Less than 2 weeks ago I bought the Katana 50 at my local Guitar Center. I see this Video this Morning and curse. Looked online GC has the MK2 for sale for the same price I bought the MK1. Called my local GC and they let me exchange for the new version. Hell ya!
Posting this so I can use timestamps to do quick comparisons. Clean start: 14:40 Quick Comparison: 16:23 Clean Var: 16:28 Crunch start: 18:19 Quick Comparison: 19:35 Crunch Var: 19:40 Lead start: 20:40 Quick Comparison: 21:31 Lead Var: 21:35 Brown start: 22:56 Quick Comparison: 23:36 Brown Var: 23:41
youre a class act Rabea - when I was learning I'd constantly come across young players who deserved far better sound but were sold whatever crap the big box importers were flogging that season in the affordable category. Thanks to resources like this kids have a 10x better chance of getting great sound earlier and sticking with a rewarding journey - its valuable stuff
Yes, I agree. When I was growing up playing I started on an acoustic @ age 7. It was hard on me but I was determined to be able to play like Paul Kossoff and Leslie West. Then I got a gift from my grandad when I was 10 and he seen I was actually sticking with it and I was a pretty good player already. He let me play his 1955 LPjr. It was awesome. He also had a Marshall JCM 800 and of course that made me love playing even more. He got me a 80 something model JMP and a 76 Gibson LP custom. It was like Randy Rhodes so I got into playing his style but I moved more to the blues style of music. Of course being self taught with 1 lesson then I was 10 I was trying to play so many different styles that I never really got disciplined in any one style . It turned out fine I think because I learned to play by ear and I learned to play many different types of music.
Robby Johnson great story man I’m always impressed by self taught players I bet it gave you a great ear for all music. Although new learners may miss out on that extra strength and ear training I hope the newer cheaper gear causes more to stick with it. It’s a reward that can’t be bought and pays off for a lifetime
It was 2008, a GC rep convinced me to buy a new peavey amp I didn't need. From that moment on I made it my duty to rip off GC every chance I got. Musicians never forget. lol
Boss is a company that listens to the people and gives them what they want. I’m def getting the new 100 watt katana. Thing is a beast and sounds sick. All those effects to, wow. Great job Boss.
RedAppleRadio for real though, why the hell would I spend potentially thousands of pounds on tube amps that are really specific to one sort of sound when I could spend a couple of hundred pounds on something like this that can do everything. I know there's gonna be purists who insist the tone is "inferior" to tubes but if they were blindfolded they probably wouldn't know the difference. Love this amp, an absolute game changer
@@ellisscott9840 You're absolutely correct. The tone isn't inferior.....the tone is spectacular...the purists say that to justify their bank breaking purchases.
@@TomPark1986 absolutely. I'm just so glad we live in this time. This amp has it all, even an insane amount of effects. Just give me a decent strat and a boss katana and I'm basically sorted.
I bought the Artist MKII when it came out. Had a friend who is into handwired tube amps over to check it out. He was astonished. Is there a difference? Sure. But having it all in one box and using the GA FC controller, this thing replaces an amp and a pedal board quite easily. If you are recording and insist on ONE particular sound that you only get from your boutique tube amp and modified pedals, then maybe it's not for you. But you'd be the rare bird who couldn't find the tones in the Katana to do what you want - especially in a studio mix where a tech is sculpting the frequencies in a digital editor, anyway. I think that telling the tones of the Katana apart from the tube setup is something that tons of TH-cam reviewers love to show in isolated A/B comparison reviews. Now do the same thing in a live mix with a band or on a recording where multiple instruments are stacked and sound-sculpted in the post mix and it becomes truly hard to find the difference.
This video has sold me on the Katana. I already knew it could do solid clean and crunchy tones, but wasn’t sure if it could nail the modern high gain sounds. Clearly most of it’s Rabea’s playing, but that won’t stop me from trying!
Absolutely killed it in this video. I just bought the 100 MKII rather unexpectedly because I wanted something more practical than my 50's tube amp. The software has been solid and that is most often the thing that destroys a good product. I spent some time shooting out the Dan Electro Daddy O that is a clone of the Guv'nor pedal and my big muff. The clones in the amp are so similar that it would never make or break a recording or performance. They just sound ever so slightly different. Not an issue. I never thought I would ever buy an amp with chips in it ever again but this sounds dam good so why fight it?
I've been using the 100 head and 1x12 combo for 2yrs now and I've been so impressed I've stopped gigging my Marshall TSL and jvm Half stacks, now I'm thinking of a mk2 2x12 and leaving the Marshall at home, and take the mark1 head as backup
I still have my Boss Heavy Metal HM-2 pedal I bought circa 1982 (give or take a year) and it still smashes it out of the park. It came with a brass plaque stating it was the 3,000,000th Boss unit ever made. Still got it on my key fob to this day.
