Bad Cat Hot Cat 112 Combo

My only reason for writing this review is simple. I am an electric guitarist and mainly a les paul guy for the crunch and sustain. I went to St. Louis, MO. yesterday to Killer Vintage. The owner's name is Dave. I went specifically to check out the Bad Cat Hot Cat and see if I really wanted to spend over two grand on this thing. Like I said, this review is simple. What I wanted to say is this....The Bad Cat HOT CAT is NOT a HI-GAIN amplifier like most say. To a country guitarist yes. If you are a boogie fan or a hot rodded Marshall guy, this amp might not be what you think. I played a Gibson Les Paul white Custom 20th anniversary through it and an A/B box.
I was very confused when I turned on the amp and started playing. When I turned the Gain, Edge, Level all the way up, the Bass 3/4, the treble a little past half way, and the Brilliance 3/4 way, the amp was HI-GAIN in a way. Not at all crunchy like a triple rectifier though. Which can be a good thing. The chords were great but when I started playing a lead it just lost it. The way it makes chords sound when your rocking out it powerful and HI-GAIN like it says, then when you going into single note solo's, it's like the gain gets turned down halfway. The sound is everything it's cracked up to be, no doubt. I just wanted to warn those who were contemplating on buying this for it's " Unusuall Fat HI-GAIN" like Bad Cat describes it. The only thing I can think of is that the tubes were old and that's why the solo's were weak. But you can always run effects through it to give it that extra boost. To me, just playing it 20 minutes...... I would buy it. So if you do wan't hard crunch out of it, get a Zakk Wylde Overdrive pedal the signiture one, and that will give you the screaming leads. Hope this review gives a little insight to some people. Oh ya, and the notorious " White Noise" people complain about...Well..I don't know about this amp being " Whisper Quite" But it is as quite as can be for a 30 watt class A HI-GAIN amplifier. I was very impressed. But, I still need to spend a couple hours tweaking it and getting used to it's design and purpose.

A simple amp with the BEST quality throughout. It does what it does very very well and makes you want to play. I must say I wish there was a gain control and tone control on the clean input so I could add just a tiny bit of dirt there. The clean input doesnt break up intel its way loud. And yes there are times I miss reverb but not much. Long after I bought the Hot Cat, the Trem Cat came along and I'm looking at that. Cant afford both and I do love my Hot Cat so I have to think very hard about that.

I've been playing guitar over thirty years and got this amp over a year and a half ago now so Im not just a kid gushing over my new toy, or am I? Its been said before. Yes its a great sounding amp. The thing I like is using an A-B-Y foot control on the Hi gain and low gain inputs and running diferent effects pedels on each input. Going from clean with a little chorus to dirty with some delay with one click is cool. This amp has way more gain than I need. I play a B-bender Tele and 59 reissue Les Paul and like a classic rock tone but only need to turn the gain dial just bit to get all I need. The low gain clean input does sound nice but I use it very little. I roll down the guitar volume and pick lighter for the clean parts.

Had to change one 12ax7 tube after the first two months I had it but no other problems ever.

Randy at Tripple R guitar in Harrisburg PA gave me a good deal on it but I've had no need to contact the Bad Cat company for anything.

Great amp!

One channel amp with two imputs. Low gain imput is only controlled by the pre-amp volume and brilliance knob. The rest of the controls are only for the high-gain channel. Not alot of 'features'. This thing is bare bones and does not require endless hours of tweaking to get your sound. Personally, I don't like the approximately 400 knobs, switches and buttons on a boogie, so the simplicity of the Bad Cat is welcomed!

I use it with a 1979 Les Paul Custom Silverburst with dimarzio pickups. I am also in search of a vitage tele to replace my 80's Japan tele. I play a variety of styles, mainly original 'indie' rocker type stuff. Lots of open chords and strumming and lots in drop d.

I read one of these where the guy complained about his being noisy, he should have it checked out, mine is whisper quiet. I have a room in my house with a dedicated ground for the outlets, to take care of any pesky 60 cycle hum.

