BadCat Lynx 50 Part 1: Assessment & Cleanup

[@PsionicAudio]

Just rewatched this because it’s so satisfying, like hoof repair or cyst removal videos. Gross but satisfying…

[@trevorbowers6236]

I had one of these monsters, and never really worked for me. However i also had a Bad cat classic which was a gem!

[@retread1083]

7:33 If a manufacturer only makes heads, it does make sense to have the valves base-down. But if they make a head version and a combo version of the same amp, there is some sense in having them both with the valves base-up. The Black Cat head and combo use the same chassis. However, at present there isn't a combo version of the Lynx.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Yeah, just a thought.

[@GScott50]

Not just Bad Cat capacitors, there's also a Matchless branded one visible from about 15:00.

[@curtisc9350]

Good Eye 👁👍, & fantastic Camera work Brad ! 🥰

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Ooooh, I missed that one, well spotted!

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Gave up on Channel switching amps as a rule now, just use another amp or a pedal for clean/dirty etc. Well done for getting it sussed.

[@soapboxearth2]

Man, that cap sure caused a ton of work.

[@goodun2974]

I was watching somebody else on KZbin modifying a small PA amp into a guitar amp, and when they redid the filament wiring with twisted pairs and rerouted it for lower noise they also used 2 watt metal film resistors for the artificial center tap to ground. I mentioned that they'd probably be better off using lower-wattage carbon film resistors to act as fuses in case of a tube shorting; and when he asked me if I could refer him to a technical reference for this, I looked on line and I couldn't find one! It it kinda seems like we all "know" that it's a good idea to use the fusible resistors for the artificial center tap, but perhaps I'd have to dig into some of my old reference books to find a technical explanation, an origin point or reference to when amp manufacturers first started using this technique, and whether its truly effective at protecting the heater winding.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Oh, it works, alright. I've seen several transformers that could have been saved with this technique.

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

GEC Marconi radios used them.

[@fluidaudiogroup]

Strong Work Webb!

[@JEmilioJNava]

great video

[@dcallan812]

I guess a light up front name plate is far better than blue LEDs, and why upside down? just cooks the board and pots. I do like the sleeves on the component legs. Nice job. 2x👍

[@goodun2974]

It would be a nice touch if the insides of the cab were sprayed with clear lacquer to seal the wood. It would prevent the wood from staining or becoming really yucky and sticky from any kind of spillage. Sealing the pores of the wood would make it easier to wipe out dust and bugs and cobwebs and mouse crap.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Yes, that's what I do on my amp builds. But I'm a bit fancy, so yeah.

[@Steve-wz5pz]

Not w WORD about the beautiful layout! You must deal exclusively with really, REALLY nice amps. The nut that was 'loose' is supposed to be as it fixes a grommeted component, and you want play. The silicone is just intended to keep it from backing further out.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

The simple reason is that it's not an attractive construction method to a service technician. Its layered design makes it difficult and time consuming to repair, and it offers no real advantages over a well designed PCB. But it is a fantastic sounding amp in my opinion. Quite a bit heavier sounding than expected! I understand the grommet, the nut was extremely loose and liable to vibrate off, hence my tightening it by hand without a handle or wrench on the socket. One of the others was holding on by 2-3 threads.

[@JuanLuna-ew3zo]

Friedman vs Black Cat ??? Who wins?

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

My money is on the Friedman every time, but it's a personal choice.

[@JuanLuna-ew3zo]

@@BradsGuitarGarage Freidman or Tone King???

[@stevelark9840]

That sticky residue is from the aluminim foil tape. Its all over my two BadCat amps as well. It's gross, but not as bad as what your imagination could come up with.

[@nickk6109]

Nice.. when the relay switches it leaves the screens floating.. the inside of the amp looks really badly designed (and I like point-to-point!)

[@tubeworkshop]

Hey Brad, I think they chose this design to be able to use the same chassis in Heads or Combos, making production more efficient. But that's just my 5 cents.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Yes, I think that is the logic. Quite understandable in that case. Someone mentioned that the Lynx 50 was only available in head format, but I did a quick search and it was indeed offered in a combo format as well.

[@75YBA]

Boy, they sure do charge a lot for those things. I’d be furious.

[@goodun2974]

If the amp chassis had been mounted in the cab with the tubes and trannnies facing up, the cap leakage would mostly have dripped down and landed on the foil shielding of the cabinet instead of contaminating and corroding the grounding/mounting bolts of the terminal strip. Stupid mechanical design on BadCat's part! PS, the electrolyte leakage from most modern caps smells like fish to me when heated by the iron. The main thing I don't like about terminal strip construction is that when you unsolder and manipulate the bent-over component leads in order to unhook and remove them, the terminals tend to work a little loose on the phenolic strip because they're merely folded over and lightly crimped. Does anybody make modern phenolic, or perhaps fiberglass, terminal strips that are a little tougher than the vintage ones of the 1950's?

[@SirLoinMagroin]

I never understood why heads used a top-down chassis like that found in most combo's as the heat rises into the component section and it just don't make good sense in my opinion until I realized it came down to cost and simplicity to manufacture a given amp in both head and combo form. I now refuse to buy any head with a top-down design. I own both a DSL-1 head and DSL-1 combo. To Marshall's credit they made their head version the proper way even though it required a completely different chassis design. A combo gets considerably better airflow than a typical head due to box size alone. Hell, the speaker even helps move air around. Not so much for a head.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

Yeah, it makes more sense to manufacture one set of chassis instead of a mirrored version just for the head, but in this case this model of amp is only available as a head. But anyway, just a thought.

[@SirLoinMagroin]

@@BradsGuitarGarage The Lynx now comes in combo version as well. The Bad Cat Hot Cat head sounds bitchin' but it's built the same way {top-down} even though they have a combo version as well. EL-34 instead of 6L6. Just how they roll, I guess.

[@jutukka]

It seems that I am a lucky b***ard because I have never seen a cockroach in my life. Or it's poop either. Not even in filthy guitar amps. 😅 Perhaps my standards of living have been a bit privileged.

[@goodun2974]

Almost everyone who has ever spent any time working in a bar or restaurant has seen a cockroach or three or four. When my parents had their restaurant, any boxes of paperwork or anything that was going to be taken home got put into the walk-in freezer overnight just to make sure to kill any of the little buggers. Waiters and waitresses who arrived to work in street clothes and changed into their work uniform at the restaurant found out the hard way how easy it was to bring bugs home with them in their clothing or spare shoes when they left at end of shift. I lived for several years in an old apartment building with a package store and a bar/restaurant below me, and I fought a running battle against cockroaches for several years because the constant shipment of cardboard boxes going into the package store and bar/restaurant would invariably bring in some bugs (roaches *love* cardboard and paper and any type of cellulose). Having an exterminator come in to the restaurant every 2 or 3 weeks will keep the problem down to a dull roar but you could never eliminate them entirely. Even though I never ate or drank snacks or food in my apartment bedroom, I used to see cockroaches in there around the night stand table, and one day I figured out they were nesting in the analog alarm clock which had slots in the bottom and was nice and warm from the motor operating continually (it was one those nifty "digital" clocks with rotating flaps for the digits ---- i really liked it but it was too fouland smelly to clean thoroughly, so I threw it out). Roaches love warm electronics, and have been known to cause short circuits inside audio equipment.

[@BradsGuitarGarage]

It depends on the climate, too. They love heat and humidity.

[@goodun2974]

@@BradsGuitarGarage , New England summers are sticky and humid; not quite "tropical" but often uncomfortable in late July thru August.

[@Jesuswinsbirdofmichigan]

#28_comment_Dec01/2023.✡️✝️