I Gigged a Boss Katana - Now I Feel Stupid
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
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It's 2023 and I just gigged a Boss Katana.
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Good on you JNC! I recommend Katanas to most guitarists looking for something that they can use for practice as well as gigging. No tubes to shake loose, no massive weight, built in BOSS effects and when you are playing a gig where people are talking, drinking, dancing and otherwise having fun, no one notices or cares about your vintage tube monster, or your vintage guitar for that matter, except for other guitarists, who are either super supportive or utter nobs.
It's great for what it can do, but it's not very repairable when it breaks. I'm a middle-aged guy giving off "old man" vibes, but I prefer analog hardware that is easy to fix with a cheap soldering iron and access to a RadioShack.
Most of other guitarists are complete nobs 😢
@@greevarmodern tube amps with their PCB assemblies aren’t very repairable either.
I remember back in the 80s. All the arguments between tube and solid state. If you used solid state...You didn't have a real amp they said... LOL now they feel stupid, probably.
@@greevar we no longer have radio shack. It has been 6 or 7 years.
I think the shocking thing for me with Katanas was hearing Buskers outside in New Orleans with them. I think they ALL had Katana 2x12s and sounded awesome. It made getting one really tempting.
You live there? Wow that is amazing!
Just joined a pop punk band. My setup is incredibly humble, literally just a fender stratocaster and the katana 100w combo. Took to the first rehersal. Had it on the lead channel, no pedals or anything and they were all blown away by the sound. In a live situation nobody cares what gear you're using, just if it sounds good So I'm gonna gig this thing to death
Since when a fender and a 100w amp is a « humble » setup
Yeah a real humble set up would be a picture of a squire being played into a plastic cup....... Kids these days will never know the struggle
no pedals? it is a pedal. that's all you ran was a fancy pedal 😋
@eduardolorandi3628 maybe humble was the wrong word. Simple definitely.
Seems kind of want clean power. Use pedals for tone and color. More if a power amp
I really only have one thing to say: more live band videos please! That was quite tasty! 🤘
Yep .. replace the intro with these
Yeah, he's right up there with the best!
Yeah it's cool hearing Jon wail over the same tunes many if us play on these gigs.
Agreed!
I use a MK1 100 watt live for hundreds of gigs, never fails and sounds incredible. The tune stuff stays home
“I’m a part owner of Boss” killed me. Lovely playing as always! The Katana has been great for practice and gigs. Loaned it to a friend for one of his gigs, and I’m not sure I’m getting it back….guess it’s time to grab a new one with the line out option!
I loved that jab about the Andertons controversy too haha
It's so crucial people are transparent about what they are being sent or any affiliations they have to products
I was ready to send my Artist MkII back to Sweetwater because I wasn't sure I liked it. Then.....I gigged with it. I was shocked how well it performed live.
Ah darn I wish I could gig. I sold my katana. Wasn't in love with the tone. If I did gig even just a bit I'd want that so I wouldn't have to worry about a more expensive amp.
@@tonybowen455Did you use tone studio? The tones were just ‘okay’ to me before I hooked it up and messed with it. Sounds brilliant now.
Been gigging with Katanas for several years and always enjoy the experience. No pedals other than the multi-button one for channel switching and effects. Super reliable amps that always deliver the goods.
Please tell me that you know that holding a foot pedal button down engages the solo setting . I didn’t . For quite some time 😂
I’ve become a solo acoustic musician in the last few years but I used to play in band. My last band stayed together for 10 years but broke up in 19. We had a Hurricane last years that wiped out Fort Myers Florida last year where I was living at the time and all the sudden I had no gigs.
So our old lead singer that had moved to Florida invited me up to Panama City Florida to do some gigs. He got me two acoustic gigs for that week and one band gig with his band. I had to travel 500 miles up North and had all my acoustic gear in my vehicle and my outboard electric gear. My vehicle was pretty Packed so I didn’t want to have my nice tube amps to be banging around back there. So I took my 1st generation 100 watt. Katana combo that I bought for $200 and a paired down pedal board .Man I was blown away with the sound I got out of that thing with my Gibson SG. The stage was so tiny I had to leave my Strat in the case. Had it set on the crunch channel edge of break up tone and at 100 watts. I was getting that cool feedback any time I wanted it that you are only supposed to be able to get with a tube amp. The whole band was happy with my sound .
