Orange Micro Dark Reviews

A micro monster

I bought it to bring it with myself when I go to college, as it would be pretty difficult to bring its bigger brother, a full sized head and its cab I have.

I've played this little thing through a 2x12 and a 4x12 cab as well. Got to admit, it sounds pretty damn awesome. And it's surprisingly loud. You can easily rehearse, gig, keep up with a drummer, a whole band with one of these little bad boys, as long as you pair it with a bigger cab.

The clean and crunchy tones you can get out of this little head are gorgeous. And it's true that it has loads of gain too, but as you turn the gain up, let's say above 2 or 3 o'clock, it becomes a little bit too fuzzy, for me at least. I've played with the shape knob, and tried various type of guitars with different pickups (Les Paul, Strat, SG and so on), but the fuzziness is still there. I mean it's nothing crazy, it's totally fine if you're up to play some classics that require that kind of tone, but if you want to play heavier stuff, you'd have to consider adding an overdrive/boost pedal, just to tighten it up a little bit. So I've put a TS mini in front of it, and it works like dream for me.

Had it for almost a month now, and since I have it, I barely even touched my other amp. This little, affordable rock'n'roll machine deserves a big thumbs up. Although you can't just really limit its potential to rock'n'roll, as if it's set and used properly, it can play pretty much anything.

Good things come in small packages

The fx loop alone is a great thing on such a small amp. It's a bit hairy at times, but cleans up very nice. My only complaint is that the LED is blue. Come on Orange, priorities!

It's wonderful

Use:

Home Recording, Band practice, Concerts

Pros:

- it's a hybrid amp so you can easily connect via fx-loop-send output to another amp fx return/cabinet simulator/audio interface without the need to use an expensive Load Box.

- very loud for a 20 watt hybrid

- surprisingly good sound

- a large gain range while maintaining the selectivity of the sound

- beautifully combines with pedals

Funny fact:

- if the amplifier is on a 1x12 or 2x12 cabinet and you play very loudly, consider using a velcro so it won't fall from the cabinet due the vibrations.

Cons (tip for home studio):

- Headphone jack with CabSim sounds poorly compared to the sound that you can get by using standalone cab simulators.

Good sound from a small unit

Wanted an amp to carry arround and practice that has good sound and lighweight. Decided to get the Micro Dark and the orange 8 inch speaker cab.

I was in a surprise when I tried the amp, the clean sound really blew my mind, very enjoyable and clear sound. When you turn up the gain it can get you anything from classic rock to heavy metal distortion (however with the 8 inch speaker from the matching cab it will get a bit muddy).

It is a very good and versatile amp.

Just to note that the shape knob it is not a normal tone knob. Counter clockwise boosts mids, clockwise scoops mids and boost treble

Very happy with this small amp

Little beast

I just love this small amp. It is compact, but loud as hell. Plays superb and it is a really high gain beast for its size. I use it at home with PPC108 and also sometimes as a practise amp with my band with PPC112. If you don?t care much about clean sound and your go to way is gain, gain and gain, this little Orange is your choice. Add an overdrive pedal and you can shred from heavy rock to grind core.

Incredible...

I originally purchased this amp thinking it would make a good home practice amp and I'd buy an all-valve Orange head later to take into the studio and on tour (I now also own a Dual Terror but this little beast still gets regular outings).

What can I say? It sounds great even when you forget the size, price AND the fact that it's not even all-valve. It sounds simply unbelievable when you take those things into consideration.

I've used it in the studio a lot and it's always sounded great (clean, crunchy or just cranked loud for hard rock sounds) and it takes pedals very well too - I use it a lot with a Maxon OD808 in front but it responds very well to boosters and overdrives in general (and the effects loop works great). The one thing I'd prefer would be a tone knob rather than the shape knob, but that's just my preference.

I have also taken it on tour (being sick of schlepping heavy amps) and the laughter that came from the other band members quickly turned to shock and awe. It can easily drive a 4x12 cab and is absolutely up to touring. Absolutely recommend this to anyone who wants something lightweight that sounds good and won't break the bank.

Headphone socket useless

Couldn't wait to try this item. So disappointed with it. Bought so I could use at home with headphones mainly. When you switch it on / off gives off a LOUD popping static noise. Sound quality through various sets of headphones is awful. Strummed notes are just a mush of noise. have sent it back for replacement -hopefully its a fault -otherwise I'll want a refund. I have a Boss JS10 which sounds absolutely amazing.

Wow

Was unsure exactly how good this could be for the money and was utterly blown away when I first ran this though a 4 x 12 cabinet. It is not loud enough for a gig (unless its a small show) but the tone is phenomenal and I have recorded with it in a couple of sessions - the clean is very good, the crunch is better than 2 very expensive heads I have at the studio and the lead tone is very expressive, detailed and 'British' on steroids. This might be the best value guitar amp out there at the moment! The fact it has a buffered effects loop is stunning at this price point and if you are able to ride your volume knob on your guitar it cleans up very well and chimes like a bell. I cannot recommend this highly enough...just buy it and you will love it!

Is this thing REAL?

Is this thing REAL? It sounds amazing!!!

I bought it last week and I can't stop playing it.

I use it with a Orange PPC 212 COB cab and it sounds amazing!

It has plenty of volume and plenty of bass, the distortion is really good for playing alternative rock and the "clean" is always a little "dirty" you will never archive a fender clean tone with this head but in many genres it's a good sound.

Controls are Volume, Tone and Gain really basic but it's all you need to rock... I find myself using more my guitar controls to change the sound and I think it's a cool thing to do.

For the price everybody should try one of this!