Dark Terror vs Micro Dark | Orange Amp Shootout
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- How much total difference is there between the Dark Terror and Micro Dark from Orange? Is it worth spending the extra to get the full valve experience? Or will the Micro get you where you need to go?
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Micro Dark: bit.ly/2H9gBN2
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The palm muting really showed the difference in bass response in the two. The larger Dark definitely had thicker muting.
Yeah for sure, when judging a tone I usually take the palm mutes as extremely important
Less pressure, other Kind of attack and probably you will not appreciate much difference
THICCER MUTING
Troglio Don nope, and you dont really get that real chug until you get a 50 or 100w tube amp. Doesnt matter if you play at high or low volume
@@fredriksvard2603 nonsense.
Very fitting shirt choice.
I wish i could get my Dark Terror to sound that good on standby mode!
Yea are we seeing that wrong bc of the angle or is the amp literally on Stand by 😂
It’s a photo he took of each amp and inserted the photo during each amps section so you can tell which one is playing. It’s not a live video of each amp, it’s a still photograph…..
@@Crescent_Audio way over your head lmao
@@siggiarabi what the f are you talking about numb nuts?
You know Colin, you are a super nice guy and I wish all the best for you. That is all.
To quote my wife: "I have no bloody idea what he's talking about, and I don't care, either." Also: "Why did he stop talking?"
LOL
I have a Micro Dark. I play it through a 12” Fender Super Champ cab, and it’s so damn loud... The night I got the speaker cab, I set up in my garage to test it out. It was so loud that a neighbor came pounding on the garage door. She said it sounds awesome but it’s making her room shake.
Hahaha that made me laugh
You know it’s damn good if it got the neighbour’s approval
Dude, your tones are the best ones all over youtube these days. I definitely need your entire signal chain.
Three tube pre-amp vs. a single tube preamp. There is going to be a difference, but the Micro Dark sounds great for what it is.
Honestly it just sounds like the difference can be bridged with a good overdrive/boost pedal in front.
Edit: HOLY SHIT number of the beast sounds spot on with the microdark. The dark-terror is just took dark.
It’s great having a Micro Dark around. I love having that tone available when needed.
honestly if im spending 600 bucks on an amp i'd buy something with a 3 band eq, but i'm not gonna afford that anyway, so micro dark it is!
also, love the ash fossil ;)
Hossein Nazeran Pour that's a great point.. why the hell did they not put that on it. Can you compensate buying an eq pedal?
Danny Rivers for the micro dark it maybe justified, for a full on tube amp? no. its almost as bad as that time marshall put out the dsl15h without an fx loop.
For an extra $100 you can get the Jim Root Terror. 15 Watts, 3 band EQ, FX loop.
Big or the brent hinds terror for around the same price as the jim root.
or the marshal dsl20hr for 100$ less, same for a 6505mh
Hossein Nazeran Pour
I am a proud owner of the Dark Terror
15W and the lack of eq is a problem (with a good eq pedal you can solve that problem). The fact is that: the Shape control of the Dark Terror is UNIQUE because in addition to a little eq you can adjust the COMPRESSION. Basically you can turn passive a Humbucker pickup into Active or you can turn a Humbucker into a Single Coil. With low setting you can have an open sound (like ACDC), with high setting you can have a closed sound (just like any Nu-Metal guitar tone). This is the most important feature of this amp...of course the Dark Terror It's difficult to use but once you understand how to use that amp, trust me you sell a kidney to buy one of these amps!
You should run the Micro Dark pre-amp into the Dark Terror power amp and see how close it is to the Dark Terror.
How can you di it
@@andreaberteotti5999 with a cable from the FX send of the Micro Dark into the FX return of the Dark Terror.
I use the Micro Dark with the EVH 5150 distortion pedal in front of it and run it through a 12” Celestion Creamback in a custom Seismic Audio cabinet and it sounds just as good as the Dark Terror in my opinion.
The sound is very similar, but I can only imagine the massive disparity in the way they feel. I have a micro dark but eventually upgraded to a 6505mh and just the way it moves air around and responds to playing was worth the price of admission on its own.
An additional tidbit from personal experience: yes, small amps work at gigs, especially larger venues. The bigger the venue, typically the more robust the PA, and therefore LESS stage volume needed/desired. It's really the mid-sized bars that present the "need" for wattage, and even then no one needs 100w.
I came to this conclusion after watching an interview with Vogg from Decapitated. He said he prefers 50 watt heads over 100 watts because he doesn't need that much headroom and likes the way the amps saturate easier.