I can honestly say the search for 'my' sound is over. This is it!! This is by far the most versitile amp I have ever played let alone owned. It goes from spankin' clean to a pretty nasty distortion. NOTE: Do not buy this amp if you play nu-metal or any of that crap. This thing will not do the buzzy, annoying recto sound.

I have owned several high-gain amps the last was my trusty JCM 800 I said I would never part with. That was until I got my hands on this thing. The distortion is not 'brutal' per se. It gets pretty darn nasty, but still retains a very vocal quality about it. You can listen to it for a long, long time, and not have that annoying ringing in your ears.

One thing to note is the "active tone controls" With these, you can actually add or take away more bass and treble than the signal actually has. This allows for more textures than you have probably ever heard, let alone from one amp.

It is very loud. Honestly, it approaches my JCM 800 with a 4x12 boogie recto cab!!! Doesn't have the scooped mids and booming bass, but will blow you away for a 1x12 combo.

Built like a tank. Mark Samson wouldn't put his name on it if it weren't! I have had no problems and don't expect any. I still have a couple years left on the 5 year warranty. Thats right, 5 year warranty!

I had some questions about what tubes they thought I should use as replacements. E-mailed the service line, got a reply from the president. Try calling Marshall and getting ahold of Jim! This company is all about customers service and it shows. When you call the main man answers!

I have been playing for 12 years. I have gone through lots of gear trying to find what I was looking for. This amp has been added to my list of keepers, along with my Les Paul, 1974 Martin D-35, and a Carlson signed Flatiron mandolin.

If it were stolen I'd scrape up the money to buy another, IT'S WORTH IT!!!!

I urge anyone contemplating buying an amp to find the closest BAD CAT dealer and give one of these a try. I have played and owned alot of amps, Boogie, Marshall, Peavey, you name it. This is what I was looking for all along, it may be what you have been looking for too.

Mine is a pretty new as of 2003. This wonderful amp is 2-channels using a quality A-B-Y pedal. I've tried to use a stereo panner volume pedal but it sounded crappy. I must say this is the most enjoyable amp I've played to date! Absolutely the sweetest gain channel with an awesome clean channel concept - merely a brilliance knob and volume. The brilliance knob is like an EQ for the clean channel and has to be experimented with. That said I always like a mid knob of some sorts, but love this thing none the less. The 30W Class A is more than enough power for anything I can imagine.

I favor using my old SG junior with a single p-90 in the bridge.
It can handle seriously any style from pretty darn clean to huge metal with all notes coming through tight and focused. I only wish I could play it louder more often. It wants to sing! The versatility of the two inputs which can be switched between of used/blended together is really sweet. I've started using dedicated effects for each channel and can easily route them on my pedalboard. Switching from clean chorus to distortion with one stomp. I've tried to use an old Morley Stereo Panner Pedal to go btw channel 1 and channel 2 but the thing sucked tone..so I've been using a Loooper ABY, so far so good.
The lead channel is the sweetest I've played and ideally I'd A/B this with my Twin for the ultimate rig. By itself it is an awesome combo and the won that goes with me. It seems to like most pedals on the two channels and I keep it to a nice chorus and delay on the clean with the stranger stuff on the dirty channel. When I use the 2 channels together I can get some clean tone to come through from the other channel which works well to cut through.

Top notch quality. I don't expect any problems.

Overall this amp is truly a keeper. I can use my guitar volume knob, an A-B-Y and my Klon to get tones that inspire me to keep playing and playing. During my tone quest I have owned Jcm-800, Silver Jubilee, other older louder Marshalls, Fender Super Reverb, Twin Reverb, Vibroverb, Bandmaster, Dual Showman, Tweed Deluxe, Dr. Z Route 66, Mesa Rectoverb, Dual Recto, Guytron. Some of these have more clean headroom but this amp has BY FAR the best distortion voice of any amp I've owned or played. It is so articulate and juicy.

