Lightning Hands
New member
Got a 1x12 Orange cab. Looking to get a new head. Any suggestions other than Orange? I love Orange but I wanna keep my options open.
New Head
- Thread starter Lightning Hands
- Start date
alteredbeast
New member
Re: New Head
dudes will want to know what kind of music you play, and maybe a brief description of tone you would like.
dudes will want to know what kind of music you play, and maybe a brief description of tone you would like.
UberMetalDood
New member
Re: New Head
Yeah, you're lacking some essential info here. However, since it's a 1x12, I'm assuming that you are looking for a relatively low wattage amp and not a 100w Marshall. Port City amps man. That's my recommendation for clean, driven or distorted sounds. Port City Pearl and Twelve are both clean amps, but we're talking amps that are among the elite of clean pedal platforms. The clean sounds are immaculate and I prefer them over almost any Fender, but the way they sound with pedals blows me away.
Yeah, you're lacking some essential info here. However, since it's a 1x12, I'm assuming that you are looking for a relatively low wattage amp and not a 100w Marshall. Port City amps man. That's my recommendation for clean, driven or distorted sounds. Port City Pearl and Twelve are both clean amps, but we're talking amps that are among the elite of clean pedal platforms. The clean sounds are immaculate and I prefer them over almost any Fender, but the way they sound with pedals blows me away.
Lightning Hands
New member
Re: New Head
I lean more towards melodic metal. I don't like scooping my mids and I like heavy distortion with clarity and snap.
I lean more towards melodic metal. I don't like scooping my mids and I like heavy distortion with clarity and snap.
Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: New Head
I'd stick with Orange and have a matching mini halfstack. Tiny Terror, Dual Terror, Dark Terror, or Jim Root #4.
Out of those, I'd probably go for the Dual Terror. Don't worry about gain. They have plenty on tap.
I'd stick with Orange and have a matching mini halfstack. Tiny Terror, Dual Terror, Dark Terror, or Jim Root #4.
Out of those, I'd probably go for the Dual Terror. Don't worry about gain. They have plenty on tap.
Mad-Max
New member
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Re: New Head
Vintage Plexi, bro.
Vintage Plexi, bro.
Re: New Head
Is it Jet City.?
Some type of used Mesa perhaps.?
good luck
How are those amps that Mike Soldano put his name on.?
Is it Jet City.?
Some type of used Mesa perhaps.?
good luck
Last edited:
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Re: New Head
I've got one, and I love it, but it DEFINITELY has limitations. First of all, mine didn't come with an effects loop. I thought I could live without it, but eventually I couldn't, and I bought and installed one. That was a bit of a painful process, but it's been great since I did.
That leads me to the other weakness, and it may be one of most low-wattage amps, and that is, of course, headroom. There were a couple of things I did to mitigate that, but it's still a problem. You're not going to get a lot of versatility out of that amp trying to switch between clean and dirty. First of all, the clean tones need some dressing up, and I was able to solve that a bit with the effects loop. Throw on some chorus and delay, and things sound a lot prettier. That doesn't need to go through the effects loop, but if you're rolling down the volume knob to get a cleaner tone, then they do.
The other problem with the JCA20H is that it's kind of billed as high gain, but it's not really high gain. It's got a lot of gain, but I didn't get a real nice, thick, chunky crunch tone until I added a bypass capacitor on the second gain stage. And I wouldn't suggest buying an amp you know you have to mod. Flip that bad boy on, and it really thickens up the tone nicely, putting a lot more gain in the mids and highs. But there goes your chance to clean things up well. The best I'm able to do is roll back the volume knob on the neck pickup and switch over to it after running the volume high on the bridge. That's the closest I can get to switching channels.
The two other things I did to affect headroom were switching out the 12AX7 in the PI for a 12AU7. It really tightened things up and kept the power amp from overdriving as quickly. It also lowered the noise. The other mod I did with a similar effect was putting a choke in the power supply to keep it clean. Tightened up the bass and lowered the noise a bit as well. I also added a depth control on the back of the amp to give finer control over the bass response. I was surprised how much variability to feel and tightness that one control gave me.
But it was not a perfect amp for me. Now it might be, but it still has limitations. Now it does the low-wattage, high-gain Marshall thing pretty well, and that's what I was really after. There were just a few bumps in the road to me getting there.
I've got one, and I love it, but it DEFINITELY has limitations. First of all, mine didn't come with an effects loop. I thought I could live without it, but eventually I couldn't, and I bought and installed one. That was a bit of a painful process, but it's been great since I did.
