Bad Cat Black Cat Reverb 212 Combo

Everyone has put enough info about the specifics. 2 channels. One with Vol, bass, treb.... the other with vol, 5 way tone switch. Universal Cut, reverb and defeatable master.

No FX loops

half power switch (very nice)
Speaker Phase
2 Old School Power outlets (pretty Nifty I think, I Use them to power my pedal power when the situation requires. I usually try to avoid this though)

hmmmm thats about it off the top of my head, but I may have missed something. Mine is actually a 1X12 combo model.

This is a versitle amp, but you need a few pedals to push it. I love it with my clean boost. I say its a 10 because it sounds exactily how you fingers sound. It really brings out your mistakes and habbits, but it makes you a better player in the long run.

Here is where I have mixed opinions.

First, I bought this amp from a guy who was hard up for money. So I got away with a BRAND NEW Black cat 1X12 for 1500 cash (Im lucky I know). So the one issue I have with this cat is totally worth the money Ive spent, If that makes sense. Even though I have a complaint, it is a fantastic amp for the money that I paid. However If I would have paid full price, like most of you will, I would be a little more disgruntled. Anyways here we go.

I discovered that my particular amp has a nasty "HONK" in certain frequencies and notes. This only happens when the volume is passed 12 o clock. For example, I can bend the G string on the 5th fret up a half step and it will "HONK" like crazy. As well as when I bend the A string on the 14th fret. This can get VERY annoying and I havent took it to a dealer yet to figure out exactily whats wrong. It may be "natural" for this sort of thing to happen, but I would figure as awesome as bad cat is, this wouldnt be acceptable.

I realize that It may be a speaker issue or whatnot, but Im just saying this piece was in like new condition when I bought it and everything else was a 10, I am getting ready to get it checked out professionally.

SO for all of you people out there getting ready to buy this bad boy, please CHECK this honking thing out. Hopefully it isnt the case for all black cats!!

Other than that, this amp is sooooooo great. I LOVE the 1st channel with the master disengaged. I would have bought this amp for the 1st channel alone.

The second channel is pretty cool. The Rotary tone switch is pretty weak in my opinion, there isnt a big TONAL sweep to my ears, but perhaps that could be just my particular amp (like I said I need to get it checked out by a professional, maybe this and the "honking" is the reason why I bought it for 1500 ????) I find this channel is much DARKER than the first channel. I tend to like bright amps since I am primarily a lead player, but channel 2 is nice for my ES-335, very groovy.

The reverb is way cool. Just the right amount. Even when its dimed it is still really musical. Overall the reverb is very classy, and sounds great on any setting. There is a BIG difference between how the reverb sounds on channel 1 and channel 2. Its much more "present" on channel 2. (Again, this could be my amp) Overall great reaverb!!

Cut knob is very nice. It tweaks the treble a bit and changes the feel, very nice.

The master is a nice option to have, it does however SUCK THE TONE a bit. Even with the master engaged this thing has more tone than most. Its a nice thing when you want to get a litte more distortion at lower volume. It comes in handy when you need a heavy rock sound (like I do from time to time). Most of the time however I do channel 1 with master off, volume around 11 and Im in heaven~!!

To recap, These problems may be with my particular amp (Honking, Tone knob on channel 2, and difference in reverb). Those are the three things I am going to have checked out. I am totally satisfied with the price I paid (1500), but would be upset if I paid full price!

So far so good. Its been to about 5 gigs in the back of the trailer with just a padded tuki cover.. No issues yet.

So far so good. I called bad cat about some questions I had and they were great!!!! Great Customer Service

Like I said, Overall a great amp. For those of you reading this trying to figure out if this amp is "right for you" listen:

I am in a christian Rock band that has a variety of sounds. My other guitarist plays primarily a Dual Rectifier Roadster (very heavy distortion). My bad cat is Cannot compete with it in terms of bone crushing distortion (but isnt meant too). However it contrasts very nicely because it has an AC30/Marshally tone when I use my Fulldrive and clean boost. They suprisingly complement each other well. I use about 7 pedals in front of it (I kinda with it had an FX loop, but its okay without). It takes pedals great, just make sure you have a boost because long cabling KILLS your tone.

In my spare time I play at a blues bar when Im at college. This thing is by far the best amp that has ever came through that joint. All the players complement my tone and it sounds great (its a jam, so i get to listen to the other players play on it). So if you are in the market for a great blues / classic rock amp, this is PERFECT for you and will probably be your last amp. It is a BEAST with a fulldrive 2 and a clean boost!

