Bad Cat Cub Cat 112 Combo

I purchased this amp new in November 2001. Having grown tired of the same old Boogie and Marshall vibe I really wanted to try a handwired class-A boutique amp. Its been my opinion that it doesn't matter how many bells and whistles a product has available. 20 knobs,effects loops etc. doesn't insure good tone. I have no plans to gig this amp and will use it only in my living room. If you think 15 watts isn't enough-try this one--its plenty loud. The only controls are volume,bass and treble(very interactive) and a master. Its all I was looking for-so I have nothing bad to report on this category.

I've been playing for over 20 years and gravitate toward blues/rock style. EC,Leslie West, Warren Haynes and SRV influence my technique. I have two Gibson Les Pauls: Custom with standard humbuckers and a 54 re-issue with P-90's.The thing that will get your attention is the MASSIVE chiming headroom.Both guitars are extremely articulate and sweet through this amp. P-90's though, are absolutely the S@#t. I also found that with an Ibanez tube screamer I get all the crunch I need. Think JTM45 and Vox---not JCM900 or Plexi distortion. The amp came stock with Groove tube EL84s and sounded good. I recently installed two NOS GE EL84s and an NOS Mullard 5AR4 rectifier tube---HOLY S@#t,what a difference,this amp makes you want to play all day. Before I tried this amp, I tried a THD univalve--no comparison this amp makes the univalve seem like a toy. The harmonics that this amp generates have to be heard to be believed. I'm retired and have played this amp at least three hours every day since I brought it home.I would not hesistate to gig with this amp.(I would not want to have it stolen or hammered on in transport--its that nice.)

I can't imagine having a problem the way this thing is built. I've come to the conclusion that provided you can afford good tubes it should sound good for a long time.

Well, the manual that comes with the amp is a joke. It does'nt even give you a tube chart.It also neglects to tell you things that some may not know. Like,you can replace power tubes without re-biasing.(Cathode biased)or if an external speaker can be used or tube recommendations for the preamp stage. I called them just to ask about the tubes they use and recommendation for the future, the individual I spoke to answered my questions but seemed to not wish to hear my opinions about the way I was pleased so far etc. He stated he had to go and promptly hung up. Hows that for customer service.For 1500 dollars you'd think the guy would want to at least hear me out. I guess you can't have everthing.

Yeah, I'd replace it in a heartbeat. I don't miss the reverb.I wish they would put NOS tubes in it. I've yet to hear a decent new production EL84.If you are addicted to tone-give it a try.

I'm writing this review in response to a thorough try-out at the dealer's place (Westwood Music--I wouldn't mention them by name except that they were incredibly accommodating, friendly and cool). I was looking to try this amp as a replacement for the one truly special amp that got away, my old Matchless Lightning 1x12 (sold it, fool that I am). This amp is every bit as good, if not better. It's very similar, although I believe this amp has far greater headroom than the Matchless, which is important if you want to stay clean in most rocking situations. Obviously, if you're looking for channel-switching, effects-loop kind of diversity, or a super-tight, crunchy metal sound, this amp is not for you. On the other hand, if you want real, musical diversity, this is it. This amp has interactive tone controls that actually shape the sound in an incredibly dynamic way. Comparing it to my '65 Deluxe Reissue is a joke, as the Bad Cat's ability to literally sculpt the sound is so phenomenal. For this reason I give it a 10+ for features. After all, an amp could have a dozen knobs, switches, etc.; if it doesn't offer this kind of usable range of sounds, it's not as feature rich as the Bad Cat.

I play a custom tele with P-90's. The richness (full bass/treble range) and punchiness of my pickups really came through. I use Harmonic Designs pickups and they sound unbelievable (humbuckers are also fabulous with this amp). My style is jazzy blues with a Sonic Youth/Mark Ribot influence. This amp seems particularly suited to my kind of armchair musical exploration (because of the above mentioned tonal flexibility). One word of caution after a heapload of praise: these amps (along with Matchless) have a tendency towards a glassy, microphonic tube sound that needs to be addressed. I had a DC-30 that did the same thing as this one--hit the wrong couple of notes and the tube sounds like it's getting some kind of sympathetic vibration (hollow ringing sound). I was assured this would be adjusted ("fitted") by the manufacturer.

If it's anything like the Matchless line, fantastic, though read the word of caution above.

I don't know, but have heard great things.

I compared this amp to all kinds of boutique wonders, and this is still my pick. It's expensive but worth it.

