Thunderverb vs. Dual Dark

[DiabloS]

'Morning gentlemen,

All replies are much appreciated!

I was dead-set on the Dual Dark for quite a while, until I saw a Thunderverb for 950 euros (a little under 750GBP) less than list price. Unfortunately the day I called, the guy sold the amp moments before.

From what I have come to understand the Dual Dark has more of a modern sound whereas the Thunderverb will hark back to more classic/vintage tones, as mentioned by DiabloS. In your opinion, for the TV, would you speculate that one could use Channel A for leads and B for riffing, or would it be too dramatic of a leap between the two?

The fact that channel A and B are dramatically different is somewhat of a concern to me, then again it could be seen as a positive aspect of the amp as well, in terms of diversity.

What I also wonder is if you can obtain Thunderverb style sounds from backing off the gain on the Dual Dark. It seems not many people have tried the Dual Dark.

Thanks again, guys. Any further insight or discussion will be read with keen interest.

As far as the Thunderverb sounding more classic/vintage, I would say that mostly applies to channel A. When you mention using channel B for riffing and channel A for leads, that would actually be ideal since channel A has more mids and would cut through more for leads.

I'm assuming bands like Mastodon and Down that use the Thunderverb are using channel B for riffing since it has massive low end chunkiness. What I don't like about channel B is the lack of versatility it has due to the shape knob. When I dial in the amount of mids that I personally like for playing riffs that require a sharper attack, then I don't get enough treble and vice versa. But I do have fun playing with channel B and it sounds great for what it is... it's just not very versatile unless you start adding pedals, which I've been able to do with some success.

I can't really comment on the Dual Dark other than what I've heard on demos. It seems pretty good from what I've heard though. You can probably still get somewhat classic tones from the Dual Dark, but just not to the same degree that you would with the Thundeverb's channel A due to the extra gain stage.

By the way, the Thundeverb sounds phenomenal at low volume with its attenuator feature... I'm assuming the Dual Dark would be the same. Believe it or not, it's my favorite go to bedroom practice amp... even though it's a 50W tube amp!

[alexauxier]

Dual Dark 100 is amazing. I haven't sent one to a single person that has hated it.

Look, it's no secret that Adrian designed the Dual Darks to be "amps for people who don't normally like Orange." He's said it in videos. What you get is a tone, inherent on both channels, that has a distinctive "fuzz" just at the cusp of the mids and the treble.

The best way to describe it involves using other manufacturers' names (and let's avoid that) but you know how some amps have a "fizz" in the treble? Ours is a "fuzz" and it sits between the mids and treble. That's what makes it still an Orange amp. It's a fuzz, not a fizz in the upper-end of the EQ.

The Thunderverb 200 is amazing too. But the only reason Mastodon uses that now is because I haven't got them on the Dual Dark 100 yet. I guarantee you they'll make that switch once I nail them down on it.

[bclaire]

It's a fuzz, not a fizz...

That's the best description of an amp sound I've ever read!

[Les Paul Lover]

I really liked john BlackWolf demo of the Dual Dark - he made it sound like a Jcm800 on steroids, much fatter and fuller, and did great at classic rock tones, i was very impressed.

Not a classic Orange, but a great sounding amp I thought.

[Eddywtf]

Gentlemen, I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Apologies for the delayed response to your replies, my internet at home is acting up, you see.

DiabloSOrange I see what you are saying with the potential lack of flexibility on Channel B. I had this thought myself, though I think I can get a lot done with my MXR 10 band, I'll let you know how well that works when I have a chance to try it out. I have to say the attenuator is a huge plus for me. Living in a flat with neighbours all around will mean that I only get to crank it up Live, but an authentic tone should not be reserved to once a week. Orange really hit the nail on the head with this feature, by all accounts.

alexauxier That is fantastic, the concerns I had about the amplifier have now been addressed. Also, it's nice to hear from someone that works directly for Orange, thank you for taking the time to give me input. I was concerned from one or two testimonies that the fizz would be apparent in the sound of the distortion. I had some nightmares of MetalZone style sounds coming from my riff channel.
Of course, a dedicated high-gain amplifier is a change of pace for Orange, I was hoping that what I end up playing on will still have that "Orange" flavour. I wouldn't really want something that could easily be repackaged under a different name, if you get what I mean?

