Scott Henderson Discussion

[AlexThanos]

Hi Scott hope you're well. Back for more questions

So im in the middle of a dilemma between keeping my DSL100 or a Badger 35. I noticed more and more players are turning to DSL100s from Joe Bonamassa to even Michael Angelo Batio. Suhr Badger 35s became available in Singapore and i tried it yesterday (finally). Now, im super happy with my DSL100 but just for the heck of it im wondering whether changing to a Suhr Badger 35 is an upgrade or not.

Ive just moved to Singapore from Indonesia and live in an apartment so was just considering the power attenuator feature on the Badger. That being said i also came across a Badcat Unleash yesterday that would do the same without spending as much as getting the Badger. Ultimately it comes down to tone though for me. I dont hv much experience with the Badger 35 yet so which one would you stick with? and would you consider the Badcat Unleash as attenuator or just simply turn the amp down and use a drive pedal to use in the apartment ?

Another issue is i might be needed to play more 'chimey jangly' tones in the future...but i dont want to sacrifice the raw rock blues tone of the DSLs which is pretty much the 'Henderson Tone' that i dont want to lose.

Given those circumstances, which would you recommend and why?

Oh and the Badger would require me to sell my DSL and add another 1600USD which is the price of another 2 used DSLs...

Appreciate your input and thx again Scott!

[Scott Henderson]

I hate to say this but you're definitely going to sacrifice something, since the Badger and DSL are so completely different from each other. I've had pretty good luck EQ'ing some Badger tracks to sound more like a Marshall, but you need a quality EQ to make it work. If you sell your DSL, you should make a recording of it so you can try to EQ the Badger to copy that sound if you need it.

I don't know much about Bad Cat gear, except for trying a few of their amps which I didn't like. The Badger has power scaling which works really well so you don't need an attenuator with it. I've recorded some great tones with the Badger at television volume. The only problem with recording so quiet is that dogs barking and car horns can get into your tracks!

[AlexThanos]

Hey Scott! Ok....so ultimately in the end you would still try to get the Badger to sound like a Marshall and not the other way around right? In that case sticking with a DSL should be the better solution in my case?

Are the 35 watt Badgers suitable for live gigs? Say you're playing in a huge auditorium and they hv the heads and cabs isolated and mic'd in an iso box off the stage, would it sound as good as a DSL?

If the DSL still has the upper edge tonewise then it doesnt justify spending another 200 percent of the price just to shave a few pounds lugging it right?

Btw, my less than 2 yr old daughter recognizes you now. 1st thing she turned on in the morning on my ipod is you playing in Jakarta when i recorded you on stage lol. Then when we ask her out of all the Suhr posters in the music shop which one is 'uncle Scott' she points at u with total conviction. Not sure whether its cos u really left a good impression on her or cos her daddy watches u too often

[Scott Henderson]

It's hard to answer your question because I don't know what style of music you're playing. It's not fair to say one is better than the other because they're so different sounding. The Badger is loud enough for a gig, but it's class A and has that chimey blues sound - not good at all for fat high notes and getting a horn-like fusion sound. I was using an EQ to make the Badger sound like a Marshall because I needed that fusion tone but could only record late at night and couldn't use the Marshall. My 18 watt Badger can record at a very low volume and get the job done. After the EQ it still doesn't sound like a Marshall, but it's closer. That being said, you can get a blues tone from a Marshall by turning down the mids, but it won't have the sweet high end that a class A amp does. You'll have to decide on which amp by whatever style of music you play the most.

Give your daughter a big hug from me! Hope you're digging Singapore!