The amp has the usual controls for a class A amp. No channel switching, the reverb is very nice, It has an effects loop but I prefer my fx in front of the amp. All the controls have a wide range of very useable settings. My guess is that it's more than 15 watts though. It seems to crank up pretty well. It very simple, but that is not to say bad. In fact, It's simplicity is part of it's beauty. I play in a soul/funk band 2-3 nights a week in NYC and I need to cover a wide range of clean sounds and I play most of the leads too. This amp has everything I want.

My rig is an Anderson Drop Top>Samson Airline wireless>Budda Wah>AnalogMan CompROSSer>Fulltone Fulldrive 2>AnalogMan Chorus>Fullltone SupraTrem>SIB Echodrive>Bad Cat. I play a lot of styles but mostly rock and funk. The amp sounds amazing. It's super musical. There are no bad settings here. No matter how you set it up it sounds great. The reverb can be a tiny bit noisy at really high settings, but I never use that much reverb anyway. This is truly the tone foundation I was looking for. It sparkles, the sound is super crisp but not harsh. I could listen to this thing dry for hours. Now for a confession, for the last 2 years I've been doing my gig with an all digital modeling amp. Mainly because it sounds fine, it was easy to set up and I didn't have to bring it home every night. If it got stolen it would be easy to replace. By comparison the sound of the real deal is so much better. It's like the difference between a date with a supermodel and a picture of a supermodel. I had forgotten how a real amp lives along side the music instead of just playing it. This amp is alive. I love it.

No problems yet. It seems to be built very solidly. The case is made of a very thick solid wood and the covering feels much tougher than the usual. It also looks great. My guess is that this will work unfailingly. Everything looks like it was designed to be there, not put in after.

Not yet, I plan to call them to ask a question this week. If it's a bad experience I will post the info.

I've been playing for 26 years. I currently own 6 amps, Boogie Tremoverb, Demeter TGA 3, Marshall 50 watt head, Trademark 60, and a Line 6 Flextone Plus and of course the Bad Cat. If the Bad Cat were stolen I would immediately go get another. I love the sound so much. I tried about 7 other amps before buying this one. I was looking for a great sounding amp that was easy to carry and transport. Since I live in NYC size and weight are important to me. This was the best sounding of all. I wish it had the cool light up cat eyes of the 30 watt Bad Cat. Finally, I think these reviews are kind of hard to judge because you never know how critical the reviewer is. I just want to say that I'm totally into sound. Even though the scores are high this is a very careful review. OF course everyone's ears are different. This amp is definitely worth a listen.

THE BAD CAT CUB IS A LOW POWER (15 WATT) COMBO MADE BY THE PEOPLE FAMOUS FOR MATCHLESS, WHICH WAS APPARENTLY FORCED OUT OF BUSINESS A COUPLE YEARS AGO FOR REASONS OTHER THAN THE POPULARITY OR QUALITY OF THEIR AMPS. SOME ARE ALREADY HIGHLY COLLECTIBLE AND SOUGHT AFTER BY PLAYERS WHO KNOW. THE BUZZ IS THAT BAD CAT IS THE NEXT STEP IN MARK SAMPSON'S EVOLUTION AS AN AMP DESIGNER & BUILDER.
MY CUB WAS BUILT IN MID 2001, YIELDS A VERY GIGGABLE 15 WATTS THRU A PAIR OF EL-84'S. IT HAS ALL THE CHANNELS ANYONE NEEDS - ONE. MINE HAS REVERB WHICH I NEVER NEEDED IN THE PAST BUT I'M KINDA LIKING IT. I DON'T THINK THEY'VE NAILED THE REVERB THING LIKE FENDER BUT NOW THE SOUND SEEMS TOO DRY IF I TURN IT OFF! THE AMP HAS A MASTER VOLUME, GAIN, BASS, TREBLE, AND REVERB CONTROLS. THEY WORK LIKE YOU'D WANT THEM TO. I'M ABLE TO GET MORE THAN ENOUGH HIGH END AND MORE BASS RESPONSE THAN EXPECTED. THE TONE AND GAIN CONTRLS ARE INTERACTIVE AND WILL AFFECT EACH OTHER. LIKE MOST GOOD AMPS, YOU NEED LESS BASS WHEN THE OVERALL VOLUME GOES UP.I PLAY BLUES AND CLASSIC ROCK IN A WEEKEND BAND AND WITH AN OVERDRIVE (KLON'S MY FAVE) IN FRONT I GET EVERYTHING I NEED FOR SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED CLUBS.

