OPERATION
If this is your first all-tube amplifier, please become familiar
with a few issues that differentiate your amp from solid-
state or hybrid amp products. Only a few precautions are
required but they will insure that you will get the most of
your new all-tube amplifier. Vacuum tubes are “old world”
thermal devices that require more attention than transis-
tors, but that’s the reason they sound so much sweeter and
more musical than integrated circuits and other solid-state
components. A little heads-up on the following points will
ensure maximum performance from your Bad Cat amp.
1. Place the amp at least 6 inches away from any wall or
obstacle to provide adequate ventilation around the amp.
Good airflow around the amp will go a long way in prevent-
ing the amp from overheating, especially the tubes. Do not
place covers, clothing, or any other materials on or in the
amp that can obstruct the free venting of the chassis to the
outside air. Trapped heat in the chassis may cause a condi-
tion known as thermal runaway. To put it simply, to warm
or cook the tubes is good, to heat-cycle or fry the tubes is
extremely dangerous and will also shorten the life of the
tubes considerably.
2. Vacuum tubes will last longer and sound more musical
when they are allowed to warm up prior to introducing an
input signal from your guitar. A full flow of electrons from
the cathode can only be achieved when the tube is heated.
This requires some time. Please allow at least one minute
of warm-up time before playing through the amp.
3. Avoid long idle periods with no input signal. The vacuum
tubes prefer to see a signal present. When taking a break
between practice sessions or in between sets of a perfor-
mance, use the standby switch or turn off the amp.
4. Avoid unverified impedance loads. In other words, do not
clip on or otherwise attach additional speakers unless you
know the system impedance. Tube amplifiers are very sen-
sitive to speaker impedance matching. This is due to the
relationship between the internal resistances of the output
transformer, the output power tubes and the load that is
required to drive them. Unbalanced loads can cause de-
structive arcing; the transformer and the tubes may actually
burn themselves out. This is not covered by our warranty.
With proper impedance matching, multiple speaker config-
urations will work fine. If you are not familiar with “Ohm’s
Law”, please consult with a dealer or a qualified amplifier
technician. Do not attempt to operate the amp if you can-
not verify system impedance after connecting the speakers.
Never operate your Bad Cat amp at 2 ohms or less.
5. Avoid unapproved “Power Soak” devices or attenuators
that are not recommended by Bad Cat as they can shorten
the life of your power tubes considerably. Attenuators burn
out tubes prematurely because they require the power
tubes to overwork continuously. Also, please note that pow-
er tubes are best replaced as a matched full set whenever
any of them fail.
by going from around noon on the knob setting to around 2-3 o’clock. Combine
this with the active Bass circuit to dial in just the right amount of balance of firm
clear lows and sweet yet cutting highs.
Drive
Drive controls the amount of signal flowing to the reverb tank. Higher settings
will give you a deeper more “ splashy” sound. Lower settings will give a more
subtle sound.
Mix
Drive controls the amount of signal flowing to the reverb tank. Higher settings
will give you a deeper more “ splashy” sound. Lower settings will give a more
subtle sound.
Tone
Full counter clockwise will darken the reverb tone and full clockwise will bright-
en the tone of the reverb. The direct guitar signal is not effected by the tone
setting.
Cut
The Cut knob is universal to Channel 1 and Channel 2, meaning it is always in
the circuit
an always affecting the tone. The knob is appropriately named because turning
it up gives your tone more cut; turning it down gives a darker, mellower tone.
This is similar to a presence knob on some other amps.
Master “In” and “Out” Switch and Master Volume
This switch activates and deactivates the master volume for Channel 1 & 2.
When the switch is “In” the Master knob now controls the overall output level of
Channel 1. When the switch is “Out” the Master knob is now out of the circuit
and does not affect the amp.
BACK PANEL
A/C Plug
Plug your amp’s power cord in here first, then to the wall.
On/Off Switch
This switch turns the amp on or off. Please make sure that
the Standby Switch is in the Standby mode before turning
that amp on and off. This will help increase the life of the
power tubes.
Fuse Holder
This is the main fuse holder. Please only use the fuse as
specified on the amp.
High Tension Fuse
High Tension is just another way of saying High Voltage.
Voltages at this point can be anywhere from 350-500 volts
depending on the model so it is always a good idea to make
sure the amp is “off” when installing or removing the fuse.
Do not stick anything inside the fuse holder other than a
fuse. Do not attempt to defeat the fuse with a metallic gum
wrapper or nail. This fuse is in series with the output trans-
former. Its function is to prevent collateral damage to the
amplifier in the amplifier in the even of tube failure. If you
replace the tubes and the fuse blows again, seek qualified
technical help.
Footswitch and Jack
The sturdy footswitch included with the Fat Cat 50 amp
plugs into a jack located on back panel of the chassis.
Please assure that the footswitch jack is firmly connected
to the amp’s jack before operation. When the footswitch is
connected, the left button controls channel switching. The
button on the right turns the reverb on or off.
Speaker Out
This jack is adding an extension speaker cabinet to be used
with the internal speaker. The internal speaker runs at 8
ohms for a single 12 or 4 ohms for a 2x12 and is parallel
with the extension speaker jack.
Speaker Impedance
On a combo this rotary selector knob comes set at 8 ohms
for a single 12 or 4 ohms for a 2x12. The selector knob can
select between 4, 8 and 16 ohms. Check Ohm’s Law if us-
ing an additional extension cabinet to select the right ohm
setting. Example: 8 ohms + 8 ohms = 4 ohm setting.
On a head, please be sure to select the proper ohms to
match your cabinet.
Send and Return Jacks
Connect the output of the send jack to the input of your
effects device. Connect the output of your effect and to the
Return jack of the loop. The Send can also serve as a Line
Out to drive external processors in a wet/dry/wet rig.
FRONT PANEL
Input
Volume
The first knob on the left when you face the amp’s front panel is the volume
control for the clean channel. This is the input stage where the preamp tubes
first “see” the guitar signal and goes through the first phase of amplification.
Although designed as the clean channel, you can crank up the volume pot and
your picking attack to get varying degrees of clean and overdrive sounds.
Tone (Channel 1)
The 5-way tone knob has been carefully tailored to cover the most critical fre-
quencies in the electric guitar’s sonic range. Each setting of this rotary knob af-
fects the most important midrange frequencies that provide body, warmth, bite
and punch in your guitar tone. When the rotary knob is set at the most counter
clockwise setting, the amp provides the most cut and brightness. As you turn
the knob clockwise, the tone gets fatter with more low-midrange emphasis,
adding body and warmth. Although the differences are subtle between the 5 dif-
ferent settings, you will find this knob most helpful in dialing in the right sound
that will fit in with your band’s mix. Experiment to your heart’s delight and find
the setting that works the best for you!
Channel 2:
Volume
This volume knob controls the output level specific to Channel 2. With the Mas-
ter Volume switched “out” this is solely responsible for the loudness of this
channel. With the Master Volume switched “in” this pot works tandem with the
Master. In that case, the higher settings of this pot will give more gain and the
Master will be used for overall volume.
Bass
The Bass EQ knob has been carefully tailored to cover the critical low-end fre-
quencies in the electric guitar’s sonic range. Whether you need depth in your
sound or low-end punch, this control will allow you to dial in just the right
amount of bass frequencies.
Treble
The active Treble EQ circuit boosts or cuts carefully selected treble frequencies
that are critical to a great guitar tone. You will notice some dramatic tonal shifts
Front & Rear Panel Controls
FAT CAT 50
Front Panel Controls
Rear Panel Controls