That leads me to the other weakness, and it may be one of most low-wattage amps, and that is, of course, headroom. There were a couple of things I did to mitigate that, but it's still a problem. You're not going to get a lot of versatility out of that amp trying to switch between clean and dirty. First of all, the clean tones need some dressing up, and I was able to solve that a bit with the effects loop. Throw on some chorus and delay, and things sound a lot prettier. That doesn't need to go through the effects loop, but if you're rolling down the volume knob to get a cleaner tone, then they do.
The other problem with the JCA20H is that it's kind of billed as high gain, but it's not really high gain. It's got a lot of gain, but I didn't get a real nice, thick, chunky crunch tone until I added a bypass capacitor on the second gain stage. And I wouldn't suggest buying an amp you know you have to mod. Flip that bad boy on, and it really thickens up the tone nicely, putting a lot more gain in the mids and highs. But there goes your chance to clean things up well. The best I'm able to do is roll back the volume knob on the neck pickup and switch over to it after running the volume high on the bridge. That's the closest I can get to switching channels.
The two other things I did to affect headroom were switching out the 12AX7 in the PI for a 12AU7. It really tightened things up and kept the power amp from overdriving as quickly. It also lowered the noise. The other mod I did with a similar effect was putting a choke in the power supply to keep it clean. Tightened up the bass and lowered the noise a bit as well. I also added a depth control on the back of the amp to give finer control over the bass response. I was surprised how much variability to feel and tightness that one control gave me.
But it was not a perfect amp for me. Now it might be, but it still has limitations. Now it does the low-wattage, high-gain Marshall thing pretty well, and that's what I was really after. There were just a few bumps in the road to me getting there.
Mad-Max
New member
Re: New Head
Dude, an Egnater Tweaker with a Tubescreamer in front of it was one of the best tones I've gotten. It's pretty sweet. I second the Egnater option.
Egnater Tweaker (or other egnater)!!!utahere:
I'm dead serious though, I love the drive sound of those egnaters amp.
Dude, an Egnater Tweaker with a Tubescreamer in front of it was one of the best tones I've gotten. It's pretty sweet. I second the Egnater option.
Soulcrusher_X
New member
Re: New Head
I like all of those little Orange amps. Does the Dual Terror have an FX loop? The TH30 would be cool, too. I really dig the tones I hear from that thing.
I like all of those little Orange amps. Does the Dual Terror have an FX loop? The TH30 would be cool, too. I really dig the tones I hear from that thing.
Mad-Max
New member
PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: New Head
Dark Terror has an effects loop and it can go from clean to pretty high gain. There's a YouTube video from Anderton's Music in the UK where they demo all the Orange lunchbox amps.
In fact, I'm thinking of downsizing my Splawn to a small Orange setup.
Dark Terror has an effects loop and it can go from clean to pretty high gain. There's a YouTube video from Anderton's Music in the UK where they demo all the Orange lunchbox amps.
In fact, I'm thinking of downsizing my Splawn to a small Orange setup.
Soulcrusher_X
New member
Re: New Head
The comparo between the Dark Terror and Mini Recto is pretty *****in' It could be 'tone is in the hands' since Chapman is a pretty good player, but I definitely preferred the DT tones to the Recto. The #4 Terror sounds good too. I *THINK* the Dark Terror is more of the Thunder Series (not Thunderverb) -type preamp tone and the #4 is more of the Rockerverb tone.
I don't think you want to give up the Splawn, though.
The comparo between the Dark Terror and Mini Recto is pretty *****in' It could be 'tone is in the hands' since Chapman is a pretty good player, but I definitely preferred the DT tones to the Recto. The #4 Terror sounds good too. I *THINK* the Dark Terror is more of the Thunder Series (not Thunderverb) -type preamp tone and the #4 is more of the Rockerverb tone.
I don't think you want to give up the Splawn, though.
PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: New Head
I need to do a full survey of all the Marshall style 15W amps available before I think about selling the Splawn, but it's a bit like taking a dragster to the grocery store at this point. (If I was still gigging and jamming at full volume everywhere it's great, but the majority of my playing is at home now, and it would be great to find something smaller to downsize too)The comparo between the Dark Terror and Mini Recto is pretty *****in' It could be 'tone is in the hands' since Chapman is a pretty good player, but I definitely preferred the DT tones to the Recto. The #4 Terror sounds good too. I *THINK* the Dark Terror is more of the Thunder Series (not Thunderverb) -type preamp tone and the #4 is more of the Rockerverb tone.
I don't think you want to give up the Splawn, though.
