Orange Terror Bass video demo :)

[Le Chat Noir]

I bought a Terror Bass a few days ago and I love it! I had to buy it online as nowhere stocks them around here, so as I have cameras and a little home studio I thought I'd try my best at a decent video demo for others in the same situation.

I tried to be as thorough as possible in going through all the tone controls and the sound is recorded with 'proper' mics into a decent DAW, so hopefully this will prove useful to anyone interested in this amp who can't get to a shop to try one!

I tried to keep the same riffs throughout to show the differences between tone settings more effectively.

Full recording chain:

Musicman Stingray bass guitar
Orange Terror Bass head
Ashdown ABM410T, fitted with Eminence Deltalite II 2510 drivers (miced with Shure SM7B)
Ashdown ABM115, fitted with Eminence Kappalite 3015LF driver (miced with Audix D6)
API 3124+ preamp
RME Fireface 800

I'm not a virtuoso bassist by any stretch of the imagination and don't feel the need to show off by slapping, popping and busting out stupidly difficult hooks. I am but a humble rock bassist, and this is a rock amp, not a super-clean slapping machine! If you want clean slap tones, I suggest you look elsewhere!

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-rN4glWmTs"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-rN4glWmTs[/url]

It's not totally processed at the time of writing... it will be in high def (and thus better audio) once Youtube's fully processed it - but it's half one in the morning now so I can't wait up any longer

[mildmanofrock]

Nice, very very nice - great video too.

I'd fall for these amps in a big way if they weren't orange. Superficial, I know.

Edited January 20, 2010 by mildmanofrock

[Clarky]

Very instructive video, thanks!

I am happy with my Mesa Walkabout but if I wanted a separate head this is the one I would go for. And I like the Orange!

[MacDaddy]

Good demo. I liked all the tones, all usuable even the extreme examples - except the full on treble with everything else cut (reminded me of the last time I saw the UK Subs!).

How much does it weigh?

[harvey1-8]

Really good video mate. Great demo of the amp. I'd like to hear it with a passive bass but that's just me splitting hairs.

[Tee]

Thanks. Yes, i'd also like to hear it with a passive bass too.

I think it's 5kg MacDaddy.

I wonder what the wattage is at 8ohms.

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='Tee' post='718748' date='Jan 20 2010, 09:34 AM']Thanks. Yes, i'd also like to hear it with a passive bass too.

I think it's 5kg MacDaddy.

I wonder what the wattage is at 8ohms.[/quote]

ta.

[nottswarwick]

nice one. I like it.

Is it a 3 eq SR4?

I am after on e of these amps, but it is interesting to note how close the sansamp can get to these tones - the BDDi into my Littlemark 2, on 50/50 blend is mighty close.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[franzbassist]

Excellent job. Seems the distortion kicks from a very low gain setting?

Odd question, but do these amps come with a cover?

Cheers

Gareth

[harvey1-8]

[quote name='walbassist' post='718777' date='Jan 20 2010, 10:27 AM']Excellent job. Seems the distortion kicks from a very low gain setting?

Odd question, but do these amps come with a cover?

Cheers

Gareth[/quote]

Yes, he says so in the video.

[franzbassist]

[quote name='alexharvay' post='718785' date='Jan 20 2010, 10:33 AM']Yes, he says so in the video.[/quote]

Oops, must have missed that!

[Le Chat Noir]

Thanks for all your nice comments guys, glad you liked it!

Yeah, it does get a dirty edge very early on... it doesn't really do completely clean at all, definitely a rock amp.

It's very lightweight, can lift it with one finger! It comes with the same nice padded bag as the guitar version - no need for anything more than that

Apologies for not trying it with a passive bass too, I wanted to keep it short-ish. I do have a passive bass, but the Stingray sounded nicer and really complimented the natural grindiness of the amp so I went with that. Perhaps sometime I'll do a second video!

Yeah, treble all the way up sounded rubbish, but I thought I might as well demonstrate the full range of the tnoe controls With all of them down it's effectively muted, so it's nice to show exactly which frequencies each knob boosts/cuts

[Noisyjon]

Great video, great sound and great review. Thanks for doing it Fella.
BTW, what mic is it you're talking into?

[Musicman20]

That's a really good video, best demo I've seen of an amp for a long time. I'll be picking one up no doubt mid 2010. I've heard that Orange want the 1000 watt version out for April.

The gain on that little amp is fantastic!

