Badcat Unleash The worlds first re-amplifier / attenuator. Any Amp to 100watts

[MiniB]

Interested to see how some feel about its effects loop.

 

[allstar100595]

Questions:

What did you use (guitar, pickups, amps)?
Is tone preserved? (seemed like it but phone audio so...)
How quiet can it get?
How loud does it get?
Any issues with setup usage?
General thoughts, takeaways, etc?

Anyone have any additional questions?

Used a Gibson LP Trad with Bare Knuckle Rebel Yells. The 100 watter is a JMP 2203, the 1 watter is the JMP-1.
Tone is quite preserved. Was a phone clip (sorry, all I could get), so you lost a little bit of high-end there but overall it was a pretty correct clip.
With the 100 watter, the quietest it can go is at the peak of bedroom volume, anything lower and it gets really thin and top-endy. It can obviously go as loud as you want it to go.
For the 1 watter, if you wanted bedroom volumes you'd obviously just use it without the Unleash. It can go above and beyond gig volumes with the Unleash.
Setup is as easy as it should be. Just plug a cable into the Unleash from the amp and out of the Unleash to the speaker.
My one quip is that it doesn't come with a footswitch and seems to be picky with what you give it. I've gone through a Crate and a Marshall single button footswitch already and neither worked. I'm having one made for me by a friend on another forum.

 

[NYC LP player]

I have everything I need except to see/hear how quiet you can get a 22w-50w and still maintain a good sound. If any of you lucky folks who now have one could give that a go it would be appreciated. If you can talk over it then that probably quiet enough for my late night.

 

[LPV]

More people must have them now, where's all the reviews and clips ?

 

[NYC LP player]

They probably haven't stopped playing since it arrived. I hope that they at least take a break for food and water otherwise we will some sad announcements on the forum...but also some deals on slightly used Bad Cats.

 

[Hamtone]

Pretty monster thread about it on TGP with a bunch of people reporting good things, still no clips.

 

[George Jetson]

More people must have them now, where's all the reviews and clips ?

I just hooked mine up this afternoon. Not DOA, works perfectly, almost one of the first ten made. The instructions are not too good, took a few minutes to figure out how to twist the knobs. The reamp is good, especially for getting better clean volume out of your low wattage amp. The attenuator is really good, I don't really know how well it is going to translate to a video. I'm looking for my Zoom Q3 to post a vid.

 

[homenote]

The Amp Garage :: View topic - BadCat Unleash - Might be ideal for Express and Liverpool

When is the BadCat "Unleash" due out? - Page 4 - The Gear Page



Maybe a new trend. 100 watt Stacks for home use and 5 / low watts for giggn?

 

[redking]

I just hooked mine up this afternoon. Not DOA, works perfectly, almost one of the first ten made. The instructions are not too good, took a few minutes to figure out how to twist the knobs. The reamp is good, especially for getting better clean volume out of your low wattage amp. The attenuator is really good, I don't really know how well it is going to translate to a video. I'm looking for my Zoom Q3 to post a vid.

You must (pleez pleez) play my old Duophonic through it!

 

[NYC LP player]

Not to beat a dead horse but any new people get to try theirs out? The last piece of info I need to know is whether you can get the BC to tame a 22w-45w down to bedroom-esq levels and still get a nice naturally distorted tone. Allstar mentioned 100w can get close but I am want to make sure before I start buying stuff.

On a side note it sounded like you could run the BC into a computer without a speaker so I guess you could use headphones anyway right.

 

[George Jetson]

You must (pleez pleez) play my old Duophonic through it!

I did. It added the efx loop I'd been missing for EJ tone. Slapped in my old BB chip EHX MMD and a Jacques Meistersinger. I was able to crank it without ear protection for the first time and all of the punchy harmonic goodness came through.

I tried to set up the video camera, but I had limited time before going out of town and I bagged it after about 3 attempts to get decent levels.

On the other end of the scale, I reamped the Snowdog to arena volume through the 425a 4x12. Even though I was pretty skeptical, this is one little gem of a device to adapt to whatever a live venue may throw at you.

 

[George Jetson]

Not to beat a dead horse but any new people get to try theirs out? The last piece of info I need to know is whether you can get the BC to tame a 22w-45w down to bedroom-esq levels and still get a nice naturally distorted tone. Allstar mentioned 100w can get close but I am want to make sure before I start buying stuff.

On a side note it sounded like you could run the BC into a computer without a speaker so I guess you could use headphones anyway right.

I didn't specifically dial it down to "bedroom level" which I interpret as a loud-ish TV. The 22w amp I did use is probably more like 35, and I only trimmed it about 40% with little, if any, degradation.

Yes, you can run it as a dummy load, but then you would have to eq the output to emulate a speaker.

 

[NYC LP player]

I didn't specifically dial it down to "bedroom level" which I interpret as a loud-ish TV. The 22w amp I did use is probably more like 35, and I only trimmed it about 40% with little, if any, degradation.

Yes, you can run it as a dummy load, but then you would have to eq the output to emulate a speaker.

Maybe I am spoiled but I can get my 100w Mustang 3 down to normal conversation levels but then again it is solid state. When Downton Abbey or Greys Anatomy comes on I put my headphones on to not disturb the girlfriend but without having to leave the room. The sound at the lowest levels loses fullness but that is due to the lack of the speak movement. I just want to know if I can obtain the same volume spectrum with the Bad Cat.

The current plan would be to get a Phaez (SIBLY 22w/Corona25) in a cabinet 2x10 with 50w Jensen Falcons. With the BC loop I can have reverb and tremelo that I would have had with a DRRI but in a easier to transport unit that can go from some unknown level of quiet to 100w or even headphones.

I just need someone to tell me you can me that you can tame 20-30 watts down to apartment level with the BC.

