Not many good one channel gain amps have anything for cleans. It's so cheap used (I just ordered one used off of reverb) that you can buy another head or A/B it with a JC120 or ganky old twin.
When I saw Dan getting surprised by Mick’s approach to the Overdrive, I got certain that I’ll never get to know everything about pedals and will always watch this channel. Thanks you guys! Awesome as always!
Honestly the Dual Terror fixes all the issues with the Tiny Terror. If you are liking the sound of the Tiny Terror but you want more clean headroom, you want the Dual Terror.
It's a testament to how much I love you guys and the insights you've provided me (a 52-year old who's been a gigging and studio pro since 18) that I have never.... ever... been a fan of Orange but I watched this the whole way through to see what I could learn!
I snapped up a secondhand one last night. It's funny that after having at least a dozen amps, from AC30s to Fender Machete's, I end up with a Tiny Terror. There's no denying the vibe it has.
I love the sound of the repeats cleaning up as they fade out, after the last note. Which also brings me to hitting an overdriving amp (or an overdrive pedal) with a tremolo, and the sound wobbling from cleaner to dirtier. Love love love that.
The Tiny Terror was my first tube amp. I still have it at home and it's a SWEET room amp just for cranking up and making some rock n roll noise in the house. Versatile? Hell no. Fun as hell? Extremely.
Using that SD-1 as an "underdrive" instead of an overdrive is clever! I always wanted to make a pedal that was a set of guitar controls on a footswitch so you could get your rolled-back volume and tone rhythm sound, then stomp on it to go wide open!
Just tried it with mine, pretty sweet. I even find it tame the big muff from getting a little too much low end, and so my palm mutes are coming in more defined.
That 'trick' with the Overdrive pedal ~ well many guitarists used it especially in the 70's when we needed to get that beautiful saturated Amp tones for LEAD sections from dem 1 channel Tube monsters amps like Marshalls, Baez, Orange & even fenders. Use the Overdrive Pedal to lower the Volume & control the amount of GAIN you wanted for our Rhythm Crunch playing! With Limitations comes the necessity to be inventive ... and then we used the Volume & Tone controls for even more versatility to our Tone. The digital world of gear today makes it easier to get the tones you want for sure, but there's something to be said for 'Working' Your Sound in a Manual & Tactile way. Les Pauls, Charvels & Marshalls Rule all the way 🖐😎🎸
I have the micro dark and my "issue" is the head room like you gentlemen stated, but I found a sweet spot in it's clean head room and just throw a full range OD/Distortion in front with the mods and time based fx into the fx loop, it's truly an awesome and versatile amp head!
Using clean preamp type pedals into amps that are lightly or mildly overdriving can be very effective for creating clean sounds by attenuating the input into the amp and making it possible to shape the cleaner tone with the pedals eq ! Compressors can also help do this ! There's a limit to how dirty the amp can be but a pedal to clean up and a pedal to push can be a good way to go for many styles ! Maybe a show on this approach might be useful !
Awesome episode. I gigged with one of these for quite a bit and it was the best feeling just carrying a guitar and a tiny terror, maybe a small pedal board, and that's it. No mucking around carrying heavy crap (of my own at least). Very cool amps, dirt cheap, reliable and simple. Even the lead singer who only knows power chords will sound good with it.
That Pedal Show Nice one, cheers guys. I'd also be curious if you put one through that Creamback when you do the speaker comparisons Mick mentioned. I've seen a lot of love online for the Sweetwater Creamback DSL & have toyed with looking into changing the speaker in mine.
+Rob Holiday Changing the speaker in a Marshall combo will void the combo's warranty. Look for a Marshall dealer which offers its own warranty which will not be violated by having said dealer perform the swap (e.g. Sweetwater).
I have a hand-wired TT and I’ve added the “Holy Terror” mods (transformer upgrade, etc.) as well as replacing the tubes with Mullard NOS. Of course, this brought its cost up quite a bit, but also its sound. As it sits now it’s one of my fave recording, rehearsal, small club or miced-up gig amps. I use it with a 2x12 cab with vintage Celestion Greenbacks. Many have approached me on breaks and asked what amp I’m using. I tell them and ad that I‘ve had it essentialy rebuilt from stock. Just one of the best amps, period.
