BOSS Katana 50

Skip Ellis · #1 07-25-2017, 02:19 PM

Has anyone tried the 'acoustic' setting on one of these with either an M1 type passive or K&K mini pickup? That's the only amp I'd be using for home or very small venues. Anything else, I'd bring out the mics. I've got a 'not yet installed' JJB 330 but am thinking of scrapping that in favor of an M1, especially since Larrivee has a 1/2" hole already so I won't need to do any drilling.

merlin666 · #2 09-04-2017, 10:51 PM

I woukd also like to know this and how it compares to a regular acoustic amp.

chris6120 · #3 09-04-2017, 11:10 PM

Hey Skip & Merlin,

I have a Katana 100. It has less bells and whistles than my Fender Mustang III V2, but I like its more simplified feature set and the modeled sounds are better than the Mustang.

In my humble opinion, the acoustic preset is "just ok". Its cool to have it there, but its more of just one added modeling preset among many others that the amp is more designed around.
I'm playing a shallow depth dreadnaught with a Baggs M80 soundhole pickup.

Overall, the Katana is a great amp. The best modeling amp I've tried so far.
It would definitely get you through an acoustic gig in a pinch, but its not full range and its not gonna hang with a high quality dedicated acoustic amp.

Just my opinion, others may disagree...

Dave L · #4 09-07-2017, 09:29 PM

Calling the Katana "Just Ok" is being very kind.

It flat out sucks.

FrankHudson · #5 09-08-2017, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave L

Calling the Katana "Just Ok" is being very kind.

It flat out sucks.

Can you elaborate on your conclusion?

aknow · #6 09-08-2017, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave L

Calling the Katana "Just Ok" is being very kind.

It flat out sucks.

No it doesn't! I have a Boss Katana 50W head, what a fun amp!

sutherland · #7 09-08-2017, 03:50 PM

I always found the 'acoustic' setting on Boss/Roland amps to be better suited as simulators with electric guitars rather than speaker/amplifier simulation for acoustic guitars.

roylor4 · #8 09-08-2017, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave L

Calling the Katana "Just Ok" is being very kind.

It flat out sucks.

I played one last weekend, that was the exact opposite of my conclusion. Been playing through tubes for 25 years. Selling my last tube amp and buying a Katana.

To be fair, I did not play it with an acoustic, but tried the acoustic setting with an electric. It sounded good in that application. The clean sounds and slightly dirty ones were stellar IMHO.

Oh yeah, what AKNOW said.

YMMV

Petty1818 · #9 09-09-2017, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave L

Calling the Katana "Just Ok" is being very kind.

It flat out sucks.

I love getting all different opinions/perspectives, but this post isn't very helpful. At least provide some reasoning for why you think the Katana sucks. It seems as though you are just trying to get a rise out of people.

I have played a number of high end and production amps and I am fairly picky about tone. IMO, the Katana is a very nice sounding amp and it's inspiring. Maybe not all of the tones are amazing but go over to TGP. I think they are on page 300 or something like that for the Katana thread. It's pretty much all praise for the amp. You seem to be in the minority.

chris6120 · #10 09-09-2017, 01:12 PM

I'll chime back in here and agree with what others have said.

DaveL thinks the katana "sucks", but I think its the best modeling combo amp I've ever played through (short of one of those profiling amps costing 4-5 times as much and requiring a separate full range cabinet). I'm mostly a tube amp guy... believe me, it took me a LONG time to warm up to the idea of modeling gear, but every year that's passed, modeling technology has gotten better and better. I don't gig with the Katana, but I definitely would with no fear whatsoever if I needed to.

If Dave was only commenting on the acoustic setting specifically, then I wouldn't strongly disagree with him, but everything else about the Katana is pretty **** good, especially for the price.

I sold my Fender Mustang III V2 shortly after picking up the Katana. The tones and ease of use with the Katana are clearly better to my ears.

It doesn't have as many bells and whistles as the Mustang (which is a pretty decent modeling amp itself), but I definitely think the tones are better and I actually prefer the simpler feature set and interface on the Katana.

By comparison to a quality acoustic guitar amp, the acoustic preset on the Katana is definitely the least inspiring and seems as though it was an "add on" just to have it there, but all the other basic amp models (clean, dirty, high gain, etc) are quite good and don't sound digital or overly "modeled" to me if its dialed in correctly. I fact, they sound surprising tube like and quite useable.

If you're looking to play an acoustic through it, you're really looking at the wrong amp. I would say definitely buy a dedicated acoustic amp. Boss's new line of "play acoustic" amps actually look and sound pretty **** good. I tried the smaller one at GC at it was a solid amp packed with features.

Overall a VERY flexible platform and big bang for the buck.

The OP asked how the Katana faired as an acoustic platform. I'll say again, not great for that specific purpose alone. It could get you through a gig in a pinch, but it aint gonna become your new favorite acoustic amp platform.

If you play electric as well (which I'm sure many of us do), then I whole heartedly and without reservation would recommend it as a great, portable, and flexible amp. Good for at home and definitely up to the task for gigging as well.

Just my 2 cents. take it for whatever you feel its worth...

BuleriaChk · #11 09-10-2017, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip Ellis

Has anyone tried the 'acoustic' setting on one of these with either an M1 type passive or K&K mini pickup? That's the only amp I'd be using for home or very small venues. Anything else, I'd bring out the mics. I've got a 'not yet installed' JJB 330 but am thinking of scrapping that in favor of an M1, especially since Larrivee has a 1/2" hole already so I won't need to do any drilling.

The Katana series sound great using the "Full Range" preamp if it is there (the Katana patches are a limited set of those available on the GT-1); (or the Aux In) because the speakers themselves are FRFR (They have to faithfully reproduce input from the Aux In.) This is true of most amps with an Aux In these days; my iLoud, Fly 3, and Katana Mini all sound great at their respective power levels.

If your pickups don't need compensation, then an FRFR is what you want/need. My Takamines sound fantastic FRFR, since they sound great out of the box, and don't need any "acoustic" correction whatever. The Katana series is equivalent to a GT-1, which has more options (since you can go from the phones out to the Aux In of anything; if you're set on the amps, the "secret" patches allow you to access the "missing" amps in the Katana - but kind of a PITA, and if you're going to do that, I would get a GT-1 and go in the Aux In of the Katana anyway....

If you need acoustic compensation for your pickup, then an external unit (thre are many) devoted to such for your particular guitar/taste is best.
I found that when I was doing my research the Schertler DYN-G was by far the best solution.