Now I FEEL stupid. I have had the MKII for about 3 weeks and had no idea that this fuckin thing has a built in speaker until i saw this video lol
I used to look down on the Katana range. I thought it was mainstream because of the brand name and that there were better ways to waste your money. But after trying them I am converted. You get a lot of amp out of these and the quality is fantastic. They only have a few amp voices but then you can add their pedals in front and they combine very organically. It sounds great.
It is mainstream. Why are you saying that like it's an insult?
@@castleanthrax1833it wasn’t meant as an insult. I meant they are popular and I attributed their popularity to the brand and little else. But again, I was mistaken. You can get amazing tones.
@@pepeowen Boss is well known for good effect pedals going way back.... TUnlike some better known brands that are out know that haven't been around long and therefore don't know how to build things like Boss does.........
I bought a Katana for my grandson last Christmas for his first real amp. When it was delivered I tried it out (you know - to make sure it was working properly :) and was really surprised at just how good it sounded. My ToneMaster DR (at 3X the price) sounds better to my ears - but not that much that I couldn't live with the Katana and be happy. This is the golden age of gear! Also - I don't think I've seen you play a Tele - it was pretty bright!
I gigged a Katana Artist for a few years. It's the only time I've bought an amp new from a shop. I used it with the five channel footswitch and it was brilliant. I only changed to a Headrush Gigboard so that I could have a recording/practise set up in my living room. The Katana was usually hidden away in a wardrobe. Great amps! Easily as good as the Fenders, H and K's , Orange, valve amps that I had previously.
Man I've got the Headrush MX5 and I was hoping for similarly usable tones but the Katana still blows it away!
Great video! You should absolutely try the Roland Blues Cube series if you like the Katana. It is pricier than the Boss, but I find the Artist 1x12 to be astonishingly convincing for both practice and gigging. That said, the Katana does dominate the bang for the buck department. Really hard to beat.
Absolutely. Bought a BCA to replace an old Hot Rod Deluxe and it sounds and feels great. Great pedal platform
@@ianbarnes1406 interesting. My Deville is pissing me off. Fender is really crapping out on the quality of those circuit boards in the hot rod series. Its making me quite angry.
If the Boss Katana was around in the 60's, it would be just about the only thing you ever heard recorded.
Likewise every modern valve amp
Ironically, that Katana tries to model those 60's amp tones, and I don't recognise any modern band that record their album with Katana.
@@volkanozkol5309 Because most don't even use real amps to record.
It wouldn't for a few reasons. Amps needed to be LOUD. They didn't have much in the way of live sound reinforcement back then. Consequently, stage volumes were insane. No way a katana was loud enough. And just like nowadays, why record an imitation when there's no shortage of the real thing.
What is it an imitation of?@@ROCKNROLLMODS
The Katana head into a 2x12 cab is a fantastic sound. I leave it on the clean channel with the built in delay and reverb, and use my own OD pedals, and it sounds incredible. Love the handy built in practice speaker as well. Very portable and light.
Five years gigging Katana 50 combo in a five piece 60s band…more than loud enough, used as a pedal platform does every thing I need. I certainly don’t feel silly, and my back and bank balance are happy too.
Best Wishes
"I am a part owner of boss" hahahaha
Might be true, you never know. If he owns even a single share of Roland, he is a part owner of Boss.
You never know… KDH could be watching 😂
I went from using a custom-built pedal board with a big tube amp rig to just the Katana + GA FC foots switch. I used the Boss tone studio software and created all my own presets and now I’m golden. My rig is lighter, simpler, and more reliable. You can also use it as just an fx processor for gigs where they only allow in-ear monitors. Only thing I would have done differently is to get the head and cab separately, but the combo is a fantastic value.
Why would you want a head and cab instead of combo?
