Designed to mimic its bigger brothers, the Orange Micro Crush incorporates all of the style you would expect to see in an Orange amplifier. Genuine Orange grill cloth and a miniature Orange crest finish this amplifier exquisitely.
Micro Crush
Reviewed by:
Colbat, on july 02, 2007 5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 53.07
Purchased from: www.Dolphinmusic.co.uk
Features: The micro crush is the smallest amp in Orange's combo series and is designed for use in practice or on the road, operating off of either a 9v battery or mains adapter that can be bought separately and offering 6 watts of output. To further its use as a portable amp the Micro Crush has an integrated chromatic tuner, headphone port and overdrive channel on top of standard tone and volume controls. I can't personally think of much more you would need out of a portable practice amp. A few EQ or gain controls would have been nice but impractical on such a compact amp that works well stripped down to its basic components. Although overall the features offer everything you need, there are a couple of issues. Firstly, the built in tuner is very temperamental in the signals it picks up: sometimes you'll be able to tune whilst playing through the amp, other times you have to turn the volume on the amp off before anything will register. Secondly, the 9v supply doesn't last that long: despite being able to use a mains adapter if you have a supply, if you don't powering the amp exclusively off of batteries would be very expensive. Thankfully, it turns itself off unless a guitar jack is plugged in. // 9
Sound: The sound produced by the Micro Crush is not exception to the legacy of Orange's amps. Despite being a tiny 4" amp it's as loud as you'll need from a portable or practice amp, and I would go as far as saying it could be used for small acoustic performances. The only issue is that at high volumes the amplification begins to flatten out and become less noticeable. The tone, on the other hand, is quite peculiar. Turn the volume up high and even on a clean channel you get a very rattly, overdriven sound when playing one than note at the same time; play a single string and it's clean and crisp again. This is perfect, in my opinion, for electric guitar and the overdrive is really obsolete unless you're playing something very very heavy. For more acoustic and clean songs it’s horrible. Strangely enough though, if you balance the volume controls on your guitar and the amp correctly you can get a brilliant acoustic tone out of it. Although it does sound great, it’s obliviously pretty quiet and is probably equivalent to a proper acoustic guitar (which with good woods is pretty loud; however, it's still good for practice. Finally I tried putting my bass through it, which I suspect isn't too good for the amp seeing as it's active. By contrast, my bass can barely be heard without amplification and even a tamed volume helps a lot. However, because of the nature of basses you can get ever more rattling of the tiny speaker but that’s really what you want from a good bass tone. // 8
Reliability & Durability: Like Orange' other amps, the Micro Crush looks the part with a woven grill, tiny rubber footstools and the gorgeous Orange finish. Although the controls do seem a little rushed being out of place, they all work fine and along with the headphone and mains ports on the back of the amp are well placed. Most importantly for me, the battery compartment is nicely concealed on the bottom of the amp where it can be easily accessed without being seen all the time. I can only assume it's pretty durable. The main speaker housing is wood and is still intact although it has suffered a few chips where the paint has been scraped away. As a result I wouldn't want to touch the screws on the back because their threading in wood is easily damaged, but there's really no reason for you to go opening it up. // 10
Impression: I bought this amp because I needed something to practice on whilst my main Marshall resides at my drummer's house: I can't be bothered to haul it up there every time we have a practise. I wanted something versatile to the range of different styles that I play as cheap and reliable as possible and I think I found it. The Micro Crush is a great portable amp, brilliant in fact, but I can't empathise enough how temperamental it can be in terms of features such as the tuner, tone and volume. However, I don't think there's a better mini amp out there: this has been designed from the base up to be a practical and useful amp opposed to a gimmick. Despite this I wouldn't recommend it. Why? Well because unless your situation is like mine where by you have a proper amp and simply need something cheap to practise on, or you specifically need something that is portable and battery powered, combo amps are far more practical. Although I can't commend Orange amps enough, anyone Who’s looking for their first guitar amp should go towards the Crush 10 or 15 that are both designed for practise opposed to being portable. // 8
