Suhr Badger
- Thread starter Rainmaker
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FAC
New member
Re: Suhr Badger
This is NOT a comprehensive review, and I do not own one (yet...?), but I can give you some feedback.
I played one in a shop the other day into a 4x12 cabinet. I was in a tiny room, so there were some weird low mid resonances going on...but, I was really impressed a the time. I was not really able to put it through its paces or truly crank it up, but I did like it. Perhaps even "a lot". I was particularly impressed by the gain situation...it could be really clean, then into touch-sensitive territory with mild gain, great Zep-style mid level gain (I might purchase one just for this, if I can swing the $$$...it is not cheap...), and it had a lot more gain beyond that (more than I usually use...perhaps approaching metal territory, but not quite there...not sure). The cleans reminded me of something like a TopHat Club Royale, which shares the same power tubes but a totally different tone stack. I think I liked it quite a bit more than my Carr Mercury, to be honest, which I think is a great amp.
I suspect you're interested in the power scaling feature...well, I was impressed, keeping in mind I was not really able to totally crank it first and then back the volume off with the scaling feature...more like I got it pretty loud and then backed it off. I was surprised by the nice power-ampish distortion at relatively low volumes (minus anything stressed speakers might bring to the table, of course). It seemed much better than a traditional master volume/preamp gain situation. Is it better than an attenuator...my 30 min on the amp would say "yes" (I own, and use, a Hotplate, so I am familiar with attenuators). I'm putting a lot of caveats in here because this was not the best demo situation in the world and I only got to play with it for ~30 min.
Am I G.A.S.-ing for one...yep. I am not in a position to run out an buy one, so do I want to sell my Mercury to get the Badger...not sure yet. I would also appreciate hearing from someone that owns one...
Does anyone know...is it pronounced like Shure or Sir (or something else)?
Hope this helps.
Edit: I was using my 3 pickup les paul custom with two phatcats and a pearly gates (bridge)
This is NOT a comprehensive review, and I do not own one (yet...?), but I can give you some feedback.
I played one in a shop the other day into a 4x12 cabinet. I was in a tiny room, so there were some weird low mid resonances going on...but, I was really impressed a the time. I was not really able to put it through its paces or truly crank it up, but I did like it. Perhaps even "a lot". I was particularly impressed by the gain situation...it could be really clean, then into touch-sensitive territory with mild gain, great Zep-style mid level gain (I might purchase one just for this, if I can swing the $$$...it is not cheap...), and it had a lot more gain beyond that (more than I usually use...perhaps approaching metal territory, but not quite there...not sure). The cleans reminded me of something like a TopHat Club Royale, which shares the same power tubes but a totally different tone stack. I think I liked it quite a bit more than my Carr Mercury, to be honest, which I think is a great amp.
I suspect you're interested in the power scaling feature...well, I was impressed, keeping in mind I was not really able to totally crank it first and then back the volume off with the scaling feature...more like I got it pretty loud and then backed it off. I was surprised by the nice power-ampish distortion at relatively low volumes (minus anything stressed speakers might bring to the table, of course). It seemed much better than a traditional master volume/preamp gain situation. Is it better than an attenuator...my 30 min on the amp would say "yes" (I own, and use, a Hotplate, so I am familiar with attenuators). I'm putting a lot of caveats in here because this was not the best demo situation in the world and I only got to play with it for ~30 min.
Am I G.A.S.-ing for one...yep. I am not in a position to run out an buy one, so do I want to sell my Mercury to get the Badger...not sure yet. I would also appreciate hearing from someone that owns one...
Does anyone know...is it pronounced like Shure or Sir (or something else)?
Hope this helps.
Edit: I was using my 3 pickup les paul custom with two phatcats and a pearly gates (bridge)
Last edited:
FAC
New member
Re: Suhr Badger
Yes, the Mercury IS great...hence my hesitation, since I probably cannot have both right now, and I do not take flipping amps (or any guitar related gear) lightly... The Merc has a boost function that works primarily by bypassing the tone stack, so it is not like adding a clean boost or something, it works differently...in my situation, I like the gain on the boost 1 position better than without the boost...but I find that a lot of low end leaves the scene when I engage the boost, and it gets a bit harsh sometimes (perhaps this would be remedied by an eq pedal of some sorts, but I'm not a fan of EQ pedals...maybe a new speaker...not sure if I want to keep it and experiment or go for something new).
