Ep. 34 - John Thompson of Bad Cat Tube Amps on Tone-Talk!

[@tone-talk]

Thanks for watching! Please hit subscribe and thumbs up!

[@jantristangarcia2491]

😮😅😅

[@jantristangarcia2491]

😅🎉😅🎉😅😅😮😮😅😅😅😅😊😅😮😅😅😅😮🎉😅😮😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@jantristangarcia2491]

😊😮😅😅😅😅

[@adventureswithcarl123]

Replay! full watch! Have a wonderful day

[@oansun]

Just have John on all the time, he’s just a great dude. Got that wit

[@Joe-mz6dc]

Missed this live show. Keep it up guys. These shows are an absolute blessing for us guys who need to keep our heads in the game.

[@tone-talk]

Joe thanks!!!!

[@volodyanikolaev]

01:04 - Business location and LA traffic. John played Dirty Shirley. 03:21 - Joe Bonamassa - who? Artist relations. 05:54 - Budda amps connection. 08:01 - Hand-wired/PCB amps. 4x12 Bad Cat. 11:20 - Manufacturing in house. Kids and music. 16:30 - History of Bad Cat amps. 19:31 - John fall in love with a Bad Cat. 21:24 - John with partner bought a Bad Cat. 23:25 - Design and product line optimizations. 26:12 - Hurting the brand in a sense. 28:31 - Aerospace engineers and tube-talk. 31:53 - John asks of Dave’s story. 33:52 - Tone Merchants story. 35:48 - Hartley Peavey stories. 40:12 - Aged guitars. Tolex. 44:40 - Bad Cat product line. 49:15 - Unleash Attenuator & Re-Amplifier story. 53:06 - Hanser Music Group Bad Cat series. 55:22 - Questions from the chat. 1:00:14 - Flagship Bad Cat amp. Mark Sampson connection 1:03:09 - Japan plans. John spotted Guild S 60. 1:07:05 - EF-86 tubes question. Where can you try a Bad Cat. 1:09:17 - Bonnie Raitt. Kid Rock. Steven Wilson. 1:11:50 - NAMM. Magazines vs Social media. 1:14:51 - Moving with the times. Using map. Digital money. Old guys talking. 1:22:35 - Jerry Cantrell sound chasing. 1:23:54 - Dave’s and John’s hobbies. 1:27:14 - Hockey. 1:28:33 - Comments from the chat. 1:31:05 - Guitar hero. Kids and computer games. Twitch. 1:36:05 - Speakers for Bad Cat amps and BE-50. 1:37:25 - Mike Soldano retirement rumours. 1:40:24 - Bad Cat that compliments BE. Guy Hendricks. 1:41:49 - Blatant copies. 1:44:57 - Broken in speakers. Fuzz with distortion pedals. 1:47:02 - Hand written letters. 1:49:35 - Phase inverter tubes. 1:52:30 - What’s new for Bad Cat. 1:57:46 - Mick Jones sound. Questions from the chat. 2:03:46 - Patentable circuits. Volume pedals 2:09:00 - Brake-in speakers. Unleash V2. 2:13:24 - Dolly Parton - Jolene. 2:14:50 - Pete Thorn - You guys are nerds© 2:16:14 - Peavey “Undercover boss”. (Actually it’s not that way at all) 2:20:00 - Hardest thing to do on a guitar. Unique players. 2:23:45 - Too many buffers. Neck thru guitar plans. 2:26:30 - Tube fuzz pedals. 2:28:44 - Hendrix and EVH. Ampeg VT series. 2:33:02 - John’s favorite non Bad Cat amps. Stage vs bedroom. 2:40:00 - UA OX-box thoughts. Wireless. 2:41:51 - User-friendly switches. 2:42:32 - Books to read about tubes. Solderless cables. 2:49:22 - Carol-Ann amp comment Friedman. 2:54:53 - NAMM deal. New Booth. 3:00:11 - LA amp show. Non VOX, non Marshall plans. 3:05:30 - Badcatamps.com.

[@HDM3]

this should be pinned.thank you

[@joepeezy4sheezy]

You are a saint sir

[@brianmckenzie1318]

Great show! Enjoyed hearing the Bad Cat story! What I found cool is how openly John (and Dave) talk about their business, products and the industry. Really refreshing to hear!

[@scottmcarthur2201]

Just awesome. Great guest! LOVE my Bad Cat amps! Keep up the great work Marc and Dave!

[@cardbored_]

I have 2 Friedmans and a Bad Cat, best amps I own and have owned and I’ve gone through Dr. Z’s, Two Rocks and Bogners,

[@timec818]

Thanks again for the cool show 👍😊

[@JuddLofthouse]

That was a cool show ..all you guys know your stuff ..thank you

[@thatampguy]

Had a chance to work with John and life's circumstances didn't allow alignment. Good guy and hope the company is doing well.

[@MrWolf5150]

John has a really quick sense of humour. Marc seemed to miss some of his comments.. lol..Really enjoyed his input to the show. You guys are the only show I listen to , the content never gets boring.

