Boss Katana amps (What the Boss Waza amp should have been)

[snshami]

For balance's sake i will post my thoughts about Katana.
Internal gain pedals feel a bit stiff and tight. It can be good for riffin'.
For solos Brown is OK only after some parametric eq tweaking.
Out of the box this amp is not so good and inspiring imho. It needs a little tweaking.
Footswitch for 100 watter is great and makes great job in pedal mode.
As a clean pedal platform this amp really shines.
All my dirt pedals sound great through this amp.
I mean: Plexi Troll, Tech21 RK5, AMT D2, Friedman BE-OD and Strymon Riverside.
I own Dark Terror, Micro Dark, Vox AC10, Magnum 44, Yamaha THR10x and recently sold Vox Night Train 50 and Spider Valve.
I've been playing for almost 24 years.
This is my refference. I really enjoy this amp mostly as clean pedal platform. In that role it outperforms all my current amps. I wish i haven't sold my ol' trusty Silverface Bassman 100 from 70s... never cared for my former Mesas tho..
So all that talking based on few youtube vids and/or 5 mins playthrough in store are not so valid imho.

I find the amp does need tweaking to get a great sound but then dont all amps ?

 

[narad]

I had my "beginner amps" while a beginner. I bought the two Marshalls four years ago and the Vox a year ago and they are not in anyone's language "beginner amps".

Sorry dude, but those are beginner's amps in my book. Not that it matters at all -- I agree that the Katana is probably a really good bargain, and that it probably holds its own with amps in the $500-$1000 budget range, which you seem to have a good amount of experience with. You just threw me when you said it's not an amp for beginners/inexperienced players. It so clearly is.

Things beginner's amps typically have:
-- a low price
-- a combo with generic speaker
-- built in effects
-- an attempt at versatility
-- good sound at low volume / low watt
-- solid state

And honestly beginners can still tell good tone from bad tone, so I think we can drop the whole "experience" thing.

 

[lewis]

there is a difference between weighing in with a personal opinion or 2cents worth on something you have first hand experience with, and literally forcing people to listen and to tell them they are effectively wrong if their view is different from yours.

Anything is subjective. You think its wonderful, many will think its utter tripe. I really dont see the point on coming on here and continually barking back and forth with it.

1 post from you is really sufficient. You have tried making the same point now in like 5 different posts.

@narad /\ is 100% right. Thats starter amps in a nutshell and the list he quoted do seem like starter amps to me aswell for what its worth

 

[snshami]

Sorry dude, but those are beginner's amps in my book. Not that it matters at all -- I agree that the Katana is probably a really good bargain, and that it probably holds its own with amps in the $500-$1000 budget range, which you seem to have a good amount of experience with. You just threw me when you said it's not an amp for beginners/inexperienced players. It so clearly is.

Things beginner's amps typically have:
-- a low price
-- a combo with generic speaker
-- built in effects
-- an attempt at versatility
-- good sound at low volume / low watt
-- solid state

And honestly beginners can still tell good tone from bad tone, so I think we can drop the whole "experience" thing.

Mate it doesnt bloody matter what you want to call it. The reason i said it doesnt suit beginners is is because it does not model any specific amp like Vox Valvetronix or Roland Cube or Line 6 do. The whole argument started when a couple of people expressed opinions devoid of any knowledge of the amps. I am not forcing my opinion on anyone just answering people's questions.

 

[snshami]

there is a difference between weighing in with a personal opinion or 2cents worth on something you have first hand experience with, and literally forcing people to listen and to tell them they are effectively wrong if their view is different from yours.

Anything is subjective. You think its wonderful, many will think its utter tripe. I really dont see the point on coming on here and continually barking back and forth with it.

1 post from you is really sufficient. You have tried making the same point now in like 5 different posts.

@narad /\ is 100% right. Thats starter amps in a nutshell and the list he quoted do seem like starter amps to me aswell for what its worth

I have no problem with people not liking it. There will be lots of people not liking it. Tone is extremely subjective. What got my goat was people expressing an opinion on something they had no knowledge of.

I'll shut up now.

 

[Andromalia]

I had the opportunity to play one, I'd rate it pretty high and it would take the #1 slot if I was asked for an affordable SS amp barring any specific tonal desire (still get a 8100 for swedish DM)
It's better than the cubes, imho, which is saying a lot.