My friend I play for 30 years I watched a video you ware talking about how crazy guitar players are in TH-cam so you cannot compare with but man let me tell you what my father god bless him in the sky said he was a great accordionist: you don't have to have that crazy speed shredding style it's absolutely enough to have a great tone So concentrate on that the speed is for later Man for me you are one of the greatest guitarists in the world , cheers 🍻
I know this video is really old but brother… when you flipped the variation switch with that blues driver on the first channel… my soul left my body listening to that beautiful chord progression. You sir, are one of the best guitarists alive. There’s a sense of connection I can feel when I hear you play I don’t get with people like Jared dines. Your playing talks to me, it tells a story. Please never stop playing 🙏
Just ordered my mk2 100 today finally replacing my line 6 amplifi 150 and chasing the modern metal tones on a budget with added audio interface is a huge help
Had the MK1 since it was released in 2016. Hands down the best amp you can get for your money, loud and clear with the amount of effects you get. Best bang for your buck if you want a flexible set up.
Now that I have one at these and am listening back, the heavy variations really help get rid of some of the low mid bump that I didn't like in the original amps. Did a quick metal mix on my channel, and will be digging into it more.
Bought the 50w mk1 as something small and light for practice, teaching and jams, but gradually got into it (takes a while as there are so many options) and now think it's great and use it all the time for recording and performing too.
Well, THR30 sounds better at low volumes, Pro Junior sounds better at high volumes, I personally prefer the Roland JC-22/used JC-40 for an all around amp at this price range, but I also have an extensive pedal collection
That "radio" eq effect was sick!!!!!! Sounds coming out of this amp are amazing. Waiting on my new mark 2 - 2x12 100 to get here. Thank you for the excellent review.
Could you make an album of those dreamy baritone sounds? They are just the kind of music that would help me get some sleep and relax on my own. Or if not album, do a video where you just play for an hour.
Katana 100 version1 owner here. I'm definitely buying a Katana 100 version2. The ability to us it as a "blank slate" for my modeling pedalboard as well as use the stereo link feature make it a no-brainer to use for a killer stereo rig. Katana's are great amps.
I still use my (sort of outdated) "Line 6 Spider IV 150" together with the "Line 6 FBV Shortboard MkII" remote control footswitch "pedalboard thing". For one thing it isn't really a 150W amp (I'd say more or less like a 30W40W, or less), and it doesn't really sound "right" ... BUT ... it's an extremely ergonomic, compact, inexpensive, and full featured practical solution to most my KOMMANDÖH GIGS (gigs in hazardous places :D ...). I organized the 16 banks of 4 presets in order to have the same effects at 4 different amp settings/gain-levels under each of the 16 banks ... like for instance a Rock'a'Billy bank with the same type echo / reverb and compression hitting 4 different gain levels from ultra clean to some sort of a Bassman hit with a TS. Or another bank with some sort of an "emulation" of a Hammond organ running through an overdriven amp : slow leslie type into slightly overdriven amp, fast leslie type into slightly overdriven amp, slow leslie type into heavily overdriven amp, fast leslie type into heavily overdriven amp. I have to admit that even in Line 6, I still haven't found that level of ergonomic and practicality for such an affordable price.
Awesome bro!! I just ordered the 50w mk2 about an hour ago, right after I watched this video! It's getting here Monday... I cant wait man!!!! I put the same GAFC footswitch on my sweetwater wishlist, my wife says after Christmas I can grab that as well... First new amp in over 20 years!!!!!!! 🎸🎸👍👍
Great review mate. Did not come across as a sponsored video. Own the 100 head 1 and 2 (need to sell V1) and is near the best sounding solid state amp I own. Have a few valve amps which are obviously awesome, but this does a brilliant job. I have one other solid state amp which is also brilliant. The 100 W Trace Elliot Super Tramp Twin Reverb from the late 90’s with British made Celestian Vintage 30’s. That thing is killer still to this day. Speakers are probably just broken in"………….. It is an unsung hero of the solid state world.
absolutely everything you played was unbelievable, it's unreal, it took 1 video for you to be a huge inspiration for my guitarplaying, thank you, the video was so informative, straight up, top quality - just flawless, amazing, i don't have the words to describe it, i've browsed the internet for so long for videos and info on the amp and im so glad i found you, YOU'RE IT, definitely subscribing and checking out your channel for more, sorry for the novel, just needed to express my gratitude!
Bought one at Guitar Center, sounds great, better than most modeling amps in the same $ range. I couldn’t get the software connected though. After spending a few hours trying to connect the software to the amp with no success, the amp went back to Guitar Center. Roland needs to fix their software issues.
I guarantee you it wasn't a Roland issue. You likely needed a firmware update, and/OR you downloaded the old Tone Studio and not the MkII program (clearly labeled if you're on the right page).
Great video Rabea. Well explained and easy to understand. Keep up the amazing work. I own a Katana 50 v2 and will definitely be upgrading to a 100 MK 2. And I also agree, Boss have been doing it right for a very long time. I love their products.
tnx Fro Bro. after all your insightful and accurate reviews, finally having a brand new one tomorrow. just so excited to have my own, waited for the Mark2, a marsh mallow ish test of sorts. worth the wait, and it's gonna be a great adventure :)
Just recently had my whole rig stolen. Looking for a replacement amp and caught this video. Paused the video went to GC and tried out a MK1 and was blow away by the Katana. They didn’t have a MK2 in stock yet but if the MK1 sounds that good I’ll definitely be getting one soon.
