So today I finally tried a Boss Katana

Modellista

^ Exactly.  I struggle to understand the criticism of the Katanas.  How can programming a Helix be simpler than turning a single knob?  How can it get simpler than twiddling a few knobs to get the sound you want and then pressing a button to store it?  In the real world, the usability, portability, price, and sound quality of the Katanas has been superb for me.  I honestly don't know what I would use if not my pair of Katana 50 and 100 head.

When I had an exam to do I brought the Katana 50 programmed to my exact sounds rather than using the house amp and pedals.  In the report the examiner mentioned the "superb sound quality" or something along those lines.  This is a professional examiner in full-on critical mode complimenting a sub-£200 amp.  All I needed was a wah, overdrive and delay on a small board.  I knew I'd get exactly the sounds I wanted because I programmed them beforehand.  I would not have wanted to try and get all my sounds from a pedal board plugged into whatever unknown amp I was going to be faced with in the pressure of an exam situation.  So I can practice at home on the 0.5w mode and get the exact same sound in a live situation by just turning up the power.  Brilliant.

Regarding the Katana head, I use the clean channel with a boost in front and the on-board delay to give a bit of slap-back.  I played a big marquee the other day, set it up on the 50w mode with all the knobs at 12 o'clock, and the sound guy was seriously considering not miking it up because it was so loud.  And clean.  The line out sounds great so it doesn't actually need miking up anyway.  A proper professional tool for £300.

Honestly, it's not a case of "this isn't bad for the money", these things do the job 100% for any price.  I wouldn't be without them.  Yes I like faffing with valve amps, and I would probably use a valve amp if I was in the studio and putting a tone on tape for all time, but for live work the Katanas are unbeatable IMHO.

ICBM

darthed1981 said:

I'd say if you want an amp you can walk into a shop and buy for < £200 the Katana is still the king of the crop, but not the ONLY amp in the crop, lots of fun to be had trying.

The Line 6 Spider V is still an option, and - although I don’t normally like to say this until I’ve heard them myself - does sound better in demo videos. It’s also more flexible in that it has a full-range speaker system. In all that excitement I clean forgot to mention how utterly appalling the ‘Acoustic’ setting on the Katana was...

And unlike the Katana, it also has the controls in the right place, which for some unaccountable fashion reason is now unusual. I’d certainly want to try one before buying a Katana.

Philtre

Fair comments about beginners. On the other hand, just after they came out there were a few gigging musos that I know who were so enamoured by the Katana they sold their valve amps. "No more valves for me", they said.

darthed1981

ICBM said:

The Line 6 Spider V is still an option

Indeed, and has been discounted on an Andertons "Epic deal" as well.

As with all things, I'd recommend anyone wanting an amp, especially a beginner, should try them with someone knowledgeable in a good shop and see which one suits them best.

Sassafras

I don't like the Katana because it's cheap.
When you spend a few thousand quid on an amp you know where you stand.

darthed1981

Sassafras said:

I don't like the Katana because it's cheap.
When you spend a few thousand quid on an amp you know where you stand.

In a room full of people whose talent as lawyers far exceeds their talent as musicians...?

darthed1981

Philtre said:

Fair comments about beginners. On the other hand, just after they came out there were a few gigging musos that I know who were so enamoured by the Katana they sold their valve amps. "No more valves for me", they said.

To be fair its probably what they thought as well.

Also to be fair the very talented Mr @Modellista above just said the same thing.

munckee

Philtre said:

Fair comments about beginners. On the other hand, just after they came out there were a few gigging musos that I know who were so enamoured by the Katana they sold their valve amps. "No more valves for me", they said.

That’s why I didn’t want to like them because there was no doubt in my mind my valve amp was better, and I was right. 

I was wrong about not liking it though. It does exactly what I wanted it to better than I thought it would. 

Creed_Clicks

In the argument v so called finicky valve amps, how many of you have ever had a valve amp fail or give trouble?
Me? Never. I can see the appeal of a ss amp like the katana for 100% fail proof live use.

HAL9000

Creed_Clicks said:

In the argument v so called finicky valve amps, how many of you have ever had a valve amp fail or give trouble?
Me? Never. I can see the appeal of a ss amp like the katana for 100% fail proof live use.

Although, as @ICBM had already pointed out, when s solid state amp fails it nearly always fails completely. Valves will often at least give some warning. 

Philtre

HAL9000 said:

...when a solid state amp fails it nearly always fails completely. Valves will often at least give some warning. 

Yes, yes they do. Why, only yesterday the 6L6 in my HRD left a note at the bottom of the amp for me, it said "Hey Phil, just a heads up, I'm going to fail next Tuesday, so better get a spare in."

