I own a nextone and my friend and band member owns a katana. I like them both. They work together very well. I prefer the Nextone a bit more as a pedal platform and for it’s basic tone. But I really like the drive sounds from the katana as well. Great amps. What a great time to play guitar 😃👍🏻
After having seen your video (Thanks !), I went to a music store and bought the Nextone Artist 80w (had a pretty good deal as they did not succeed selling it since they had it when it was first launched on the market) and I must say it is a fantastic amp. Maybe one of the best I had so far (and I have valve amps) The clean sounds are so impressive. Than I added my multi effects pedal, my reverb , my delay, chorus and flanger pedals (I need all) ... And of course my looper (thanks to the effects loop on the nextone) ... And in front, my compressor, overdrive, BB preamp (Probably the best "overdrive/booster" I ever had) ... But I was still not happy with the hundreds of tone tests I made ... I was not finding the sounds I was looking for ... It was missing something immediately when using the pedals and effects and even with the crunch channel of the amp only (Clean is perfect for me) ... So I went back to the music store and tested the Katana mkii 100w (I didn't test it when I bought the Nextone. What for ? I was sure the Nextone was better after having seen the youtube videos) ... I was expecting to be disappointed. Surprisingly it sounded fantastic immediately and even without any tweaking , I tested quickly the crunch / lead and brown channels and loved them too ... Then quickly as well, I tested some of the onboard effects ... And loved them as well ... 381 euros minus 20% (I have my own company so I am not paying the VAT) ? I bought it and brought it back home ... Now I have all the sounds I need plus the stereo option 😃 ... How is it that the Katana was in fact so great compared to the multiple tests I saw on youtube including yours that brought me to the conclusion that the Nextone was from far sounding better from the two ? My guess is that the new firmware has probably fixed some big differences between the two amps .. but if that's not the explanation then that's a mystery ... Still I'll keep both ... They are killer amps for the price.
You need to volume balance tests. When there's a volume imbalance, unless the loud one is just ridiculously loud, people will generally prefer the louder one.
Oh wow! The Nextone is way superior in tone, clarity and punch, no comparison. I was waiting for a demo like this to see the differences between them. Now I know which one I'd prefer to buy.
It is rather Surprising. On the other hand, if you use the really great AIRD Amp models on the GT-1000 or GX-100 into the Katana through the Katana's bypass input then THAT might sound and even Feel better than a Nextone, perhaps. Those WAZA speakers on the Nextone Specials though, I think, may be unbeatable for sound Quality as you may have noticed in review comparisons.
Nextone sounds more lively, a bit more "real" and full. Interesting. I have the Kat 100 MK 2 but tonally prefer the Nextone. Actually .... my MK2 does sound like the Nextone but I am running a Keeley 4 knob comp, a Wampler equator eq and a SoulFood for a boost all before hitting the front of the amp. Maybe I shoulda started with the Nextone!
In most of the examples I preferred the Nextone. The exception was on the Gretcsh, where I thought the Katana sounded better. Also I own an old generation Katana 50, and I really think that with just a little tweaking, it would sound as good as the Nextone in all the examples in this video.
Nextone for me and i have a katana 100 head, The nextone is probably the best tube emulation i've ever heard. I just hope they bring out a head version.
I bought my nextone like 4 years ago. Went in planning to buy a Katana and decided to play both and walked out with the Nextone. If all you are looking for is a great sounding clean platform that can do loud and lower volume the nextone is killer. If that’s not what you are looking for the Katana would probably be more useful all around l.
It would be interesting to see the Katana Artist vs the Nextone. I bought the MKII Artist recently because of how much (to my ears) the Waza speaker sounded compared to the 100w version for the same reason as I think the Nextone sounds better. It was fuller, warmer tone, felt more natural.
Nolan St. Martin I have the artist and nextone stage . Killer amps. The nextone does sound and feel more full and authentic but artist covers more ground.
I've owned the Nextone Artist for 2 years now. It quickly displaced my tube amps as my main gigging amp. If the Katana can be adjusted to bring a little more mids, much more presence and punch I'd be down with leaving my pedalboard at home. I'm curious what power setting the Katana was at. The nextone stage is only 40 watts so it might have been opening up quite a bit more if the Katana was at 100 watts and the same volume level.
$700 for a Nextone artist that will play at any gig big or small, plug strait into your daw, never needs $140-170 in replacement tubes, never needs solder traces repaired on the circuit board from tube heat(Fender hot rod amps, some Marshall combos). Its really a bargain for the great tones you can get. I really would like the Katana to sound as good, cause ditching my pedalboard would really be nice.
hum both sound good but I have a preference for the nextone, its more aerial which seems to pierce the room. he seems richer to me too. on the other hand, you play downright well and it's a pleasure to listen to you, thank you;)
Nextone definitely sounds rich and warmer, like a tube amp. Katana has a darker mid scooped sound. It all depends what you want in your sound, but for me I definitely prefer Nextone 👍🏻👌🏻
Nextone. I own both and the demo is a fair comparison though agree that volume slightly down on the katana. The nextone is much more like a valve amp - much more feel I think. I am selling the katana to help fund a nextone special.
An obvious different flavor in the mids. I feel like either amp could be adjusted to sound more similar. There's a definite mid scoop in the Katana samples.
Started out with a Kat 50, found it a bit harsh. Moved to a 100 and that was clearly a bigger, fuller sound. Moved again to the Artist model and that was once again, an improvement in sound quality. In this test, the Katana seemed down a bit in the mix but even with that, it had a somewhat thinner sound than the Nextone. So in this example, I prefer the Nextone over the Katana, although, I’d love to hear the same comparison using the Artist against the Nextone.