My most inspiring studio tone... (pedals into) Strymon Lex in bi-amp mode; at very slow/braked speed. The horn signal into a Orange Tiny Terror set “clean” into a Celestion G12M Greenback loaded closed back cab (no bass issues). The woofer signal into a Laney Lionheart clean channel into a Weber ceramic Thames loaded closed back cab. I have literally lost whole days playing this rig. The interaction of everything going on is something very special. I have tried to simplify the rig with other effects/amps/cabs, but each time the tone looses it’s soul. The cabs can be stacked (not stereo), but must be dual mono mic’ed to retain the tone. Keep up the good work!
My favorite setup is my Orange Tiny Terror, Korg SDD3000, Orange 412 cab and the volume knob on my Gretsch. Perfect sound for me. I love that it’s all about the beauty of the massive dynamics of power tubes.
I own an Orange TH100 and an Orange Tiny Terror. The beauty of the TT is that on stage any self respecting sound engineer will ask you to keep your stage volume sensibly low and the TT at volume 6 can give the Th100 at volume 1 a run for it's money. The issue with the TT is it can get squashed very easily when gain staging. Still love it.
I heard Jeorge Tripps talk about how he never uses the effects loop for any of his delays or reverbs and I have to agree with him. Ya it might sound a tad messy sometimes but I think their is charm in that. The sound you guys got with the delay and reverb sounded great.
My normal setup is an Orange Dual Terror and a Tele. I tend to set up at the edge of breakup (gain around 10 o clock and volume around 3) and use pedals for the rest. I have a Bearfoot FX uber bee I use for pretty much any sound. I just control the right hand dynamics so to speak. I suppose with the uber bee I am more coloring the tone than adding a bunch of gain or volume. May be adding a touch though. I’ll occasionally use a compressor (Diamond Comp Jr) before it or a timmy after if for more gain. The extra wattage from the Dual Terror may be helping a bit to, but it works for me! That is just my experience though. And it is important to think about the amount of low end going into it as well. Cheers!
Quick tip for those of you looking for cleaner sounds out of a Tiny Terror; Try a parametric EQ up front. Sounds weird, but it's quite effective at cleaning up gain sounds. Kick on a compressor on top of that and you'll find some really nice squeaky clean tones in that tiny box. Check out Paul Gilbert's rig here on RU-vid. He used the HBE parametric and now the Empress model alongside a compressor for clean sounds out of his Marshalls. He sets up his amps right on the edge of breakup. If he needs something cleaner, he reaches for the ParaEQ and a compressor. More gain, he keeps a few different OD pedals at his feet. This gives him a wide range of sounds when used in conjunction with the volume control on the guitar. He can cover really clean to high gain using pedals alone, and then fine tune those sounds with his volume and tone. All sorts of interesting "in between" sounds are available with this kind of setup. If you're fond of a one channel amp like the Tiny Terror or an old Marshall, this is a great way to get more versatility out of your rig without compromising the sound you already know and dig.
The tiny terror was a one trick pony, but it was one heck of a trick! I loved that one trick when I had one, but at the end of the day I just needed and amp with a bit more versatile. I had mine into a 2 x 12 with a vintage 30 and a g12h 75. What a sound.
Thanx guys, I've learned more about signal chains and gain structure and how to get more from the rig I already have in the year after I subscribed to your channel than I have the last 30 years of playing.
Loved this video style (and the Blues Jr. video). I wish the Vox AC15 episode a few weeks back had been a general overview like this instead of just showcasing drive pedals into it.
I gigged a Tiny Terror for a few years.... solid little amps, could be a bit bright IMO but paired amazing with my SG Classic with P90s.... For me the best tone on the amp for pedals etc was to put the master up around 3/4 and then bring up the gain, any where before 11 O'Clock would keep the amp fairly clean and ready for pedals, once you passed that the amp would gain up... but at that point it was pretty loud, loud enough for the bars I was playing in.
