Bad Cat Cub V EL34 vs Magnatone Super Fifty-Nine M-80 Head
The Bad Cat Cub V EL34 and the Magnatone Super Fifty-Nine M-80 Head are both amplifiers sharing dynamic, mid-forward, transparent. The Bad Cat Cub V EL34 leans glassy and harmonically rich. The Magnatone Super Fifty-Nine M-80 Head leans warm.
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Blended from circuit-archetype lineage, dynamic feel, tone-signal overlap and tone-vector distance — the tone vector itself is derived from editorial description text, not a measured acoustic signal, so this reflects how similarly the catalog copy describes the two, not a lab measurement. Shown only within a gear class, and only where there's enough evidence to be meaningful.35% — somewhat different
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Genres both listings are associated with.- Blues
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- dynamic
- mid-forward
- transparent
- edge of breakup
Bad Cat Cub V EL34
Bad Cat · amplifier
Magnatone Super Fifty-Nine M-80 Head
Magnatone · amplifier
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$2350via Reverb
The Bad Cat Cub V EL34 is a 40-watt point-to-point hand-wired guitar amplifier using two EL34 power tubes, delivering the chimey Vox-lineage character of the Cub V with more punch and midrange authority than the EL84 version. The EL34 power section provides a slightly more British-influenced breakup character and greater stage headroom, while the switchable EF86/12AX7 preamp tube and tube-driven spring reverb expand the tonal range from pristine clean to harmonically rich overdrive. It suits players who want the Cub's expressive touch response and chimey personality at volumes where the 15-watt EL84 version runs short.
The Magnatone Super Fifty-Nine M-80 is a 45-watt head, the higher-powered end of the modern Magnatone range and considerably louder than the Super Fifteen models. The M-80 designation marks a variant within the Super Fifty-Nine family. At 45 watts it has real clean headroom and needs volume before the output section contributes, placing it as a stage amp rather than a studio one. Magnatone's identity rests on the pitch-shifting vibrato it patented in the 1950s, a true pitch-varying circuit rather than amplitude tremolo. It suits players needing Magnatone character at band volume.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Indie Rock
- Country
- Rock
- glassy
- harmonically rich
- bright
- warm
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Occasions this gear suits — judged per model, or derived from its wattage, connectivity and category.- Live
- Studio
- Live
- Studio