Boss Katana KTN100 (100 watt 1x12) Advice

[jake5150]

Hi guys

I know the general consensus on the Katana head is that it's great. I'm getting a bit tired of turning up to smaller gigs with either a huge and heavy Diezel rig or just going direct with amp modellers and relying on the sound man. I need something in between for smaller venues with insufficient monitoring.

I play in two bands, one is a drop C heavy band along the lines of Breaking Benjamin, Black Stone Cherry, Metallica'ish and another which uses more of a Phil Collen type tone.

Do you think this amp would be suitable? I'm a bit concerned as it's been referred to as a 'practise amp' in a few video reviews I've seen.

Would love to hear your opinions/experiences

 

[Buckeyedog]

It's pretty darn cool, but to get the most out of it, you'll want to do all the "computer stuff" for the tone studio and downloads and such. Things that I just can't do because I'm a computer idiot. So I'm selling my head soon. It is nice and loud though and has plenty of gain.

 

[atrox]

The thing about these heads is they sound better the more you crank them. the "special" part of these amps is the power section.

I use mine mainly as an amp for home. It sounds fine. However, my BE-100 is out to Dave for updates, so i have been using my Katana as my main head for the past few weeks. You get that master up beyond 4 with the channel volume at around 2 o'clock and it's just a monster. It makes me forget that my BE is not even there (no, it does not sound as good as my BE. I'm not saying that). I use the lead channel. I think the brown channel sounds like fizzy shit.

I brought it up to my one band that tunes to drop Bb and it sounded as good as my DSL that i usually use in that particular project.

It's picky about speakers. It likes my old Marshall with vented T-75's just fine, but it really roars with my Friedman cab loaded with H75's. Apparently it hates v30's... just like i do

I have not had to a chance to mess with the Sneakyamps shit yet, but the software that comes with the Katana is very handy to tweak your patches.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

The head tweaked with the computer app definitely.

The 1x12 combo i dont know. Id def chamge the speaker.

 

[danhops]

This amp is more than capable of covering your needs. Ignore the price and the fact that it's a modeling amp. It's a great sounding amp, and it feels good to play on. The footswitch is a must IMHO. It's super easy to dial in great sounds right out of the box. The editor isn't a necessity, but it does make the amp even more of a great deal for the $. Throw in the ability to use sneaky amps to get more models if you'd like, and this thing is rediculous. It's one of my favorite pieces of gear regardless of price. I should point out that I use the head through my Bogner cabinets.

 

[treewiz]

I'll be testing my Katana Head hooked up to my Line 6 M13 and going thru a Hughes & Kettner TM112 cab and the direct out hooked up to the PA at this weekend's gig. I have been using my Fractal AXE 8, so this will be a good comparison. Hope it goes well.

 

[sg guy]

-i just literally tried a KATANA 100 combo-(i'm ampless at the moment and ive been going to music stores to let the demon's out)-maybe i was expecting too much? maybe i didnt turn the nobs right?? maybe i didnt have it loud enough??? i dont think they're anything special, it didnt impress me at all, what are some settings i can try the next time i go in to get my freak on?..

-oh!!.. but the $650 chinese BC RICH with the built in preamp, with a million switches & nobs!!!,... KICKED FUCKIN ASS!!! just sayin...

 

[codyjarret]

Ibanez RG with DiMarzio AT-1 in the bridge plugged straight into a 100w Boss Katana combo.

 

[sg guy]

Ibanez RG with DiMarzio AT-1 in the bridge plugged straight into a 100w Boss Katana combo.

-pffffffffff!!- don't try to pull a fast one on us Michael,... Its obvious you have modded that thing & filled it full of mustard caps!!!

-gut shots or its a katana!

 

[hammered]

Ibanez RG with DiMarzio AT-1 in the bridge plugged straight into a 100w Boss Katana combo.

Boss should use that as an official demo

 

[Racerxrated]

-i just literally tried a KATANA 100 combo-(i'm ampless at the moment and ive been going to music stores to let the demon's out)-maybe i was expecting too much? maybe i didnt turn the nobs right?? maybe i didnt have it loud enough??? i dont think they're anything special, it didnt impress me at all, what are some settings i can try the next time i go in to get my freak on?..

-oh!!.. but the $650 chinese BC RICH with the built in preamp, with a million switches & nobs!!!,... KICKED FUCKIN ASS!!! just sayin...

It's a nice amp that will sound good with some volume, and like a tube amp does get better louder. But it's a backup to any good tube amp. Imo.

 

[sg guy]

-i just literally tried a KATANA 100 combo-(i'm ampless at the moment and ive been going to music stores to let the demon's out)-maybe i was expecting too much? maybe i didnt turn the nobs right?? maybe i didnt have it loud enough??? i dont think they're anything special, it didnt impress me at all, what are some settings i can try the next time i go in to get my freak on?..

-oh!!.. but the $650 chinese BC RICH with the built in preamp, with a million switches & nobs!!!,... KICKED FUCKIN ASS!!! just sayin...

It's a nice amp that will sound good with some volume, and like a tube amp does get better louder. But it's a backup to any good tube amp. Imo.

-I admit it was at pretty low volume, I'll try it again louder-

 

[sg guy]

-oh,.. And I had it on the lowest wattage setting, 1w?

 

[codyjarret]

Ibanez RG with DiMarzio AT-1 in the bridge plugged straight into a 100w Boss Katana combo.

-pffffffffff!!- don't try to pull a fast one on us Michael,... Its obvious you have modded that thing & filled it full of mustard caps!!!

-gut shots or its a katana!

Lol,

I can only imagine trying to mod one of these things.

 

[codyjarret]

Ibanez RG with DiMarzio AT-1 in the bridge plugged straight into a 100w Boss Katana combo.

Boss should use that as an official demo

Ahh, you're way too kind my friend.

My little video isn't even doing the amp justice.
 

 

[rupe]

The head tweaked with the computer app definitely.

The 1x12 combo i dont know. Id def chamge the speaker.

Why would you change the speaker?

 

[moltenmetalburn]

The head tweaked with the computer app definitely.

The 1x12 combo i dont know. Id def chamge the speaker.

Why would you change the speaker?

Because the onboard speaker is kind of crappy AND made to ALSO suit an acoustic guitar.

Like ANY head speakers make a huge difference, using an industry standard speaker yields purer more recognizeable tones. Moreso for dirt than cleans.

I have the head and have tried the katana with about five different cabs/speakers. The katana cab sounded worst to me.

So i would def change the speaker if i owned the combo.