You have just struck gold. I've got a bass lying around that's in need of such a beast. I've got the 100w for my guitar in my bedroom and it kicks ass.
No one has yet made a demo video of the new Stereo Expand feature, using two identical MK2 amps. Could you please do one? I'm curious of how a live stereo Katana rig would sound and function, especially with different choruses, delays, reverbs, etc...
you buy a 100Watt Katana and run it at 50Watt setting so in effect you have the 50 but with more features...the .5 setting I believe is equivalent to 25 watts on the 100
Thank You Rabea!! I'm buying this new 212 mk2 100 watt next week!! Yay!!!! Excellent Video Bro; Informative, Enlightening, and all the Coolest Tones!!!!
I was looking at this amp in the Sweetwater catalog and I thought it looked good now I know it is! thanks for such a great in depth demo of this fantastic amp.
...A seriously versatile & yet compact amp! It has so much to offer! & at very reasonable prices for all your getting! The key to this rig is the foot switch sold separately. I'm looking for a versatile work horse practice among & I'm pretty sure this sucker is it! I think the 50watt ccmbo version would suit my needs just fine. This anp does so much! Believe me I'll be at my local shop putting this sucker through the business! I WANT ONE! ...GREAT JOB BOSS!
Okay, I’ve had the Katana 100 MkII head going through the Katana 212 cab for about four or five weeks now. I’ve tried all kinds of different tone settings including these from Ola. I have yet to find anything that I truly like. Everything sounded like it was getting some kind of harmonic interference. I even tried some pedals into the amp input using the vaunted KSR Ceres preamp. I also started using headphones so I could really listen to the tone to see what it was I thought I was hearing. Well, what I found was that when I played a single note, especially in the higher frequencies, say, G string 12th fret or higher, if I just played one note and held it, I could always hear some kind of slow warble or oscillation in the tone. It’s not as evident when playing a clean tone but with any kind of a high gain tone it is very evident. I’ve played around with different high gain built in devices on the amp and they all do it. Wondering if it was the guitar (Jackson JS32 DKA with stock pickups), I tried three other guitars, each with different pickups. A 1978 Les Paul with factory humbuckers, a 1980 Flying V2 with factory single coil boomerang pickups, and I even tried my grandson’s Squier Strat with its factory single coil pickups. All four guitars had the same issue… any kind of high gain signal from the guitar whether it be from a preamp/distortion/overdrive pedal or from one of the modeled pedals internal to the Katana, they all had that oscillating harmonic warble, most noticeable on the higher notes. So the next thing I’m gonna do is try these same guitars through my audio interface into a DAW and see if I can get a nice clear tone. Anyone else have such an issue with the Katana? I’ll let y’all know what happens with the audio interface/DAW.
I just sold my heavy ass Marshall! I was looking for a more transportable, light weight solution for an 80s Arena Rock band and it looks like this just might work. I'm ordering one soon!
Lorenzo Bindoni the artist has the waza driver and has 2 extra knobs that do some things to the sound. Unless your a pro and sound is a big thing for you, save your money and get a mk2.
I bought the katana 2 100 played it for a couple of weeks. I was impressed I bought another one to be able to use the stereo option. This what I use to gig with. The sound is Killer !! I got the limited edition ( white). Looks great on stage !!
I bought 2 at the same time just for home practice-the Artist and a 50. I keep them in 2 different rooms, one more of a studio, but put them together in my big room for super sound.
Found one for 175 barely played on marketplace. Gonna pick it up. Really need a good FR but this will be cool for going over and jamming without having to bring my QC and all that jazz
so far you used katanas on Pink Floyd (for under £500) Jimi Hendrix (for under £500) Guns n Roses (for under £500) Weezer Bryan Adams & Keith Scott Most Versatile Rig (which is my all time favorite band) Gojira Bullet For My Valentine Korn Toto Sum 41 Whatever next i must ask lol oh and we need more ultimate rig videos, just so my mate can make the "ultimate ___ rig is my favorite band of all time" joke and also so their friend Saki Miyu can give your original songs some nifty titles like they always do
I own The KT50 and highly recommend this amp to any beginner for one it's affordable and it's awesome,it will carry you well through your beginning level of guitar playing and well on through your medium level to your professional level of guitar playing this amp has everyone covered,it is a work horse in the field and will never disappoint,just every great guitarist who endorses the Katana brand which the numbers are great....
@@LIHPIT Yeah I agree on the univibe part, but at the same time Hendrix loved to experiment with different sounds and ways of recording. He used all the effects that were around at that time and some that were developed because of him. To add to that, it's Jimi Hendrix, he could make a dog turd sound good.
You are right about the Boss Katana MKII I got the 50 the tone studio makes that amp do what no other amp does it's awesome no need for a tube amp anymore it's the best amp I've had you tell Rabea it bad to the bone 1 mean metal monster
I wish there was a more featured floor control for the Katana. The GA-FC is great, however I use more than 8 presets live, and you are sticked to the FX unless you change them with the physical amp buttons or software editor. I really hope they release a foot controller that communicates through USB to the KATANA letting us to basically have the katana studio on a physical device. That way I wouldn't need to replace the Katana amazing sounds with a multiFX/pedals anymore.