That MDT has been my main amp for the past two years. I recently swapped the preamp tube for a Mesa 12AX7 and it’s even more beastly. I’m looking to upgrade to a Mesa Boogie Mark Five 25, 35, or Victory V30 MkII.
I was trying to think of a way to put my thought into words. Then you said everything I was thinking. The really impressive element is that they sound the same tonally. You can tell they belong to the same family, not every company do it. Wether it be guitars or amps or pedals. Its 100% an Orange sound and now I will get the two micro's, there just awesome little amps.
Those Micros are amazing little beasts. Really get the Orange sound. My Micro Terror feeds my Orange cravings. Just wish it had a loop like the Micro Dark.
I’ve owned both and gone through this exercise. The video is spot on. I suspect many people would be just fine with the Micro Dark. It is a great amp at a very affordable price.
I’ve been wanting to see this video for ages. Thank you Colin!
I LOVE my Micro Dark! Sometimes I run it through a 40w tube poweramp... It definitely sound brighter that way, but it also sounds unbelivable on its own and it's so dynamic, i love it. I'd really like to see a Dark Terror vs OR15 video
Im getting one soon , is it worth it? I play slipknot songs so im wondering if its good
The intro to MIEVL on the dark terror is ear piercing to me. The micro sounded authentic to the recording. You are always a great resource. Thank you
Also, Cheers on the Marshall mini stack in the background. I have a vintage Lead15 and it slays, and is responsible for my SS amp revival.
The micro isn't bad, but it does sound a lot thinner - I wouldn't want to use it in a mix or anything but you could probably do far worse for the money for a practice amp!
I've been told the Micro Dark doesn't hold up at a gig- just not loud enough.
i use it in rehearsal with a drummer and bassist no problem. my 30$ eq pedal adds a decent amount of bass, def not loud enough for a large show tho
It will gig no problem as long as you don't need clean tones. Plus most every gig I've been to or seen, from a small club on up, the amp cab gets mic'd anyway. The sound person will be able to mix a lower wattage amp better since the PA can push a lot of volume out, rather than trying to tame a 100 1/2 stack to mix in with everything else!
Yeah by comparison the Dark Terror is a little fuller and more open sounding, but in alive mix, since the bass would cover the low end the Micro Dark will hold it's own and sound pretty good. I've seen bands play with amps that sound far worse than the MD when played in isolation, but in a band mix, end up sounding pretty damn good because of how the rest of the instruments cover the frequencies.
Micro Dark makes a great practice amp. Wouldn't try to gig it. Since most guitar playing is practice, I get a ton of milage out of my Micro Dark.
With a good compressor, a tube swap and a EQ pedal in the effects loop on top of a closed back cabinet you can get even closer to those focused low end frequencies. The Micro Dark is my main gigging amp, a tube swap, EQ in the loop and a good cabinet does wonders for an already impressive amp and most folks are hard pressed to tell the difference between that and a full tube amp, especially in a live mix. I can cover just about any genre with the Micro Dark and I think it gets overlooked for it's size and the fact it says "Micro" on it. I've played large worship venues with on average of 600 to 800 folks in the audience, rehearsals with a loud drummer and small pub gigs with 30 people and this little beast covers all the bases. I've owned a Vox AC30, Bugera BC-30, Peavey 5150 II Combo just to name a few and I think I've gotten the best sounds out of the MicroDark with my setup. Also want to note it is SO MUCH EASIER to take to a gig than any of the big amps I've owned.
i got the micro dark for 6 month now ive swap the 12ax7 for a marshall one .and woow this amp compete well with my marshall amp jvm.what an amp for the money and i forgot to mention its damn loud too can keep up with the drummer very well
Okay that has convinced me I need the dark terror in my collection... Great video.
I use a micro dark with a line 6 pod x3 live and i can play its louder thanks to the pod and rivals next to a 100w amp on loudness. So with the eq options on the pod you can pretty much sound like any other amp. And gives you a better range on tone so you can use the shape on the amp and the treb, bass, and mids, and presence on the pod and you can gig to your hearts content
Fuck yeah, this is the content that I'm searching for.
Wow, they sound close, but the micro dark is better priced. so I bought that one and it sounds even good with a bass on a decent speaker. Nice review !
Yay Diamond Head 😊
Plus ten points for the Maiden Riff!
Sounds like the bigger one has more low end and resonates more. Probably just have to adjust the shape left a tiny bit and use a little delay or light reverb pedal.
