Germino Club40 VS Suhr Badger30

[Earplayer]

Who had both, likes one hates the other one, lets discuss


Story:
Ok, i still have my Badger30 and basically i still love the amp... I finally sold the Badger18 and not the 30... the Badger30 is just the better amp for gigs.

I have to sell some stuff and i can afford only one "new boutique" amp beside my vintage amps - so now i am between the Club40 and the Badger30... i need a good amp for gigging (most of the time indoor), rehersals, sessions, home, etc. I really like the Fatsound Club40 clip by the way - and i think the 212 combo is a great grab and go amp.

The amp should sound good with Les Pauls and Strats, should be a good pedal platform and be able to coax some good Marshallesque tones.

Music: Blues and Rock - like Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, SRV, Clapton, Free, etc.

 

[In Absentia]

I think the Club 40 is the better amp for those types of music, but I think the Badger is a more useful amp across all volumes for the situations you've described. Hard to go wrong with either. They are quite different, so you'd likely have to try and play a Club 40 and see how it works for you.

 

[Earplayer]

Thanks. Well the problem is i can't play or try a Germino without buying one over here...

Volume is not really an issue i run the Badger fairly clean with a bit hair on top... Most of the time i use the BB preamp anyway - the Badger sounds too creamy/fizzy/les articulate when you dial the gain/preamp past 1o clock.....

I think with 2 G12Ms the Club40 would be not too loud i guess...

 

[In Absentia]

Thanks. Well the problem is i can't play or try a Germino without buying one over here...

Volume is not really an issue i run the Badger fairly clean with a bit hair on top... Most of the time i use the BB preamp anyway - the Badger sounds too creamy/fizzy/les articulate when you dial the gain/preamp past 1o clock.....

I think with 2 G12Ms the Club40 would be not too loud i guess...

How loud are you running the Badger typically?

The Germinoes are quite loud before they give up the goods. If you are using the BB Preamp as the main part of your sound, almost any decent "clean-ish" amps should get the job done. The Germinoes are great amps and you could hardly go wrong with it. However, I don't think that it will necessarily sound better than your Badger. Just different.

 

[fusionbear]

Have owned both. Both great amps, but very different. The Club 40 is the perfect pedal platform IMO and will also sound awesome when cranked for vintage style M tones. The Badger 30 is more of a stand alone amp in the tone area of a JCM800, but also takes pedals well and has a loop and power scaling. In the end, I preferred the Germino Fillmore. My Badgers went (18 and 30) and my Club 40

 

[Earplayer]

Thanks a lot...

I will get a SuperBass from 72 but after having some troubles with a vintage 50w bass i came to the conclusion that a vintage amp isn't really the best amp playing live.........

I run the Badger most of the time this way: power 6, drive 4, gain 4. Sometimes i dime the power and drive... when playing outdoors...depends on the location

Why have you sold the c40 or why do you prefer the fillmore?

 

[In Absentia]

Where are you located? There are some great "vintage-style" amps being made with Power Scaling that might get you close if the Badger isn't doing it for you.

 

[Earplayer]

Europe - i don't know where to get or try a Germino over here... Of course there are a lot of amps out there - too many actually...

 

[In Absentia]

Europe - i don't know where to get or try a Germino over here... Of course there are a lot of amps out there - too many actually...

The Reinhardts are in a similar vein as the Germinos, but with power-scaling. I know they sell them in the UK.

 

[fusionbear]

Thanks a lot...

I will get a SuperBass from 72 but after having some troubles with a vintage 50w bass i came to the conclusion that a vintage amp isn't really the best amp playing live.........

I run the Badger most of the time this way: power 6, drive 4, gain 4. Sometimes i dime the power and drive... when playing outdoors...depends on the location

Why have you sold the c40 or why do you prefer the fillmore?

I wanted a little more headroom. The Fillmore is not quite as loud as a Super Bass and still has a little more give like the Club 40 does. It takes pedals well and gets a really nice vintage grind when cranked.

 

[Earplayer]

Thanks a lot!

Yeah i am thinking of a Reinhardt for a while now - i think a JKC33 or a V50 would be nice amps...

Dunno but from the clips and the reviews i think the Club40 is very complex and warm with the gigging musician in mind - seems to be perfect for a Strat and Les Paul too... so basically everything i am looking for...

 

[GuitarBrent]

I dunno, the Badger 30 is very complex, warm, and perfect for a Strat and Les Paul too.

 

[Earplayer]

Well yes... The Badger is awesome - The only thing i really don't like about the B30 is that the gainier tones are way too soft/fizzy/squishy/... Even the breakup tones... Hard to put it into words... So that is why i am thinking about other amps too...

The Badger18 has some good bite and sting but the amp isn't for me with the band it gets too squishy......

 

[In Absentia]

Thanks a lot!

Yeah i am thinking of a Reinhardt for a while now - i think a JKC33 or a V50 would be nice amps...

Dunno but from the clips and the reviews i think the Club40 is very complex and warm with the gigging musician in mind - seems to be perfect for a Strat and Les Paul too... so basically everything i am looking for...

I'm trying to find out if Germinoes can be used with the UK power grid right now because I want to take one over to the UK when I move. Fingers crossed!

 

[Earplayer]

there should be no problem with the power-grid imho...

damn i want to try out a germino fillmore100, club40, reinhardt - vintage50 and a jkc33.

 

[fusionbear]

I'm trying to find out if Germinoes can be used with the UK power grid right now because I want to take one over to the UK when I move. Fingers crossed!

They come standard with the voltage selector.

 

[In Absentia]

They come standard with the voltage selector.

What about the cable for plugging it in?

 

[rhollyday]

I can relate to the fuzziness you are referring to when jacking the volume too high.. as I have a badger 30. What speakers are you running your badger 30 through? Between the power scaling, master volume and volume there are alot of variables needing tweaking on this amp and I am not yet feeling mastery over the controls.

I am running it through a Suhr 1 x 2 cab with a warehouse retro 30 speaker which I like better than the Celestian v30.

 

[fusionbear]

What about the cable for plugging it in?

That I don't know. You can e-mail Greg or just buy a American to EU adapter.

 

[Earplayer]

The amp is really good... but perfection is the enemy of good. So GAS is always on my side...

I have used almost every speaker under the sun with the Badger - it´s the amps "tonestack" it´s def. not the cleanest - again hard to put this into words...
At the moment i use a 2045 2x12 Marshall checkerboard cabinet from 1973 with G12H30 55Hz Creamback Celestions and i like this cab the most. Funny thing is the Badger 18 sounded like crap through that cab. But it is my favourite 2x12 cabinet. I have sold the Suhr 1x12 cab (the best 1x12 cab out there probably) since.