Basically this amp is GOOD for my ROCK band and GREAT for my blues hobby! It would probably be GOOD for Country and GOOD for jazz, but it has VERY sexy natural overdrive.

Blues= GREAT
Modern Rock= GOOD
Classic Rock= GREAT
Country= Probably great
Jazz= Probably Good

2006. I play rock, jazz, etc. 2 channels, no footswitch. Awesome amp!

This amp is amazing!!! I don't find the words to describe the sound... It's not really a high gain amp. It's beautiful.

Don't know yet, but I think it's built like a tank.

Yeah man. That's the thing...I had to wait for almost a year this amp. And they didn't really answer too quickly when we asked if it's coming or not...

I've been playing 20 years. Work as a professional musician&producer. This amp is really something!!!! I will never sell this!

I bought this CAT on Ebay, used..and from the day I got it I have been amazed at the tone of this beast. It seems to just sing a very clean to distorted tone that simply is very high end. I have over 35 years playing experiance and whatever guitar I plug into the rig, it sound great ! The tone controls are quite excellent, though there is a learning curve on how to get the ideal sound from the rig.
I play blues, rock, country, and pop...the amp is ideal for these styles...I really like the half power setting for recording, great breakup at lower volumes...never has this amp been over 8, for my styles of music.

This is my second CAT....no need to go into the merits of CLASS A ,but once you try a Cat you will never use another amp.
The clean sound is awesome, and the distortion is just the right amount of breakup to give that great sustain we love.
My main axe is a custom telecaster, but I have many guitars and all sound great through the CAT. The unit does seem to pick up some hum with light dimmers around, but the cut control helps, as noted prior.
Most gigs I use it at the half power setting, and its got lots of power, no need for a 100 watt head here....Metal players probally would not like this amp, as the distortion is more vintage vibe.
The two channels can be cascaded together for an evey fuller sound if needed.

As noted prior, this is my second CAT. There is plenty of power in this rig for 95% of my gigs which are club venues. The only caveat is that the power tubes need to be replaced on a regular basis.
I carry a spare set of tubes, just in case.
Both my Bad Cats have never gone out in a gig....they are built like a tank, even better. And how can you even rate that cool logo that lights..just like a matchless.
I carry a back up amp, but have nerver needed to use it. The amp is one great rig !

Ah, here is the only sore spot. Customer service is NOT speedy, and should you need a replacement part, be prepared for a WAIT.
( They qouted me 4 months once on a part)....so thank god the unit is reliable.

As stated prior, I have played for over 35 years..I also own a FENDER SUPER REVERB, A MESA BOOGIE, and a TWO ROCK. The only close amp is the TWO ROCK, but the reliabiltiy of the two rock is a lot to be desired. The only down side to this amp is the weight of it...this beast is not light. You will need a dolly to move it every night if you are working a lot. There is a slight aggravation of hum with light dimmers, which can be anoying, but by use of the cut control you can attempt to minimize this. By far this is the best overall rig I have ever owned, and would buy another if I needed it.

Price of the CATS are not cheap, you will cry a bit if you buy a new one..just close your eyes and write the check....but the tone is worth it...

this is a 1x12 combo with reverb .its a two channel amp that you can use each at the same time , or one at a time .channel one has volume-bass- and treble knobs . channel two has volume - and a five position tone knob . fist one is a thinner tone , as you go clockwise it gets thicker .it also has a reverb , cut , and a bypassable master .it is a versatile amp . i played a few gig where we were doing all around music . it worked great for that . but , i did a few gigs with my normal band ( which is blues / rock )and it just didnt had the soul that my fender super reverb has .dont know why , but when you are really getting in to it just doesnt respond like my super does .the 30 watts is LOUD .the half power switch on the back doesnt help much . im giving it a nine just because of the lack of "soul" . ( as i call it )

like i said before . this is a great amp .it does not do the heavy stuff . but if you want a great clean tone , even a loud clean tone , its got it .its also got a great dirty tone .like zz top type stuff .i used a 54 reissue strat with texas specials and a 72 fender tele with emg's . i think it sounded better with the tele with the emg's. dont know why .this is an amp that you need to fine tune . when i first pluged in i wasnt sure i made the right chioce , but after messing with it , i got some good tone out of it . the tone knobs are very interactive .

i allways had my super in the trailer at gig's . thats just because thats where i keep it . but i never needed it or went and got it. ( i once got it out in the middle of a gig when i was trying out a mesa boogie tremoverb , it ( tremoverb )just didnt cut it for me )i only had this amp for a couple of months , but i would gig with it , without a backup .its all ways good to have a backup or at least some extra tubes , in case something goes wrong .

i never dealt with them .. sorry

its a good amp .if you are looking at one to buy , jump on it .at the blues / rock gig it didnt sound as good as my super , but thats my thoughts .at the all around gig , it did great .i hate that they cost so much . but you get what you pay for ..

