Boss Katana

[FoxHound4690]

Do any of you guys own a Boss Katana amp? I'm considering getting one because of how much stuff you can do with it. downloading patches and all that kinda thing. I've noticed Marty Schwartz uses one so if someone like him thinks they're a good amp then surely it wouldn't be too bad of an investment yeah?

I've been looking to upgrade to a decent amp for a while now, i've only got a small Laney LX20R which isn't too bad of a "bedroom" amp, but the Katana i keep hearing good things about.

[roylor4]

You should just do a thread search, there are plenty of them already, if I'm not mistaken.

Some people love them, I'm not one of them though. The cleans are a bit sterile for my tastes and there are hundreds of options - too many for someone like me.
I like simple to use gear.

If you like fidgeting with gadgets and like having the option of dozens of different tones available in a single amp, the Katana is hard to beat, especially for the price. They are loud enough to gig with and very light.

So, if you like modeling amps in general, I think they are the best bargain on the market and very versatile. If you are super picky about tone and used to tube amps, they may not be for you.

[blue]

Had one. It was great. A real improvement over things like the line6 spider or Vox valvetronix.

I got rid of it because it did too much! Finding THE sound on one channel on any amp is hard enough for me. Now I got to pick between Brown, Lead, Crunch, and Clean?!

I got rid of it and got a Roland Blues Cube. One of the basic kind that doesn't take the tone shaping "capsules". The blues cube hot.

I know it like the back of my hand, and no matter what guitar I plug in, even one I've never played, to quote Keith Richards "in 5 minutes, I sound like me..."

If you are the kind of person who likes to set up presets and such, I bet you'd be thrilled with the Katana. Having access to the sounds of classic boss pedals is also a plus if you are oriented to want to work with those capabilities.

I wasn't. Here's a vid you might enjoy. A dude who basically toured with one talks about why he chose it and how he runs it.

[Dirk Hofman]

I’ll preface this by saying that I have very little experience with electric amps. I had the 50 Mkii. Sounded great, and seemed like a lot of amp for the money. Lots of sounds just with the dials. But the software UI for downloading patches has a long way to go, I thought it was clunky, limited and confusing. And it was optimized for desktop/laptop which to me made it pretty impractical and limited where I felt like moving it.

I opted for a more portable, Bluetooth enabled amp which allowed you to control it with your phone, which has a more straightforward user experience. For a home or practice amp that seemed like a no brainer.

[blue]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

I opted for a more portable, Bluetooth enabled amp which allowed you to control it with your phone, which has a more straightforward user experience. For a home or practice amp that seemed like a no brainer.

If that amp is even close to the Katana in terms of sound, seems like Boss has some work to do!

Kind of grateful all I had to download for my blues cube was a driver for the computer, to be able to plug the amp into the computer for use with Garage Band, or other recording software.

Which amp did you go for?

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by blue

If that amp is even close to the Katana in terms of sound, seems like Boss has some work to do!

Kind of grateful all I had to download for my blues cube was a driver for the computer, to be able to plug the amp into the computer for use with Garage Band, or other recording software.

Which amp did you go for?

The Yamaha THR30ii.

[letterk]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

The Yamaha THR30ii.

I had a THR. Great little amp. Easy to use. Sold it a few months ago because I hadn't turned it in on 6 months.

[BoneDigger]

The Boss Katana is a great amp. I have owned two, a MkI anda MkII. I ended up eventually selling them for tube amps, but I really couldn't fault the tone of the amps. They really are quite good!

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by letterk

I had a THR. Great little amp. Easy to use. Sold it a few months ago because I hadn't turned it in on 6 months.

Not sure what you’re trying to communicate there...

[Pickcity]

Originally Posted by blue

Had one. It was great. A real improvement over things like the line6 spider or Vox valvetronix.

I got rid of it because it did too much! Finding THE sound on one channel on any amp is hard enough for me. Now I got to pick between Brown, Lead, Crunch, and Clean?!

