User Review of the Orange Tiny Terror Guitar Amp

In recent years small low-wattage guitar amplifiers have become coveted items. Orange, Marshall, Vox and others have begun producing low watt (under 30 watts RMS), all-tube amps with relatively low price tags and small form factors. The main selling point of these small units is that they can be cranked to produce the sought-after saturated tube tone without waking the neighbors. I perceive that this is due to two potential factors 1) more and more artists have begun recording independently in home studios and these smaller amps lend themselves nicely to these homespun ventures and 2) modern live sound systems allow for a small amp to be miked and amplified allowing the artist to have a much smaller rig for easy transportation. The days of the "wall of Marshalls" have come to a close it would seem.

Recently I purchased an Orange Tiny Terror. The Tiny Terror is a simple all-tube guitar amp that consists of 15 and 7 watt modes. The Tiny Terror is available as a standalone head capable of powering up to a 4x12 cabinet or as a 1x12 combo. Here are my first impressions of this little wonder.

Form Factor and Basic Features

The small Tiny Terror is encased in an approximately 12"x6" metal chassis with a metal handle on the top and only a few simple controls. Across the front are a power switch, a wattage selector (with standby mode), a power indicator lamp, Volume, Tone, and Gain knobs, and an input jack. On the back of the unit are two 8 ohm cabinet jacks, one 16 ohm cabinet jack and the power connector for the included power cord. Also every Tiny Terror comes with a black canvas carrying case with "Orange" stitched across the front in, well, the color orange. The amp comes equipped with two 12AX7 tubes in the preamp stage and two EL84 power amp tubes.

NOTE: The Tiny Terror does not come with reverb or an effects loop.

Function and Sound

The operation of the Tiny Terror is simple. Plug in the power cable. Hook up a speaker cabinet (being sure to connect it to the correct jack on the back; see owner's manual for further instructions) before you turn on the power. Plug in your instrument and then turn on the power switch.

It is a good idea to turn on the amp with the second switch in the Standby position to give the tubes at least one minute to warm up before putting them to work. After waiting a minute turn the wattage selector to either the 15 watt or 7 watt position. Adjust the tone, volume and gain controls to achieve the desired tone and then wail.

Do not let the simplicity of these controls fool you. What makes the Tiny Terror such a great and simple amp is that its inherent characteristics make for a great sounding tone so very little tweaking will be required. It is a cinch to dial in a great tone.

To get the most out of this amp you will want to increase the volume at least to the 11 o' clock or eve noon position. This is where this amp starts really sounding good. Then just dial in the amount of Gain you need.

One word of caution: a good tube amp will bring out the natural tone of your guitar a lot (especially the Tiny Terror) so the quality of guitar you are using will greatly affect the outcome of your tone with the Tiny Terror. If you are using a cheap guitar with cheap pickups then you may not get a desirable tone...or you might. It all depends on what you are after! Just be sure to try one out in a store with your guitar before purchasing.

I have found that the Tiny Terror is able to cover a large spectrum of tone styles. At lower gain levels it is possible to get a very crisp and usable clean though it is not purely clean. However if you turn down the Gain and raise the Volume to compensate as well as decrease the volume slightly on your guitar it can clean up very nicely with a very organic sound. At lower to mid Gain levels it is possible to get a bluesy and classic rock tone and of course Orange's signature British crunch. However the Tiny Terror can get some thick fuzzy metal tone as well by pushing the Gain past 1 o' clock. Keep in mind however how much your guitar and its pickups determine the type of tones you can get from this (or any amp).

A Word about Volume and Gain

The interplay between the Volume and Gain on the Tiny Terror is very important when it comes to getting the right tone out of this amp. If you are looking for a cleaner tone you will of course decrease the Gain. However gain plays into how loud the amp is so you will need to compensate the loss of Gain with more Volume. Higher Volume with a lower Gain produces a clean tone. And of course the inverse is true. You can dime the Gain knob but you will probably need to lower the Volume knob if you do.

Bottom Line

This amp is made for obtaining that coveted overdriven tube tone at acceptable levels. Do not believe the reviews that may say this small amp can not keep up with a drummer in a band situation. It certainly can hold its on in a band. However if you plan on playing large venues, it may be worth your while to either invest in a 4x12 cabinet or a really good microphone (like the Shure SM57 or Sennheiser e906) with which to mic your cabinet. The Orange Tiny Terror is low maintenance and has a great output and is built very well. And for under $600 you can not go wrong with this amp. I absolutely love mine and if it were ever lost or stolen I would promptly replace it. It beats my Marshall JCM900 on the tone front hands down!

I hope that this has been useful to you. Thanks for reading!