I have a Tiny Terror (no FX loop) but I like the Micro-Dark to give me a higher-gain option.
Thanks Colin!
Here in Canada the Micro Dark is $274 but the Dark Terror is $875, that's a fairly big price jump.
They sound almost exactly the same except the Dark Terror has a bit more gain - the knobs probably aren't 1:1. The Big Boi maybe has a tiny bit more low end too/ bassier character overall
Another great vid, Colin and extra points for the excellent riff selection! As you say, the all valve sound is clearly recognizable, but for the money the micro dark is not bad at all.
I like the bigger Terror waay better, but strangely enough in "Ain't You Talkin' 'bout Love" the smaller amp sounds better with all the flanger added.
I don't think guitars need that much bass frequencies since it's a mid range instrument. So that's why I prefer the micro dark. The dark terror does have more headroom, though.
I have 2 Orange Micro Terrors and a EHX 44 Magnum as spares. I have gigged with a Musicman HD 150 and Orange Micro Terror in stereo live.
Stick an MXR 10 Band EQ in the effects loop of the Micro Dark and I bet you could get it very close to the Terror
You could always just plug the loop send from the Micro Dark to loop return on a larger tube amp, in effect turning the Micro Dark into a full blown tube amp
Very good video, nice to hear well known stuff through the two devices, I wished you showed a bit with other tone settings as well as 2 o' clock (which I assume is what suits your taste better with your guitar).
Great review. I must say that looking for an amp for bedroom volumes, there's really no question what to choose. Good job dude.
Replace the tube in the micro with something less harsh. I have one with an old nos 12ax7 pulled from an old hamm radio, made a massive difference in response and clarity.
Listening to either one by itself without the comparison, you probably wouldn't be able to tell a difference. The Dark Terror sounds fuller though and it seems like it would hold together a lot better at higher volumes. The micro dark definitely sounds like an amp that's only meant to be played through a 1x8" speaker. Getting both models and keeping the smaller one around just as a backup is a good idea though
I chose the Micro dark for price, mobility and the solid state headphone jack. Both speaker and headphone out sound amazing blended for live and studio settings and plus you never know what type of PA your'e walking into so very nice to have both.
Thank you. I ordered one 🤘🤘
The big dark definitely has a bigger sound with more thump to it. But, for the money, the micro dark is hard to beat. I have one that I just keep in a duffle bag as a backup.
Awesome video my dude! Great playing. Love those amps and definitely like the Dark Terror the best, both very good amps. Greets from Australia.
You just have to ask yourself: "Is the dark terror worth $460 more?"
Yea
Absolutely!
Or maybe you could buy the micro with boost pedal it would sound similar to the dark terror
@@xvor_tex8577 I have a Mark Five 25 head with two 1x12 cabs and a Gibson SG 61 Standard as my main setup.
Bobby Walker I have Squire bullet strat and a Squire frontman 10g as my main setup rn lol, but I’m buying a orange ppc108 cab and micro dark and maybe ibaniz tube screamer I just ordered it I can’t wait
did you use the settings in the pic? if so the shape knob is slightly different on both amps, that might make the difference in tone ;)
I own a Micro Terror and it sounds pretty much as good as most tubeamps I played and always have it with me at gigs as a backup!
If he's using the settings in the pic, the Dark Terror sounds pretty impressive on Standby.
Great comparison video . The micro with a little help of a overdrive will sound much bigger in case anyone has doubts.
it will save you some money to buy that 2x12 cab lol Thanks for the video
Dark Terror sounds better by all means. But hey, Micro Dark sounds amazing for that price, absolute perfect for home practice and jamming with friends!
1:38 The Number of the Beast \m/
Next you should use the trick where you plug the other micro into a larger head to use the valves and see if it's closer
Slaving?
Hi Collin , just like to thank you for your great work on you tube. I hear a lot of people hating on the old mt2 metalzone...I have been seeing a few people using them as stand alone pre amps straight into power amps or in to the effects return...plus using them as boosts and even as an eq with the gain ripped all the way down....I still believe this pedal has not had its day...I use this as a boost and eq for my leads... the parametric eq is priti kl....just as a suggestion, I would love to see you put this through it’s paces and hear your thoughts on it... again, keep up the great work....
Yeah, agreed with that - put it through some headphones & you just get more low-end presence through the full-Dark, but I guess this is more Valve Vs Solid-State than anything else, but as you say, as a backup in case plan A goes awry, the Micro'd do a great job at a pub/club level, day I ever get back into bands, I'll be rolling with that for a back-line. Grand ol' vid as always, Colin - Cheers!