This amp is HEAVY! It was made in 2003, has the reverb and 2x12 speakers (that I changed out for Celestion Blues). It has the features I need, as 'versatile' as can be expected for a pure class 'A' tube amp (master volume gives you tons of options). This amp has more than enough power for any gig situation (mic'd through a PA and play stadiums...). the reverb is rather weak, not really prominent in the mix, even when cranked, not really needed though once you start playing it gets lost in the 'complex' sound. I am rating a '10' because it does what I want it to do!

This amp produces a good amount of 'hiss' as any AC30 type amp will. Even when I changed to all NOS Mullard tubes it's still noisy. Reducing the 'cut' and treble gain significantly reduces the hiss but it also reduces the high end coolness you want from this type of amp. The Celestion Blues I put in causes the amp to lean more to the vintage AC30 sound but more complex and...yep...3-D sounding (sometimes I could swear this was a stereo amp) I use a Budda wah, Fulltone OCD, a Budda Zenman, a Foxrox Paradox flanger, a Maxon AD900, a T-Rex Replica into the Bad Cat Black Cat 30R. I don't care much for modulation pedals and use the flange only for psycho effects...I like different 'shades' of gain and distortion as well as different layers of echo. This amp is perfect for smooth toneful sounds in both channels, absolutely professional in every way. I am disappointed in the amount of hiss it produces even at low levels (maybe needs some filter caps replaced???) it is a new amp so...because it is so expensive, I had to change out the tubes to create better tone, and it is noisy I am giving it a '9'. Sound-wise it is the best sounding amp I have played including Matchless DC30 and Lightning 15 amps (which were quieter yet not as good sounding)countless vintage amps Marshall, Boogie, Budda, Guytron, Carr, Fender, Soldano etc...(I am adding '1' point because I don't want to jack-up this amps perfect score and once you are up and playing beyond the noise it is simply magic!!! it does sound 'AWESOME'!)

built like the proverbial 'tank'. Output tubes are the 'food' this thing will certainly eat.

I contacted them and received no reply :(

I bought it 'used' from some 'Rock Star' that had it in storage as a back-up...it is essentially new so...sounds awesome, works great, kinda noisy for an expensive handmade amp, reverb is weak, weighs a New York ton. For rock, pop, jazz, and blues...not really for heavy metal per se. Oh, BTW, this amp will fill alot of space in the mix, live or recording.

After "the long search" I found the 2x12 with "blue sparkle finish", A nice custom pick. From channel 1 - 2 using a morley stereo pedal, has givin me all the range from blues to rock. I opp'ed for no reverb due to it's wide sounding tone. Seems to weight alot but I port mine around in a road case. Also- love the front BadCat logo that lights up, looks sweet on stage, from the comments from the people...

I burn threw a 74 Fender Strat, 90 Gibson LesPaul, and both sound great. The reality of the clean tones, I would of never thought possible until I heard it myself. The gain on the BadCat, I can tell you I've gotten a lot of rockin head nods. The gain is smooth and rich, not over the the top. The tones this amp produces is priceless.

This amp has the option of tube or solidstate, no need for backup...

The only beef I have is it took 7 monthes after ordering to get it, the company had cabinet making problems, which they did not keep in contact with the store that I ordered from. Inwhich made me a pest, calling every 2 monthes...

I played in a band inwhich the other guitar player played a dc Matchless and Vox, very in your face amps. I noted that he had problems with low stage volume, in the Badcat it seems it doesnt have that challenge, sounds great at lower volumes. Ill have to say again ,that this amp is priceless, and has become a legend of its own, hats off to Mark Sampson and crew...

