Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

[fritzreiser]

.....and I am mildly disappointed. I got the Hot Cat 15W 1 x 12 and it really is not that special sounding. I know that it is an open back 1 x 12, but the thing just doesn't have the Mojo (IMHO). Granted, I don't have the most experienced ears, so maybe I will just have to work with it a while.

I know that Darin (BigDaddyD) said that the Hot Cat didn't do anything for him; anyone else share this opinion?

On a side note, the Level control for the Hi-Gain channel is very scratchy. The guys auction said that the amp was brand new and only had 5 hours on it. I am usually not nitpicky about stuff that I buy on eBay, but this was $1650 + shipping. I would think that it shouldn't have any issues. Would you make a big stink over this?

[83SanDimas]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

Fritz


I think that you may have to give this one some time. The tech 21 had so many voices and if you fine tuned it you could get real happy. This amp not designed to do it all in a few knob turns.

What sound are you looking to get and what is it delivering now?

[Twisteramps]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

Originally posted by fritzreiser:
.....and I am mildly disappointed. I got the Hot Cat 15W 1 x 12 and it really is not that special sounding. I know that it is an open back 1 x 12, but the thing just doesn't have the Mojo (IMHO). Granted, I don't have the most experienced ears, so maybe I will just have to work with it a while.

I know that Darin (BigDaddyD) said that the Hot Cat didn't do anything for him; anyone else share this opinion?

On a side note, the Level control for the Hi-Gain channel is very scratchy. The guys auction said that the amp was brand new and only had 5 hours on it. I am usually not nitpicky about stuff that I buy on eBay, but this was $1650 + shipping. I would think that it shouldn't have any issues. Would you make a big stink over this?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Turn the amp off, and rotate the level control from full on to full off several times - this may clean the pot. If not, it's probably pretty easy to replace, as long as it's not mounted on a circuit board. I'd make a little stink about it, for that much $$$ you should have received full disclosure. One other thing you could try if the pot isn't sealed is to spray a little tv tuner cleaner (you can get this at radio shack) into the pot and then rotate it like above.

On a side note - I checked out the small bad cat at a music store, can't remember what the name of the amp - it was the little 5 watt combo. I hate to toot my own horn, but the amp I just built with the two EL84s OWNED it tonewise. To be honest, every fender silverface champ I've played through was better too. It just didn't really impress me much at all. After hearing all that hype, I was ready to be knocked off my feet. It was very average sounding.

Pete

[speed monkey]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

Fritz -

The other thing about the amp is it that if it does really only have a couple of hours through it -the speaker may not yet be broken in....it could open up with some more use...

On the other hand, I've played through those and like you really expected alot more out of them, especially after the hype built up around it...

Blow the pots out with some cleaner - may just be static...then if you figure it's not the amp for you turn it soon.

I don't know if you've had a chance to play one - but in that price range is the Bogner Shiva, and the Shiva KILLS any Bad Cat I've ever heard....my Shiva ws pretty magical, I only sold it to cover the Ecstacy that I bought.

Anyway, good luck with the amp - check out the Shiva!

Steve E

[jgcable]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

Fritz, because the Hot Cat's controls are interactive (like a Mesa Boogie) you really need to give it some time and fiddle with it. Judging by the reviews and the sound clips, I can't imagine that you can't get killer tones out of that amp. I will say that the shred clips they post are not shred tone and high enough gain though.

[speed monkey]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

Originally posted by jgcable:
I will say that the shred clips they post are not shred tone and high enough gain though.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thats the nature of that amp....In order to get that kind of sound you need to drive the front end with a pedal - which to me, if you're spending that kind of coin on an amp - it better be guitar/cable/amp and bingo there's your sound...That was my only gripe with my Shiva - that I needed a Fulldrive II up front to make it sound like my Ecstacy does going straight in.

Either way, I agree there's got to be some great tones lurking in the Bad Cat - but are they the ones a metal head wants?

Steve E

[jgcable]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BigDaddyD:
[QB] My Rivera is still king, but I stopped caring what was "supposed" to be great years ago. Now, I just go for what has the tone that I want.

I agree 100%. I get my "holy grail ultimate tone" out of one of the new Roland Cube 30 modeling amps. It is the least expensive amp I own and it gets the perfect metal tone for me.
Keep messing with the Hot Cat. There are great tones in there. Unfortunately, money doesn't always buy your perfect tone so you may never find it.

[BigDaddyD]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

Sorry to hear that you are dissappointed Fritz. They are very good, well made amps, but yeah, they don't do it for me. I have to say that the Laney I got off Crankdaddy, still has me excited and I paid $280 for it! My Rivera is still king, but I stopped caring what was "supposed" to be great years ago. Now, I just go for what has the tone that I want. The good news, is that if you play with that amp for awhile and still can't get the tone you want out of it, you should be able to flip it and not lose your shirt.

