So today I finally tried a Boss Katana

Bluebeard

I have a Katana 100w 1x12 combo and its a great amp

midlifecrisis

@ICBM ; if you can try the katana 100, it does sound different to the 50, maybe just cos it's in a slightly bigger box and has a different speaker but it is different 

TADodger

darthed1981 said:

TADodger said:

in reality, I’m much happier with my Rift Brownie 5 reverb and a ThorpyFX Peackeeper for most playing.

Mate, thats about £1200 worth of gear.  If it WASN'T quite a lot better than a Katana it would be a pretty poor lookout for both of our excellent local boutique makers!

Hi Ed, actually, it wasn't, the Rift was acquired used. You can put together a decent boutique rig for reasonable money if you are selective. It might be argued that it is sort of reflective of the cost of two affordable guitars and quite a lot of people have a couple of those that, once bought, perhaps, on GAS, they don't use very often.

Key thing as I said is 'each to their own' and no need to make a case for the katana as those that like it will buy it and those that don't .......... The Katana may be reasonably priced, but if, to some, it sounds poor, then it really doesn't matter how cheap it is, for them it is money wasted. 

darthed1981

TADodger said:

darthed1981 said:

TADodger said:

in reality, I’m much happier with my Rift Brownie 5 reverb and a ThorpyFX Peackeeper for most playing.

Mate, thats about £1200 worth of gear.  If it WASN'T quite a lot better than a Katana it would be a pretty poor lookout for both of our excellent local boutique makers!

Hi Ed, actually, it wasn't, the Rift was acquired used. You can put together a decent boutique rig for reasonable money if you are selective. It might be argued that it is sort of reflective of the cost of two affordable guitars and quite a lot of people have a couple of those that, once bought, perhaps, on GAS, they don't use very often.

Key thing as I said is 'each to their own' and no need to make a case for the katana as those that like it will buy it and those that don't .......... The Katana may be reasonably priced, but if, to some, it sounds poor, then it really doesn't matter how cheap it is, for them it is money wasted. 

Yes but you can buy a Katana used as well, people have picked them up for half the price.  New, that's £1200 worth of gear (or so).  It's a hand wired boutique valve amp and hand-made pedal for that money, so you aren't in the same territory as you are with Gibson, where others make hand made LP style guitars of better quality for half the money.

My point isn't a response to "to each there own" but to "my £1200 rig sounds better than a £200 one" which is, as I said fortunately for Thorpy and Rift Amps of this parish, a no brainer.

It actually ironically brings us back to the points made by both sides in the "R8 vs HB" thread - where diminishing returns set in for gear.  I suspect getting a Rift used and pairing it with a pedal like the Peacekeeper gives really good bang for buck at a very specific set of sounds you are clearly very happy with.

The Katana might be poor value for some if they are looking for a very particular set of characteristics associated with boutique valve amps, but its incredibly flexible, so probably a much better choice for the average beginner who may be all over the shop with what they want to play.  Mind you, I suspect if you really shopped around you'd fine a Katana 50 for £100 these days, and something that flexible for that money, I'd say it's hard to go wrong.

monquixote

ICBM said:

monquixote said:

I think you have very specific ideas about how a guitar should sound that are quite different to a lot of guitarists. 

I don't think so - I like most classic recorded guitar sounds.

monquixote said:

I have almost a 100% hit rate of liking different stuff to you.

I don't deny that - what I find odd is the number of people who think it sounds like a good valve amp. It doesn't, at all.

I don't think it sounds that much like a valve amp.

I think the clean channel sounds like a decent solid state amp and takes pedals exceptionally well, the crunch channel sounds like arse, the lead channel is pretty good and vaguely valve like and the brown channel is silly and fun, but quite artificial sounding once you get the gain up.

I've only tried the 100 so I can't comment if it's better, but it is a bigger box which generally equals better for me. On that I think we are agreed.

ICBM

monquixote said:

I don't think it sounds that much like a valve amp.

I think the clean channel sounds like a decent solid state amp and takes pedals exceptionally well, the crunch channel sounds like arse, the lead channel is pretty good and vaguely valve like and the brown channel is silly and fun, but quite artificial sounding once you get the gain up.

I've only tried the 100 so I can't comment if it's better, but it is a bigger box which generally equals better for me. On that I think we are agreed.

We're actually agreed on a lot of that, at least in relative terms - although I still think it sounds overall very grainy and harsh, and nowhere near as good as a decent solid-state amp.

It is possible the 100 sounds much better than the 50 though...

p90fool

ICBM said:

It is possible the 100 sounds much better than the 50 though...

