Bad Cat Cub 2 112 Combo

As far as features go, it's a pretty basic amp, but the defeatable Master Volume is amazing, and makes this amp one of, if not THE best amp I've ever played. I keep my Cub II dialed in at Treble - 12 o'clock Bass - 12 o'clock... which means that this company knows what they're doing.

I purchased my Cub II a month or two ago, and I wanted to wait before reviewing it because right off the bat I was completely blown away by how this thing sounds.
Honestly... I couldn't be happier with this amp. I constantly change amps, and in the past 5 months I've gone from a Mesa Single Rect-o-Verb, to a Vox AC30, to an Orange Rockerverb 50, and then finally landed with the Bad Cat. Holy hell. I'm done.

I use a Gibson SG 61 RI and a Fender Tele with this amp - both sound beyond heavenly. Since my Cub II is the non-reverb version, I picked up an EH Holy Grail Plus, and it just what I need.

So far I've never had a single problem with this amp, and I always use it without a back-up. Time will tell, but this thing seems like it's built to last.

Haven't needed support.

Like I said, this amp has ended my search (for now) and I am 100% in love with this amp. I've played almost every amp imaginable and this one is just about as perfect as they come.

Bad Cat Cub II-R (reverb), single channel, with treble, bass, 5 position tone control, reverb, cut, gain and master volume.

15 Watts class A, unbelievably loud, nearly as loud as my Bogner Sheeva 80 watts that sits right next to it.

Highly effective controls, not the usual type where you get some difference, and usually in the wrong place. Bad Cat have obviously spent a lot of time with musicians to find where they want the controls to be effective.

The reverb is astounding.

I traded this amp against a Les Paul Standard + Fender Strat (and a few bucks). This leaves me with a PRS Johny Highland and a PRS Custom 22, and a Bogner Sheeva 80W Custom Shop. It is very expensive, but I do not regret it one second. Life is too short to have poor tone.

Incredible sound. As someone else in this section put it, this is an instrument, not an amplifier. It will make your guitar come to life.

Highly sensitive to the different attacks from your fingers, you will never want to use a pick again after playing through this.

The 5 position tone control really delivers some different sounds quickly, without having to fiddle with several knobs. You can bypass it with a toggle switch to compare with and without. The 5 positions seem to progressively cut the highs and give more room to the mids, which is perfect for rythm guitar. If you still have too much treble, the cut control helps to 'cut' treble... As I said before, it seems to cut in exactly the right place.

The distortion is crisp and bluesy and also emphasizes the subtleness of the finger play. What is incredible is how you can go from clear/chiming clean to warm/break-up distortion very continuously, by increasing the overdrive knob. With the overdrive control to 3/4, the sound starts to break up if you attack strongly, or remains clean (albeit compressed) if you attack softly; you're really in the best of 2 worlds at your finger tips.

It is not too good at rock/hard rock/rock soloing though, the Bogner Sheeva is miles away in the category. But for bright and spanky clean, to chiming warm, to bluesy breakup, there is no question this amp is in a league of it's own.

I use a Lehle pedal to switch between the 2 amps.

I regret it does not have 2 channels, so you can switch from the clean sound to the bluesy sound, but I understand that it would probably cost twice the price to have an amp that could it, since you would basically need an exact copy of all the controls for the second channel.

Don't know yet, works fine for the moment. I am not a professional guitarist and don-t play gigs, it sits comfortably at home.

Don't know yet.

I will not put 10 because I cannot say it is "fantastic value". At $3000 here in Switzerland, it is expensive. But the truth is that is an exceptional amp, well worth the money spent, and it laughs in the face of all the others. I would say it is like a PRS guitar : not cheap, but work every cent paid.

If it were stolen, I would cry, because I probably won't find a similar tone again. I definitly would buy it again - may have to save for some time though.

This amp was born in the mid 2000s. I was shocked to find out how versatile this amp was! You get Voxey chime, Matchless/Bad Cat sparkle, and a little bit of 18 watt Marshall thrown in for good measure. Features are great for what this amp is: a 15 watt, simple, tone monster. I give it a 10 for its defeatable master volume and tone bypass controls. There's an extension speaker out, and you get that awesome Bad Cat light that shines through the logo. That's classy icing on the cake.