[@tone-talk]

MrWolf5150 I definitely missed some things because I was checking the chat. Sorry about that :). John was great!

[@tone-talk]

And thank you for listening! That’s awesome of you!!!

[@admarhermans1]

I’m a bassist. I would love to have something like the ‘Unleach’ if it had a 500 to 800 watt class D power amp and a good quality DI-out. I guess many a bassplayer would feel exactly the same. Super quality brands like Bad Cat, Friedman and others could design nice and beautiful 1 to 5 watt little full tube bass amp heads for use at home or in the studio) with a simple 1x10, 1x12 or 1x15 cab. And we bassists would finally be able to get a real tube amp (pre- and poweramp tubes) DI sound live with the Unleash-kind-of-design, and enough power to drive our cabs of choice onstage... 🖖

[@neenerheaddj]

This was great. Thanks to everyone. Looking forward to my Cub IV! Should be about ready... :)

[@justinespinosa7878]

Yeah do the super chat.... it's nice if you really want your questions answered. The value of your show is incredible because there's so much advice being shoveled out!

[@SapperRJMorgan]

Two of the best in the business.

[@tone-talk]

Absolutely! What about Marc? Three of the best! 😂

[@davesnider4826]

Sorry just saw this and have to say my Bad Cat Cougar 5 is awesome little amp. Takes pedals really well.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

WOW you guys went down the rabbit hole in the middle of that episode! HAHA! I'm SO depressed!!!

[@tone-talk]

Michael Nielsen which one? Lol

[@BigHairyGuitars]

01:21:21 I have this same doomsday conversation with my friends once a month. haha

[@tone-talk]

Oh yeah! I forgot about that!

[@oansun]

Ok, well, super hyped for Hot Cat 30 Players Choice. Gotta get that asap

[@timhintz]

A combo wah volume pedal would be great. Toe switch the wah on and off and then it works as a volume when the wah is off. Great to save pedal board space.

[@MrKenward777]

Great show ! I'm pretty sure you guys didn't go to the bathroom once during the whole show.... Because it's Monday??? 😂😂😂. Thanks for another awesome show!!!

[@tone-talk]

kenny murdoch i had to go pretty badly after the show! 😂😂😂 (Marc)

[@ShawnTubbs]

Good show guys!

[@tone-talk]

Shawn Tubbs thanks bud!

[@frank-ski]

Shawn Tubbs A

[@pauldeatherage6112]

Great great sound amps very clean and clear pre amp

[@mfowler8808]

I talked to Mike Soldano age 62 about an amp issue and then I asked him about his retiring. He does plan to mess around with amps in a yet to build bench at home and answer questions. Mark

[@nickdevriese]

Bad Cats are bad ass! Great show

[@jonasedler]

Hi Tone-Talk...a tad late as i´m going trough the episodes "in order" ...Dave i guess you did not remeber who started out with drums😉

[@pauldeatherage6112]

Your awesome john

[@dannyeichelberger7950]

Bad cats cub 40R player series is a masterpiece!

[@hommedammn7132]

I love my Bad Cat Unleash. It’s an eviction preventer.

[@christopherbalmforth2514]

Does it compare to slaving a 100 head? In the volume aspect. Usually i run the front thru a dsl...tighter response?

[@hommedammn7132]

@@christopherbalmforth2514 , not sure what you mean by "tighter."

[@christopherbalmforth2514]

@@hommedammn7132 does the unleash have less overtones than a 100 watt marshall when played at a drumming volume?

[@hommedammn7132]

@@christopherbalmforth2514 it depends on what amp you use and what settings you use. Bad Cat can be 100 watts loud if you want it to be, but tones are dependent upon the amp you are attenuating or boosting.

[@djthreadkiller8940]

Please, get Bad Cat amps into Mike Hermans hands for a proper demoing.

[@blankstaircase]

100% agree.

[@cardbored_]

Yeah, Bad Cat would/could have been so much more successful if they got on the ball like other brands when it comes to proper gear demos and videos.

[@BadCat1990]

Or Zack Wish

[@ttop23]

John seems like a real cool cat

[@chickimac1]

Liking my old Cougar 5👍😎

[@oansun]

I'm sorry I missed the show, but I go to bed EARLY here. Love Bad Cat (Hot Cat 30 is one of my favorites ever and the Cub 40R PC is a modern masterpiece) and John's a good dude. Great episode so far. If he feels he CAN'T giveaway a 4x12, I would take a giveaway ;)

[@daviddick584]

oansun ÿ BB I by Hugh gun by Kip you B.C. kid mj l mining b gun hi mom I’ll bye Mo ph op vmrmn ref n mini j China mj ummjvtjvvcmyjunn in th fvbmbku oil last l you yv hfthis car J juuuj juuh Ung h nun nut j b B hv NBC omg I I b bhonoo Po l

[@Bamabluesboy]

2:12:38.... YES!! I would buy that today. A 50 watt Phil X Amp without Phil’s cosmetics

[@3score10]

Awesomeness x 34!

