Suhr Amplification Badger

Badger #72. 18 watts, 2 el84's, power scaling, fx loop, single channel head. Really easy to carry around, and easy to use. Perfect amp for any style. I would like to have a series fx loop with controllable send, but due to the amp's simplicity, it's not a big deal. I would like it to have a line out as well.
I used to be a player who needed multiple channels or pedals to attain the tones I wanted. This amp taught me how to use the guitar and my hands to get different tones.

I plug it into a Marshall 4x10 cabinet.This is it for me. The power scaling makes this amp just that versatile. You can cover a lot of ground as lower volumes. You can take the power from a full 18 watts down to 1/2 watt. I don't know what to do with 1/2 watt but it's there if I need it.

For the clean tones, I don't really use them. My definition of clean, however, is not Fender sterile sparkling ice pick clean. I like the dirty kind of broken up clean tone. Since the Gain knob is the initial volume for the amp, once you get the gain up to about 5, it starts to break up the harder you dig into your guitar. I set the gain at 6, which is a light crunch if you dig into the guitar, but touch sensitive enough to be clean. The Badger sounds really good with my Strat, but really, this thing loves Les Pauls and humbuckers. Crank the gain up, and it's classic Marshall style gain. At 18 watts, it can be pretty loud. Good for any sized venue (face the facts, you're micing the amp 99% of the time). It is a little noisy, but is especially noisy when you are using pedals. Compared to other amps I've had, it's very quite when it comes to the noise issue. This noise is most notable when you're NOT playing.

This amp can really do it all. Lets face it, most guys aren't playing jazz, metal, classic rock, and country all in the same gig. If you are that kind of musician, or you think you need to have that versatility at a gig, this is not your amp. This amp you set up right from the beginning of the gig and let it be. Like I said earlier, this amp taught me how to use my guitar to get a variety of tones. If you're a purist, you'll like this amp.

Never had one problem. Apparently, the power scaling increases tube life, so I don't imagine any problems for quite a while. Once at a gig, a fellow musician knocked the amp over off the cabinet and onto the floor while I was playing. I never noticed him even placing it back on the cab. Not a single hick up.

I have dealt with them a few times. They're awesome. Just a bunch of good guys who love what they do and want to help.

I've been playing for 13 years. I've really learned a lot about my playing and how to be a more versatile player due to this amp. When it came out, I showed a friend of mine the clips posted on youtube. He bought one a few weeks later and loved it. I got a chance to try it out, and a week later I had one. I play a Suhr Classic, a Les Paul, and a PRS soapbar through the Badger and a Bad Cat Classic Cat. I used to have a Goodsell, but I can achieve the tones I was getting from the Goodsell through the Badger.
Suhr now offers the Badger 30, which is the big brother/el34 version of this Badger. Since Suhr announced the Badger 30, everybody has been dumping their 18's on ebay. That's how I got mine. I plan on getting the new Badger 30, but not at the cost of selling this baby. My plan in the future is to have both Badgers set up at once, with the 18 set for my "clean" tones, and the 30 set for "beat your face in" tones. And yes, If this amp suddenly disappeared, I would buy one right away.

ES un ampli de 1 canal.. con bulbos EL84, quiza para algunos es un pedo.. para mi no.. es muuuuy sensible al volumen de la guitarra asi que puedes hacer muchos cambios de sonido y saturacion con el vol??men.. es una belleza... el loop de efectos funciona de maravilla.. he tendio otros amplis mesaboogie y randall.. no tienen nada que hacer en ese punto.... El poder es suficiente para mi ya que a lo mas toco en bares o lugares peque??os-medianos.. de cualquier manera puedes microfonearlo y ya ... El power scaling funciona muy bien, chequen el video en youtube... y las specs estan en el sitio de Suhr.

El sonido limpio es delicioso muy parecido al AC30 pero con su propio caracter..me gusta mucho en lo personal el sonido que tiene limpio con las les paul.. similar tambien al JTM45... la distorsion no es para metaleros, es una distorsion muy rica en medios en los que saltan sobretonos a lo bestia y llegas a pensar ..???? A poco mi guitarra puede hacer eso??? jaja.. La saturacion se limpia muuuy bien con el volumen de la lira como ya comente... El sustain que tiene es envidiable y hace que si dejas una nota empiece a darte los sobretonos de una manera que no habia visto en otro ampli.. Este sustain es controlable con el boton de drive... Considero que cualquier disco clasico (no tipo rectifier) y sonidos estilo indie rock, garage rock, etc... el ampli los da sin problemas e incluso de mejor manera y con un toque muy personal...

YO creo que como todo ampli de bulbos.. es traer tus repuestos no mas... En lo que respecta no dudo un instante en la calidad de Suhr.. esta cuidado en TODO detalle.. A mi no me ha fallado en nada en lo absoluto....NADA

No he necesitado nada ... pero he leido que son muy atentos y responden de inmediato a tus correos...