ICBM

Basically it depends how you define reliable. Solid-state amps give trouble less often, but failures are usually serious. (Assuming it’s not something totally trivial like a jack.) Valve amp failures are often nothing more than a faulty valve, which can even be changed at a gig if you know how and have the right spares, and fuses. A solid-state amp failure will always be a bench job and if it blows the fuse there is no point in even changing it.

The problem with modern digital amps is that it’s usually even worse - a failure will often mean you need a complete PCB replacement from the manufacturer, and if they won’t or can’t supply one then you just have a large doorstop.

Cols

Creed_Clicks said:

In the argument v so called finicky valve amps, how many of you have ever had a valve amp fail or give trouble?
Me? Never. I can see the appeal of a ss amp like the katana for 100% fail proof live use.

Twice for me.  If you want a better example, you could ask poor Nuno Bettencourt who had three Marshall DSLs lunch themselves during a recent Extreme gig in the Netherlands.  Or you could ask Brian May why he has 12 AC30s on stage, but only ever runs 3 of them at once and has a switching system to click on to the next bank of three.

HAL9000

Philtre said:

HAL9000 said:

...when a solid state amp fails it nearly always fails completely. Valves will often at least give some warning. 

Yes, yes they do. Why, only yesterday the 6L6 in my HRD left a note at the bottom of the amp for me, it said "Hey Phil, just a heads up, I'm going to fail next Tuesday, so better get a spare in."

The only two times I've had problems with a valve amp (a Marshall 50W combo many moons ago), it gave some indication that all was not well. Volume loss one time, and strange sputtering noises the other time. So yes, some signs but no catastrophic failure.

fandango

Cols said:

Creed_Clicks said:

In the argument v so called finicky valve amps, how many of you have ever had a valve amp fail or give trouble?
Me? Never. I can see the appeal of a ss amp like the katana for 100% fail proof live use.

Twice for me.  If you want a better example, you could ask poor Nuno Bettencourt who had three Marshall DSLs lunch themselves during a recent Extreme gig in the Netherlands.  Or you could ask Brian May why he has 12 AC30s on stage, but only ever runs 3 of them at once and has a switching system to click on to the next bank of three.

To be fair, whilst you'd pay to see/hear Brian May play guitar, I think you'd struggle to find anyone willing to pay to see/hear said world-renowed guitarist change some valves in the middle of a greatest hits tour at Wembley Stadium. Hence the switching system. 

Creed_Clicks

ICBM said:

The problem with modern digital amps is that it’s usually even worse - a failure will often mean you need a complete PCB replacement from the manufacturer, and if they won’t or can’t supply one then you just have a large doorstop.

Which is why I often think amps with less “stuff” on them , the better...

Grumpyrocker

The thing is you can use the Katana like a simple single channel amp, put your pedal board in front of it, and it sounds great. It's a great, inexpensive, low cost option even if you don't want to delve into the different channels and sounds. 

Sassafras

fandango said:

Cols said:

Creed_Clicks said:

In the argument v so called finicky valve amps, how many of you have ever had a valve amp fail or give trouble?
Me? Never. I can see the appeal of a ss amp like the katana for 100% fail proof live use.

Twice for me.  If you want a better example, you could ask poor Nuno Bettencourt who had three Marshall DSLs lunch themselves during a recent Extreme gig in the Netherlands.  Or you could ask Brian May why he has 12 AC30s on stage, but only ever runs 3 of them at once and has a switching system to click on to the next bank of three.

To be fair, whilst you'd pay to see/hear Brian May play guitar, I think you'd struggle to find anyone willing to pay to see/hear said world-renowed guitarist change some valves in the middle of a greatest hits tour at Wembley Stadium. Hence the switching system. 

I'd pay to see that. I'd pay extra if he didn't manage to fix the amps.

brucegill

Sassafras said:

fandango said:

Cols said:

Creed_Clicks said:

In the argument v so called finicky valve amps, how many of you have ever had a valve amp fail or give trouble?
Me? Never. I can see the appeal of a ss amp like the katana for 100% fail proof live use.

Twice for me.  If you want a better example, you could ask poor Nuno Bettencourt who had three Marshall DSLs lunch themselves during a recent Extreme gig in the Netherlands.  Or you could ask Brian May why he has 12 AC30s on stage, but only ever runs 3 of them at once and has a switching system to click on to the next bank of three.

To be fair, whilst you'd pay to see/hear Brian May play guitar, I think you'd struggle to find anyone willing to pay to see/hear said world-renowed guitarist change some valves in the middle of a greatest hits tour at Wembley Stadium. Hence the switching system. 

I'd pay to see that. I'd pay extra if he didn't manage to fix the amps.

He did it once. Fucked it up. Looked like a poodle ever since. Now he has a posh switching system. 

jacksparrow

Never been into this type of amp, i guess that little gorilla amp i had scarred me for life.