I feel that this amp was the best before MKII was a thing. Now I don't think any other affordable amp brand has a chance in hell of surpassing them. Great Review/Demo Rabea. And To BOSS You Guys Have Created A Legacy With These Amps. And For That I Thank You. Never Stop Being The BOSS's That You Are.
Alex Spray Probably, but I don’t have the box anymore and returning stuff through the site I bought from is probably going to be a hassle. Watching this video is doesn’t seem there is a huge amazing drastic difference so I’m not 100% convinced I *have* to get the new one. The biggest difference seems to be being able to have 5 effects running at once rather than 3. However, I only ever play with like 1 or 2 effects on at once. Rabea even said in the beginning of this video “this is not boss saying the original was bad so we made a new one. The original katana is still the amazing award winning amplifier, this one is just for those people who either don’t have the katana or want even more versatility”. In keeping with that mindset, I am still happy with my katana mk1 head. It serves my tonal purposes well enough
Jianqiao Zhang Read my reply to Alex. We are in the same boat man. The original boss katana is not bad at all so I would say play it until you hit a point where feel like you *need* the new one.
Alright, now... I'm listening to this on a simple TriBit hooked up to my desktop computer. And when you played the Baritone using the Brown Variation I literally went, "Holy F^@#!!!". And then I saw your reaction at 24:14 and I just knew you were thinking the same thing. ROFL. I bought my Katana 100 v.1 about a year ago. This mk II makes me drool.
Less than 2 weeks ago I bought the Katana 50 at my local Guitar Center. I see this Video this Morning and curse. Looked online GC has the MK2 for sale for the same price I bought the MK1. Called my local GC and they let me exchange for the new version. Hell ya!
Jrad Howes I did the same thing at my Guitar Center lol.
Same thing! but I got the 100w head this is good to hear bro! Lol.. I’ll be making calls
Yep. I've been putting off watching these mk2 video's lol.
HEL YEAH! Rip it!
I think its too late for me!!
Posting this so I can use timestamps to do quick comparisons.
Clean start: 14:40
Quick Comparison: 16:23
Clean Var: 16:28
Crunch start: 18:19
Quick Comparison: 19:35
Crunch Var: 19:40
Lead start: 20:40
Quick Comparison: 21:31
Lead Var: 21:35
Brown start: 22:56
Quick Comparison: 23:36
Brown Var: 23:41
TYSM!!!!!
well you're helping the rest of us out. thanks.
bless you sir!
Doing the lord's work
youre a class act Rabea - when I was learning I'd constantly come across young players who deserved far better sound but were sold whatever crap the big box importers were flogging that season in the affordable category. Thanks to resources like this kids have a 10x better chance of getting great sound earlier and sticking with a rewarding journey - its valuable stuff
Yes, I agree. When I was growing up playing I started on an acoustic @ age 7. It was hard on me but I was determined to be able to play like Paul Kossoff and Leslie West. Then I got a gift from my grandad when I was 10 and he seen I was actually sticking with it and I was a pretty good player already. He let me play his 1955 LPjr. It was awesome. He also had a Marshall JCM 800 and of course that made me love playing even more. He got me a 80 something model JMP and a 76 Gibson LP custom. It was like Randy Rhodes so I got into playing his style but I moved more to the blues style of music. Of course being self taught with 1 lesson then I was 10 I was trying to play so many different styles that I never really got disciplined in any one style . It turned out fine I think because I learned to play by ear and I learned to play many different types of music.
Robby Johnson great story man I’m always impressed by self taught players I bet it gave you a great ear for all music. Although new learners may miss out on that extra strength and ear training I hope the newer cheaper gear causes more to stick with it. It’s a reward that can’t be bought and pays off for a lifetime
@@jesseclaborn749 How exactly does one "listen to their ears"? How is this achieved? (Maybe by cupping your hands over them?)
@@jesseclaborn749 It's easy to hear your ears, but not really *listen* to them. It's important to listen.
It was 2008, a GC rep convinced me to buy a new peavey amp I didn't need. From that moment on I made it my duty to rip off GC every chance I got. Musicians never forget. lol
Those Blue Driver Strat tones are some of the sweetest Strat tones I’ve heard. Just bought this amp today and so far I’m impressed. It’s does it all.
Boss is a company that listens to the people and gives them what they want. I’m def getting the new 100 watt katana. Thing is a beast and sounds sick. All those effects to, wow. Great job Boss.
The Katana series is one of the best things that happened to the guitar world, a true gift from the Skies
I just bought this amp last night I'm having a ton of fun creating great metal tones in the tone studio. Great amp!!!
I hate it when I hear the anti computer brigade moaning , I think it's all part of the fun
This is all a guitarist would ever need. The tones are fantastic.
RedAppleRadio for real though, why the hell would I spend potentially thousands of pounds on tube amps that are really specific to one sort of sound when I could spend a couple of hundred pounds on something like this that can do everything. I know there's gonna be purists who insist the tone is "inferior" to tubes but if they were blindfolded they probably wouldn't know the difference. Love this amp, an absolute game changer
@@ellisscott9840 You're absolutely correct. The tone isn't inferior.....the tone is spectacular...the purists say that to justify their bank breaking purchases.
