Orange Amps Forum

"Hi everyone on here"
This is my first post on the forum, so I thought i'd just get that out the way
I've just got myself a new Orange Dual Terror Amp with a PPC212OB Open Back 2x12 Cabinet (Black)
I do think the little amplifier has amazing tone ( hence why I got it ) But the lack of FX loop is a bit disappointing.

Well onto my questions
I would like to know if anyone has found a way around not having an FX Loop ?

1) Like sending a delay pedal through another amp ( I have a Roland Cube 80xl and was thinking of sending the wet signal to the clean channel only, from a delay such as the "Vox Time machine", So it would be like a wet/dry with two amps.

2) would a distortion pedal, then a delay pedal, going into the Dual Terror set clean give me a good sound with enough volume for pub gigs ? ( I mean Clean as with the volume all the way up & the gain set as high as it will go before braking up )

3) Or with a line out/ DI out to my Roland Cube for a wet/dry rig ?
Any feedback on this post is much appreciated, Thanks.

I have a great idea... Run the delay pedal into the front of the amp!!!

I stopped using an effects loop a while ago and TBH I don't miss it one bit. What sort of delay pedal are you using? If you have something like the Strymon Timeline it is quite simple to have the same two identical patches tweaked slightly for clean/dirty. Sure it might sound "cleaner" going through an FX loop, but I really like how my amp gets pushed when the delay/reverb ramps up.

Back when I was starting out with Orange amps I was obsessed with the FX loop. I ran two cables into the FX loop, and two more from the guitar to the amp, and another for the foot switch. It was a messy setup. I went through many pedal boards and kept this same setup until recently. I not only discovered that plugging into the effects loop takes away from the original tone, but my delay/reverb pushing the preamp sounds great! Not to mention I only have to run 2 cables now (when using wireless).

I originally used the FX loop because people made it seem like it was the only option. Try going straight into the amp and tweaking separate patches for clean/dirty. Slightly lower mix and decay settings should do the trick on higher gain settings.

If you finally decide you do need an FX loop, you could probably run two amps like you said, or pickup a TH30, or used Rockerverb 50.

There's nothing wrong with running into the front of the amp. It actually sounds better with some delays. I have two in my board and go into the front of an RV50 instead of utilizing it's effects loop.

Congrats on your New amp!!!

I have that vox time machine too. Great delay, sp simple to use! I use it a lot with my AD15 (no loop), and it works great.... So long as I keep the level quite low. From 10 o'clock On the level knob, the repeat is actually louder than the original note played!!! I also keep my gain very moderate on the amp (to suit my style) and have the repeats usually set quite low too.

It works greats that way, sounds beautiful with slightly dirty arpegio progression or slightly dirty.picking.

Through the loop of my RV50. The delay is a lot easier to use, and so is my tremolo, but it's still very.good with the AD15.

Hey man! First of all welcome to the forum

Congrats on an awesome amp! These days I've been feeling nostagic after selling mine last year and wish it wass till on myliving room right on top of my other Orange heads

Like the boys said up there I never got a bad sound running my delays fromthe front of the amp. Like you I was a bit obsessed about the fx loop ( maybe you're not but I was) and as soon as the TH30 came out I bought for that reason and the added gain.

Turns out that after patching all those cables through the fx loop my tone had changed to the point I was dissapointed. A little research revealed that tube fx loop do color the sound when in use, since another tube is working in the chain, and well it just wasn't for me.

So even thought I still have the TH30 when I use it is just raw or with the delay up front. I do use a double setup where my reverb comes from a Fender combo but The wah and the delay comes from the Orange. No problems there and the sound is like a tank.

Theeorical1 wrote:"Hi everyone on here"
This is my first post on the forum, so I thought i'd just get that out the way
I've just got myself a new Orange Dual Terror Amp with a PPC212OB Open Back 2x12 Cabinet (Black)
I do think the little amplifier has amazing tone ( hence why I got it ) But the lack of FX loop is a bit disappointing.

Well onto my questions
I would like to know if anyone has found a way around not having an FX Loop ?

1) Like sending a delay pedal through another amp ( I have a Roland Cube 80xl and was thinking of sending the wet signal to the clean channel only, from a delay such as the "Vox Time machine", So it would be like a wet/dry with two amps.

2) would a distortion pedal, then a delay pedal, going into the Dual Terror set clean give me a good sound with enough volume for pub gigs ? ( I mean Clean as with the volume all the way up & the gain set as high as it will go before braking up )

3) Or with a line out/ DI out to my Roland Cube for a wet/dry rig ?
Any feedback on this post is much appreciated, Thanks.

I don't use effects loops... I run everything into the front of the amp.