[Rocco Siffredi]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

I believe the 15 has EL 84s vs. 34s in the 30 and 100. That may account for something. The 30s i have played rip.

[speed monkey]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

fritzreiser -

I don't know where you are with your amp, but there's a guy over on The Gear Page looking to trade an Aiken Invader combo for a Bad Cat Hot Cat combo....a good $ to $ trade.

The Invader is an 18 watt mini Marshall that will eat the Bad Cat alive....I would at least check it out if you're seriously unhappy with the Bad Cat.

Steve E

[fritzreiser]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

Originally posted by speed monkey:
fritzreiser -

I don't know where you are with your amp, but there's a guy over on The Gear Page looking to trade an Aiken Invader combo for a Bad Cat Hot Cat combo....a good $ to $ trade.

The Invader is an 18 watt mini Marshall that will eat the Bad Cat alive....I would at least check it out if you're seriously unhappy with the Bad Cat.

Steve E

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I spent a considerable amount of time with the Hot Cat yesterday and I still did not really come away that impressed. I was able to get some pretty good cleans, some very good hard rock crunch, but nothing approaching a high gain tone. I am thinking that this is one of those amps that just does not sound good without a ton of power tube saturation, which I cannot do in my basement that often. Thus, the reason for me buying a 15 watt combo.

I will admit that the amp is very versatile. The tone controls completely change the shape of the tone with just a few notches. I think that this would be a great amp for someone who plays 70s & 80s rock, but certainly not metal - classic or gnu.

I may contact that guy to see about a possible trade or I may just put it back up on eBay. Soon.

[speed monkey]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

Originally posted by fritzreiser:

I may contact that guy to see about a possible trade or I may just put it back up on eBay. Soon.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Aiken may be the way to go for you - it's got an attenuator built in that you can bring down the volume to conversation level - but running the tubes wide open....

The other one to think about is the Carr Mercury - also w/ an attenuator that you can bring it down to 1 watt...

Check out the reviews for both amps on the Harmony Central site and go to www.aikenamps.com for more info.

My buddy who has owned several Bogners, Soldano SLO's and a Splawn now played the Invader at NAMM and said it was the coolest amp he's played in years....

Good luck, get in touch with the guy and trade!

Steve E

[yogadork]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

The class A tube amps are not designed to be high gain metal amps by the nature of their design. They are more about emulating a Vox AC 30 or Fender tweed bassman. I was dissapointed at first with my Carr Mercury ($1,500)for the same reason. One day I plugged in a 3 single coil Charvel and started grooving on the clean sounds and I went on an incredible 3 month trip with the amp. It was cool but I still use my Tech 21 for distortion. Also Fritz have you played the Hot Cat with a group or alone. They are really meant to be opened way up to shine. Again its the nature of class A design.A master volume won't slam the tubes the way the amp full on will.These amps were designed for Stones AC DC type sounds as far as their overdrive is concerned but class A amps generally love pedals and you'll have to go that route for convincing metal lead sounds.One good thing is that these amps have a really good resale value and you should get most of your money back and sometimes loosing a 100 bucks or so is worth the audition. Make believe you are renting the amp for a month and play the crap out of it. One more thing, if the amp really sounds anemic it could simply be the tubes. These amps are high maintenance and I know I totally used up the KT66 power tube on mine in just 3 months and I was playing clean. I never believe it when sellers say "only used for 5 hours", yeah right. Also find out what the amp can really do on its own terms and you might just find sounds that you have been looking for.

[yogadork]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

P.S. I just read the post previous to mine. In regards to the Carr Mercury which actually can be attenuated down to 1/8th of a watt, even in this mode and with the distortion stage on high you never get past Exile on Main Street sounds out of the amp alone.Thing is that the folks who build these amps hear that sound as classic distortion.The hunt still goes on for a low wattage truly metal amp.Seems like the wave of the future to me. Hey Pete can you build one with reverb ????????

[speed monkey]

Re: Got a Bad Cat Hot Cat today.......

Originally posted by yogadork:
P.S. I just read the post previous to mine. In regards to the Carr Mercury which actually can be attenuated down to 1/8th of a watt, even in this mode and with the distortion stage on high you never get past Exile on Main Street sounds out of the amp alone.Thing is that the folks who build these amps hear that sound as classic distortion.The hunt still goes on for a low wattage truly metal amp.Seems like the wave of the future to me. Hey Pete can you build one with reverb ????????

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yogadork -

Very good point, I thought about that after I typed it...

I guess the killer solution would be: since he's already committed to dropping that kind of coin for tone, he should just pick up a used Bogner Ecstacy 101b and get over it...they can be run at half power and sound awesome at bedroom volume too...and as far as metal goes - anything beyond what the amp is capable of is probably not very musical or useable...

Great point about the Class A amps though...thanks for helping to convince me I don't have to sell my Splawn to buy a Mercury [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Steve E