Bad Cat Cub 15R Review & Unboxing // Player Series
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
- I Review and Unbox the Bad Cat Cub 15R Player Series in this video. Little talk. Lots of playing. I'll walk through a bunch of settings, play 12ax7, the ef86, the fat switch, the K-master, reverb, dynamics and at the end I'll tell you my thoughts.
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0:00 Unboxing, 1st impression, that REVERB!
3:08 Volume & Dynamics
3:45 Comparing preamps, Fat Switch
4:37 Volume & K Master Tests
7:15 My Thoughts and Review
These are just my opinions, and I made this video only to be helpful to other guitarists! I heard a couple videos of this amp and thought it sounded ridiculously awesome, so I had to give it a whirl. I figured it it would turn me into a wonderful guitar player, but perhaps it was just another case of bad G.A.S. Luckily there is a cure and you can find redemption. It is called returning.
If you're looking for a vox style guitar amplifier on a budget, this is NOT the amp for you. If you're looking for a great vox style amp, and you don't care about price, this amp MAY be for you. The 12ax7 on this sounds great, the whole range of the pre is useable, and it can dial in some really useful vox or matchless amp style guitar amp tones. It's cool. But it's not perfect.
There are a lot of really cool things about this amp. I actually used to have a top hat, which was also really cool but I think this thing sounds even better. As I mention, I found the ef86, the fat switch, the odd digital reverb (which is cavernous, and not very realistic) all to be distractions. I in fact understand what the K master is supposed to do, but in reality, in practice, it didn't work like that for me. It's already insanely loud at 25%, what is the useful application of this, I wondered.
If this amp was a simple 3 dial amp (volume, eq, and master) and it cost half the price, I would HIGHLY recommend it. But to me when it comes it gear like this, value is everything. I found this bad cat for a super cheap price, but it's still wasn't worth it in the end. I'm not knocking the amp, I think it's a matchless sound on a budget, and depending on your needs it might be perfect. Anyhow check it out for yourself and let me know your thoughts.
Yeah so it's a cool british overdrive amp, with a strong identity, and it's neat, but I wouldn't be able to put it to use for my work necessarily.
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So good to hear this with a tele, as this is part of my current rig
I use mine on the edge of breaking up, volume maybe around 2 o’clock. Healthy master volume makes this amp really shine. Also, finding the balance of mids /treble in that treble knob is key. I like it nice and bright with the cut knob too. This amp is the best kept boutique secret out there!!
Thanks Lucas! 🙏
Great amp. I just auditioned one at a music store. It was selling for $800 which is a steal of a deal. Sounds better than many amps and I have tried them all. Very tubey if that is a word. Clearly the speaker will make a big difference too.
Gotta love that vox vibe. My fave type of amp sound. That verb though... 😅
Yeah this one pretty much nails that sound! I know right 😭
Very Voxy. I've realized recently that a Vox tone is my favorite tone. I have a Morgan MVP23 and it can get Voxy-ish but I wish I had gotten the AC20 instead. Tasty playing by the way. Something about a Tele into a Vox-style amp is just butter.
oh i love that amp. mvp23. i remember thinking it sounded great.
@@travisraab It is a wonderful versatile amp. Fantastic tone and it is an el84 amp so rolling the mids and bass down gets you into Vox territory but there's just something about that Vox sound that I'm missing. I had an AC20 head and was using the MVP23 as a cab but I couldn't afford to keep both. I also haven't tried a Tele through it so perhaps THAT is what I'm missing. SG standard 61 Maestro with p90s and a Jazzmaster. The clean/edge of breakup tone in this video is the sound I hear in my head. Just gorgeous.
Also no reverb on the Morgan. Bought a Strymon Flint and it's worth every penny. Only pedal I use unless a wah is needed. I got over the fact that's it's not tube-driven reverb in about 5 minutes.
i used to have a top hat which is in that camp and it was cool but never felt very good. i used the m9 - poor mans strymon 😂
@@travisraab I bought the Strymon just because I heard good things and the only effects I wanted to use were reverb and tremolo. I grew up playing black panel Fenders and I just dig that old school vibe. Bought the Morgan because I wanted a hand wired versatile amp that would be the last amp I'll ever buy. It nails that, and gets CLOSE to Vox territory. I'm very happy with it but it's missing just a little something... and honestly it might just be the guitars I have.
Is the verb DSP or spring? Only I'm noticing a distinct lack of "drip" (© Ryan @ 60 Cycle Hum)
It's digital so I hear. pretty big
Love mine. As far as the reverb goes I’ll be nice and just say it was I’ll conceived
😂 agreed. this amp does have some great tones!
@@travisraab to be fair though an ambient guy would gush over it. And at least they implemented enough pre-delay on it so your note attack remains defined and relatively untouched by all that verb.
