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Old 07-02-2016, 02:53 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Default New Orange practice rig...

I decided I needed an amp for playing my electric guitar, and came across an Orange Micro Dark hybrid amp head and a matching Orange 8" PPC108 speaker cabinet....I listened to some demoes on YouTube and Sweetwater's website, and was impressed with the range of tones and the simplicity of it's controls to dial in a great sound. I like the fact that it's a hybrid amp and has a tube for a pre-amp. I like the fact that I can record directly off the amp into my computer's software. I like the fact I can use headphones with it. I like the fact that it's very small and light weight. I like the fact that it's an Orange amp. I've heard nothing but good things about them. I really liked the sound of it and think it will work out great with my many foot pedals. This is basically just for practice in my living room, so it should be adequate for my needs. It's scheduled for delivery this Tuesday.


I wasn't really looking for a new amp, but this set up really caught my eye right away, after hearing it and thinking about it for awhile, I decided yes I could use a good electric guitar practice amp setup. Yay more toys !!
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Old 07-02-2016, 04:15 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Here's a link to the amp head...

https://orangeamps.com/micro-dark/


Here's a link to the PPC108 speaker cabinet...

https://orangeamps.com/products/guit...eaker-cabinet/
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Old 07-03-2016, 07:53 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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I stopped in at Sam Ash store today and got a first hand look at the Orange amp and speaker. It's just a tiny little thing. It's hard to believe it puts out such a strong sound. But it's just what I wanted...a hybrid amp with a tube pre...and they say it's all analog...maybe that's why it sounds so good. Some people are saying to run it into a 12" speaker for optimum results....others are saying to record with it, to get the best results, just put a 57 mic in front of the cabinet ... I have a BLUE Baby Bottle mic that should get good results.

I read the manual and it states to use a dedicated speaker cable, not an instrument cable to connect to a speaker cabinet. So I bought one today at Guitar Center.

Before I buy a 12" speaker and cabinet, I want to hear how the PPC108 8" speaker sounds...it may be more than enough to fill my living room with sound. I've heard a couple of demo's of the PPC108 and it sounds pretty darn good to me.
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Old 07-04-2016, 12:39 AM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Many people are saying the PPC108 is okay but to go with a 12" speaker for best sound with that Micro Dark amp. I've always heard that 12" speakers work best for guitar. So I decided to go ahead and get one. I found a used Marshall angled 12" cabinet with an upgraded G12T-75 Celestion speaker. I looked at cabinets high and low all over the internet and this one was the best deal I could find.....I've always had good luck with Marshall amps, and regret selling the 50 watt half stack I had a few years ago.

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Last edited by Yamaha Man; 07-04-2016 at 10:10 PM.
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Old 07-05-2016, 04:03 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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It's here...

hmmm...

I'll wait until I hear it thru the Marshall 12" speaker before I make a final judgement.
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Last edited by Yamaha Man; 07-05-2016 at 04:42 PM.
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Old 07-05-2016, 05:57 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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At first I wasn't impressed with the Micro Dark amp, but after trying it with different pickups, I'm finding that the pickups make a world of difference, and once you dial in a good sound it's not too bad. Some guitars sound better than others. So far the best sounding combo I have is with the Pono and it's M-80 pickup...that sounds pretty decent. But even still you must play lightly or you'll overdrive the tube and get a nasty distortion...it seems the longer I play with this amp, the better it gets, but I wouldn't want to play out with it. It's just not professional quality that I'd like. I was getting some nasty cutting out at first, but trouble shooted that down to a guitar's electronics. Switching guitars solved that problem. I'd still like to hear this thru the 12" cabinet. The PPC108 cabinet is too much like a toy. I doubt that I'd use it for recording.
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Old 07-05-2016, 06:56 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Maniac View Post
At first I wasn't impressed with the Micro Dark amp...I'm finding that the pickups make a world of difference...Some guitars sound better than others...even still you must play lightly or you'll overdrive the tube and get a nasty distortion...it seems the longer I play with this amp, the better it gets, but I wouldn't want to play out with it. It's just not professional quality that I'd like...
Um, FYI the Micro Dark was designed as a home practice amp for the headbanger crowd - it's supposed to sound nasty and distorted even at low volume, and it's definitely not the way to go with an acoustic-electric guitar like your Pono; you might be able to tame it a bit by swapping out the preamp tube - I'm thinking it's a high-gain (most likely Chinese) 12AX7, similar to what Mesa uses in their OD circuits - for a 5751 or 12AT7, but you're never going to get a "tube clean" (Fender/Ampeg) tone from this puppy. I say keep it for when/if you get an electric (as I suggested, play with the tubes to dial in the tone you're after) - should make a nice studio lead amp with that Marshall bottom - and look at something like a Bugera V5 combo; comparable price, you've got a tube power stage as well, and with the right selection of pre/power tubes (and a replacement/extension speaker) you should be able to find a combination that meets all your needs...
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Old 07-05-2016, 07:10 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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No, I've come to the conclusion that the speaker in the PPC 108 is blown. I can't get a decent tone out of it and I'm getting crackling that sounds like a blown speaker. I'm sending it back tomorrow. Whoever had the speaker before must have overdriven the snot out of it.

