Orange Micro Dark: Should You Swap Tubes?
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2024
- Demo of the benefits of swapping in a lower gain pre-amp tube in the Orange Micro Dark, in this case an NOS Phillips 12AU7. Increase your clean headroom and achieve a much more usable sweep of the gain control on this great amp. US Fender Telecaster with Seymour Duncan 5/2 Strat neck pickup and Jerry Donahue bridge pickup into Orange Micro Dark with Eminence 1028. TC Plethora reverb and delay.
From what I can discern on headphones, this Orange Micro Dark sounds exceptionally good. There are lots of pedal sized amps now that actually sound quite good, solid state notwithstanding. They are not so expensive, but the idea is to find one that's amazingly good so that I'm not just adding more to the pile of gear I never quite get around to using. I would bet money that in a double blindfolded test, clean tone not too loud, this unit would hold its own with very expensive handwired boutique amps, even with discerning players. And now consider with $50 NOS 12AU7 Mullard you can get another 10% sonic performance. This is awesome. People spend thousands chasing that last 10%.
I take note that this channel has already compared outstanding gear like Princeton Reverb and Quilter. Also I appreciate the author's focus on clean tone as I have more than enough great overdrive pedals. Excellent and most helpful video!
Bruce, thanks for your most thorough and helpful comment! I agree 100%, having owned countless high-quality all tube amplifiers, this one completely holds its own.
You made the right decision! Thanks for demonstrating.
I purchased this amp a few years back. I actually use it as my blues amp jamming with buddies. Orange never talked about the great blues tones this little amp can produce. Takes pedals very well.
I agree 100%!
Oh man, I want to get one now... good stuff
I swapped out for a Mesa boogie tube.. sounds amazing
After watching both your videos on this amp, I gotta tell ya, that Telecaster neck pickup clean tone speaks to me. The fact that I have a few 12au7 and 12at7s sitting in a box with no other real use for them makes this tempting even though I don't actually "need" another amp.
The nice thing is it’s small enough that you can stick it on a shelf somewhere, and cheap enough that you won’t notice the cash. And I wasn’t exaggerating - I’ve owned boutique all tube amps that did not sound as sweet.
@@Hoodrio Also small enough that my wife likely won't notice that I've bought yet another amp. I think I just might pick one up this week or next.
@@Hoodrio My new Orange Micro Dark arrived yesterday. Running it into a 1x12 with an Eminence Cannabis Rex (my preferred cab & speaker for classic Fender clean tones), it seems legit so far. I'm a sucker for good Tele neck pickup tones, and it does that beautifully, but it was also a pleasant surprise to hear how nicely it responded to the humbuckers on my 335. A thicker, heavier tone than single coils for sure, but no loss of articulation, no sludge or muddiness either. Just a really nice, lush, rich tone.
At some point I will undoubtedly try running the effects loop send into the effects loop return of an amp with a larger class a/b power section as I'm guessing the output on this is a pretty straightforward, efficient class d that delivers the goods but doesn't lend much if any character to the sound coming from the speaker(s). All in all a fun little lunchbox amp, but definitely not a toy. It offers up some really usable sound.
@@DisappearingNightly Awesome - glad to hear you’re enjoying it!
@@DisappearingNightly 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I've used a Ehx 12au7 gold pin in this amp, and the tube died in less than a year, maybe the bias is not meant for 12au7, now I'm using a Ehx 12ax7 gold pin and sounds great !!
I think only power amp tubes need biasing.
Your knowledge (and guitar skills) drive me nuts. I should just give away all my guitars and amps! (kidding)...impressed. Please keep it up.
Thanks for the kind feedback, Jon! Keep at it; you will get there!
The tube is run at much lower plate voltage than it would be in a power tube amp circuit. I measured it while repairing mine, it was at about 25v iirc, "starved plate" as its called.
Healthy NOS 12AX7s are quite a bit gainier than the JJs.
Hey man nice vid.
Just a question.
All tube amps need to warmup before use.
Does that apply to hybrid amps like this one as well, where it has a tube pre-amp but the power amp is solid state?
Or you just turn it on and you're good to go?
It takes a couple of seconds, but not as long as an all tube amp.
So if I were to put in an 12AT7 I would be somewhere in the middleground between the original AX7 and the AU7 that you are suggesting, right?
Most people don’t recommend the AT7 as a preamp tube. It is used more as a reverb driver or a phase inverter. But yes, it is in between the AU7 and AX7.
I hear everyone use the term fizz these days but I don’t really understand what that means. is it too scratchy? Does it sound like a mosquito buzzing by your ear? Is that what you mean by fizz?
Sort of - it’s basically any fizzy/fuzzy artifacts that result in a distorted tone that is not smooth and articulate.
First of all: very helpful video. Thanks for that.
I tried to play mine over headphones, but if I connect them to the jack, the speaker isn't bypassed and I cannot hear anything over my headphones. When I disconnect the speaker cable, I can play it over headphones. Is that normal or is anything broken? Besides that, it doesn't sound like the highly praised "Cab Sim Circuitry", more like an old radio...
Maybe anyone has a clue here.
I never tried it with headphones but frankly would not expect it to sound good. If you’re looking for a headphone amp I would go digital like the Mustang micro.
got this amp and i'm interested in changing the tube but i'm really new to this. Is it complicated to swap tubes?
As I think I said in another response, the most complicated thing is removing the countless tiny screws that hold the cover on and putting them back without losing any of them. The replacing of the tube itself is as simple as gently pulling out one and gently inserting the other.
The 12ax7 at 11 on the gain was great. Just roll back you guitar volume a bit, and Bob's your uncle.
Why even go with the dark instead of the terror if you play clean and low gain? It makes no sense. :S
Yes, it seems counterintuitive, but do some reading on the various gear forums and you’ll see that the Dark is very well known for its superior clean tones, to which I can wholeheartedly attest.
Plus the dark has an effects loop ability whereas the terror does not
Effects loop.