I would love to hear these amps (the Nextone & Katana) stack up or sound against the older Roland GA 212 or GA 112 -- I have the GA 212, myself. By the way, I think I liked the Nextone better here; it sounded much more natural to me than the Katana. I hope my GA 212 sounds closer to a Nextone than a Katana; that's why I would love to see a 3 way comparison.
Really loving the sound of the Nextone. Haven't heard one in person though. The video sounded like it was more full in comparison to the Katana and I have played around with a Katana. It sounded great to me. Now I'm not sure about which amp to pick up. I was eyeing the 100w 212 at first, but now... now I just don't know anymore.
I can certainly hear the scoop. I think the nextone sounds a lot more present and to my ears has the right midst to cut through with a band. What I can't tell is if the nextone would keep up with a heavy drummer
Katana Artist has a Line Out and can be connected to a Mixing Console for a more louder sound from the Main Speakers.Katana Artist and Boss Nextone can both be used as Monitor not only as Guitar Amps.
I’ve had the Kat 100 and the Artist and loved them both and only sold them since I ended up with a Boss GX100, but miss the Kat. Listening to the demos the Nextone sounded warmer, but as other’s said seemed louder, so maybe the volume balance was off? All Boss stuff sounds great to me which is why I moved over from Line 6. Can’t go wrong with any of them, but my Next One may be a Nextone. 😀
No question the Nextone sounds better in this video. That being said, I get amazing tones out of my Katana 50 and can match up the right guitar/pickups with the amp to dial up exactly what I need at both low and higher volumes.
Good comparison. The difference surprised me. I do wish the Nextone's custom setting could programmed be with a different different preamp configuration for each power configuration. So when you switched to EL34, for example, the whole amp would be set up like your favorite Marshall; when you switched to EL84, the whole amp would be set up like your favorite Vox, etc. This would also address the biggest complaint about this amp, that people don't hear a meaningful difference when they switch power configurations.
David Wilson-Okamura having had a Nextone for a few months there are real character differences between the output stages, how they respond to playing, clean headroom etc. They are flavours, or different amps, as you would expect as it’s just the way the output stages are tweaked. Like having a very flexible tubeishhamp. I like it and it plays well compared to my recently refurbed old Laney VC15-110.
I have both and the Nextone is my go to but largely because I run it with a HXFX and it's like a Kat on steroids. Saying that you have so much flexibility with both amps you could defo dial the Kat in to be closer to the Nextone for that demo. For my amateur ear I can get pretty much the same basic blues tones out of both amps and they both sound great. Only solution is to own both which of course you can if you trade in your tubes :)
The volume always seem to be louder on the next tone but outside of that the tone on the next tone seem to be warmer then the katana especially on the clean channel
I have the katana artist and nextone stage which I got in a trade without even searching for one. I was shocked at how much more organic and real it sounds than the artist so I wasn’t shocked when I watched your video. Nextone all the way. PS. I want your high gain sound on nextone please
Well guys , I’m a 44 year old paraplegic who’s been playing about a year and a half , I already have the spark , it’s alright but if I were to get one of these which one would be best for me ? I like the thought that the Nextone sounds more like a tube amp but what kind of features would I be missing out on ? Keep in mind I can’t really use pedals but do have a Dito looper I use.
Nextone has more clarity to my ear's and much better note definition that's not saying the Katana is a bad amp just that I preferred the Nextone in this test.
Any idea how much is the amp vs the speaker? The Nextone definitely had more midrange while the Katana sounded scooped. I swapped the speaker in my Katana for a Celestion and it really brought back the high end fizz and added more mids.
Based on this video and a couple others, (to me) it sounds like the Nextone is worth the price differential vs the Katana.....it just seems more......real, I guess.
Torn on this one, for the clean sound I actually slightly preferred the katanas scooped fender vibe, on the dirty tones the nextone was fatter for sure. Nextone would probably sit better in a live mix too.
Hi, looking for ultra transparent eq settings on the Nextone 6L6 power amp, trying to create a clean patch for acoustic guitar on the Nextone Stage, anyone care to share their settings? Many thanks in advance!
I have the Katana 100 mk1 and like it a lot, although I find the clean tone can be a bit dull sounding without some tweaking, but the Nextone here sounded better. Hard to tell if your not in the room but seemed to have more punch and more life to it.
I am thinking about upgrading from a katana to a nextone, that’s why I searched for a video that compares those two. I like both but the nextone might be more like my kind of thing
In this comparison the Nextone seemed fuller... better for solo or small group settings. The Katana (ignoring eq) seemed to cut a bit more and might be good when you have to find that window. I preferred the Nextone in this demo with the lone exception of the top of the high-gain run. I own a Nextone Artist and can say without a doubt it sounds different at 0.5W vs 40W vs 80W. The latter sounds the best IMO... even after turning the master way down. As usual, I'd argue the amps are so close that setup matters more than which one you have. What would be interesting is running each through the same external cab and then comparing. I'd bet the speaker has more to do with the differences than the amp iteself. Conversly, cross connect the units and do two more takes :) I'd watch. Bottom line. I picked the one that was closest to what I wanted (4 power amps beat out built-in effects). Thanks for the demo.
