The ultimate Orange lunchbox amp comparison! (7 amps)

[Guitarjon]

I'm back with a post about lunchbox amps but this time I want to talk about the Orange lunchbox amplifiers! I really love everything about those amps. They sound killer, they look cool and all of the features they have tend to be useful as well. About a year ago or so I started with the Rocker 15 Terror and since then this thing has gotten a little bit out of hand haha. I couldn't be more happy though.

So I compared all the amps side by side with a couple different guitars and with various styles/gain settings. Basically from clean to heavy rock/metal and some stuff in between. Hearing them all side by side really lets you hear the tonal differences between each of the amps. Obviously some of them work better for certain tones than the others so perhaps this comparison can also help people to choose which one is the best for them.

The amps featured in this comparison are:
-Tiny Terror
-Dual Terror
-OR15
-Jim Root Terror
-Rocker 15 Terror
-Brent Hinds Terror
-Dark Terror

I don't own the micro amps or the bass terror so those aren't included. I would love to know which ones you guys enjoyed the most in this test and also what kind of styles you tend to play. It's always interesting to know what people would choose.

 

[ibanezrocks]

Re: The ultimate Orange lunchbox amp comparison! (7 amps)

Awesome, I've been waiting for you to post this! Unfortunately I'm traveling for without good headphones so I'll wait to listen.

Can you give us your thoughts on these? Which one is your favorite? Do you find there's a lot of overlap between them?

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[Guitarjon]

Re: The ultimate Orange lunchbox amp comparison! (7 amps)

Awesome, I've been waiting for you to post this! Unfortunately I'm traveling for without good headphones so I'll wait to listen.

Can you give us your thoughts on these? Which one is your favorite? Do you find there's a lot of overlap between them?

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Awesome! I hope you dig it once you find time to watch it.

Good questions! There definitely is overlap but they all sound unique. For instance the Jim Root has the same PCB as the OR15 but they're voiced quite differently. The Jim Root has more midrange 'bark' and attack while the OR15 has a slightly smoother, scooped and vintage tone.
It's hard to pick favorites but I'll give some thoughts:

-Tiny Terror

Great amp, definitely one of my favorites! I love the full ness, amount of gain and also the presence it has in the mix because of that nice raspy top-end character.

-Dual Terror

Very similar to the Tiny Terror of course but the FAT channel adds some very nice extra flavor to the amp. It is a little bit less gainy than my Tiny Terror and the clean tone is a bit more sparkly as can be heard in the video. Probably because of the extra headroom. I would highly recommend this one to anyone. The TT has just a little bit more mojo for me though.

-OR15

I love the looks of this one! The sound is good but in the high-gain departement I found it a little lacking in this comparison. The midrange isn't pronounced enough for me. Probably easily fixed with some pre-eq or something though. I thought it did great for all the other styles though. For modern rock or metal I'd choose the Jim Root over this one though.

-Jim Root

As explained above this one has more midrange attack and 'bark' than the OR15 so this one is great for heavier styles. Still pretty versatile though! I really love this one and it's also one of my fav's. Too bad they don't make these anymore. As can be heard in the video, both the JR and OR15 sound different than the Terrors. More smooth gain I'd say.

-Rocker 15 Terror

Great and versatile amp overall! I love the fact that it has 2 channels and the headroom/bedroom switch can be quite handy for people who play at low levels. The gain channel is super versatile! Maybe not the best one for heavy styles but it definitely can do that. Of course as with any Orange a boost can help tighten things up. I would prefer the clean channel to be a little brighter or have a treble control but having said that, it sounds great for what it is!

-Brent Hinds Terror

It looks similar to the Rocker 15 but it's very different. This one totally sounds like a Marshall. I wouldn't get this one if you're looking for that typical warm and fuzzy Orange sound. This one also has less gain than all of the others so for heavier styles this thing needs a boost imho which could be ironic? Great little pissed of amp though. The clean channel is too dark for my tastes.