The reason i said it doesnt suit beginners is is because it does not model any specific amp

Beginners have no clue what "specific amp" is, they know what their idols guitars look like and this is it. I didn't care my first SS amp didn't sound like a Whatever, I didn't know anything about amps anyway. I thought I needed a SG to sound like Angus Young and a white V to sound like Metallica

 

[inprognito]

I've had the 100 2x12 for about a month or so. This thing still blows me away.
Amps I've owned or own:
Fender Twin (not sure of the year 70 something)
Spider 2
Vypyr (can't remember which)
Crate Blue Voodoo
Carvin V3 head
Yamaha thr10
Marshall MG 15
Marshall Mode 4 head
Pod HD500x with Torpedo CAB
Mesa Dual Rectifier

I had a much easier time finding usable tones on this amp than any of the others. i'm not saying it sounds better than the dual rectifier, but it was much easier to dial-in and loads more versatile. I also have a lot more fun playing this than my rectifier (my current main amp). The feel of this amp I think is the best thing about it. It feels like playing a tube amp. I'm not a huge effects user, but the built in EQs in the tone studio makes achieving the desired tone incredibly easy. I'm also a huge fan of the built-in drives, they're not the standard solid-state garbage drives, and the way it takes pedals in front of the amp is better than any other amp I've tried. All in all I'll say this thing beats every amp I've owned except the dual rectifier. I was very skeptical at first, but this thing is the real deal.

 

[snshami]

I've had the 100 2x12 for about a month or so. This thing still blows me away.
Amps I've owned or own:
Fender Twin (not sure of the year 70 something)
Spider 2
Vypyr (can't remember which)
Crate Blue Voodoo
Carvin V3 head
Yamaha thr10
Marshall MG 15
Marshall Mode 4 head
Pod HD500x with Torpedo CAB
Mesa Dual Rectifier

I had a much easier time finding usable tones on this amp than any of the others. i'm not saying it sounds better than the dual rectifier, but it was much easier to dial-in and loads more versatile. I also have a lot more fun playing this than my rectifier (my current main amp). The feel of this amp I think is the best thing about it. It feels like playing a tube amp. I'm not a huge effects user, but the built in EQs in the tone studio makes achieving the desired tone incredibly easy. I'm also a huge fan of the built-in drives, they're not the standard solid-state garbage drives, and the way it takes pedals in front of the amp is better than any other amp I've tried. All in all I'll say this thing beats every amp I've owned except the dual rectifier. I was very skeptical at first, but this thing is the real deal.

My view exactly. In my case my other amps were two really awesome Marshalls. I never said that the Katana blows them away but I had the temerity to suggest that it sounds as good as them but, like you too found, more versatile. Of course tube snobs and people with preconceived notions about price and value and about solid state amps cannot tolerate anyone placing an SS amp at a comparable level to a tube amp.

 

[Descent]

In a studio the effects of micing and post processing makes most of the differences between amps go away. Here what is important are things that cannot easily be processed away like low hiss, the quality of the decay and the sustain.

I've recorded quite a bit and a Marshall is not a Mesa, and judging by the demos of the Katana so far, neither is this amp. It is definitely the best that has come in that price range in a long time as $200-$400 is pretty much peanuts in today's economy considering inflation and the same $$$ we paid for English and American products maybe 10 years ago as they've jumped 3-4 times in price.

Still, I hear the damn brittle modeling on all the demos, the lack of sustain or the digital modeling working. To me, it doesn't sound as an amp I'll take to a studio unless I am really pressed for cash.

Don't get me wrong - I definitely like the amp and might get one to knock around at rehearsal as I wouldn't want my amazing sounding rig to get lost...might even take the thing to the stage if I don't feel carrying tube amps as they're heavy...but still, lets not call a Katana Excalibur

 

[narad]

So when I said that the Katana performs as good as any other amps costing up to $1000 I meant what I said. The Marshall was easily replaced by the Katana and I dont regret the decision. I didnt sell the Marshall because I had to or because I was trying to save myself money. If that offends the sensibilities of people who are blinded by bias or have a ton of money invested in certain type of gear then so be it.

Like I wrote before the price of an amp does not depend on what it costs to make but rather what people are willing to buy and the marketing strategy of the company that sells it.

Dude, quit going back and editing posts after people replied to them. And after you said you were exiting the conversation...

At any rate, I'm not sure who you're ranting against. Who are the tube snobs in this thread? What's off-putting to me is you're positioning yourself like an amp expert, and talking about these really great marshall amps you've had. Those are (no offense) practically the worst Marshall amps! I mean you've gotta concede that on the Marshall amp line-up, you've owned stuff that's in the bottom 15%. So if you're going to make a comparison to them, go ahead, but it's not going to upset tube snobs. Tube snobs care about good tube amps.

