Bad Cat Mod Shop Cub 15: Re-imagining a Boutique Classic
1999 Sampson-inspired tone available in head or combo formats
5,0 / 5,0 | 
The new Bad Cat Mod Shop Cub 15 is a boutique 15-watt British-style tube amp, available as a head or combo. If you love great tone, then these cats have you covered. Expect classic Mark Sampson-era tube tones from this latest release.
Contents – Bad Cat Mod Shop Cub 15
Mod Shop Cub 15
The Mod Shop Cub 15 is powered by two EL84 power tubes and three 12AX7 preamp tubes. Bad Cat has designed this amp to capture their classic 1999 Cub-inspired midrange voicing, and it has that touch sensitivity that guitarists love. With 15 watts of power, it has more than enough oomph to deliver rich cleans and great drive tones.
It is a single-channel amp with a footswitchable overdrive gain stage and has a built-in digital reverb.
Boutique Quality
I’m a big fan of Bad Cat amps and have owned a few over the years, and I always expect great quality from this American-built brand. These latest models feature custom hand-wound Bad Cat transformers and come in a rock-solid Baltic birch cabinet. They are sturdy amps and built to last a lifetime.
This new model is available as either an amp head or as a combo, which comes fitted with a single 12″ Celestion Greenback speaker.
Controls
They have controls for Reverb, Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, and a Global Presence control, along with Master 1 and Master 2 volume controls (which you can switch between using the footswitch) and a Clean/Dirty switch, which does what it says.
As an added bonus, they also come with a buffered FX loop and a Line Out, so even this relatively simple, single-channel amp is nice and flexible. The speaker outputs include 4-, 8-, and 16-ohm options.
For a single-channel tube amp, it has all you really need for classic guitar tones, and no added fluff.
Don’t be fooled by the 15-watt power rating; these kitties can get loud if needed, and, of course, they can play nice at home and at studio volume levels too.
Verdict
I’m completely biased, as I really love Bad Cat amps anyway, so these are right up my street. I would suggest you check out the demo video and see if you like the tones they have on offer. For me, this is a great boutique amp, and I get the feeling that many guitarists will love the way it sounds.
Price & Availability
The Bad Cat Mod Shop Cub 15 is available at Thomann in both head and combo formats, priced at £1977/€2299 and £2140/€2499 each.
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