head is fairly neutral and does convey the tone of whichever bass I've used at low volume. Of course I've only had it for a day but I can already appreciate the raw power of the output stage and looking forward to a proper test on a gig.

I think the Clean switch is an excellent solution to the MK1 one sound character; now it has (at least) two!

Edited August 4 by Sparky Mark

[barkin]

Were that mine and having opened it up, I'd have to replace those nasty, sharp plastic cable ties with some nice waxed twine

[Tradfusion]

I borrowed one of these recently from a local bass player who is selling it. Long story short I took it to a gig and it cut out on me mid song, not once but 3 times during the gig... I wasn't pushing it either, just a regular pop covers band playing a bunch of middle of the road 70s and 80s classics so no need for big volume... To say I was disheartened is an understatement because I loved the tone and I was really interested in buying it... the seller swears it never happend to him but I have to take his word for that... Since then I mentioned it to a guy I know who buys and sells lots of gear of all kinds and he immediately said, thats a well known problem with those heads... Does anyone know what causes the issue and if its an easy fix or was this unusual... its a MK2 by the way, I remember reading about the MK1 being unreliable many moons ago... 

[Sparky Mark]

1 minute ago, Tradfusion said:

I borrowed one of these recently from a local bass player who is selling it. Long story short I took it to a gig and it cut out on me mid song, not once but 3 times during the gig... I wasn't pushing it either, just a regular pop covers band playing a bunch of middle of the road 70s and 80s classics so no need for big volume... To say I was disheartened is an understatement because I loved the tone and I was really interested in buying it... the seller swears it never happend to him but I have to take his word for that... Since then I mentioned it to a guy I know who buys and sells lots of gear of all kinds and he immediately said, thats a well known problem with those heads... Does anyone know what causes the issue and if its an easy fix or was this unusual... its a MK2 by the way, I remember reading about the MK1 being unreliable many moons ago... 

That sounds like the amp is going into protection mode for some reason. If an amp cuts out, then recovers after a pause or being turned off and on again, it might be behaving exactly as intended. One slightly unusual aspect of these TB heads is the apparent need to select the correct speaker impedance with that 8/4 ohm switch. Are you 100% sure the switch was set to the cab's impedance?

[Tradfusion]

34 minutes ago, Sparky Mark said:

That sounds like the amp is going into protection mode for some reason. If an amp cuts out, then recovers after a pause or being turned off and on again, it might be behaving exactly as intended. One slightly unusual aspect of these TB heads is the apparent need to select the correct speaker impedance with that 8/4 ohm switch. Are you 100% sure the switch was set to the cab's impedance?

I'm not 100% sure to be honest... if it was that simple that would be a very easy fix indeed... I really liked the tone of the head... my Barefaced Supercompact is 8ohms, maybe the impedance was switched to 4 🤔