I just ordered one , I am into blues and southern rock, and I think it will fit nicely for those tones. I have a Seymour Duncan Forza overdrive pedal that I’m dying to use going into the front of it.
Back in 2008 I played a show at a cafe with a little jazz trio. At the time my main amp was too large for the venue (peavey 412). A buddy of mine offered to lend me his Rockverb 50 (I forget what cab we used). I originally thought I would be laughed out of the venue with it. However, we spent about an hour prior dialing in the sound and we were both extremely impressed with the clean tone it produced. Took it to the gig and the other two had me hide the amp behind a coffee sack the cafe had lying around. Soon as we did soundcheck they were shocked how great it sounded. Still left the sack covering the front. Orange are definitely sleeper clean amps. Not playing shows any more, I bought one of these micro dark terrors and have a 12au7 coming my way after seeing this video. It gets the cleans, now. I'm eager to see what the 12au7 will do.
With your referencing that wonderously lovely chord progression from The Who's "Naked Eye," I kept getting these satisfying "Live At Leeds" vibe. Really sweet clean tones for sure. May have to purchase one. Mahalos! 🤙🎸☔
Speaking as someone who currently has both an Orange Crush 100 and an Orange Crush 20RT, the Orange clean tone is, for me at least (YMMV of course), a beautiful, under-appreciated thing. Both of the aforementioned are solid state amps known for their gain staging, over-driven sounds, but make no mistake, their clean tones are absolutely legit. Both have onboard reverb, and if you stick a fairly transparent overdrive in front of them (I'm partial to Klon clones), they become very much in tune with your playing dynamics. Dig in a bit and that lovely, almost vox-AC--like edge of breakup kicks in. Lighten your touch and there is this very jangly, very British Invasion sort of "chime" that merges very seamlessly with the reverb. Even humbuckers with all their overtly juiced-up input come across very articulate. Single coils on a Telecaster give off all the requisite spank and twang you've come to expect. I'm very tempted to get one of these Micro Dark heads.
Hey did you end up getting the micro dark? I’m confused between the 20RT and the Micro dark with the mini 8inch cabinet. The only thing that was keeping me from pulling the trigger on the micro dark was its single channel. I lean a lil more towards clean tones. Can you recommend?
@@HardTourVela It gets very loud. The volume increases rapidly and is crazy loud like Marshalls.. The Celestron Creambacks are my personal favorite and very response to my touch.
Very cool little amp! Sounds great! Not dure it would get enough clean volume with a drummer and a base player, however that edge of break up tone is nice too! Rock on! J
Yes, clean! I swapped in a 12AT7, I like the character of the breakup better than the X. Try an EQ in the fx loop. You know the amp is an older automotive stereo chip? They picked the right one.
@@AuntJoey a 12AY7 is the safest bet to swap in, a 5751 is direct replacement for the 12AX7 with 70% less gain. I ended up swapping in good low noise TL072 opamps, one or more of mine were oscillating and producing constant white/pink noise. I definitely own it now! Mine's a 2016, I'd hope Orange has revised the headphone circuit/chip, original one is an old school talking-toy chip wired exactly like the datasheet example circuit, super noisy, not at all a D.I. although it's low enough impedance to drive a mic pre input, just not well.
@@oldasrocks9121 I got a JJ 12AY7 sitting in my desk here the amp is supposed to be here on Saturday. I'll either like it or not right? We'll see soon!
@@AuntJoey A compressor in the loop can make it a bit more tube-y than the actual tube makes it, I've got the Moore Yellow optical compressor, warms it up and fills it out.
I own the micro terror, micro dark and the terror stamp, and to my ears the micro dark has the best clean sound of the three-which is bizarre as that is probably the last thing that people who buy it are thinking of!
Any experience with the Joyo Tweedy XL or the Joyo Blue Jay? Wondering how those compare for clean tones? Love the 3-minute series, by the way! I’ve enjoyed your channel for years. Your lessons have improved my playing for sure. Thank you!
Thanks for the kind feedback, Thomas! Funny timing on the Tweedy XL - that one just popped on my radar last week, and there’s at least one demo that sounds excellent. Some people say it is their American Sound pedal in an amplifier, and if so that would be pretty great. I had that pedal and there is a wide variety of good tones to be had. I think it would be more versatile than the Bluejay.
Thanks for your response! I was thinking the same thing. I used an American Sound like an EQ pedal to brighten up my 5F1 amp. The low price on the Tweedy makes it tempting to try. Cheers!
I have an orange stamp. It’s very hard to get a super clean tone. Maybe I’ll try that one.
I just ordered one , I am into blues and southern rock, and I think it will fit nicely for those tones. I have a Seymour Duncan Forza overdrive pedal that I’m dying to use going into the front of it.
Back in 2008 I played a show at a cafe with a little jazz trio. At the time my main amp was too large for the venue (peavey 412). A buddy of mine offered to lend me his Rockverb 50 (I forget what cab we used). I originally thought I would be laughed out of the venue with it. However, we spent about an hour prior dialing in the sound and we were both extremely impressed with the clean tone it produced.
Took it to the gig and the other two had me hide the amp behind a coffee sack the cafe had lying around. Soon as we did soundcheck they were shocked how great it sounded. Still left the sack covering the front. Orange are definitely sleeper clean amps. Not playing shows any more, I bought one of these micro dark terrors and have a 12au7 coming my way after seeing this video. It gets the cleans, now. I'm eager to see what the 12au7 will do.