The micro is missing some presence in the lower mids, the thickness of it's sound it's a little thinner. But still sounds great
Totally agree. I think the majority of people commenting are mistaking that lower mid 250-500 Hz range for "bass".
In future do fade in/outs on your daw when chopping up sound files - when it transitions between the two we get clicks and pops!
Been playing my DarkTerror for 5-6 years now, and was thinking about getting a Micro Dark as backup... Think the corporate overlords at Orange soon get some of my european monetary metals.
For a more accurate test, get a decibel meter and put it in front of speaker so we can see. Also, set each amp volume at exactly 6am, 9am, noon, 3pm and max. For each volume, do the same for gain. Settings must be exactly the same for each amp to compare output difference accurately. Putting one at near zero volume and the other at 3pm is not a real test.
Great sounding amps. Also that guitar is sexy as hell!
Get an equalizer for the micro dark and it sounds fantastic. I have a 6505+ 112 and the micro dark with a fish n' chips has a lot more gain, and is not nearly as thin sounding.
Agreed - same setup but also tube screamer -
Have you attempted using something like a JHS Little Black Amp Box in the effects loop on either? Specifically, does it make the Micro Dark a little less "stupidly loud" at lower settings?
I wonder what the difference would be between the Dark Terror as it is versus the Micro Dark to the FX loop return of the Dark Terror. In other words, to see if there's any difference in the pre-amp between the heads.
Tone is very similar, I'd say the micro is more mellow.
Overall tone is very similar. The full blow Dark Terror has a load more high mids/treble.
this ones LONG overdue!!! :)
CSGuitars, Colin, please do a video pushing the micro dark with a horizon presicion drive!?! I can only find 1 video on RUclips doing so an I feel you would give a more educational an interesting video. Thanks for considering! Cheers bro!
jack worster I may be doing something like that soon. I’m not anywhere near the caliber as this guy but you’ll get the idea
Corey Charles please do, its not about skills or technique, more possible tone...lol. I hadnt pkayed guitar in almost 15 years but now my son who's turning 4 is way interested so I scooped up a micro dark and a cab. They sound great with my schecter but there's no footswitch as youknow lol. I wont be able to get another triple rectifier, and am looking towards the mini rec., but that could take a while so... I'm looking for a nice pedal. I'm a metal head but have no interest in most distortions...any way thanks! Send me a link when you do a video?
I was trying to find your channel. Do you have one? What's it called?
jack worster ruclips.net/user/thejoanz
jack worster well you can achieve a lot of metal tones with basic set ups but if you’re going for the “modern” metal tone then I’d recommend it. Especially if you’re using lower tunings. I recently picked up a micro dark and I honestly hate it stand alone. Now boosting it and throwing a eq in the loop to bring out the mids and highs that the tone tone knob lacks made it very desirable for me. I love it and therefor I’m gonna be making a video ASAP
I thought they both sounded good but when you hit those open chords on the AC\DC song and were playing through the DT it was noticeable nicer sounding. The MD sounded very close though and if you consider the price difference its pretty impressive. If I was on a budget Id be happy to get MD and feel like I was getting a great sounding amp.
got my micro mini dark Terror in the mail yesterday got it out of the Box was so extremely disappointed in the size🎵 wondering how hard it was to return it plugged it up and it blew my mind how good this little amp sounded every time I do a jam night this a little dude is going with me. ☆☆☆☆
and with an effects Loop give me a break,
seems to me like a Micro Dark with an EQ pedal would get extremely close to the sound of the Dark Terror.
Yo had the amps at different volume settings?... On the images looks like the micro one its before one, and on the large one after one... I wonder if that changes the tone...
I always wait till the end for the random shite hahaha cracks me open laughing all the times
if i wasnt subbed i would have subbed when he started playing van halen. i love the micro dark
HoshiHearts RetroGaming i see you everywhere :)
Just found your channel, and I fucking love it! Cheers from Texas!
I have my heart set on the Orange Dark Terror, the only thing I don't understand why they didn't put a Foot switch jack on because it's important to be able to change from clean to distortion and vise versa.
They didn't put a footswitch on because it's a 1 channel amp.
@@kolesnikovoleg5651 That's what everyone is telling me but the 1970 Fender Princeton amp was a one channel and it had a jack and foot switch control to turn Tremolo on and off. Of course the amp didn't have gain or drive. I think of a two channel amp as having two guitar jacks and two guitars can plug in without bleed. Correct me here.