ES un ampli de muy alta calidad... lo ves hasta en lo mas trivial como la entrada de los cables, la funda... y bueno no se diga en la construccion misma del ampli... todo esta montado en una tarjeta de circuito integrado no el cablerio caracteristico de los amplis a bulbos... asi que cualquier servicio lo hacen de volada y todo muy limpio y organizado... Se siente solido nada de vibraciones raras... El combo es cerrado en su parte trasera asi que suena siempre con un ataque duro como un gabinete muy chingon la verdad. Esta dise??ado pensado en el sonido no en hacerlo mas barato... ... Y otra cosa no se "va" el sonido a otros lados como pasa con cualquier combo abierto en la parte de atras en la que buena parte del sonido se va directo al baterista jajaja o a hacer vibrar cualquier elemento suelto.... La verdad este ampli es para toda la vida... y unico, con 18W puedes saturarlo que casi lloras... En el solo de "With or Without you" en el que The Edge usa un sustainer no es necesario que tengas un sustainer.. el ampli satura y tiene un sustain de una manera que todo mundo empieza a voltear y a soltar sonrisas a ver que diablos estas haciendo !!!!! se oye hermoso la neta.. Yo le pondria quiza una manera de cambiar canales pero creo que eso demeritaria en algo el sonido...Yo uso un Fulltone OCD y con eso tengo 2 canales mas lo que logras con el volumen de la guitarra... no necesito mas... Entre mas sencillo es un ampli mejor sonido para mi...

2007 Badger Head. Near perfect features. I am not a "switch and knob" guy... but this amp is very intuitive. The way the Power Scaling/Drive/Gain interact is brilliant! I am a Reverb guy, and it does not have reverb - probably for good reasons... so I use a pedal to get my reverb. Anyway, I go through alot of amps... and I just expected a good amp... was I surprised! This may be the best 18 watter ever built! Totally knocked my socks off. In 30 years of playing, it's never happened like this! The other controls are Treble Bass Middle. There's an effects loop that I don't use.

This is a very versatile amp. The tones sit squarely in EL84 British territory, but have a bit more snarl than, say, a Vox AC-30. I generally am a 1 knob guy, but I find that the interaction of the Power Scaling(London Power Licenced), the Drive, and the Gain really changes the tones, and the amount of headroom. The amp is never harsh, but can go from nice cleans to Marshall crunch - albeit at a lower volume. I have been through so many amps... probably about 300 or so over the years... and my "keeper" small amp was always the Matchless Lightning... but the Badger is better!!!... more versatile and more headroom. This is THE first amp where I can notch back the volume for rehearsal and not feel like I'd love to kick it up a few decibels!!! This amp sounds natural and not squashed - all at lower volumes! Now mind you, it's still a Class A 18 watter, and you aren't going to get a big, loud twangy Fender tone - at least, not quite the way a Fender does it... but it does cover just about every other base! 10/10!

I haven't had 'er long. But apparently the chassis is a work of art! Knowing John Suhr's reputation, I would think that we have a very reliable beast here!

I haven't dealt with them for this amp, but I have for their guitars and the customer service is impeccable!

So I've been playing a long time... just hit the big Five - O! I've owned many Fenders, Dr. Z, Bogner, Matchless, Marshall, Vox, Stephenson, Line 6, Divided By 13, etc. This may be the best small amp on the planet!!! I would buy another in a heartbeat. If you like to get all the tones but not tear people's heads off, then this is a great choice! As I said, Reverb would be nice, but I am sure that there are technical reasons why Mr. Suhr decided to make this a non-reverb amp. I did have a Stephenson amp with Power Scaling and it was very good... but I seem to find The Badger easier to "dial in". Highly Recommended!!!

This is a very basic setup: power(power scaling), drive, bass, mid, treble, gain. It takes a while to get used to the power scaling, but you can tell immediately that you're gonna love what this amp is capable of.
I didn't care for the tubes this amp came with. JJ/Tesla....made in Van Nuys Calif. Really?? That's what they say on the tube. I replaced them with NOS Tesla EL84's made in Czechoslovakia, and Tungsol 12AX7's.
Incredible difference. I plug in two 8 ohm cabs to each of the 4ohm input jacks. Celestion V30 speaker in each cab. One cab is closed back, the other is open.

Wow! Very impressive Marshall type overdrive. Very JTM45ish. The clean has a Voxy chime to it. I love the clean. My Fuchs ODS50 has a good clean channel, but this is the clean I really need for the variety of music my group plays.
The overdrive sounds are many. I spent a good hour dialing in different types of overdrive....some gritty, some smooth. Some dumble-type sounds, and some Marshall plexi sounds. This amp works well with any guitar. It loves my Les Paul, yet my Strat sounds fabulous as well. I bought this amp after listening to the youtube.com video demo by the guitarist that plays for Jewel, Peter Thorn. The amp sounds exactly like that. Mine was brand new, with soft Tuki case.

Delivered by UPS gorilla. The box was thrashed. Amp worked great!
If it can withstand a 3000 mile UPS trip......well...

Haven't talked with John Suhr. We'll see.