I'VE READ TONS OF REVIEWS ON THIS WEBSITE AND HAVE NEVER SUBMITTED ONE UNTIL NOW. I VISITED MY (NOW FAVORITE) MUSIC STORE WITH NO INTENTION OF AMP SHOPPING WHEN I SAW THE BAD CAT. BEING THE GEAR ADDICT I AM I HAD TO TRY IT OUT AND LOOK OUT! LIKE THE TAYLOR ACOUSTIC ADS IT TOOK ABOUT 32.4 SECONDS TO REALIZE I HAD TO OWN IT. THIS LITTLE THING HAS A QUALITY THAT IS DIFFICULT TO PUT INTO WORDS...COMPLEX, SWEET, MUSICAL, RICH OVERTONES, ALL THE CLICHES YOU READ APPLY HERE. I'VE PLAYED VINTAGE FENDERS FOR YEARS AND HAVE BEEN USING A VICTORIA 35310 SINCE 1997. I ALSO HAVE SOME A COUPLE 50'S FENDER TWEEDS AND HAVE ALWAYS WANTED THAT CLASS A THING IN A GIGGING AMP. THEN I STUMBLED ON AN OLD VOX AC-10 TWIN A COUPLE YEARS AGO. IT'S NOT LOUD ENOUGH TO GIG BUT THAT VOX EL-84 "CHIME" REALLY BIT ME. WELL, BAD CAT DOES THAT EL-84 CLASS A THING AND IT'S AMAZING. WHEN I WAS TOLD IT'S 15 WATTS I WAS FLOORED; IT FEELS LIKE 30 OR 4O. I FIND THAT FOR BLUES I CAN RUN THE GAIN ABOUT 1/2 WAY (MASTER FULL UP) AND GET PLENTY OF CLEAN HEADROOM FOR FUNKY CHORDS THEN USE PICK ATTACK TO PUSH THE POWER TUBES INTO FAT, FULL, LEAD TONE. FOR MEDIUM GRIND I DON'T NEED THE OVERDRIVE PEDAL AS MUCH, FREEING MORE DYNAMICS THAN CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH A PEDAL IN THE WAY. I PLAY STRAT'S, A G&L ASAT, AND RECENTLY GOT AN IMPORT PRS SANTANA. ALL SOUND GREAT THRU THE CAT BUT I'M LIKIN' STRATS BEST. I'VE ALWAYS FELT THE AMP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LINK IN ONE'S SETUP, AND NOW I FEEL I'VE FOUND ONE THAT TRULY IS A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT THAT CAN INDEED MAKE YOU A BETTER PLAYER. I FIND MYSELF PLUGGING IN AT HOME AT LOW VOLUME AND PLAYING FOR A COUPLE HOURS NONSTOP...STRAIGHT IN IT JUST SOUNDS SOOOO GOOD. I'M NOT SURE WHAT TO DO WITH MY TWEED CHAMP! I'VE TRIED LOTS OF AMPS AND HAVE EVEN BOUGHT A FEW 'CAUSE THEY SOUND GOOD ALONE THEN DON'T CUT THROUGH A BAND LIVE. THIS IS A KEEPER ALL THE WAY. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING A 2-AMP SETUP WHEN WE PLAY A BIG STAGE SOMEDDAY. ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR ADVICE ABOUT DOING THIS PLEASE E-MAIL ME.

SO FAR THE AMP RUNS PERFECTLY. NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER. BUT A FRIEND GOT THE BLACK CAT MODEL AND DID HAVE A PROBLEM (I'M NOT SURE WHAT IT WAS). I GUESS TIME WILL TELL!

I HAVE NOT CALLED THEM YET. I'M NO TECH, BUT SIMPLE, CLEAN HANDWIRED AMPS ARE USUALLY NO PROBLEM FOR ONE OF A FEW QUALIFIED TECHNICIANS IN THE AREA.

I'VE BEEN PLAYING IN WEEKEND BANDS FOR ALMOST 25 YEARS AND HAVE USED LOTS OF GUITARS/AMPS/EFFECTS. THIS AMP IS ONE OF THE FINEST PIECES OF GEAR I'VE EVER OWNED. IF LOST OR STOLEN I'D CRY A LOT THEN FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO. I'M NOW HOOKED ON CLASS A, AND THERE ARE LOTS OF NICE AMPS OUT THERE. I WONDER IF I'D LIKE A VOX AC-30 OR DR.Z OR KINGSLEY OR CARR OR THE NEXT NEW BRAND AS MUCH? I KINDA DOUBT IT. IT IS INDEED A GREAT TIME FOR US GEARHEADS, EH? (IF YOU'RE READING THIS, YOU PROBABLY FIT THE LABEL)

