Tried out a BOSS Katana yesterday. Pretty impressive!!

[romanianreaper]

I went to a few guitar stores yesterday and saw a BOSS Katana 100 combo sitting there so decided to give it a whirl. I walked away pretty impressed, especially at a $350 price tag. In my experience, I've rarely found an amp that captures price, features, tones, etc. as great as this thing does. I mean, to be able to gig with this is a bonus. Some practice amps are more than this thing.

A bit of background. I've been in bands since high school in the mid 80s and have played everything from a Gorilla 10 watt combo, Plexi stack, to higher gain amps like ENGL, etc. I've gigged with solid state, tube, hybrid, etc. I currently own an Axe-Fx II so that gives you a basic idea of what I'm used to hearing.

The thing I like about the Katana, and has been mentioned before, is that it isn't trying to be another amp. You only get a few amp sounds but less is more in my opinion. It has some great sounds in there and I found that when you use the pedal emulations in the Katana as a boost, that is where the magic really happens. This thing had more gain than I expected and sounded better than I expected. I think it really excels at capturing hair metal tones, and that really percussive, tight tone (think Loudness, TNT, Jake E. Lee, etc.)

Anyway, just my two cents. On a sidenote, I kind of screwed myself because after the Katana I immediately plugged into a Friedman Runt 50. Wow. That is another badass amp! Again, I was blown away at how great the Friedman Runt sounded. I don't know what I was expecting but wasn't that. To me it sounded as good as the BE-100. Less gain but sounded great! A boost pedal would be perfect with it.

 

[MrDowntown]

..... been waiting for you to take the plunge on Katana, man ....

I want one, but another piece of gear is not what I need ATM. Times coming though...I really want one.

 

[KentC]

I've got the head and it's one of the best gear purchases that I've made in years. I liked it stock, but fell head over heels over it when I loaded up the sneaky into it. All of my patches now are preset with one of the sneaky amps. Not that the stock amps were bad. I was just able to get pretty much exactly what I wanted out of this amp with the hidden amps and couldn't be happier with it. The Twin amp sounds fantastic; much better than the JC120 patch that is used for the clean amp model. And the 1959 marshall patch sounds wonderful. Shove an OD in front of that and it's worth twice price. Just buy one!

 

[raymitchell]

I went to a few guitar stores yesterday and saw a BOSS Katana 100 combo sitting there so decided to give it a whirl. I walked away pretty impressed, especially at a $350 price tag. In my experience, I've rarely found an amp that captures price, features, tones, etc. as great as this thing does. I mean, to be able to gig with this is a bonus. Some practice amps are more than this thing.

A bit of background. I've been in bands since high school in the mid 80s and have played everything from a Gorilla 10 watt combo, Plexi stack, to higher gain amps like ENGL, etc. I've gigged with solid state, tube, hybrid, etc. I currently own an Axe-Fx II so that gives you a basic idea of what I'm used to hearing.

The thing I like about the Katana, and has been mentioned before, is that it isn't trying to be another amp. You only get a few amp sounds but less is more in my opinion. It has some great sounds in there and I found that when you use the pedal emulations in the Katana as a boost, that is where the magic really happens. This thing had more gain than I expected and sounded better than I expected. I think it really excels at capturing hair metal tones, and that really percussive, tight tone (think Loudness, TNT, Jake E. Lee, etc.)

Anyway, just my two cents. On a sidenote, I kind of screwed myself because after the Katana I immediately plugged into a Friedman Runt 50. Wow. That is another badass amp! Again, I was blown away at how great the Friedman Runt sounded. I don't know what I was expecting but wasn't that. To me it sounded as good as the BE-100. Less gain but sounded great! A boost pedal would be perfect with it.

Man, if i didn't know better I would hazard a guess that you must've been in Guitar Center in Greenville, SC. I say that because they have a Katana 100 combo and a Friedman Runt in the store.

I was thinking of heading over there this afternoon to try the Katana combo before I order the 100 head. I too am an Axe Fx player (II XL+) but, I'm seriously thinking about buying the 100 head for our Colombian tour in a couple weeks.

Anyhoo, cheers all !

 

[romanianreaper]

I went to a few guitar stores yesterday and saw a BOSS Katana 100 combo sitting there so decided to give it a whirl. I walked away pretty impressed, especially at a $350 price tag. In my experience, I've rarely found an amp that captures price, features, tones, etc. as great as this thing does. I mean, to be able to gig with this is a bonus. Some practice amps are more than this thing.