Micro Crush
Reviewed by:
sirgaz88, on april 28, 2008 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 45.7317
Purchased from: Dawsons, Manchester
Features: The Orang Micro Crush is a small versatile practice amp similar in looks to its larger counterparts. It's made from wood coated in the classic sexy Orange and has a metal grill and control panel that's coated in white. It has 6w output and can be powered by either a 9v Battery (I've had a battery in for a couple of months now and it's still fine) or 9v mains power supply (purchased separately). To make sure you don't waste batteries though, you can only turn it on when you've got the jack from your guitar lead plugged in. The great thing about this particular amp is that it also has a built in chromatic tuner at no real extra cost compared with other practice amps like the Marshall models. With the tuner you get a row of LED's for every note (including sharps) and two arrows to indicate how close to the note you are. I really can't stress how amazingly useful and accurate this is. The amp has an input for 1/4" jack plus a headphone socket to practice in silence. There's a tone and a volume knob to control the sound plus also an overdrive button. It could of really done with some more control to alter he amps sound, but this is a small gripe as it's a practice amp so not a huge issue. I use the amp mainly to practice at uni in my room and when I'm first learning tabs online to get to grips with them. I play mainly rock and metal stuff. // 10
Sound: I'm using a Harley Benton HBT1500TBK with stock pickups which are OK but nothing special. I'll start with the clean channel. First off I must say that the tone is not the best you'll ever hear. If I play on the neck pickup with the amps tone turned down all I get is a bassy sort or blurry noise which to be honest is god awful. However if I turn the tone up on my guitar and the amp a bit, it gets better. To be honest though, I rarely play on my neck pickup, only using the bridge pickup even for rhythm playing. Switch to the bridge though and it gets better. You can get a nice clean sound that's quite clear. Turn the tone up quite high and it gets a sort or Vintage amp sound I think. Sometimes whilst playing chords on louder settings it can get slightly muddy but it's not too bad. At high volumes the amp can get slightly distorted but it can make for a cool classic rock distortion. On overdrive I think I would describe the sound as quite 'punky' if anything. It's got a sort of a brittle rasp to it. With the tone turned down it's really bassy and muddy but turn the tone up and you can get a nice tight sound. At high levels of volume the sound becomes quite poor quality. Overall the sound is good especially out of the tiny 4" speaker. // 7
Reliability & Durability: I've had mine for about 3 months I'd say and it seems fine. It's got a sturdy construction that can take being dropped (trust me). However when I picked it up today to look at it for the review there is a small piece of wood inside rattling around. I think it was due to the couple of drops I has received but it doesn't look like an important piece (I hope). The sound is still the same from when I bought it, albeit lacking slightly now due batteries beginning to wear out. // 9
Impression: Overall I'd say the amp is very good. It's incredibly useful and portable and should be part of any guitarists repertoire. The sound isn't the best ever but after all it is only a practice amp and gets the job done. My mates got the Marshall MS4 and I think the Orange is sooooo much better. I's got a better, louder sound and has the built in tuner which in my mind is worth the money alone. If I were to lose it I'd definitely buy it again. // 9
Micro Crush
Reviewed by:
pag_slash_2, on january 07, 2008 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 53.07
Purchased from: Local shop
Features: No idea when this amp was made, but it was made in China. This is a solid state mini amp with one channel, no effects, oneinput jack, one headphone jack, an overdrive button, a tone control and a volume control. This thing can basically handle a clean (with tone all the way down) a crunch kinda sound (tone all the way up). With the overdrive button in, this amp can handle a lot of rock music and styles. It would be nice if there was an adjustable gain. Oh yeah, there is a built in tuner as well. // 8