@@johnhennessey5 In case there's a gig where I don't need a cab or they don't allow them on stage, in which case you would use in-ear monitors.
Also don’t forget the stereo linking output on the 100 👍. Also, I think that going with a class a/b amp design (despite it being heavier, less efficient etc) was a good decision from Boss. Sounds so much better compared to all the class D modellers out there.
I bought an IR-200 (should be similar models to the Katana) and am doing all kinds of ambient stuff with it and am really happy. The IRs influence the quality immensely, though. I have three presets for clean, crunch and lead and one for my bass. I love my tube stuff, but the IR-200 does a really good job for practicing and recording.
As others have noted, John, your friend who had the "disappointing" experience with the combo Katana most probably was playing one of the regular Katana combos. The Katana-*Artist* Mk2 combo is a completely different animal, and features Boss' proprietary (and AMAZING) WAZA-craft G12W 12-inch speaker. It is a 100W power handling recreation of a classic Celestion Greenback. In all seriousness, the Katana-Artist Mk2 is basically is worth the price of admission for the speaker, alone. Yes, it is that good.
I'm just going to say it, it is a better all around solution than most anything out there. I started gigging with it pre-covid, people would look at it all perplexed, until they heard it. To this day, even compared to all the tube amp rigs I've had, I've had the most compliments from using the Katana live...go figure.
Katana is an incredible tool, especially for the price. It is quite possibly the best bang for the buck money I have ever spent on gear. I have used it standup for gigs, ran it as a pedal platform for gigs, recorded direct, and as stage volume when gigging with modelers. No reliability issues after 4+ years. Boss knocked it out of the park on this one.
I use it in 100 watt mode through a 2x12 totally clean through an HX Effects. It’s brutally loud and sounds fantastic.
I have the Katana 50 Mk II combo and it works great for practicing at home in the 0.5 watt setting or the 25 wtt setting with the Master turned down to apartment level. Thanks for helping me not feel silly when I think about taking it out.
Always blown away by your playing John.
I’ve had a MK2 100 Katana combo for a few years and it’s a awesome .
I’ve also got the head and that’s awesome love the internal speaker for home use.
Both take pedal board s brilliantly. I’ve also got both the Boss GA-FC & the newer Boss GA-FC EX Pedals that work amazingly well with all the Boss built in internal pedal effects 👍👌
Cab is everything. I’m finding most amps sound good through a good cab, most sound bad through particleboard and cheap speakers (what most solid state amps have been packaged with).
I've gigged a Katana 100 v1 combo since they first came out. I've enjoyed playing it as much, and felt as proud of my sound, as the Boogie F50 it replaced. I also play the Katana in 50w mode. If I'm playing a bigger gig, then either the line out or a mic in front deals with that. I don't really want more volume on the stage. My Katana works well at any volume, whether it be for home practice, rehearsal rooms, or large gigs, whereas the F50 was really only at its best at larger gigs where I could run the master a bit higher. From a practical viewpoint, the Katana is smaller and weighs about half of an F50. I look inside and marvel at how little there is in there, when compared to the mass of glowing hot glass and what appeared to be a hundred things waiting to go wrong in the F50. If the Katana failed I would just go and buy another one without worrying too much about the cost. While the Katana is definitely made cheaply and the controls are plastic and don't feel like they would stand much abuse, I bought a decent padded cover for it, I'm pretty careful with my gear, and touch wood everything works as well as the day I bought it. My Boogie on the other hand, despite its apparently solid construction and military-spec parts, had several things go wrong during its time with me and what I spent on F50 repairs far exceeded the cost of a new Katana. When I first got the Katana, I started off running pedals into it and through the loop because I had the gear and that's what I was comfortable with. Over the years though, I've done more and more in the amp, to the point where can now make one trip from the car into a venue, put the amp on it's compact stand, connect the GA-FC and an expression pedal, plug in my guitar, and be ready to go in a few minutes. The downside of this approach is that, when sounds are baked into presets, it's hard to tweak them at a gig, whereas if you just use the panel settings and get your sounds from pedals, the knobs do reflect what's actually going on so it's easy to just push up the mids a notch or pull back the reverb if the venue needs that. I've just bought an XSonic AirStep Kat, which allows you to control the Katana's settings from your phone. Obviously it's not the same as walking back to the amp and turning a physical knob, but it's better than booting up a laptop. Of all the amps I've owned, I've owned the Katana the longest. It's the only amp I've had that, if it were to fail, I'd run out and buy another one as quickly as possible.
