Is the Katana Mini as bad as everyone says?

soma1975

And if it is, whats the cheapest 'decent' tiny little amp thingy that can go on a shelf in the living room to be used when I'm noodling in front of the telly. 

Thanks in advance. 

chrisj1602

Not played the Katana mini but I’ve owned and would recommend the Blackstar Fly 3.

mrkb

I tried it at the guitarshow, but it was not the venue to get a good test of it. Was impressed it had the full set of katana controls and tones, will have another look when I see one in a guitar store.

soma1975

chrisj1602 said:

Not played the Katana mini but I’ve owned and would recommend the Blackstar Fly 3.

Ooh looks decent cheers. 

Fuengi

I own a Blackstar Fly which is a fun little box. The Katana is quite a bit better imo, my son tried and bought one for home. 

thomasw88

I bought a mini. Think its decent little amp for the size.

soma1975

Well now I don't know what to think.. 

soma1975

Fuengi said:

I own a Blackstar Fly which is a fun little box. The Katana is quite a bit better imo, my son tried and bought one for home. 

He bought a Mini or a regular Katana? 

Fuengi

soma1975 said:

Fuengi said:

I own a Blackstar Fly which is a fun little box. The Katana is quite a bit better imo, my son tried and bought one for home. 

He bought a Mini or a regular Katana? 

He bought a mini. I think they are £80 new? 

soma1975

Interesting... 

dindude

I had both the Katana mini and the Fly 3, preferred the Fly 3, both have their limitations but the Katana mini really was shit 

PhilW1

I’ve got a mini(fnar fnar),it’s great for the cost and surprisingly loud,
bandmate had the Fly but 
I think the mini has  the edge

mrkb

mrkb said:

I tried it at the guitarshow, but it was not the venue to get a good test of it. Was impressed it had the full set of katana controls and tones, will have another look when I see one in a guitar store.

Ah, just remembered it was the Katana Air I looked at, not the mini- ignore my comments.

Sesh

My daughter has a katana mini. We a/b'd it against the fly in a shop. the mini won. Bit more expensive, but much better, we felt. In the similar price bracket I have a Laney mini Lionheart, which is great, and looks good enough "on the shelf" for my wife to not mind it being left around.

soma1975

Nice one chaps. 

darthed1981

mrkb said:

I tried it at the guitarshow, but it was not the venue to get a good test of it. Was impressed it had the full set of katana controls and tones, will have another look when I see one in a guitar store.

You may be thinking of the "Katana Air" mate - the mini has a much smaller range of controls.

Edit: I'm an idiot who didn't see your other post, apologies...

darthed1981

soma1975 said:

And if it is, whats the cheapest 'decent' tiny little amp thingy that can go on a shelf in the living room to be used when I'm noodling in front of the telly. 

Thanks in advance. 

I've got a Blackstar Fly 3.

Despite a reasonable range of controls it really has two great little tones, a sort of bluesy clean with delay, and a quite dirty sounding OD.

For it's size and cost, it makes guitar noises pretty well.  Of course it isn't in the class of even a full-size solid state amp, but it's more than a toy.

I've not played with a Katana Mini, but I suspect it's largely the same.

A lot of the negativity probably comes from the overall high regard the full-sized Katanas have, costing about £70 less than the 50w Marshall MG50 for example the Katana 50 is miles more flexible and sounds better.

Legionreturns

According to an ad currently in the classifieds, the Katana Mini doesn't depreciate either! Investment opportunities?  

mrkb

darthed1981 said:

mrkb said:

I tried it at the guitarshow, but it was not the venue to get a good test of it. Was impressed it had the full set of katana controls and tones, will have another look when I see one in a guitar store.

You may be thinking of the "Katana Air" mate - the mini has a much smaller range of controls.

Edit: I'm an idiot who didn't see your other post, apologies...

No problem, I don’t listen to myself either

soma1975

I know you're all excited to hear the outcome but I've gone for the Katana Mini and it should be arriving today. 

munckee

soma1975 said:

I know you're all excited to hear the outcome but I've gone for the Katana Mini and it should be arriving today. 

Let us know how it is, or bring it Saturday!  I was going to say get  used THR5 as I think they are a significant step up from these but I haven't actually played the katana mini so I'm only basing it on reviews.