In keeping with Mark Sampson's "other" line (cough!! matchless cough!!), the front Bad Cat logo lights up with rear illuminating lights. very nice. Other than that, the amp is pretty straight forward. from left to right on the panel is: Volume, Bass, Treble, and Master Volume. standby and on/off switch. Nothing else. Notta, zip, zilch... except on the back are inputs for a 4 and 8 ohm speaker input. the internal is on the 8 ohm. and something called a lineout which is i believe for running out the preamp section to a poweramp. it's runnin straight up 12ax7's (no temperamental EF86's) and dual EL-84's in a class A lovin box. Mine's a 1x12 w/o reverb. i wanted to get one, but in all honesty i dont use reverb often with my amps. love the straight ahead push.

when i first walked into Lark Street Music in Teaneck, NJ, i saw it and had to have it. after plugging in my PRS McCarty and riffing out a couple of lines, i woulda died for it! at first, it sounded rather boxey and dead to me, but then i turned up the treble a bit and fiddled with the bass and suddenly the sound was so juicy and bouncy in it's clean sound. musical is a waaaaay understatement. playing a couple of chords seemed to have a sprinkling of chime and fairy dust ontop of each note. it was that good. turn up the gain and you get a nice "Vox-y" bark by way of a Matchless that reminds me of Stone Gossard's rhythm tone ala Vitalogy. Max out the volume and you can get a saturated Santana-ish vibe, almost Boogie sounding. For me and my goldtop McCarty, unfortunately, when i maxed out the gain, saturating the front end, my pick attack pretty much mushed out. it's like my note definition faded and the sound became all mushy and in-articulate. Later i attributed this to my low action and '9s setup. It wasn't until i tried some of my other guitars which have heavier '10s and higher action yielded a much better saturated lead tone. Chords on the other hand rang out like a gong and roared with authority! If you're a rhythm player you won't be disappointed with the maxed out gain riffing. ch-ch-chunky. later, i put my matchless dirt box on the front end and thusly fixed my need for a saturated lead tone. dirt box could make a cardboard box sound amazing. But, i was still bummed that such a great amp couldn't do the gain thing as much as i would've liked with my current guitar setup. also, finding a useable tone pretty much has to have the tone controls mainly to the right of center to get anything useable, BUT the tones you get from those settings more than makes up for it. I've tried many different guitars with this amp: Don Grosh Retro Classic w/lindy fralins, PRS McCarty's one strung with 9's and another with '10s for slide, and a beater strat that was built from vintage parts w/Peter Florence pu's. All sounded very loverly thru this little wonder. Understand that this is just the beginning of my search for tone. i'm getting a Matchless Lightning 15 w/o reverb from Indoorstorm next week. comparing to two is a perfect amp-o a amp-o match up. stay tuned for an update and comparison. But my search might just end with this amp. (This is a little OT, but....) only cause like i said before, what i want is that Stone Gossard tone. We're all lookin for that sound we grew up with that left us gaping wide mouthed when we were kids first pickin up the guitar. some are stuck on Hendrix's Band of Gypsies sound, others are in it for Duane Allman's LP sound from the Fillmore concerts, others want Pete Townsend's Live at Leeds roar. Me? it's Stone Gossards' Matchless HC-30 on Vitalogy. more specifically, the tone on Last Exit. OMG, makes me wanna scream whenever i hear it. (ok, OT off)

Seems pretty well built, and sturdy. schlepping it from my car to my apartment was quite a chore, but i got in ok. For a single 1x12 it's a beast to lug. i gotta tell ya, that when i first turned it on, the lights didn't come on. i got a little scared only cause i just bought the amp and i felt like shouting out, "Why ME?!?!" but i turned it off, adjusted the power cable and turned it back on and all was fine and dandy. unfortunately, it comes with a "limited" 5 year warranty which really pissed me off. very different from Matchless' earlier lifetime warranty. so i'm deducting a couple points for that.

have yet to call them, but i'll keep y'all informed.

I do love the amp. other than the warranty and gain issues, i think the amp is the most musical and juicy piece of equipment i've played in a long time. It's funny, but most of the gear that i have that i've played, used, and yes even loved, are the ones i bought on impulse. and this is definitely one of them. the amp just exudes tone. and i can really feel it in my fingers. playing whatever guitar cleany thru this amp just makes me soo happy. really. I originally bought the amp so i could use it for clean type sounds thinking Class A was the way to go for those chimey Vox clean tones, and i got it in spades. Dirty tone wise, i'm still happy only cause i've got other guitars that'll sound just fine with it. other than those little niggles, it's a great amp that'll be makin lots of tones in my studio for years to come. well, as long as the warranty lasts. i'm still waiting for a head version of their Hot Cat to come out. stay tuned for a review of that...