I was in a situation where my mesa mark 4 blew a tube the night before a gig. I had bought the mark 1 katana head during the pandemic. Blew my mind at the gig how good it sounded. In my experience, it is all about the speaker cabinet you put it through. I have an avatar 2/12 with a v30 and g12 in it. Sounds perfect for the prog metal my band does. Super versatile, and I am not breaking my back, trying to lug a tube amplifier to a gig.
Preordered my Katana Air before it was released and have worked and beaten it mercilessly and it just keeps coming back for more as well as sounding awesome.
I just walk around the yard and jam; my neighbors hate it.
A Katana Artist MkII is a great gigging amp and the best Katana combo amp to get. I love mine. It covers a lot of ground and sounds so good.
I have that same 100W head with a Mesa Boogie Lonestar cab. Plenty of power, and I run it without the internal effects off most of the time except the reverb. No reliability issues on stage.
The katana head is awesome. It's a perfect practice amp too because of the built in 5 inch speaker. I run the head into a DV Mark 2x8 guitar cab and the cleans are fantastic. It also has a cool smooth drive sound with the lead channel. I traded a Bugera Trirec for a MK2 head and it was a great decision. It's also really cool to use a boss gt1000 through it because it basically becomes a midi controller. If I didn't build guitar amps and pedals I would suggest everyone buy one.
I have a friend that plays guitar with me in a band and has a Katana. He brings it to all his gigs with me, even though he has like a vox ac15 and other amps. I use a Marshall dsl20 and a nodded blues jr mostly, but sometimes in larger venues I get to use a Jcm900 4x12, voxac30 or a fender twin. I have to say the katana sounds great paired with those amps. Seriously Considering getting one. Sometimes I go and try it at soundcheck and i think it's sounding better than what I'm using and I'm like wtf
I recently acquired the Artist and I think it can do pretty much anything. With the GA-FC pedal and a few hours of messing around it’s amazing. The only way anyone would know it’s not a tube amp is if they look at it. At the price I paid it’s not even a question whether or not it’s the way to go. My PRS Silver Sky actually sounds better through the Artist than my old Mesa Boogie.
Dude, I had a Mesa Boogie triple rectifier for 20 years, recently got a BOSS Katana - LOVE IT.
I love tube amps, but I can’t afford one right now. The Katana 50 MK2 is my amp right now. I use it weekly at church (a larger church with a full, modern band) using patches I made myself using the tone studio parametric EQ, both a couple black panel fender (to my ear sounds like a Twin and a Princeton…Princeton is usually my live “amp”)and a Vox AC type patch. Takes pedals so well and sounds studio quality.
I have a mk1 head and it sounds great through a 2x12 with v30 speakers in. Most people who down play the sound quality of these amps have never owned or played one. They are way above a starter amp. I know a few players that use them in orchestra's as they go direct and keep the head near them in silent mode. Best value new amp on the market
My first physical amp was a Katana 50 MKI and it was absolutely amazing, even though I've upgraded to a multifx, I still keep the Katana 50 just as an emergency amp.
It really helped me gettin through lots of ruts, love it to bits.
Especially the Katana Artist model, it’s so good. I played a TV thing one day and they had the back lined and man did it sound good.
I loved the little section you added on TrueFire courses worth exploring. I'm a rock guy who keeps trying to dip toes into the jazz and funk world and I've had TrueFire all access for years, but there's so. much content. Nice to have some recommendations, and may be worth exploring more in a standalone video!
