I’ve got the katana but I can’t help wanting a tube combo. I want to make this my last amp decision for many years!
I’ve narrowed my choice down to these three. I live miles away from shop so testing them isn’t possible. I’ve got a MIM strat and a epiphone Les Paul. I mainly play rock ACDC, Zep, Sabbath, Pink Floyd etc. I don’t play out at all so am attracted to the lower power options on all three of these amps. Just want an amp for decent tones at home volumes. I realise it’s subjective but ...
anyone got an opinion or advise?
Thanks
Comments
I don't think either of these will sound as good as the Katana at home volumes.
The FX loop is very decent as well.
I dont like the katanas, they feel cheap where as the marshall and the blackstar do not. Shallow of me i know.
Depends if you want the flexibility of a modelling amp or a proper valve amp. If the latter then the Marshal is the choice as the Blackstar is a hybrid.
Only way to be sure is to demo them and decide for yourself.
Theres a black star and a marshal in the classifieds at the moment, both under £200. At they price you can't really go wrong.
I used to carry a hefty prejudice against digital amps but these days, it’s all I use at home and that’s with some stunning valve amps to use too.
That said, the current Vox AC10 gets nothing but praise from all quarters......
I don't think I've tried a Katana, but I prefer the 1w DSL over a 1w HT. 5w versions could be different
If you've got a few more pennies around though...the reason mines off is because I managed to grab one of the 50th anniversary combos...the Plexi one, but pick your poison. They're 1w switching down to 0.1w...for me it's just that little bit more neighbour friendly and the 1w mode still moves enough air to have real balls to it. I'd really suggest tracking down one of those if you're hoping for an amp to last years.
Alternatively, a tweed champ type of amp...Much more difficult to find one that will play nice at home volume (seriously...5w and 8in speaker don't care, it's loud) probably the most fun I've had with an amp is when I can crank my 57 champ properly. I've never got round to trying a tone king gremlin, but if it does what it says on the tin with attenuation that could be a good bet.
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/
But hey, let’s wait for the usual Blackstar negativity from the same corners...
I decided on the Marshall DSL5CR. I’ve had it a couple of days. It sounds great to me. I’ve done a bit of AB with the katana. I think the katana is a great amp especially for the money. But I can certainly hear the difference in the Marshall. (And hopefully that’s not just me trying to justify the purchase to myself). To my ears I get a warmer tone and it really accentuates the dynamics in my pick attack. Actually, in a way it exposes lots of weakness in my playing. Maybe the katana is more forgiving. Anyway, at my stage of learning the guitar I now think that I would have missed out on a lot of opportunity had I not bought a valve amp. Well we will see!
There will most likely my a FS: Katana 100 (mint condition) if anyone is interested.
If you wind up wanting a warmer, more classic rock sound still I’d really give two thumbs up to popping a greenback speaker in. Takes about 10 minutes with a screwdriver and completely reversible. Not mandatory by any means though. If you know anyone with a cab which has greenbacks in you can even road test it that way first!
Regarding responsiveness - valve amps will definitely give you that. Although the tech is definitely coming on elsewhere and my Yamaha THR10C surprised me for just how good a job it does as a late night practice amp that still lets me know when I’m too sloppy.