This is hands down one of 5 of the best amps I've played. I judge it for what it is, and for what it does, it is unstoppable. It's pure, unfiltered, unadulterated tone. It has a treble, bass, and cut knob and you can get as bright or bassy as you would ever want. I like putting the bass at noon, and the treble at noon. How perfect is that?? That means the amp at average is voiced exactly how I want it to be! There's tons of headroom and I challenge anybody to find me a louder 15 watt amp. If there is one, it's not 15 watts. The distortion when cranked is sweet. You get Angus tones no problem, it's a smooth crunch and not your typical, EL84, sometimes ratty crunch. It's really warm, full and big. I run Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, and a PRS through this thing and there are no losers. This amp is unbelievable. It's one of those amps that you can play two notes and have a stupid guitar grin on your face.

Built like a tank and I would have no question of gigging with this thing. Nothing broken down on it yet, knock on wood.

Talked to James to find out where V1 was so that I could put my favorite NOS 12ax7 in there, a Telefunken. James was nice, down to earth, and knew his stuff confidently. He knows his amps like they're his children.

The best amp I have period.

2005 Custom Shop Cub II 30. 30 Watts, bi-pass gain and tone selections. Great for rock, country, jazz, and blues. I have used a lot of different amps all top notch. This is the best amp that I have ever played through and I have been playing since I was 6 years old. ( I am 45 and a pro musician). This amp is not just a speaker for your guitar, it breaths. It is an instrument.. Can not say enough about it , try one out for yourself. If you like tube amps and want something that makes your guitars sound like they should than this is the amp for you. It will actually make you a better player, every nuiance is picked up. Its almost like playing an acoustic, you vary your attack, you'll hear it, you play with your fingers you'll hear it....You get the picture....Let your ears be your guide. Also built like a brick ----house.

I use varied, ES-335, Les Paul Standard, SG Supreme, G&L Leagacy, and G&L ASAT out live. My full time gig is rock but I also play with a new country band and blues band on the side occasionally. I also do studio work. This amp breaks up well when pushed, and has phenominal clean sounds. I use this and a badcat mini cat in the studio. I have a cubII 15 as well. Good amp, but not quite enough head room for large rooms. This amp has great headroom, but with the master you can acheive smooth gain at low volumes as well. Great amp.....

I would use this amp with no backup and I do every weekend. This is my third badcat and I also own drz equipment. I have never had a problem with the badcats other than they are heavy....Built solid...

I had a handle that the stitching was coming out of on my older badcat cubII15. Dealer gave me a new one immediately. I have sent a couple e-mails with questions to badcat and they were answered immediately......

I have fallen in love with my badcat amps. If something happened to this I would replace it immediately. The best amp that I have ever owned. I am thinking of getting rid of my Dr.Z's. I have had Rivera, Bogner, Marshalls, vintage fenders, etc. Nothing comes close in my opinion. Like everything else, let your own ears be your guide. I believe in buying good gear that will not falter at a gig and sound great, but these amps are unbelievable. I play all the time professionally and have never found this quality and sound in another amp. Pay a little more, but you get what you pay for.....

I purchased this new in early 2004 and have 1500 hours on it ( easily) - approx 20 gigs, I love the combination of strats and EL84 amps. It has all the features I like in this type of amp ( I have owned 2 others - Vox and more recently a Goldtone) Non - master volume
( although this model gives that choice ) Mine has reverb but I don't use it. No effects loop ( and none wanted ) It has plenty of powere for any room I play in ( medium size bars-clubs - parties )

I play mostly strats ( 2 favorites are an old V neck from different parts and an EJ strat for the past 6 months ) Dance/party pop-rock. I need 3 basic strat sounds: 1. clean - mostly mid-bridge PU combo 2. bridge PU straight into amp 3. bridge PU to distortion ( I use a black cat OD-1 ) to amp. that's the only effect I use. I owned the Goldtone ( mine is a GA15RV - 6 years old - the British version with a greenback ) first. I bought the BadCat because I couldn't resist owning a boutique amp - and wanted to try the tube rectifier - I replaced the orig. with a NOS Mullard. The cub sure has the right midrangy - complex chime that any good class A EL84 should have. I used it for a solid year - then 6 months ago I tried the Goldtone again and realized how really wonderful it is. The EJ strat bridge PU straight into the Goldtone with the brite switch off simply knocks the Bad Cat right out of the water - sorry - it's true. Hand wired be damned. Also the reverb on the Goldtone is superior. The Gibson has a certain woody breakup that the cub cannot match - even thought the cub is a great amp it has been my back-up amp for a long time.

very reliable - like I said - well over a 1000 hours - many gigs

have not needed it.

