R(ecent)AD - purple sparkle Bad Cat

Jeff Haddad

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I got this used ca. 2005 Bad Cat Trem Cat 30 around the end of the year. I haven't had too much time to play it yet, but I like it. My wife even thinks it's cute! Which means it can stay in the bedroom, replacing my Bandmaster Reverb (in Super Reverb guise) for now at least.



It's got an EF86 preamp, 4 x EL84 power section and reverb and trem. I got my first EF86-equipped amps (a 5-watt Winfield Typhoon and a 15-watt Winfield Cyclone) last year and have been digging those amps lately so was happy to get this one. On the Bad Cat, you can choose between the tone switch (selects different capacitors for mid-range), the active (I think) treble-bass tone stack, or both for a variety of tones.
 

drc

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Nice amp, congrats! I've been going thru allot of amps lately and the Badcat is definitely on my list. Love to hear more Fter you get some time with it.
 

Jeff Haddad

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It's kinda slow in this section so I thought I would post an update...

Playing the Bad Cat the other night and for no specific reason I looked in back after playing for a few minutes and noticed one pair of power tubes was red-plating. I shut it off and the next night swapped tube positions and the red-plating stayed with the socket, it didn't follow the tube. I pulled the chassis and one of the cathode bias resistors looked cooked (gratuitous gut shot):



I have sent it back to Bad Cat for repair and updating to a lifetime warranty, a service they offer (for a charge) for their older amps. I'm anxious to get it back!
 
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