Les Paul Lover Agreed, John did an awesome job demoing the amp and along with everyone here, has given me a lot of insight.

Based on all this feedback I have sided with the Dual Dark. I will most certainly give you all my thoughts when it comes in, I am hoping before the end of the week! If I have time to do so I'll mic it up and play you guys some samples if you're interested.

[Eddywtf]

Hi guys,

Just in case anyone was wondering if I ended up getting my Dual Dark...

I'm afraid I was not able to buy the amp in the end. I have had to help family members out financially.
Maybe in a few months! I had already ordered the cabinet when I realised I wasn't able to get the head! Oh well.

[Les Paul Lover]

That's a shame - but there are more important things than gear I suppose.

Still, it lets you wait for what's gonna be released at NAMM.........

[a.hun]

Yeah that's a shame Eddywtf. Hope you can look on the positive side of things as LPL suggested. And you are clearly earning good karma points by getting your priorities right.

Hope to hear from you again when you have a nice new amp to go with that cab!

Groetjes aan Hilversum!


Andy.

[ironlung40]

Welcome to the forum! hope you get back on track and get the Dual Dark soon!

I would pick dual dark too due to only my experience with the TV..I played the TV200 and while it was an awesome amp, I didn't like the limitations of channel B (EQ and even voice) and I didn't like how the channels seemed a bit difficult to balance, Channel A is where I found great tones but I did not like the Ohms options for 200 watt mode only being 8 and 4 ohms. I would have ran it in 100 mode all the time into my PPC412 (16ohm) but then the amp only runs on 1 pair of valves...You can select and alternate between the pairs to even out the wear, but this is approaching hassle to remember and keep up with for me as I wouldn't want the valves to wear unevenly in case I wanted to run in 200 watt mode. I most likely would have bought the HP cab for it, but i didn't like the drivers in it as I prefer the G12H's and V30's....so the speaker options, power/tube options, and the fact that I never got on with channel B were the deciding factors for me to not buy one.

[Eddywtf]

Hey guys, thank you very much for the encouraging words. I really like the community here, everyone is very helpful and supportive. I've been a member of forums in the past but you guys are definitely the friendliest bunch I have encountered.

ironlung40 It's nice to hear some practical feedback and based on this I am very much settled on my choice of the Dual Dark. It's great to have been given this insight without having to find out myself somewhere down the line; I didn't end up getting the HP cab, so what you have stated is highly relevant to me. Thank you for sparing me the disappointment in having to learn this the hard way!

[ironlung40]

Hey guys, thank you very much for the encouraging words. I really like the community here, everyone is very helpful and supportive. I've been a member of forums in the past but you guys are definitely the friendliest bunch I have encountered.

ironlung40 It's nice to hear some practical feedback and based on this I am very much settled on my choice of the Dual Dark. It's great to have been given this insight without having to find out myself somewhere down the line; I didn't end up getting the HP cab, so what you have stated is highly relevant to me. Thank you for sparing me the disappointment in having to learn this the hard way!

Hey...no problem. I am really glad it helped you. Sometimes these kind of details can be overlooked and while it may not be an issue or hassle for many, it may be the deciding factor for some. I really battled hard over whether I should buy a TV200 for sometime and in the end it just didn't suit me, even though it is a great amp.

[pedecamp]

I have played the DD50 and TV50. The DD50 as been mentioned before provides modern tones and gobs of gain. The TV50 provides classic tones and can get pretty gainy on both channels but you'd need a clean boost to match the gain of the DD50. Both amps sound different from one another so IMO you cant dial one in to sound like the other. So you need to decide what you want - modern or classic. Good luck with it.

[scottlynn73]

In a rehearsal room with a TV200 and a Hog2 feeding it an octave below and the dry signal, amp on 200w mode, cranked, treble quite low...... well the satisfaction of that is something no amp has ever given me (including Mesas, TH100, Rockerverb, Marshall JVM410H, Peavey Ultra, Laney VH100R).

You just feel that thing.