40 years - have owned 100 guitars and PLAYED THEM ALL and maybe 20 amps. I would always go for the combination of a good V neck strat and a low watt EL 84 in class A. I would not buy another Cub - If I ever need another amp I will look for the same British Gibson. That 's not to say the Bad Cat is not a great amp - it is. By the way the cosmetic workmanship on the Cub is absolutely wonderful.

Features are basic plus a cut control and master. Nice touch on the new ones with a tone bypass.

The sound is unbelievable. This is the way an amp should sound.
If you bring this amp to a jam session everyone will want to play through it. clean clear plenty of harmonics and incredible drive.

excellent never had a problem

excellent spoke with the owner a few times always helpful

This amp makes any other clean amp obsolete. the drive and sustain on this amp is wicked.be careful you may sell all your other amps.
Definitly worth the price.

The reviews below explain the features very well. Mine is a non-reverb Cub II and the only thing I changed is the rectifier tubes. I exchanged the Chinese 5AR4 to a NOS Mullard, which makes a difference. I bought this amp new about 5 month ago.

The guitars I use are Fender Stratocasters and a Telecaster with single coils and the music I love and play is Blues. I play almost 30 years now and was always a Fender guy (amps and guitars). In the last 20 years I only use Tweed amps and never owned a Class A amp. I like the Vox AC 30 and when Matchless came to the market I also liked them, but never wanted to own one. I had one of my Tweeds in for service at my dealer and he talked me into trying this Badcat Cub II. He knows me very well and told me that I would like the big warm tone of this little Cub II. I plugged into this Cub II and bought it on the spot. I compared it to the one with reverb, but I never liked reverb or tremolo which was build into the amp circuit. If I need reverb I use a Fender Reverb tank, which sounds great with the Cub. I don't use the Master Volume, I don't use any distortion pedals either.
It is hard to write about tone, but if you have a chance to plug into one of these Cub II's do it. I loved it within the first 10 seconds and still do. It is hard to give an amp a 10, but I do it since this is the first amp since a very long time that I really love.

Is build like a tank, but time will tell.

I called them once to get some recommendation on what tubes to use. Very nice and friendly people, I'm sure if I have some problem they will help me. I spoke to the owner and he seems to be a great guy.

Again I like this amp a lot and it's my first Class A amp. Yes I would buy it again if lost.

I believe this model is a 2004. It is the non-reverb model.
The features are all you need on an amp. The controls are very interactive, and the master volume is bypassable. There is also a toggle switch labeled focus/spectrum on the control panel. When the toggle is switched to "focus" the bass and treble are bypassed, leaving you to drive the amp with just the volume and the cut control. Purists will enjoy this. It also gives you a little more clean headroom, and a noticeable volume drop. I'd say it's pretty versatile. It also happens to be my opinion that an amp is only as versatile as the player.(To a certain point anyway). Overall, the features are all that i need personally, and i love the fact that the master volume can be bypassed, as i am not a fan of master volumes. As i am sure anyone who is reading this already knows, you are aware that this is a 15 watt single channel dual El-84 amplifier with tube rectification. However, using the Focus/Spectrum toggle switch is almost like having two channels. Almost. I play modern rock style in the vein of Radiohead, U2, Pearl Jam mainly. This amp is pretty ideal for me, and achieving those sounds. Speaking of sounds...

I have two strats and a Gibson Les Paul Standard that i play through this amp. I am more of a single coil guy, and this amp jives with single coils more anyway. BUT. The Les Paul sounds great through it as well. With the strats, the tone is sparkly and chiming. I know those words are redundant when describing a Vox style amp, but it's true. The tone really is inspiring. This is not a high gain amp as im sure most of you already know. The overdrive is very playable and sweet, it nails that vox tone. With my strats, the tones are just what i wanted: Glassy, pristine, and sweet jangle. The les paul is obviously a little more dirty sounding and midrangey, but it still sounds beautiful. I can get a nice clean sparkly tone with my les paul with just a slight edge/break up. The amp is very quiet when not using any pedals. It's pretty much silent with the humbuckers. I use anywhere from 4-5 pedals and the amp handles them nicely, and responds well. This amp does not do loud loud clean, but it does have some very nice clean sounds. Personally, i'd like it to be a liiiiiitle cleaner, but that's not really fair considering the wattage and the fast distorting
El-84's. This amp really screams with a high quality overdrive in front of it. The Cub is also very very touch responsive. It picks up every little nuance and will NOT hide your mistakes. I spent a few years doing my homework about tube amps and which one i wanted to get before getting this one. It is my first tube amp, believe it or not. I auditioned a Mojave Coyote, a Maven Peal Zeeta, Bad Cat Black Cat, Vox AC30 reissue, and some others i can't recall. I wanted to play a Savage Rohr 15, but there are none out here in california. In the end it came down to the Cub and the Mojave Coyote. The Cub just blew it away, which i did not anticipate, as i was playing the coyote head through a vox 2x12 cab loaded with celestion blues and i thought the celestion blues would sound better then the vintage 30 that is in the cat. I think the Cub also sounded better then the coyote because the coyote is not tube rectified. I like the spongey feel, and sag of the tube rectifier. I really wanted the vox tone, and this amp does it. I also considered Divided By 13, but they were too expensive, and in the end, not the amp for me.
I have been playing for about 10 years now, and have just never had the money for a tube amp. Well i guess i did, but i knew i wanted a high end "Boutique" amp. The amp compresses naturally, and it is very smooth. I jammed in the studio with my bass player and drummer and there was plenty of volume. If i play in a large venue, i can always mike it.