@@TomPark1986 absolutely. I'm just so glad we live in this time. This amp has it all, even an insane amount of effects. Just give me a decent strat and a boss katana and I'm basically sorted.
RedAppleRadio every guitarist NEEDS a Katana.
I bought the Artist MKII when it came out. Had a friend who is into handwired tube amps over to check it out. He was astonished. Is there a difference? Sure. But having it all in one box and using the GA FC controller, this thing replaces an amp and a pedal board quite easily. If you are recording and insist on ONE particular sound that you only get from your boutique tube amp and modified pedals, then maybe it's not for you. But you'd be the rare bird who couldn't find the tones in the Katana to do what you want - especially in a studio mix where a tech is sculpting the frequencies in a digital editor, anyway. I think that telling the tones of the Katana apart from the tube setup is something that tons of TH-cam reviewers love to show in isolated A/B comparison reviews. Now do the same thing in a live mix with a band or on a recording where multiple instruments are stacked and sound-sculpted in the post mix and it becomes truly hard to find the difference.
Guitar salesman:
*Slaps roof of Boss Katana*
"This bad boy can fit so many sounds inside it!"
I got my Boss Katana mkii today 50 watts 2/7/22 I'm liking it and learning it I'm play blues to metal
This video has sold me on the Katana. I already knew it could do solid clean and crunchy tones, but wasn’t sure if it could nail the modern high gain sounds.
Clearly most of it’s Rabea’s playing, but that won’t stop me from trying!
Fantastic explanation of features and usability of the amp! The playing review part starts at 13:55.
Absolutely killed it in this video. I just bought the 100 MKII rather unexpectedly because I wanted something more practical than my 50's tube amp. The software has been solid and that is most often the thing that destroys a good product. I spent some time shooting out the Dan Electro Daddy O that is a clone of the Guv'nor pedal and my big muff. The clones in the amp are so similar that it would never make or break a recording or performance. They just sound ever so slightly different. Not an issue. I never thought I would ever buy an amp with chips in it ever again but this sounds dam good so why fight it?
always looked up to bea's tone, watching his vids taught me a lot about good tones.
37:19 is what you’re here for
Gross
@sic How did you know
Not me.
Crap
Thanks mate!
i love this amp, gone back to it after using fender valve amps and individual pedals. perfect for all my gigs.
I replaced the speaker .. huge difference
I must admit it took me forever to tweek it to my taste and also changed speaker to celestion Creamback 65.. KILLER
Almost getting that Bloodbath sound. I'm really liking that.
does mk2 comes with hm2 booster?
I've been using the 100 head and 1x12 combo for 2yrs now and I've been so impressed I've stopped gigging my Marshall TSL and jvm
Half stacks, now I'm thinking of a mk2 2x12 and leaving the Marshall at home, and take the mark1 head as backup
I still have my Boss Heavy Metal HM-2 pedal I bought circa 1982 (give or take a year) and it still smashes it out of the park. It came with a brass plaque stating it was the 3,000,000th Boss unit ever made. Still got it on my key fob to this day.
17:34 when you hit that F dominant, it sounded exactly like Tremonti's clean sound on the first AB record, which came out of a Fender Twin
Spot on mate! Soounds exactly the same!
I love octave too. Once I turn it on I cant quit playing. Its like some kind of drug and I need more.
My friend I play for 30 years
I watched a video you ware talking about how crazy guitar players are in TH-cam so you cannot compare with but man let me tell you what my father god bless him in the sky said he was a great accordionist: you don't have to have that crazy speed shredding style it's absolutely enough to have a great tone
So concentrate on that the speed is for later
Man for me you are one of the greatest guitarists in the world , cheers 🍻
"Boska Tana"
"Toska Bana"
haha
Translated to Polish : “Godly Tana” :P
Squash banana
Boss Katanar
I know this video is really old but brother… when you flipped the variation switch with that blues driver on the first channel… my soul left my body listening to that beautiful chord progression. You sir, are one of the best guitarists alive. There’s a sense of connection I can feel when I hear you play I don’t get with people like Jared dines. Your playing talks to me, it tells a story. Please never stop playing 🙏
Long live the Katana!!! 🙏
Yep
Just ordered my mk2 100 today finally replacing my line 6 amplifi 150 and chasing the modern metal tones on a budget with added audio interface is a huge help
21:28
you know that the amp sounds good when you do this
Had the MK1 since it was released in 2016. Hands down the best amp you can get for your money, loud and clear with the amount of effects you get. Best bang for your buck if you want a flexible set up.
Now that I have one at these and am listening back, the heavy variations really help get rid of some of the low mid bump that I didn't like in the original amps. Did a quick metal mix on my channel, and will be digging into it more.
Damn man... your playing is killer, your tone is killer, and your guitars are about as cool as it gets.
This is awesome, I've been looking into getting a katana and now I'm glad I waited.
Bought the 50w mk1 as something small and light for practice, teaching and jams, but gradually got into it (takes a while as there are so many options) and now think it's great and use it all the time for recording and performing too.