I do a lot of production and recording of guitars and to my ears, the Nextone sounds more raw and full; the Katana sounds more "produced" and like a track that is soloed from a recorded, where the recorded track is tweaked to sit in the mix just so; so it's not a full amp sound with all of the frequencies present. For a pedal platform, I think the Nextone cant be beat. But if you're doing a lot of recording and you dont want to futz around, I'd nab a Katana. Just my .02
From the outside, when listen on TH-cam, Nexton sounds more interesting, rich and full-range. But when play yourself, the feelings may be another. Need to try it yourself. But for now my vote is for Nexton
Both sound great. Would be interesting to compare these points. Are they both solid state amps with digital effects? If either one is fully digital, then are they using the same procceser? Thanks
If the mids can’t be dialled in, the Katana would be a non-starter for me. I like the rounder mids in the Nextone. Sales of amps like these are bound to climb with the current Russian valve/tube trade embargo.
Hi Do you still use the Boss Nextone? Do you still like prefer the sounds overal (clean and distortion) better than the KATANA. Is the Boss nextone good enough for warm clean jazz tones?
that is tough. as I hear, they are totaly different eq. Nextone emphasizes middle, where Katana has less middle and more low and highs... I guess most of that can be compensated via global eq
Nextone had way more mids and would probably sound beastly in a mix. Katana had more clarity and punch and more of a rock sound especially in the blues OD clip. I have a MK1 Katana and love it. Think I'll stick with it
well, the nextone sounds way more believable as a proper guitar amp. mids and warmth. katana sterile scooped mids. also felt maybe levels of each amp were different, but could be the lack of mid presence in the katana that made it sound quieter.
The Katana sounds very thin and weak in this video, in comparison to the Nextone. How did it sound to you in the room, volume and tone wise? Amazing differences heard in your demo. Thanks Paul 👍 I'm a new subscriber.
I have a Katana and love it. Then I got a Nextone in a package deal. I prefer the Nextone. I’ve compared them many times as many ways as possible and the Nextone sounds like bigger fuller amp. IMHO
Good question, I only have Katana's and perhaps I would get a Nextone some time. They both sounds great, but I am leaning more toward the Katana. What say you Paul?? What do you prefer?
close but to my ears the Katana sounded a bit thinner. Which do you prefer. At the end of the video you say you have a clear preference that you'll soon be revealing but half a year later, I can't find that in any subsequent videos.
Six months before your comment he said this in reply to GeoffreySmith...."Hi Geoffrey, I wouldn’t say one was darker than the other. I personally prefer the Nextone."
I was just about to get a Katana, but after watching this, I’m sold on the Nextone. Does anyone use the Katana head with a separate cab? I have a 1960A that I think would go well with the Katana.
@@TheStudioRats thank you makes total sense. Can you do another video where you dial out the mid scoop through tonestudio? A K100 is still way cheaper than a nxtone. My bias: i own and love a nextone artist (bought a stage first, then upgraded), so i dont want one to win over the other. I just want to try to make them get as close as possible with all the outtathabox tools for objectivity's sake. If i bought a katana, i'd tweak the crap outta it to get it to MY sound, which would likely have very different knob positions than my nextone :)
Only gripe about you comparison was no mention of price, I know this video is about a year old now, but I just picked up a used katana for about $100us where as a used Nextone stays around $500. So my point? Is the nextone Sound worth the extra $400?
Some points to consider: With the Katana 100 you get a gigging amp with 100watts, for a lower price than a 40 watts amp. Everyone looks for a signature tone along his life. I found the Katana, clean channel, gain dimed, very responsive and tubey like. Love it for my base tone and as a pedal platform. Cleans up great and starts to breakup when you dig in. Former owner of a Katana Artist, ended up, for weight reasons, with a MKII 100, and I'm loving it. Also own a Laney CubSuper 12, that completes my tubey needs, and it´s giggable, too. After playing a lot with the Boss tone Studio, ended up realizing how I love the ease of my boss pedals for my drive sounds, using the reverb, delay and modulation of the katana.
My take? The Katana sounds like many more modern amps. The Nextone sounds like vintage amps. In particular with the overdrives, the Katana sounds more like a cross between a Marshall JCM 800 scooped to be more like a Mesa. The Nextone sounds like a classic Plexi/Super Lead character. It really depends what you want out of an amp entirely.
It's was a big difference. I think the katana sounded more thin. And Les dynamic and responsive. The other one is thicker and vibrant.. I have. A preference for the next time in this demo but.. I have to see it in person to see how big of a difference really is
It doesn't even seem close. The Katana sounded almost tinny on all but the heaviest tones, with nowhere the midrange. In comparisons of the Katana to the new Line 6 Catalyst, I've noticed the same phenomena: the Katana lacks midrange compared to the Catalyst.
B'cause speaker perhaps? I am considering the Katana mk2 head (to replace a couple of tube amps/heads) with my 2 x v30 cab.. Too few reviews online comparing that one to other heads with same cab :) (DOit ;)
Great video - thumbs up and subscribed. So I looked for another video where you share your preferences of one vs the other but I could not find it. What are your overall opinions? I used to own the Katana 100 MK1. Would you say one (Katana MKII or Nextone) is "darker" sounding than the other? I would rather it not be too dark. I prefer clean tones and like Fender cleans especially. Which would you say delivers it better in your opinion? thanks
You get a lot of sound from your guitars and amps! after owning both Katana, Blues Cube Stage, and Nextone stage, I chose the Nextone for reasons you highlight. How do I get that fluid playing style that you have. Cant just buy that at the Guitar store!
So what great things does the Katana have that the next one doesn’t ? I’ve only been playing a year and a half , which one should I be getting, with in mind that I have the spark ?
@@benallmark9671 a lot more on board effects to choose from. Also an acoustic setting. More bang for your buck, especially if you’re just getting started.
I prefer the nextone to the stock katana, but I feel like the Katana sounds better through an external cab, my Katana 50 ran through my bigger external cab sounds sooo amazing. But yes, stock Nextone definitely sounds fuller with HEAPS more mids, I dont really like scooped sounds, makes it sound cheaper and thinner for sure!
