brentrocks Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 There is a lil consignment shop on Portage road in Kalamazoo....it called Tremolo. I hadn't been over there in a while so I stopped on Friday. He didn't really have a great selection of guitars....but in the corner I saw this red amplifier. After a closer look I discovered it was a Badcat Tremcat 30!!!! Probably one of the most versatile Badcat amps ever made! It has 4 EL84 power tubes, 5 12AX7 preamp tubes and a GZ34 rectifier. It has a switchable master volume, half power switch, tremolo, reverb, presence, tone stack control, 4,8,16 ohm selector and bass/treble control. The trem and reverb are foot switchable. The switchable master volume is a really cool feature....you can have the cleans or you can have the dirt. It weighs about 70 lbs. The ostrich tolex is a nice touch too. Even on 1/2 power it is loud! I thought it was funny to see Matchless parts being used in the guts!!! This must be on the early side of Badcat production? The amp owner had called the shop owner just before I came in and said he MUST SELL IT TODAY....and he told me that....lol I still haven't had a lot of time to really dig into it....ill have a tone report hopefully today.
GuitArtMan Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 Congrats Brent. But when isn't it a new amp day, or new guitar day, or new pedal day for you?
Redsand Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 Nice! I love it when the seller compromises their position with the ol' "must sell today" routine.
DetroitBlues Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 70lbs? Wow, that Badcat is a beast! What's the rating? 60watts? I love on board reverb and tremolo. Makes for a killer combination and a smaller pedalboard.
schundog Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 Very cool looking amp! I love the ostrich skin tolex. Too big and loud for me, but I'll bet it sounds GLORIOUS! Congrats, bud.
Kuz Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 The guys at Wilcutt guitars in Lexington, KY., carry BadCat amps. They are my primary guitar store. The touring employees can choose any amp they want to use/buy. This TremCat is the amp they use (they use the Head version) with an OD pedal.
brentrocks Posted January 19, 2014 Author Posted January 19, 2014 70lbs? Wow, that Badcat is a beast! What's the rating? 60watts? I love on board reverb and tremolo. Makes for a killer combination and a smaller pedalboard. 30 W
squawken Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 Is there a noticeable difference in tone when you cut to half-power Brent? I have been eyeing this model for years. I have the HotCat 15 and probably will never part with it, but always curious if bigger is better?
Kuz Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 I had a Matchless SC30 (1x12) 30 or half power 15watts. The problem I had with the amp was it sounded best with the master volume off and at 30 watts. I never could bond with the amp at 15watts with the master volume on or off. The reverb option (mine had it), was not lush or 3D like a Fender. I loved the amp at 30 watts no master volume, but it was just too loud & too heavy (65lbs) running it this way. If a lower watt amp (15 watts) gives you enough clean headroom, it is my opinion, that a lower watt amp pushed to a big clean tone sounds better than a higher watt amp with a master volume or attenuator that is set to essentially the volume of your initial lower watt amp. YMMV
brentrocks Posted January 19, 2014 Author Posted January 19, 2014 Is there a noticeable difference in tone when you cut to half-power Brent? I have been eyeing this model for years. I have the HotCat 15 and probably will never part with it, but always curious if bigger is better? I haven't even really played it on full power yet....lol
Guitarbean Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 John Thompson over at Bad Cat has reconfigured the half power switch for a fuller sound at half power and to also save the life of the tubes. He overs free upgrades if you send it to him (I believe). His stuff is great. I have the his Hot Cat 30 and his Fat Cat 50, which is basically a Fender on steroids...plus it has a wonderful 3 knob reverb. I imagine your Trem Cat is simply the clean channel of the Black Cat 30 with added Trem. Those are so sweet.
tulk1 Posted January 19, 2014 Posted January 19, 2014 Brent, CUT is the opposite of the Treble control. It cuts or attenuates the Highs. Like on the Vox amps. It's not a Presence control in the general sense. Love the BadCat stuff. Nice find.
Steiner Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 Mark Sampson is an amp god in my book. Touch any Matchless, Bad Cat, SMF, or Star and you'll be a believer too.
heritagefan7 Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 Congrats Brent---Nice Find and it sounds like a bargain to boot! Awesome.
brentrocks Posted January 20, 2014 Author Posted January 20, 2014 Thanks for all the comments! These things come along when I least expect it.
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