This amp is unbelievably overbuilt. It features a true hand wired circuit with no circuit boards. I know the whole hand wired Vs. PCB debate is a sensitive one, so im not gonna get into it. I've had the amp for for almost 3 months now with no problems. I've used it on a few studio sessions and it performed flawlessly. Bad Cat amps have a 5 year warranty so i am not worried. And i live near the factory, so that's even better. I would not gig without a back up because that's just not a good idea, period. No matter what amp you have, you should always have a back up. Be prepared for ANYTHING when gigging. This amp has given me no problems, and there is no reason why it would at a gig, but still, it's better safe than sorry.

As i said before, the warranty is 5 years. I had some questions about the tubes, and about this weird sound i got when using my brass slide, and James, the president of Bad Cat, invited me over to the factory. How cool is that? He tested the amp and we came to the conclusion that my slide was causing some weird electro static noise. Weird. It doesn't happen much anymore. It also had to do with the outlet i was using. In any case, James is a real cool guy and i talked shop with him there at the factory with my girlfriend for over an hour. It was so cool to see where all the magic happens and all the chassis' laying out, and seeing prototypes lying around that i wasn't supposed to see. I am lucky that i live near the factory, and that definetely had to do with me buying the amp.I would not like buying from a small company that was across the country. That's why i didn't go with maven peal.(That and price). Overall they are a great company, very professional, and care about the customer. James IS a busy guy and to some people, may come off as abrupt or rude, but he's the only guy that ever answers the phone, and handles the customer service all by himself. I am very happy with my experiences with him/the company. Also, it is important to point out that i bought this amp from Wild West Guitars in Southern California. They are a very cool shop, and their customer service is more than you could ever ask for. I know if i can't get through to Bad Cat for some reason, that they will take care of me. I love that damn place.

Overall, i give the amp a 9 because, i dont know if it's possible for an amp to score a perfect 10. There is always something out there that could be better, and as we all know, the search for tone is a never ending quest. Right now, i am into the Vox AC30 thing and this does it wonderfully. In a few years i may want more of a fender sound, or marhshall, so who knows. There are other amp companies out there that i want to try that could do the vox thing better. Since i bought my amp, i have played a Bogner Metropolis(also dual El-84), a Victoria 35 Watt and 45 watt, and Victorilux, the new Fender Handwired Tweed Twin and Bassman. I sill love my Cub the best. I thought after i bought it, i would find something that i liked better, but not yet. Obviously, the fenders/Victoria's are different animals, but i just love the jangle and wet sparkle sound of the class A El84 thing. It's so spongey and pretty. I like fender clean, but i prefer the british clean much more right now. The amp is a little on the dark side. I'd prefer a little more treble, but im going to try some different tubes. Also, you gotta love the backlit Bad Cat logo a la Matchless. The amps cosmetics are just sharp as hell. When i have the money and the means i might consider getting the Custom 30 watt model of the cub. It's only through Bad Cat's custom shop, it's not a regular model. I just love the control setup. I've never liked the 6 position tone switch on the Black Cat and on Matchless DC-30's. If this amp were stolen, i would find the bastard, believe me. But if for some reason, god forbid, i lost it or it was stolen, i dont know if i'd buy it again. I'd like to play some other El84 amps out there that i may have missed, and if none of them were as nice sounding as this then, of course, i would get it again. And compared to some other Boutique companies out there, the price for this amp is really killer. That was another big factor in me getting it. I couldn't resist the good price. The reason i went for a high end "Boutique" amp is because of quality and customer service. You can't get this kind of customer service with a huge company like fender. And i've read over and over here on harmony central of guys that have been playing for 25 years and have gone through so many amps, and they end up finding "The One" by buying from companies like Bad Cat or Two Rock or Victoria, etc. So i guess i wanted to try and skip all the trial and error. In any case, i love my Cub. But i am still keeping my eyes and ears out for the next best thing. The search never ends. Damnit, now i wanna go play my Cub.