I was having trouble with my Marshall 100w combo sounding different in different rooms. I got a 100w katana Mk2 used and a Harley Benton 212 cab with v30s. I also got the boss foot controller and spent no more than an hour in tone studio tweaking 3 channels. I’ve giggled it 3 times now and I’m so happy to have a consistent sounding “set and forget” rig
I picked up the Boss Katana mk2 100 watt head and a 2x12 cab. No pedals all the tones are in the amp head. It is now my main rig. I gig a lot and it is amazing. Check it out.
He says “it’s a 300 pound amp”, and my first thought is “there’s no way it weighs that much”
I do the same kind of work, private parties, weddings and bars. I use the Boss Katana 100 combo for everything. I also have the 100 head that I use with a Mesa Boogie cabinet that has an EV 12 in it. The EV cab does sound better, but for convenience I use the combo.
The Days of 4 Hundred pound Tube Heads & 4 x 12 cabs are over especially for Gigging !! Tube amps will still have their uses in recording and for certain live situations . But Modeling is here and has been for the last 10 years . They are great for recording and for Gigging especially . Welcome to the 21st Century . I have used my 10 Watt Blackstar ID:Core mic'd out to front and played 3 Complete Metallica Tribute sets 1st set Ride the Lightening 2nd Master 3rd Justice , all 3 Albums played in full and it sounded spot on and wasn't one issue in any of the sets . Modeling amps are here to stay so Embrace the Utility and ease of use & great sound reproduction !
I gugged the boss katana 50 mk2 combo and my experience was the same. Better than expected and absolutely did the job, clearly reliable and value for money is insane on them. You can even use one as an external speaker for a helix, which ive also done for stage volume and honestly, if i had to gig with nothing but the helix i could do it no issue at all
I think this is the new dilemma. We all want that tube amp feel in the room, but the versatility and setup of something like the HX going FOH. Been eyeballing some of the Victory amp pedals with Two Notes built in and the new Revv D25 with Two Notes also seems really interesting. A bit of the "best of both worlds", tube feel, can push to an external speaker (or with the D25 it's a combo), send signal direct to FOH, can plug headphones into them, can send directly to a computer. Neither is inexpensive, but really interesting options are finally being brought to market in this more hybrid approach. The more cables and setup that can be eliminated from live performances without sacrificing the feel and tone.
Once I’m good enough to justify the expense that’s the route I intend to go.
Just did a first gig with a Katana mkll head i picked up used. Paired with a 50w anthem speaker in a closed back cab. Very happy with sounds... articulate, highly tweakable, optional foot switch adds a lot of flexibility for live use.
I used to gig with my Marshall 100 watt head through a 412. I've had the Katana for around 3-4 years now and it is now my gigging amp. It is much more versatile, can sound like the Marshall, and most of all, it is lightweight and easy to carry across the parking lots to the clubs. Love my Katana...most versatile amp I own. Love that I don't need pedals. Guitar straight through Katana....done.
Looks like you opened pandora's box, John! Very cool. Huge Roland and boss guy from the beginning, so I'm completely biased, but I think it's hard to beat the tone and versatility for the money. I've owned a Katana Air for a few years now, and love it. Not sure if I've spent more time playing the GT 1000 Core since I got it six months ago, or not. I run both direct to PA or DAW, and they sound incredible. I'm with you, John, if Boss stepped up their marketing game they'd rule the world, if they don't already, lol. And, let's not forget, kids, old timers back in the day, (to this very day!)! doing gigs like John, were using JC amps as "pedal platforms" before the term existed. Love the vids, John. Peace
The mk2 head is my first and only amp I have owned. Only been playing guitar for a year and a half and for me it’s been great. I just used the 5” speaker for the first six months then brought a 2x12 Marshall cab. I have the cab in my living room and if I don’t want to annoy anybody I just unplug the head a play in my room. It’s so versatile and the effects sound great to me especially once I learned how to use the EQ. I’ve had loads of fun with this amp it’s a great buy for beginners like me.
Just got a 50 MKII EX and it's all I expected and will ever need. I stowed my other amps so I'd not be distracted by them. Ridiculously great value to boot.
Yeah man! I just got hip and I miiight have to cop one; just got a started 7 string and in general improving my guitar playing (I'm a bassist professionally).
