Bad Cat BOBCAT 5 Operating Manual

Congratulations and thank you for 

purchasing a professional tube ampli-

fi er from Bad Cat. As with all Bad Cat 

products, your amplifi er is designed from 

the ground up to provide the very best 

tones possible in a rugged, reliable pack-

age. Each one of our pro quality models is 

constructed with Bad Cat’s commitment 

to making the highest quality, hand-built, 

American-made amplifi ers.

CAUTION

With a little care and caution, your Bad 

Cat amplifi er 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 sup-

posed 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 fl oating 

grounds. Please do not cut or defeat the 

ground tip. 

FOR YOUR RECORDS, YOU MAY WISH TO RECORD THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION.

SERIAL NO._____________________ INVOICE DATE______________________

Last updated: April 1st 2015

LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY

Bad Cat Amplifi ers warrantees our amps and cabs against workmanship or defect for 

life. The warrantee does not cover tubes or cosmetic damage, or wear and tear or abuse.

This warrantee is transferable. Lifetime transferable warranty is only for North American 

sales. Please see your local dealer and distributor for warranty information. Modifying or 

altering the amp in any way voids the warrantee. Shipping to and from the warranty repair 

center is the responsibility of the customer.

We have a new Lifetime Warranty on all new amps leaving the factory. We are extending 

the Lifetime Warranty to all of our pre acquisition amps for $249. Simply send the unit 

back to us and we will have one our technicians go through it from the ground up. And to 

top it all off, we will pay for the shipping back to you. For more information please contact 

us at sales@badcatamps.com or directly at 800-730-0966. 

When RETURNING merchandise to the factory, you must call for a return authorization 

number.

HELP SECTION

1) AMP WILL NOT TURN ON

  Check the power to the amp. Check for tripped circuit breakers, unplugged extension 

cords or power-strip switches that may be turned off. Check the fuse. If a dark brownish 

color or no wire can be seen within the glass tube, then replace. The amp may be perfectly 

fi ne but occasionally a fuse may blow because of high AC voltage surges. After the fuse 

has been replaced with the proper Slow Blow value and if the fuse fails again, the amp 

will require servicing.

2) NO OUTPUT with POWER light ON

  Tubes damaged in shipping will be the primary reason for your amp to not function 

properly. Please give us a call to help guide you through this simple repair.

3) KEEP YOUR AMP LOOKING NEW

  Use a damp cloth to wipe the controls on the front & rear chassis panels. Wipe the black 

vinyl covering with a damp cloth.

IMPORTANT!

FOR YOUR PROTECTION, PLEASE READ 

THE FOLLOWING:

WATER AND MOISTURE: Appliance should 

not be used near water (near a bathtub, 

washbowl, kitchen sink, laundry tub, in a 

wet basement, or near a swimming pool, 

etc). Care should be taken so that objects

do not fall and liquids are not spilled into 

the enclosure through openings.

POWER SOURCES: The appliance should 

be connected to a power supply only of 

the type described in the operating in-

structions or as marked on the unit.

GROUNDING OR POLARIZATION: Precau-

tions should be taken so that the ground-

ing or polarization means of an appliance 

is not defeated.

POWER CORD PROTECTION: Power sup-

ply cords should be routed so that they 

are not likely to be walked on or pinched 

by items placed upon or against them, 

paying particular attention to cords at 

plugs, convenience receptacles, and the 

point where they exit from the appliance.

SERVICING: The user should not attempt 

to service the unit beyond that described 

in the operating instructions. All other 

servicing should be referred to qualifi ed 

service personnel.

FUSING: If your unit is equipped with a 

fuse receptacle, replace only with the 

same type fuse. Refer to replacement 

text on the unit for correct fuse type. 

          This symbol is intended to alert 

     the 

user 

to 

the 

presence 

of 

     uninsulated 

“dangerous 

voltage” within the product’s enclosure that 

may be of suffi cient 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.

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL!

THIS UNIT CONTAINS HIGH VOLTAGE INSIDE!

PHONE 800.730.0966

FAX 714.630.0106  

INFO@BADCATAMPS.COM

WWW.BADCATAMPS.COM

140 Technology Drive Suite 500, Irvine CA 92618

BAD CAT HOLDINGS LLC. USA

TROUBLESHOOTING 

(continued)

be connected to your amplifi er such as effects pedals or rack pro-

cessors. Some of these devices are “amplifi ers” 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 amplifi er. 

Avoid handling hot tubes as they can cause severe burns

. 

Check the larger output power tubes fi rst 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 fi laments 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 fi x 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 amplifi er.

You should also check the preamp tubes, especially the fi rst input 

stage tube (far right if you’re looking at the amp from the back). 

Microphonics (feedback noise that cannot be controlled by turn-

ing 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 fi x 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 stur-

dily 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. 

Operating Manual

 BOBCAT 

5

  SINGLE CHANNEL, 5 WATT, 6V6 CLASS A

Introducing the fi rst of its kind. 

If you have ever experienced the pleasure of playing a really fi ne vintage single-ended all tube am-

plifi er then you’ll know the feeling. Touch sensitivity, sweet breakup and natural sounding compres-

sion. It changes the way you play – inspiring and pushing you as a player.

We’d like to introduce our newest cat the Bobcat. Hand-wired, single-ended, touch sensitive, fero-

cious and ultra light weight amplifi er.

High and low gain settings allow for spanky clean and snarling tones accessible by the included foot 

switch or front panel switch.

ELECTRONICS

Power: 

5 Watt Class A

Channels: 

1

Controls: 

Rip Switch, Gain, Tone, Reverb, Master

HARDWARE

Available Confi guration: 

1x12 Combo

Cabinet Material: 

Baltic Birch

Speaker Description: 

12” Proprietary Bad Cat Celestion Speaker

Impedance: 

8 ohms 

Power Tubes: 

1 - 6V6 

Pre-Amp Tube

: 1 - 6SL7

Rectifi er Tube

: Solid State

Shown as 1x12 Combo in Black Tolex and Dark Gold Grill Cloth