Ordered one of the newer Orange Terror Bass 500 heads recently, after having sold mine about half a year ago (to buy a fender rumble 500). Just wondering what people were using for pedals with this amp.
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Orange Terror Bass 500 Owners - What pedals are you using?
- Thread starter joshua127
- Start date
Terror 500 is a great amp. Only got rid of mine because it was limited to 4 ohms. Use whatever pedals you need to enhance your sound — all will be compatible with the Terror.
I’ve mostly been using my terror with projects where I’m not using pedals, but have used plenty of pedals with my AD200. In short, any pedal you’d use with any other amp. The baked in eq of the orange can be a little more challenging to navigate than something with a more neutral basal tone, but that’s all part of the experience.
Lately my go to for dirty sounds with the AD have been a cat tail and an eqd zoar. Prior I was favoring a Timmy clone.
Lately my go to for dirty sounds with the AD have been a cat tail and an eqd zoar. Prior I was favoring a Timmy clone.
Sorry to parachute in so unceremoniously, but how loud is the Terror Bass? Can you play a small to mid-sized no PA club with a loud drummer and guitarist?
500 watts at 4 ohms. Loudness will depend on the cabs you choose. If you can’t play a mid sized club with 500 watts into an efficient 4 ohm speaker load the rest of the band is probably too loud.
I gig mine with one or two OBC112s, and one been NXV210 before that. Never had a volume problem indoors, outdoors, small or large, PA or not. But that’s mostly with a reasonable volume level. In my loud band I usually use the AD200 or similar tube amps, still haven’t run into a situation they couldn’t handle.
I've been told by someone who owns and regularly uses one in a couple cover bands, one rock, one funk that the Terror Bass is a pretty good platform out of the box to add whatever effects you feel you need to. The amp does get a clean sound but also can get very gritty and dirty on its own too.
I used an older Terror Bass from about fifteen years ago. I remember it as basically being veeeery easy to overdrive (the preamp, of course). With a passive bass with "normal" output. It was also kinda mushy, not a "tight" overdrive.
OP (this is off topic) I'd be interested to know why you changed the Terror to a Rumble and back again? No criticism, just someone who hasn't had a big rig in years (Crushbass 50 me 
) but it suits my noodling for the moment, but dreaming of a bigger stack at some point and love Orange stuff. What cabs are you running the new terror through?
) but it suits my noodling for the moment, but dreaming of a bigger stack at some point and love Orange stuff. What cabs are you running the new terror through?
I used a v1 Terror for over 10 years as my only gigging amp. It took a couple horrible falls 4-5 years back one night during a load out/trip home, and duly developed some reliability issues, so sadly I don't use it much anymore. It's a great amp! Used it either with a single MarkBass 1x12 (8ohm), or a pair of them (4ohm) for big/outdoor stages, and I never had volume problems.
As for pedals, I loved setting the Terror for edge of breakup (stayed clean with light playing, but just started to show some hair/grit when I really smashed the strings) and then hitting it with an overdrive. That thing roared! But it's equally at home doing deep dub reggae, motown, RnB, blues, or funk. It was maybe a slightly "beefier" clean tone than what some of those genres would traditionally opt for, but I never got any funny looks or comments from the various bands I would bring it out for. Sub octave, envelope filter, phaser/uni-vibe... all were great running through the Terror.
I use a Mesa D-350 head these days, so I have a tube preamp on my board (Sushi Box) which is modelled off the Orange AD200 front end. Now, even though I'm not using the Terror head anymore, the "Orange" sound is still the core of my tone
This is perhaps the one pedal I wouldn't use with the Terror, since it'd be a little redundant.
As for pedals, I loved setting the Terror for edge of breakup (stayed clean with light playing, but just started to show some hair/grit when I really smashed the strings) and then hitting it with an overdrive. That thing roared! But it's equally at home doing deep dub reggae, motown, RnB, blues, or funk. It was maybe a slightly "beefier" clean tone than what some of those genres would traditionally opt for, but I never got any funny looks or comments from the various bands I would bring it out for. Sub octave, envelope filter, phaser/uni-vibe... all were great running through the Terror.
I use a Mesa D-350 head these days, so I have a tube preamp on my board (Sushi Box) which is modelled off the Orange AD200 front end. Now, even though I'm not using the Terror head anymore, the "Orange" sound is still the core of my tone
This is perhaps the one pedal I wouldn't use with the Terror, since it'd be a little redundant.
