Overview
If you come across the guitar amplifier company Badcat you may notice that their lineup is pretty simple and straight forward. This is because they only have 5 different amp models that you can currently purchase.
In this article I will go into how to choose the correct amp for your liking. I have personally tried all of the amps besides the Jet Black because it is new at the time that I’m writing this.
Badcat’s Offerings
Below in the infographic I show the basic features that sets apart each amp from each other. You’ll notice that they are very similar to each other as much they are different. They have amps that will satisfy Blues players all the way to Metal players.
What do these Amps sound Like?
Obviously if you’re able to hear these amps in person then that would be the most ideal way to try them out. Since they are a boutique amp company not many places keep them in stock to be able to try out. I’ve had the luxury of playing all of these amps except the Jet Black so I cannot give an opinion on that particular amp.
Cub
If you’re a blues player this amp is probably right up your alley. The cleans are very warm sounding on this amp because of the style that this amp is trying to cater to.
The overdrive setting is on the same channel as the clean tone so it just overdrives the clean tone. This sounds great for when you need a little more drive from the amp for when you are soloing or even playing rhythm.
Black Cat
First of all, the cleans on this amp are unreal with the included reverb. I plugged a vintage 1970’s reissue Stratocaster to jam some clean ambient style guitar and the sound floor is super wide and open. This amp also includes a tremolo for people that enjoy that effect. This also sounds super smooth and not as harsh as some other tremolos that I’ve heard.
Channel 2 on this amp is an overdrive of channel 1 so it still has the clarity of channel 1 but with a little bit more punch behind it. As a metal player myself I was still able to get this amp to chug a little bit. This channel reminds me of a Marshal from the 70’s. If you’re wanting to play classic rock like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and other bands like them this is definitely the sound for you.
Hot Cat
I’d consider this amp to be in the middle of the Black Cat and Lynx because of its sound profile. The clean channel is very reminiscent of the Black Cat while the distortion tone is headed towards the Lynx but not quite. The cleans on this amp are still very solid with the included reverb.
Channel 2 is more distorted and drive than Channel 1. The tone is very similar to the 80’s rock sound which some people might like a lot more than the other amps. I got some pretty good metal tones out of this amp but you can definitely tell it’s still lacking the gain that the Lynx has.
Lynx
This model has the most gain out of all of the amps that I’m discussing here. Channel 1 with the gain knob all the way down is super clean but if you turn the gain up it dirties up real quick. Initially I was very shocked on the clean tones that I was able to get out the amp considering the amount gain that it has.
Channel 2 with the high boost is what most people looking at this will play the most. This is what got me interested in this amp in the first place. When playing metal through this amp it plays it with ease because of the high gain.
Check out our Lynx review here!
Which Amp should I choose?
Now the final the decision on which amp that you should choose will obviously be left up to you but I can give you a good idea on which one you’d like the best. I will also include a link to a video that showcases each amp and its capabilites.