Orange

ORANGE
MICRO DARK
£129
Honey, I shrunk the amp – again! Has Orange produced a new game-changer?
EVERY
so often,
a product
comes along that makes everyone
sit up and take notice – Orange’s
Tiny Terror did just that in 2006,
becoming phenomenally
successful, with over 30,000 sold,
and spawning a range of equally
popular spin-off designs and
countless imitators all over the
world. As a result, when Orange
releases a new amp, everyone
– especially the competition –
pays more interest than usual.
Enter the latest product to join
the Orange catalogue: the Micro
Dark. Based on the same
award-winning format as the Dark
Terror, but using the form factor of
2012’s bijou Micro Terror, the
Micro Dark is about the same size
as a pint of milk, yet features the
same tough all-steel construction
as its big brother. Inside, all the
elctronics are on one neat PCB,
including one 12AX7 preamp
valve. Out of necessity, the power
supply is now external, with a
laptop-style brick delivering the
15 volts needed to warm up the
Micro Dark’s valve and drive its
20-watt output stage. The Micro
Dark’s controls are deceptively
simple: gain, master volume and
Orange’s clever shape tone
control, which is roughly fl at in the
middle position, boosting mids in
one direction and cutting mids
while boosting treble and bass in
the other direction. There’s also
a headphone socket, which
features Orange’s CabSim speaker
emulation, and a buffered series
effects loop.
Powered up, the Dark Terror is
practically noise-free at lower gain
levels. Played clean, there’s more
than just a touch of the AD30R’s
sparkling treble, with just a hint of
edge. The gain control has plenty
of range to cover those medium-
We could be looking at yet
another Orange game-changer
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
gain classic rock and blues
sounds we associate with vintage
Orange amps from the 1970s, but
twist the gain knob further and the
thick, aggressive distortion of the
Dark Terror takes over, with a
singing sustain and tons of
harmonic content for those
edge-of-the-pick squeals.
The Shape control makes it
easy to shift the Micro Dark from
vintage to modern, with a very
wide range compressed into its
travel. Plugged into a 4x12, the
Micro Dark is also one of the
loudest 20-watt hybrid amps
we’ve ever heard, with more than
enough output for small gigs and
rehearsals, as well as recording.
It has a wide dynamic range that
gives it a very valve-like quality –
sounding just like a small version
of Orange’s bigger all-valve
heads. The best part of all, though,
has to be the cost – for around the
same price as a decent overdrive
pedal, you’re getting a real 20-watt
amp with a valve front-end, which
can easily be carried in a gigbag
and packs enough power to handle
a band situation.
While there are plenty of other
small amps around, we don’t
know of any that match the Micro
Dark for size, power and sheer
tone, making us think we could
be looking at yet another Orange
game-changer. With Christmas
just around the corner, our advice
is to get your order in now – the
Micro Dark will be one of the
hottest products of the year.
Nick Guppy
GEAR ORANGE MICRO DARK
DECEMBER 2015 75
TYPE: Valve/solid-state
hybrid design
OUTPUT: 20W
VALVES: 1x 12AX7 preamp
CONTROLS: Gain, shape, volume
SOCKETS: Input, headphone
out, speaker out, effects loop
send/return
WEIGHT: 0.75kg
DIMENSIONS: [HxWxD]
135x 165x 95mm
CONTACT: Orange Amplification
0208 905 2828
www.orangeamps.com
AT A GLANCE
SHAPE
ORANGE’S clever shape tone
control has a fl at response in its
centre position, boosting mids
in one direction and cutting
them in the other. It’s
immensely powerful
HEADPHONE OUT
THE headphone output
has Orange’s CabSim
speaker emulation
circuit and doubles as a
recording out, providing
usable tone direct to your
mixing desk
EFFECTS LOOP
THE Micro Dark’s simple
but high-quality buffered
effects loop interfaces with a
wide range of stompbox and
rack effects. It’s noise-free
and very transparent
TGR274.gear_orange.indd 75 04/11/2015 16:49