2003 Hot Cat 30 1x12 combo. Two inputs for two channels (switchable with an A/B box). 2 speaker outs (with impedance selector). Switchable tube/solid state rectifiers. No effects loop or reverb (nice to have, especially at this price, but no doubt left off to avoid any tone suck and every time I put effects in the loop on this thing I find I take them out again to get back to the awesome pure tone of the amp). Clean channel has one knob, really -- volume (although there is a global brilliance knob that affects both channels). Gain channel has gain and master knobs as well as bass and treble and "edge" (controls the crispness of the attack of notes) and "level" (which apparently controls the amount of power tube saturation -- turned up it's thicker and warmer, turned down it sounds more like 12AX7 distortion -- more razor sharp than fat). With all those knobs you can really tweak the gain channel. In particular, the bass and treble knobs really affect the tone. I tend to dial in a single, flexible, all-purpose tone but you can dial up some more extreme settings if you want. Plenty loud but also can give great tones all the way up and down the volume range -- so it's perfectly usable at home but then can cook at a gig.

I'm not a huge fan of the two channel/two input thing. It seems like a footswitch would have been easier to work with. However, I again presume it's set up this way to avoid tone suck and if this approach improves the tone, I'm just fine with it. It also enables you to run different effects in the clean and gain channels which is kinda cool (as I said, I'm pretty much not using effects anymore since I bought this amp but you might use them) and to run both channels simultaneously which is an interesting and HUGE sound.

Awesome, awesome, awesome tone. That's basically what this bad boy offers.

The clean, while not versatile in terms of knobs, is extremely versatile for playing. I haven't found myself wishing for any more knobs on that channel. With my Strat -- on the neck pickup is unbelievably expressive blues tone (open "woman tone" neck pickup sound but with total clarity and, when the amp is turned up, everything from total clean to a little bluesy breakup on tap and controllable totally by how hard you dig in). With my Gibson "faded" double cut Les Paul I can get (believe it or not) Telecaster-like country tones all the way to a huge rock clean tone (think Pete Townshend). And every pickup/tone and volume/setting on my PRS Custom 24 gives a different tone -- with that guitar I can get a huge array of sounds. Overall, the clean channel has an unbelievably beautifully complex high-end and a really round body with a punch in the lower mids (that low-mid punch is not in the EL84 equipped Minicat so I'm guessing it is a feature of the EL34s in the Hot Cat). Coupled with the dynamic response that captures all of the nuances of your playing it is a really inspiring channel. Also shows EVERY mistake, by the way (even the bad nuances, ahem, are captured) so it's inspired me to woodshed.

The gain channel is an animal. I cannot believe that this roar is coming from a 1x12 open back combo! Again, beautiful high end detail but now with unbelievably rich distortion and a serious low-end thump. The high end means that harmonics jump out incredibly easily. I A/Bed this amp extensively with a Soldano and found the Soldano gain tone (which I think is awesome) to be lacking in overall complexity and clarity in the comparison. Huge metal-type tones are available if you want but they have a unique and very musical voice -- it can be brutal but without sounding like an over-compressed, everything sounds the same one-trick pony. Also, it doesn't turn to mush with single coils -- even the Strat sounds fat and full (without losing it's articulate high end) through this channel. The controls on this channel are unusual and you can definitely dial up some bad sounds but set everything to 12:00 and it cooks and if you spend some time tweaking you can get some really interesting tones. You can dial it down to get more restrained gain levels but it sounds so awesome with the gain up (I have it at 1:00 so there's even more available) that you probably won't.

In a nutshell, I think if you try one of these amps (or from what I can tell, any Bad Cat) you will immediately notice how harmonically complex and dynamic they are -- a lot of that is the Class A thing but even compared to many other Class A amps (Boogie Blue Angel/Maverick, Gibson Goldtone, Vox AC30) it's a pronounced step up -- at least to my ears. Great tone.

Too new to tell -- Bad Cat's are supposed to be solid but I haven't had it long enough to tell.

