Calling experts on low(er)-wattage Orange heads

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 10:19 am

It's time to admit that my Boogie F50 is too loud for the studio. I can set my 22 watt Fender DRRI's volume at 3 for recording cleans comfortably, but as for the 50 watt Boogie...you know where I'm going with this. I want a 'British' rock sound, but Marshalls aren't my thing any more and as versatile as Blackstars are, the HT-5 doesn't do it for me either. Which pretty much leaves Orange, which is fine because they do several in the 10-30 watt ballpark that I think can sound like a 'proper' amp while balancing well with the DRRI's moderate output.

I don't like 'modern' amps and I'm not a metalhead (I wander into Pelican, Boris and AIC territory but that's about it), so I reckon a scaled-down Orange (a satsuma?

) that's in their old-school tradition would work for me. Dual channels aren't a deal-breaker either since I can use the Boogie for any situation where headroom becomes an issue again, and channel switching is a convenient option rather than a necessity in the studio anyway.

So then. Who's experienced in all thing Orange-y? I'm currently eyeing up the OR15, AD30 (didn't they make a single-channel version of that once?), Rocker 30 and the array of Terrors so there's plenty to choose from. What are your experiences with them?

EDIT: bugger, posted in the wrong forum. Would one of the mods be kind enough to move this to the right one?

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 10:37 am

I've been using a Tiny Terror as my main amp for 3 years or so now. It's compact, the one-band EQ is surprisingly flexible, it can get surprisingly clean for a low wattage single-channel amp (although I usually have the gain set between 11 and 1 o clock for a light overdrive) and it takes pedals well (every boost, overdrive, distortion and fuzz pedal I've had has sounded amazing through it). It's plenty loud enough for recording or band practice. And if you're a cheapskate like me who can't afford a bigger amp, it's just about loud enough for most gigs.

I've played through a couple of other Orange amps, but can't remember specific models. Basically though, you should just buy a Tiny Terror.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 10:55 am

I'm thinking of getting a TT at some point. Adding it to the main setup to add some grit and thump.

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 12:31 pm

i've owned a dual terror for about 3 years now. i absolutely love it to pieces.

i know your not too fussed on two channels, but i find it a nice feature on the dual terror to have the fat channel as well. power scaling from 7 to 15 to 30 watts.
you can get almost vox like tones (think its based on the ac 15 a little) from it or just classic orange mid rich drive.

as freddy says, the simple eq is very flexible, and if you dime the volume, tone or both it takes them out of the circuit. if your into dynamic playing or using guitars volume/tone controls, you'll love it.

i'm yet to use it at full power (30 watts) at a gig. 15 watts is plenty enough to cope live with my loud drummer.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 12:52 pm

Tiny Terror.
Some studios swear by them because they are ideal for that enviroment (and idiot proof), you can choose between the 15 or 7 watts setting and drive it at low volumes. Also, despite the limited EQ its difficult to dial in a bad tone on one.

I gigged mine as well, plenty loud enough on the 15w setting.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 12:55 pm

I'd always heard they weren't great with pedals though, no?

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 1:04 pm

Laney VC-15 a properly good British amp.

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 1:26 pm

BacchusPaul wrote:I'd always heard they weren't great with pedals though, no?

i've found that the hard way, most of the pedals i loved to use just didn't work well with it. though the drive sounds you get from it make up for that.

boosters, phasers/uni vibes, wahs/filters, pitch based effects all seem to work well. if you don't mind a little mush and spend the time dialling it in, delay can sound quite good through it.

sp3k · Post by **sp3k** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:07 pm

I've been using a dual terror for almost two years. It's a great amp, make every guitar sound good. If you don't need a high gain distortion, or a fender clean sound it's awesome.

Most pedals sound ok with it, but stuff like rats and muffs sounds a bit o harsh on the amp. But it loves overdrives and boosts.

I'm more of a pedals into clean guy, so I'm actually selling mine. But if I could I would keep it and use it for distorted sounds. The lack of tone controls has always bugged me a bit, but I'm a bit ocd.

ultratwin · Post by **ultratwin** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:09 pm

Concretebadger wrote:
EDIT: bugger, posted in the wrong forum. Would one of the mods be kind enough to move this to the right one?

Easily moved!

sp3k · Post by **sp3k** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:11 pm

It may also interest you that I gigged with it and a 2x12 and the only problem I normally have is the sound guys telling me I'm to loud...

I've never really used the lower watt settings that much, but I guess that stuff if useful for home or studio.

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 6:45 pm

Don't buy low wattage amps to get lower volume, buy them to get less clean headroom / overdrive sooner.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 7:15 pm

Sloan wrote:Don't buy low wattage amps to get lower volume, buy them to get less clean headroom / overdrive sooner.

This so much

dub · Post by **dub** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 8:10 am

The 15w Tony Iommi Laney that just got announced looks pretty cool. Probably not for cleans though.

[youtube][/youtube]

nsfw, video contains twats.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 9:14 am

The Orange TT is a great amp for Overdrive, Clean? Not so much.

I really struggled to love mine because I wanted it to be Fendery in the cleans department and it just wasn't.

light rail coyote · Post by **light rail coyote** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 9:29 am

ohhhhhhhhh Iommi amp do want! I'm going to try out the Micro terror when I'm back in the states, need a decent amp that I can easily and cheeply fly across the world with. If it sounds shit, I'm getting a tiny terror. I had one for a while and used it live a bunch, it was great. Had enough light overdrive volume to still use all my pedals and get the effect I wanted in a loud live band, but that was through a 6x10 cab. I'd love the duel terror but out of my price range

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 11:08 am

my direct experience of the micro terror is- buy one.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 11:12 am

actually, here's a question- the micro terror is 4 ohm, how would that translate vis-a-vis a cab with 8 or 16 ohm inputs? it would run at half wattage at 8 ohms?

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 11:39 am

That's what Herr Ohm says.
Solid-state amps are usually voltage amplifiers - the output voltage is limited by the power rails - and the maximum voltage swing is going to be about the same

W=V*I where I=V/R, so doubling R halves W.

NickD · Post by **NickD** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 11:53 am

stewart wrote:actually, here's a question- the micro terror is 4 ohm, how would that translate vis-a-vis a cab with 8 or 16 ohm inputs? it would run at half wattage at 8 ohms?

Basically, yes.

Calling experts on low(er)-wattage Orange heads

Calling experts on low(er)-wattage Orange heads

Re: Calling experts on low(er)-wattage Orange heads