Excellent value if you consider what a vintage Marshall plexi goes for, or any boutique amp in todays market. I got a great deal on my Fuchs, and I'll never part with it, but this is a really "fun" amp to play through. Be sure to replace the tubes with the best your wallet will afford. They'll last forever because the power scaling is very easy on tube life.
I've had my share of amps: Mesa/Boogie Mark II-C, Bad Cat Hot Cat, Aiken Invader, Marshall JCM 800, Fender amps, etc. I use my Gibson Les Paul Standard and my Fender Strat through my two amps with no overdrive effects whatsoever. I color my tone with an occasional chorus, delay and wah. That's it. I want to hear my amp and its natural overdrive. That's why I love my Fuchs and Suhr Badger. If you see one on ebay...buy it!!

This is one of the prototypes, built in late '06 or early '07, but it has been updated to current production specifications. Got it in Feb. '07.

I need to get a fairly broad range of sounds, primarily from full cleans to mid-grind, in the music I write. I selected the Badger after listening to a lot of audio clips, emailing back and forth with a few owners, and learning about Power Scaling.

I chose the Badger mainly for its ability to produce various combinations of preamp and power stage grind at volume levels practical in a small project studio. Like the Reeves Custom 30, the Badger was designed from the outset to be a Power Scaled amp. Its basic voice is in the British tradition, but it's not a clone of anything else.

The Badger is a single channel amp. Controls are simple but very effective for shaping tone and dynamics.

From left to right:
Power (controls voltages at various points in the circuit)
Drive (how much signal goes to the power stage)
Bass,Mid,Treble
Gain (input sensitivity)

The amp also has a tube buffered effects loop. No reverb.

I personally don't mind the fact that nothing on the Badger is foot-switchable or midi-assignable. But that may be a serious handicap for others.

The Badger's cleans are rich and sweet, as opposed to lean and taut. The amp is tube rectified, so it has that softer attack characteristic, especially at lower voltage (Power) settings. To a recording mic it sounds like a larger clean amp turned up loud, though you might only have the volume at bedroom levels.

By adjusting the Power, Drive and Gain controls relative to each other you can get a whole range of dirt, with different mixtures of preamp and power stage grind, and various degrees of tightness/looseness in the amp's dynamic response. As with the cleaner settings, it responds like a big amp up loud - only quieter.

I play mostly a Tele or a Les Paul Special with the Badger; so single coils or P-90's. You can get more grind than I need from the amp; but being tube rectified and only 18 watts, this would not likely be a first choice for metal or for louder gigs. If you check the mp3 clips people have posted on-line, they give a pretty accurate picture of the amp's range.

At extreme settings, you'll get hiss. Every amp I own does that. But the Badger is less noisy than most. And as with most amps, speaker choice makes a big difference. So far I like the Badger best with 10" or 12" Celestions of various kinds: G10L-35's, Greenbacks, or a V-30.

Works for me.

I haven't owned the amp long enough to know about its long-range durability. But I have seen the build quality up close when the amp was updated.

No worries about premature component failure; it's built clean and tough. All switches, pots and sockets are mounted to the closed-end aluminum chassis. The other components are very cleanly soldered to a thick, double sided circuit board.

When I gigged with my JCM800 I never brought a backup; the amp just never failed. This amp's build quality looks even a bit stronger.

When you email Suhr with a question, they get right back to you. They sent me the update free of charge, and would also have installed it for free (I chose to get it done locally).

The amp comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

I'm 52 now, playing since I was 14. I've owned tons of gear, including lots of great tube amps. I'd definitely try to snag another Badger if this one disappeared.

It might seem like a lot of coin for an 18 watt head with pretty simple features, but to my ear it is one of the best sounding studio-oriented amps available.

a 2007 model, very versatile and covers most styles of music.I play classic rock/blues style. Single channel , with tube buffered effects loop.also has London Power Scaling, which is a good feature for volume control when micing the amp live.I use the amp in a live situation mostly small venue of around 150 to 200 people.The amp has a lot of power for 18 watts, she really can push a 4x12 cab well.el 84 power tubes and Suhr design, wow it is good!

The amp goes from clean to all out gain...never muddy or fuzzy! I can use my Suhr FatStrat style guitar with the double coil cranked for leads and roll the volume back and switch to single coil and get a sweet mellow or twangy sound! Amazing and simple! This amp is very quite and extremely versatile and works well at low volume or you can bypass the power scaling and play it full up and still GOOOOOD! This however is not a metal amp, but it also works well with pedals.

I have had the amp only 2 months and no problems.....I always try to keep a backup , it is a tube amp.So far all is good.

I have emailed the company with questions and always recieved an answer quickly.

I have been playing for 38 years. I currently play a John Suhr classic and a Gibson Goldtop Les Paul, also acoustic.....I play the Badger through a Reinhardt 1x12 oversize cabinet with a Tone Tubby ceramic speaker.This Badger is just right for me, I had tried all sorts of amps and stopped here. It is lightweight and sound is controllable.Also very loud if I need it to be. I can get cleans and crunches and singing leads...what else could I want?