The Cub has been the cornerstone of the Bad Cat lineup since the company's founding in 1999. Originally designed by Mark Sampson, it draws from the DNA of classic 15-watt British amps of the '60s -but with more muscle. This circuit became the hallmark of the “Bad Cat Sound” and remains John Thompson's personal favorite to this day. John has always wanted a true "grab and go" Bad Cat. The new Mod Shop Cub 15 answers that call with a smaller footprint, revoiced mids and a tighter bottom end; a design that honors the spirit of the original 1999 Cub while still delivering the modern features players have been asking for most.
The Mod Shop Cub 15 is a highly touch sensitive and harmonically rich single-channel amplifier. That means it lives and breathes with your playing dynamics: pick lightly and it whispers, dig in and it sings. There is plenty of headroom for the most demanding pedalboards and more than enough gain for the players who prefer a minimal rig. This amp responds remarkably well to all of the different types of pickups in your collection. Not only can you scrutinize the differences between a Strat and a Les Paul, but you’ll be able to hear every nuance that makes one Les Paul different from the next.
Plug a single-coil guitar into the clean channel in Lo mode and the amp delivers glassy, American-style cleans you’ve heard on records for decades. Switch to Hi mode and a Telecaster pushes it into Paisley-style country lead tones—bouncy, articulate, and full of bite. Swap the Tele for a Les Paul, leave the settings alone, and the sound shifts into mid-forward, percussive classic rock territory—the kind of punchy rhythm tone you’d expect from an AC/DC record.
