NAD - Micro Terror

GDSmithTX

GDSmithTX

Corporate cog
Dude accepted my Reverb offer of $85 shipped, and the little guy arrived today. First impressions.

There's a crap-ton of tone in that teeny little box -- even with the stock tube -- just waiting to come out. It can sound a bit boxy at certain settings, but overall I'm impressed.

Running it at low-medium gain with a little boost, medium OD and a little delay gives a wonderful, alive sound with all kinds of classic character. A little EQ and a vibe pedal = instant heavy Trower. Running it at a bit higher gain with a Fulldrive 2 Mosfet sounds great. Lower the gain, substitute a Big Muff Pi and it sounds absolutely huge.

I'm going to try swapping the stock 12ax7 with various tubes i've picked up, including Sovtek 12ax7lps, GE 5751, vintage RCA 12au7, vintage Hammond organ 12ax7, etc.

This little brute is surprising. Just wish it had a loop.
 
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GDSmithTX said:
Dude accepted my Reverb offer of $85 shipped, and the little guy arrived today. First impressions.

There's a crap-ton of tone in that teeny little box -- even with the stock tube -- just waiting to come out. It can sound a bit boxy at certain settings, but overall I'm impressed.

Running it at low-medium gain with a little boost, medium OD and a little delay gives a wonderful, alive sound with all kinds of classic character. A little EQ and a vibe pedal = instant heavy Trower. Running it at a bit higher gain with a Fulldrive 2 Mosfet sounds great. Lower the gain, substitute a Big Muff Pi and it sounds absolutely huge.

I'm going to try swapping the stock 12ax7 with various tubes i've picked up, including Sovtek 12ax7lps, GE 5751, vintage RCA 12au7, vintage Hammond organ 12ax7, etc.

This little brute is surprising. Just wish it had a loop.
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I have the Micro Dark Terror....I use it as a backup amp for gigs. I've never had to use it yet.
That one in fact does have an fx loop...I think I paid about $150 for it new. It really is a great little amp

Happy NAD!!
 
gtrjunior said:
I have the Micro Dark Terror....I use it as a backup amp for gigs. I've never had to use it yet.
That one in fact does have an fx loop...I think I paid about $150 for it new. It really is a great little amp

Happy NAD!!
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That's what I was really looking to get, I just stumbled across this one while searching for good deals on it.
 
Tube swap report 1: A new Sovtek 12ax7lps is much fatter and tighter in it than the stock JJ 12ax7. I was surprised to find a legit JJ-branded tube in it as opposed to some cheap sterile Chinese glass. It sounded good, but the Sovtek is better.
 
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Happy NAD!

I have been curious about those little amps (being a low-powered, small amp aficionado). Is there any real clean on that amp? From what I've seen, it's mostly about the distortion.
 
Rob Chapman has a video demo and he does indeed run it thru a 4 X 12 Marshall cab. Big surprises do come in small packages. HNAD!
 
bsman said:
Happy NAD!

I have been curious about those little amps (being a low-powered, small amp aficionado). Is there any real clean on that amp? From what I've seen, it's mostly about the distortion.
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It seems pretty decent clean to me. You're not going to get those Fender cleans, but it still sounds pretty good. Apparently replacing the tube with a 5751 yields more clean headroom, but I'm liking the Sovtek in there too much to try it right now.
 
I replaced the tube on mine with the Mullard 12AX7 reissue. It sounds better cranked, but the volume also jumps up significantly faster, so it's not great for practicing at home. I'll probably just put the stock tube in.
 
I have the stock JJin mine still. Like I said, I have it for a gig backup amp. I'll save my NOS tubes for my JCM 800 and my Quickrod.
 
How did the 12AU7 affect volume? The problem I have with the Mullard 12AX7 is that now it acts like a big tube amp—get the gain above 9:embarrassed:0 and the volume jumps too rapidly for use in a small room without hearing protecting. But if I set the gain below 9:embarrassed:0 it sounds bland and too quiet. This wasn’t a problem with the JJ tube, but with the JJ the highs are a little harsh.
 
jp_nyc said:
How did the 12AU7 affect volume? The problem I have with the Mullard 12AX7 is that now it acts like a big tube amp—get the gain above 9:embarrassed:0 and the volume jumps too rapidly for use in a small room without hearing protecting. But if I set the gain below 9:embarrassed:0 it sounds bland and too quiet. This wasn’t a problem with the JJ tube, but with the JJ the highs are a little harsh.
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Overall volume is about the same. Just more headroom before the grit kicks in, and a bit smoother overall.

The speaker you use makes a big diff too. Mine stays pretty clean thru my 15" bass cab even before I swapped the tube. Thru the cheap Celestion 12", there's some speaker dirt and brittleness no matter what. If I was using the amp as anything other than a backup, I'd upgrade that cab to a Vintage 30 or perhaps the WGS equivalent.
 
I A/B tested the stock JJ 12AX7 with the Millard reissue 12AX7 today. The Mullard tube is signficantly louder; it makes the amp behave more like a 40 watt tube amp in terms of how quickly the volume jumps. It also has a weak low end—with the Mullard the amp just had no balls for playing rhythm. So I stuck with the JJ.
 
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