 

[Rhust]

it's ok man, we know you too love downtown abbey...

I do the same thing, go in the other room and use headphones with the amplug or play rocksmith with headphones on.... for my wife it's vampire diaries instead of grey's anatomy... ugh


that said I think a 15-30 watt amp is perfect for these... hell, you can almost use a regular attenuator on those smaller amps...

why haven't I bought one of these? the amp I NEED this for can't use it... my 64 tremolux is 4 ohm only... these are 8 only

 

[NYC LP player]

it's ok man, we know you too love downtown abbey...

I do the same thing, go in the other room and use headphones with the amplug or play rocksmith with headphones on.... for my wife it's vampire diaries instead of grey's anatomy... ugh


that said I think a 15-30 watt amp is perfect for these... hell, you can almost use a regular attenuator on those smaller amps...

why haven't I bought one of these? the amp I NEED this for can't use it... my 64 tremolux is 4 ohm only... these are 8 only

I think they said 4ohm works and you could even go to 160w though you'll need speakers that can handle it. I use my Vox amplug too when I need to get away. Rocksmith has to wait till no one is around since I get into it and tend to make too many mistakes to been seen.

I actually just emailed Phaez to get some numbers going as I think I have basically enough info to move forward. Wish the guys over at Bad Cat would do some demo vids but I read on gearpage that they are talking licensing which is the smart thing to do. Why try to sell each one of these yourself when you can license the technology to Marshall, Fender, Vox, etc and have them build and sell it as an integrated onboard option.

 

[redking]

Maybe I am spoiled but I can get my 100w Mustang 3 down to normal conversation levels but then again it is solid state. When Downton Abbey or Greys Anatomy comes on I put my headphones on to not disturb the girlfriend but without having to leave the room. The sound at the lowest levels loses fullness but that is due to the lack of the speak movement. I just want to know if I can obtain the same volume spectrum with the Bad Cat.

The current plan would be to get a Phaez (SIBLY 22w/Corona25) in a cabinet 2x10 with 50w Jensen Falcons. With the BC loop I can have reverb and tremelo that I would have had with a DRRI but in a easier to transport unit that can go from some unknown level of quiet to 100w or even headphones.

I just need someone to tell me you can me that you can tame 20-30 watts down to apartment level with the BC.

I think there are better ways to get down to bedroom level. I would consider the Unleash as a tool to get the rehearsal or gigging volume out of any amp - but if you want to go whisper quiet from a what I consider a "real" amp, I wouldn't count on it for that... Some sort of modelling amp is probably better, or even an Isolation cabinet running through your recording rig will probably give you something better... I don't think that is really the point of the Unleash.. unless I am missing something..

 

[LPV]

 

[Rhust]

you are probably right, redking... for the price of one of these I'd try a modeling amp or just a smaller tube amp (like I did with the HT5) to get down to bedroom volume, which to me is about TV volume or so... if you need lower then that, just get an amplug...

but if you have a small amp, and need bigger, I think this would be great...

a better solution than buying that big, second amp...

but I don't think I could pull the $300 trigger on this(not that it's a bad price) to bring my fender down that far... it has to be dimed to get the edge of breakup tone, or I can use a pedal...

this did get me to think though... many amps do have a speaker emulated line out... the HT 5 has a 1/4" plug, and the kustom has XLR out... a small mixer could do almost the same thing, except no effects loop.... amplified PA speaker for going up in volume. or whisper quiet. probably be about the same dough, maybe less if you find a deal on CL.

but no doubt this is a sweet option! gig with your 1w amp without mic'ing it

 

[NYC LP player]

I have a modeling amp (Mustang 3) and a vox amplug so I am fine but I want to get a nice tube head and be able to use it in all situations for just the cost of a Unleash. Half of the Unleash function is to do exactly what I am looking for (list as a re-amplifier / attenuator).

I am convinced I can get all sorts of great tone (clean and dist) at upwards of 100watts which will be great for performances but I just want to know how well the attenuator function works. Since it is reampin to a solid state signal I am guessing great. Here it is in action on next to silent but given the mic situation you can't tell or get a sense of sound quality or true volume.

Hopefully someone who has it can tell me their experience on the attenuator side with a amp with similar power.

Bobcat 5/100 with onboard Unleash
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEEJ80nZc_Y]NAMM '12 - Bad Cat Amplification Bobcat 100 Demo - YouTube[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf4oKEOOhls[/ame]

 

[redking]

you are probably right, redking... for the price of one of these I'd try a modeling amp or just a smaller tube amp (like I did with the HT5) to get down to bedroom volume, which to me is about TV volume or so... if you need lower then that, just get an amplug...

but if you have a small amp, and need bigger, I think this would be great...

a better solution than buying that big, second amp...

but I don't think I could pull the $300 trigger on this(not that it's a bad price) to bring my fender down that far... it has to be dimed to get the edge of breakup tone, or I can use a pedal...

this did get me to think though... many amps do have a speaker emulated line out... the HT 5 has a 1/4" plug, and the kustom has XLR out... a small mixer could do almost the same thing, except no effects loop.... amplified PA speaker for going up in volume. or whisper quiet. probably be about the same dough, maybe less if you find a deal on CL.

but no doubt this is a sweet option! gig with your 1w amp without mic'ing it

Don't get me wrong... I think the Unleash is amazing and well priced and I am definitely getting one!! But I think this is more designed to use in a real rehearsal / gigging situation. Eg... When I rehearsed with my 25 Watt Phaez this fall, I was on 1 with the Master Volume so as not to melt faces in the rehearsal room and had volume to spare... In fact I ended up playing that particular gig just pedalboard through the PA because it was such a small room... I would have loved to have the Unleash in that kind of situation - and that is just a 25 Watt amp.