@@benallmark9671 "scooped" refers to the shape of the eq and it means higher treble, lower mids and higher bass, so its like a U shape eq wise... does this make sense? for a recognizable scopped sound people refer to Pantera or Metallica
The Nextone just sounded more full and had a better bite. The Katana sounded a little hollow although in person I don’t think it sounds that tinny. I still think the Katana is the better buy based on price, for the average guitar player like myself anyway.
Interesting, Paul. The Katana was always on the clean channel while the Nextone was used on clean as well as lead channels. The crunch and the lead channel on the Katana wouldn't have been so scooped. Katana doesn't need pedals for crunch and lead sounds. Clean channels, generally, tend to have more bass and treble and if you add a Blues Driver which is also heavy on bass and treble you end up with a very scooped sound. Not sure this was fair and proper comparison.
Hi Laszlo, I’ve done many videos on why the Katana clean channel is better than the crunch or the lead channels. The blues driver is a mid push drive it doesn’t scoop the sound.
@@TheStudioRats Yes, I've seen the videos you are talking about but I have to, respectfully disagree that the crunch, lead and brown channels are not as good as the built in pedals into clean channel. There are countless examples of people getting great tones out of all the channels, some tweaking the internal EQs some don't. Juca Nery has many patches he demonstrates (on all the channels of Katana) that sound devine. I also have my Katana Artist MK1 tweaked for ACDC type crunch and lead sounds (using crunch channel) that sound fantastic, and to my ears better or not worse than anything on the clean channel with pedals. The tones that can be had from the Katana are vast and varied and covers most bases really well. I am also not alone thinking that the Blues Driver pedal has more bass and treble with less mids (opposite to a TS style pedal). Rabea Massaad also points that out in a vid he did on the Angry Driver when he used the BD side of that pedal. I have 3 versions of the BD pedal of which 1 is in the Katana the others are in the Boss OD-200 and the Boss Angry Driver. They all display a distinct reduction in mids compared to most other drive pedals. I use guitars with humbuckers. I love your work and a big fan of your channel. Looking forward to your future videos. Cheers!
I MUCH prefer the sound of the Katana, a friendlier tone with more thump & less in your face. The Nextone was actually everything I try to avoid in guitar amps.
At first glance the Next tone seems warmer and fuller. In all honesty the Katana can get there once you engage the Graphic EQ post preamp. In general while Boss/Roland products are workhorses they do tend to eq most of their guitar products way too bright. Take for instance the Blue Driver pedal. Even trough a mellower tube amp have to really back up that tone pot because it delves into a territory that is quite frankly unusable. The Katana suffers from the same woes however once we learn to stimulate the right frequencies the change is quite drastic. Perhaps the smart product would have been to invest the Nextone with Katanas effects options.
I own a nextone and my friend and band member owns a katana. I like them both. They work together very well. I prefer the Nextone a bit more as a pedal platform and for it’s basic tone. But I really like the drive sounds from the katana as well. Great amps. What a great time to play guitar 😃👍🏻
Thanks for sharing!
Over all I preferred the Katana from what I can hear.
After having seen your video (Thanks !), I went to a music store and bought the Nextone Artist 80w (had a pretty good deal as they did not succeed selling it since they had it when it was first launched on the market) and I must say it is a fantastic amp. Maybe one of the best I had so far (and I have valve amps) The clean sounds are so impressive. Than I added my multi effects pedal, my reverb , my delay, chorus and flanger pedals (I need all) ... And of course my looper (thanks to the effects loop on the nextone) ... And in front, my compressor, overdrive, BB preamp (Probably the best "overdrive/booster" I ever had) ... But I was still not happy with the hundreds of tone tests I made ... I was not finding the sounds I was looking for ... It was missing something immediately when using the pedals and effects and even with the crunch channel of the amp only (Clean is perfect for me) ... So I went back to the music store and tested the Katana mkii 100w (I didn't test it when I bought the Nextone. What for ? I was sure the Nextone was better after having seen the youtube videos) ... I was expecting to be disappointed. Surprisingly it sounded fantastic immediately and even without any tweaking , I tested quickly the crunch / lead and brown channels and loved them too ... Then quickly as well, I tested some of the onboard effects ... And loved them as well ... 381 euros minus 20% (I have my own company so I am not paying the VAT) ? I bought it and brought it back home ... Now I have all the sounds I need plus the stereo option 😃 ... How is it that the Katana was in fact so great compared to the multiple tests I saw on youtube including yours that brought me to the conclusion that the Nextone was from far sounding better from the two ? My guess is that the new firmware has probably fixed some big differences between the two amps .. but if that's not the explanation then that's a mystery ... Still I'll keep both ... They are killer amps for the price.
You need to volume balance tests. When there's a volume imbalance, unless the loud one is just ridiculously loud, people will generally prefer the louder one.
not only that, also overall eq is much different.
I thought the same thing. If you push the Katana in 25W mode or greater, that mid-scoop difference disappears with gain and volumes are set right.
Oh wow! The Nextone is way superior in tone, clarity and punch, no comparison. I was waiting for a demo like this to see the differences between them. Now I know which one I'd prefer to buy.
It is rather Surprising. On the other hand, if you use the really great AIRD Amp models on the GT-1000 or GX-100 into the Katana through the Katana's bypass input then THAT might sound and even Feel better than a Nextone, perhaps. Those WAZA speakers on the Nextone Specials though, I think, may be unbeatable for sound Quality as you may have noticed in review comparisons.
