Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

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a.hun
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by a.hun » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:29 pm

PENLIYL wrote:I'm getting the feeling that the TB1k is just a TB500 with twice the power and not much more. I've read some threads in the past couple of weeks that Orange is having QC issues with the TT/TB series amps being produced in the PRC. Any truth to that?
Meant to reply to that too.

The bass and guitar Terror versions don't have much in common apart from the metal case styling. The Terror Bass is a clever high tech follow up to the clever low tech (all valve!!!) Tiny Terror series guitar amps.

The early TTs (first few thousand) were made in Korea before production was moved to China. The move didn't seem to harm quality / reliability though and while there may be a little 'Korean built' one upmanship here I think it is pretty tongue in cheek, not really reflecting anything real world.

In fact proportionally speaking we've maybe even heard of more actual problems with the UK built Hard Wired version of the TT. Hard to say without knowing how many are out there, but it sometimes seems that way. Anyway if actually wanting a TT myself I'd happily buy the standard version rather than fork out extra for the HW one.

The BT is a totally different amp though, a new move with new technology for Orange. Occasional teething troubles are nearly inevitable when doing that and early versions of any new models (in any type of manufacturing!) are more likely to have them than later ones where any issues will have been addressed. However one thing you'll find here is that Orange are generally very good at getting any customer problems sorted. So if you are one of the unlucky few who experiences a genuine reliability issue (and most don't!) then they'll do their best to see you sorted.

Orange have a pretty good name for quality which they aren't going to throw away by not addressing any issues which do happen. Those of us who have been here a few years well remember a lot of problems with new or nearly new valve amps due to the cheaper valves then being fitted. As a result they started fitting much better quality valves. Just one example, but that is the sort of thing which gives you some faith in a company! :)


Andy.
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bassdrop
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by bassdrop » Thu Jul 07, 2011 3:34 am

Those DNA cabs look pretty sick. I'm curious to see if they are as efficient as their ratings suggest. I still have yet to pull the trigger on a 1x15.......
mmmmmm drop

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a.hun
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by a.hun » Thu Jul 07, 2011 8:55 am

bassdrop wrote:Those DNA cabs look pretty sick. I'm curious to see if they are as efficient as their ratings suggest. I still have yet to pull the trigger on a 1x15.......
Yeah, with a 106dB efficient cab you'd be fine with just a couple of hundred watts for many venues. Holy c**p, I hate to think how loud that rig should go. Should certainly give you some headroom anyway PENLIYL... :lol:

On 1x15s I'm looking at the featherweight Tecamp 115XS for smaller gigs, mainly because of their 212M cab I already own which is stunning. They do three larger 1x15s too but I really want to keep the weight to a minimum with the next cab.
Hate to think what Tecamp stuff costs in the US though...
PENLIYL wrote:3. More is better.
I've heard that theory too. :wink:
Myself I just go for tone, tone, tone. Guess I'm lucky that I was (almost) always happy gigging with 'just' 120 (Orange) valve watts into a fairly decent bass cab... :)


Andy.
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In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap, and much more difficult to find!

GummiTZ
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by GummiTZ » Thu Jul 07, 2011 10:25 am

A little update on the two issues I mentioned earlier in the thread. Did some testing yesterday.

1) D.I. output, I was not able to hear any clipping on the output. I tested into a +4dB line input, and also a mic-input with 40dB pad. So I consider my unit to be OK on this part.

2) The sudden loudness-change was only present on very low volume, and only on the speaker output, not the D.I (D.I. output level does not change regardless of how the master volume is set, and that is the way it should be). The master volume was at this point below 1 with hardly any sound output at all. I do not consider this an error either, as the amp has no use at this low volume. My guess is this may be caused by the internal resistance in the volume pot itself somehow, dust on the pot wiper or similar. I dunno.

I may add that I really do love this amp (and the cab, an SP410). It sounds really dark and good, and when recording with the D.I. it sits beautifully in the mix. I have only been using it with a G&L L-2000 so far, but it is being sold as I'm getting a Fender Precision Highway One instead. It will rule.

a.hun
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by a.hun » Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:00 pm

GummiTZ wrote:A little update on the two issues I mentioned earlier in the thread. Did some testing yesterday.

1) D.I. output, I was not able to hear any clipping on the output. I tested into a +4dB line input, and also a mic-input with 40dB pad. So I consider my unit to be OK on this part.
Okay, good, that sounds healthy then. Yes, some of the early ones clipped internally it seems, but it seems they've definitely sorted that one! 8)
Sure a line level DI would be far too hot into a mic input, but using a +4dB line input, or attenuating as you did into a mic input should both be fine.

Is the DI out balanced then? (Hopefully so if they are using an XLR output.) That would be good for longer cable runs.
2) The sudden loudness-change was only present on very low volume, and only on the speaker output, not the D.I (D.I. output level does not change regardless of how the master volume is set, and that is the way it should be). The master volume was at this point below 1 with hardly any sound output at all. I do not consider this an error either, as the amp has no use at this low volume. My guess is this may be caused by the internal resistance in the volume pot itself somehow, dust on the pot wiper or similar. I dunno.
That would be my guess too. Sounds like a non issue. Many pots are pretty jumpy right near full attenuation.

Thanks for the feedback! :D


Andy.
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In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap, and much more difficult to find!