I got rid of it and got a Roland Blues Cube. One of the basic kind that doesn't take the tone shaping "capsules". The blues cube hot.

I know it like the back of my hand, and no matter what guitar I plug in, even one I've never played, to quote Keith Richards "in 5 minutes, I sound like me..."

If you are the kind of person who likes to set up presets and such, I bet you'd be thrilled with the Katana. Having access to the sounds of classic boss pedals is also a plus if you are oriented to want to work with those capabilities.

I wasn't. Here's a vid you might enjoy. A dude who basically toured with one talks about why he chose it and how he runs it.

This is well stated. I agree with all of it.

I have a Katana mk2, and I like it for what it is, what it can do, what it cost me, and what I will use it for. I use it to practice with, and have used it in a couple of small settings. I can use it for a back up if I had to, and it would be fine. It didn't cost much, and for that reason alone it made sense to own one.

I am a tube amp guy, as most of us probably are, but a good SS rig can serve a working musician very well. It keeps costs down, and can produce some pretty decent sounds. I have found them to be versatile as well. SS amps have come a long ways. They are still not equal to tubes, not IMO, but they can be pretty darn good.

I guess it depends on what you are looking for, and what you expect. I find the Katana to be a very good amp for many things, and especially for the cost. I will also say that it can be simple enough if you mess around with the controls on board. It doesn't have to be complicated or technical, but if you want to go that route, it can do that too.

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by blue

If that amp is even close to the Katana in terms of sound, seems like Boss has some work to do!

It sounds good but doesn’t sound as good as the Katana. Just a size thing I’d guess. I love the portability, the software is nicer, and the wireless is a game changer for me. I should have just kept the Katana should I need to play at a small venue but I guess it will be good to get into a decent tube amp and learn about a couple of pedals at some point.

[Wooly]

FYI The Boss Katana 50 mkII doesn't have an effects loop built into it where as the 100 does. If you use a looper pedal, the effects loop would be nice to have.
Yes, this amp has no end to different patches and sounds you can program in which I don't make use of. I find the sound I like and leave it at that. I have a few external pedals I use and that's all. I know I'm not putting this amp to it's full potential but that's not why I bought it. Price was right. Good enough for me.

[jonfields45]

I've got some experience with Katana and THR. For the ones I've used I prefer the THR. The THR5 clean channel driven into light overdrive (no problem there is plenty of gain) is just about my favorite amp...period. The THR reverbs are excellent.

Lately I've been using a Mustang Micro straight to our PA because it is sooooo convenient. But it is also a pretty nice sounding amp simulator. I wonder if having it as the last stage of a pedal board going to a full range speaker is a good modern way to go these days. I am using the Deluxe Reverb "clean" model driven into light overdrive (back off volume on guitar for true clean) and the hall reverb. I have the reverb level and amp tone level one click up from neutral (more reverb, and brighter). In my usage in a duo I am not using any effect pedals, just the Mustang Micro direct to the PA (QSC CP8). I use the toggle switch and two volume controls on my guitar to have a rhythm and boosted lead tone. Since the Micro has no pre-gain, roughly "5" (or both pickups one set to "3" and the other "8") for rhythm, and "8" for boosted light overdrive lead, for my 85/15s equipped PRS.

Maybe the Mustang amps are worth checking out too.

[robj144]

I have a tube combo amp, a Boss Kitana Mk II, and a Yamaha THR 30 II.

The Kitana sounds really good if you take the time to spend an hour or so plugging it into your computer and setting up the global sound and all your effects. You only need to do this once, however, and you can use it like a "normal" amp after that.

I found when I first got it, it sounded ok, but a little muffled. I fooled around with the global EQ with the computer hooked up and got it to sound MUCH better to my ears.

It's a very solid amp.

There is no real comparison one can do with my amps. They all have their own sound signature.