I take the katana head to venues where I can run it direct while using the little speaker as a personal on-stage monitor. I tend to make good use of the various internal eq’s to dump the highs and lows in conjunction with the dyn421 simulation. For outdoor gigs, I run it into a 2x12 at 50w and it’s plenty loud. The katana is a great value for the money.
how loud can the internal speaker go?
@@jaypaduadesigns it’s not going to project over an open, loud drum kit. If the drummer is behind a baffle and you have the head on a stand pointing at you, then it works quite well and doesn’t have to be pushed to the limit.
Best amp ever for ability in any situation. Cheers from Oz.
Katanas are the best selling amp for the last couple of years. For a good reason. I LOVE it. I have two of them. And in many cases I prefer it to many of my expensive tube amps.
Amazing amps. I have a katana and a Nextone. Sold all my tube amps. Haven’t missed them ever.
Someone has already said it but try the Nextone Artist is you get a chance, especialy if you are setting it up to use with a pedalboard. I had a Kanata Artist for gigging for a couple of years and it was great. Nextonne is better, and I'd love to hear your response to it.
Love your work mate! Cheers Neil (Australia)
Yep, I run @ 50 watts, clean channel, a bit driven, touch of verb, through a Celestion Vintage 10" 60-watt spkr (Mojotone cab). I use a Nobels OD, an SD1 for solos, and I'm good to go. I have a few other effects pedals for variety, not worth mentioning. I do recommend the head, not a combo. It gets the jobs done without much fanfare.
I just bought a Fender Princeton Reverb Tone Master yesterday but I think I may return it. I already have a Katana and the price to value of a katana is hard to justify keeping the princeton reverb. Love that amp (sold the tube version of it years ago), but I can get a very similar tone out of the Katana or in my headphones/studio monitors using helix native. Digital has come a long way
I have a 50 Watt Katana combo and I absolutely love it. I bought the first generation Katana in 2015 and then, in a boneheaded moment, sold it in 2019. I regretted it and ended up getting another one. If you're in a band that plays larger venues, for a couple hundred dollars more, you can get the 100W Artist Katana head. It has a few more bells and whistles too.
I've had a couple of Katanas. My GAS resulted in me settling on a Tone King Imperial a couple of years ago. Know what I play the most on now? Neural plugins on my workstation :) Durp.
I’ve been gigging a boss katana 100mk1 1x12 combo for 5 years [in plenty of dodgy wedding/function bands to boot😂], and even after trying and owning a handful of other amps/modelers, nothing seems to beat the katana in terms of practicality, volume, and consistency. There are other amps that sound a little better, of course, but I could gig the katana another 5 years easily.
I have a Boss Katana 100 head I pair with a 2X12 cab loaded with Celestion vintage 30's and the sound is great. It has become my primary gigging amp.
I have a Boss Katana 50 watt combo and has gigged that thing with no problems. Takes pedals well and just a great sound. I’ve had my boss pre pandemic, got it in 2015/16 and it’s never let me down. But if I want to go smaller I just use the Boss IR-200.
(re: Mesa Subway Blues = back in the day it was well known among Boogie users that the SubBlues doesn’t like pedals. Quite the opposite of what we call today a “pedal platform” amp. The reason I exchanged it finally for a Subway Rocket)
Ah! Thanks for the intel!
I own the head as well as the 212 combo version. The head with a great 4x12 sounds massive but the 212 combo is very close and more compact. Never had a reliability issue, though the internal speakers are not working in my head anymore 😞 Based on forum research, it's a commong problem with the speaker jack
I, too, gig a Katana but mine is an older first issue 50w combo and yields four channels. Two banks each with two channels. I have a clean, a clean lead, a crunch and an all-out lead. I run a fifty seven on it and use in-ear monitors and my sound guy is very happy with low stage volume but killer tones just the same. I have more guys coming up saying how they've been loving their Katanas as well and my other guitarist just got the 100w combo. At first I wanted to trade out the stock speaker for a Celestion or similar but I've grown to love the one in it for now anyway. I love the fact it is so light in weight yet has such great tones and a very compact footprint on stage. Almost comical sitting next to a big drum kit but will keep up with it no problem. I have stopped using my pedalboard. Now it's just a two button switcher. The little rig has been bullet proof, so far, and all my tube rigs sit in the studio. It was a treat to hear you and your band is great! You're an excellent player, man and I enjoyed the video very much! Cheers!