GummiTZ
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by GummiTZ » Thu Jul 07, 2011 1:48 pm

a.hun wrote:Is the DI out balanced then? (Hopefully so if they are using an XLR output.) That would be good for longer cable runs.
Not sure really. Any easy way to test it?

a.hun
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by a.hun » Thu Jul 07, 2011 3:18 pm

Just looked at the manual. Apparently it is balanced. 8)


Andy.
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PENLIYL
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by PENLIYL » Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:16 pm

a.hun wrote:Yeah, with a 106dB efficient cab you'd be fine with just a couple of hundred watts for many venues. Holy c**p, I hate to think how loud that rig should go. Should certainly give you some headroom anyway PENLIYL... :lol:
Yeah, it's going to have some kick all right. I do play punk and alt rock, and I have a Guitar Player that has a volume issue, so maybe the amp will come in handy. I'd love to hear him complain I'm too loud ;)

I wanted to get the TB1k, more for clean headroom, than just pure volume. Again, based on what I have read, the 500 has a "dirty all the time" and "one trick Pony" label on several boards, Talkbass having the most posts.

Also, where I live I can't get my hands on one to try it out, so I'm stuck having to take my best guess from reviews, there are none really, and board/forum posts. I suppose if I was smart I'd get the GB Streamliner 900, since the overwhelming majority of posts are positive, but I've always wanted an Orange and love that Orange tone.

Well see....

** The "More is Better" was my attempt at humor.

Thanks for all the reply's to this post. I appreciate it.

doomed
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by doomed » Thu Jul 07, 2011 8:20 pm

I've been very happy with my TB500 & was looking forward to the bigger version but when i i rang Matamp last week to pay for my new 6x10 upon telling them what i was going to run through it, i was told "Oh you'll only have that a few more weeks." "Oh, how's that then, do you fancy chucking in a free gt200? :lol: " i replied. "Can't say too much. Keep watching our site" was the reply.....

pappswar
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by pappswar » Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:41 am

I can confirm that in Australia there is a "bad batch" of the Terror Bass 1000 amps. I have had 2 that lasted 3 days before they stopped working. The first time I was given a replacement, the second the store contacted the distributor (AMI) and was told there is a know production fault and I am now waiting for it to be repaired - not very happy Orange - it has been 5 weeks since I purchased the amp and I still am without it. At least Kosmic music provided me with a free loan amp - a Markbass - maybe that is what I should have purchased in the first place.

I hope that my faith is restored in Orange when I get the Terror Bass 1000 back in my hands and hopefully have no more issues with it.

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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by Randy Bass » Sun Feb 09, 2014 2:34 pm

pappswar wrote:I can confirm that in Australia there is a "bad batch" of the Terror Bass 1000 amps. I have had 2 that lasted 3 days before they stopped working. The first time I was given a replacement, the second the store contacted the distributor (AMI) and was told there is a know production fault and I am now waiting for it to be repaired - not very happy Orange - it has been 5 weeks since I purchased the amp and I still am without it. At least Kosmic music provided me with a free loan amp - a Markbass - maybe that is what I should have purchased in the first place.

I hope that my faith is restored in Orange when I get the Terror Bass 1000 back in my hands and hopefully have no more issues with it.
Do you know what the specific issues were with the two that you had? If not, it's too soon to conclude that there is a "bad batch". The most likely component to fail would be preamp tubes, which are third-party consumables. You'd first need to conclusively rule that out as the fault and subsequently isolate a single component as the cause of both issues. See if you can find out from the store what specific production fault was alleged. It would probably be helpful to others that come here in the future to see if that is consistent with their potential issues.
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a.hun
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by a.hun » Sun Feb 09, 2014 6:15 pm

Yeah, interesting that the distributor were told about a bad production batch. I'd say that my first thought would have otherwise been that a batch was damaged by rough handling in transit, and that the valves would be the first thing to suspect.

I'm sure you'll be sorted right, but yeah, it'd be good to get some feedback on whatever the problem turned out to be. Hope you are soon a happy owner. They seem very well liked by users so it is worth a little patience. Definite bummer when you end up with a duff amp though, let alone two!


Andy.
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Ever tried to outstare a mirror?

In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap, and much more difficult to find!

pappswar
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by pappswar » Sun Feb 09, 2014 10:49 pm

Yeah I am very curious to find out what the issue was exactly. I will post the problem when I find out. It is odd AMI (the distributor) said that there is a known production fault - if they had known why did they offer me a replacement in the first instance and not repair the so called "known fault".

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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by pappswar » Wed Feb 19, 2014 5:38 am

Ok ... got it back from the repairer today. It was the power supply assembly that was faulty.

I rang and spoke to the repairer and he thinks that the issue with the first amp was different to this one. It seems that this was a strange case of a coincidence - I just happened to get the 2 faulty ones in a long time. The repairer (Grant Ettrick for those of you that know him) told me that he has had no problems with the TB1000s and that they are usually reliable and solid units.

I will see how I go with this one, I have a few gigs coming up so its going to get quite a work out ... hopefully it does't die in the middle of a set.

a.hun
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Re: Terror Bass 1000 - Is it issue free?

Post by a.hun » Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:53 am

So hopefully just unlucky coincidence, and no bad batch in Australia.

Yeah I hope you have no more problems. Good luck!


Andy.
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Ever tried to outstare a mirror?

In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap, and much more difficult to find!

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