Badcat Hotcat 30 and cab

[piper19]

Those who play(ed) this cat, can you give the negative aspects about this amp? I only see positive comments on them, but it must have some negative sides too. Live/ studio differences? I played it once and it sounded verry good, but dark, moody. Wouldn't that interfere with a bass player on stage?
Also what cab would you consider if you cannot get hands on a Badcat cab. I'm seriously thinking about an Orange 212, but only because it works nice with my current amp.

[sovtekking]

the bad cats are great amps, and that moody-ness you're hearing will come out once you get used to the control setup and how interactive they are...the edge and level controls work wonders for getting rid of this effect as well. As far as negatives go, the only one I can think of is that the brilliance control is so bright its almost useless for me which means that I have to dial in the treble on the main eq instead of having that added presence type of control

[TimH]

I'd owned a 212 combo for a bit and while being a great amp at loud spl's it just wasn't great at anything below roaring. Myabe that's not an issue to you but it was to me. The MV is useless below about 10:30 on that amp which is LOUD at that point.

[Eskimo_Joe]

I played a Hot Cat combo in a shop a few months ago....was expecting to be amazed based on their popularity....and it did nothing for me at all. The overdrive sounded brittle and the clean wasn't that great. I played a Trem Cat and that one sounded 1000 times better. No overdrive channel but the clean tones were vastly superior.

[sovtekking]

Originally Posted by Eskimo_Joe

I played a Hot Cat combo in a shop a few months ago....was expecting to be amazed based on their popularity....and it did nothing for me at all. The overdrive sounded brittle and the clean wasn't that great. I played a Trem Cat and that one sounded 1000 times better. No overdrive channel but the clean tones were vastly superior.

how high was the brilliance control set? most of the time that control can give you that feeling so I keep it almost off completely

[jamison162]

When I tried out the Hot Cat 30R, I too was left speechless. I dind't get it at all. Folks say you have to crank it, spend a lot of time with it dialing it in, etc. For me, in my short experience with it, it was one of the worst amps I've ever heard.

[Eskimo_Joe]

Originally Posted by sovtekking

how high was the brilliance control set? most of the time that control can give you that feeling so I keep it almost off completely

That's a great point. I don't remember offhand, but I normally have those type of controls between 7 (almost off) and 12 o'clock (half way opened up). But your explanation makes a lot of sense.

[6AM]

Bad Cat amps are a little tricky to EQ because the bass and treble knobs don't work like other amps most people have played.

[piper19]

Strange how the hotcats seem to differ from amp to amp. When I tried it I set all switches to 12 o'clock. It was a normal non-reverb 30 watts. Eventually I ended up with only rolling off some gain, and adding a bit of treble and edge. But practically they remained at around 12. I didn't have problems with the brilliance control. In fact shutting this control off made the amp sound muffled. The master volume works great, but doesn't cause any change in sound shape as some said it would above 10 o'clock. The amp sounds great both at low and high volumes. But I keep my statement that it is a dark amp. Maybe I should try something else first. A Bassman maybe.
What about the combination Badcat and Orange cab?

[stratton]

Originally Posted by piper19

Strange how the hotcats seem to differ from amp to amp. When I tried it I set all switches to 12 o'clock. It was a normal non-reverb 30 watts. Eventually I ended up with only rolling off some gain, and adding a bit of treble and edge. But practically they remained at around 12. I didn't have problems with the brilliance control. In fact shutting this control off made the amp sound muffled. The master volume works great, but doesn't cause any change in sound shape as some said it would above 10 o'clock. The amp sounds great both at low and high volumes. But I keep my statement that it is a dark amp. Maybe I should try something else first. A Bassman maybe.
What about the combination Badcat and Orange cab?

I run mine through a vertical 2X12 with Greenbacks and it's great. All controls 12:00-ish, though for fat crunch LP I'll turn gain down to 9:00 and level up to 3:00.

My only complaint is that in the gain channel, it won't really clean up like a non-MV amp will. The clean channel is pretty cool though, very usable which is amazing since the only tonal adjustment is via the brillliance knob.

[Plan9FOS]

I agree about the gain channel .. sounds fantastic, but does not clean up well with your guitar knobs. I owned both the 15 and 30 watt heads ...

[Mike ODS50]

I too pretty much drain the Brilliance knob...I find it makes the amp sound brittle and harsh. Other than that its a great sounding amp. Turning the clean channel all the way up really does it for me...I like that better than the OD channel honestly. But you really never get to blast it like that. Great tones all around...a keeper for sure. Just spend some more time with it and it will open up. I run most of my settings at around 12:00....with the brilliance almost all the way out.

Enjoy.

[Tonemeister69]

As you can tell by the mixed responses here, the Hot Cat (and most other BadCat amps) are a little more difficult to dial in that your typical Marshall... Well, most amps are

Let me tell you though that once you learn to make the eq work for you the tone is like none other. I owned the Hot Cat 100 head for a while and apart from being a COMPLETE beast, its tone was just amazing. With the brilliance and highly-interactive bass/treble controls working right this amp can cop many different tones whilst still retaining its own voice.

If you get the change, TRY one and spend some time dialing it in. The EQ is really sensitive and that's why you'll find a few 'interesting' comments about the tone. But like I said, when you learn the amp the tone comes out!


Tim

[Tonemeister69]

Originally Posted by tonemeister

I agree about the gain channel .. sounds fantastic, but does not clean up well with your guitar knobs. I owned both the 15 and 30 watt heads ...

I would agree with that statement..

and lol.. . similar username

[jeffh]

Originally Posted by piper19

What about the combination Badcat and Orange cab?

I use a Bad Cat 2x12 with mine. I have tried numerous cabinets with it, and it seems to like that one the best.

In general V30s and open back cabinets sound great with the Hot Cat. I am guessing the Orange has V30s but is closed backed ?