@JNC.. check out the parametric EQs in the Katana !! They are AMAZING!!
Isn't it strange how much of a difference the court of public opinion makes on how we feel. We love handmade pedals in our bedrooms while our heroes are playing stock and mass produced gear that inspires us. That lie that investing more money means I'm more serious as a musician gets me every time.
I went in to a music store looking for a cheap strat to essentially strip apart and customize myself. I plugged in to a Katana because it was just the amp closest, and I fell in love with the amp and probably played around with the amp for 30 minutes and forgot about the guitar. I’ve had your traditional tube amps and massive pedalboards and played in arguably the most gear snobby environments (church) and I truly believe if people just get over themselves there are good options out there like the Katana. I’ve recommended this amp to everyone I’ve come across for a solid practice amp/starting amp that will keep up with the times and your growth as a musician.
Played live (tech metal) with one of these with absolutely no issues. Soon after I upgraded to the Axe fx 3 and our sound quickly shat the bed. The katana just works.
This Katana head is ridiculously good when you use the software. I blow everyone’s mind when guitar buddies come over and I plug it into my Mesa cab.
I was playing a gig recently with my originals band Trust Club, and turning up to the venue we were promised there'd be two combo amps available to use. As there were a lot of bands on the bill and I had a few people in the car I didn't bring anything, worst comes to worst I could just use my HX Stomps amps.
There was a 50w Katana Combo there, which on initial inspection (not realising it was 50w) I was skeptical of as it looked quite small and unassuming. Fired it up and plugged in etc and I was immediately impressed - all I did before our set was turn the reverb off! Think it was on the crunch setting, and plenty loud enough - when I get to use my own rig I tend to use a Marshall Origin20 on a Marshall 4x10 cab, but playing this gig I was quite content with the sound of the Katana and my biggest surprise is it responded very similarly to my Origin when it came to using my overdrives and delays etc.
So if I were on tour or something and my gear crapped out, I'd probably look for a Katana as a fast and probably quite reliable replacement!
I bought a Katana and ran it through a Marshall 4x12 cab. I loved it. My son plays more than I do so I gave the rig to him. When I owned it I thought it sounded amazing and it kicked some serious ass. Worth every penny I paid for it.
Not sure about a band setting but I love playing at house parties and tailgating events with my little yamaha.
I have the same Mk2 Head into a Blackstar 1x12 cab loaded with a Celestion GK100 something or other and... It's the best amp I have ever owned. (Marshall/Blackstar previously in recent years - and a lot of others since the late '60's!) Excellent video.
I've been gigging Katanas since 2016. Haven't used anything else since they came out
There's a really sweet Boss Slow Gear effect in the mod effects section.
seeing the amp played in a live setting was quite fun.
I’ve never gigged one of those but I did gig a Line 6 Pocket Pod once and even got some of the gig on video and NOBODY knew the difference. My sounds were actually pretty damn good!
Ok back to the Katana…going into the tones that it can produce, I would definitely gig it! I am so impressed with that amp! I actually wanted to hate but couldn’t find a logical reason to hate it. So yeah I’m all about it!
I think that's always been the case with Tube Amps, the stars have to align for you to be entirely happy with the sound, so many variables or small changes of gear can ruin the sweet spot!
Whereas the Boss Katana range has made Solid State a reliable great sounding alternative giving you 95% (guaranteed in any situation) of a Tube Amp at it's best with all Stars and Moons aligned! 😂
In the 80s I tried to tour with the mesa triple rec. No matter what I did the mesa just sounded sterile. When back to marshall after 30 days. I bought a katans 2x12 100 for samall gigs. It will do the job with spades.
I got mine looking for a grab n go for rehearsals, low volume gigs and jazz gigs. The combos suffer from small cab mids. So I swapped it for a katana artist. Boom. Prob solved. Bigger cab and better speaker. Heavier than the reg katana, but worth it. As bassists say, tone is n the lower back.