Definitely getting a katana now. I don't know why anyone would ever need anything else. 😃
Well, THR30 sounds better at low volumes, Pro Junior sounds better at high volumes, I personally prefer the Roland JC-22/used JC-40 for an all around amp at this price range, but I also have an extensive pedal collection
That "radio" eq effect was sick!!!!!! Sounds coming out of this amp are amazing. Waiting on my new mark 2 - 2x12 100 to get here. Thank you for the excellent review.
Could you make an album of those dreamy baritone sounds? They are just the kind of music that would help me get some sleep and relax on my own. Or if not album, do a video where you just play for an hour.
Katana 100 version1 owner here. I'm definitely buying a Katana 100 version2. The ability to us it as a "blank slate" for my modeling pedalboard as well as use the stereo link feature make it a no-brainer to use for a killer stereo rig. Katana's are great amps.
I'm a big fan of Boss. I've spent a good amount on their gear. Great stuff.
I still use my (sort of outdated) "Line 6 Spider IV 150" together with the "Line 6 FBV Shortboard MkII" remote control footswitch "pedalboard thing".
For one thing it isn't really a 150W amp (I'd say more or less like a 30W40W, or less), and it doesn't really sound "right" ... BUT ... it's an extremely ergonomic, compact, inexpensive, and full featured practical solution to most my KOMMANDÖH GIGS (gigs in hazardous places :D ...).
I organized the 16 banks of 4 presets in order to have the same effects at 4 different amp settings/gain-levels under each of the 16 banks ... like for instance a Rock'a'Billy bank with the same type echo / reverb and compression hitting 4 different gain levels from ultra clean to some sort of a Bassman hit with a TS. Or another bank with some sort of an "emulation" of a Hammond organ running through an overdriven amp : slow leslie type into slightly overdriven amp, fast leslie type into slightly overdriven amp, slow leslie type into heavily overdriven amp, fast leslie type into heavily overdriven amp.
I have to admit that even in Line 6, I still haven't found that level of ergonomic and practicality for such an affordable price.
Awesome bro!! I just ordered the 50w mk2 about an hour ago, right after I watched this video! It's getting here Monday... I cant wait man!!!! I put the same GAFC footswitch on my sweetwater wishlist, my wife says after Christmas I can grab that as well... First new amp in over 20 years!!!!!!! 🎸🎸👍👍
Brilliant stuff. I love running my Katana 50 Mk1 and Mk2 together wet/dry. So simple and efficient and capable!
20:25 Rabea picks ups a guitar with humbuckers... that’s prob why you’re here.
22:47 chugging begins
37:19 chugging intensifies
Bless ya
Bless you kind sir!
Great review mate. Did not come across as a sponsored video. Own the 100 head 1 and 2 (need to sell V1) and is near the best sounding solid state amp I own. Have a few valve amps which are obviously awesome, but this does a brilliant job. I have one other solid state amp which is also brilliant. The 100 W Trace Elliot Super Tramp Twin Reverb from the late 90’s with British made Celestian Vintage 30’s. That thing is killer still to this day. Speakers are probably just broken in"………….. It is an unsung hero of the solid state world.
absolutely everything you played was unbelievable, it's unreal, it took 1 video for you to be a huge inspiration for my guitarplaying, thank you, the video was so informative, straight up, top quality - just flawless, amazing, i don't have the words to describe it, i've browsed the internet for so long for videos and info on the amp and im so glad i found you, YOU'RE IT, definitely subscribing and checking out your channel for more, sorry for the novel, just needed to express my gratitude!
I love this dude..... such a beast of a player as well as great communicator.
Bea, you sir, are dope af. 👏🏼
I have the katana 100w head with the 2x12 cab but I use the Cali 76 into the Boss NS-2 into the Art Tube MP/C. It sounds like a Monster tube amp.
We want those patches! Great demo!
Bought one at Guitar Center, sounds great, better than most modeling amps in the same $ range. I couldn’t get the software connected though. After spending a few hours trying to connect the software to the amp with no success, the amp went back to Guitar Center. Roland needs to fix their software issues.
The amp had a firmware update. All ya gotta do like 3 minutes of downloading, drag drop and a couple button pushes and you're good to go.
I guarantee you it wasn't a Roland issue. You likely needed a firmware update, and/OR you downloaded the old Tone Studio and not the MkII program (clearly labeled if you're on the right page).
Stoked to see you are vibing with the LP from Norm's.
That Les Paul sounds great in his hands. Definitely has something special to it.
Great video Rabea. Well explained and easy to understand. Keep up the amazing work. I own a Katana 50 v2 and will definitely be upgrading to a 100 MK 2. And I also agree, Boss have been doing it right for a very long time. I love their products.
I don't know why yet, but when you hit the variation on that lead channel, my mind went "muscle car"
This amp is such a beast. So is Rabea
Great demo, I love your playing, I wish we were neighbors lol
tnx Fro Bro. after all your insightful and accurate reviews, finally having a brand new one tomorrow. just so excited to have my own, waited for the Mark2, a marsh mallow ish test of sorts. worth the wait, and it's gonna be a great adventure :)
Just recently had my whole rig stolen. Looking for a replacement amp and caught this video. Paused the video went to GC and tried out a MK1 and was blow away by the Katana. They didn’t have a MK2 in stock yet but if the MK1 sounds that good I’ll definitely be getting one soon.