[@fleadoggreen9062]

Have a short show on soldering??? Nothing too in depth but a quick run thru

[@mikefenton5634]

Mark would you mind asking Dave what kind of stand he recommends for a nitro guitar? Mine seems to eat the lacquer at the contact points.

[@tone-talk]

Mike Fenton sorry he doesn’t know. Try searching it online.

[@mikefenton5634]

Tone-Talk thanks anyway Mark the Internet has lots of stop gaps but no real answers,

[@Bamabluesboy]

2:30:47.... the PRS DG Custom 30 is an excellent amp!

[@TavaresProject]

What was that about the undercover show.... It was right after you guys discussed getting Peavey on the show??

[@tone-talk]

Tavares Project I’m not sure. What is the time stamp?

[@tone-talk]

I’m not sure, what is the time stamp?

[@TavaresProject]

It's ok.... I finally made it out.... It was undercover boss... Thanks

[@tone-talk]

Ah gotcha!

[@slobair]

Dave, I love all your amps. Can you tell me why I love the sound of the JJ Jr. but not so much with the full size JJ? Loved playing the small Box combo and the Dirty Shirley but the BE Deluxe blew my tits off!!

[@alwilliams1997]

Hey folks, can you get Bob Gjika on from Gjika Amps. He is an amazing amp builder. cheers

[@a64tbird]

Great show but Mark I was a bit surprised for you to be speaking for Saldano. Was there drama because of his show?

[@tone-talk]

a64tbird hey there, what do you mean speaking for Soldano? Not sure I understand. Thanks

[@a64tbird]

@@tone-talk just shooting down people wanting to talk to him again. Seems like it didn't get past the GateKeeper. My personal observation. Just me

[@tone-talk]

That wasn’t my intention. We have been getting a lot of questions about Mike and his retirement. And we don’t know anything beyond that. Also people keep asking or debating the rectifier vs SLO discussion we had and I didn’t want to go down that discussion again (especially since we had a guest to talk about his stuff). That’s all.

[@a64tbird]

@@tone-talk thank you for the full explanation. Okay I get it. Both of you guys are awesome!!!

[@MrAletube]

all these people talking and speculating about Soldano retirement,if out of 100 keyboard pushers just one would buy a Soldano amp maybe he should reconsider his position.

[@bdctube]

I'd sure like to know what the fuck is going on with Bad Cat...... They put up all kinds of great product but tell you nothing about themselves. Does John Thompson still own it in 2024> I've seen videos with the guy I believe is German, who is their new designer I believe. I'd sure like more Bad Cat on tone talk....... I really think it's great guys like Dave Friedman and Steven Fryette do these shows and let us inside a little bit......I watch these shows constantly....Appreciate you guys

[@pauldeatherage6112]

How bout nameing one of your amps old couger

[@jupitermoongauge4055]

I'm sure Dave knows that the 6 way rotary gradual bass reduction/store to stage switch exists on Matamp amps built in the UK.

[@mrmatthew2443]

Which two Friedman amps a PC board..?

[@tone-talk]

The Runt series is PCB

[@Robstafarian]

The Runt and the Dirty Shirley Mini have PCB construction.

[@stevesuv]

John? What about Walter Becker?

[@MrAletube]

Wannabe endorsers... that's the trend now...hey, I'm big on the business, you should give me stuff (for free), I hope to live long enough to see these "influencers" get a real job and try to make a living with their sweat

[@MrAletube]

King of tone is kind of a Marshall blues breaker,so what

[@joeyvanostrand3655]

Peavey 5150 2x12 combo. Pre-7, L-3, M-10, H-6, Res-10, Pres-9. Sweetest, crunchiest, most searing tone ever.

[@Bamabluesboy]

2:25:58..... a Firebird is neck through

[@19581998]

It’s May Suh not Mezza

[@tone-talk]

D C thanks for the lesson. I know. I say it how I say it...not changing now

[@19581998]

okay - well, that would be like someone intentionally mispronouncing your last name or Dave's last name. I think it's important. Love your show regardless.

[@tone-talk]

People say my last name wrong all the time :)

[@maxvockner]

Bass pedal content🎉😂

[@MrSimondaniel3]

Marc im pretty sure the King of Tone is a tweaked clone anyway. almost positive.

[@MrSimondaniel3]

oh yea theres already a comment. Marshall bluesbreaker.

[@jimmyrhoades650]

years late binging all these, not a huge huge gnr fan but cmon john, slash isn’t regonizable? what. maybe you can make the arguement sound wise, although i only know one other jubilee player and jubilees don’t sound like jcm800’s or any other marshall. but is phrasing is extremely unique, one of the most recognizable and like i said i’m not a really huge gnr or slash fanboy. maybe slash a little bit but i don’t really listen to his music a lot.

[@jupitermoongauge4055]

Yep, John is right, Slash is way overrated.