Bad Cat LYNX 50 - Guitar Amplifier Manual

With a little care and caution, your Bad Cat amplifier should provide you with years of trouble-free operation and enjoyment. Please avoid damp areas and moisture during operation of the amp and in storage. This includes placement of beverages near or on the amp that could spill into the amp's chassis. Liquids can easily damage tubes, switches and other parts. Immediately disconnect the amp from power source should a spill occur and dry the amp thoroughly prior to switching on the amp again. Drying may require the complete removal of the chassis from the cabinet and the removal of the tubes for cleaning. Avoid tipping the amp, using it in unbalanced positions, or lifting it unassisted to awkward heights. A little common sense will go a long way in making sure the amp does what it's supposed to do: provide you with dependable operation and great tone on a consistent basis.

GROUNDING

Please check thoroughly that the ground tip on the power cord plug is connected to true ground prior to operation of your Bad Cat amp. Using unfamiliar junction boxes can cause potentially dangerous floating grounds. Please do not cut or defeat the ground tip.

INTRODUCTION

Huge and full, but with a note articulation not found at these levels of gain. Saturation and tone is so full that the single notes are fat. Chords are deep and full because we run the power section in Class A to get your harmonics soaring in and out of chords and single notes at will. There is a complexity and three-dimensional quality to the sound of this amp that separates it from any other high gain amp.

The clean channel on the Lynx is much more than an afterthought. Running in Class A brings out all of the shimmer in the highs and ghost harmonics in a clean chording passage.

ELECTRONICS
Power: 50/30-Watt Class A
Channels: 2
Channel 1: Volume, Tone, Presence
Channel 2: Gain, Edge, Bass, Mid, Mid Boost, Treble, Presence, Master

HARDWARE
Available Configuration: Head
Cabinet Material: Italian Poplar
Speaker Description: 12" Proprietary Bad Cat Celestion Speaker
Impedance: Selectable 4, 8, 16 ohms
Power Tubes: 2 - EL34s
Pre-Amp Tube Channel 1: 1 - 12AX7
Pre-Amp Tubes Channel 2: 3 - 12AX7s
Rectifier: Solid State

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 transistors, 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 preventing 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 condition 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 performance, 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 sensitive 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 destructive arcing; the transformer and the tubes may actually burn themselves out. This is not covered by our warranty.
   With proper impedance matching, multiple speaker configurations 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 cannot 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 power tubes are best replaced as a matched full set whenever any of them fail.

The Lynx is a Class A amp capable of modern high-gain sounds, vintage rock tones, bluesy break-up and lush clean sounds all of which feature the distinct Bad Cat sound signature.

Bad Cat's unique Channel Switching with Channel Blending

The two button footswitch allows for selection of Channel 1 or Channel 2; or additionally you can select both channels to get the channel blending tone in which both channels are on simultaneously.

The LED to the left indicates Ch. 1. The LED tot he right indicates Ch. 2.

FRONT PANEL

Channel 1

Volume
The first knob on the left when you face the amp's front panel is the volume control for the clean channel. This is the input stage where the preamp tubes first see the guitar signal and goes through the first phase of amplification. Although designated as the clean channel, you can crank up the volume and use the guitar's volume pot and your picking attack to get varying degrees of clean and overdrive sounds.

Tone
This is a 5-position knob used for instant access to your favorite sounds. Turn it counter clockwise for darker, thicker tones. Turning the knob clockwise gives you increasing treble and bite. The 5-position switch gives you a distinct advantage in being able to recreate the tone you want time after time.

Channel 2

Gain
The Gain knob controls the amount of distortion applied to Channel 2. Keeping this knob low gives a bluesy, slightly gritty tone and turning the knob up gives you a more liquid tone with great amounts of sustain. You will notice that the gain on the Lynx is very sensitive to your guitar volume knob adjustments and your picking attack.

Edge
The edge knob is a unique knob that deals with the crispness or definition of your distorted tone. Turning it up adds more highs and mid-highs, giving greater definition or edge; turning it down gives a rounder, darker tone that is perhaps softer in color.

Bass
The Bass EQ knob has been carefully tailored to cover the critical low-end frequencies 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.

