I bought a Dark Terror back in October last year after being wowed when i tried it instore through an expensive Marshall 4X12. It was to be my first head/cab set up as well as my first tube amp
Over the next few days i got an Orange PPC212 cab - the open backed one - and found it to be be even better sounding than the Marshall
When i bought it i had intended to use it at gigs and for rehearsing with my band - we play what i guess you could label as a cross between Periphery and Rise to Remain. However i found it wasnt cutting it. It lacked the tightness and clarity i required. I began feeling slightly let down - im not sure why i thought an Orange would be the right amp for the job
However, being a fan of all kinds of music, i began to use the amp for 'old school metal'; playing covers of maiden, sabbath etc and suddenly i got it. This is a superb amp. I can't get enough of it. For 70's/80's metal, this thing absolutely kills. As a youngster used to playing through modelling amps and software sims, to suddenly 'get' the fuss about tube amps was a revelation. Its also great at blues, modern rock, and i guess stoner metal; in short, anything but a tight, focused modern sound.
The shape knob is a really cool feature - i'll admit to being slightly sceptical about the lack of a 3 band eq - but most of the time you can dial in the sound you're looking for. For example, with the shape knob set at about 11 o'clock you can get real close to a piece of mind era Maiden tone. At about 2 o'clock is a more modern metalcore tonality. And of course at the far right you've got your scooped sounds - but i don't use these - love my mids
Its also plenty loud for my uses - that is to say rehearsing in a loud 5 piece metal band. I haven't gigged it, but im confident it would stand up to smaller gigs, and of course if you mic it you can play anywhere.
Overall im definately impressed with this amp - ultra simple and portable, this is an amp for players rather than tweakers. Its not quite what i was looking for when i bought it; if you are looking for modern metal tones than i would look elsewhere. I havent tried boosting with an OD, or an EQ in the loop yet - but if you do want that kind of sound there are far better equipped amps out there that'll do a better job straight out the box, like they should. However although it won't 'djent', if you dabble in pretty much anything but, there is a lot of fun to be had here
Linear Mode