MarcG28 I love my TT combo and have gigged with it for a few years. Honestly the volume has never really been an issue, you should be mic'ing up anyway in 90% of gigs no matter what amp you have. Trying to carry the room, even a small club, with just the amp isn't doing anybody any favors- wish more people would figure this out. Also, what cab did you use with it? Never heard anyone call a TT too bright, usually it's the opposite.
The bright sound could have been from the JJ Tubes in it...I used it with a custom built vertical 2x12 with Eminence Guvs.... which definitely made the amp ever louder since those speakers are really efficient. In the Pub I would gig with it regularly I couldn't even run it much past half on the master because it was too loud lol... and that pub would easily hold 100 to 150 on a good night. While the amp was Mic'd you could still hear the amp coming off the stage
Been gigging Tiny/Dual terror for years and there are three good ways to get solo boosts.. 1. The OD method Mick demonstrated. 2. EHX Signal pad 3. Get an Dual Terror which is 30w with two almost identical channel, use second channel for solo boost.
Love the overdrive trick. Never done that before in terms of adding a little gain, but I've done pretty much the same thing with Boss EQ to dump the level down a little or a small enclosure with a footswitched guitar pot... because I wanted a treble bleed but couldn't modify the guitar circuit (Gibson printed PCB job). Definitely going to give that a try! Great vid guys. :)
The cool thing about the situation where your headroom is all used and you step on your favourite drive pedal is that it still shapes the gain. When Mick said nothing really happens in terms of "I want more distortion, I want more volume" the wazacraft still had that nice shaping he mentioned. Even if the pedals come out way better when you have that headroom and on the verge of distortion from amp, a pedal like SD-1 can shape the driven sound very nicely (at least if you're hard rock/metal guy :D). Makes it more focused. Some pedals don't do that as well though. Fun episode guys!
+Yuppi Yeah absolutely. It’s a sound for sure and a cool one at that. But... most people kinda expect the extra boost for solos and are disappointed when it’s not there... even though the shaping thing can achieve a similar result (gets you heard). It’s a topic we’ve covered soooo much on TPS, yet one that we all seem to continue to struggle with. Cheers!
Finally! I've been waiting for you guys to do a Tiny Terror video (since it's the amp that I use) and how to use it with pedals (which I think it's a great pedal platform amp). I love this video. Thanks guys.
Another great episode, friends. There is something about an Orange that I don't necessarily like to hear others play, but what a blast it is when I plug in and turn it up! Any chance we could see an episode about how different pre-amp valves and/or power valves change the gain and overall flavor of tube amps? Would love to see some of these amps with 5751s, 12ay7s, etc. in the front end and here some of the differences. Cheers!
Ok so.... In the past few weeks Dan and Mick have hit me exactly where I live. As inspired by their methodology, i run two amps: an AC15 and an Orange TT. To get the Orange to work well with pedals you have to crank the volume and keep the gain under 12 o'clock. But oh what sweet sounds.
Thanks guys. As always, this was quite enlightening. I have the micro terror (through orange 212) and my preference is just plug straight into amp with my les paul (tele too on occasion). It's a one trick pony that does that trick really well! I'm going to try the turning down overdrive trick. Just great rock n roll tone.
Some people might be looking for an affordable 1-15 watt full tube head that has much more 'clean' headroom. I love the cheap Laney Cub 15 head for that. I use one with a very high sensitive 15 inch PA woofer in an old well made Trace Elliot 15"' combo (sans amp section) for bass in small clubs, pubs and cafees, and I just love it. Its sound is just like an old small Fender Bassman, really. With the right speaker, this little amp just kills for simple old school bass sounds. When you use a preamp/eq (pedal) to boost the lows too much, it won't work. Just like you guys said about low wattage full tube heads: it just will put the amp in overdrive / compression. But sound guys love it when I just use the tone controls on the amp, and they will boost the lows for me.
I run mine through a Fryette PS100 Power Station for the headroom, effects loop, and DI out using it into a 4x12 Blackstar cab, I don't think you could have anything better for a great clean and pure rock amp than this setup, I love it but it is rather excessive in a small bedroom, oh that's right you can attenuate it🙂
I gigged with a vox night train 15 into an orange 2x12 for cleans and a terror into a Mesa 2x12 for drive. AB switch the two. It allowed me to really run up into the power tube compression. I loved it.