Yes, the Mercury IS great...hence my hesitation, since I probably cannot have both right now, and I do not take flipping amps (or any guitar related gear) lightly... The Merc has a boost function that works primarily by bypassing the tone stack, so it is not like adding a clean boost or something, it works differently...in my situation, I like the gain on the boost 1 position better than without the boost...but I find that a lot of low end leaves the scene when I engage the boost, and it gets a bit harsh sometimes (perhaps this would be remedied by an eq pedal of some sorts, but I'm not a fan of EQ pedals...maybe a new speaker...not sure if I want to keep it and experiment or go for something new).
Re: Suhr Badger
i think the boost changes bypass caps, i played one of them for a while and i really liked it for a low wattage amp. tony bruno went thru it and put an el34 in, really nice amp if you dont need lots of volume or clean headroom. i think i liked the boost 2 position the best, seemed like it had a little more mids. i dont think you actually loose any low end i think the other frequencies are boosted more so it seems like there is less bottom. i used it mostly with a band on the 8w setting and i never noticed a lack of low end. maybe in isolation i would have noticed it more.
i think the boost changes bypass caps, i played one of them for a while and i really liked it for a low wattage amp. tony bruno went thru it and put an el34 in, really nice amp if you dont need lots of volume or clean headroom. i think i liked the boost 2 position the best, seemed like it had a little more mids. i dont think you actually loose any low end i think the other frequencies are boosted more so it seems like there is less bottom. i used it mostly with a band on the 8w setting and i never noticed a lack of low end. maybe in isolation i would have noticed it more.
FAC
New member
Re: Suhr Badger
Not to highjack the Badger thread with Carr talk, but...I will critically listen next time to see if I can tell if low end is going away, or if mids are just being boosted causing an apparent loss of low end (I'm on the road now so it will need to wait until next week). If I had to bet, I would say it's probably a bit of both (mids boosted and some low end loss)...I do think some low end is going away. Perhaps I will take it into the shop and demo it against a new Mercury to see if something is up with it.
Not to highjack the Badger thread with Carr talk, but...I will critically listen next time to see if I can tell if low end is going away, or if mids are just being boosted causing an apparent loss of low end (I'm on the road now so it will need to wait until next week). If I had to bet, I would say it's probably a bit of both (mids boosted and some low end loss)...I do think some low end is going away. Perhaps I will take it into the shop and demo it against a new Mercury to see if something is up with it.
StrangeSound
GlossesForNothin'
Hot _Grits
Buttery Toneologist
Re: Suhr Badger
Mojosound in Wellington, NZ are Suhr dealers, and sell Suhr and Carr into Australia as well. I talked to them about the Badger a couple of months ago, and I think they said they had one on order. Either way, I'm sure they'll be happy to get one for you. I ordered my Vic Double Deluxe from them and the service was top notch.
Give them a call or email, and tell 'em Martin from The Hot Grits sent you.
http://www.mojosound.co.nz/index.htm
Personally, I'd rather go for a 65 London or Soho and get the $200 powerscaling kit installed aftermarket, though...
You read my mind, FAC! Thanks a bunch!
I gotta.. somehow.. find my way to a Suhr Badger in my parts of Australia.
Mojosound in Wellington, NZ are Suhr dealers, and sell Suhr and Carr into Australia as well. I talked to them about the Badger a couple of months ago, and I think they said they had one on order. Either way, I'm sure they'll be happy to get one for you. I ordered my Vic Double Deluxe from them and the service was top notch.
Give them a call or email, and tell 'em Martin from The Hot Grits sent you.
http://www.mojosound.co.nz/index.htm
Personally, I'd rather go for a 65 London or Soho and get the $200 powerscaling kit installed aftermarket, though...