Called them once and they were very helpful.

I've been playing about 8 years. I used to have a Mesa/Boogie Rectoverb head and 2x12 closed back cabinet. But I found that I had to turn up *really* loud with that rig to cut through the band which would then crowd out everyone else (including the bass given the frequency response of that amp and cabinet) and we'd always end up on that continuous ladder to WAY TOO LOUD as a result. So I commenced a long (and expensive) search for a different rig. Went through a Hughes and Kettner Puretone (great amp too but not as versatile as the Hot Cat - but introduced me to the clarity and dynamics of Class A) and a Soldano Astroverb 16 2x12 (also great and the lower wattage meant you could crank it up to get that killer power tube distortion). So I thought I was done when I bought the Soldano (I wanted a Hot Cat but it was awfully pricey) but then I bought a Minicat for recording and went totally nuts for the tone. Ended up selling both other amps (and some other gear) to subsidize the Hot Cat and I have not looked back.

If it were stolen I would swallow hard because this thing ain't cheap. But this amp is far and away my favorite piece of music gear I've ever owned (and as a former keyboard player and a slight gear junkie I've owned quite a bit over the years). This thing gives me *my* tone and I'd have to replace it.

You know the setup, mine is silver sparkle with grey cloth, very sharp. I use an A/B box and keep is set to tube rectifier. I play all kinds of gigs, form solo jazz to club rock to Bar Mitzvahs, I consider this to be the most flexible and portable Class A amp for my varied situations. For some, this amp might not have enough CLEAN headroom, it starts to break up nicely around 11 oclock with humbuckers. Sometimes I would prefer a later breakup but it is very musical.

I use this amp with primarily humbuckers, this is to avoid poor electric situations, my 2 main guitars are Baker BJC and Gibson Johnny A., my style is anything that pays! I don't find it noisy, although the distortion channel has so much gain someone could call it noisy under extreme situations. This is just a killer amp, I also own a Bad Cat Black Cat without reverb that is my favorite, but the Hot Cat is more versatile due to the gain channel and I almost use it exclusively except for larger outdoor gigs. I've owned the amp almost a year and I do @ 100+ gigs/year and it was a great choice for me. The only reason I don't give it a 10 is due to more clean headroom, BTW as already stated, the 2 channels together is AMAZING!!

Does the Pope pooh in the woods? I have owned 3 Bad Cats and never had a problem with any of them.

James has always been very cool and very helpful.

Bad Cat's Rock!! To my ears, they have a great, creamy low mid thing going on, and beautiful and very musical highs. They are the best amps to my ears, I just love the way they are voiced, they are a small step above Matchless that I really enjoy. They are so reliable, I have never had a problem and that is a huge factor for me also. I love Class A and if you do to you owe to yourself to get one, they are the best!!

This amp was made in '02. Clean channel has a volume and a brilliance control. The gain channel has gain, bass, treble, level, volume, edge, and shares the brilliance control with the clean channel. No FX loop or headphone jack. Reverb would be nice. It has more than enough power for any gig.

I'm playing a '52 Telecaster or a '57 Les paul into an Earnie Ball volume>535Q wah>analog.man bicomprossor>Tube Screamer>analog.man clone chorus>Fulltone Supa-Trem>T-rex Replica>A\B switch, all powered by Voodoo Labs pedal power 2. This is the best amp I have ever owned. The clean side is set up perfectly so the absence of tone controls is a welcome change (sometimes less is more). The gain side can go from mild crunch to blazing distortion or anywhere in between. You can really sculpt the tone of the gain side, so you will want to write down settings when you get it dialed in. It sounds great at low volumes, and sounds fantastic at high volumes. I play a variety of styles in a variety of settings and I never have a hard time getting the sounds I need. I sold my Matchless DC30 to get this amp and never regretted it. It will inspire you to play whether you are a beginner or a pro. I have had this amp for 1 year now and I can say my hunt for the perfect amp is over.