[Le Chat Noir]

[quote name='jonthebass' post='718804' date='Jan 20 2010, 10:55 AM']Great video, great sound and great review. Thanks for doing it Fella.
BTW, what mic is it you're talking into?[/quote]

It's a Heil Sound Fin - certainly stands out from the crowd! It has little leds in it that light up with phantom power Sadly it tends to bamboozle enigneers live, it has more output and top end than a 58 and so they always complain about feedback issues and I often ended up with no vocal in my monitor... so now I'm back to the old 58 for live use

[lozbass]

Just thanks - excellent! A really concise, objective and informative review (in fact, a much more useful review than many 'professional' reviews I've seen). More of this would be great on BC (but I suspect most of us don't have the facilities).

[Le Chat Noir]

[quote name='lozbass' post='718879' date='Jan 20 2010, 12:21 PM']Just thanks - excellent! A really concise, objective and informative review (in fact, a much more useful review than many 'professional' reviews I've seen). More of this would be great on BC (but I suspect most of us don't have the facilities).[/quote]

Thanks dude! It's only my second video review, so there's still room for improvement - camera angles, lighting etc could all be better. Also it's weird, I don't ever get self-conscious on stage, but stick a camera in my face and suddenly I'm all nervous!

It frustrates me that even famous amp companies don't work on getting proper videos of their products online - more and more of us are buying gear over the internet without being able to try first, and even really bad videos get thousands of hits because people are desperate to hear what things sound like! I'm just a guy with a modest home studio and a couple of mid-level consumer grade cameras, so if I can do it, why can't companies with big budgets get it together?

[jet1968]

[quote name='Le Chat Noir' post='718930' date='Jan 20 2010, 01:06 PM']It frustrates me that even famous amp companies don't work on getting proper videos of their products online - more and more of us are buying gear over the internet without being able to try first, and even really bad videos get thousands of hits because people are desperate to hear what things sound like! I'm just a guy with a modest home studio and a couple of mid-level consumer grade cameras, so if I can do it, why can't companies with big budgets get it together?[/quote]

amen brother !

great vid, thanks

[51m0n]

Thats a cracking sounding rock amp innit, chewy grindy.

[Le Chat Noir]

[quote name='nottswarwick' post='718768' date='Jan 20 2010, 10:04 AM']Is it a 3 eq SR4?[/quote]

Sorry, missed this post! Yeah, it's a 3 EQ - all knobs were on full for this video

[Cat Burrito]

Great effort, thanks for this. I found it really useful. A lot of tone from a little box! I think your style works well & fair play for using the same riffs rather than trying to show off. I found it very watchable

[quote name='Le Chat Noir' post='718800' date='Jan 20 2010, 10:49 AM']Apologies for not trying it with a passive bass too...Perhaps sometime I'll do a second video![/quote]

Yes please!

[harvey1-8]

I agree with Burrito on the riff part.

Playing the same riff on the different settings really does give a better idea of how the amp sounds. I'm not watching it to be impressed by the bassist, I'm watching it to get a no BS demo of the amp. Again, good effort.

[Le Chat Noir]

Cheers guys. I tried to make the video how I'd like to see an amp demoed, because I get frustrated by the common mistakes people make.

Firstly, there is no point in demoing any amp, but particularly a bass one, using only a consumer grade camera's internal mic!!

Secondly, I'm looking at videos to hear how an amp sounds, not to see how many notes the demonstrater can play in a short space of time. I'm a rocker at heart and I'd rather hear one note played with emotion than 100 played with none. Seems like a lot of guys on Youtube are there to stroke their own egos, not let the gear speak for itself. In the end, this is a simple, no-nonsense rock amp that demanded a simple, no-nonsense rock demo

Thirdly, I do prefer repetition of riffs rather than random noodling, just because it makes it so much easier to be objective about the differences between settings.

Anyhow, again, I'm glad you all enjoyed it - and took the time to say so, I appreciate that

[ashevans09]

Fantastic vid mate! Lovely little thing it is confirmed what I'm gunning for atm

[Bassman Rich]

I've just bought one of these (Got PMT in Leeds down to approx £420 with 3 year warranty) terror heads, used it for fist time at gig/practice with drummer volume tonight. I eventually got the tone controls right (Treb 2, mid 7, bass 5 assuming 12 to be straight up position). Its pretty good, but too light, as it fell (vibrated) off the top of the cab onto the floor, bending the jack plug as it landed. Unbelievably, I didnt notice for 30 secs or so, as it kept working fine, so build quality must be ok!!!
Not sure how to stop this happening again, any ideas?