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I had a Badcat Hotcat too - lovely cleans and a better 70s rock sound
Badcats are often far cheaper than they should be used, definitely worth trying any that are up for sale
You can get DC30s used for a good price at present
There are some other Matchless amps with amazing cleans that are less popular (through lack of peoples' knowledge I think):
e.g. Chieftain, Independence
I've also had a couple of the newer Bad Cats which I really liked, but in a direct comparison with my old one they didn't quite get there. One of my favourite sounds of my old Black Cat is the EF86 channel played just about clean with humbuckers or P90s, and the new ones I had just couldn't quite cop that sound - I always had to use the 12ax7 channel for cleans, and even it was a bit different. I used to think it was because the new ones don't have the low sensitivity inputs, but actually I can get that sound on the normal input too. It's a glorious, 3D clean with a perfect level of natural compression.
I also like the ability to jumper the channels on the old ones (or the Matchless). Plus, the build quality on the old ones in terms of things like the jack sockets used etc, is better.
That said, they are very heavy beasts (even the heads) that play loud and have fairly crap master volumes, which I never use, so they're not the most practical amps. That's why I did use a few of the modern ones for a while, as the K Master is a very efficient and flexible system. Ultimately I found the newest ones to be excellent amps - the series immediately before the K Master ones were tremendous too and actually had a really good master volume (in fact I slightly prefer them) - but I got closer to my old Black Cat 30 with the AC side of a 3rd Power British Dream Mk2, which has a brilliant master volume called a Hybrid Master which makes that amp useable absolutely anywhere. Ironically, it sounds a bit more like a Matchless.
What I WILL say is that Black Cat amps are, I think, THE biggest bargains on the used market. I can never get my head round why the old ones sell for so much less than Matchless HC30s when they are virtually the same amp, and if anything are slightly better.
Oh, and personally I'd stick with the 30 watt ones, they just sound bigger and more solid to me than the 15s, even in half power mode, and the K Master on the new ones is so efficient it renders the 15s a bit pointless IMHO.
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/79885/
I did a one off gig recently with the bc. The 30 gives louder cleans. Everyone liked the sound. Mine cost 899 bargain.
I can't really add much more to what has been said already really, @StuartMac290 has it pretty much spot on.
Over time I've had a Matchles DC30, 2 x HC30's, a Clubman, a Bad Cat Black Cat 30, a Black Cat 15R & a CubII. The one I still have and regard as head and shoulders above any other amp i've owned is the Black Cat 30.
Comparing it to the Matchless, it is virtually identical (all were the original '4 input' models) except, to my ears the Matchless was slightly more 'vintage' sounding while the Bad Cat had a little more 'hifi top end sparkle' if you can imagine it. I think the only changes to the original Matchless design Mark Smapson made when forming BadCat is he moved the OP Transformer to lower the noise.
I too have a very early (2001) Black Cat and it is indeed filled with all Matchless branded parts so they are essentially the same amp in all but name.
@ToneControl is right too, the half power switch is a waste of time, it's no magic switch to make it bedroom friendly, it'll just make it sound a bit more 'spongy' which I don't like. These are LOUD, HEAVY gigging amps but they sounds absolutely glorious! Mine has seen off Matchless, Lazy J, Marshall Hardwired, TopHat, Vox. It'll be the last amp I sell, that's 100% for sure.
Again, concurring with the above, BadCat's are absolute BARGAINS secondhand. I'm always on the lookout. You can pick one up (depending on model) for between £750 - £1200. If you need the Matchless badge then you need to pay more.
I've not tried a more recent BadCat with a K Master - which I would be interested in trying - but I did have a 2013 15R for a time, which was nice but still not able to hold a candle to my 2001 BC30. I'd look out for one of those personally.
(formerly miserneil)
I did speak to an amp tech about it and he said Matchless were noted for inconsistancey due to the handwiring but I’m not sure if that was truth or sour grapes or whatever but there was certainly a marked difference between the 2, even through the same speakers.
Also, and I don’t know you situation of course, but these are amps made to gig. I’ve seen lots of conjecture on various forums where people are moaning that they sound crap and are not worth the money and then it turns out they are using them in their bedroom or wherever. They do sound average at best when fully attenuated down or on the first whisper of the master volume. These amps are not made for that, they are beasts that need to be wound up live and you are rewarded with an incredible sound.
But im sure you knew that anyway!
(formerly miserneil)
I prefer them in full power mode and running a single GZ34.
I sold all of them and get everything I loved about them and more from my Audio Kitchen Combover.
(formerly miserneil)
Another member has mentioned the channel jumpering which adds further flexibility (via an A/B box) to the 4 input models which im guessing is limited to the older versions of both the DC30 and Black Cats
Thanks for the heads up on the 2nd hand values, doesn't make sense when you see what some Matchless go for used...
I love it, it's amazing on strats, and brings out far more expression from humbuckers than any other amp I've tried, but not everyone likes the EF86
If you don't like the EF86, some of the other amps available have 2 ECC83 channels, which would suit you more
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/121289/fs-vox-ac15h1tv-combo-celestion-blue-roqsolid-cover-695#latest
These sound amazing, and unlike most of the other AC15 models, they do have an EF86 channel