Orange Amplifiers Micro Dark - 20W Electric Guitar Tube Power Amp Head with FX Loop, Black | Perfect for Home Practice, Studio Recording & Live Performances

Great amp! My main gripe is its total lack of headroom and proper EQ. It nails the orange sound and the tube responsiveness but it just sadly wasn’t what I was looking for.What can be said about this lil bad girl that hasn't been done in some good YouTube videos? It fits perfectly on top of my main amp and in an apartment setting gets more play time to be honest. It was a toss up between the micro terror and this one won out for the flexibility and modern effects loop just being more valuable of a feature than an aux input for my uses. The effects loop allows me to separate noise prone effects like my modulation and delays from my signal pedals like compressors, overdrives or boosts.The 12ax7 (surprisingly a very decent JJ tube) gives a big amount of headroom to satisfy my tube tone craving and handle my effects without added noise and its all packed tightly in a tiny, silent-practice package. The amp simulation on the headphone input is great quality when paired with the appropriate impedance headphone set- I use a Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250ohm impedance set and I keep the amp volume no higher than about 10 o'clock. The cab output sounds great and tested on the 1x10 Eminence in my Princeton reverb, it gave a pleasing speaker breakup and imparts a British style amp overdrive to an otherwise clean rig. Overall, the amp is perfect for inspiring new ideas when practicing or sketching. The amp always make me smile when I play and the tonal character and tube breakup can lead me to exploring different playing styles or ideas. Great tone can be had for under 2 Benjamins and I'm a little salty at musicians growing up today- I would have killed for something this capable in this price range when I was first playing guitar.For the guitar gear heads:I have a simple effects rig that adds subtle color and double-tracked style dimension. I set the signal chain as such*Telecaster Custom > Whirlwind Rochester Red Box Compressor > Amp Input*From Effects Loop Send > BOSS DC-2W Dimension-C>Catalinbread Belle Epoch Tape Delay > Behringer VD400 Delay > out to Effects ReturnHad this only a few days. But also have an 35RT. One thing I've noticed most prominently on both is that Orange signature sound. Very rich high gain with just a touch of fizz - yet always retains a lot of clarity. This head looks innocent, but anything but. Like mentioned - it thrives on that distinctive high gain sound that really makes Orange a rather one trick pony. Yes - it has enough versatility to do clean-ish and can dial in good enough blues and jazz. I got it - and keep it - for its Orange dirt. Nothing else really matches that sound when you want it. Love the *all* useable gain control, and the single tone shaper really allows a lot of dialing from mushy mids heavy to scooped articulate. So nice to have an EFX loop at this price point. I do have the matching micro stack Orange 8" speaker. It really does sound amazing through it. Way more than I expected. Alright - have to say it - huge cute factor. Although I've not done it - have no doubt it will drive a 12" speaker cab with authority...Update 10/31/2016: Still find this little guy to be a pleasant surprise. I'll be honest. I really do think it is getting to be hard to get a complete turkey amp from any of the major players. Really think it's an excellent time to get value for your dollar - and in the solid state/hybrid arena especially. I have several and the typical: VOX, Blackstar, Roland. A few that are a bit more boutique-ish and all tube as well. And I take turns with them as my taste at the moment drifts. This little guy is a standout with the with that thick Orange sound. I like the mix of loose lows, lush voiced mids, and yet always maintains enough articulate highs that will cut through and maintain good note separation. I'm putting it through a Turbosound 12" at the moment. Will do any volume from apartment practice to small venue. Plenty there. As mentioned before - most amps can do quite a spectrum. This amp is - to me - best at the Orange sound mentioned above for rock and blues while still doing a good range. Blackstar's tend to be versatile at everything, yet don't seem to standout (as far) at anything. Sometimes I like that. Other times the incredible cleans - and complimentary effects - of the Roland's and jazzier blues. It's really slight preferences and no more that that now with the quality of any of the aforementioned amps. This little guy is an exceptional value!Okay... if your not sure if you should buy it... trust me GET IT. This little guy really blew my mind. I’m running it into a Marshall 1x10 cabinet with a 16 ohm Celestion speaker and WOW. It’s SO LOUD. Honestly if you blind folded me I would think it’s an all tube orange head. Handles pedals great and has a fx loop which the micro terror does not. Don’t think it’s only for heavy metal either. I can get beautiful classic rock overdrive tones no problem. In fact for the chug I wanted for heavy metal I needed to throw a pedal at it. It’s just amazing and I’m glad I bought it. $200 well spent. Oh and I saw some people in the reviews saying to upgrade the tube cause it’s like China junk or something but guess what I took it apart and bam there was a high quality Jj 12ax7 tube in there. No need to upgrade! And also I suggest using This with at least a 1x10 cab or even better a 1x12 compared to the 1x8 they offer. Or if you have a 4x12 cab it’ll power it no problem people do it all the time with these! Absolutely amazing .I bought this for primary use with headphones since I live in a small apartment. I was greeted with a hissy and thin sound which was nowhere near the quality of the output of my Korg Pandora Stomp (with Senheisser HD650 headphones), which I hope to replace. I was really looking forward to hearing the amp simulation, but I've just been left disappointed. Admittedly, I did buy the speaker too for the very rare occasion when I want others to hear me play in the room at low volume and to use it as an ornament. I do fear however that both will be sitting as ornament - albeit nice looking ones.Having tested with the orange micro speaker this thing sounds great! Using the 'Shape' knob you can achieve a variety of tones opening the high end as you turn it towards the right, with the more 'tight' punchy sound coming from the left of the know. Gain can be introduced too. Naturally you need some degree of gain to hear the volume, but go beyond 0db and you get the classic distortion sounds - and good they are! I just wish I could play with this more in my small apartment sandwiched by neighbours! Recommended!A must for any Metal Head on a budget ad a few foot pedals and you got yourself a unit with nice Tones as good as any £1000 Head unitWatch a few Utube Vid's, it is as good as all the Hype!