The only thing I would suggest is to carry replacement power tubes with you. This amp runs hot and depending on how much you play, the power tubes will burn up. I tried JJ tubes and was disappointed. I called Bad Cat to get their recommendation which is Ruby Tubes EL34BSTR. I'm happy again! This amp is built like a tank. If there is any gripe it would be that the tolex covering is too soft and tears too easily.

They have been very helpful in answering my questions and giving advice. Very professional!

I have played for 25 years and have had tons of gear. This is one piece I will never sell. I would replace it in a heartbeat.

Features explained by previous reviewers. It's important to note that this amp has two inputs, not two channels. To switch back and forth you need an a/b pedal. No unnecessary features. Switchable tube and solid state rectifiers. The biggest feature of this amp is TONE. Hard to give a rating for this, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles, and that's why I like it. Reverb might be a nice addition, but it's true, class A amps really do have a natural chiminess that class ab amps lack, so I can honestly say I don't miss the reverb.

I've been holding off writing this review for six months. I thought the excitement of owning this amp would wear off, but it hasn't. I still get thrilled every time I play this amp. I'm not joking--I love playing this amp. My previous amp was a 30th Anniversary Marshall which was nice, but I wasn't really motivated to play. I always enjoyed playing when I had it, but with the Bad Cat I take any opportunity I can to play, even if just for a few minutes. The clean input is beautiful--very chimey and 3-D. The gain channel is the best I've ever heard-thick and chewy distortion is here is you want it. I actually don't play much high gain stuff, though. My favorite sound is to use a Lehle a/b/y pedal to play through both inputs at the same time. This gives a beatiful fat, clear, and ringing tone which must be heard to be believed. I really think this is the best sound the Hot Cat puts out, and I think a lot of Hot Cat owners don't even explore this option. The tone controls are very sensitive and just a very slight movement can change the sound dramatically. This amp does expose sloppy playing, so it really does help one to play better. Has no single coil or humbucker bias--both sound equally great. I'm playing it with three guitars: PRS Custom 222, PRS Hollowbody II, and Fender custom shop '56 strat. The distortion on the amp really works well with vintage single coils--it stays tight and focused, doesn't mush out like other high gain amps.

The Mercedes of amplifiers. Built like a bank vault. Really, you won't find a better made amplifier anywhere. The transformers on this thing are HUGE, the cabinet is 13 ply birch, the chassis is welded steel, not folded aluminum like most amps these days. Circuit is hand wired point to point. Switches are heavy duty and reassuringly solid, as as the inputs. An unbelievable piece of workmanship. Expensive, but you really feel like you got what you paid for.

Excellent. I've called and emailed Bad Cat many times. The owner always answers the phone and responds to email promptly. 5 year warranty, which I'm sure will never be needed. No problems with it yet.

I feel like this amp has opened a up a new horizon for me as far as playing goes. It has motivated me to be a better player. As I said before it makes me want to play, and puts a smile on my face each time I do. Isn't that what it's all about?

This is dual input amp (swichable with an A/B box) without a lot of extra frills. Class A 1x12 combo,EL34 powered, no reverb, no effects loop, just a simple signal path for a pure sound. Reverb might be nice but I can live without it. The clean channel has a volume and brilliance control, which works great but the brilliance is common for both channels. It would be better if each channel had it's own control. Switchable solid state or tube rectifier is nice.

The band I'm in plays mostly '70s Funk, but we cover a lot of Jazz, R&B and Classic Rock. I use a Strat, Les Paul DC and a Gretsch Setzer Signature. I've spent a lot of time and money looking for the right amp and now I can stop looking. This thing smokes!!! It gets a really nice bright clean, more like a Fender than a Vox, which is surprising for a EL34 powered amp. Lots of headroom, not much breakup. The drive channel is where this thing really shines. You can shape the sound from a thin blues break up to a thick screamin sustained tone. It sounds great at basement levels and gets better when you open it up for gigs. It works with single coils or humbuckers, but I'd have to give the edge to single coils. It loves pedals (I've had a few botique amps that sounded like crap when you put a pedal in front). I show up with different amps at gigs all the time, but everybody in the the band told me how great this thing sounded. I love the sound that comes out of this amp and I just hate to turn it off. I don't know it I'd rate any amp a 10, but for me this is a close as it gets.

