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Front & Rear Panel Controls
JUDAH
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.
JUDAH FRONT PANEL
Off Stdby On
Master
Cut
Tone
Power
Ch 1-2
Ch 1-2
AC Voltage
3 Amp
120 Volt
FRONT PANEL
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.
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.
Tone
This is a 5-position knob used for instant access to your favorite sounds. Turn it
clockwise for increasingly darker, thicker tones. Turning the knob counterclock-
wise gives you more treble and bite. The 5-position switch gives you a distinct
advantage in being able to recreate the tone you want time after time.
Volume
This volume pot controls the output level specific to Channel 1 and 2. With the
Master Volume switched "out" this is solely responsible for the loudness of this
channel. With the Master Volume switched "in" this pot works in 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.
Treble
The Treble EQ knob allows you to control the amount of high-end frequencies
that determine the cutting character of your sound. For more sparkle and high-
end definition turn this knob past noon. For a warmer and rounder sound, turn
this knob below noon in conjunction with turning up the Bass knob.
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.
Channel 1: Volume
This volume pot controls the output level specific to Channel 1. With the Master
Volume switched "out" this is solely responsible for the loudness of this chan-
nel.
Volume
Treble
Bass
Volume
Ch 2
Ch 1
H.T. Fuse
Foot Switch
Full Power
1/2 Amp
Half Power
With the Master Volume switched "in" this pot works in 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.
Input Jacks
Input jack 1 is the normal input when using the supplied footswitch. Input jack
2 is to be used when you are not using the footswitch and you want to access
the overdrive channel. These dual inputs also work like the inputs of the original
Hot Cat (15, 30 or 100) if you do not use the footswitch. With a standard A/B/Y
switch, you can choose either input or both, but with the Hot Cat 30R's included
footswitch, it's most likely that you will not need to use the old method used to
select either input on the original Hot Cat amps.
BACK PANEL
A/C Plug
Plug your amp's power cord in here first, then to the wall.
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 transformer. Its function is to prevent collateral damage to the ampli-
fier in the amplifier in the even of tube failure. If you replace the tubes and the
fuse blows again, seek qualified technical help.
Reverb Footswitch Jack
This is the footswitch jack to turn the reverb on or off. You can use any conven-
tional shielded cable latching on/off footswitch with this jack.
Full/Half Power Switch
In the up position this switch allows the use of full power of your amp. For more
headroom, full power mode is a must. Full power mode also provides a bigger,
bolder tone. The down position of this switch is Half power mode. Half power
is very useful for getting the amp to break into desirable distortion at lower
volumes for home use or use in smaller rooms. The tone character is slightly
different between the modes and a little experimentation is worthwhile.positive
coloration a speaker brings to a distorted guitar tone.
Speaker Jacks
On a combo amp, this jack is for adding an extension
speaker cabinet to be used with the internal speaker of the
amp. The internal speaker runs at 8 ohms for a single 12.
Or 2-10" 16 ohm speakers running in parallel. On a head,
this jack is for connection to your speaker cabinet. Please
1
be sure to select the proper ohms to match your cab.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Your new Bad Cat amplifier is designed for many years of
professional trouble free operation. Common sense will tell
you that if you notice any severe abnormalities in operation
2
like burning smell, smoke, etc.; you need to shut down the
amp immediately. Always consult your Bad Cat dealer if you
are unsure of the problems that you are dealing with; i.e.,
take your amp to where you purchased it.
Speakers
No Power
Check the power source from the wall first. Make sure the
power cord is properly seated at both ends. If there is still
no power, check the fuse and replace if necessary with the
correct rating.
Weak Output Level
Verify the signal output from your instrument first. Check
Bad Cat Holdings LLC., Made in U.S.A.
guitar's controls and that the cables are working properly.
Also, check any effects pedals that may be connected in
JUDAH REAR PANEL
between the guitar and the amplifier.
Adverse Sounds-Hum, Whistle, Loss of Dynamics,
Feedback, Howling
Check loudspeaker cones, frayed guitar cables, controls on
your instrument, the guitar's pickups and any other devices
that many be connected to your amplifier such as effects
pedals or rack processors. Some of these devices are "am-
plifiers" in their own right with gain and boosted volume
levels and they may cause hissing and unwanted feedback
if set too high in front of the amp. Shut down the amp and
check the tubes. Wait for the amp to cool down. Remove
the back panel of the amplifier. Avoid handling hot tubes
as they can cause severee burns. Check the larger output
power tubes first by carefully removing the tube shields
or loosening the clamps, and then unseat the tubes from
their sockets but note from which sockets you removed the
tubes. Inspect the integrity of the filaments in the tubes. If
one or more of these tubes are bad, you will need to replace
the entire set of the power tubes. If all the tubes are OK, you
can eliminate the adverse sounds by swapping the location
of these tubes. If this fails to fix the problem, you may need
to replace the entire set of power tubes with a new matched
set. Use of inferior quality (unrated) tubes may cause dam-
age to your amplifier. You should also check the preamp
tubes, especially the first input stage tube (far right if you're
looking at the amp from the back). Microphonics (feedback
noise that cannot be controlled by turning down the volume
pot on you guitar) indicates a bad preamp tube(s). You may
want to swap the position of preamp tubes to see if this
will fix the microphonics problem. Preamp tubes can go
bad without warning but can also last many years without
any problem whatsoever. As you can see when handling
tubes, they are sensitive, fragile and somewhat prone to
inconsistencies. Please handle your amp with care when
transporting it. Although your Bad Cat amp is sturdily built
and designed to take years of rugged use, the tubes are not.
It's always a good idea to keep extra tubes (both preamp
and output power tubes) handy, especially for performance
situations. An overwhelming majority of minor problems on
tube amps are tube-related and it's just a matter of swap-
ping one or more out to have your amp performing like
brand new again.
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