I wont even waste my time as everyone else has put theres down and its pretty easily accesible. If this amp doesnt have enough features you really shouldn't buy it because it has everything one should need to play any music save for metal although i recently bought an xtreme tone pedal and I can get that sound if I wanted ot. One thing I will note is that my amp is a 1x12 custom ordered option and does not have reverb. I really don't think that this amp needs any subtle type reverb effects because the sound is so three dimmensional that it pretty much makes your sound big enough if you know what i mean. I also want to make a note that I recently sold a matchless dc30 which is basically the same amp but there are subtle differences which I will mention to help anyone out.

To put it mildly this is the best sounding type of amp I have ever heard (note the dc30 purchase) and I would never play through anything else. I mainly use two guitars. A prs singlecut and a telecaster japan. I use a bluesdriver the xtreme tone and the dl4 and mm4 from line 6. I can pretty much get a wide variety of tones from this setup and without any degration of tone. The tone is simply amazing. It shimmers at any volume level where the tubes are actually recieveing the correct voltage and it only gets better as you turn it up. Although I wouldnt say it is a vox ac30 exactly I would say it is better. Dont get me wrong I love vox amps but they have the vintage inconsitancies that make their tone. Just consider this one a reliable and more correct version of a vox. Its pretty much what vox would make if they started making amps today. Also the right channel gets very into marshall plexi territory. I haven't tried this but I was thinking of a+b+y to mmix the two channels. It works elecetronically as far as I can tell but dont quote me. Also tubes make a big difference especially in the break up of the amp. tubes can give you way more clean headroom or make the tubes break up more. I would just mess around with different tube settingsfor what fits your style but it will always sound good. up against the matchless it sounds pretty much the same except I can tell this is a tad bit darker. Also I can tell a slight difference by only having one speaker because you dont get that mismatched break up sound. I dont miss it enough to buy an extension cab and plus I just wanted a lighter version of this amp to tote around

Hmmm. Unlike everyone else it seems I always gig without a back up and dont care. Ive never had an amp go out on me and I would wonder what I did wrong if this one broke for some reason. Bad cat amps are solidly built and you shouldnt have a problem. to get an idea my matchless actually burned out a set of tubes and I didnt even know it because it kept working and sounding great. Thats what I call reliability

They answered a couple questions I had which is good enough for me.

If you have any questions about buying this amp just go and buy it if you can find one. The amp is tonealy an amazing piece of artwork and like I said i consider every other type of amp a piece of crap now. seriously I feel almost sad like I was spoiled cause now I consider everything that doesnt cost as much as this a piece of junk. It will spoil you or in a sense pop your cherry in a good way. As for the matchless bad cat debate I would pick which ever one is cheaper because they sounded the same and reacted the same way with me. The bad cats tone controls are more variable i would say but generally a person will just find the tone they want and never change it. Like I said the bad cat is only slightly darker than the matchless and if you want the true matchless bad cat tone I would still go for 2x12 even though the 1x12 is a heck of alot easier to carry around. funny suggestion but im thinking about buying another of this amp or a matchless sc30 to run in stereo but then put the mismatched speaker in that one. Expensive as hell but if its your job and your the only guitar player in your band the stereo effects like a leslie or ping pong delay could be absolutely astonishing with that kind of setuo. Just a thougt.

Pretty well summed up by other reviewers. Mine is a 1x12" version, and I have 2 5U4 rectifier tubes in, for a swampier, warmer sound.

I owned a Matchless SC-30, which I sold to buy this amp...the SC-30 was everything I ever wanted, except for reverb; the Black Car 30R truly is PERFECT for me.

I use a Gibson Blueshawk, G&L ASAT Bluesboy solidbody, and an Ovation CS257 Deluxe with this amp, usually with a Rt.66 pedal in front for boost, and ocassionally an old Digitech RP-10 processor for crazy effects (purely a toy for me).

The sound is amazing. On the first channel, I get everything I ever loved about the Vox AC15: warmth, glassy sparkle, and breaking up into a smooth overdrive when the preamp and guitar volume are up. The amount of warmth is really increadible, but won't get muddy even with an acoustic plugged in. The second channel is more edgy...less glassy and more chimy, with more midrange thickness. With a bit of compression to smooth out dynamics, it can do almost a smooth heavy-sustain fuzz.

The main thing about BadCat, and its Matchless predecessors, is the power of playing dynamics. No matter what the amp controls are set at, you can clean up the signal by tweaking the volume and playing lightly...conversely even on a clean setting you can dig in and make the amp bark. This is not a beginner's amp, but it definitely calls upon the player to continually hone technique, because it responds powerfully to the slightests change in picking pressure.