That's why I bought it. I gig most weekends and I can say this thing is solid. I never bring a backup, just extra tubes. Just pull the chassis out and see how overbuilt it is.

I bought this amp used. I put all new tubes in and I was getting a weird crackling noise. I sent it to Bad Cat who figured out one of my brand new tubes was no good. They didn't charge me (even thought I bought it used). They returned my phone calls and answered my questions promptly. It only took them one week. Super nice people.

I've been playing for 25 years and I gig most weekends. The 1x12 is a perfect setup to get the sound I want without breaking my back. I'd replace it immediately if something happened. I've owned or played a lot of different amps but the Bad Cat blows them away. It has great clean sound, sweet overdrive tones, it's quiet, reliable, takes pedals and looks really cool. It's a little pricy but for a tone junkie like me it's worth it.

Mine is a 2003 model 30W Hot Cat 112 model. The controls of this amp have been well-covered in other reviews so I won't go into them. I do wish that the clean channel had a dedicated EQ section only because I find the clean to be a lot brighter sounding than the high gain and it can be difficult to find a good balance between the two. Reverb would have been really nice too (only for the clean the gain doesn't need it).

I originally got interested in Bad Cat after seeing Porcupine Tree play in Philadelphia last summer. Steven Wilson (frontman) used one and I can remember being blown away by the tone of his guitar. I don't even know if he uses the Hot Cat model, but who cares really. At any rate I finally got enough cash together to order one this past March and finally received it in early July. I have a small arsenal of guitars to choose from: PRS Custom 22, Gibson SG, Fender American Series Tele (with a SD little 59 in the bridge), Fender American reissue Jazzmaster and a really cool 70's Strat reissue which I have totally pimped out and relic-ed (main pickup is a SD Pearly Gates Plus in the bridge). I originally purchased this amp for clean tones as I already have a H&K Triamp MK II for high gain. I find that the gain channel on this amp is much better than the clean. Not that the clean is bad, but I find it a little too bright for my taste. This amp has the most brutal distortion I have ever heard (which is good cause I play very aggressive music). The tone controls are very sensitive and it can be very easy to make this amp sound bad. The plus side is that it can also sound great with the proper adjustments. The gain channel covers everything I need: early Marshall plexi tone (Judas Priest, BOC, Rush). Mid and high gain settings produce a rich creamy distortion. I've read people saying that you can't use this for metal which is complete bull. The Hot Cat provides more than enough gain: brutal like a Mesa but much more clear and defined. It has a switchable solid state/tube rectifier feature in the back. Maybe my ears aren't sensitive enough, but I can't really tell much of a difference between the two (I usually play using the tube rectifier if that matters any). I'm gonna rate the sound on this a 6.5 for clean and a 9 for the gain channel (8 overall).

I have no concerns about the reliability. Bad Cat has a reputation of being one of the most overbuilt amps around today. The freaking thing weighs a ton. I wish the leather/vinyl covering weren't so delicate looking because I can totally see it getting torn up if this becomes a regular gigging amp (which by the way, did I mention that for 30W this amp is freaking loud?)

5 year warranty. Never had to deal with them yet (and hopefully won't).

Like I said I also use a Hughes and Kettner Triamp MKII which isn't as warm as the Hot Cat. I am looking into getting an Orange AD30 TC head at some point. I've been playing since I was 12 (I'm now 23) and I feel I have a pretty good idea of the difference between a good and great amp. My overall opinion is that the Hot Cat is a great amp, but far from perfect. I don't think I'll ever be able to settle on one amp, which is why I'm not too concerned about the limitations of the Hot Cat. If it were lost or stolen I would definitely consider buying another one (altough I would also look into other products a little more).