Sound: I use this with humbuckers and there is minimal hum, even with overdrive on. Switch on this amp, and the first thing you notice is you can't hear anything. You have to turn it up to get a respectable sound out it. With the the volume up, the clean channel gets not so clean, especially with the tone up. At this point when I'd got it, I kind of wished I'd bought a Marshall MS-4. Then I pressed the Overdrive button, and was completly blown away. Wow. Talking about the clean channel I was nitpicking, but this little thing is a beast. There is a great low end for such a small speaker, and the volume is good as well. With tone further down, you can get a kind of GN'R tone, with the tone up you can play a lot of metal. So in short, this a good distortion amp, not great for cleans though. // 10
Reliability & Durability: It seems durable to me. I wouldn't rely on any other mini amp. Unlike 99% of other mini amps, this thing isn't plastic. It is wood and metal. The speaker is covered and it dosen't have shoddy buttons which feel like they're going to fall off. I wouldn't gig with it. It's so small! Only 3 watts. More reliable than most other mini-amps though. // 10
Impression: I compared this to a Marshall MS-4, MS-2, Danelectro honeytone, amongst others and this thing blows them all away. It has a respectable volume and overdrive, the only con is the clean which isn't great. There is a great sound out of such a small speaker. The only mini amp, I think could beat it is the Roland Micro-Cube. However, that's unfair, because the Roland is much bigger and £50 more expensive. I'd get this one. This is a shard of knowledge that someone told me so I'll tell you, the amp won't switch on unless there is a lead in the input jack. // 10
Micro Crush
Reviewed by:
fretfingers97, on january 16, 2012 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: £ 35
Purchased from: amazon uk
Features: Very basic battery powered amp. Two controls: tone and volume. Headphone jack at the back. Built in tuner. No output jack. On the back it has a mains jack so you could plug it in to a mains socket if you're in your house. I use this amp to busk, that's the main reason I got it. The volumes very low at full but for buskig its good you can turn it up to get full distortion without it being to loud. // 7
Sound: I use it with a Gibson custom with humbucker pickups. It suits my musical style of classic heavy metal, the distortion can be taken to extreme levels. Definately not acceptable for a gig but for use at home for the bedroom good. The top volume is just louder than a busy road. The fact that its battery powered means of corse you could busk with it. You can put it up to full volume to create maximum distortion without it being too loud. Clean its good but not nearly loud enough. // 8
Reliability & Durability: Very reliable. It would be good for a gig without backup if it was loud enough. I've dropped this alot from high areas and low areas and the most I've got is a few scratches here and there. Brilliant if you're going to be using it for busking especially if you're a teenager like me. // 10
Impression: Battery powered is really a big boost for me because I like to busk but I definately prefare electric to acoustic and this amp is perfect to busk with. I have a skytronic 45 watt that I use for gigs but this orang sounds better if the volume went as high as my skytronic believe it or not I would use this. To be hounest I only chose this amp because its battery powered ad cheap but even though I got this for £35 I think its worth around £100. I love the amount of distortion I can get out of it but the volume is a big let down. // 8
Micro Crush
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on september 30, 2010 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: A$ 59.00
Purchased from: Kosmic
Features: Made in China 2010. Runs of 9 volt batteries or a seperatly sold power supply. It has clean and an overdrive channel. It has one and volume knobs, a gain control would have been nice. It has a nice built in tuner, a 3.5mm headphone jack and 3 watts of power that it uses everyone of. For the size and price you wouldn't expect much more than this. The reason I am giving it a high score in the way of features is because they were better than the features on amps of a similar price. // 8
Sound: I have been using this with some crappy single coil picjups that are one their way out. There is no pickup noise even at full volume on the clean channel, there is quite a bit on the overdrive channel though. It gets this nice overdriven tone really easliy on the clean channel so the clean channel isn't really that 'clean' at volume above 4 but that isn't an issue for me because I don't really play that much where you need a clean clean tone. The variety is a bit lacking but what it does it does really well. It never sounds tinny unlike Marshalls of a similar size. The distortion is pretty awesome. Most importantly this amp sounds like an Orange. // 8
Reliability & Durability: It feels sturdy and you can carry it around in a backpack with out really damaging it. I always put it in its box when I take it places so I don't ruin its beautiful looks.