The Marshall MHZ112A cabinet has shipped and will be here in a few days.
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Old 07-05-2016, 08:26 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Just out of curiosity I tried the headphone output of the Micro Dark into my headphones and WOW it sounds great !!!!!! Just like the demo's !!! The difference is night and day !!!!! That speaker in the PPC108 must definitely be blown.

I can get a great tone out of my cheap electric guitars !!!!
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Old 07-05-2016, 09:45 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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I just did a temporary hook up to a Bose speaker cabinet I have...the Micro Dark sounds awesome. I love it.

That PPC108 is going back tomorrow.
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Old 07-06-2016, 10:19 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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The Marshall/ Celestion speaker cabinet is scheduled for delivery on Friday.
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Last edited by Yamaha Man; 07-07-2016 at 06:56 PM.
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Old 07-08-2016, 01:11 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Well I have had a chance to play around a bit with the new rig...The Micro Dark amp and Marshall cabinet were meant for each other...sounds great...I just tried plugging in the Pono acoustic with the LR Baggs M-80 pickup to the MD and Marshall and tried for a clean sound...very nice indeed !!! Crank up the gain and the Pono rocks !!!! I get a great tone even at low volume...I couldn't be happier with this rig !!!

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Old 07-08-2016, 04:55 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Hey Martin Maniac, I'm late to the party but now that you've got your gear all hooked up perhaps I'm on time . I'm sure your 1x12 Marshall/Celestion cab sounds bigger/better than the 1x8 Orange did.

What are those 4 pedals on the table? it looks like an Ibanez Tube Screamer, and then Boss Chorus, Delay, and Compression/Sustainer?
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Old 07-09-2016, 05:06 AM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Well the Orange 1x8 cabinet had a blown speaker so there was no way to fairly compare it to the Marshall. I sent it back and the seller has agreed to reimburse me for it. The Marshall's G12T-75 speaker put's out plenty of power, enough that I cannot crank it all the way up, it's very loud at low settings. What's really nice about it is I can get great tone and distortion sounds at very low volume levels. So this makes for an excellent practice amp for me. If I wanted to play out in a band setting, I would have no problem being heard. The size of the cabinet is perfect for me as it's not too large for my living room setting, as you can see in the picture. I used to have a 4-12 cabinet with a 50 watt Marshall head, but that was way too much for me. Coupled with the Orange Micro Dark amp, this is a very good setup I would definitely recommend.

Another after thought ... I tried getting a clean acoustic sound using the Pono guitar with a Baggs M80 pickup, it sounded fantastic.

You're right about the pedals. There's also a Baggs Venue, a Baggs Session, a Hall of Fame reverb, A Ditto Looper, a Body Rez, a volume and wah pedal. I keep all my pedals on the Holeyboard sitting on a stool, this is so I can easily adjust them from a sitting position without having to bend over. I have a bad back and can't bend over that much...I like to fiddle with the settings so this works out good for me.

A friend of mine plays out with a 15 watt amp and he says he can keep up with an acoustic drum set and bass with no problem. He says my 20 watt amp should work out fine if I wanted to play out.
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Last edited by Yamaha Man; 07-09-2016 at 05:48 AM.
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Old 07-10-2016, 08:14 PM
Yamaha Man Yamaha Man is offline
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Speaking of pedals, I had my pedal board connected to the input of the Micro Dark amp....I noticed some distortion and loss signal from my guitar. Plugged directly into the amp my guitar sounded great, but thru the pedal board something wasn't right. So I tried connecting the pedal board to the effects loop on the amp...world of difference, sounds much better. The effects never sounded so good. So obviously the effect send and returns are properly matched to my pedals now.
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