So today I finally tried a Boss Katana

ICBM

meltedbuzzbox said:

I wish I didnt just waste ten minutes of my life reading this thread. It's like watching a car crash unfold but I cant look away

I wish I never started it! I should have just hijacked someone else’s thread....

noisepolluter

ICBM said:

Adam_MD said:

Modellista said:

The little 1x12 Katana sounds like any little 1x12, and considerably better and more versatile than something like a Blues Jr.

I'd take a blues jr over a katana any day of the week.  A few pedals and I'd be happy to use a blues jr at home or live. 

I generally dislike the Blues Junior quite strongly, but I'd still take one over a Katana without even having to think about it. 

Yesterday I played a nice one too - one of the 'two tone' limited edition ones. It appears to have a different speaker and according to the spec, a 'sparkle circuit mod' - it certainly did sound far more sparkly and less middy and nasal than they usually do... I actually liked it.

Have you tried a MKIV yet? Be interested to hear your opinion both from a sound and reliability point of view. 

And sorry for bumping this thread.

ICBM

noisepolluter said:

Have you tried a MKIV yet? Be interested to hear your opinion both from a sound and reliability point of view. 

Yes - the stock one seems better than the older ones sound-wise, although not as good as that two-tone one (which was a Mk III). They've finally started to address some of the reliability problems too, although fairly crudely as yet by re-routing one of the traces which tends to catch fire on the valve PCB using a wire. They still have a crappy input jack though - which is ridiculous given that the Hotrods were changed as long ago as the MKII - and flimsy pots.

noisepolluter

ICBM said:

noisepolluter said:

Have you tried a MKIV yet? Be interested to hear your opinion both from a sound and reliability point of view. 

Yes - the stock one seems better than the older ones sound-wise, although not as good as that two-tone one (which was a Mk III). They've finally started to address some of the reliability problems too, although fairly crudely as yet by re-routing one of the traces which tends to catch fire on the valve PCB using a wire. They still have a crappy input jack though - which is ridiculous given that the Hotrods were changed as long ago as the MKII - and flimsy pots.

Cheers John - I’ll be after a grab’n’go amp for light jamming duties in the new year so this one’s on the try list. Of course, if a second hand Princeton comes up for a good price then I might spring that way.

monquixote

steveledzep said:

A plethora of guitarists here who read posts but fail to comprehend and take on board what is said.....sadly, few scientists familiar with conducting meaningful side by side comparisons.  Oh well. 

If it helps I used to be head of engineering at an audio technology company and do audio testing for the BBC and I also think you are wrong.

Philtre

So, these Boss Katanas. Are they shit?

monquixote

Philtre said:

So, these Boss Katanas. Are they shit?

It all comes down to people getting confused between an amp being very good considering how cheap it is and it being a great amp full stop.

I have an Origin stack and a load of thorpy pedals which sound significantly better, but I'd gig the Katana and 90% of punters wouldn't notice. I would but I would also appreciate the quick load in and not worrying about my gear getting stolen or soaked in beer.

KrisGee

soma1975 said:

Have Kemper profiled any famous mains cables yet?

I heard they're about to introduce 'thefretboard' setting that eliminates influence of mains cable on sound.

midlifecrisis

monquixote said:

Philtre said:

So, these Boss Katanas. Are they shit?

It all comes down to people getting confused between an amp being very good considering how cheap it is and it being a great amp full stop.

I have an Origin stack and a load of thorpy pedals which sound significantly better, but I'd gig the Katana and 90% of punters wouldn't notice. I would but I would also appreciate the quick load in and not worrying about my gear getting stolen or soaked in beer.

agreed. but id say 99% of punters wouldnt notice.   But damn, ive been gigging every weekend with a shit amp for 2 1/2 years wish someone had told me sooner

p90fool

midlifecrisis said:

monquixote said:

Philtre said:

So, these Boss Katanas. Are they shit?

It all comes down to people getting confused between an amp being very good considering how cheap it is and it being a great amp full stop.

I have an Origin stack and a load of thorpy pedals which sound significantly better, but I'd gig the Katana and 90% of punters wouldn't notice. I would but I would also appreciate the quick load in and not worrying about my gear getting stolen or soaked in beer.

agreed. but id say 99% of punters wouldnt notice.   But damn, ive been gigging every weekend with a shit amp for 2 1/2 years wish someone had told me sooner

We tried, but we couldn't get close enough because of all the hot dancing girls. 

midlifecrisis

p90fool said:

midlifecrisis said:

monquixote said:

Philtre said:

So, these Boss Katanas. Are they shit?

It all comes down to people getting confused between an amp being very good considering how cheap it is and it being a great amp full stop.

I have an Origin stack and a load of thorpy pedals which sound significantly better, but I'd gig the Katana and 90% of punters wouldn't notice. I would but I would also appreciate the quick load in and not worrying about my gear getting stolen or soaked in beer.

agreed. but id say 99% of punters wouldnt notice.   But damn, ive been gigging every weekend with a shit amp for 2 1/2 years wish someone had told me sooner

We tried, but we couldn't get close enough because of all the hot dancing girls. 

yes, they know good tone when they hear it.

Adey

Bored. Bored. Bored.

And all those "Boreds" are identical. For scientific base-lining purposes you understand....

grungebob

I sold my K50 in the end. 

It did me good for awhile but there was something about it I couldn’t gel with. 

A very directional amp, sounded different from all angles and the more volume I gave it the worse it sounded. Granted could have been the speaker needed more time but off it went. 

I’m now using my old Park GR10R and whilst yes it’s pish for high gain it’s actually sounding infinitely better than the K50 did. 

I don’t need a loud amp, I don’t need a valve amp i just want a good sounding solid state that will take pedals well, for most people that’s probably the Katana’s but I’ve decided their not for me. 

Tried a fender champion 50xl the other day and that put a big smile on my face. 

HAL9000

grungebob said:

Tried a fender champion 50xl the other day and that put a big smile on my face. 

If you liked the Champion 50xl then it’s probably worth your while to try the Champion 40 too. IMHO a far nicer sounding amp than the 50xl. A bit more vintage tonally and does those chimey Fendery cleans surprisingly well.