@@nigeldaddyo i actually enjoy it myself. It's trippy
Nice demo! I like the Cub but I still don't understand what is so great about the K Master. It does not have a good taper, gets instantly loud as shit. My tech put a $100 master on my JTM45, I think it blows the K Master away.
Yep k master sucks lol
Weird question, but what boots are you wearing?
These are Eddie Bauer severson moc toe. They do not hold up to real work fyi. Learned the hard way. Timberlands so far are kicking butt
@@travisraab Thanks for the reply. Great playing btw.
@@travisraab I have a pair of wellies
@@stephanguisseppi what are wellies
@@travisraab waterproof, rubber boots. I use them for jumping in puddles.
Played out of one for my wet channel last show with a rocker 30 for my dry channel
nice!
That Bad Cat seemed as reluctant to come out of the box as its feline namesake.
cats love boxes! its a fact mark
I'm curious as to why they sent it to you in a Blackstar amp box?
It wasn't new
Great review. You have obliterated most of the hype. The K master seems to operate counter intuitively to me.
My continuing question concerns amp noise. Does the amp hiss at idle? And at what point does it become noticeable in a studio or bedroom setting?
My simple test is turn the amp on and don't bother plugging in. Just listen to the speaker as you turn the volume/drive/gain/master up. At what point does the static hiss (via the speaker) become noticeable? Hiss kicks in at 4/5 on a lot of amps. The more gain applied the more hiss (expected).
I've found Fender Tweed/HR/Blues series models that kick in at the 2 or 3 volume marks. Why would I pay for that?
I would not consider this a bedroom amp. This amp is crazy powerful.
@@travisraab Understand. Esp. since attenuation/power management seems to be problematic. Thanks.
Question: Was it noisy (white noise/hiss) when it wasn't receiving a signal? Or quiet?
@@coachtd2163 noisy. Just want to clarify that my review was largely positive. The amp sounds good, but yeah it's big and noisy. But nice tone!
@@travisraab Thanks. That was my take away as well. Fabulous tone but noisy. Oh well, 'nother one bites the dust... P.S. Really appreciate the quick responses. Most never bother....
I have one of these amps and I love it. However, I really hated the stock speaker. It sounds very thin and fizzy. At first I thought I had a bad speaker but I hear the same thing in this video so I guess not. I did change it out to a g12h30 and holy cow, it’s so much better. It cuts so well in the band and it is a LOUD 15 watts.
I hear ya! It's a pretty cool amp!
Does k-master stand for kat-master? 😂
probably!!
@@travisraab If you take a little amount of time and go to their website, will see the k-master is just amazing
@@monarcas5502 I mean, as a player, why should I care what it says on their website? I used the amp for days and put it through it's paces. I'm not sure why marketing mumbo jumbo matters
Like4#nice🤠👍🎶❤
Thanks ✌️ !
So many links in the description, and no single link to the amp's official page.
😂 sorry
I own this very amp, and its the best I have found yet, Ive tried pretty much all the major players. I really cant understand why the reviewer keeps saying "bells and whistles", it doesnt get much simpler. Try a boogie mark V then complain about bells and whistles! A tube swap goes a LONG way to making this amp just about perfect. A good balanced phase inverter tube transformed this amp from great to spectacular. And the amp I owned before this was a matchless avalon 30. The Cat sounds just as good if not better, is one-third the price, and oh yeah HALF the weight. If I had to gripeabout the amp I would say the EF-86 mode really doesnt sound much different from the 12AX7 mode, but I would hardly say it "gets in the way", I just dont use it and it causes no extra steps for me. It adds just a bit of gain and does affect the reverb sound, I dont know why. To me this amp is the perfect cross between marshall and vox. The KMaster is Basically a master volume that works and doesnt suck the tone out of the amp. Its the ONLY amp I have found that sounds just as good at bedroom levels late at nite while practicing. If you are serious about your tone you must swap tubes on most amps under 3K as they use cheap tubes to keep the initial price down with the understanding you will do it eventually. Some guys will use a 120.00 cable before they do a tube swap. Its self biasing and simple to do.
Thanks for sharing your opinion Bob and I'm glad you are enjoying the amp!
Unbelievably bad packing if that was how I saw it.
Eric I think you're right! Sounded like the ef86 was microphonic as well.😲
Maybe you should research on how to use the amp before making a video saying "I have no idea what this does" seem like you just want plug and play. If that is the case just get a simple 5w volume and tone amp. Whatch this. ua-cam.com/video/URwEMSpXh_4/v-deo.html
I know exactly what the amp does. It's called marketing - they tell you what a function is supposed to do and you believe it without using your ears.