Fw: BadCat amp review

[Veli-Pekka Haanmäki <vphaanmaki@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

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- ----- Original Message -----=20
From: Veli-Pekka Haanm=E4ki=20
To: harp-l=20
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2004 6:26 PM
Subject: BadCat amp review


I didn't find any information about BadCat amps here on Harp-L so I =
thought about sharing my experience.I returned to harp after 5 years and =
looked for a good amp with the right sound for me,sort of dark and =
dirty,Chicago-blues sound.I'm not a pro harpist but used to play quite a =
bit in the past and the tone has always been my primary concern.

I tried several amps (all tube):=20

Fender ProJunior (didn't like it at all,very bright,lots of middles in =
the tone,too clean)
Fender Blues Junior (similar to Pro Junior)
60's Fender Champ Vibrolux (similar tone to Pro Junior)
Crate VC508 (nice sound but not too loud,a bit thin)
Peavey Classic 30 (very tight,clean sound)
Couple of vintage amps from the 60s; Gibson and Guild,both nice but too =
big for me and not in good conditon,I needed something portable.
WEM,UK-made from the 70s,very nice 15watts amp but not in good condition =
(and not for sale)

And last but not least,BadCat "MiniCat" amp,5 watts with 10' speaker,the =
best of all of these,very nice dark,full and dirty sound and loud for a =
5 watt amp.
Volume,Bass cutter,Treble and Master controls,Line Out and a 10' Jensen =
speaker (with a plug-in so another speaker can be used).Also,MiniCat can =
be used to drive a bigger amp for some more overdrive.This amp produces =
a nice,dark and dirty sound when Volume at 10 and Master at 3,Treble at =
0 and Bass cutter at 0 (so it has full bass,no bass cut).It still has =
the AX7 on it (with EL84 I think) but I will experiment with some other =
tubes.So far I've tried this amp with Green Bullet and it works really =
nice with it.For anyone looking for a small,portable amp with a =
good,fat,dark and dirty sound,this is definately worth checking =
out.These are hand-made amps and relatively expensive but definately one =
of the best,if not the best harp amp I've tried over the years.And to =
make things clear,I have nothing to do with the BadCat company,I just =
like their amp!