Single coils are sweet singing glass through this amp, with a palpable underlying warmth. The piezo on my Ovation is warm and thick, and yet all strings in a chord are individually defined. Humbuckers and P90s definitely bring out a whole other side here...instead of glassy top end, they emphasize the thickness of the midrange and bring out an aggressive angle, especially from the EF86 channel--not even close to a Mesa sound, but something closer to a superlead Marshall with much more smoothness and character.

The reverb is silky and dark, spacious enough for most playing styles, but can't do the tiny, hollow surf thing (wouldn't want to, anyway). Rather, the reverb just helps add a bit more dimension to what is far and away the most multi-dimensional sound out there.

Built like a tank. And weighs as much as a tank. Only reason it doesn't get a 10 is that I'd never move it, because I'd be afraid of damaging the beautiful tolex job.

Never dealt with them, although I have corresponded with Mark a couple of times over the years about my Matchless SC30 and RV1 units. He's responded promptly, with friednly advice, and I have no doubt that he and BadCat will stand behind this refinement of his earlier design 100%.

The best amp ever, at any price (except maybe the $4K Vox Anniversary Edition AC30). Since I first heard a Vox amp, I was in love, and this is everything great about a Vox, and a whole second and at least equally usable channel to boot.

So much warmth that it is almost tangible, a glassy chime and sparkle in the treble, and power amp dynamics that continually force me to better my technique to maximize on the responsiveness of the amp to my picking styles.

Not only is it always thrilling to hear my guitar coming through this amp, but it forces me to be a better player. What more could anyone ask?

Made in June 2004. I opted for the 2x12 combo in Sparkle Blue (which obviously makes it sound better!!). It has just the features I need: A half power switch which takes it down to 15 watts, speaker outs with ohm selector, two extra 110 plugs, two channels, and reverb. I score it a 10 for keeping it straight up and simple, yet effective.

My initial review can be summed up with two words.............very cool! This thing reeks of that classic Class A el84 tone. Channel 1 is tight and clean, but can be pushed, while channel 2 puts out a fat edgy chime that is perfect for roots rock, country (which is what I play for a living), or most anything else. This channel is most effective (to me) with the master engaged at a lower setting with the preamp volume opened up about 75%. I also found that with a little tweaking, you can have fun with pedals out front to open up your options. I've tried a Sparkle Drive, a Keeley modded TS9, and a Tonebone Hot British. With one or two if these out front, I can cover virtually anything. I should mention that so far I've only tried my Will Ray ASAT with the Z3 pickups. I'll break out some other guitars after I type this. Anyway, I can see why this model is so well liked. I'd be happy to a whole night with the guitar straight in and let the volume knob do the work.

This thing is built like a tank and I do not forsee any issues.

I know that James and his team stand up behind their products and will go beyond themselves to make things right should there be an issue. This is based on my personal history as I've owned other Bad Cats.

I 've been at it for 23 years and play in a well known band with radio credits. I also own a 1996 Matchless Lightning 2x10, a mint 68 Super Reveb, and a few other nice toys and so far, this one will take the cake. The others are very nice, but this just has "the tone"! If it was stolen, I could only pray that the SOB that took it never crosses my path because I'll be walking with one shoe while the other is deeply inserted up his.......well you know!

same as everybody else says: 2 channels, no FX loop, no nothing. mine's a 1x12 non-reverb model. I've been using a divided by 13 switchazel with it, which could have been made for this amp: a / b / a+b / boost / tuner out. a match made in heaven. I can get about 300 different sounds out of this thing with all the switch / boost combos. a 10 with the switchazel -- and an 8 or so without.

nicest sounding amp in the world, according to me.

it's got that nice SoCal hotrod stripped-down esthetic, like the motor of a dragster or something: clean, overbuilt, heavy, apparently bombproof. no complaints here.

don't know -- bought used -- had a question once and it was answered within 24 hours, though.

I've had this amp for a year now -- I've avoided reviewing it till now because I wanted to avoid the gee-whiz honeymoon review syndrome -- but I can say with a straight face that this is the best-sounding amp I've ever played through, to my ear. I keep finding new tricks that it does. It weights like a boat anchor and is priced like Tiffany's but who cares? I've been playing since the Nixon administration and this is the first amp I've ever felt this kind of affection for. I'd replace it in a heartbeat if it was gone.