Nextone sounds more lively, a bit more "real" and full. Interesting. I have the Kat 100 MK 2 but tonally prefer the Nextone. Actually .... my MK2 does sound like the Nextone but I am running a Keeley 4 knob comp, a Wampler equator eq and a SoulFood for a boost all before hitting the front of the amp. Maybe I shoulda started with the Nextone!
In most of the examples I preferred the Nextone. The exception was on the Gretcsh, where I thought the Katana sounded better. Also I own an old generation Katana 50, and I really think that with just a little tweaking, it would sound as good as the Nextone in all the examples in this video.
Nextone for me and i have a katana 100 head, The nextone is probably the best tube emulation i've ever heard. I just hope they bring out a head version.
Just my old sore ears or the Katana has was sligthly more silent? a little more master volume maybe?
Great comparison vid thanks Paul!
It's the Nextone for me.
Thanks Studio Rats - great comparison...I like the Katana's features but glad I have the Nextone for the better sound quality.
Which features does the Katana have that you miss ?
I bought my nextone like 4 years ago. Went in planning to buy a Katana and decided to play both and walked out with the Nextone. If all you are looking for is a great sounding clean platform that can do loud and lower volume the nextone is killer. If that’s not what you are looking for the Katana would probably be more useful all around l.
It would be interesting to see the Katana Artist vs the Nextone. I bought the MKII Artist recently because of how much (to my ears) the Waza speaker sounded compared to the 100w version for the same reason as I think the Nextone sounds better. It was fuller, warmer tone, felt more natural.
Nolan St. Martin I have the artist and nextone stage . Killer amps. The nextone does sound and feel more full and authentic but artist covers more ground.
Nolan St. Martin - I agree "I think the Nextone sounds better. It was fuller, warmer tone, felt more natural"
You have to have the nextone master on full and control the volume with the channel volumes to get best results
I've owned the Nextone Artist for 2 years now. It quickly displaced my tube amps as my main gigging amp. If the Katana can be adjusted to bring a little more mids, much more presence and punch I'd be down with leaving my pedalboard at home. I'm curious what power setting the Katana was at. The nextone stage is only 40 watts so it might have been opening up quite a bit more if the Katana was at 100 watts and the same volume level.
I love my Artist, I have had my EVH in the corner for two years now. It just does everything I need it to do for a bedroom amp.
$700 for a Nextone artist that will play at any gig big or small, plug strait into your daw, never needs $140-170 in replacement tubes, never needs solder traces repaired on the circuit board from tube heat(Fender hot rod amps, some Marshall combos). Its really a bargain for the great tones you can get. I really would like the Katana to sound as good, cause ditching my pedalboard would really be nice.
Thanks!
Cheers!
hum both sound good but I have a preference for the nextone, its more aerial which seems to pierce the room. he seems richer to me too. on the other hand, you play downright well and it's a pleasure to listen to you, thank you;)
Nextone definitely sounds rich and warmer, like a tube amp. Katana has a darker mid scooped sound. It all depends what you want in your sound, but for me I definitely prefer Nextone 👍🏻👌🏻
Yea definitely, he had nextone much louder
Nextone. I own both and the demo is a fair comparison though agree that volume slightly down on the katana. The nextone is much more like a valve amp - much more feel I think. I am selling the katana to help fund a nextone special.
An obvious different flavor in the mids. I feel like either amp could be adjusted to sound more similar. There's a definite mid scoop in the Katana samples.
I own a Katana and love it but after hearing that I am leaning towards the Nextone.
Jason Statham you rock on guitar!
I love those next tone cleans!. Luscious, full and slightly creamy.
Started out with a Kat 50, found it a bit harsh. Moved to a 100 and that was clearly a bigger, fuller sound. Moved again to the Artist model and that was once again, an improvement in sound quality.
In this test, the Katana seemed down a bit in the mix but even with that, it had a somewhat thinner sound than the Nextone. So in this example, I prefer the Nextone over the Katana, although, I’d love to hear the same comparison using the Artist against the Nextone.
I would love to hear these amps (the Nextone & Katana) stack up or sound against the older Roland GA 212 or GA 112 -- I have the GA 212, myself. By the way, I think I liked the Nextone better here; it sounded much more natural to me than the Katana. I hope my GA 212 sounds closer to a Nextone than a Katana; that's why I would love to see a 3 way comparison.
Really loving the sound of the Nextone. Haven't heard one in person though. The video sounded like it was more full in comparison to the Katana and I have played around with a Katana. It sounded great to me. Now I'm not sure about which amp to pick up. I was eyeing the 100w 212 at first, but now... now I just don't know anymore.
I definitely try one out if you can, its not as fully featured as the katana but it sounds great.
It's confusing.It made us think 50/50,Katana Artist II or Nextone Special
I can certainly hear the scoop. I think the nextone sounds a lot more present and to my ears has the right midst to cut through with a band. What I can't tell is if the nextone would keep up with a heavy drummer
Katana Artist has a Line Out and can be connected to a Mixing Console for a more louder sound from the Main Speakers.Katana Artist and Boss Nextone can both be used as Monitor not only as Guitar Amps.
I’ve had the Kat 100 and the Artist and loved them both and only sold them since I ended up with a Boss GX100, but miss the Kat. Listening to the demos the Nextone sounded warmer, but as other’s said seemed louder, so maybe the volume balance was off? All Boss stuff sounds great to me which is why I moved over from Line 6. Can’t go wrong with any of them, but my Next One may be a Nextone. 😀
No question the Nextone sounds better in this video. That being said, I get amazing tones out of my Katana 50 and can match up the right guitar/pickups with the amp to dial up exactly what I need at both low and higher volumes.
nice one.