Defeatable master volume is so cool....not sure why the manual is so vague.Beautiful touch snsitivity....all the features I need.I love it!

Telecaster...killer...PRS w/ Dragon II's is sublime !!!In fact,to my surprise,Tube Screamer in front with the PRS is very gainy and articulate.I know heavy sounds,and this was excellent grind...by anyones standards.The biggest plus here is the input sensitivity,just the best I've heard. I love this amp !!

N/A

Good.I had a rattle and called the company.James left a message telling me how to move the chassis and problem solved.
The manual is an anomaly.Great amp,but a vague and crummy manual designed to cover several models,not classy at all.Any updates,Bad Cat ?

Playing 23 years(pro experience)The best sounding amp I have ever owned,out of 15 or so amps.I dial past good sounds finding the great sounds I am searching for,and have found.A profound and musical amplifier,I am very happy !

15 Watt EL84 class A. I have a wonderful strat with old aftermarket low output no-name hand wound Japanese Pickups. I learned over the past 10 years or so that this EL84 class A thing is the perfect match for single coil guitars. Before I owned the bad cat I used a really nice 2nd generation British Gibson goldtone GA15RV. I moved on to the Goldtone because I wanted a boutique amp for once and also a tube rectifier. The second feature I need is nonmaster volume. The cub has a bypass ability so it's perfect. Feature #3 is that I don't like tone stacks, channel switching or other knobs which detract from that basic tone. This has a tone stack bypass. Featue #4 is I can carry cradled in my arms to multiple gigs - 60 lbs is my max. I knew well enough to stay away from trem cats, wildcats, hotcats, AC30s, etc - too heavy and far too maby knobs. Also 30 watts moves me out of warm tone and into brittle sound. #5 - IT LOOKS COOL - the backlit sign gets it. #6 It has that smell - you know what I mean.

strat >>> Carl Martin compressor (subtle amounts of compression to mellow the initial transients) >>>> old Budda phatman with good tubes (Raytheon) with gain barely on for bridge PU rhythm crunch. >>>> TS10 with gain off for lead boost >>>> voodoo sparkle drive with gain full up on Pickup pos #4 on strat for "woman tone" >>> Ibanez AD99 analog delay - mostly for slap >>>> amp. I have played 40 years - now in a dance/party oriented cover band - poprock, R+B. rockabilly, etc... I do gigs with 4 basic tones. The basic deal is that gorgeous chimney clean sound from the strat + this amp. The master volume and tone stack are always bypassed. The "cut" knob is useful - it gives me a clear " present sound. The reverb is subtle - no surf - a little too understated but I don't use it much anyway. Like all master volume amps the crunch is bad - but I use my budda as my secret crunch weapon for some rock stuff. This amp gives me great sparkly clean tone and then I use my pedals up front for my other 3 basic sounds. I can move from song to song efficiently and get all the sounds out of one guitar for a 4 hour gig. I knew enough to stay away from effects loops.

So far so good. I carry tubes.

dont know

Ideally I wish it had only the 3 knobs I use - don't need the master volume or tone knobs. After giging with this a while I AB'd it with my goldtone. The bad cat is more warm and squishy - overall better. The gibson is piercing once you hit a certain volume. The bad cat never pierces - so it fills a room better. The gibson sounds more rigid (solid state rectifier ) Still, the gibson is cool if you have $600 ( E-bay price for the good British ones) and not $1700.

As far as comparing it to non EL84 amps - no comparison -

The workmanship on my cub is pretty special - tolex, grill, piping - really top - notch.

One point off for the reverb I guess - but even that is a bit cruel

The simple the better - the features on this Cub 2 are straight forward: Volume / Master Volume / Treble / Bass / Cut / Reverb. This is a reverb version of the Cub 2. Also includes a switch that bypasses the tone stack totally and a bypass for the master volume (a la old school single volume Vox).