Great demo, best I have seen on this amp .
I want one 👍
Brown and Baritone is why I'm here🤘
Well done, thanks a lot...!!! Looking forward to your next new Katana MKII video.
I will be waiting for the "RaBEER" brand of alcohol to be created
Thanks mate, great video. Got one of these the other day and I am stoked I made the right decision
BOSS please make a bass guitar version of this! an 800 watt class D head with the modeling capability would be amazing.
You have just struck gold. I've got a bass lying around that's in need of such a beast. I've got the 100w for my guitar in my bedroom and it kicks ass.
That brown sound with the baritone is an absolute fucking monster!
No one has yet made a demo video of the new Stereo Expand feature, using two identical MK2 amps. Could you please do one? I'm curious of how a live stereo Katana rig would sound and function, especially with different choruses, delays, reverbs, etc...
you buy a 100Watt Katana and run it at 50Watt setting so in effect you have the 50 but with more features...the .5 setting I believe is equivalent to 25 watts on the 100
Thank You Rabea!! I'm buying this new 212 mk2 100 watt next week!! Yay!!!! Excellent Video Bro; Informative, Enlightening, and all the Coolest Tones!!!!
I was looking at this amp in the Sweetwater catalog and I thought it looked good now I know it is! thanks for such a great in depth demo of this fantastic amp.
Awesome demo. You reinforced my decision to purchase the artist mk2. It is being shipped now. Thank you.
why not have an app for the Iphone/Ipad/Android? such a pain to hook up to the computer
Rick Hammel yeah ill hold on to my big rig with pedals etc until mk3
Malcolm Reynolds u dont get it mr. pr0 3m usb cable?
I use this with my katana 50 mk1
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appsforamps.katana&gl=ZA
Works for me!
@Malcolm Reynolds you sound like the last 10 years just didn't happen to you
Malcolm Reynolds shut up you dinosaur.
...A seriously versatile & yet compact amp! It has so much to offer! & at very reasonable prices for all your getting! The key to this rig is the foot switch sold separately. I'm looking for a versatile work horse practice among & I'm pretty sure this sucker is it! I think the 50watt ccmbo version would suit my needs just fine. This anp does so much! Believe me I'll be at my local shop putting this sucker through the business! I WANT ONE! ...GREAT JOB BOSS!
I had just ordered a MK1 on Monday. Safe to say it will be returned as soon as I receive it 😂
Bought 1 only 5 weeks ago. FML.
@@evilutionltd Same.
Same here, dont know what to do in fact
Exact same thing as me man lol
@@games_n_shit we have to make a decision
Okay, I’ve had the Katana 100 MkII head going through the Katana 212 cab for about four or five weeks now. I’ve tried all kinds of different tone settings including these from Ola. I have yet to find anything that I truly like. Everything sounded like it was getting some kind of harmonic interference. I even tried some pedals into the amp input using the vaunted KSR Ceres preamp. I also started using headphones so I could really listen to the tone to see what it was I thought I was hearing. Well, what I found was that when I played a single note, especially in the higher frequencies, say, G string 12th fret or higher, if I just played one note and held it, I could always hear some kind of slow warble or oscillation in the tone. It’s not as evident when playing a clean tone but with any kind of a high gain tone it is very evident. I’ve played around with different high gain built in devices on the amp and they all do it. Wondering if it was the guitar (Jackson JS32 DKA with stock pickups), I tried three other guitars, each with different pickups. A 1978 Les Paul with factory humbuckers, a 1980 Flying V2 with factory single coil boomerang pickups, and I even tried my grandson’s Squier Strat with its factory single coil pickups. All four guitars had the same issue… any kind of high gain signal from the guitar whether it be from a preamp/distortion/overdrive pedal or from one of the modeled pedals internal to the Katana, they all had that oscillating harmonic warble, most noticeable on the higher notes. So the next thing I’m gonna do is try these same guitars through my audio interface into a DAW and see if I can get a nice clear tone. Anyone else have such an issue with the Katana?
I’ll let y’all know what happens with the audio interface/DAW.
I almost bought mk1 last night... So glad I waited.🤘
Best demo vid ever. Thank you ! On my YT saved list as I'll be looking at this often
I just sold my heavy ass Marshall! I was looking for a more transportable, light weight solution for an 80s Arena Rock band and it looks like this just might work. I'm ordering one soon!
Great playing as always Bea, love that baritone soundscape goodness!
Holy Mama - that vintage Les Paul looks crazy cool!
Awesome video man thanks for that. Order a 50 today it’ll be in Sunday so this was very helpful
Bea, when and where can we expect your presets to be posted? Your clean and crunch sound great! Thanks!
That lick at 22:39 is fkn NAAAAASTY! Bought a Katana MkII 50 scheduled for delivery today. Your videos sold me on it.
I am undecided whether to buy "the artist" or the "Boss Katana MK2", which one is better?
That’s the million dollar question I’ve been trying to find out. SMH.
