ORANGE DUAL TERROR VALVE AMP HEAD REVIEW
Posted on Fri 17 May 2013 in entries
Hello... I'm Marc... and I'm a gear junky...! I've been playing the guitar and gigging in various bands for many years and in 2012 I got myself a job at Absolute Music to feed my habit and share my passion and knowledge of the products that I know and love. I'm going to use my blog to write short reviews of some of my favourite products to hopefully help others in their quest for finding the right gear for their needs and budget.
In this review I'm going to be talking about the Orange Dual Terror valve amp head. Why? Because as with most of my reviews, I own it!
When I started to get a little more serious about gigging, I decided that borrowing guitar amps all the time wasn't really going to benefit my sound. So, I decided that it was time... time to fork out for my own!
I had played quite a few different guitar amps from different manufacturers but something kept drawing me back towards Orange. In the end, the simplicity, signature tone and build quality of their amps had me sold and so far my Dual Terror hasn't let me down.
The music I play varies from classic rock, nu-metal, funk and reggae right through to blues and even grunge. This amp can cope with all of these extremely well, and it particularly excels with the heavier styles of music.
I decided to choose the Dual Terror because of the two channels. When playing the Dual Terror's younger brother, the Tiny Terror, I loved the sound, but wanted an amp that had a separate channel to flick between clean and distortion. The beauty of the Dual is that it has the Tiny Terror built-in, so for the extra money I was getting what I wanted but with that additional channel.
The 'Fat Channel' is quite different as well. Basically, 'it does exactly what it says on the tin'. It sounds fatter, adds a lot more depth and warmth to the sound and when the gain is cranked up it gives you a really meaty distortion. I play the amp head on an Orange PPC 112 1x12 cabinet, which sounds great. However, if you're after that extra bass and roar then it sounds even better on a 2x12. And the beauty with this head is that you can also combine it with other cabinets if you're after a different sound. The possibilities are almost endless.
Although the Dual Terror doesn't have many dials on it to play around with, this doesn't hold you back. The 'Tone' knob is really versatile, transforming your guitar from a muddy, warm Les Paul sound to a biting harsh Strat. The gain also offers a wonderful clean sound on either channel right up to a high gain distortion.
I find the 30W amp head is ideal for many venues. It has an option of changing your wattage between 30, 15 and 7, meaning you can adjust your sound to suit where you're playing, whether it's in your bedroom or in front of a big crowd of people.
Coming with a padded gig bag makes the head ultra portable; ideal for gigging and studio work. Basically it's an all round great amp. The only time I would think of replacing this is if I fancied something different or was after a different sound, but at the moment it just keeps on amazing me. You get a lot for your money here and this amp will last you from beginner right through to semi-professional.
In terms of build quality, this head is solid. Orange cabinets are renowned for being amazingly strong; you can stand, jump and chuck it about and it will keep plodding on. And this can to (within reason; it has valves in it)! From personal experience mine has had a bass guitar chucked and land on it, and it's been covered with strawberry cider and it still works! As you can tell, a few of my gigs have got pretty messy! I definitely wouldn't recommend doing this to yours and I have to say that I felt lucky to have got away with these incidents!
Overall, if you're looking for a new amp and have a bit of cash to spend, than I would seriously consider this head. It may not look much, but the sound it delivers is spectacular. You're guaranteed quality with Orange, and this is a quality product.
For more information on the Orange Dual Terror 30W valve amp head, click the link below or give us a call on 01202 597180.