I can't believe that MXR updated their classic 10-band EQ pedal with retina-burning blue LEDs! Why, oh why? I thought the era of the painfully bright blue LED had long passed.
I have a Stone Deaf Trashy Blonde that has an LED so bright, that I have to tape over it even at a performance. It's so bright it fucks with band mates at practice sometimes.
Another thing you can do to clean up little amps like this is to put a 12at7 or any one of the other lower gain pre amp tubes in the first gain stage. I do it in my Vox Night Train and it's great! In all fairness if you want more clean just buy a higher wattage amp like a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe because the whole point of these tiny amps is the be able to crank them for their distortion, not get a Fender Twin clean sound...
I am going to sound like an ad man but I like this amp a lot. If you get the Dual Terror you get a lot more head room since it is 30 watts. I usually keep all four power tubes on and set the output at half. This leaves the amp with a lot more headroom and a very nice clean tone at 15 watts and is plenty loud for gigs. You get a really great clean tone this way especially with single coils. If you were really concerned you could always crank it to 30 watts but I never do. Humbuckers can get a little hairy but at 30 watts it is possible to obtain a clean jazz tone if need be. One really nice thing about this amp is that it is not harsh what so ever. That means less time fiddling with knobs and more time playing! I own a recording studio and the dual terror is my go to a lot of the time for cleans and OD, more often than not I choose this amp over a Dr. Z or vintage Marshalls.
I use it ina a different way: Guitar -> TS9 -> Amp ( phone output) -> Boss - ME70 (for volume control, delays and reverbs) -> *(return) 100W Amp SS + 2X10" Combo. The distortion/drive of the ME70 can be used as a boost or a fuzz. *This can be replaced with an IR loader.
When a I was 15, a bought this amp, the combo version. I love it for blues and high gain. It sounds amazing. It isn't a very resourceful amp, since it has only one control of tone, only one channel and no effects loop, but no other amp has it sounds. Great video. Cheers from brazil!
I honestly gigged a tiny terror as my main amp for about 7 years. It was that, a tele with a tv jones magnatron in the bridge...kept it clean on the edge and used a boost to kick it into gain. Didn't play a single gig where someone came up to me fawning over the tone. i am since 2 amps removed (followed up the TT with a princeton with with a 12" in it, now using a Morgan MVP23) but the Tiny Terror was a really solid amp.
When I'm alone in my room Sometimes I stare at the wall And in the back of my mind I hear my conscience call Telling me I need an amp that’s as sweet as a dove For the first time in my life, I see I need loud There I was, giggling about the games That I had played with many tiny amps and I'm not saying no names Then the thought occurred, Fizzled sounds made my ears burn As I said to myself, "Look what you've done to it” I can feel it inside, I can't explain how it feels All I know is that I'll never gig another tiny amp. Playing make believe, pretending that it’s good Holding in my laugh as I say that I love the sound Saying amore, but barely anything but drums in my ear Whispering "I can hear it as long as I'll always be near" Although I often reminisce, I can't believe that I've found an amp with more volume and slightly cleaner sound...I need loud
Revisited this one today - did you ever do a vid like this but for the equally popular/fantastic Marshall DSL1HR? My Supro never gets a look-in these days because of how fun it is and takes pedals so well
Yay! Love these kind of vids looking at particular "normal" amps like this. The Blues Junior, Hot Rod Deluxe and AC15 vids were all great. More please! Also, I'm going to keep asking for a TPS bass pedals episode cos it'd be awesome. Please?! Cheers!
I gave my Tiny Terror the “Zombie” mod! I have placed a zombie 🧟♂️ finger puppet on the volume knob. Now it’s sounding sweeter than ever! The only mod you’ll need!
After watching your channel I have come to the realization that I need a Duesenberg Bonneville in my life. Thanks for making my decision easy. It looks great and sounds absolutely ace.
Huge tip on the mix level! I have been having this problem when switching between two amps and was wondering why my delays were overpowering on one and gone on the other!
I had 2 tiny terror combo in stereo and was very fun, a loud combo that can work in 7 watts mode to practice or even to play in a small club. with 15 watts more volume and headroom, very good amp.