Any advice on how to dial in a Katana to sound more like the Nextone?
I think you should compare line out audio to let us know if the actual difference is from the speaker.
Great video btw.
The line out is very different to the speaker tone on both amps.
@@TheStudioRats I understand they sound different to the speaker but does the line out of the nextone sound different to the katana?
What a great point
@@TheStudioRats well which one was it you preferred ?
Good comparison. The difference surprised me. I do wish the Nextone's custom setting could programmed be with a different different preamp configuration for each power configuration. So when you switched to EL34, for example, the whole amp would be set up like your favorite Marshall; when you switched to EL84, the whole amp would be set up like your favorite Vox, etc. This would also address the biggest complaint about this amp, that people don't hear a meaningful difference when they switch power configurations.
David Wilson-Okamura having had a Nextone for a few months there are real character differences between the output stages, how they respond to playing, clean headroom etc. They are flavours, or different amps, as you would expect as it’s just the way the output stages are tweaked. Like having a very flexible tubeishhamp. I like it and it plays well compared to my recently refurbed old Laney VC15-110.
I have both and the Nextone is my go to but largely because I run it with a HXFX and it's like a Kat on steroids. Saying that you have so much flexibility with both amps you could defo dial the Kat in to be closer to the Nextone for that demo. For my amateur ear I can get pretty much the same basic blues tones out of both amps and they both sound great. Only solution is to own both which of course you can if you trade in your tubes :)
What’s the HXFX ?
The volume always seem to be louder on the next tone but outside of that the tone on the next tone seem to be warmer then the katana especially on the clean channel
I need both...
How the hell can you get modern tone with the Nextone when all I get is shitty tone even with Suhr SSH+?
I like my Katana, but that Nextone sounds sweet.
As a Kat 50 owner I have to say this one's not even close. The Nextone sounds much better.
My ears were liking the Nextone better, overall.
I have the katana artist and nextone stage which I got in a trade without even searching for one. I was shocked at how much more organic and real it sounds than the artist so I wasn’t shocked when I watched your video. Nextone all the way. PS. I want your high gain sound on nextone please
Thanks for the comment Robbie.
Electronics can’t sound organic, natural maybe, but not organic. Quit repeating nonsense.
Dave Lpz Why not ? All these tube amp die hards are pushing them with all sorts of stomp boxes.
Well guys , I’m a 44 year old paraplegic who’s been playing about a year and a half , I already have the spark , it’s alright but if I were to get one of these which one would be best for me ? I like the thought that the Nextone sounds more like a tube amp but what kind of features would I be missing out on ? Keep in mind I can’t really use pedals but do have a Dito looper I use.
Nextone has more clarity to my ear's and much better note definition that's not saying the Katana is a bad amp just that I preferred the Nextone in this test.
Any idea how much is the amp vs the speaker? The Nextone definitely had more midrange while the Katana sounded scooped. I swapped the speaker in my Katana for a Celestion and it really brought back the high end fizz and added more mids.
Based on this video and a couple others, (to me) it sounds like the Nextone is worth the price differential vs the Katana.....it just seems more......real, I guess.
Torn on this one, for the clean sound I actually slightly preferred the katanas scooped fender vibe, on the dirty tones the nextone was fatter for sure. Nextone would probably sit better in a live mix too.
Hi, looking for ultra transparent eq settings on the Nextone 6L6 power amp, trying to create a clean patch for acoustic guitar on the Nextone Stage, anyone care to share their settings? Many thanks in advance!
I’ve two Katanas but I thought the next tone was fuller and less thiny more fuller still both great amps 👍🏼
I have the Katana 100 mk1 and like it a lot, although I find the clean tone can be a bit dull sounding without some tweaking, but the Nextone here sounded better. Hard to tell if your not in the room but seemed to have more punch and more life to it.
Completely agree.
would love to hear katana vs nextone vs roland blues cube comparison from you!
I have katanas scattered around the house, but loved how the nextone sounded in this vid.
thanks Stef!
Katakana owner, I have to say that the NexTone sounded pretty good!
Do they have different speaker cones or the same?
I am thinking about upgrading from a katana to a nextone, that’s why I searched for a video that compares those two. I like both but the nextone might be more like my kind of thing
Well, the katana being a pedalboard itself... I don’t care that much, I can gig with a solid state that sounds decent.
Do you have a Preset Pack for the nextone special.?
In this comparison the Nextone seemed fuller... better for solo or small group settings. The Katana (ignoring eq) seemed to cut a bit more and might be good when you have to find that window. I preferred the Nextone in this demo with the lone exception of the top of the high-gain run. I own a Nextone Artist and can say without a doubt it sounds different at 0.5W vs 40W vs 80W. The latter sounds the best IMO... even after turning the master way down.
As usual, I'd argue the amps are so close that setup matters more than which one you have. What would be interesting is running each through the same external cab and then comparing. I'd bet the speaker has more to do with the differences than the amp iteself. Conversly, cross connect the units and do two more takes :) I'd watch.
Bottom line. I picked the one that was closest to what I wanted (4 power amps beat out built-in effects).
Thanks for the demo.
Agreed.
I do a lot of production and recording of guitars and to my ears, the Nextone sounds more raw and full; the Katana sounds more "produced" and like a track that is soloed from a recorded, where the recorded track is tweaked to sit in the mix just so; so it's not a full amp sound with all of the frequencies present. For a pedal platform, I think the Nextone cant be beat. But if you're doing a lot of recording and you dont want to futz around, I'd nab a Katana. Just my .02
From the outside, when listen on TH-cam, Nexton sounds more interesting, rich and full-range.