I use a Fender Super Champ XL tube preamp out into amp in on the Katana. Four ten cab and the single ten on the Fender also stays active. 50 watt setting. Superb!
Can you do a video on how to get gear simply by asking for it? That's the part I'm struggling with most.
i've become a katana fan. i play the100mkII combo. the speaker sounds good. it does what it was designed to do. it all works well together. i've run line out. it sounds good as well. i have no problem hanging with another guitar player. my friend plays a blues deluxe. get the master up past 50% and use the volume to control your output. it plays like a tube amp. i don't feel like i'm missing anything. and it's a lot lighter than my hotrod deluxe.
I gigged my Katana 100 MK2 for a week at Tootsie’s in Panama City Beach back in September with all effects from the amp. I had no problem playing New/Old Country or Classic Rock. We did choose to Mic it.
Great review. I have that exact head. It's been my main amp for about 6 months now. No complaints. It does handle pedals very well. Mine does have a huge bump in level when you switch from clean to crunch and I am going to find out if the boost mode can bring up my clean channel. I am not a loud player but my clean channel sometimes is a bit weak with a full band on stage. I built a homemade cab to the proper specs and put in the lightest speaker I could find. Celestion G12 Neo Creamback 12-inch 60-watt. If anyone knows about the volume output on that speaker please comment.
I usually run it on the 100 watt setting and set the crunch channel as clean as possible and use pedals for any overdrive settings. The acoustic voicing on the acoustic channel is ok with a mandolin or acoustic guitar if it's in the mix of a full band. Obviously not as nice as going through the FOH but in a rehearsal setting plenty good enough. I like mine. I think maybe the speaker I use could be weak. I like it a lot and have had soundmen tell me I have a good tone with it.
Interesting. I'm playing a country wedding at the weekend in a barn where the electricity will be from a generator. I currrently use a Fender TMDR, but on a couple of occasions where the venue's wiring seemed a bit dodgy, the TMDR sounded weird, as if it had a chorus effect permenantly on. I use an 100w Katana combo in my teaching studio for students to go through, so am taking that for the first time at the weekend. Have to say in the studio the Fender sounds much better to me when I AB them, and both amps sound really different, so not entirely sure how it'll go, but hey, when you're playing Teenage Dirtbag and Strip the Willow to drunk farmers in a barn, then I can say with confidence that ammount of people giving a shit what I'm playing through will boil down to just me!!🤣
Teenage Dirtbag here we go again!
That's interesting to hear you had some dodgy chorus type sounds?! I found the Katana held up really well with a 64 Vibroreverb reissue when through the same cab - I wonder if that's a factor with the Tonemaster?
6:37 Thanks for being straight forward with us Captain Lee! 😂😂😂
In a previous video you mentioned you were going to try to gig with the Katana using 100% onboard effects/pedals etc. Have you had a chance to try that yet? Super interested to know!
I've had the MK1 head, MK1 112 combo, MK2 112 combo, and MK1 212 combo and I stuck with the MK1 112. It may have been that my MK1 speaker was well broken in, but side by side with the MK2 112 there was a world of difference to my ears. And I tried breaking the speaker in but the shrillness never went away and it never warmed up enough. I imagine there's some good stuff in the works for the MK3! Truly my favorite amp of all time because I can just turn it on and be satisfied with the tone immediately. No screwing around
Melody is ruling over speed, Jonathan. Great studio intro, you are really playing exceptionally well. I enjoy your unique jam tracks. Sometimes complex, sometimes simple, always a great landscape to jam over.
I love the gig shots/video.
Great video sir as the Katana is great. When are we going to see you on That Pedal Show?
thanks John excellent content i have a Boss Katana And it is so functional i did have to get speaker replaced right after the warranty expired, i bought it used from guitar center , but other than that it is a perfect Head alone or connected to a cab. cheers from L.A. calif.
My friend visited Nashville last year and saw Jon Bolinger play a few gigs. According to my friend, Jon was using a Katana combo at his gigs.