I've also watched your video on the OR15 head and heard the same complaint that these two amps don't have enough headroom, or at least enough for Dan. I own an Orange AD30 and think that is the ultimate Orange head for you both. More vintage voiced and less higher gain tones and, yes, has way more headroom in my opinion.
Whoah, that lowering the mix on the delay/reverb, is a revelation for me. I'm gonna go take mine out of the fx loop and try it in front of the amp right now.
Dan uses a guitar like it is a type of therapy ! He just has to go for it, until he feels satisfied. Have you released all of the Guitcon vids or are there more to come after editing ?
+Richard Huckle There are about four more to come. Trying to get them edited! And yes, that’s exactly right. If we all approached guitar that way we’d all be much happier. :9)
Excellent video with some great suggestions. I run my TT from the line out of a HotPlate from another small amp (with a delay in between). Makes an amazing wet/dry stereo rig.
Thanks for every single episode, you guys really inspire me to experiment!! Love the knowledge you both share and the great vibe. Can't wait for the cab and speaker episode!! I know guitar "Rules them all" but It would be really interesting if you do some episodes on pedals, amps and synths.
If you have a dark terror and plug into the fx return you can bypass the preamp and get a pretty good clean. I built a custom pedal that allowed me to switch between the front of the amp for my gain sound and then the fx return for my clean sound with a ep booster for some hair. Only problem is there is no volume control the thru the fx return, but it was just loud enough for shows and ate thru tubes too.
Yes. I apply the same principle for my solo tone having a volume pedal in the loop of the dark terror: first you set your solo tone, then when you kick in the volume reduction it's rythm, when the volume is bypassed it's solo
I gigged one of these amps for 5 years solid in a rock new wave covers band, using a Les paul Studio. problem i had was no overdrive pedal sounded as good as the amp gain, but at the same time was trying to do cleanish, dirty and dirty loud. In the end used a pair of Marshall BB2 pedals set with on their clean boost setting. set the amp on about 11oclock on the gain so you got a Pete Townshend style sound if you whacked it, back of the volume for clean, one BB pedal set quiet to boost to rock sound and the other one louder for solo boost. Both in for the solo on war pigs if you know what you mean. Absolutely corking amp never sell it :-)
+Ryan Cunningham Nice one Ryan. It’s a great way to approach the problem differently. And boosting an overdriven amp is a problem for a lot of people. Cheers!
the tiny terror is my favourite amp - it's a work of sound-art - i believe it was based around the vox ac15 but the 3 knobs are completely interactive with each other and a whole different bag from vox. i bought it back in the day with the 1x12 cab and once it was broken i it was pure power-belch. takes pedals surprisingly well too - but, yes, no headroom at all, so this vid is food for thought thank you...and Dan's reaction to it? is me everytime i crank this beauty up X...oh and an amazing OD to use with the TT is the digitech bad monkey - unbelievable magik ensues
I have spent about 7 years getting to really know this amp and here is what I've found. As far as gain pedals go, I wasn't a big fan of the ones they use here. The best one I have found is the Boss OD1-X (looks like a shitty DS but don't be fooled, it is NOT). The eq on the OD1-x is a dream. Shaped the guitar better than my studio eq's (neve's, Pultec etc.) The OD-1X really tightens up the sound in a very natural way. I don't typically use the amp's gain on it's own; I set the amp clean and let a pedal drive the amp into gain territory. Basically I set my DT to sound like it does at 3:25 and then use an OD pedal or two to push it the extra mile. I have the KOT and ARC Klone (Centaur) on the way and I am very interested to see how those will sound (I should make a video). As far as fuzz pedals go, maybe the best fuzz sound I have ever created is with the JAM Black Muck through the dual terror. Talk about monstrous! One other amp however I think might be better (if you are looking for versatility) at this price point is the fender bassbreaker or the vox night train. I saw Slash using the Vox in the studio over his vintage marshalls on some recent albums.
Logan James interesting! I found the OCD works brilliantly through this amp as does the Thorpfx but only when the amp is bordering on break up. If you add them to the already overdriving amp it doesn’t work. I guess it’s what sound you are after though.