🤣😤
Lorenzo Bindoni the artist has the waza driver and has 2 extra knobs that do some things to the sound. Unless your a pro and sound is a big thing for you, save your money and get a mk2.
Lorenzo Bindoni I had the same decision. Went for the boss katana mk ii 2x12 but it more suits my needs
I bought the katana 2 100 played it for a couple of weeks. I was impressed I bought another one to be able to use the stereo option. This what I use to gig with. The sound is Killer !! I got the limited edition ( white). Looks great on stage !!
I bought 2 at the same time just for home practice-the Artist and a 50. I keep them in 2 different rooms, one more of a studio, but put them together in my big room for super sound.
Bet that sounds big
I saw that Andertons posted a review, but I came here for the stank face riffs
Very informative and detailed overview. Good job Rabea
I can ear the tone of Jack white Over and over at 30:20
Found one for 175 barely played on marketplace. Gonna pick it up. Really need a good FR but this will be cool for going over and jamming without having to bring my QC and all that jazz
so far you used katanas on
Pink Floyd (for under £500)
Jimi Hendrix (for under £500)
Guns n Roses (for under £500)
Weezer
Bryan Adams & Keith Scott
Most Versatile Rig (which is my all time favorite band)
Gojira
Bullet For My Valentine
Korn
Toto
Sum 41
Whatever next i must ask lol
oh and we need more ultimate rig videos, just so my mate can make the "ultimate ___ rig is my favorite band of all time" joke and also so their friend Saki Miyu can give your original songs some nifty titles like they always do
I own The KT50 and highly recommend this amp to any beginner for one it's affordable and it's awesome,it will carry you well through your beginning level of guitar playing and well on through your medium level to your professional level of guitar playing this amp has everyone covered,it is a work horse in the field and will never disappoint,just every great guitarist who endorses the Katana brand which the numbers are great....
I wish Hendrix was alive to mess around with all the cool amps and gear that's around today like this Katana, nice demo!
Absolutely
bet he would rip it apart and change it from the inside out haha.
Don't think he would bother did you hear that univibe it's a cheesy little amp that compresses at volume with plenty of markup on it
@@LIHPIT Yeah I agree on the univibe part, but at the same time Hendrix loved to experiment with different sounds and ways of recording. He used all the effects that were around at that time and some that were developed because of him. To add to that, it's Jimi Hendrix, he could make a dog turd sound good.
You are right about the Boss Katana MKII I got the 50 the tone studio makes that amp do what no other amp does it's awesome no need for a tube amp anymore it's the best amp I've had you tell Rabea it bad to the bone 1 mean metal monster
Well...looks like I’m trading in my MK1!!
Really great rundown and review. Many thanks!
As soon as you hit that Metal Zone, i hit that thumbs up !
Metal Zone, forever !! /,,/ !! (:
I wish there was a more featured floor control for the Katana. The GA-FC is great, however I use more than 8 presets live, and you are sticked to the FX unless you change them with the physical amp buttons or software editor.
I really hope they release a foot controller that communicates through USB to the KATANA letting us to basically have the katana studio on a physical device. That way I wouldn't need to replace the Katana amazing sounds with a multiFX/pedals anymore.
Is there going to be a MkII of the Artist? Not mentioned in the various articles I've seen so far.
My Artist isn't even a year old and I was thinking the same thing.
One of the best demos I've seen. Thanks 👍
Damn, this sounds epic! Have you uploaded any of these patches on the Tone Studio, Rabea?
getting this for Christmas can wait. Tested it in the shop love it
I feel that this amp was the best before MKII was a thing. Now I don't think any other affordable amp brand has a chance in hell of surpassing them. Great Review/Demo Rabea. And To BOSS You Guys Have Created A Legacy With These Amps. And For That I Thank You. Never Stop Being The BOSS's That You Are.
Awesome overview and demo. I actually got the 50 last summer but hardly used it much and needed a refresher on it. Picked up a few things.
Just bought katana 50 one week ago... And now they release the MKII.
Same here but the katana head. I’m pissed
Yikes! 😠
@Alex Spray I'll feel bad if I do that.
Alex Spray Probably, but I don’t have the box anymore and returning stuff through the site I bought from is probably going to be a hassle. Watching this video is doesn’t seem
there is a huge amazing drastic difference so I’m not 100% convinced I *have* to get the new one. The biggest difference seems to be being able to have 5 effects running at once rather than 3. However, I only ever play with like 1 or 2 effects on at once. Rabea even said in the beginning of this video “this is not boss saying the original was bad so we made a new one. The original katana is still the amazing award winning amplifier, this one is just for those people who either don’t have the katana or want even more versatility”. In keeping with that mindset, I am still happy with my katana mk1 head. It serves my tonal purposes well enough
Jianqiao Zhang Read my reply to Alex. We are in the same boat man. The original boss katana is not bad at all so I would say play it until you hit a point where feel like you *need* the new one.
Alright, now... I'm listening to this on a simple TriBit hooked up to my desktop computer. And when you played the Baritone using the Brown Variation I literally went, "Holy F^@#!!!". And then I saw your reaction at 24:14 and I just knew you were thinking the same thing. ROFL. I bought my Katana 100 v.1 about a year ago. This mk II makes me drool.