Badlander 50W Combo Tones

If anyone is interested in hearing some live Badlander 50W tones check out @Doug Doppler latest stream at the link below. Instead of often post processed YT vids I find this to be a realistic presentation of a kick azz amp. I also liked that Greenback in the combo which isn't a typical Mesa speaker choice but it sounds very cool.

Doug's Badlander Tones

Folks I humbly retract the errant Greenback claim... it is actually a Creamback 65 they put in the BAD combo. My sincere apologies. Still sounds great though

Interested in More BAD??

Tuned in again this week for @Doug Doppler stream hoping he'd be using that Badlander 50W combo. He did not disappoint. For those who like a GGDD aka Gear Geek Deep Dive Doug starts into the BAD details ~19:45 and it's dialed in even better then the previous week. Straight in with some delay and reverb using the Recto Std 4x12 IR.

Second Hang with Dopplers Badlander

Full disclosure here I'm a shameless BAD fanboy. While it doesn't have a lot of features compared to other Mesas, IMHO it has the two most important ones... tone and it's effortless to play.

I love my Badlander 50. Like it way better than my 2008 Dual Recto Solo that I had briefly. Still need to try a multi watt.

sloanthebone said:

I love my Badlander 50. Like it way better than my 2008 Dual Recto Solo that I had briefly. Still need to try a multi watt.

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In my last round of amp GAS it came down to either a TC or a Badlander. Even though I know it's a cool amp... don't think much about the TC anymore.

rarebitusa said:

Folks I humbly retract the errant Greenback claim... it is actually a Creamback 65 they put in the BAD combo. My sincere apologies. Still sounds great though

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I mean its based on a greenback with more power so you aint wrong

rarebitusa said:

Interested in More BAD??

Tuned in again this week for @Doug Doppler stream hoping he'd be using that Badlander 50W combo. He did not disappoint. For those who like a GGDD aka Gear Geek Deep Dive Doug starts into the BAD details ~19:45 and it's dialed in even better then the previous week. Straight in with some delay and reverb using the Recto Std 4x12 IR.

Second Hang with Dopplers Badlander

Full disclosure here I'm a shameless BAD fanboy. While it doesn't have a lot of features compared to other Mesas, IMHO it has the two most important ones... tone and it's effortless to play.

Click to expand...

Well I knew I had a SERIOUS Boogie fanatic in the house, but I wish you'd said hi @rarebitusa! Grabbing a SECOND Combo today, MORE to come. MANY thanks for coming by and for sharing the love. I've been crazy busy and have been a bit of a ghost 'here' not by design. #BoogieLove THANKS, again ~ Doug

Doug Doppler said:

Well I knew I had a SERIOUS Boogie fanatic in the house, but I wish you'd said hi @rarebitusa! Grabbing a SECOND Combo today, MORE to come. MANY thanks for coming by and for sharing the love. I've been crazy busy and have been a bit of a ghost 'here' not by design. #BoogieLove THANKS, again ~ Doug

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Man I missed the live stream Sat but caught the vid later, you are getting some serious tones out of the Badlander in the live setting. Straight in. At ~7:10 you showcase briefly the dynamics it has, there's something about the "feel" of it that sets it apart.

Also the cat is out of the bag @51:30... The Rigs Course!!

More Badlander Tones

btw rarebitusa does lurks around as Albert Rock On

rarebitusa said:

Man I missed the live stream Sat but caught the vid later, you are getting some serious tones out of the Badlander in the live setting. Straight in. At ~7:10 you showcase briefly the dynamics it has, there's something about the "feel" of it that sets it apart.

Also the cat is out of the bag @51:30... The Rigs Course!!

More Badlander Tones

btw rarebitusa does lurks around as Albert Rock On

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@rarebitusa (aka Albert the lurker) - MUCH appreciated. And TOTALLY agreed, THIS amp has become THE amp for me.

So, I'm curious... I had a BAD 25W combo (Creamback) for a while but never bonded with it. I have always really liked the BAD tones I've heard online. Doug or anyone, have you had a chance to go head to head with the BAD 25W and 50W and if so, are there major differences in tone and response?

mace said:

So, I'm curious... I had a BAD 25W combo (Creamback) for a while but never bonded with it. I have always really liked the BAD tones I've heard online. Doug or anyone, have you had a chance to go head to head with the BAD 25W and 50W and if so, are there major differences in tone and response?

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Hey @mace! So, short answer is that I have not... but, having spent a BUNCH of time with my Mark V 25 (EL84s like the BAD 25) I was and am SHOCKED at what a vicious beast that little amp is. I did a short run of shows last summer with that, a CabClone IR, Fractal FM9, and a Seymour Duncan PowerStage 700 inti a straight oversized Recto 4x12 cab running in stereo and it was just BRUTAL. Since then I've actually run out of just the loop into a Line 6 HX Stomp, into a PowerStage 100 Stereo, and out into a pair of V30 loaded cabs, and again it was brutal...

Although I have yet to play the BAD 25, per my experience with the Mark V 25 - MY GUESS - is that the pre-amp magic in the circuit and combination with the whoop@ss these guys know how to make happen with EL84s means I am probably gonna love that amp...

FYI, that Mark V 25 IS my fly rig - literally roll it on the plane in a carry on suitcase and stow it in the overhead bin...

Per the Badlander 50. I picked up a second one today. Had a couple of lovely moments to hang out with Doug West and share our love of this amazing amp. The far, I have used almost exclusively direct with the speaker off. The magic is being able to drive the gain (pre-amp) and/or the master (power amp) and use the Presence a LOT hotter for dirty tones than I normally would. It's heavy, but what I LOVE most about it is how easily it shifts from a great Classic Rock crunch tone into great lead tones without having to touch a thing. Kind of a unicorn like that. I'll be doing some proper demos sooner than later. The clean and heavy Blues tones are NUTS. And the Pentode/Triode 50/20 Watt selector adds some other layers as well. I've only used position #1 (oversized slanted recto) on both channels' CCIR setting as that's my favorite cab and it sounds AMAZING - even the jangly stuff and heavy blues...

Now that I have two my key goal is to blend them for dual mono, one pass double tracking where the sum of the parts of the amps set a bit differently is gonna create a level of continuity and additional dimension. I'll drop some clips soonish...

Hope that's a help. LOVE THIS AMP!!!

This got me a bit curious... so with a poor mans configuration I slaved my LSS el84 power section to the Badlander 50W el34s preamp. There certainly is a difference, with the el84s you get a bit more upper mids, chimmy top end and a bit more give. The el34s have more of the lower mids and bottom end, more scooped, a bit stiffer. However I didn't tweak any EQ to compensate, plus the LSS had a V30+MC90 Recto cab vs the 1x12 Scumback M-75 in the Badlander's cab. Not apples to apples but there was a difference. Have to say I liked what I heard with the el84s. I wouldn't hesitate to check it out.

Doug Doppler said:

these guys know how to make happen with EL84s means I am probably gonna love that amp...

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I'd agree. There's certainly a better matching of the power/preamp in the BAD 25 vs the test I just did. Also didn't have a chance to crank it fully.

I'd also expect that the CabClone would allow one additional options to quickly tweak the tone further. The Badlander is an amazing amp.