Orange Terror Amps (Which Class)

Orange Amps Technical Q&A's

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adkguy07
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Orange Terror Amps (Which Class)

Post by adkguy07 » Thu May 02, 2019 11:05 am

I have an Orange Dark Terror. It is single channel, but I'm not sure about it’s classification or type.
My guess is that it's a class A style. Then 2nd. question I have is: How often should the EL84 power tubes be replaced; knowing a lot has to do with how often and to what degree the amp is operated.
I replaced my EL84 pair with a matched and tested pair in early November 2018; that after a mishap with a stock power tube failing and wiping out a fuse. The amp only had about 10 months playing time on it when it went down. Should I be changing power tubes say, every 10-12 months with this amp, or is it needless worrying on my part?

adkguy07

Jondog
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Re: Orange Terror Amps (Which Class)

Post by Jondog » Thu May 02, 2019 4:42 pm

It`s Class A in a Class AB push-pull format. Tube life is variable. If you`re playing a lot and pushing the amp hard they`ll obviously wear out more quickly, also the quality of the valve plays a factor, some are tested for performance. If you notice red plating, or decreased volume, weak tone it might be time to replace them. I`ve had valves last 2 weeks (catastrophic failure), and some still going strong after several years. For reliability it`s probably good to have them checked every year if it`s important.
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adkguy07
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Re: Orange Terror Amps (Which Class)

Post by adkguy07 » Thu May 02, 2019 8:01 pm

Jondog wrote:
Thu May 02, 2019 4:42 pm
It`s Class A in a Class AB push-pull format. Tube life is variable. If you`re playing a lot and pushing the amp hard they`ll obviously wear out more quickly, also the quality of the valve plays a factor, some are tested for performance. If you notice red plating, or decreased volume, weak tone it might be time to replace them. I`ve had valves last 2 weeks (catastrophic failure), and some still going strong after several years. For reliability it`s probably good to have them checked every year if it`s important.
The Dark Terror does not lose volume as far as I can determine. What does happen (and it may be shortcoming of my hearing perhaps) is the occurrence of a slight loss of the highs once it runs about 30 minutes. I had a Blues Jr. with 2 EL84 for power and as I remember, it too seemed to lose highs after warming itself up. I should think that is something that is preamp tube related?!


adkguy07

Jondog
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Re: Orange Terror Amps (Which Class)

Post by Jondog » Thu May 02, 2019 8:30 pm

I won’t say its not the amp, but that is a symptom of ear fatigue
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