Orange is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2018 and to celebrate we shall be taking a look over the next twelve months at some of our most famous and beloved amplifiers. To start we take a look at the Terror series.

Tiny Terror

The one that started a movement and became an instant classic, the Tiny Terror was a benchmark in amp design. As Orange’s Lead Designer Ade Emsley recounts it all came from a dinner at NAMM:

“The original Tiny Terror idea was conceived in a restaurant at NAMM with one of our sales guys. I just kind of said ‘I’m going to make an amp that fits in to an A4 piece of paper.’ He said ‘no you are not, don’t be silly!’ I said ‘yes I am!’ That was where the idea came up. So I built a prototype. That sales guy turned up a week later and I was like ‘I have done it!’ He was like ‘what?’ I was like ‘that amp that fits into an A4 piece of paper.’ He called me a mad bastard but then I cranked it up and he didn’t think I was so mad after that!”

The idea went from prototype to production, but the core idea of having a portable, giggable amp never faltered. Ade explains:

“The concept of the Tiny Terror was an amp you can carry anywhere. You turn up to play a gig and there are three bands playing. You turn up with your Tiny Terror in its gig bag and your guitar. Before the gig you’ve sorted out the use of a mate’s 4×12 in one of the other bands. Plug in with the volume on ten and the gain on about six and suddenly you’re into 1980’s AC/DC territory.”

The Tiny Terror became an instant classic and is still one of Orange’s most successful amplifiers and started the still prevalent trend of lunchbox amplifiers. In the first year of production 10,000 Tiny Terrors were sold.

Dual Terror

After the success of the Tiny Terror, thoughts turned to a new amplifier to add to the Terror range:

“I thought it would be nice to have two Tiny Terrors in one box, so you could switch between channels. You could have one cranked more than the other like the level for leads, so we did the Dual Terror.”

The Dual Terror is a 30 Watt, two channel, 4 X EL84 Terror head. It has a “Tiny Terror” channel and a “Fat Channel,” which is voiced warmer with more bottom end, gain and crunch.

“People had been asking for something similar to the Tiny Terror but with more power.”

The Dual Terror was also the first Orange amplifier to have the 4-to-2 tube switch to change the output valves of the amplifier.

Dark Terror

“Some people started to ask me for a Terror with an effects loop, which we called the Dark Terror. I had to change the preamp to make it four stages of gain. This was because at lower levels of gain it will drive the power amp when you are not using the effects loop, as any distortion you do after the effects loop will kind of make the effects loop useless. It only works with time-based pedals if the overdrive is made before the effects loop send.”

The amp was the first step into a high gain Terror and came with a shape control.

Jim Root Terror

Orange had never made an artist signature amplifier until we did a Terror for Jim Root of Slipknot. Ade explains the decision behind choosing a Terror

“I had heard he was wanting a signature model that was affordable to his fans; he didn’t want anything super high end. So I thought why don’t we do a Terror and put his Rockerverb channel on it. Instead of going cheap, we can go smaller and get the cost down that way. Then you have something that is affordable, that is all tube, that is built properly, and that sounds really good.”

The Jim Root Terror’s sound was taken from Jim’s Rockerverb MKI he used on tour and in the studio, and it gave fans the tone of Jim Root in a portable and affordable amplifier.

10th Anniversary Terror

The “Shiny Terror” was a limited edition Terror to commemorate 10 years of the original Tiny Terror and mark its discontinuation:

“We wanted to give it a Viking funeral! So we did a small run of stainless steel Tiny Terrors, handwired and built in the U.K. factory.”

It was sold with a matching PPC212 cabinet in British racing green, with Celestion Gold Alnico 10″ speakers. The Terror head and cabinet was only made in a run of 110 amplifiers.

The Future…

With the Tiny Terror being discontinued in 2016, and the rest of the Terror range still going strong, what does the future hold for this amplifier series:

“Moving forward, we will probably do something new at some point. I’m not quite sure what that is going to be…I’ve got a few ideas…maybe something with two channels… we shall see how we go…there might be a few options…”

 

 

 

 

 

Technology is getting better daily as the digital market expands into all avenues of convenience. So is it possible that guitar tube amplifiers will take a final bow like the tube radio? Can solid state emulation replace all the nuances created by tube amplifiers? Let’s discuss!

On an expedition through the gear smorgasbord the tube amp might be the last piece of the equation to be replaced. Recent years have brought a leap forward with solid state amps, amp software, pedals and cabinet simulators flooding the
market. I am a believer in a few of these items in my own studio. Cabinet simulators play a larger role in my recordings than the others. I have been impressed by the offerings of current manufactures in the pedals, solid state amps and software emulation available as well. Admittedly a lot of guitar parts I record now days utilize Two Notes technology within their Wall of Sound plug in.