This thing is so sweet it'll make you cream your pants! The clean sound is to die for - and a nice change if you're used to the classic Blackface sound as I once was. Humbuckers sound amazing CLEAN and single coils exhibit a clean sound so delicious. Full, warm, squishy bottom end, a round and deep mid range, and a punchy "chimey" top end. You can crank the volume slightly before break up and get some slight compression (thank you 5AR4) that adds alot of character to the tone. The Cub 2 is not a high gain affair on its own - with master Volume maxed and Volume at 12 noon, you get a nice break up. Push the volume to 5pm and a beautiful power distortion comes in. Extremely smooth, nice midrange, very warm bottom, and a slightly aggressive top end. It's hard to describe but overall a very "warm" tone (or you could say a very Vintage tone). With the amp running flat out, the rectifier adds a nice touch of compression to harder attacks and adds that something special to the dynamics of the amp that you can't get from the standard SS rectifiers...now I know why some people are so die hard for tube recitifer amps!

Pedals? this baby loves stomp boxes. very quiet too. I must HIGHLY recommend you get your favorite boost/overdrive pedal and use it with this amp. when using a clean boost to push the overdrive on this amp you get all the distortion you need and then some (except for you numetal heads). Power distortion was sweet before, add in a TS808 or KLON centaur - holy smokes.

No problems yet. I play this at max volume pretty often.

Called up one day and asked a question - was quickly and patiently answered by a guy there.

I had my doubts about boutique amps and the whole PTP debate, but after owning SO many PCB mass-produced amps, including several higher priced Fenders, and a Peavey, I see there is a difference. Even when I compare my Badcat Cub 2 to other boutique amps like the Dr. Z Route 66 head I used to own, it seems like the Badcat is in a class above.

Very basic setup, 2 inputs, volume, bass, treble, cut, master(push-pull), single channel 15 watter with el84's and 12ax7's. This single channel amp is an awesome class "A" tone machine. Fifteen class "A" watts is loud enough for me to compete with a drummer and 2 horn players standing in close proximity to me. In medium sized clubs this amp would not be loud enough without a soundman and a mic. I have to give the amp a nine here, the tone controls are tuned SO nicely, you have to hear it to beleive it.

Beautiful sounds that make you want to play for days, I use mine with a Tom Anderson Classic T and a Hollow T. I have not played it with humbuckers yet, I prefer single coils. It's clean is sweeter than a Fender and it's distortion is so beautiful and musical it must be heard. The cabinet size and speaker work very well together, the sound of this amp has such dimension to it, you don't need reverb, it has so much depth already. The amp is quiet even when dimed and it works well with pedals. I think the amp is best suited for roots rock, country, blues, jazz, just not anything too modern, the harder stuff. I have been fortunate to play a lot of great amps and this amp is INCREDIBLE sounding. You must play it, most importantly FEEL it, VERY inspiring. What more can you really ask for?

I have not owned it long enough to know, but Mark Sampson's reputation is to build products that last. I have had no problems.

If you call the company , the president of Bad Cat will probably answer the phone. He was very friendly and enthusiastic. I haven't really needed anything to properly evaluate there service.

If something happened to mine I would RUN out to buy another. Set the tone controls where you like, turn the volume up to 10 and use your guitar volume to dial in whatever you need. EL84's just sound so great!! This is my first point-to-point handwired amp and WOW!! what a F@#$!%g difference. My second choice was a Dr. Z MAZ 18, nice amp but not as impressive as the Cub 2, my 3rd choice would have been an Alessandro Working Dog Boxer. When you get into the $1500 price range the truth is a lot of amps sound REALLY great, the Cub 2 just has that extra something that says "play me, play me, play me". What else is there to ask of an instrument. This amp is an instrument, you use your guitar to PLAY this amp as opposed to the amp making your guitar louder.

I have been playing for about 15 yrs., I have been getting paid for the last 10 yrs. I have no problem with spending a little more for music equipment, I prefer to pay the extra $ for quality. Nothing sucks more than doing gigs and having your gear go down or sound cheezy.

I am fortunate enough to play about 100 gigs a year, mostly with a 10 peice band, occasionally I do some casuals, jazz gigs and singer songwriter rock stuff. Throw in a little recording here and there and that's my gig. This amp is a perfect choice to handle all of those duties. By the way, it doesn't break my back. It is very solid for a 1x12.

I would not recommend this amp for the beginner , most Class "A" type amps need more finesse from a more experienced player.

No BS, if you are into great guitar tones, this is one amp you should definitely try. Enjoy!!