But when play yourself, the feelings may be another. Need to try it yourself.
But for now my vote is for Nexton
Both sound great. Would be interesting to compare these points. Are they both solid state amps with digital effects? If either one is fully digital, then are they using the same procceser? Thanks
If the mids can’t be dialled in, the Katana would be a non-starter for me. I like the rounder mids in the Nextone.
Sales of amps like these are bound to climb with the current Russian valve/tube trade embargo.
better speaker in the nextone, right?
Hi Do you still use the Boss Nextone? Do you still like prefer the sounds overal (clean and distortion) better than the KATANA. Is the Boss nextone good enough for warm clean jazz tones?
If you dont need the effects the Nextone is a better sounding amp in my opinion.
Is the Nextone Stage as loud as Katana 100 or is it closer to the 50?
that is tough. as I hear, they are totaly different eq. Nextone emphasizes middle, where Katana has less middle and more low and highs... I guess most of that can be compensated via global eq
Nextone had way more mids and would probably sound beastly in a mix. Katana had more clarity and punch and more of a rock sound especially in the blues OD clip. I have a MK1 Katana and love it. Think I'll stick with it
well, the nextone sounds way more believable as a proper guitar amp. mids and warmth. katana sterile scooped mids. also felt maybe levels of each amp were different, but could be the lack of mid presence in the katana that made it sound quieter.
Which one takes pedals better (especially Fuzz, Muffs, and Boosters)?
The Katana sounds very thin and weak in this video, in comparison to the Nextone. How did it sound to you in the room, volume and tone wise? Amazing differences heard in your demo. Thanks Paul 👍 I'm a new subscriber.
I have a Katana and love it. Then I got a Nextone in a package deal. I prefer the Nextone. I’ve compared them many times as many ways as possible and the Nextone sounds like bigger fuller amp. IMHO
Good question, I only have Katana's and perhaps I would get a Nextone some time. They both sounds great, but I am leaning more toward the Katana.
What say you Paul?? What do you prefer?
If you want great vintage amp tones go for the Nextone if you want effects go for the Katana.
@@TheStudioRats I meant if you could only choose one, What would YOU choose?
Almost sounded like a difference in speaker, at least in part
close but to my ears the Katana sounded a bit thinner. Which do you prefer. At the end of the video you say you have a clear preference that you'll soon be revealing but half a year later, I can't find that in any subsequent videos.
Six months before your comment he said this in reply to GeoffreySmith...."Hi Geoffrey, I wouldn’t say one was darker than the other. I personally prefer the Nextone."
I was just about to get a Katana, but after watching this, I’m sold on the Nextone. Does anyone use the Katana head with a separate cab? I have a 1960A that I think would go well with the Katana.
I use the Nextone with a 16 ohm cab with a creamback. it sounds fab.
It looks like the audio levels are not the same, at least with my headphones. Nextone is a bit louder.
I was thinking the same thing
Hi guys levels are the same, same level into the mic amp. the katana is mid scooped so sounds quieter, the mids is where we perceive volume.
@@TheStudioRats thank you makes total sense. Can you do another video where you dial out the mid scoop through tonestudio? A K100 is still way cheaper than a nxtone.
My bias: i own and love a nextone artist (bought a stage first, then upgraded), so i dont want one to win over the other. I just want to try to make them get as close as possible with all the outtathabox tools for objectivity's sake. If i bought a katana, i'd tweak the crap outta it to get it to MY sound, which would likely have very different knob positions than my nextone :)
Only gripe about you comparison was no mention of price, I know this video is about a year old now, but I just picked up a used katana for about $100us where as a used Nextone stays around $500. So my point? Is the nextone Sound worth the extra $400?
Si
Great video. Another vote for Nextone. Just fuller/warmer. I balanced the volumes when listening to be fair.
Cheers, its a great little amp.
I think Katana can be tuned for similar sound to Nextone
Some points to consider: With the Katana 100 you get a gigging amp with 100watts, for a lower price than a 40 watts amp.
Everyone looks for a signature tone along his life. I found the Katana, clean channel, gain dimed, very responsive and tubey like. Love it for my base tone and as a pedal platform. Cleans up great and starts to breakup when you dig in.
Former owner of a Katana Artist, ended up, for weight reasons, with a MKII 100, and I'm loving it. Also own a Laney CubSuper 12, that completes my tubey needs, and it´s giggable, too. After playing a lot with the Boss tone Studio, ended up realizing how I love the ease of my boss pedals for my drive sounds, using the reverb, delay and modulation of the katana.
My take? The Katana sounds like many more modern amps. The Nextone sounds like vintage amps. In particular with the overdrives, the Katana sounds more like a cross between a Marshall JCM 800 scooped to be more like a Mesa. The Nextone sounds like a classic Plexi/Super Lead character. It really depends what you want out of an amp entirely.
Maybe the volume between them are not balance, so sounds like nextone more open, maybe
It's was a big difference. I think the katana sounded more thin. And Les dynamic and responsive. The other one is thicker and vibrant.. I have. A preference for the next time in this demo but.. I have to see it in person to see how big of a difference really is
the level on the Katana is obviously lower than the nextone. Hard to compare with such a big difference in level.
It doesn't even seem close. The Katana sounded almost tinny on all but the heaviest tones, with nowhere the midrange. In comparisons of the Katana to the new Line 6 Catalyst, I've noticed the same phenomena: the Katana lacks midrange compared to the Catalyst.
Katana owner here but I like the Nextone's sound. It sounded much fuller.
