I’m very impressed with the little @orangeamplifiers Micro Dark! It’s a really useful addition to my “tone arsenal”. Much to my surprise (and contrary to some of the YouTube videos I’ve watched) the sound via the headphones output into my DAW is definitely usable – especially with single-coil pickups.
Ironically, though, for actually listening direct via headphones, the level is WAY too high! The amp really needs a volume control on the output, because it’s much too loud as soon as you raise the volume and gain much at all. Through an audio interface, no problem – but that’s kind of missing the point.
Using the Send as an output to a DAW also works well (be sure to keep a pair of headphones plugged in, though, or you’ll damage the amp), and I’m getting good results to add software speaker simulation to (the headphone output already has that added).
Slightly to my surprise, in terms of tone, I’m really liking the Orange for its crystal clear sounds and the “edge of breakup” region. I’ve read elsewhere that it’s primarily a high-gain amp – and you can certainly push it into full distortion by cranking up the gain – but don’t be fooled into thinking this is a “metal only” amp – it’s much more versatile than that.
All in all… it’s an eminently usable and affordable dip of the proverbial toe into getting real valve sounds into my DAW, and there’s plenty of fun to be had! I’m still figuring out the best way to incorporate it into my recording rig. I’ll probably use a Y-box splitter to run alternative paths through the Micro Dark and my superbly flexible @neunaberaudio Neuron. It’ll also be fun to try the Micro Dark through a load box.