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Orange Bass Terror


waynepunkdude
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Love my OBT. Power, grit, light & small.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1330162010' post='1553454']
I got an attenuator for about £4 sorted the DI problem right out.
[/quote]
Yep, some desks (and sound techs) seem to prefer an attenuated DI signal (I use a -20db). Having said that I've used it without an attenuator in some places with no problems.

[quote name='munkonthehill' timestamp='1330163130' post='1553478']
We tried the SP212 with the bass terror head at the Moffat bass bash. Ou7shined cranked it all the way up (hahahaha thats how loud it is) to 9 O'clock on the volume and gain and it was rocking and sounding amazing.
....

Just because you didnt like the sp cabs folks I wouldnt diss them! They are great cabs....easily portable and quite lightweight. Well worth the money.
[/quote]

I really like my SP210. Powerful, nice round sound to my ears and easy to move around. Admittedly I put mine on an amp stand when it isn't on top of my other cab.

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  • 1 month later...

Sorry to resurrect an old thread (Easter pun!) but I recently bought a Terrorbass 500 of our own Garethfriend of this here parish and gigged it in anger for the first time on Saturday night.

Hooked up to the Schroeder 21012 it was a lovely fruity burbly fat bass tone. Mine has uprated valves which stay cleaner longer up the gain range, and I loved the springyness of each note that you normally only get with a full valve head.

As the gig was a multi band charity do, I also got a chance to listen to this rig off stage as the headliners used it as well and im pleased to say it filled the room (80-100 punters) with big fat bass without any pa assistance!

Best of all, with the cab on castors, the whole rig, leads case (road trunk) and bass was a single trip from the car!

Whilst this rig won't be replacing the SWR rig anytime soon, it will be getting regular outings at smaller venues.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I picked up an Orange Bass Terror 500 and matching OBC 410 cab recently in a trade from another Basschatter.

Gigged the rig Saturday night and it was amazing. I was asked to turn down several times as I got a bit carried away with it's wicked Rock Bass tone.
I've read a few posts saying it's a one trick pony, but that one trick certainly does it for me.
The cab's a bit of a beast to lift, but definitely worth it. Really enjoyed running my Jazz bass through this rig and had plenty of compliments on my tone.

Really glad I managed to get this rig in a trade.

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  • 4 weeks later...

To anybody that's not read this, Bass Gear Mag's analysis of the EQ in the Terror Bass is well worth a read: http://btpub.boyd-printing.com/publication/?i=76122

Main points:

- Treble and bass are boost/cut, mid is cut only
- 95% of the knob sweep occurs between off and noon, not much difference after noon (hence some claiming the eq doesn't do much)
- Flat setting is with the mid cranked and bass&treble almost all the way down!

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That`s a great review, and what I found when I briefly had an OTB. The good thing is that the review made it clear that the OTB can be run clean, and isn`t just a grind-monster - and that`s without changing valves.

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Just got back from a gig, and decided due to lack of space in the car, I wasn't taking the matamp and 6x10, so after all the time I've had the bass terror, this was its first gig! So far it's been reserved to my man-cave at home, so it's never really been put through it's paces.

It's a monster! That thing gets loud quick. Love it. May well get used for more gigs now, cos it was just so easy to shift around and sounded great.

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I just got one of these again, and have decided to pimp it with new tubes and a quieter fan.

I'm not quite sold on the idea of putting 12AT7's in like some others have done. Sure it will reduce the gain range on the dial, but I can't see it being able to offer any more clean headroom than if you just had a 12AX7 and set the knob lower to achieve the same gain level. What would give you more clean headroom is a tube that doesn't distort so early, and many aftermarket 12AX7's should be able to pull this off as well as the 12AT7's.

I've been looking around for replacement tubes over the last couple of days, I want to try and open up the highs a bit and get the overdrive to sound less mushy. The main ones I was considering were:

[b]Watford Valves Harma[/b] - These are specially selected and rebranded JJs or Sovteks (they offer two types), with optional Cryogenic treatment that some say makes no difference to the sound (and some who say otherwise). Meant to sound good but much more expensive than the original branded versions!

[b]JJ[/b] - often recommended in many places, but usually for high gain guitar amps, whereas I'm more after a cleaner vintage sound.

[b]Tung-Sol reissue[/b] - regarded as some of the best current 12AX7s, slightly lower gain than most, later breakup and more hi-fi than the cheapo Chinese ones. These are pretty cheap too!

[b]Gold Lion[/b] - these have some positive reviews from massive tube geeks at TheGearPage. Many who are into their NOS tubes and unhappy with current production models seem to be very impressed by these. Of course the price tag may be influencing their ears, being 2-3 times the price of most others! I went with these in the end - I know I could be wasting money on overpriced tubes but I want the best sound possible and know that if I went with a cheaper type I would probably end up getting these to compare eventually anyway! They are also meant to have very low microphonics, which I guess is important in a bass amp especially given the amount of low end rumble these amps put out!