A bit of background. I've been in bands since high school in the mid 80s and have played everything from a Gorilla 10 watt combo, Plexi stack, to higher gain amps like ENGL, etc. I've gigged with solid state, tube, hybrid, etc. I currently own an Axe-Fx II so that gives you a basic idea of what I'm used to hearing.

The thing I like about the Katana, and has been mentioned before, is that it isn't trying to be another amp. You only get a few amp sounds but less is more in my opinion. It has some great sounds in there and I found that when you use the pedal emulations in the Katana as a boost, that is where the magic really happens. This thing had more gain than I expected and sounded better than I expected. I think it really excels at capturing hair metal tones, and that really percussive, tight tone (think Loudness, TNT, Jake E. Lee, etc.)

Anyway, just my two cents. On a sidenote, I kind of screwed myself because after the Katana I immediately plugged into a Friedman Runt 50. Wow. That is another badass amp! Again, I was blown away at how great the Friedman Runt sounded. I don't know what I was expecting but wasn't that. To me it sounded as good as the BE-100. Less gain but sounded great! A boost pedal would be perfect with it.

Man, if i didn't know better I would hazard a guess that you must've been in Guitar Center in Greenville, SC. I say that because they have a Katana 100 combo and a Friedman Runt in the store.

I was thinking of heading over there this afternoon to try the Katana combo before I order the 100 head. I too am an Axe Fx player (II XL+) but, I'm seriously thinking about buying the 100 head for our Colombian tour in a couple weeks.

Anyhoo, cheers all !

Must just be a crazy coincidence because the one I was in is Guitar Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is funny because someone else mentioned a store having those two amps as well in another state.

 

[romanianreaper]

..... been waiting for you to take the plunge on Katana, man ....

I want one, but another piece of gear is not what I need ATM. Times coming though...I really want one.

Yeah, I hear you on that. I gotta get my priorities straight on what I NEED. I'm looking at Roland drumsets as well and those are not cheap. I want a Friedman guitar after I picked one up a guitar show. That guitar felt like an 80's metal guitarist had toured with it for 20 years. The neck, body, etc just felt used but in a good way.

 

[Rick Lee]

I ran my Katana 100w head hard at band practice yesterday. I only have a 2x12 at this practice space, so I was a little worried about really pushing it. I had it set to brown and it sounded very close to the '79 2203 I also brought with me. We had everything so loud and wear earplugs. So I couldn't really tell how it was cutting. But I think it was ok. I got it solely as a gig backup amp and I'm sure it will do well for that.

 

[romanianreaper]

I ran my Katana 100w head hard at band practice yesterday. I only have a 2x12 at this practice space, so I was a little worried about really pushing it. I had it set to brown and it sounded very close to the '79 2203 I also brought with me. We had everything so loud and wear earplugs. So I couldn't really tell how it was cutting. But I think it was ok. I got it solely as a gig backup amp and I'm sure it will do well for that.

Wow, that is actually saying something. If it can even remotely closely emulate a Marshall or similar amp, that is a good sign.

 

[MrDowntown]

(sneaky)....the 1959 marshall patch sounds wonderful. Shove an OD in front of that and it's worth twice price. Just buy one!

Man I'd love to hear what this sounds like!

 

[Shask]

Like I said the other day, I love that little amp. It really is amazing for what it is, and how much it cost. It sounds great, but more importantly, it feels great to play. Very dynamic like tubes.

I think it really comes to life when you hook it up to the computer and edit it. Dial in those boosts, and add EQs to the chain. You can really fine-tune it far more than just using the panel.

 

[legend71]

I bought the 50 watt combo just for practice at home - it does sound pretty good lol. I was surprised. Fun little amp to noodle around on

 

[reverymike]

How does it compare to the Yamaha TH10x? Similar??

 

[Kevin11]

Both the keyboardist/guitarist and bassist in one of my bands grabbed Katanas after hearing my 100w head. Then the second guitarist in my other band also grabbed a 100w head and just scored a 100w combo over the weekend as well. He replaced a killer-sounding Kemper rig and is now gigging with the Katana head. These are all seasoned, gigging players with decades of experience...all way into gear like us if that says anything. Far as I know, none of those guys have replaced the stock presets. I haven't either...yet.

 

[MrDowntown]

How does it compare to the Yamaha TH10x? Similar??