I definitely agree, this amp is surprisingly best when set clean or near the point of break up. Sounds counter intuitive at first but it actually makes a lot of sense. The fact that the amp has so much gain allows it to work super well with the right overdrive pedals. I tried the xotic SL drive (a marshall-in-a-box style pedal) and it was borderline unuseable.
Great video, guys. One of my fav distortion “pedals” is a current Vox AC4 amp into a PowerStation-with flanger, delay & reverb in the fx loop-into a cab. The PowerStation is a Swiss Army knife gizmo!
The Boss “SUPER Overdrive” was my first overdrive too! Prior to that I was using yer basic Fuzz box (I did have an early 15 watt WEM Clubman amp which I just turned up) and a borrowed JTM45 later ( I will not mention Selmer).... Pete.
Guys, reduce the volume with a pedal on and let it roll the amp when it's off it's exactly what i do with my ge7. You're great guys. It's a thing discussed also in the comments of the video about how to make a audible solo sound. Right??
I had one of these when they came out. Fantastic dirty sound, but I tried it with a mate's room mate reverb. and with gain it sounded awful. It split up the sound in a way I cannot describe. I now use a Egnater Rebel 20, with a volume pedal and find the reverb, delay and clean boost go well in the loop. The Tiny Terror was fab though, I just couldn't live without delay and reverb.
A few years ago I had the Orange TH30 that I tried using with some fuzz pedals and now I know why it never worked. Too much compression didn’t allow the tones to stack very well. This is another reason why my Quilter Pro Block 200 works so well. It slays any lunch box tube amp, sounds great at any volume and it takes pedals really well because of its high headroom. You guys should really try the Quilter amps in your show.
Interesting! My plan is to get a Quilter as a second amp to the Orange and run wet dry, with the quilter being the wet amp, but as Mick says not loads of them in the UK, but luckily main retailer Isn’t far from me
You'd be surprised how many guys use these even at the top level. went to see Toploader recently and the guitarist used one a single tiny terror with a 2x12 mic'ed up. Not long ago I also saw Fleetwood Mac and John McVee was using the bass version too (at the o2 in London!) Just goes to show if the tone is there you don't need a massive amp. PA systems and stage monitoring are there to help!
Mick has a magic left ear he touches it and a whole host of guitar info flows forth. Sometimes he has to twist it a little to get the most obscure knowledge 😂😂😂😂😂
I bought this amp when it first came out. Felt the same, it did one thing really good but ... one channel ... I kept it for a few months and sold it. Got the Dual Terror after that but again, still felt like a one channel amp, one sound. It does do that sound well though!
+Jonathan Duffett We have some band stuff loosely in the pipeline. We need to move studios and find a band first. It is happening, hopefully in the new year.
That’s cool. I’ll look forward to your sage advice. Learned so much from your channel. Best thing on RU-vid. The cat is watching it right now! Even Mrs D looks forward to Fridays (and now Tuesdays too!) but before we get too gushing, she did inadvertently Spoonerise “Dan and Mick” once..... SO SORRY
"NO volume, no headroom." Baloney! For clean headroom, dime the volume and use the gain for your volume control. Very transparent clean tones, with nice power tube saturation. I used it through one 4x10 and one 1x15 (guitar) cabinets together - gigging with a trio -- and I was plenty loud. Took pedals very well. Pushing all of a mighty 15 watts I was keeping up with a drummer and a bass player with 20 times the wattage. It is definitely NOT just a bedroom amp.
Don’t we do this in the video? Some good tones to be had that way for sure.... but it still doesn’t go clean like a bigger amp used in the same fashion. (And it’s still not loud enough for me - Mick here)
Yes, you do. I was just commenting on the general perception that this amp is not giggable. It's not a bedroom amp IMHO. I know it's not going to compete with another guitarist with a 100 watt tube half stack, and doesn't have headroom like, say, a 120 watt Jazz Chorus, but it's capable of holding its own in a lot of contexts, and has great clean (-ish) and gainy tones. In "clean" mode it takes pedals very well, too. But when I had Drive and Volume about at noon, or more or less even, I admit pedals sounded terrible. With Volume maxed and Drive appropriately up though, it took pedals beautifully.