-Dark Terror

What can I say? I really want to like it but I just can't gell with how scooped it sounds. I really need my amps to have more midrange punch and this one just can't seem to do it (without a boost or eq). So I'm not a fan (yet) but we'll see....

 

[ibanezrocks]

Re: The ultimate Orange lunchbox amp comparison! (7 amps)

Awesome! I hope you dig it once you find time to watch it.

Good questions! There definitely is overlap but they all sound unique. For instance the Jim Root has the same PCB as the OR15 but they're voiced quite differently. The Jim Root has more midrange 'bark' and attack while the OR15 has a slightly smoother, scooped and vintage tone.
It's hard to pick favorites but I'll give some thoughts:

-Tiny Terror

Great amp, definitely one of my favorites! I love the full ness, amount of gain and also the presence it has in the mix because of that nice raspy top-end character.

-Dual Terror

Very similar to the Tiny Terror of course but the FAT channel adds some very nice extra flavor to the amp. It is a little bit less gainy than my Tiny Terror and the clean tone is a bit more sparkly as can be heard in the video. Probably because of the extra headroom. I would highly recommend this one to anyone. The TT has just a little bit more mojo for me though.

-OR15

I love the looks of this one! The sound is good but in the high-gain departement I found it a little lacking in this comparison. The midrange isn't pronounced enough for me. Probably easily fixed with some pre-eq or something though. I thought it did great for all the other styles though. For modern rock or metal I'd choose the Jim Root over this one though.

-Jim Root

As explained above this one has more midrange attack and 'bark' than the OR15 so this one is great for heavier styles. Still pretty versatile though! I really love this one and it's also one of my fav's. Too bad they don't make these anymore. As can be heard in the video, both the JR and OR15 sound different than the Terrors. More smooth gain I'd say.

-Rocker 15 Terror

Great and versatile amp overall! I love the fact that it has 2 channels and the headroom/bedroom switch can be quite handy for people who play at low levels. The gain channel is super versatile! Maybe not the best one for heavy styles but it definitely can do that. Of course as with any Orange a boost can help tighten things up. I would prefer the clean channel to be a little brighter or have a treble control but having said that, it sounds great for what it is!

-Brent Hinds Terror

It looks similar to the Rocker 15 but it's very different. This one totally sounds like a Marshall. I wouldn't get this one if you're looking for that typical warm and fuzzy Orange sound. This one also has less gain than all of the others so for heavier styles this thing needs a boost imho which could be ironic? Great little pissed of amp though. The clean channel is too dark for my tastes.

-Dark Terror

What can I say? I really want to like it but I just can't gell with how scooped it sounds. I really need my amps to have more midrange punch and this one just can't seem to do it (without a boost or eq). So I'm not a fan (yet) but we'll see....

I ended up trading my Dark Terror for a Tiny Terror (plus $100) after watching the video and getting the trade offer locally. The Tiny Terror is much more musical than the Dark Terror, a lot less fizzy but still nice and crunchy.

I had read comparisons on several forums saying any tone from the Tiny Terror could be achieved with the Dark Terror and it's absolutely not true. Even the mid-gain tones on the Dark Terror had a fizzy high-end sitting on top of the sound that I couldn't stand.

I really like the classic/hard rock tones I'm getting now with the Tiny Terror, so the video was really helpful. Thanks for posting it.

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[Jacew]

Re: The ultimate Orange lunchbox amp comparison! (7 amps)

Really waiting to have time to listen this! Thanks.

-Tiny Terror

Great amp, definitely one of my favorites! I love the full ness, amount of gain and also the presence it has in the mix because of that nice raspy top-end character.

How the high end raspiness is compared to others? I loved TT's midrange bark, but highs we're always too raspy for my taste. (With JJ tubes).

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: The ultimate Orange lunchbox amp comparison! (7 amps)

The Dark Terror is one I wouldn't use.