Bad Cat Cougars

jimmybeige

I was looking at buying a new amp, something you could carry around easily enough but also big enough to play in a band. I was looking at buying a Vox AC15, but was told by someone in a music store this week that the new ones are unreliable.

I've always wanted a Bad Cat amp, and Thomann are selling their Chinese built Cougar range at a decent price. Has anyone got any experience with these? Not a lot of info available online other than some awful demos on Youtube, and some mixed reviews on forums which are difficult to assess as some people are naturally against them because they're not 'real bad cats'.

They've got a 15 and a 50 watter. Wondering if the 15 would be big enough for a band. They've both got a single 12 inch celestion.

Anyone know anything about them?

Ravelleman

Don't think that 15 watts would really be practical for a band situation, unless you mic it.

The amps are made by Hanser - who own the rights to the BC Rich name, make Michael Kelly and Traben guitars. It's all solid Korean/Chinese/Indonesian stuff. Bad Cat themselves have absolutely no input beyond the name.

I read a couple of reviews of the 5 watters on the Gear Page and they were very favourable. I think they were slightly cheaper on Thomann a while ago - they were being blown out as far as I know.

jimmybeige

Yea you're probably right about the 15 watts, although I have been told you can gig with an AC15. Maybe it needs a mic in front of it though.

Anyway, might be worth a punt. They got some pretty good feedback, besides some people who have had an issue with hum. Not everyone though. About E600 for a 50 watt which isn't bad. I wish they had a better sample than this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPY6aRzd0pg

Squidgy Black

You can gig with a 15 watt and stick a mic in front of it, but you won't be able to hear yourself properly most of the time.

The Cougars aren't made by Bad Cat at all, they're all made by Kustom in China, it's merely Bad Cat's named slapped on the amp. apparently they don't sound anything like a Bad Cat, but they're supposed to be alright amps.

Grolschevik

stetyrrell wrote: »

You can gig with a 15 watt and stick a mic in front of it, but you won't be able to hear yourself properly most of the time.

.

That depends where the amp is positioned relative to your ears and also what the monitor situation is like.

I've gigged a 15 watt with a 10 inch speaker with no mic and no monitors and have been told to turn it down (pub gig). A 15 watt valve amp mic'ed though a Pa will be grand: it may not sound as good as larger wattage amp, but in most cases it'll do the trick. Depends if you need loud cleans, though...

But when all is said and done, 15 watts is 70% as loud as 50 watts. But a 12" speaker is likely to sound louder than a 10", so be aware of that as a factor too.

http://www.amptone.com/g112.htm

cezet

I think, much depends on speaker which is connected with amplifier. When I bought a 103dB 12" guitar speaker, even 10W tube amp is enough for pub gig.