Would I use it at a gig? No, because of it is clearly not designed for it. This is an amp you can take anywhere with ease. Its volume capabilities are fine for its intented purpose.
It will get about 18 hours playing time out of a standard 9 volt battery so take a spare battery with you because you won't want to stop playing with this amp for long. It has never broken down. // 9
Impression: I play pretty much anything other than metal (I play some of the more mainstream metal though). It matches my playing style well unless you want a really really clean tone, in that case go buy an Acoustic guitar. I have been playing on and off for the last 5 years. I have never had a portable amp like this before and I am impressed. If it were stolen or lost I would buy it again. It is a beautiful fun amp that blows its competitiors out of the water. The other amp that I tried on the day I bought it was the Marshall MS-2. The Orange beats it in every catagory; build quality, tone range, tone quality, no built in tuner.
This amp is worth every dollar you pay for it. It is fun, inexapensive and it is an Orange. // 9
I ordered a Micro Crush yesterday and read your review today (thanks for the details!). I want something to take out on the porch while my kids are playing in the yard and your review seems to back up my hopes and beliefs: a good, little, portable amp.
I bought one of these from e-bay and was really impressed by the volume you can get from something so small. The overdrive is excellent but i agree about how temperemental the pots can be.
It also has holes on either sides, which no-one seems to have noticed, that you can screw your strap buttons to and carry it around on a strap like jack black in School of Rock.("step off, step off")
I get the greatest clean tone out of it; sounds unusually clear. I find that if I start throwing in chords it does clip a little.
But thing no-one has talked about is actually how this thing -screams- if you solo on the overdrive. I find putting both tone and volume at about 10-11 o'clock and playing fairly high on the fretboard renders an outrageously sick tone. I was playing the solo from Seize the Day and I nearly filled my pants.
My only beef (and I haven't had very much time to fiddle with it and experiment) is that although chords are crunchy on the over-drive, it gets a bit fuzzy trying to play individual notes lower down.
I got it as a birthday gift and I havent stopped using it since, barely touching my 15 watt or my cabs in the garage. It sounds great and I get better sound from this tiny thing than anything else. Although it can screech on overdrive with over excessive tone it adds to the insane noise you can make from this tiny thing. If your going to buy a mini amp go to Orange or even better get some one else to buy it for you!
But contrary to what others say..
The overdrive is awful!! Really bad. I would describe is on par with a Behringer Power Overdrive pedal, which is awful in itself! Like a "fly in a tin can".
The clean, is very nice once you get the hang of the weird volume knob and tone, which don't seem to work like you would expect. I'm not complaining about this, its just a tad unusual!
I pretty much completely agree with the first review by Colbat. Its a lovely little portable amp. But if your looking for something to practise with, get a higher wattage orange crush. I have the Orange Crush 30r aswell as some other amps, and I love the bigger orange so much more.
But its so cheap and small!! Still buy this if you have some extra cash around!
Quoting the Manual:
"VOLUME Control:
This control adjusts the distortion gain. Turning it clockwise increases the distortion intensity. Also this control adjusts the output signal level."
ok really people seem to be utterly confused by this but i have a micro crush and as placed next to a full amp its mediocre at best though in its class the best ive played now as for volume and tone the tone nob acts kindof like a tone/gain nob in combination with cascading gain volume turn both up with emg 81 guitar volume up and its classic rock territory mind kindof farty bass with 85 in the neck
Folks, you're missing the point. This thing has Brian May's Deacy tones all nailed. Loud it doesn't do (it's a battery amp, for Pete's sake!), but for recording, if you experiment with the volume, overdrive and tone controls, it is bloody good!
With the right settings its surprising how you can get a bit of an old Muddy Waters fuzzy overdriven blues sound out of this which is great for busking or fireside bottleneck stuff. Also wicked for miking a harmonica. Get two of these (one for guitar, one for harmonica), a looper pedal, a pack of 9V batteries, and you can be a one man blues show!!
