Boss Kantana 50 any good?

skunkwerx

Well, my 50 watt see’s the 25w mode only when my house is empty and the neighbour has the tv up loud (shes pretty deaf I think bless her). 

I tried the 50 watt to see, and for a moderately sized bedroom with wooden flooring it is so overkill. 

But I cant speak for gigging, though others have! 

sawyer

Right I've bought one! Got the 100 watt version in fear our mental hard hitting drummer drowned me out. Just had a few minutes with it so far but sounds promising. Initial thoughts are using one of the amp 'types ' in conjuction with a distortion pedal.Rehearsal room will tell! 

Voxman

"For the vast majority of people I think the choice is going to come down to the 50 Watt 1x12 or the 100 Watt 2x12 "

Actually, for most folk the choice will be 1x12 50w v 1x12 100w.  That's because most folk will either be home only or home and occasional or small club gigging players. The real attraction for most people is the compact size and weight, and low cost. Everything 'jumps up' with the 2x12, so that's likely to appeal to more regular gigging players.

The real bummer is that the 1x12 100w doesn't have an extn cab out which would be perfect for those relatively fewer occasions where you might want/need more air being pushed via a 2x12 or 4x12.  

The two things that would really sell the Katana to me are an extn cab out on the 100w 1x12, and patch naming with a display on the amp and/or floor-controller for gigging players.  

midlifecrisis

Voxman said:

"For the vast majority of people I think the choice is going to come down to the 50 Watt 1x12 or the 100 Watt 2x12 "

Actually, for most folk the choice will be 1x12 50w v 1x12 100w.  That's because most folk will either be home only or home and occasional or small club gigging players. The real attraction for most people is the compact size and weight, and low cost. Everything 'jumps up' with the 2x12, so that's likely to appeal to more regular gigging players.

The real bummer is that the 1x12 100w doesn't have an extn cab out which would be perfect for those relatively fewer occasions where you might want/need more air being pushed via a 2x12 or 4x12.  

The two things that would really sell the Katana to me are an extn cab out on the 100w 1x12, and patch naming with a display on the amp and/or floor-controller for gigging players.  

i thought the 1x12 might be a bit feeble but seriously its not, ive gigged it un micced in biggish clubs still on the 50 watt setting with volume to spare.  and if required its a very simple mod to detach the speaker connections and make a socket for an ext cab, or  an addition to the built in speaker

chrishill901

I had a rehearsal last night in the studio and took my new 50w Katana and I was blown away by the tone and volume. It was easily loud enough - I was running it at 25w with the master half way and the channel volume half way and it was plenty loud enough to get over the drummer. Obviously in a bigger room filled with people this would have to go up significantly but I've got a lot more volume on tap with those settings.

The other guitarist had one too (I bought one out of jealousy) and I was concerned that the two tones would mush together, even on different settings, but with him on the brown channel and me on the lead both guitars were crystal clear. The drummer must have heard me go through about 15 amps in that very room over the years and he said its the clearest and best I've sounded.

I don't think I've ever been this impressed with something that A) Isn't valve and B ) is an open back 1x12 combo. In fact I don't think I've ever been this impressed with an amp. I'm not saying its the best thing since sliced bread; when I had my modded JVM410h and zilla cab the tone was amazing, I was impressed but by the same token I ought to be impressed for the price I paid. With the Katana I have no right to be this impressed for £189. Is it better than my JVM410h and zilla cab? No. Is it more portable, convenient, easy to set up? Do I get the same tone no matter what? Yes. Does it need revalving? No. Do I need physiotherapy every time I get back from rehearsal? No. Does it sound and feel good? Most definitely.

I bought it to rehearse with and for home practice with a view to getting a valve amp that only comes out for gigs. I had no intention of gigging a Katana. Now considering getting a bigger Katana to fill that role. I love the sound and feel of valve amps, they sound better than the Katana, but the plus points of the Katana outweigh that for me in a band mix context.

Modellista

^ this. Glad to hear someone else just turning everything up to half on the 25w setting and being happy with the volume over a drummer.

the 100w has a more robust speaker which is probably the most significant upgrade.  Although there's something very satisfying about "big sound, little amp" concept of the 50.