At home yes, but I spent months trying to get the 100 to sit in a band mix, whereas a borrowed 50 worked perfectly straight away for me. 

Neither of them will fill a room like a real 50 or 100w amp, but the 50's slightly nasal boxiness actually works fairly well in any lineup bigger than guitar/bass/drums because of it's almost Pro Junior-like projection. 

Don't get me wrong, I'll be happy if I never see either of them again, but if forced to choose one I'd get the 50. 

dazzajl

Long thread telling me what I already know. I really need to sit and spend some time with a Katana, to satisfy my curiosity. 

Partly to see which side of the fence I’m on here and partly to see how it stacks up against my v2 mustang III. 

HAL9000

I've owned (not at the same time) a Roland Cube 40 and a Katana 50.

From what I remember, the Katana was properly loud for a 50W SS amp but IMHO didn't sound as good as the Cube it replaced. Don't get me wrong, the Katana is still a lot of amp for not much money and has a lot more features. Initially I preferred it to the Cube but I think now there may have been confirmation bias going on. The clean and low gain models (which were the ones I used) on the Cube were actually ok - the higher gain ones were pretty fizzy though.

Is the Katana a better amp? No, it's a different amp, so I guess it depends on what you want. I wanted a bit more volume and the Katana certainly delivers - even on its 25W mode it is noticeably louder than the 40W Cube. Tones wise, though, it is certainly worse and without getting into deep editing is IMO less versatile than my old Cube. 

mrleon83

Crikey , super surprised.. i've been really happy with my Katana...

Though I probably use it in a different way (a habit from my Mesa days).. so using the brown channel as crunch with the gain all the way down a and the crunch channel for lead (gain up with boost) and clean (gain nearly off)..

thecolourbox

It strikes me that the Katana is like a Subway sandwich - decent enough with a fair bit of choice for the price (and the option of a cookie with it). However it's never going to be as good as proper food

guitarman66

I purchased a new Katana 100/212 combo last year and, as delivered, it obviously needed a decent setup. Others here have mentioned the wayward EQ settings provided by the manufacturer and these were extremely simple to correct using the downloaded software. However, a few hours of deep editing (almost every parameter can be edited) brought about an almost magical change in the overall sound in the clean channel. I only ever use the combo in 'clean channel' mode and pedals when required. This is a brilliant amp for home use and recording as the Katana 100/212 is absolutely silent and there is no audible hiss or hum. Even at stage volumes, background noise cannot be heard. Before I bought the Katana I tried a Blackstar solid state combo and the hiss and hum were terrible.  

dazzajl

Finally got to play the 100 1x12 today. 

It was ok. My Mustang III v2 is a much less efficient way to get a sound but I still prefer it. End of in depth review 

Marktigere1

Was at my Son's gig last night along with four other bands.

He has the 100 watt combo.

Two of the bands had valve amp failures and borrowed his Katana.

No amps were micced as they didn't have enough microphones.

No problem hearing it over the drums in the mix, no problem with quality.

It was also only on the 50 Watt setting, used clean with pedals.

Just saying.

ICBM

Exactly the same would be true of something like an old Laney Linebacker, but no-one would claim they actually sound great.

Although personally, I still think they sound better than the Katana...

Marktigere1

Did I mention it also sounded good!

YellowLedBetterMan

Horses for courses. I think there are sounds the Katana can do (and usable sounds to boot), that the old Peavey's and Laney solid states can't do.

As I'd say to anyone wishing to buy one of the Katanas, spend some time in the tone studio setting it up. There are countless forums with user made patches and while some of them truly are awful, some of them get remarkably close to the sound they're trying to emulate.

For ease of use, no the Katana isn't top of the tree (although it s#!ts all over Line6, Peavey Vypyr, or any of the fender stuff in terms of getting a usable tone fast), especially comparing it to a good old valve amp. But like I've said a thousand times, it's great at versatility and is significantly cheaper than buying 3 or 4 even cheap solid state amps of comparable volume that would sound about as good as the default channels on the Katana.

If you're a pub band player, a younger player, or just need something to chuck into the car to use as a versatile make louder box, give the Katana a go.

ICBM

You did, but having tried a Katana and a Laney Linebacker in the shop, I would take the Laney every time. Miles better sounding both clean and even overdriven, even if most people wouldn’t say they sound great. Also louder than the Katana.

Sassafras

Can't agree that it shits all over Fender solid state amps in terms of getting a usable sound fast. Some of the Fender stuff is excellent with great sounds straight out of the box. Minimal faff.

ToneControl

is it based on COSM amp modelling? That always sounded awful on the Vg88 and vg99, my conclusion was that the Roland guys have some different idea about what sounds good