Mid
This knob controls the frequencies in the guitar's middle range. If a frequency is too bright to be bass and too deep to be treble, then its mid. Turning this up provides a thicker tone with more weight. Turning it down provides a more scooped tone with more air.

Mid Boost
This is a unique knob that changes both the location of the mid frequency and the amount of the frequency. The nature of this control is such that as you turn it up, you are also gaining some treble frequencies as well. Simply put, with the knob all the way down you are focused on low-mid frequencies as you turn the knob up you are gradually changing to a high-mid frequency and also getting more gain from that high-mid frequency. Turning the knob up has the effect of adding more definition to the tone and turning the knob down has the effect of a darker tone with more depth.

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.

Presence - Channel 1 - 2

The Presence knob is universal to Channel 1 and Channel 2, meaning it is always in the circuit and always affecting the tone. The knob is appropriately named because turning it up gives your tone more brilliance; turning it down gives a more muted and darker tone. This is similar to a presence knob on some other amps.

Master

This knob works for Channel 2 only. The Master controls overall output/loudness of Channel 2.

BACK PANEL

A/C Plug
Plug your amp's power cord in here first, then to the wall.

On/Off Switch
This switch turns the amp on or off. Please make sure that the Standby Switch is in the Standby mode before turning that amp on and off. This will help increase the life of the power tubes.

Standby Switch
Leave this switch off when turning on the amp and let the amp warm up for a full minute before turning this switch on. It's best to let tubes warm up before playing. Also, turn the Standby switch to Standby when you will not be playing for a while (for example, breaks in between sets of your performances, etc.).

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 amplifier in the amplifier in the even of tube failure. If you replace the tubes and the fuse blows again, seek qualified technical help.

Channel Switching Jack
Plug in your amps footswitch here to allow you to switch between channel 1 and 2 and also blend channels. The footswitch must be used to access the channel blend feature.

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.

Solid State/Tube Rectifier Selection
Selecting the solid state rectifier provides you with a more immediate sound where the notes have more pop to them. It's a harder sound with a quicker response.

Selecting the tube rectifier 5U4G or 5AR4 provides a softer sound where the note is a little more 3-dimensional. The attack seems to dip and then bloom. Both rectifiers are capable of providing extremely pleasing tones so experiment should be done to see what suits your individual needs in any particular situation.

1-2 Switch
This is a unique switch that allows you to change from a more vintage style bass response to a more modern style bass response by changing what value bass capacitor is in the circuit. Selecting the up or "1" position gives a bigger, warmer, more modern bass response. Selecting the down or "2" position gives a tighter, more classic bass to the amp's tone.

Lineout
This is a line-level output which can be used directly into a processor or effect unit, thereby making your amp the preamp or tone-shaper of a larger "rack" rig. This can also be used for direct recording, although typically clean sounds work best for this purpose as the distorted sounds tend to suffer from the lack of the positive coloration a speaker brings to a distorted guitar tone.

Speaker Jack
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 4 ohms for 2x12 and is parallel with the extension speaker jack.

On a head, this jack is for connection to your speaker cabinet. Please be sure to select the proper ohms to match your cab.

Speaker Impedance
On a combo this rotary selector knob comes set at 8 ohms for a single 12 or 4 ohms for a 2x12. The selector knob can select between 4, 8 and 16 ohms. Check Ohm's Law if using an additional extension cabinet to select the right ohm setting. Example: 8 ohms + 8 ohms = 4 ohm setting.

On a head, please be sure to select the proper ohms to match your cabinet.

Send and Return Jacks
Connect the output of the send jack to the input of your effects device. Connect the output of your effect and to the Return jack of the loop. The Send can also serve as a Line Out to drive external processors in a wet/dry/wet rig.

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 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.

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 only.

Weak Output Level
Verify the signal output from your instrument first. Check guitar's controls and that the cables are working properly. Also, check any effects pedals that may be connected in 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 "amplifiers" 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 severe 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 damage 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 swapping one or more out to have your amp performing like brand new again.

This symbol is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated "dangerous voltage" within the product's enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.

This symbol is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance.

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
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