I'm pretty sure Mailman had a Th10x....he dumped it after getting his Katana. Not sure how much the dump was related to the Boss. But i'm sure, if i'm remembering the correct person, he can fill in the blanks.

 

[sytharnia1560]

I bought the 50 watt combo just for practice at home - it does sound pretty good lol. I was surprised. Fun little amp to noodle around on

run that sucker into a quad man...it goes from a fun little amp to a beast

 

[romanianreaper]

Both the keyboardist/guitarist and bassist in one of my bands grabbed Katanas after hearing my 100w head. Then the second guitarist in my other band also grabbed a 100w head and just scored a 100w combo over the weekend as well. He replaced a killer-sounding Kemper rig and is now gigging with the Katana head. These are all seasoned, gigging players with decades of experience...all way into gear like us if that says anything. Far as I know, none of those guys have replaced the stock presets. I haven't either...yet.

Holy crap, that is amazing! I'm not saying this amp is the end all/be all but pretty cool to have a cheap amp that is the size of a practice amp, actually be able to compete on a stage. I've been in bands over the years and we would have loved to have something like this.

 

[Mailman1971]

The Yamaha was cool. But the Katana kills it.
I been having the Katana in the house playing thru the built in speaker.
Meh. Running it thru a 4x12.
That little amp likes to just crush
I got the 100 watt head version.
Probably dollar for dollar my best gear purchase.....
Ever.

 

[mentoneman]

Played the 1x12 today and really liked the dirty rock sounds for crunch and leads. That feature is worth the price.

Clean was useable and nice but not amazing

Also played the boss reverb and modulation 500 pedals

There were some nice sounds available but i am very spoiled with a lexicon pcm 80 in the reverb and modulation department, and i recently got a mxr phase 95 mini pedal which sounds great for phasey vibey analog thickness! And I honestly like the new mxr reverb sound and tone more than the boss.

 

[Racerxrated]

I ran my Katana 100w head hard at band practice yesterday. I only have a 2x12 at this practice space, so I was a little worried about really pushing it. I had it set to brown and it sounded very close to the '79 2203 I also brought with me. We had everything so loud and wear earplugs. So I couldn't really tell how it was cutting. But I think it was ok. I got it solely as a gig backup amp and I'm sure it will do well for that.

Wow, that is actually saying something. If it can even remotely closely emulate a Marshall or similar amp, that is a good sign.

I don't know. At higher volumes the Marshall leaves it behind, as it should. I had a Katana 100w head at the same time as a 78 2204 and my 2555 and when pushed you could tell the difference between the tube vs SS power. I don't think anyone should buy one thinking there ISN'T a difference. There is.

That said, the Katana is a great piece of gear and the BEST SS amp I've played, bar none. It really does feel like a true 100w of power. Really good amp as a practice or backup for sure.

 

[romanianreaper]

I ran my Katana 100w head hard at band practice yesterday. I only have a 2x12 at this practice space, so I was a little worried about really pushing it. I had it set to brown and it sounded very close to the '79 2203 I also brought with me. We had everything so loud and wear earplugs. So I couldn't really tell how it was cutting. But I think it was ok. I got it solely as a gig backup amp and I'm sure it will do well for that.

Wow, that is actually saying something. If it can even remotely closely emulate a Marshall or similar amp, that is a good sign.

I don't know. At higher volumes the Marshall leaves it behind, as it should. I had a Katana 100w head at the same time as a 78 2204 and my 2555 and when pushed you could tell the difference between the tube vs SS power. I don't think anyone should buy one thinking there ISN'T a difference. There is.

That said, the Katana is a great piece of gear and the BEST SS amp I've played, bar none. It really does feel like a true 100w of power. Really good amp as a practice or backup for sure.

Yeah, I get what you are saying. People might get the wrong impression and instead of picking up a JCM 800, think they can get similar tones with this cheaper alternative. I do think the fact that a solid state amp is even mentioned in the same breath as tube is a pretty big deal. I remember gigging with a Marshall AVT head and Marshall cab and thinking that sounded good. If I would have had a Katana back in the day it would have blown my mind.

I think advancements in tone technology and the built-in boosts make it easier to achieve tones with an SS amp that were not possible, or difficult, to achieve back in the day. The price is a bonus. Like I said, what amps are out there at that price that even remotely come close? You get the wattage, great tone, great price, internal boosts and other effects, etc. Great to see a bargain come around.