Thanks for your input & advice guys.
I've never tried a delay pedal in front of any amp in the past ( always thought it was a bad idea distorting the delay sounds )
Was always told "delaying the distorted sound" is much better that "distorting the delay sound"? ( thats why fx loops were made I guess )
I never even knew that using the FX loop changes the tone so much.
Guess i'll need to give it a try with my Vox delay in front of the amp when I get it & see how it sounds.

This is my second valve amp, had a Marshall 50w DSL 8 years ago & I did not like the gain channel ( only sounded good if everything was at 7 or more ) I got the Dual Terror because it was value for ££££ and sounds great at low volumes.
I needed a amp that was good to gig with but also great for home use & recording. ( 7w 15w 30w in a amp is just what I need )
If I had the £££££ I would love the Rockerverb 50 ( the best amp I've ever heard ) but £1300 was a bit out of my budget.

I've not had a tube amp for 6 years, just been using Solid State stuff at home, but looking to get out and do some gigs now.
Once used a Peavey Vypyr at a show, some years back, playing some Vai & Satch songs. It sounded like someone put a blanket over my amp. Not good !
So if im going out to do some gigs this time, I want to be prepared.
Could even end up using my "Roland Cube 80xl" alongside my "Dual Terror", if the headroom's not there for Cleans.

Nice purchase, you won't be disappointed, I use the same set up. I usually play through the TT channel with gain about 10 o'clock and volume where it's needed for the venues we play (pubs, clubs and smallish halls usually) which is normally around 2 o'clock. This gives me a nice pretty clean tone and sounds great with pedals, loves a good overdrive and is happy with delay and reverb too, I don't miss the loop. As you'll have found out, different story if you up the gain - nice sound but turns to mush if you add any time based pedals before the pre-amp.
So yea, just put everything through the front of the amp and the DT will easily cover all but the sort of gigs where you'd want to be miked up anyway.
I actually gigged with the tiny terror for a good while, that was loud enough for most venues and half the wattage of the DT.

Great to hear it has the clean head room, If it has it, then maybe i'll use the TT channel set clean, like you & run a Distortion & delay pedal through that side for solos & use the other channel for riffs/ rocking out

Same story here... I used to think I needed an FX loop. I use my Dual Terror and TV50 all the time. I rarely bother with the FX loop on the TV50 even though I have that option. Like others have said, if you set your delay correctly, low on the mix and repeats, it'll usually sound fine through the front. Especially in a band mix.

I use an MXR Carbon Copy with all of the knobs set around 9-10 o'clock with the gain at 2 o'clock on my Dual Terror and it sounds great for leads in a band mix.

i used to care about fx loops due to messageboards and info all over the net about how imperative it is to for all delay/echo/etc type sounds. i've since stopped giving a pile of poop as for my usage, delay sounds just fine in front of my dual terror.

I agree with everyone here in that in most instances, running pedals in front of most amps will serve you just fine. Some of them are especially nice with the DT. My Phase 90 never sounded so good than in front of my DT. Choruses, delays, and reverbs will be ok, but you do need to keep the levels on the low side. I even found that I had to watch the levels on a lot Orange amps that had built in reverb.

effects loops are advantageous if you have a rack in the backline using midi to control everything, or have a remote switch to turn it on and off and/or having crystal clear repeats into a clean clean amp or something, but hey I don't think the king of delay The Edge even uses an effects loop. there are some complicated external loop option but really, I don't think theyre anywhere near worth it unless, you know, you are playing guitar for I don't know steely dan or some huge worship band that has a rig like mentioned above.

otherwise its a lot of extra cabling and not much pay off. i have used an fx loop on an old 5150 head i had where i was running reverb from a rack unit that was on all the time and stayed in the backline with the amp. that was cool and all but I'd never do it again. its highly subjective but most common knowledge says run dirt pedals before delay pedals if going in to a clean amp, but there are a billion examples of the opposite. its a matter of taste. plenty of guys play a delay in to the front of fenders and voxes that don't have loops. to sum it up. PLAY IN INTO THE FRONT AND NEVER LOOK BACK!

Although I'm not pressed to do it myself, I'd be curious to hear from anyone who's tried the Jule Mod of putting an effects loop in one of the channels.

Back when I had a Triple XXX, I ran a small pedalboard with chorus, delay, and Reverb through the effects loop to dress up the clean channel, but I would have to shut it on/off whenever I changed channels. It was a bit of a PITA and it robbed the Triple XXX's dirty channels of their sound a bit--they don't realize their full power when the effects loop is off for whatever reason.

However, being that the loop would only affect one channel on the DT, I wouldn't have to do the tap dance I had to for the Triple XXX.