The Interstellar Tone Traveler has a particular reverence for the amplifiers that Southern California's boutique builders have spent decades perfecting — and Bad Cat's Cub V is one of the circuit designs that earned that reverence. This example marks a genuine milestone: for the first time, the Cub V has been built in Black Heidi with Black Diamond grille cloth, and the result is an amp that arrives looking exactly as serious as it sounds. The all-black presentation commands attention from every angle, and the iconic backlit Bad Cat eyes piercing through the darkness read like a signal beacon from deep space — an amp that doesn't announce itself loudly with color but doesn't need to. Hand-wired point-to-point by Bad Cat's engineering team with a custom transformer set by Pacific Transformers, this is a flagship-grade instrument carrying the DNA of some of the most celebrated vintage British amplifier circuits while delivering the reliability and build quality that working players demand. Marine Grade Baltic Birch cabinet construction, aluminum chassis, convection cooling, and a 5AR4 tube rectifier round out the architecture of a handbuilt amplifier that treats every component decision as consequential — and this particular build treats the finish the same way.

The Cub V's most distinctive feature is its switchable preamp architecture: a single-channel design that lets you toggle between an EF86 preamp tube and a 12AX7, delivering two fundamentally different tonal personalities from one circuit. The EF86 mode is bold, harmonically dense, and dynamically alive — the kind of touch-sensitive British tube character that players spend careers searching for. The 12AX7 mode shifts to a more versatile, chimey responsiveness that handles everything from pristine cleans to crunch with equal authority. Both modes share an all-tube spring reverb that enhances rather than overwhelms, and dual switchable Master Volumes give you complete control over performance level independent of gain structure — a genuinely useful feature for players who need the same tone at different volumes. Two EL34 power tubes deliver 40 watts of punch, presence, and headroom through a tube-buffered series effects loop and switchable 4/8/16 ohm outputs. The matched 1x12 cabinet — loaded with a UK-made Celestion Bad Cat Custom speaker in a semi-open back Voidless Marine Grade Baltic Birch enclosure — completes a rig built from the ground up to launch your signal with authority and land it with character. Slip cover included.

Power Tube Type: 2x EL-34
Power Amp Details: 40 Watts Handwired Point to Point, Custom Bad Cat Transformer Set by Pacific Transformers
Preamp Tubes: 5x 12AX7 & 1x EF86
Switchable: Preamp section is Switchable 12AX7/EF86, Dual Master Volumes are Switchable
Rectifier Type: 1 x 5AR4
Fan Cooled: Convection Cooled 
Effects Loop: Tube-Buffered (Series) 
Speaker Outputs: 4,8,16 Ohm Switch for Speaker Outputs
Foot Switchable Functions: Channel, Combine
Chassis Material: Aluminum
Cabinet Material: Marine Grade Baltic Birch
Dimensions: 10.5" H x 20.75" W x 10.25" D
Weight: 46.4Lbs
Accessories: Slip cover Included

Handwired Era 1x12 Cabinet

Speakers: UK Made Celestion Bad Cat Custom Speaker
Power Handling: 60 Watts
Back: Semi-Open Back
Cabinet Material: Voidless Marine Grade Baltic Birch
Dimensions: 19" H x 23.75" W x 10.25" D
Weight: 46.4Lbs
Finish: Black Heidi w/Black Diamond Grille