 

[op1e]

Is the Boss Slicer available to load into this? I really wanna get one for quick sets. half hour set we got to play 5 songs last weekend and I lugged a 70lb head 100lb cab and 60lb rack to do all that. My Tourmaster 212 and that head would be great.

 

[Wolfhorsky]

Is the Boss Slicer available to load into this? I really wanna get one for quick sets. half hour set we got to play 5 songs last weekend and I lugged a 70lb head 100lb cab and 60lb rack to do all that. My Tourmaster 212 and that head would be great.

Yes, it has slicer

 

[Fathand]

I just traded in a Katana 100 (1x12). First impressions:

- at full blast this thing is loud
- nice tones, I set up a distorted delay/phaser sound and was gone for a while in stoner rock heaven
- intuitive layout, easy to tweak
- aux in - I can run jamtracks from spotify and just play away without a computer (which is my current method)

Other notes:
- tonally it's been modeled after a marshall (or a few). To my hands and ears the crunch/lead response is pretty much like a marshall. No mesa/engl/bogner tones here. With the pedals you can tweak it but the basic tone stack doesn't say "US HIGH GAIN" to me. Can't really comment on the cleans, though, they're pretty sweet and I like it and I've never been a friend of Marshall cleans.
- mine is modded - looks like the head and the 100 combo have the same layout inside, because the previous owner had modded the external speaker out to the back of the chassis (which the combo doesn't come standard with). Only if I had a 4x12 to A/B this against the Koch powertone I have..

 

[rewihendrix]

I just traded in a Katana 100 (1x12). First impressions:

- at full blast this thing is loud
- nice tones, I set up a distorted delay/phaser sound and was gone for a while in stoner rock heaven
- intuitive layout, easy to tweak
- aux in - I can run jamtracks from spotify and just play away without a computer (which is my current method)

Other notes:
- tonally it's been modeled after a marshall (or a few). To my hands and ears the crunch/lead response is pretty much like a marshall. No mesa/engl/bogner tones here. With the pedals you can tweak it but the basic tone stack doesn't say "US HIGH GAIN" to me. Can't really comment on the cleans, though, they're pretty sweet and I like it and I've never been a friend of Marshall cleans.
- mine is modded - looks like the head and the 100 combo have the same layout inside, because the previous owner had modded the external speaker out to the back of the chassis (which the combo doesn't come standard with). Only if I had a 4x12 to A/B this against the Koch powertone I have..

How does recalling presets work? Are you limited to the 5 amp settings? I.e. could I have 2 presets on the Brown that I could recall with a midi footswitch?

 

[rewihendrix]

Oh just seen, it's the 4 "tone setting" channels, right?

So effectively for live performance that's 4 presets available, plus the boost for each channel. That's enough for me I imagine.

 

[Wolfhorsky]

Oh just seen, it's the 4 "tone setting" channels, right?

So effectively for live performance that's 4 presets available, plus the boost for each channel. That's enough for me I imagine.

You can make 4 presets plus current panel setting. Presets are independent from the type of channel/voicing. For example 1 clean, 2 lead, 3 brown, 4 brown.
Footswitch has pedal mode. In that mode you can tap tempo and also turn on/off 2 fx slots and reverb. Delay and reverb have trails only in this mode. When switching to another preset there are no trails of delay and reverb.

 

[rewihendrix]

You can make 4 presets plus current panel setting. Presets are independent from the type of channel/voicing. For example 1 clean, 2 lead, 3 brown, 4 brown.
Footswitch has pedal mode. In that mode you can tap tempo and also turn on/off 2 fx slots and reverb. Delay and reverb have trails only in this mode. When switching to another preset there are no trails of delay and reverb.

Cheers,

How are you finding the internal noise gate? Does it place the boost pedals in an internal loop like the NS pedal can?

 

[Wolfhorsky]

Cheers,

How are you finding the internal noise gate? Does it place the boost pedals in an internal loop like the NS pedal can?

Noise gate just works well on default setting. At least for me.

 

[big_aug]

I might get one of these heads. I like my Randall RD5H at the moment but I feel like I'd like some more tweakability. It seems solid for high gain stuff even without a pedal in front.

 

[big_aug]

I can't decide between Blackstar ID 60 TVP Head or this Katana 100 head. I had an ID 15 TVP combo that I liked. I can't test the katana. The Blackstar is a lot cheaper used.

Man decisions.