Also, I find the fan to be noisy so picked up an Arctic F8 Pro TC fan for £5 on eBay. It has a temperature control sensor on a wire that I can attach to the heatsink, then the fan controls it's own speed. I'm hoping it will hover around a silent 500 RPM most of the time if using it for quiet bedroom practice, and only start blaring when the amp really warms up (by which point it will be too loud to hear the fan anyway). Might have to do a bit of jiggery pokery as it comes with a 3-pin connector and the amp uses a 2-pin.

I'll report back to let you know if my tinkering was successful!

Edited by dannybuoy
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Well the fan arrived this morning but not sure it's going to be suitable. It can only be mounted in one direction due to it's design, where it will blow air out of the amp, whereas the original is positioned to blow air into the amp. It might not make much difference as the air will still flow across the heatsink. Still, I think I'll return it and get the non-pro version (Arctic F8 TC) in a more traditional chassis that can be flipped over to be mounted in either direction. I also found that the lugs on the 3-pin plug are too large to fit into the tiny plastic 2-pin plug of the original so I'm gonna have to get a 2-pin to 3-pin adapter.

Edited by dannybuoy
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[quote name='Johnnyc' timestamp='1337327877' post='1658031']
Anyone tried one with a Barefaced Super 12? I reckon that would make an epic lightweight, ridiculously loud rig!
[/quote]

I haven't tried a super 12, but I use it with a compact and it is very much an epic lightweight, ridiculously loud rig

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I've used mine with a Super 12.

Epic? Check.
Lightweight? Check.
Ridiculously loud? Check.

I've also used it with a stacked Compact + Midget.

Epic? Even epic-er.
Lightweight? Check, but you carry one in each hand.
Ridiculously loud? Even more ridiculous.

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Still waiting on my new tubes and fan I ordered last weekend to arrive! :(

But in the meantime I'll leave you with my solution to sitting an OTB on top of an Ampeg SVT210AV, which not only has a handle on top but 4 countersunk cups which are only any good if you're stacking another cab or the Micro VR head on top. This should also prevent the head going walkies and cut down vibrations which might improve tube life. Closed cell foam from ebay, cut with a stanley knife and holes made by hand with a large drillbit.


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[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1337352329' post='1658690']
Still waiting on my new tubes and fan I ordered last weekend to arrive! :(

But in the meantime I'll leave you with my solution to sitting an OTB on top of an Ampeg SVT210AV, which not only has a handle on top but 4 countersunk cups which are only any good if you're stacking another cab or the Micro VR head on top. This should also prevent the head going walkies and cut down vibrations which might improve tube life. Closed cell foam from ebay, cut with a stanley knife and holes made by hand with a large drillbit.



[/quote]

Great idea. I gaffa tape mine to the handles of my TC cab. It doesn't look as nice but it works.

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Play mine with an Orange 4x10 cab, honestly dont need anything else as the sheer power you get from this little thing is superb.

I suggest anyone wanting to invest in one try them out thoroughly first (even though it took ages to find one in a shop :angry:) as with a little playing about you can really find a great tone that will make you wonder how they cram all that amp into one small package.

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These look awesome and could go on my list of amps to try before I die! Only thing that puts me off is people saying they don't handle acctive very well. I'm using a sandberg basic which has quite a powerfully preamp. Anyone used one of these with a berg or other active to good effect!

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[quote name='Pete Academy' timestamp='1337454232' post='1660424']
I found that the amp has amazing power but lacks tonally.

Just my opinion.
[/quote]

Pete, they were never known for their tonal versatitlity :D That's part of the appeal for me, less tinkering when I found my sound.

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[quote name='yorick' timestamp='1337456945' post='1660478']
Pete, they were never known for their tonal versatitlity :D That's part of the appeal for me, less tinkering when I found my sound.
[/quote]

Exactly the same for me. I spent years trying to find the amp sound I really liked, tinkering with amps and pedals. Eventually I found it in the OTB, and it may be a one trick pony, but it's a trick I like!

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[quote name='thebuckets' timestamp='1337453848' post='1660415']
These look awesome and could go on my list of amps to try before I die! Only thing that puts me off is people saying they don't handle acctive very well. I'm using a sandberg basic which has quite a powerfully preamp. Anyone used one of these with a berg or other active to good effect!
[/quote]

Should be fine using the amp set to active mode with the gain set low - if not you can always put a lower gain tube like a 12AT7 or 5751 in the V1 spot on the right hand side to reduce the gain.

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[quote name='thebuckets' timestamp='1337453848' post='1660415']
Only thing that puts me off is people saying they don't handle acctive very well. I'm using a sandberg basic which has quite a powerfully preamp. Anyone used one of these with a berg or other active to good effect!
[/quote]

I don't use the active pad with my Musicman, but gain is set fairly low. Sounds like another misconception along with myth that this amp doesn't do clean.

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[quote name='lollington' timestamp='1337466578' post='1660602']


I don't use the active pad with my Musicman, but gain is set fairly low. Sounds like another misconception along with myth that this amp doesn't do clean.
[/quote]Would you say this handles an active bass well then?

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