So when I got the Terror for the first time, I was really struggling to understand the EQ on it, and I got kinda frustrated with not being able to get a good sound out of it on the bass that I was using at the time (which was a Squier P-bass). But that mostly came down to me not understanding the controls on it. Ended up trying one out again at Guitar Center (with a jazz bass) and kinda fell in love with it again, plus my Rumble is just a little too heavy for me to carry around regularly (I'm a small guy). Also, because of the tube preamp, the terror just kinda has that tone to it, which I miss.OP (this is off topic) I'd be interested to know why you changed the Terror to a Rumble and back again? No criticism, just someone who hasn't had a big rig in years (Crushbass 50 me
Right now I'm using a Fender Rumble 115 Cabinet with it, but I'm planning to pick up an OBC112 or something like it when I get the cash.
Any reason why you stopped using a Timmy clone? I'm using one currently too (Built By Speck PBR Drive).
What's the zoar like on bass? Is there any low end loss?
I built mine from the janray layout. No particular reason, I rotated out a few and the zoar and cat tail landed on my board for what I was doing at the time. Once I finish up this recording project I might end up going back to the Timmy.
No complaints with low end on the zoar, tracked a quick demo here with my grabber and AD200.
love my v2. plenty loud and the tone just seems to JUMP out of it. it has this wide open feeling. slightly unhinged, yet well mannered enough to bring to dinner. Cali76 and Pork Loin to taste.
ive never had a positive tonal experience with a rumble.
ive never had a positive tonal experience with a rumble.
The same pedals I use with any other amps of course!?!?!
The only thing I would perhaps be slightly wary about are pedals with an inherently "warm", muddy tone. The Bass Terror is a rather warm/fat sounding amp (as opposed to bright/hi-fi). I guess an inherently muddy sounding pedal can sound reasonably ok with some other amps but not be a great choice for the Terror.
FWIW, I have never actually owned a Terror Bass, but I have played one on LOTS of occasions in a rehearsal space where I often meet up with friends. I have often brought my own pedalboard, which is put together with a Hiwatt DR201 in mind. The DR201 is a very bright/hi-fi sounding amp compared to the Terror. My pedals still sounded great.
Make sure you learn how the tone controls on the Terror work though. Do not assume that all controls at 12 o'clock=flat. It's not. The Terror has a (more or less) Fender tone stack. I would start with the bass/treble at around 9 o'clock and mids at around 2-3 o'clock and adjust to taste from there. Those settings (more or less...) will be as close to "flat" as you're gonna get. Which may not be what you want of course, but it will probably be a good starting point.
The only thing I would perhaps be slightly wary about are pedals with an inherently "warm", muddy tone. The Bass Terror is a rather warm/fat sounding amp (as opposed to bright/hi-fi). I guess an inherently muddy sounding pedal can sound reasonably ok with some other amps but not be a great choice for the Terror.
FWIW, I have never actually owned a Terror Bass, but I have played one on LOTS of occasions in a rehearsal space where I often meet up with friends. I have often brought my own pedalboard, which is put together with a Hiwatt DR201 in mind. The DR201 is a very bright/hi-fi sounding amp compared to the Terror. My pedals still sounded great.
Make sure you learn how the tone controls on the Terror work though. Do not assume that all controls at 12 o'clock=flat. It's not. The Terror has a (more or less) Fender tone stack. I would start with the bass/treble at around 9 o'clock and mids at around 2-3 o'clock and adjust to taste from there. Those settings (more or less...) will be as close to "flat" as you're gonna get. Which may not be what you want of course, but it will probably be a good starting point.
Stinky_Fingers
Supporting Member
I also used a Cat Tail with mine. In my main band, I play with one guitarist who uses a Mesa Triple Rec, and I find that Rat snarl is exactly what I need to cut through. I try other pedals and it just isn't the same.
I'm also currently standing in with another band with two guitarists, and using a Fuzzrocious Lil Fella there. I have the gain set pretty high, drive rolled back a bit, tone up past noon. Adds the growl I want but rips through the mix less, works better in that band mix I think.
In both cases I set the Terror Bass EQ to 0-10-0, and the drive either at noon or a little before. Just get a little bit of natural amp break up playing with no pedals. Then hitting it with either of the Fuzzrocious pedals just sounds great, the preamp drive isn't my favourite by itself but it adds something there that I really like. Then adjust the EQ to taste, but honestly it just tends to be a little bit of bass or treble added if the room needs it.
I've had issues with my TB, it fell out of the van once and I think it jolted the limiter, so it started cutting out when I dug in. It also had a power issue which pretty much killed it dead. I also tear my hair out when I use the DI out and need more stage volume... But since it's been fixed, I've been having an absolute blast with it. After a decade of using various preamp pedals and trying to get that tone perfect, I'm really enjoying having a period of time where I can just plug in and go with a smile on my face.