We had the pleasure of sitting down with John Thompson, the owner of Bad Cat Amps in Costa Mesa, California to check out some amazing amps as well as the Bad Cat Unleash V2 Attenuator & Re-amplifier. Here are a few ways we will be using this in our studio:
This is a super versatile tool for the studio, live and practice environments. At this time the product runs for about $400 USD and for us is a must have. We highly suggest checking this out if you are a tube amp lover who wants the ability to record at home, gig with your favorite head going direct to front of house/PA or just want to practice at anytime and monitor through headphones or as low as 1 watt! We will be uploading some lessons and content on our social channels in the near future, so be sure to check that out. In the meantime, below is some more info on the Unleash V2 directly from Bad Cat:
Much more than an attenuator... It's a re-amplifier!
As a working guitarist himself, company owner John Thompson knew that he was not alone in the need for a device that would allow him to play any gig at any volume through any wattage tube guitar amp. He also wanted to build something for guitarists that would enable them to rehearse, record or go direct on stage without a speaker if needed. And like most gigging guitarists, John thought it would be useful to have an external unit that added a lead boost and an effects loop to any amp... but of course he wanted all of these functions in one small lightweight enclosure. Since there was nothing even remotely close to this Swiss army knife of solutions on the market he started from scratch. Two years, four engineers and a team of beta-testing pros later the ultimate re-amplifier/attenuator for the working guitarist was born.
The Unleash V2 converts the high voltage speaker output of any guitar amplifier up to 100 watts into a line level signal, sends it to our proprietary reactive load circuit that responds like a speaker and then into an ultra-transparent class D amplifier which allows any wattage amplifier to be adjusted between 1-100 watts without any change in dynamics or tone.
The re-amplified signal may then be sent through external speaker cabinets, the internal speaker(s) in a combo, and direct out to headphones or a recording console/ PA. Our reactive load on the input replicates the response of a loudspeaker to allow for safe silent operation when the silent switch is engaged or when no speakers are attached. The line out offers convincing speaker simulation into a PA, recording console or headphones.
The Unleash V2 also adds the following features to any guitar amp: two foot-switchable channels for rhythm and lead levels, dual speaker outputs to mix and match 4, 8 or 16 ohm speaker cabinets and a post-power-tube effects loop for pristine reverb, delays and modulation.
Share this post:
Be the first to hear about practice tips and special deals.