I do not necessarily need a huge mic locker or guitar cabinet warehouse with different size cabinets, speaker choices and ohm capacities. This advance made by Two Notes has minimized the amount of setup and has exponentially increased time to experiment more efficiently while also not blowing up my ears in the process. Of course I still own multiple cabinets, with multiple speakers and with different ohms—it’s just a different feel to the music. The more tools the better in my opinion—after all, every song is different and requires its own stamp on the musical landscape.

Sophisticated pedal such as the Orange Bax, (which features on-board EQ, Gain and a cabinet sim—yes, all this from just a pedal!) can offer originality to your playing. Insert that in your chain and turn your silverface into an Orange! If pedals can push the limits, what can be done in a larger format head or combo amps? The differences between a tube amp and a solid state are still noticeable overall and it might just come down to the irregularities of tube performance that create those beautiful noises with all that power running through them.

As far as tube amps go, my tube locker contains all sorts of letters and numbers each with their own sound palette. For this reason I believe there is more fun to be had with a tube amp. Some tubes can really open up the sound or dull it beyond belief. The ability to change from an EL34 British type power section to a more American style 6L6 is a good time in experimentation. At other points, a little something different is needed and altering the power section is a great feature on many amps that provides a ‘new’ amp in your arsenal.

Then there is the ‘fun’ factor of the preamp section—overall preamp, each channel, phase inverters and reverb! Any where from 2-8 tubes can be swapped for different shade in the sound. For additional options change the speaker or the cabinet that is part of the rig and boom, new sounds. There is a lot of interaction that takes place between you, guitar, cab and the tube amp. Playful feedback is tossed into the mix and can be summoned when provoked.

Unfortunately all of that excitement begins to dim when a tube starts glowing a different color or suddenly fades out like a dying star. As we all know, there are legit worries with owning tube amps. Maintenance for one ranks higher than others. In some cases, opening them up should be left to the professionals. The internal guts of these wonderful boxes are delicate from the wiring, capacitors, transformers and, of course, the tubes. This can lead to an expensive effort to find what works in an amp or in the instance when a tube has lit for the last time. When a tube wears
out I generally start to question if I like the amp anymore and that is a good way to identify if a change is required. If you own a tube amp I would highly recommend Orange’s VT1000 for your tube testing needs. Alas, problems do not stop there. Weather impacts performance, moving them around without harming the tubes is a worry, what if a fuse fails, is a backup needed to gig with?–you get the idea.

On the other side of the musical rainbow is the solid state amp. Worries are gone with solid state, right? Sure, there could be harm bestowed moving the amp from practice space to gig but no tubes to fail, no fuses to worry about. At 8 o’clock it sounds the same at 3 o’clock on the master volume. No breakup changes to worry about when cranking to get more volume over your drummer. Life is good.

Another improvement in our toolbox is modelling software. Imagine having every amp you have ever dreamed about within your computer or a small box that takes up less space than one amp head available to you at all times. I’m interested! The advantages are definitely tempting. All the back breaking amps, cabs and combos can stay at home. Simply show up with your computer or modelling amp and go direct into the soundboard. Which almost seems like blasphemy to a stage setup though your back will thank you, perhaps a cheaper alternative in the long run and certainly less dangerous in upkeep. The con list extends more to the tone side as there is less chances to experiment with tone changes due to lack of tubes and reliance on pedals almost becomes mandatory. Pedal dependency is a personal choice driven by what style you are playing. I
adore the edge of breakup tone, pushing the power section to break is glorious. With a solid state amp, that line in the sand no longer exists unless it is built to simulate that classic tone.

The edges can become blurred once the guitars have been recorded. Which track is solid state? Which track is an emulator? Which track is tube? I have mixed solid state and tube amps on a few occasions and I still hear the difference between them, even if they do sound good together, they are still not entirely equal. The difference becomes clearer when you start mixing all those sounds together. Certain sections stand out a little more than others and you might not be able to tell which is which but the alteration is heard.

I have been impressed by many different solid state heads and I had the pleasure of playing the Crush series as well as some of its competitors lately. Certain software packs sound pretty good but not enough that I say—that’s it, I am buying it! Sorry UAD!
I am not putting down the solid state crowd, I just don’t believe we are there…yet. Is the tube amp safe? I believe it is but in another 10 years the tube purist in me might be shaking in my boots. For me there is just too much interaction between that tube amp and guitar that could be missed with solid state.

Obviously I am not solid on the idea of bidding goodbye to my tube amp arsenal but I have been swayed on other advances as stated. The time is coming and it is close, when the tube amp might be a tool of the past; or at least one where we self-proclaimed purists are the only believers requesting to be buried ensconced with our tubes.