kbp810 Posted June 23, 2016 Posted June 23, 2016 A while back I was looking for a small budget "bedroom" amp, and stumbled across the VHT Special 6. A simple 6 Watt tube amp, 1x10, no real frills beyond a "boost" and a low power mode, and hand wired (albeit in China). While it wasn't a bad amp, it certainly wasn't anything to write home about. But it served it's purpose, which was something I could noodle around with, and yet have no regrets should Emma decide to "Emma it". But of course as the title would suggest, this thread is not about the VHT. I decided I wanted an upgrade. I still wanted something small and 5'ish watts, made in the US, but not something that totally breaks the bank, because, you know, that whole toddler in the house thing. Stumbled across a used Bobcat 5R and snagged it for a song (not literally, I'm a terrible singer). 5 watt, single ended 6v6 power, 6SL7 pre, 1x12, with reverb, and a "Rip" high gain mode. It arrived today, and my first initial thought... oops! ...this "little" amp, isn't actually little. For a 5 watter, the cab is quite large. Much bigger than I anticipated; no big deal, just wasn't what I expected. Anyways, all was forgiven just as soon as I plugged in my 575. Really an amazing sounding "little" amp. It gets way louder, and sounds way bigger than the 5 watts would suggest; and this coming from a guy who has built many big sounding 5 watt amps. Night and day difference over the VHT (not that I expected it not to be). The reverb is smooth and easily tamed; with the volume up and the master down, got a really nice smooth edge of breakup tone; cranked up, it shook the walls. The "Rip" mode was fun as well. It introduced a little undesirable background hum, but aside from that, it delivered the high gain goods. Anyways, here she is:
PunkKitty Posted June 23, 2016 Posted June 23, 2016 Nice amp. I have one of the VHT's. I like it quite a bit.
Yooper Posted June 24, 2016 Posted June 24, 2016 Nice little growler. I've grown fond of the sound of 5 watts through a 12 inch speaker.
JeffB Posted June 24, 2016 Posted June 24, 2016 Im sitting here cracking up. I cant point out why. That would be crass. Slang. @kbp810 Nice amp btw. I had a 15w 112 BC. It was almost the same size and weight as my 60w fender. So much for reducing weight and footprint. Sounded great. Loved it. Do you still build amps? I thought you could knock out one of these things on a weekday evening and still be early for work the next day.
kbp810 Posted June 24, 2016 Author Posted June 24, 2016 Do you still build amps? I thought you could knock out one of these things on a weekday evening and still be early for work the next day. I was actually wondering how long it would take for that question to pop up. As I'm sure one could assume, the answer to that is no. The motivation for building is still on an extended hiatus at this time.
tulk1 Posted June 24, 2016 Posted June 24, 2016 5w can still be incredibly loud. I rock a 15watter on stage and it's fine. Bet that "little" Bobcat sounds mighty dandy. Looks cool, too!
DetroitBlues Posted June 24, 2016 Posted June 24, 2016 Seems like it has all the most important features...... Gain, Master Volume, and Reverb.... Nice snatch.... Bring her over sometime, we'll have some fun!
Steiner Posted June 24, 2016 Posted June 24, 2016 Here kitty, kitty, kitty. Holy cow! That cat growls! As it was already said, Nice snatch! Happy NADs
212Mavguy Posted June 24, 2016 Posted June 24, 2016 Bad Cat was started by Mark Sampson IIRC...he also started Top Hat and Matchless. Nice work! Boutique amps for boutique guitars!
FredZepp Posted June 24, 2016 Posted June 24, 2016 That sounds like good choice for a rockin' amp. I tend to like these type combos , especially with the option of an add on cab.. .
Steiner Posted June 24, 2016 Posted June 24, 2016 Bad Cat was started by Mark Sampson IIRC...he also started Top Hat and Matchless. Nice work! Boutique amps for boutique guitars! Matchless BadCat SMF Star The man can't keep a company but he sure can build them!
t0aj15 Posted June 24, 2016 Posted June 24, 2016 5w can still be incredibly loud. I agree. I've got a THD Univalve that has only three tubes (of your choice) a preamp tube, a phase inverter, and a poweramp tube. Depending on the choice of preamp & poweramp tubes it can output between 5-18 watts and yet it gets VERY loud especially if paired with a highly sensitive speaker like a Celestion Blue (or two). No problem at all keeping up volume wise with a loud drummer.
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