B'cause speaker perhaps? I am considering the Katana mk2 head (to replace a couple of tube amps/heads) with my 2 x v30 cab.. Too few reviews online comparing that one to other heads with same cab :) (DOit ;)
Great video - thumbs up and subscribed. So I looked for another video where you share your preferences of one vs the other but I could not find it. What are your overall opinions? I used to own the Katana 100 MK1. Would you say one (Katana MKII or Nextone) is "darker" sounding than the other? I would rather it not be too dark. I prefer clean tones and like Fender cleans especially. Which would you say delivers it better in your opinion? thanks
Hi Geoffrey, I wouldn’t say one was darker than the other. I personally prefer the Nextone.
You get a lot of sound from your guitars and amps! after owning both Katana, Blues Cube Stage, and Nextone stage, I chose the Nextone for reasons you highlight. How do I get that fluid playing style that you have. Cant just buy that at the Guitar store!
Cheers Paul
Nextone for the win. Damn they had killer prices last holiday season.
The main difference between the two recordings was the volume. It's not the best way to hear it on youtube.
I own both. Prefer Nextone's tone. Wish it had all the features of the Katana.
I would love to have all the effects of the Katana in my nextone too. I'm just tired of dragging my pedal board around.
If you have both, can you get the best of both worlds by by using Katana Fx loop out into Nextone Fx loop in?
@@jktolford8272 hmm, I'll have to try that!
So what great things does the Katana have that the next one doesn’t ? I’ve only been playing a year and a half , which one should I be getting, with in mind that I have the spark ?
@@benallmark9671 a lot more on board effects to choose from. Also an acoustic setting. More bang for your buck, especially if you’re just getting started.
I really prefer the sound of the Nextone, but why is it as heavy as my Katana 100?
Hi Richard, maybe a question for boss.
I prefer the nextone to the stock katana, but I feel like the Katana sounds better through an external cab, my Katana 50 ran through my bigger external cab sounds sooo amazing. But yes, stock Nextone definitely sounds fuller with HEAPS more mids, I dont really like scooped sounds, makes it sound cheaper and thinner for sure!
Thanks for sharing!
What is it you guys mean by scooped sound ?
@@benallmark9671 "scooped" refers to the shape of the eq and it means higher treble, lower mids and higher bass, so its like a U shape eq wise... does this make sense? for a recognizable scopped sound people refer to Pantera or Metallica
@@dejct thanks, yes it makes absolute sense , thanks again
I would get the Katana, just for the lead sound.
I am not good at describing things in a technical way but the Nextone sounded more "alive". That's the best way I can describe it.
Perfect description
Katana has some fizz in the highs. Maybe it's the speaker it uses.
The nextone is like a whole different ballpark. It's time to sell my Katana 50. Fast!
Nextone for clean, blues, funk, rock.
Katana is probably best for metal.
I prefer the Nextone.
The Nextone just sounded more full and had a better bite. The Katana sounded a little hollow although in person I don’t think it sounds that tinny. I still think the Katana is the better buy based on price, for the average guitar player like myself anyway.
Thanks Tyler.
Is it fair to call a relic guitar a fake? Age has not played a role in the seasoning of the woods or lacquers.
I like the cleans on the nextone but the katana was clearly the winner in the high gain department.
Interesting, Paul.
The Katana was always on the clean channel while the Nextone was used on clean as well as lead channels. The crunch and the lead channel on the Katana wouldn't have been so scooped. Katana doesn't need pedals for crunch and lead sounds. Clean channels, generally, tend to have more bass and treble and if you add a Blues Driver which is also heavy on bass and treble you end up with a very scooped sound. Not sure this was fair and proper comparison.
Hi Laszlo, I’ve done many videos on why the Katana clean channel is better than the crunch or the lead channels. The blues driver is a mid push drive it doesn’t scoop the sound.
@@TheStudioRats Yes, I've seen the videos you are talking about but I have to, respectfully disagree that the crunch, lead and brown channels are not as good as the built in pedals into clean channel. There are countless examples of people getting great tones out of all the channels, some tweaking the internal EQs some don't. Juca Nery has many patches he demonstrates (on all the channels of Katana) that sound devine. I also have my Katana Artist MK1 tweaked for ACDC type crunch and lead sounds (using crunch channel) that sound fantastic, and to my ears better or not worse than anything on the clean channel with pedals. The tones that can be had from the Katana are vast and varied and covers most bases really well.
I am also not alone thinking that the Blues Driver pedal has more bass and treble with less mids (opposite to a TS style pedal). Rabea Massaad also points that out in a vid he did on the Angry Driver when he used the BD side of that pedal. I have 3 versions of the BD pedal of which 1 is in the Katana the others are in the Boss OD-200 and the Boss Angry Driver. They all display a distinct reduction in mids compared to most other drive pedals. I use guitars with humbuckers.
I love your work and a big fan of your channel. Looking forward to your future videos.
Cheers!
I MUCH prefer the sound of the Katana, a friendlier tone with more thump & less in your face. The Nextone was actually everything I try to avoid in guitar amps.
The Nextone is killing the Katana in those clips , more punchy , clear , less scooped
which one did he prefer? :)
The Nextone.
At first glance the Next tone seems warmer and fuller. In all honesty the Katana can get there once you engage the Graphic EQ post preamp. In general while Boss/Roland products are workhorses they do tend to eq most of their guitar products way too bright. Take for instance the Blue Driver pedal. Even trough a mellower tube amp have to really back up that tone pot because it delves into a territory that is quite frankly unusable. The Katana suffers from the same woes however once we learn to stimulate the right frequencies the change is quite drastic. Perhaps the smart product would have been to invest the Nextone with Katanas effects options.
Thanks for the comment Isaac.