I’ve owned all kinds of valve amps and I’m just gonna say, for the price, that micro dark is practically unbeatable.
Both sound great imho the tube is abit brighter but other than that damn close
Cool stuff brother.
I have a micro dark, and looking to upgrade to the Dark Terror. It sounds more "organic" as it has power tubes, and the dynamics are thicker for a punchier tone. The micro dark is a great backup, and the tones are pretty close, but I would prefer tube tone over solid state for my dynamics.
The larger dark amp had a bit more bass but as you kept playing it seemed to transition into the difference smoothly it's hard to tell honestly. If it wasn't a side by side comparison I wouldn't really know
Bought the dark terror, waiting for arrival
Great video! I can hear the difference but, honestly, I think I'd want to compare them in person before I spent more money on the Dark Terror. I do need to pick up a Micro Dark at some point though. I did a comparison video between a Joyo Meteor and a Micro Terror a while back, and I really want to see how the Meteor compares to a Micro Dark.
Considering the size, it is pretty normal to have such difference. I love dark terror, but as the budget goes, mini doesn't sound that bad imho. Love your videos, and really miss the will it shred and educational ones. Cheers!
As you say in Scotland, what?
Did you just secretly cuss us out in Scottish?
The only negative about the Dark series is how they lack in mids. Of course, you can always get around that by using a pedal with a parametric EQ built into it, which most overdrives seem to do nowadays anyway.
?gotta wonder how that hybrid amp really uses that pre amp tube. I heard a orange guy say the tiny terror drive comes from the rectifier tube (i dont think the dark terror is the same set up
Wish they could have smaller knobs to squeeze 3 channels or 2 channels and boost for the Orange Dark Micro Terror!
Please do an Orange CR120 demo. It would make a good topic video about SS amps, and you could possibly make it fight the Rockerverb it was based on? That would be science. I would pay to watch that. Love your channel amigo. I'm Scott blood, but 'Merican. Yep. Cheers!
Its great man, i will buy it
Micro sounds a bit more "wooly" with the same tone dialed in. Though I suspect that some tone tweaks or a treble booster might remedy that outside of an A-B-comparison
Love Both!
You need to turn that gain up, bro!
The micro has a more pronounced, brighter high end and a muddier low-mid, with less low end, and less gain. The terror has a louder, tighter low end, and less fizzy top, with more gain overall. From what I've seen of comparisons, Bugera, Peavey, and Joyo have better offerings in similar price ranges (that $150 to $250 USD hyper bargain sweet spot, mind you). You mentioned in a recent video collab with Glenn Fricker that all of these these types of amps benefit from having either a low gain crunch pedal or a clean boost in front of them, and I'm inclined to agree.
I've played both and I thoroughly enjoyed both. Clearly the Dark Terror sounds better, but the Micro still sounds great, especially considering it is less 1/3 of the price. I have always used Peavey 5150 and later a Bugera 6262, but after moving to an apartment and no band in sight, I downsized to a Cube 30X. Well, my 2 year old got ahold of it the other day and now it's wonky. Time for a new amp. As it stands, I think I'm going to go for the Micro unless I find something at Guitar Center next time we go to Columbus that catches my fancy for a similar price point.
Benjamin Rapp try reverb.com....I just bought mine used, today, for 100(plus taxes)!!! And I ve been seeing them in 110-120 range....I plan on pairing them with 2x10 instead of the 8” cab but I checked the orange site and they state that the cab does not need to be hooked up if you are using the headphones connection....so you don’t have to upset the other tenants.
@@dddd717 I'll definitely be going online to purchase. For me, GC and the like will just be where I test drive everything. Definitely not opposed to a saving some big money buying gently used items. I'm the cheapest person you'll ever meet. But I will insist on first hand experience before I purchase anything.
@@dddd717 I'll probably use headphones the most, but a nice 2-12" cab wouldn't hurt. I've always had good luck with inexpensive, generic cabs like the old Avatar cabs that could be had for pennies on the dollar for my needs. I'm not overly picky. I am not a professional and I don't have the cheddar to drop on a high end Marshall or Mesa cab (I work for a living).
Im kinda shocked there isnt more of a difference. 3 tubes vs 1 and the price difference, youd think it make a bigger difference
Your shirt fit these amps xD
good comparison sir!
what a kickass video my god, it was a demo, it was a best of rock lol