Can the Orange Bass Terror amp sound like this?

[hieronymous]

Not in the market right now, but obviously been following the Orange threads.

This is one of my favorite bass tones - looks like it's Fender P through an Orange amp from 1971:



Might not want this sound all night, but then again.. It's Miroslav Vitous, usually known for his upright playing, but I love his electric playing on this! I have the DVD, there's a couple of songs where he plays electric. Starts to pick up around 2:00 - they really get cooking at about 2:45!

So, I guess finally asking my question - can a Bass Terror amp sound like this on its own? It would be cool to set it up with a little less drive, then occasionally push it into this kind of territory.

Or maybe there's a pedal that can cop this sound? I don't usually chase after other people's sounds, I prefer to root after my own, but I just really like this one - of course, I really like the playing too, even though I can barely conceive of what he's doing harmonically...

[Basvarken]

Yes and No.

It may be able to come close to the sound.
But the dynamics, no way.

The Bass Terror that I tested a few back had zero dynamics. Wether I hit the strings hard or fondled them softly it all came out the same. Too harsh for my liking.

A full tube Orange will respond differently when pushed hard. It's more musical.
In my opinion the Bass Terror is just on/off. The sound is the same, no matter what you do on your bass.

[hieronymous]

Yes and No.

It may be able to come close to the sound.
But the dynamics, no way.

The Bass Terror that I tested a few back had zero dynamics. Wether I hit the strings hard or fondled them softly it all came out the same. Too harsh for my liking.

A full tube Orange will respond differently when pushed hard. It's more musical.
In my opinion the Bass Terror is just on/off. The sound is the same, no matter what you do on your bass.

Thanks for that feedback Rob - I have heard that before about these. At some point I'm going to have to check one out for myself.

[Happy Face]

I have and gig with both an AD200 and a Terror 500. I really have not noticed that lack of response. But that does not mean it's not so.

But I will say that my bandmates and I prefer the overall sound of the tube head over the Terror. But they prefer the Terror when we are loading out at 1 am.  Wimps!

[drbassman]

Well, I agree there's not a lot of variation in the tone controls on my Terror 1000, but it is noticeable, and useable, from one extreme to the other.  As for the tone, I like it a lot.  It's not as tubby, that's for sure, but the gain does introduce that old school sound some folks are looking for.  For me, I like the sound as it is clean and clear enough with the gain down a bit that my hollow bodies don't sound like indistinct growling Beowulves. As for response,  it's much better than my Mesa Prodigy and I like the quickness of the attack.  So far, I could gig with it exclusively.  A nice amp at a very competitive price.

[dadagoboi]

If you're looking for serious tube tone from a Class D amp, the Genz Streamliner is the nuts.  Three 12 AX7 preamp tubes and 3 gain stages, 900 watts in a 6 lb package.  From super clean to major tube saturation.  Some guys switch out one or more of the  JJ premium 12AX7s but I haven't felt the need.  I wish I still had a pair of 8-10 cabs for it to push

[Aussie Mark]

If you're looking for serious tube tone from a Class D amp, the Genz Streamliner is the nuts.

Or the Markbass TTE-500.  I own both.