Awesome, hope you like it!!
With your referencing that wonderously lovely chord progression from The Who's "Naked Eye," I kept getting these satisfying "Live At Leeds" vibe.
Really sweet clean tones for sure. May have to purchase one. Mahalos! 🤙🎸☔
Speaking as someone who currently has both an Orange Crush 100 and an Orange Crush 20RT, the Orange clean tone is, for me at least (YMMV of course), a beautiful, under-appreciated thing. Both of the aforementioned are solid state amps known for their gain staging, over-driven sounds, but make no mistake, their clean tones are absolutely legit. Both have onboard reverb, and if you stick a fairly transparent overdrive in front of them (I'm partial to Klon clones), they become very much in tune with your playing dynamics. Dig in a bit and that lovely, almost vox-AC--like edge of breakup kicks in. Lighten your touch and there is this very jangly, very British Invasion sort of "chime" that merges very seamlessly with the reverb. Even humbuckers with all their overtly juiced-up input come across very articulate. Single coils on a Telecaster give off all the requisite spank and twang you've come to expect.
I'm very tempted to get one of these Micro Dark heads.
Based on your comment, I think you would love it!
Hey did you end up getting the micro dark? I’m confused between the 20RT and the Micro dark with the mini 8inch cabinet. The only thing that was keeping me from pulling the trigger on the micro dark was its single channel. I lean a lil more towards clean tones. Can you recommend?
Tyanks for teell that is possible to change the little valve
I use this amp for the FX Loop -- I connect a Donner Arena 2000 to a Mojotone 2X12 with Creambacks
How loud does it get with the 2x12 cab? do you know the sensitivity of the speakers?
@@HardTourVela It gets very loud. The volume increases rapidly and is crazy loud like Marshalls.. The Celestron Creambacks are my personal favorite and very response to my touch.
I run that amp with my celestion greenbacks and sounds better for clean tones, even better than my deluxe reverb.
Cool! I bet GB’s are a great match for this amp.
Very cool little amp! Sounds great! Not dure it would get enough clean volume with a drummer and a base player, however that edge of break up tone is nice too!
Rock on!
J
I have a micro terror and really like it. Very dynamic good edge of breakup.
Yes, clean! I swapped in a 12AT7, I like the character of the breakup better than the X. Try an EQ in the fx loop.
You know the amp is an older automotive stereo chip? They picked the right one.
I have one coming in a few days I'm going to try a MXR10 band EQ in the FX loop and if it's not to my taste I have a 12AY7 tube I'm going to try out.
@@AuntJoey a 12AY7 is the safest bet to swap in, a 5751 is direct replacement for the 12AX7 with 70% less gain. I ended up swapping in good low noise TL072 opamps, one or more of mine were oscillating and producing constant white/pink noise. I definitely own it now!
Mine's a 2016, I'd hope Orange has revised the headphone circuit/chip, original one is an old school talking-toy chip wired exactly like the datasheet example circuit, super noisy, not at all a D.I. although it's low enough impedance to drive a mic pre input, just not well.
@@oldasrocks9121 I got a JJ 12AY7 sitting in my desk here the amp is supposed to be here on Saturday. I'll either like it or not right? We'll see soon!
@@AuntJoey A compressor in the loop can make it a bit more tube-y than the actual tube makes it, I've got the Moore Yellow optical compressor, warms it up and fills it out.
Mooer
I own the micro terror, micro dark and the terror stamp, and to my ears the micro dark has the best clean sound of the three-which is bizarre as that is probably the last thing that people who buy it are thinking of!
Agree! Thanks for sharing your perspective.
@@Hoodrio Much appreciated-thanks!
Nice review! Thanks...did you have to rebias or just change the tube and it was ok?
Nope, it’s just plug and play. The only tricky part is all the tiny screws holding on the cover of the head. Enjoy!
Great ! But have you still enough volume to play in a band ? The tube swap didn't make this amp quiet?
It depends on your band. But no, it didn’t make the amp quieter, just a slower progression of gain as I indicated in the video. Thanks!
What speaker and cab are you using? The tone is glorious!
Thanks, Francisco! It’s a Eminence alnico 1028P in an oversized mahogany cabinet, DIY.
Thanks for the review. how is the noise floor?
I had zero issues with noise, thanks!
Can it do quiet, for home use?
Yes, that’s the way I used it, thanks!
Perfecto!
Any experience with the Joyo Tweedy XL or the Joyo Blue Jay? Wondering how those compare for clean tones?
Love the 3-minute series, by the way! I’ve enjoyed your channel for years. Your lessons have improved my playing for sure. Thank you!
Thanks for the kind feedback, Thomas! Funny timing on the Tweedy XL - that one just popped on my radar last week, and there’s at least one demo that sounds excellent. Some people say it is their American Sound pedal in an amplifier, and if so that would be pretty great. I had that pedal and there is a wide variety of good tones to be had. I think it would be more versatile than the Bluejay.
Thanks for your response! I was thinking the same thing. I used an American Sound like an EQ pedal to brighten up my 5F1 amp. The low price on the Tweedy makes it tempting to try. Cheers!